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

jamanda

Kittie - I hung my onions on clothes airers the other year, and the weight of the onions sunk them. They just buckled and died.

I suppose it depends on how many onions you have. Just wanted you to be aware. Now you've made me buy that book, I too will be salting beans.

RAS

kittie wrote: »

The hard part was trying to stop the top beans from floating then I remembered a lakeland sale buy from 2 years ago, bought and put away and unfortunately just one packet. Called preserving plungers and just a circle of open plastic with a spike on top. When you put the lid on then the plastic pushed down on the contents and they stay submerged.

Well what they used to do a generation or 3 ago to solve this problem was:

Take large nice round pebbles (NOT limestone or chalk or flint), wash thoroughly then simmer for a while (I guess 15 minutes). New sterilised food weighter downs. Almost free.

[Deleted User]

RAS, good idea. Thanks

GreyQueen

Just a quick "hi"; have been reading on and off but not posting today.

I have just had a happy hunt in Little Mr T and come away with a few packs of BBQ chicken tikka skewer-y thingies reduced 90% to 35p a pack. Happiness......one pack for tea with h.g spuds and beans off the lottie (will go get them later) and the rest in the freezer against future need.

Was having a wee commiseration at the checkout with one of my fave Mr T employees over the rising food prices and he agreed they're getting steep but reminded me that at least we aren't in Greece.....that sound you hear is me counting my blessings.

Hope everyone has a great start to their weekends.

silvasava

Hi all - not posted much as I've been busy helping DH with the decorating while he's been installing the WOODBURNER!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will help reduce our gas bill - we're lucky enough to have a couple of contacts for firewood (plus what we can 'find') Ive just picked the last knockings of the loganberries. The raspberries were only planted last year (freecycle) & although they havn't produced a lot the berries are HUGE. My Cos lettuce was a dismal failure - half a dozen leaves on each but they never seemed to make any 'heart' don't know what I've done wrong there.
Smileyt - shame you ar'n't near me, we didn't get round to pruning our greengage last year & its loaded this year. I'l put a load in the freezer but I know plenty of people who'll be glad of a bag or two! I bought my cucumber plants this year from a local nursery & they're loaded too - picked a couple already but tomatoes are really slow & so are the green beans.
Hope everyone has a good weekend - fingers crossed for some sunshine

ginnyknit

lizzyb1812, yes I think my Mum needs an feather pillow so am going to look for one for Christmas for her. She doesnt sleep well but at 82 thats probably par for the course!

Been hunting for a bank where we could sort our problems out face to face and found the nicest Bank manager in Manchester - took 2 attempts. After much puzzlement she worked out what had happened, both our initials are 'J' and some idiot didnt check that 2 were his accounts and 2 were mine so she has put the 'E' from my middle name on mine and by Monday will have the accounts back to normal, plus she is personally searching for the idiot who cause all this and adding a formal complaint from us because of the stress incurred. :j

Been to Mr S armed with 6.oo in vouchers and stocked up all the cupboards to arm us for the future.We also got the 10p off petrol -bonus. My bed should be extra comfy with all the toilet rolls stashed under it! Things are creeping up in price though again pennies here and there. Good news is they are building an Asda just round the corner from us so am looking forward to a few bargains there. Our nearest Asda is like an aircraft hanger and is awful.

ceridwen

scottishminnie wrote: »

That was my sole find though - I nearly fainted at some of the price increases since last week
Smart price chocolate digestives - last week were 36p now 50p. Almost a 40% rise and the finest range jam has gone from £1 to £1.38, again almost 40%. They must think we are so stupid we don't notice.I don't think I've every varied my choices so much as I simply won't buy things with that kind of a hike. I'll go without first.

.

One thing that I notice - from a (very short) reading over recent times about foods our ancestors ate is that they must have had to "duck and dive" a bit and adapt the way they ate according to what was available (or, in more recent times, what was priced most reasonably). Thus - apparently oysters were once Poor Persons Food and some peeps had to "kick up" a bit at being given them so often because they were so cheap (whereas - in present day terms - oysters are luxury food). Beef used to be pretty everyday in the lifetimes of many of us (ie that Sunday Roast) but is rather dearer these days. So - we too have to "duck and dive" a bit and be willing to adapt the range of foods we eat.

Having said that - its been a mixed day foodwise - as I've bought some agar for the first time (ie to try out some recipes that specify that) and its RATHER dear - as in :eek: level - and that was operating on my "I have to try everything within my 'range' of food at least once - so I know what its like" thingie I operate on.

On the moneysaving side - I got a couple of beetroot + leaves free from a "'guerilla gardened" site:). Dont think peeps have yet realised that the stuff is being deliberately planted for them to take what they need as food yet - as some of the things there are starting to go to seed. It will doubtless take a while for people to realise whats happening on this and I and fellow guerilla gardeners locally are really just experimenting a bit at present to "see how the land lies" - so nothing has got a "Eat me if you want to" label on it yet:rotfl:

We DO have a good "window of opportunity" now - as, if my area is anything to go by, the level of "maintenance" of Council-owned property has been cut A LOT and there are now often opportunities to scatter round any spare vegetable seeds one has in stray bits of Council-owned land and they will come to fruition and be able to be gathered as food by those that recognise what those strange "weeds" growing have turned out to be...

ceridwen

RAS wrote: »

Well what they used to do a generation or 3 ago to solve this problem was:

Take large nice round pebbles (NOT limestone or chalk or flint), wash thoroughly then simmer for a while (I guess 15 minutes). New sterilised food weighter downs. Almost free.

Hmmmm....noted thanks...:D

Now - for those of us (errr...like me for instance:o) who are still "learning our way around the Old Ways"......errr...:

1. How to tell please what a particular pebble is made of:o (I am assuming that some grey ones I have arent any of the above....??)

2. Errr...why shouldnt one use limestone, chalk or flint ones purlease?

HariboJunkie

SilvaSava good luck with the woodburner. Let us know how you get on. x
Kittie, well done on all that preserving.
Well done on the whoopsies Grey Queen.

Spent yesterday evening sending out more invoices in the hope that they will actually get paid. Outstanding payments are dribbling in very slowly but today we had a lovely visit from a client who was so pleased with OH's work that he brought us a hamper including 1 whole side of smoked salmon, 1 side of hot smoked salmon, 6 packs of peppered hot smoked, 6 packs of cold smoked wild salmon, 3 pots of mackerel pate, 6 pots of salmon pate, 4 rounds of arran cheese, and 8 kippers. :j It's well over £150 of food (and a fab basket) and I was so delighted and touched. Alot of it is in the freezer for Christmas but we ate well tonight. :rotfl:

OH and I have just finished a back breaking day in the garden clearing huge swathes of ivy and bracken from the area around the decking. The whole place looks much bigger and better so I'm off to have a glass of wine at my wee table and enjoy the view.

ifonlyitwaseasier

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmmm....noted thanks...:D

Now - for those of us (errr...like me for instance:o) who are still "learning our way around the Old Ways"......errr...:

1. How to tell please what a particular pebble is made of:o (I am assuming that some grey ones I have arent any of the above....??)

2. Errr...why shouldnt one use limestone, chalk or flint ones purlease?

i think as limestone reacts to vinegars in a fizzy nasty way it's probably that