Not mentioning the T word at all

Ladyhawk

smileyt wrote: »

That's hilarious! Just be thankful it wasn't a pair of frilly knickers dangling from your ankle! :rotfl:

That happened to me at university... in the middle of a very busy hallway and a pair of particularly well used knickers. I was so humiliated!:o

Hobsons_Choice

maryb wrote: »

British Heart Foundation seem to have furniture shops in a lot of towns separate from the ordinary charity shop selling clothes and books etc and they sell electrical goods very cheaply - I have seen breadmakers and slowcookers in ours as well as food processors. They've all been checked before sale so you're not taking a risk. I remember Memory Girl saying she had bought furniture in hers - she's not far from St Andrews, so they must have the furniture stores in Scotland as well as South of the Border

I'd got my eye on a slow cooker in our local BHF shop. Looked nice and clean etc....and I intended to go back to the shop in a couple of days when I didn't have so much to carry.
What happened......shop burned down!:eek:
The hunt is on again.

JIL

Asda have really cheap slow cookers and I have this one and it is really good. £9 although it was £6 last year.

http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/search/searchcontainer.jsp?trailSize=1&searchString=slow+cooker&domainName=Products&headerVersion=v1&_requestid=191461

It may be worth registering for Asda home delivery waiting a few days and they then send you an email with £10 off a shop, then adding this into a shop?

xx_Jo_xx

JIL wrote: »

Asda have really cheap slow cookers and I have this one and it is really good. £9 although it was £6 last year.

http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/search/searchcontainer.jsp?trailSize=1&searchString=slow+cooker&domainName=Products&headerVersion=v1&_requestid=191461

It may be worth registering for Asda home delivery waiting a few days and they then send you an email with £10 off a shop, then adding this into a shop?

:rotfl: :T:T I was just about to post the exact same link...

For anyone thinking about getting a slow cooker - get one! I wasnt sure and bought a smart price asda one, which was tiny, only 1ltr i think - but just to see how Id get on with it, as I am not well known for my success in the kitchen.

I loved it - and it seems to love me too - alas it wasnt really big enough so I ended up getting a 4.5l one which can fit a whole chicken in etc and I love it......did I say that already :D

This 3.5ltr one is a bargain i think....might get one for my sis for xmas x

Edinburghlass_2

Talking about slow cookers, I caught up with this weeks Celebrity Masterchef today and during one episode they cooked pork belly which looked delicious so I've bought some with the intention of putting in the slow cooker but any idea what I should put with it? should I sear first?

scottishminnie

Jo - I got my first breadmaker about 2 weeks ago now and it's been merrily baking away every few days (in fact there is a 70% wholemeal loaf due out in exactly 27 minutes!).

Like most other posters I bought it so I knew what was going into the bread rather than from a cost perspective but I do agree that it's cheaper.

I've also made jam. It came out runny but 10 minutes in the microwave turned it into proper jam.
That's a bonus for me as I won't make jam the "proper" way. One of my childhood friends was very badly burned when she tipped over a jam pot her mother had on the stove. She spent months in hospital and even now is scarred on her face and neck.
It may have been about 35 years ago but to this day the thought of boiling jam terrifies me.

On the subject of slow cookers, I was given 3 as wedding presents. I kept one and gave the others to my 2 grandmothers who used them frequently. Mine, in the other hand, went to a charity shop within the first 6 months. I was convinced the house would burn down if I left it on:)

I do need to buy a decent breadknife though - my slices are like doorstops!

maryb

I think I'm in a minority of one here but I hate slow cookers. For some reason the meat always smells and tastes rank. Doesn't matter if I pre brown everything or just the meat, never works.

Whereas I absolutely swear by my pressure cooker. Tender meat in 20 minutes

JIL

Edinburghlass wrote: »

Talking about slow cookers, I caught up with this weeks Celebrity Masterchef today and during one episode they cooked pork belly which looked delicious so I've bought some with the intention of putting in the slow cooker but any idea what I should put with it? should I sear first?

i have just looked at a recipe and as hubby is watching the football and i have time on my hands I really do not mind posting it for you.

Slow braised belly pork with ratatouille.
1 tablespoon oil
1 chopped onion
1 red pepper cut into chunks
1 yellow pepper in chunks
12oz courgettes
2 garlic cloves chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1/4 pint red wine or chicken stock
1 tablespoon corn flour
2-3 stems rosemary leaves removed.
1 3/4 lb /900g piece of belly pork rind and string removed.
mashed pots to serve (but i think pots could be put in sauce)

preheat slow cooker if manufacturer advises
heat oil in frying pan and add onion and fry for 5 mins until starting to turn golden.
add peppers, courgettes and garlic, fry for 2 mins.
mix in toms, stock or wine. mix cornflour to a paste with a little water. add to pan with rosemary leaves. Add seasoning. bring to boil stirring.
tip half the mixture into the slow cooker pot, add the unrolled belly pork and cover with the rest of the mixture. cook on high for 7 to 9 hours until pork is almost falling apart.
cut pork into four pieces and serve with the tom sauce and pots.
it also says if you like your sauce thick put it in a saucepan and boil it down for 5 mins.

