Preparing for winter III

Rainy-Days

Came across a really nice parsnip winter soup recipe yesterday;

Put in a saucepan two ounces of butter and add to that a large chopped onion, three cloves of garlic (chopped) and a good grating of ginger about a heaped teaspoon, sautee it all off and then add a heaped teaspoon of curry powder.

In the meantime chop up 6 (about 1lb in weight or thereaabouts) parsnips and put that in a large pan. Chop a bramley apple up and put that in and then add to that 1.5 pints of vegetable stock. Add to that the onion mix, give a really good stir and allow all this to simmer together for about an hour, put in salt and pepper. It must stay simmering and not allow it to boil. Do not put a lid on the soup!

When it is soft and tender blend it all together for a hearty winter soup.. This also freezes very well indeed!

Confuzzled

btw thought i'd give you an update on the fruit leathers i had in the dehydrator the other day

i'd thrown in some rose petals that we'd picked a few days before (those were left in a bag with some brambles and they made the brambles taste beautifully of rose, def should try that sometime, it's gorgeous) so my concoction this time was apples from the gnarled ancient tree, ugly but edible, rose petals, spotty bananas and plums from a catering tin as well as some cinnamon and nutmeg.

heavenly, it's all every one i had try it could say, just heavenly

the rose mixed with the spices and the slight hint of creaminess that the bananas give the leathers... just divine

i'm hoping i can still find a few handfuls of rose petals left, most are hips now that aren't quite ready (can't wait to try rosehip leathers!) but we'll gather what we can when we go out again tomorrow to see if the majority of the brambles are ready yet and give the apple tree a good shake to see if we can give it to share some more of it's ugly babies with us :rotfl:


it's been too warm here at nights due to the humidity so the rest of my winter preps that need doing are on hold til then, so i'm just a dehydrating fool for the moment

Jacksmummy-1979

So far I've....

Stocked up on medicines, cold tablets, calpol, plasters etc
Bought 8 hot water bottles (bargain at 50p in asd@ a few weeks ago
Bought 2 thick blankets for the dog bed (from the charity shop for £1)
Bought a waterproof coat for the dog
Bought Wellies for dh & DS
Bought thick pyjamas for ds
Washed dressing gowns & fleece coats
Made a start on winter box for the car, just got to add a few bits to it
Stocked up on tea bags, coffee & a few tinned items
Washed ds's winter coat
Sorted throw overs / fleeces to drape over sofa and chairs


Still to get/do
Change bedroom curtains
Line upstairs curtains with fleece blankets
Buy net curtain for patio doors
Air winter quilts
Wash winter coats
Buy Wellies and new dressing gown for myself
Stock up on chicken food & dog food
Finish winter box for car
Sort torches out
Buy extra gas for camping stove
Wash throwovers / blanket for the living room
Stock up on toilet rolls, batteries and toiletries
Buy salt for our driveway, it was lethal last year.
Buy a cover for outside tap
Re-felt dh's ferret cage
Sort garden out


Still got quiet a few things to do, plan to have it all done by the end of the month so I can concentrate on finishing off Christmas.

Confuzzled

Jacksmummy-1979 wrote: »

So far I've....

Stocked up on medicines, cold tablets, calpol, plasters etc
Bought 8 hot water bottles (bargain at 50p in asd@ a few weeks ago

a woman after my own heart! i recently bought 6 of the mini hotwater bottles with sweet little stripey knitted covers from hawkins bazzaar. I also got some great little credit card sized lights, you squeeze them then they give off super light for 40p each so i got 10!


i actually have hot water bottle envy now lol wish i could have found them for 50p but even at 2 quid each i figured the 6 i bought cost about the same as 2 new full sized ones with new covers + postage off ebay and i have found the mini ones are a good size anyway so i've got spares for if these die on me.

i've given up on the rice socks as my socks keep smoking then catching on fire :eek::rotfl: (just little ones nothing dramatic) so i'm in hotwater bottle heaven now and it looks like you will be too

SIRENS

Hi All
Have been thinking about my winter prep(on this scoarching hot day)!
Checked the kids clothes and think they are all set bar a pair of boots for dd, found 2 coats i bought her last winter so she should be good! They have pj's but wanted to get some warm ones just in case, last year we got some fleece ones but am just wondering which s warmer fleece or flannel?

We are in london so was not that cold here last winter but that could be a bad omen for his year?!

Confuzzled

SIRENS wrote: »

They have pj's but wanted to get some warm ones just in case, last year we got some fleece ones but am just wondering which s warmer fleece or flannel?

i just asked my daughter she said she finds fleece much warmer. if your wee ones sweat a lot at night though flannel may be better as it breathes better than fleece

pigpen

Fleece is warmer.. flannel ones are not that much different to ordinary cotton ones they just feel warmer when you first put them on. My 8 y/o still insists on the all in one fleece ones and she wore them all through summer too! I just got all my girls fleece onesies for christmas!

SIRENS

Thanks so much will go with fleece again, dd had an all in one last year which should still fit her so with just get her and ds some pj's.

Becky_2

All winter jackets and fleece blankets washed and dried this weekend. Next task is to buy rugs/mats for living room and kitchen, particullarly the kitchen always feels cold in the winter.

Well done to you all for your winter preparations.

MarilynMonroe_2

My daughter has had some nice brushed cotton pyjamas over the years from BM stores, they do Little miss ones, peppa Pig etc for £3.99.