Grocery Challenge - February 2012

bunbun2

I am after a bit of advice from all you lovely experienced people. I have been clearing out my cupboards and boy have I found some ood things:eek:
would you use or bin the following:

quinoa dec 11 open
dried yellow split peas feb 11 open
butter beans jan 08 unopen
pearl barley jan 11 open
almonds oct 08 unopen
pudding rice june 07 open
popping corn june 08 open
walnut halves aug 09 open
borlotti beans jan 09 open
almonds flaked sept 08 open
dried apricots nov 11 open
black turtle beans dec 08 open

I don't want to bin them if I don't have to but also don't want to end up with food poisoning!

Suffolk_lass

bodmin789 wrote: »

Thanks for this Suffolk lass, been looking online and think I have found the one I want - Would absolutely love a Kitchenaid, but out of my price range!! but have found a Kenwood for under half price at £56.00, haven't quite ordered it yet, might just have another quick look to make sure it's the one I really want! Not that I'm indecisive or anything!!:D

Mine is the equivalent of the Kenwood compact (it fits comfortably in a 600mm kitchen cupboard whereas some of the others take up too much space for me). I just checked on Amazing and it is £33.99 with free delivery but there is no mention of the shredder disks.

SL

Suffolk_lass

bunbun2 wrote: »

I am after a bit of advice from all you lovely experienced people. I have been clearing out my cupboards and boy have I found some ood things:eek:
would you use or bin the following:

quinoa dec 11 open
dried yellow split peas feb 11 open
butter beans jan 08 unopen
pearl barley jan 11 open
almonds oct 08 unopen
pudding rice june 07 open
popping corn june 08 open
walnut halves aug 09 open
borlotti beans jan 09 open
almonds flaked sept 08 open
dried apricots nov 11 open
black turtle beans dec 08 open

I don't want to bin them if I don't have to but also don't want to end up with food poisoning!

None of it will poison you.

All the dried stuff will be OK as long as no gribblies have got in the opened packets (tip onto a blank sheet of white paper and you will soon see!)

The nuts might taste stale but you could try putting them in the oven on a baking sheet after you've cooked something else (while it cools down) to freshen them a bit. TBH if you haven't got an immediate use in mind I would be inclined to chuck these as the walnuts can go bitter and the almonds chewy but others may disagree. It comes down to why they are there - because you forgot them and opened and used others or because you haven't used any since you opened them.

The apricots will be fine - I might put them in water or a little fruit jjuice to plump and refresh them before using them. Chopped and added to cereal is good!

russetred

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

skilly - they will be fine - my only experience of dried food not being usable was mice. :eek:

Very childish of me :rotfl:but that just made my day!

rising_from_the_ashes

Rant alert .... :mad:

OMG I have just had the most incredibly frustrating couple of hours .....

Went to Mr T armed with voucher - had my 3 chickens for £10 and 3 mince blocks for £10 in the trolley and a couple of other bits and ......

• non Diet C*oke [STRIKE]addicts[/STRIKE] drinkers will think I'm bonkers but other [STRIKE]sufferers[/STRIKE] fans should understand - there was NO DC in the store :eek::eek::eek:

How on earth can they run out? Got a manager who said there was some in the "garage" but when I asked if it could be brought over I was told "no - we're not allowed to do that" .... why? Was told to come back later this afternoon when it would be on the shelves ..... :mad: to which I replied were they going to repay my fuel & time costs ....

Put a couple of other bits in the trolley (she was away getting me a "feedback form") but decided I'd have to go to Mr A anyway - so stomped to the CS desk, left my trolley and left after saying that if I was going to have to go to Mr A, I might as well get all my shopping there.

• I will add that I ran out of DC yesterday afternoon and am obviously suffering from withdrawal ....

So ... on to Mr A - not the best use of fuel but cheaper than getting the DC at the local co*op (£2.29 / bottle, I'm not paying that!)

And ... it's a nice drive across country.

So I get there and get a few bits (incl 3 packs of 2 x 450g mince for £10 which is better than the offer at Mr T)but discover there's no beeping cat litter :mad: and got the same story that it'll be in tomorrow - OMG what is it about sm.....

Rant over

So ... now home and into one of the bottles of DC working my way through a choc muffin:o (4 for £1 so just had to have some!) - Cassandra Crossing has just started on TV so will sit down and watch that.

