As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

scottishminnie

kittie wrote: »

re costco: I get their dried plums and chocolate chips and I melt some of the chocolate in a basin and then using 2 cocktail sticks, I coat the plums in chocolate and let dry on non stick paper. For christmas, I wrap some in cellophane and tie with a ribbon

I can`t wait to go shopping there again and this time I have a list to help

Thanks for that Kittie - I bought both the dried plums and the choc chips. Never had the dried plums before and was kind of wondering what I would do with them. They may not last until Christmas but that's a nice idea. I'm thinking it would be good to half coat in milk choc, let them dry and then coat the other half in white choc.

I nearly bought the dried cherries and the dreid bluberries and the dried mango etc etc but I contained myself. I'm sorry I didn't buy the Ocen Spray cranberries though as I get through quite a lot of them however will pick up on my next trip

scottishminnie

mardatha wrote: »

Ahh, I'm quite interested in the dried fruit and lamb burgers fr Costco Minnie. where would I find them, can you mind?

The dried fruit was about 2/3 isles back from the checkouts at the far away end from the entrance (I'm sure Glasgow and Edinburgh are both the same layout).

I've never had the lamb burgers only the steak however I'm sure they are fresh not frozen and in the butchers section.

I grew up with pet lambs as a child and although I have no hang ups about eating pets the smell of lamb makes me heave for some reason. Now if only I'd felt the same way about pork then Samantha may have lived a bit longer before her big trip to the freezer.:rotfl:

culpepper

I adapted my bread machine recipe down to the bare essential ingredients.
Now I use enough flour to fill a 1 litre jug to the 1000ml level, 450ml water (1 and 1 half of the little water jug that comes with the machine) and 1 level teaspoon of the allinson yeast.
No salt,milk,fat or sugar at all.
This gives a salt free,fat free loaf that rises well.
In the winter I use 1 300ml cup of hot water and the half a cup of cold for the liquid part and in summer, I use 1/2 the cup of hot and the whole cup of cold as the room temperature effects how it rises .
You do have to get used to the no salt bread but once you get accustomed to it, it is fine.
The tin of yeast lasts roughly 30 loaves used this way.so it costs about 3 pence for that element.
A standard bag of white bread flour lasts 2 and 1 tenth loaves so 10 bags is 21 loaves. At the moment a bag is about 68p so 10 bags at 6.80 divided by 21 is 32 pence. That makes the whole loaf around 35 pence not including electricity to cook it ,which is not a lot I think.
The reasoning behind the sugar and salt is that the sugar will feed the yeast(there is enough in the flour not to need it),the salt will stop the loaf rising too much(you dont need it as you have less yeast and no sugar). I think the milk and fat and sometimes egg too, are to affect the colour and density but you still get a good texture without them.

The biggest problem I have with the bread maker, is remembering to put the loaf on in the first place.:rotfl:

Dee5565

Went to a car boot sale that the local high school was having this morning,
Got 2 hot water bottles with covers brand new in box 50p each, she said they were xmas presents last year and she doesnt not do hot bottles.
also got 4 pr bed socks new in package from same girl 50p So I was very plesed with my purchases.
The sun was out this morning so put washing on the line, but it started to rain so brought it in as its nearly dry
Made some nice Chicken soup and HM bread for tea.
Going to finish off a scarf I am knitting. Then do some ironing then a quick tidy up before my vistors arrive tomorrow night.


Dee

kidcat

Lazyish day here, having been ill in the night I decided to simply so the shopping then rest as tomorrow is so busy, this means I wont get bedrooms sorted but I have time next week I can use.
FTM - have a lovely wedding
Froogs - welcome - I saw your question last night but idnt have a clue sorry, but then noticed a BG had given you a link, never occurred that you might feel pushed out.

Yeast - I have always used the allinsons tins for my BM but last time I bought it without really looking and realised that is was not for BM - now I believe that my previous tin was for BM - so I assume there is two different Allinson types or is it that they have simply changed the instructions? I have since ended up buying silly sachets that cost a fortune.

My stuff has all sold on ebay thankfully so am looking foward to a kitchen that is more useable with extra space.

silvermaid

I am still experimenting with bread recipes. I need to find a foolproof one that works for me so I can start messing about with various additions. I use Dove's yeast in the orange packet. Am liking seeing other people's bread recipes.

