make do and mend for tougher times

Mrs_Chip

Sorry you are feeling so carp Mar, make sure you take the opportunity to beef up your sweetie supplies, and ignore the RV - my RV in training (not much needed) is the most grumpy driver and moans constantly. Have you tried earplugs?

D&DD

sorry to hear you've been poorly Mar we all miss you when you're not around look after yourself hun XX

Still struggling with my internet going to try restarting the modem in a bit is it only me struggling with connecting to MSE? Its weird as all other sites are fine..I'm really not of the techie persuasion can you tell

GreyQueen

mardatha wrote: »

I can't keep up ! If the hedgehog was snuffling round in daytime but didnt look ill, then he was hungry and trying to load himself up for hibernation.
Been docs yesterday for blood tests, going to hosp today for chest xray then back on Tues for ECG. It's about 23 miles each way and a nightmare to park and I feel the RV getting rattier just thinking about it. I'm just too tired to cope. What I'll do is stop at Tesco/Boots and get a bottle of iron tonic now I've had the bloods done- see if that will liven me up.
Will see you all when I get back and settle down for some serious yakking

:( Sorry that you're so shattered, Mar, and really hope you get some results and it's fixable without too much trouble. We really miss you when you're gone, y'know?

Well, having a weird week getting up at 6 am to take an antibiotic so that I can have my regular meds at the regular time (reg meds inc things which the anti-bs label says shouldn't be taken within 2 hours of it). Flopping back into bed between times to rest and snooze which is almost unheard-of. Ne'er mind, it's a Friday and I'll be able to catch up on myself a wee bit. Roll on the weekend, yayyyy!!!!!!!!!!

Possession

D&DD restarting the modem does work a lot of the time, although it shouldn't only be affecting MSE. No problems here.
Mar hope you feel better soon. Sweeties will do the trick. Do they make iron sweeties?
We have dog food now so I've put some out, no sign of Mr Hog at the mo. I'm not going to attract unwanted wildlife with this food out am I? Having owned a house where a fox did a poo in the front garden every single night it's not an experience I care to revisit.

D&DD

Thanks possession will try that then
I need to go get sewing anyway to try and use up DS3's clothes mountain *long story see the hoarders thread lol*

Have a wonderful day all will be back later in whatever capacity I can rig up to read all your news

XXX

fuddle

Aw Mar, I too have missed you. I knew you were ok because I saw you thanking but sorry to read you're not really ok

I have put 1lb back on this week. Talk about roller coaster!

The girls are off to school on a full tummy of porridge. I like it when they eat porridge, makes me feel all 'good mammy'.

I'm looking for some preserving help if you can. Without that 2nd freezer for the foreseeable, I'm really going to struggle managing my budget. I have spent £1.64 in the Coop this morning on brocolli and 3 carrots. I can get that at the butchers for less. A bag of carrots is £1 for example. I'm not going to have room to store veg in my kitchen freezer so was looking for an alternative.

A dehydrator is out of the question at this moment in time and I wondered if there was a way I could preserve vegetables in jars just as they were, without cooking into chutney or food stuffs. Basically I would like to open a jar of brocolli that's still fresh a week or two later and cook it up in a pasta bake. Is it possible? I have a feeling I want my cake and eat it too :cool:

Possession

I'm no expert F, but I don't think that's possible. Someone prove me wrong please! Perhaps just for a short time, use veg which has a better fridge life, ie carrots keep a long time in the fridge, as does white cabbage etc. And tins of sweetcorn. It might not be ideal, but doable in the short term.

D&DD

Fuddle without a pressure canner its a bit dodgy to be bottling veg sadly..Kittie does brine with some veg so she may be able to help and Grandma has a vast knowledge of preserving
I have carrots in the fridge for a month sometimes longer,they'll be fine to keep so just buy a big bag,brocolli tends to go over a bit faster tho so maybe only get that on the day/day before you need it.

fuddle

I know P, if it were that easy we would all be doing it already wouldn't we Thanks for the fridge tip. I'm definitely going to be making more use of the fridge. I'm saving 3p per hour by having the second freezer switched off. that will amount up so maybe the extra costs of paying Coop's prices will be off set with electricity savings.

Thanks D&DD

I think I'm going to have to read the dehydrating thread. I will only be able to think about the cheapest version though and that's why I'm put off because I know the expensive ones are much better. I don't stand a chance though.

Edit: If I were to use the oven to dehydrate how would I go about it? What temperatures and how long? Any help would be great. Also how do you store your dehydrated food stuffs and what is it's shelf life? Can you take a handful out and then pop the lid back on?

So sorry for the basic questions

Mrs_Chip

Fuddle

Cauliflower lasts much longer in the fridge than broccoli imho and can be used for lots of things. Most underrated veg! I have kept half in the salad drawer for three weeks. Ditto leeks. Just keep everything dry.

Carrots will keep if you can find somewhere cool, dry and dark- in a paper sack in the garage?. Parsnips, potatoes onions and swede the same.

Frozen peas don't take up much space and are as good ad fresh vitamin-wise.

Take this as a chance to learn new skills and expand your diet into new areas. It might mean trying to get the family to eat different things, but that is a good thing, to be truly OS we have to be willing to eat anything we can get our hands on! I draw the line at tripe!