How to Get Through The Tough Times The Old Style Way.

Pitlanepiglet

Help please! I'm normally a creature of habit with shopping and cooking but I decided to go a bit "off piste" and bought pork belly ribs in Costco (they were cheap!). I now have no idea how to cook them! They are quite meaty ribs, they don't look like they skinny spare ribs but I think they are spare ribs (IYSWIM).

I don't want to cook them like spare ribs, I wondered if I could cook them as some sort of cassoulet type recipe?? Can I cook them like pork belly even though they've got the bone in them still?

The weather here in Dorset has been beautiful, I've managed to get all of our waterproof coats washed and dried today, there was even a bit of heat in the sun. T'was lovely, sorry to those of you that had carp weather.

born_blonde

I seem to remember we all got excited about cider a few dozen pages ago which reminded me of a truly astonishing recipe we have for damson liqueur. It's mainly amazing because it works using secondary fermentation with bottle conditioned ale, starting the yeast off again. I put the hydrometer in one batch and it was seventeen and a half percent! It's easy and a fairly small manageable quantity, so next time you have any fruit either off the tree or reduced for a quick sale give it a go.


Plum Liqueur

2lbs fruit with stones, we use damsons but you can use plumbs, peaches, cherries etc.
2lbs granulated sugar
2 pints of bottle conditioned ale.

!!!!! ( stab )fruit all over with a fork.
Put all ingredients in a large glass jar with a lid. Sweet shop sweetie jar is ideal.
Keep jar in a dark place and shake every day for a fortnight.
Strain through a muslin and pour into a bottle. Keep in a dark place for a further 2 months. Strain again and drink.

born_blonde

Piglet on the spare rib front I have roast them just like pork belly.

charlies-aunt

The problem: As I went to put my digging fork away I noticed I's somehow managed to impale a large nut (metallic not organic) and it is now jammed halfway up the tine. Any suggestions as to how to get the blasted thing off, pretty please?

Worth a try maybe? A blast of WD40 and leave for 24 hours, before giving a sharp tap with a hammer on both sides ?

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Hi all, thanks for the thoughts for nan who looks a little better today but is more confused can barley walk now and has suddenly become very frail. It was nice to see the sparkle back in her beautiful blue eyes though.

Has to share something that made me laugh today and is very MSE. I passed a house today that has hanging baskets around it made from old colourful motor cycle helmets :rotfl:. They looked great and were certainly different, there can not be too many uses for old helmets and I thought that this one was great.

mardatha

Weather here was dire. On the way to my sons house (half an hour) we had rain, sleet, hail,. snow, sleet then rain again! The hills are dark grey streaked with white snow and looked so bleak and cold, it was like Siberia.

rosieben

ChocClare, I've listed your Chinese Chicken recipe on the Grocery Challenge recipe index, thanks

greenbee

jackieglasgow wrote: »

Mrs VP our soil is clay here too, we sent a lot of time and a fair bit of money, buying sand and topsoil and mixing it through. Two years on, it is even better quality than it was, the sand seems to have been the key.

I second this - sand, grit an pelletted chicken manure plus mulching with bark which I (or the worms) later dig in has had fantastic results.

bertiebots

Mrs vp love the idea of the helmet hanging baskets..infact I love anything quirky for the garden like that! :DHope your nan is ok x
I have managed to give my bedroom real good sort out today and finally sorted exh's wardrobe as I was using it as a dumping ground (its only taken 8 months!!!) and ended up with 2 bin liners full of rubbish and some....but it looks so much better and hopefully having my bedroom back in a tidy state will be far more relaxing to sleep in too. And the en suite is all shiny too, hopefully my dad will find time soon to come and fix the loo that doesn't work!:T
Cheated and had a takeaway for tea as I am worn out:o. Had to get up early and go do my cleaning job this morning as I was too busy pukin' yesterday and haven't sat down since. But at least I have made a start and I feel better than I did earlier.
In true o/s fashion I have decided that my bedroom carpet will just have to do..(its very cheap and flattened) there is a hole by the door that was made by my cat and I am going to cut a square out from behind the wardrobe and use it to fill the gap! Hopefully the estate agents wont notice if its slightly cleaner than the rest:eek::rotfl:.....Just need some strong tape to stop it flying up the vac at the first opportunity;)

Born blonde I have no idea about these things so forgive what may be a daft question but what is conditioned ale? That liqueur sounds yummy:D

born_blonde

bertibots, it's beer with yeast in the bottle like Hopback Summer lightening. The kind you have to be careful of when pouring. Ask a local real ale enthusiast for one local to you. If you can not track one down we have found Old Speckled Hen to work well.