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

fuddle

Hey decogecko

Can I ask if it is ok to freeze veg. Stupid question I know as you can buy frozen veg but what I mean is if I buy Aldi's veg, chop it up and freeze it would I defrost or cook it from frozen?

The reason I ask is I shop at Aldi but avoid the veg as, although it is very cheap, I do find it goes off very quickly. I need veg all week so buy as and when fresh from the local coop which is costing me an arm and a leg. I would much prefer to buy at aldi and freeze. Is this doable?

edited to add~well done on your weight loss decogecko!

decogecko

Fuddle - you can blanch it, not done it myself as I make soup with the fresh stuff and use frozen veg for daily meals. I've also become a convert to frozen fruit - blueberries, strawberries, blackberries etc much cheaper than the fresh stuff and you can defrost how much you want so no wastage. Also works out cheaper too.

Re: blanching - not 100% sure how you do it, so hopefully a more learned poster will be able to help.

x

VJsmum

GreyQueen wrote: »

their old ladies are in cross-over floral pinnies just like my great-grannies, fruit bushes,

When I first read this, i missed the comma between "grannies" and "fruit bushes" and wondered why your great grannies fruit bushes wore pinnies! :rotfl:

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Butternut squash Chop, no need to peel, add to onions with some garlic and chopped fresh ginger if you have it, and 2 tsp curry powder.

Really? You don't need to peel the squash when it's for soup? Wow, it really is a bu**er to peel so that is amazing. Does that hold for all squash?

fuddle wrote: »

my attempt at carrot and coriander was yak.

I'm a fair cook who makes a lot of soup and my carrot and coriander is - bland. I never seem to be able to do it right and have now given up.

Great to see the thread back. Whilst we are OK at the moment, OH's work is going to be undergoing much change next year and that means (at 53) his job is under threat. To that end we have been investing in order to secure an income even if he isn't working. We drew down most of his pension (exploiting a window of opportunity that for once fell right for us) and bought a house for student lets, this has left us quite cash poor in the short term so we have had to draw in the reins a little. The family think we are loaded now as we own 2 houses, but we have stressed it is pretty much ALL of our pension so it has to work for us, especially as we have 2 children still at school and the younger is only 12!

I would very much like to stop work as it gets me down, even though it is only 3 (or technically 2.5) days per week but it is quite flexible and relatively well paid and with OH's job being a bit dodgy I really have to stay for now.

I was spending around £600 a month on groceries :eek: for the 4 of us, but have now got that down to £400 and am working on it being less (and that is with batch cooking and no ready meals). I think there was a lot of waste, and i was fairly brand loyal. Now I shop differently, I am not brand loyal for most things (heinz ketchup, ecover washing up liquid, alpro soya milk are big exceptions), I buy the deals as they arise and use a pantry, I grow some veggies and am working on some soft fruits for next year. I am also not supermarket loyal and will eat some basics products - whereas previously i wouldn't have even looked. I also lurrve a whoopsie :rotfl:

So things have changed, for us it is being largely proactive preparing for things to get worse and already having coping strategies in place. I know what many who are really struggling are going thro, as i have been there and saw what my mum had to deal with in making ends meet. How that woman produced the meals she did for us is astounding - and we didn't even realise we were poor :T

Rambling post - sorry. We are off to Pizza Express, courtesy of MrT vouchers and the price of 4 cokes! Have a good rest of Sunday all

VJsmum

mardatha wrote: »

Great post re soups Mrs Chip, I find soup a godsend. Great for cheapness and for people who hate cooking !

I also love the excuse of Soup and pudding night. I wouldn't normally "allow" myself pudding but if all i've had is some HM soup and HM bread then i can have it! YUM! Whoever it was on here first suggested it - I doff my cap.

7_week_wonder

Afternoon all,

I definitely agree with Mrs Chips about soup-making, once you get the hang of it it's pretty straightforward. All my soups start "fry off an onion", I then add whatever veg I'm using and fry/sweat the mixture for a couple of minutes then add some herbs/spices, stir around for another minute or so and then add the stock. I have different combinations of herbs and spices depending on what I fancy.

