A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

Byatt

Wow, so many posts to catch up on! Love the birdy chat. I was talking to my American friend last night when she suddenly got all excited and said to me you won't believe this, but hundreds of blackbirds have just landed in my front yard (it's actually a huge garden lol)...I wish you could see them she said!

Winchelsea, wow Ro$$pa looks really good; I've never heard of them before.

GQ glad to see you back. :T

PIC, I never thought you were whining. :A

meme30, yes, he was an extraordinary man. He was known for always over-running in his clinics because he gave so much time to people. His team have been extraordinary too. I am just so sad that the world has lost this man.

Piglet, what do you do with the dehydrated vegetables, and is it a good thing to get? (the dehydrator that is). Well done on the butter haul. I'm like you, I don't like to take all of a bargain, but in this instance I think you should go back and get some more.

Smiley, glad Bruno is ok now. Hope he enjoys his rolling about!

PAH, I got some vit d capsules yesterday; how soon do they work, because I feel the placebo effect might be in play!!

Cleaned the fish tank yesterday which was a job and a half. Bought the biorb filter thingy, which said it was for algae, but not until I opened it did I find out that it is only meant to stay in for 7 days and so I have to buy another normal one. Not impressed. :mad:

I am looking after some bunnies in a week or so; met them yesterday and they are so cute. One is a redhead! :rotfl:

I think I have missed some people, I've done this from memory. Soft, squishy hugs to all.

Gailey, where are you as others have asked and how was the party?? Are you still recovering?

Talking about wolf whistles, when I was younger I would be absolutely mortified and embarrased when I received one; now...:D;)

Must admit on the rare occasions I've been "noticed" I usually think, in my eyes, that I look like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards. No make-up, scruff gear...weird.

katieowl_2

mardatha wrote: »

God owl, I'd give my right arm for a Roman villa!! Only ever had one afternoon at Hadrians Wall and loved it.
I have heard of Eagle Heights, falconry is a small world, but I didnt know it was that far down.

Yes, Lullingstone would have been a right arm sort of place. Stunning location by the river, the Romans used the Darenth to transport grain, up to London. Lush growing conditions, and the mosaics are fantastic. Underfloor heating apart from not having discovered antibiotics, life there must have been very good indeed.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/lullingstone-roman-villa/history-and-research/significance/

Kate

Mrs_Chip

Oh blimey, another place I didn't get to before we moved :rotfl:.

I am a bit of a history lover, Time Team is my fave prog. I would love to go to a dig. I used to dig bottles as a kid, down at our local river (on my on, I used to wander for hours and come home black as your hat! Can you imagine that now?) and at some of the big victorian tips on the way out of London. I was an odd child:rotfl:.

Pitlanepiglet

Byatt wrote: »

Piglet, what do you do with the dehydrated vegetables, and is it a good thing to get? (the dehydrator that is). Well done on the butter haul. I'm like you, I don't like to take all of a bargain, but in this instance I think you should go back and get some more.

Hi Byatt, we put the dehydrated veg in all sorts of things, stew, pasta sauce and usually anything else with a sauce that I can just sling them in!

I've been a bit rubbish with the dehydrator, we dried loads of apples the year before last but didn't do any this year - they were lovely though, we dipped them in lemon and water then sprinkled them with cinnamon and they made a great snack.

Other than that we dry mushrooms and peppers so we've always got something to put in a stew, we live fairly rurally so have to drive to a shop so I try to keep enough food in the house so we don't have to waste time or money driving 5 miles each way to a shop. Also we find we don't fresh veg before it goes off so having it dried means we've always got something usable to hand.

This is the first time I've done leeks but I got some lovely local leeks - about 10 or 12 for £5-50 and they are drying beautifully, I'll sling them in a jar for adding to sauces and soups in the future.

I really like it and it does save us money - I just have to get into the habit of buying veg when its cheap and then drying it.

Mrs_Chip

WooHoo!!!! Well done Wales! What a great game!

katieowl_2

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Hi Byatt, we put the dehydrated veg in all sorts of things, stew, pasta sauce and usually anything else with a sauce that I can just sling them in!

I've been a bit rubbish with the dehydrator, we dried loads of apples the year before last but didn't do any this year - they were lovely though, we dipped them in lemon and water then sprinkled them with cinnamon and they made a great snack.

Other than that we dry mushrooms and peppers so we've always got something to put in a stew, we live fairly rurally so have to drive to a shop so I try to keep enough food in the house so we don't have to waste time or money driving 5 miles each way to a shop. Also we find we don't fresh veg before it goes off so having it dried means we've always got something usable to hand.

This is the first time I've done leeks but I got some lovely local leeks - about 10 or 12 for £5-50 and they are drying beautifully, I'll sling them in a jar for adding to sauces and soups in the future.

I really like it and it does save us money - I just have to get into the habit of buying veg when its cheap and then drying it.

Can I ask you, what dehydrator have you got...I've been contemplating one but there is a big gap in price between a basic one, and the next level. If I was going to go for it, I'd like to buy the right one for us to start with. I want to make some dried fruits and fruit leathers, and do the odd vegetable and seaweed.

Kate

mardatha

Time Team is my fav prog too. And my younger son did the same thing re pottery in the old farmtoun tip...we took him upt Edinburgh museum with it and a nice lady sat for ages telling him how old the bits were

Pitlanepiglet

katieowl wrote: »

Can I ask you, what dehydrator have you got...I've been contemplating one but there is a big gap in price between a basic one, and the next level. If I was going to go for it, I'd like to buy the right one for us to start with. I want to make some dried fruits and fruit leathers, and do the odd vegetable and seaweed.

Kate

I pushed the boat out and went for the 9 tray Excalibur version, I read loads of reviews and felt that it was the only one that got consistently good feedback. There are some cheaper ones around but they get mixed reviews and you have to keep rotating the trays - I KNOW that I don't have that level of patience!

I love my dehydrator, it was pricey but it does what it says on the tin and does it really well.

There is a big "dehydrator" thread on OS somewhere, might be worth a search for it. x

katieowl_2

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

I pushed the boat out and went for the 9 tray Excalibur version, I read loads of reviews and felt that it was the only one that got consistently good feedback. There are some cheaper ones around but they get mixed reviews and you have to keep rotating the trays - I KNOW that I don't have that level of patience!

I love my dehydrator, it was pricey but it does what it says on the tin and does it really well.

There is a big "dehydrator" thread on OS somewhere, might be worth a search for it. x

Yeah I posted on that a while back. I like the squareness of the excalibur...I think round leather would annoy me!

Kate

Byatt

Thanks Piglet, it looks really good. It's now on my wish list! What does the food taste like in a stew for instance?