make do and mend for tougher times

kidcat

Popperwell wrote: »

Perhaps I'll risk using the oven again...an odd time will be ok...I could bake a loaf perhaps when cooking a chicken...do a few things at once.

You could bake a couple of loaves, roast a chicken and even an apple pie/crumble or two too. If you planned carefully you could probably do almost a weeks worth of stuff in one go and just reheat when needed.

Popperwell

I will look into that thermometer next week...

Mrs_Chip

Oooh don't panic Fuddle chuck! Whatever comes our way, we will deal with it! Just look at it as a challenge for us to overcome and grow stronger from! Just think how much better prepared we will all be!!!

And it could all turn out very different, whoever really knows what is to come?

Popperwell

kidcat wrote: »

You could bake a couple of loaves, roast a chicken and even an apple pie/crumble or two too. If you planned carefully you could probably do almost a weeks worth of stuff in one go and just reheat when needed.

What a good idea, I'm quite a good cook but still have much to learn especially about batch cooking, freezing meals etc...

grandma247

born_blonde wrote: »

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,

I have two of these. I bought the second one and put the motor and base away as a spare and put the trays together to make a ten tray dryer. It evens out the temperature a bit. The temperature is set high for jerky and is too high for some delicate things. You get around it by moving the bottom tray to the top every couple of hours so you end up rotating all the trays. I would love an excalibur but these will do for now.

I dry any veg as well as left over veg to add to soups. Even lettuce and the green leaves around cauliflower can be dried. I crumble lettuce into soup.


I bought a pair of fleece lined winter boots from ebay last week for £10.50.Certainly not a fashion statement but very warm and sturdy.

Nellie*in*her*wellies

Thanks for the welcome!


My wellies have been put to full use today.
I may be suffering from a horrid cold but still got DS and I out for a jump in the puddles and a (long-ish) walk to idll for their half price turkey steaks.
These are now frozen ready for a visit from abroad from the in-laws in October, buying a few extra 'special offer' bits every week so having 2 extra adult mouths to feed won't break my already overstretched food budget.

My ickle garden is a slug playground/food market at the mo, will go out under cover of darkness and turn it into a graveyard :undecided


Hoping those who have had heavy rain are safe and dry x

Popperwell

Well, Nellie,
You went to Lidl, I'm waiting for Aldi which is coming on great(that will make a difference to my shopping bill I hope)I hope the visit goes well.

Having a coffee but a few minutes ago was tucking into streaky bacon, runny fried egg, sliced tomato and brown sauce in a muffin...lovely!:p

Still not raining...:)

Evie74_2

Hello and welcome Nellie :wave: and Sunshine (don't think I've said hello properly) :wave: and any other newbies I've forgotten

Thank you for the link to the dehydrator, that is such a good price and I am sorely tempted. How long does the dehydrated food keep for? Sorry if that's a daft question btw. My in-laws give us binbagfuls (literally) of apples and pears from their trees every year and I just don't have enough freezer space to accommodate them all, so I'm thinking a dehydrator would be really useful. I tried to dry some apple rings in the oven last year but it went a bit wrong so I won't be rushing to try it again Ditto fruit leather (a.k.a mouldy fruit slime).

I can't believe it's still b****y raining here. There was a brief interlude this afternoon (all of ten minutes) when I sploshed my way down the garden to see if I had anything left (I do, but it's all very soggy) and then it started up again :mad: I haven't even started the laundry mountain, as I absolutely refuse to put the heating on just to get clothes dry. Especially not in July!

One upside of continual rain is that DH may cancel his fishing plans for tomorrow... the downside of that is that I will have to share the PC with him so won't be around on the OS board as much as I'd like. Can't win 'em all!:rotfl:

Evie xx

Popperwell

This dehydrator, is this something I need to add to my list?:)

adelight

grandma247 wrote: »

I have two of these. I bought the second one and put the motor and base away as a spare and put the trays together to make a ten tray dryer. It evens out the temperature a bit. The temperature is set high for jerky and is too high for some delicate things. You get around it by moving the bottom tray to the top every couple of hours so you end up rotating all the trays. I would love an excalibur but these will do for now.

Do these kick out much heat when they're on? Would you notice it if you were in a small room with one?

fuddle which Richard Mabey book? I had a flick through the newest hardback version of Food For Free in Waterstones today and was disappointed. Some reviews on ebay mentioned a book which had illustrations and photos for each plant, but this seemed more like a photography/coffee table book!