Current favourites are "Morrocan" which is 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinammon and dessertspoon of honey added to the mix; Spiced veg and lentil, which means I add 2 teaspoons of biryiani paste with the veg and a handful of lentils with the stock, and this evening we're having thai sweet potato and coconut: so I'll add 2 teaspoonsful of thai green curry paste with the veg and some dessicated coconut with the stock (I would also use creamed coconut, but the dessicated needs using up).

Mind you fuddle, I'd be interested in hearing of any good cominations from the Covent garden soup book!

Softstuff - is there any chance of your pea falafel recipe?

GreyQueen - your posts are a complete inspiration, especially the gardening bit. I am determined to have a better year of veg growing next year. We've got no excuse as we've got a decent size garden and our hens contribute to some excellent compost but this year what with one thing and another we had a very poor year. Oh well, I feel a new year's resolution coming on.

Well I'm feeling slightly less fraught today: I had a sort through the fridge and was relieved to find only a couple of scrapings of houmous which had escaped my notice and was in danger of making a bid for freedom. Everything else is planned to be used in the next wee while. And at least it has stopped throwing it down here although it is still very windy.

Right enough wittering, on with Sunday lunch.......

Have a good afternoon everyone.

Rowan9

Fuddle - Softstuff has great frugal recipes - if you ask softstuff / someone they will direct you to them - and they are delicious.
Adelight also posted on a thread about healthy frugal meals - sorry if it this thread and sounds a bit obvious - but i think it was another one.
Have you looked at the recipes at the beginning of the grocery challenge?
And someone might be able to post links to the cheap meal threads - there have been quite a few.
Mts Chip - thanks from me too for the soup ideas.
Bit of ironing to do today - just the basics that need done. DH has ironed all the fresh bedding - he does it better than me (who usually puts it on without ironing, although i do love ironed pillow cases).
Dogs been walked in glorious sunshine. Cold wind but lovely to see the sun. Need to start wearing my gloves and re-darn my everyday pair. I sewed the hole with thread but that didn't last long - they are wool and quite thin in one place. Will have a hunt for some wool which is even remotely the same colour. they are lovely and warm apart and i don't want to throw them out.
Another one who is looking forward to cooler nights as I get roasting hot.
Going out to Wetherspoons for lunch today. If anyone is in/near Edinburgh, the Alexander Graham Bell is a lovely one and is in George St, opposite Browns restaurant. Can't remember the last time we had Sunday lunch out so I'm really looking forward to it.
Ok, off to get ironing done then head out with dogs again.

westcoastscot

Soup on here also, pea and ham - lovely! with apple crumble to follow. I'm having to keep an eye on my weight with the meds i'm taking at the mo, so only have proper pudding on soup nights.

Thanks for the reminder about window quilts - really wanted to make some before winter for the bottom half of my bay window - we're single glazed and although we have fabbie curtains up it's chilly sitting there in the day, and it's my fav spot to sit and knit, watching the boats on the loch and the canal. Must get a move on with them

WCS

mardatha

I think this year was a poor growing one because of that Icelandic volcano. I read lots of stuff at the time saying we would have a sunless summer and stuff wouldnt grow- and that this happened every time there was a big eruption. Something about the ash filtering out sunlight. So next year will hopefully be good, unless the bloody thing blows again
Reading the Telegraph today re the increased chance of a euro collapse and its scarey reading. Took the entire Mardy fortune out of the bank this week to stash under the mattress. Since it was only £114, I think we will sleep ok .
My hens are still laying, but they miss an odd day now so they might be winding down for winter. the pen is a sea of mud but they seem quite happy digging away and making mud pies. I give them plenty food and a tsp of cod liver oil every morning with their porridge
Am working up the energy to go through and make soup. Thats you lot to blame ...

ginnyknit

Just been round to our little MrA as Oh is too poorly to go shopping tomorrow so making do but needed spuds - note to self - get a sack of spuds! Noticed only one till open and everyone else was being guided to self serve - is that the future, supermarkets with no till staff and us all DIY'ing it? Do the staff realise they are being slowly but surely phased out?

Roast dinner from components out of the freezer, padded out tater hash tomorrow.

Mardatha it wasnt a poor year for veg it was mind numbingly bad! :eek:
The wind here is getting a bit frisky to say the leastbut we have sunshine so the house feels nice and warm.

mardatha

Shocking
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/286281/Starving-Britain