*sigh* at least I can now have Lasagne for dinner (which I've fancied since I got up) and also have 5 packs for the freezer:)

Spend for the month is £138.27 (I will be hanging around until the 29th too!)

mummyyof5

OMG..I understand your pain rising from the ashes although in my case its P**SI M*x and I hate paying more than £1 a bottle....I dont drink alcohol or any hot drinks though so thats my down fall. Thankfully MrAs had it on at £1 a bottle so 5 bottles being delivered tomorrow...its £1.78 a bottle in MrTs at the moment:eek:

NSD day for me today x
Have to go to town for DS2s prescription tomorrow but dont think I need anything ,only problem is OH gets home tonight so bet he will need to go shopping..what is it with men???

bunbun2

thank you for your reply suffolk lass.

the beans were bought when we were going through a let's eat beans/pulses phase

the walnuts and almonds were bought for a recipe

the apricots were bought for ds to use at school

they were all then shoved in a corner of the cupboard and forgotten. OH does the cooking so I will remind him they are there.

it is only since discovering tis thread that I am finally getting organised and sorting out my cupboards

Florenceem

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Rant alert .... :mad:

OMG I have just had the most incredibly frustrating couple of hours .....

Went to Mr T armed with voucher - had my 3 chickens for £10 and 3 mince blocks for £10 in the trolley and a couple of other bits and ......

• non Diet C*oke [STRIKE]addicts[/STRIKE] drinkers will think I'm bonkers but other [STRIKE]sufferers[/STRIKE] fans should understand - there was NO DC in the store :eek::eek::eek:

How on earth can they run out? Got a manager who said there was some in the "garage" but when I asked if it could be brought over I was told "no - we're not allowed to do that" .... why? Was told to come back later this afternoon when it would be on the shelves ..... :mad: to which I replied were they going to repay my fuel & time costs ....

Put a couple of other bits in the trolley (she was away getting me a "feedback form") but decided I'd have to go to Mr A anyway - so stomped to the CS desk, left my trolley and left after saying that if I was going to have to go to Mr A, I might as well get all my shopping there.

• I will add that I ran out of DC yesterday afternoon and am obviously suffering from withdrawal ....

So ... on to Mr A - not the best use of fuel but cheaper than getting the DC at the local co*op (£2.29 / bottle, I'm not paying that!)

And ... it's a nice drive across country.

So I get there and get a few bits (incl 3 packs of 2 x 450g mince for £10 which is better than the offer at Mr T)but discover there's no beeping cat litter :mad: and got the same story that it'll be in tomorrow - OMG what is it about sm.....

Rant over

So ... now home and into one of the bottles of DC working my way through a choc muffin:o (4 for £1 so just had to have some!) - Cassandra Crossing has just started on TV so will sit down and watch that.

*sigh* at least I can now have Lasagne for dinner (which I've fancied since I got up) and also have 5 packs for the freezer:)

Spend for the month is £138.27 (I will be hanging around until the 29th too!)

I am like that with tea! I drink it with no sugar so it is not that I am needing. I have skimmed milk in my tea but so little - you can't really see I have any. When I am somewhere that doesn't have skimmed - like this morning at Church - just drink it black. Pe... Co.. etc are just too sweet for me - in fact I very rarely have a fizzy drink.

Linz4383

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

Sorry this is so late but I have only just got back online.

Peanut Butter Cookies.

Preheat oven to 180degC. Put parchment on a baking tray. Mix together 6oz of caster sugar and 7oz peanut butter (I buy SM value range.) Add an egg and a tsp bicarb soda. Roll balls of mixture in the palm of your hand and flatten. Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins.

Gingerbread Biscuits.

Preheat oven to 190degC and put parchment on a baking tray. Sift 350g GF plain flour (I use Doves) into a bowl. Add 2tsp ginger and a tsp of bicarb. Put in 100g butter (for DF use something like Pure) and rub it in till it looks like breadcrumbs. Add 100g of dark brown sugar and 75g of caster sugar, 1 egg and 4tbsp honey. Mix it to a soft dough. If it is to wet then add some more flour, if to dry add a few drops of water. Knead dough on a floured surface, until smooth. Roll into balls in the palm of your hand and flatten. Bake for 10-15 mins until lightly brown.

Plain Biscuits.

Mix together 150g of GF flour, 100g ground almonds, 1 1/2 tsp GF baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarb. In another bowl cream together 85g butter (for DF use something like Pure) and 200g caster sugar. Add an egg and 1tsp vanilla extract.. Gently add the flour to the other mixture untill you have a stiff dough, add more flour if needs be. Divide in two and wrap in clingfilm and chill for two hours.

Preheat oven to 190 degC. Roll out dough on a floured surcae and cut out shapes using cutters and place on an ungreased baking tray. Leave plenty of space between them. If dough gets to soft bung in the freezer to firm up for a while. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden.

I think these were from the Gluten Free Cookbook for kids. I do the PB cookies a lot for school things.

thanks tigerfeet! well ave a look what weve got and try these

LisaJane

lost track and know i have gone way over, so giving up and starting again in march. gonna have to go for 80 for the month although to me this is far too much for 1 person but at least with this i can aim to be within budget. has anyone else noticed a huge rise in the price of food in the last lot of months? i paid 95p for a packet of pasta that i am sure used to only cost 59p!