Wow the rain here has been tremendous. I'm sure the garden will have loved it if it hasn't been washed away.
Got a black-fly problem that is being treated with diluted washing up liquid.

Most things are doing OK except for the beans. They are so slow this year.

[Deleted User]

mardatha wrote: »

Re second hand furniture etc - I can't have it in the house. I need new bought by me. Not because I'm a snob, but (and this will sound mad, but you all think I'm mad already !) -- I pick up "things"... I get vibes, flashbacks, pictures etc from old things. I can walk round an antique shop and be switched off - but I cant stay switched off in my own house 24/7. So I wont have anything unless I can really check it out first.?

Ah me too and that is why I wouldn`t buy any of the lovely old furniture from the pump house in cardiff and all the stuff here in my new house has been ours from new. Furniture, like second hand houses, carry energy from the previous owners and I am very sensitive to that. That is one reason why we have this eco house as everything has been built by people who care about the environment and it was built on a space in an orchard, that had only earth energy

I am also sensitive to electro smog and even have a meter which will give me emf readings and so on. There are no stray fields here and no power lines for miles

So like mardatha, I also hold my hand up to being a bit er `unusual`

smileyt_2

Welcome Froogs and PrincessTazza. FTM hope you enjoy the wedding and the weather stays fine!

I got up early today to go to the carboot sale but never made it because my sister rang. We were on the phone so long it wasn't worth going in the end :rotfl:So I went back to bed as I was feeling a bit low anyway. I had a lovely sleep with the dogs snuggled up to me but now I have to do something to redeem the day. Oh well, at least whilst I'm asleep it's not costing anything I suppose. As coping mechanisms go (I suffer from depression) it's cheaper and healthier than drugs or alcohol but I hate the feeling that I'm sleeping my life away.

Think I may take the dogs for another walk and then go on the allotment. I have some lettuce and beetroot to plant, and I may pull my shallots and garlic (the leaves are starting to go yellow at the tips) to make room for some purple sprouting broccoli. Also I could do with sowing some kale seeds (sorry mardatha!).

Right, off to start the day again! Hope everyone is having a good day, enjoy the rest of it!

taurusgb

EstherH wrote: »

Mrs Veg Plot, I'm the same. I just throw in my slow cooker whatever I have and then the family will say that was really nice, but I don't really know how to make it the same next time.

I used to make bolognaise and chilli with jars in my Pre old style days though and can't manage to make the dishes to suit the families taste for this. I use masses of tomatoes, puree and passatta but they always seem to taste weak somehow. They do taste nice, just not like bolognaise or chilli.

Do you add garlic, celery and carrots to the tomatoes? This adds to the flavour and thhickness of the sauce.

Kimitatsu

kittie wrote: »

Ah me too and that is why I wouldn`t buy any of the lovely old furniture from the pump house in cardiff and all the stuff here in my new house has been ours from new. Furniture, like second hand houses, carry energy from the previous owners and I am very sensitive to that. That is one reason why we have this eco house as everything has been built by people who care about the environment and it was built on a space in an orchard, that had only earth energy

I am also sensitive to electro smog and even have a meter which will give me emf readings and so on. There are no stray fields here and no power lines for miles

So like mardatha, I also hold my hand up to being a bit er `unusual`

Ladies you are not unusual or weird - perfectly normal to me! I buy second hand at auction and only buy the things which "feel" right, thats how I bought my house :rotfl:Strangely I cant live in new houses because for me they dont have a "soul" and houses carry the energy of previous owners. As someone said one of the things I love is that there were families in these houses before with laughter and joy.

Kittie - if you have issues with electro smog you can use peace lillies to soak up the excess, spider plants are also excellent. They aborb the radiation and process it in the plant giving out oxygen instead. I also use chunks of rose quartz next to my tv, computer etc to do the same thing. You can cleanse them under a running tap every month or so and that will also help.

There is an excellent book called grow your own fresh air (you can find bits on YouTube too) which goes through which plants are best for which purposes. Best thing is none of them are fancy or expensive

Like you we dont have any power lines or mobile phone masts although all of the houses I have lived in have been sited on ley lines so go figure!