make do and mend for tougher times

Popperwell

My flour is out of date, should I sling it and buy fresh. I stopped baking when I became alone. It seemed easier just to buy my bread and also save on the cost of using the oven...

prepareathome

I am hopeless at welcoming people - I read posts and if I do not reply straight away I forget who I want to say things to so will now say Hello and welcome to Nellie and Sunshine never said Hello to you and any other newbies - that could be anyone in past 6 months - Hello lovely to have yo aboard, just a shame we need a thread like this in the 21st C

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

elona

I think the flour should still be usable if you add more baking powder or yeast etc.

I treated myself to a Remoska from Lakeland a couple of years ago which has a heating element in the lid and used it for sausages, fried eggs, bacon , chops etc and even made large yorkshire in it and some scones and home made rolls. They do a baby one for one person - a standard one and I have the grande as usually cooking for five, six or seven people.

Going to have a browse on approved foods but not order where dds can see me do it. Probably tomorrow or Monday.

Told DH about the likliehood of bad weather, blight, poor crops and early winter and he looked a bit thoughtful but not spurred into action as yet. I end up talking him into things after enormous effort and then after it proves a good idea he thinks it was his idea in the first place. Usually the things that are hardest to convince him of are the ones that work out the best.

Primark have a mens dept and also have things like fleecy throws etc, fancy candles etc at a good price.

fuddle

I have four hot water bottles too The rice bags were just for us to feel snuggly when we get home from the school run. We've had a bit of a play really but I am impressed with the heat they give.

What do you put in the dehydrator? I'm guessing food. What kind? Is it to preserve? Sorry 50 questions. Shy bairns nar nowt

Angel_Jenny

It is a good job that I am not relying on my vegetables to get me through a war - like a Victory garden. First the birds pecked at almost every seedling, then the slugs chewed on any that did survive and now any "lucky" ones to make it through have spent the last 2 days under a foot of water!!

I don't have much space in the garden but I need to do something about my veg plot. It is about 6 foot square - thinking of making it into a raised bed. Not sure what the best time of year would be!

I was so hoping to have vegetables through the Summer and into Autumn! Nothing is going well in the garden - as this is my first time trying to grow anything I am getting disheartened - even my compost bin seems to have an ant nest in it!!

I am fascinated by the WW2 times - how people managed in England with rationing - as well as the Amish and all their canning skills. On the hunt for some books on the 1940s life.

elona

Forgot to wave Hello to nellie and sunshine
:wave:

They fit in so well it feels they are already one of us.

fuddle

Still waiting for the Richard Mabey foraging book from the library. I've been on the waiting list for a month now. It must be a popular book.

I've now reserved Hannah Hauxwell: The Complete Story. So looking forward to reading it. The DVD is £6.97 on Amazon. It's on my wishlist.

Byatt

PAH, regarding the dehydrator, this one is apparently made by the same company as the Excalibur, and much cheaper. This is a USA link, but I wanted to see the reviews, they are selling on fleabay.

http://www.amazon.com/STX-Dehydra-DEH-004-600-Watt-Dehydrator/dp/B001AB1GNS

born_blonde

http://www2.westfalia.net/shops/household/preserving_food/food_preservation/dehydrating_/193811-food_dehydrator.htm

cheap and cheerful but it works, reduced price mushrooms and even beef jerky,

Hobsons_Choice

Blimey...a new thread and already I'm struggling to catch up. Yer all a lot of gabbers, dont-yer-know.
Hello to Sunshine and Nellie...or Nellie Sunshine...hello anyway.
The cause of all the rain is the Jet Stream positioning itself much further south than it should be. Climate scientists are trying to find out why this has happened (so don't hold your breath).
We had a brief period of sunshine this morning, so I washed all the bedding. Of course you know what happened and it's steaming gently in the spare room now (again). This week I bought a new pair of sandals in the sale and OH bought a new umbrella. That's us set for showers then! I've been looking at the floods in Devon with horror (glad you got through OK Byatt) and remembering when we lived in Bampton mid-Devon. The River rose due to flash floods and the bottom of the village was flooded for the first time in (so the locals told us) living memory. That was about 1999/2000. Awful.
Hope everyone stays dry and safe, well safe anyway...that's all you can ask in this awful summer.