Kaz2904

Hello. Does anyone mind if I pull up a seat by the fire ? I don't snore (much)!
Jo, I believe you said you were going to put your freezer out in the garage? Our neighbours put theirs in their shed last year and then found that they had to put a little heater out there to keep the temperature above freezing or the freezer switched off and defrosted (not sure how it could actually do that as the outside temp was below 0? But still! We in the sunny warm south west of England had temps of -10 for 2 weeks. I dread to think what it's going to be like elsewhere this winter. Hence the reason I think I'll like this chitchat thread.
I had a lovely piece of news earllier, my Sister is visiting next week and she has persuaded my Dad to let me have his kenwood chef as I bought one which broke on it's second use. I was so gutted and now I'm getting a new one (new to me- about 30 years old!).

xx_Jo_xx

scottishminnie wrote: »

On the subject of slow cookers, I was given 3 as wedding presents. I kept one and gave the others to my 2 grandmothers who used them frequently. Mine, in the other hand, went to a charity shop within the first 6 months. I was convinced the house would burn down if I left it on:)

:eek: - your poor friend... I dont think Ill ever make jam on the stove! But yes, Im also loving the fact the breadmaker can be used for all sorts! Ive been having a nosey online but they all seem to have very mixed reviews unless you pay over £100, which I suppose should be seen as an investment really, but then what if I spend all that money and realise its not for me!! Im definitely getting mine from a CS or freecycle, at least then if I decide its not for me, I havent lost a great deal!

:rotfl: - :rotfl:I used to be like that when I first got mine... I would only ever use it at the weekend when I was home all day and look at it every 5 minutes!

Gradually I would take the dog for a 5 minute sprint around the block, and would rush back to find it was fine! So the dog would get a longer 10 minute walk - and it was still fine... and so on and so forth.

Now I think nothing at all of whacking it on in the morning and coming home at 6 to a yummy dinner.

maryb wrote: »

I think I'm in a minority of one here but I hate slow cookers. For some reason the meat always smells and tastes rank. Doesn't matter if I pre brown everything or just the meat, never works.

Whereas I absolutely swear by my pressure cooker. Tender meat in 20 minutes

Aw, thats a real shame.... I dont know why that would happen maryb... I couldnt cook at all when I first got mine - everyone was surprised my meals actually tasted really good! :rotfl: Im a bit scared of pressure cookers though. I remember my mum having one when I was little and letting the pressure out :eek: Nothing horrible happened, but still it used to scare me silly...

Kaz2904 wrote: »

Hello. Does anyone mind if I pull up a seat by the fire ? I don't snore (much)!
Jo, I believe you said you were going to put your freezer out in the garage? Our neighbours put theirs in their shed last year and then found that they had to put a little heater out there to keep the temperature above freezing or the freezer switched off and defrosted (not sure how it could actually do that as the outside temp was below 0? But still! We in the sunny warm south west of England had temps of -10 for 2 weeks. I dread to think what it's going to be like elsewhere this winter. Hence the reason I think I'll like this chitchat thread.
I had a lovely piece of news earllier, my Sister is visiting next week and she has persuaded my Dad to let me have his kenwood chef as I bought one which broke on it's second use. I was so gutted and now I'm getting a new one (new to me- about 30 years old!).

Hey Kaz welcome, Ive just thrown another log in, so its nice and toasty.

I currently have two freezers which are both in my garage here outside (in south wales) along with my TD. In the winter, its been down to -18 I think here... according to my car anyway, so may not be correct...but certainly has been at least -10.

When I say garage - this isnt attached to the house. Its a brick hut at the end of my garden with a tin roof. Its structurally sound, but not wind/watertight... My freezers were fine, although one of them froze shut around the seal - I think there was condensation from having had the TD on, and freezer froze shut!

At the new house though, the garage is part of the house (if that makes sense.... ie you can walk out of your hallway and into the garage) and it has plastered walls and a real roof... Im so exicited! So therefore I am hoping it will be much better insulated just like the rest of the house.

I was thinking about using the cardboard idea someone mentioned (sorry, I dont remember the name ). I will have tonnes of empty boxes and was thinking i may put some under and around the freezers and supplies, just to be on the safe side... but not sure if this is OTT and really not required. I will have a look at what its like when I get there