Preparedness for when

wondercollie

Costco is EVIL!!! I've gone in for milk and spent $300 on stuff. So gave up the membership.

I know over here (maybe in the UK as well) you can use Costco giftcards without having membership to shop. I give my best bud $100 and she buys me a card. That way I don't come home with a 60kilo sack of dog kibble and 18 bags of potato chips.

My youngest son is in Athens as I type. He's saved up for the last three years to go there. He's off on a cruise in the morning.

Butterfly_Brain

twiz21 wrote: »

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I have heard that snow is on its way too

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/forecaster-predicts-brutal-uk-winter-weather-for-2011-2012/

Butterfly, this article is dated Sep 4 2011.

Oops
Meant this one
http://www.exactaweather.com/UK_Long_Range_Forecast.html

D&DD

Just found out I can watch A M C channel live but can't keep my eyes open til 2 am for the premiere so will have to hear if its any good from Wondercollie will try and find it online tomorrow at a saner time
I won't give away any spoilers if I find it :cool:

Forgot to say welcome to all our new posters and thanks for the weather sites folks very handy!

2T do you have any problem storing the GF stuff in the heat? It never has that long a date when you buy it over here to start off with..

wondercollie

OK, Walking Dead over. Blood, guts, prisons, gore.

The guys loved it.

nuatha

D&#8517 wrote: »

Nuatha hope your OH is ok haven't spotted any updates only the lovely corset pics *I wonder if they come in padded* :D They are just ubercool my husband would probably approve for prep reasons of course :rotfl:

Thank you for asking, she's a bit more comfortable and is now actually home - she was at her Mum's as it is was a shorter distance for her to travel and easier for someone to be with her 24/7. Still waiting to hear from the other hospital, will be trying to chase that up in a few hours.

Thriftwizard are there any online resources for corsetry? My hands ain't what they used to be but I do have an industrial machine which may be useful..

At the risk of introducing you to a massive time sink, you may find this to be of interest

mardatha wrote: »

Just a general Q re storing and keeping veg. What's your preferred option ?
tinned
dehydrated
frozen
..and why?

Long term storage - Dried. Advantages, compact, no energy costs, long term shelf stable. Disadvantage, needs clean water supply.
Medium term - Frozen. Advantages, preprepared (often part or fully cooked) straight replacement for fresh, high nutritional value. Disadvantages, limited space, ongoing energy costs, needs electricity (or major climate change)
Medium term - Tinned. Advantages, preprepared, minimal energy consumption, no energy costs, portable, clean water not required. Disadvantages, bulk and weight.
Short term, Clamps, strings, paper sacks - traditional storage methods for root crops, aliums, apples etc. Disadvantage, storage life, regular checking. Advantage, tried trusted methods, no energy requirements.

There are exceptions, I hate the texture of frozen carrots, therefore would keep tinned in preference.
A decent dehydrator is on my wants list, currently I use commercially prepared dried veg. Slightly lower down the list is a pressure canner which will give further preservation options. I also do some pickling.

2tonsils

D&#8517 wrote: »

Just found out I can watch A M C channel live but can't keep my eyes open til 2 am for the premiere so will have to hear if its any good from Wondercollie will try and find it online tomorrow at a saner time
I won't give away any spoilers if I find it :cool:

Forgot to say welcome to all our new posters and thanks for the weather sites folks very handy!

2T do you have any problem storing the GF stuff in the heat? It never has that long a date when you buy it over here to start off with..

Thanks for the question...I buy the Dove's farm gluten free flour and bread mix and these have a five month date on them usually. I keep them in the kitchen where its cool and dry. I also store rice flour and maize flour as these have a much longer storage life. The maize flour is dirt cheap here and does not affect me. I don't buy any processed GF foods as they mostly contain soya and I really react to it badly. I make my own biscuits, cakes and bread so I know what is in them. They go straight in the freezer in portions once they have cooled, that way they stay fresh and I don't eat too many. I don't eat huge amounts of them, maybe a couple of slices of the bread each week and about four of the buns. I try to eat healthy all the time, lots of protein, good fats and fruit and veg as I am a bodybuilder and still compete.

mardatha

Ty all who answered re food storage. I'm trying to get away from reliance on the freezer because we tend to get powercuts in bad weather. Once it lasted 5 days and everything was spoiled - but we got compensation from Scottish Power. However that's not a lot of good if the stuff you put back in costs twice as much as the stuff you threw out I'm not sure on a dehydrator and going to think about it more. I have tins but dont want hundreds of them.
Its a very hard frost here this morning and the car is frozen solid, lol winter here we come.

hummingfridge

I'm also thinking about getting a dehydrator as we don't have much freezer space. I am currently drying out a pack of button mushrooms on the kitchen counter as per a suggestion in the 'We'll Eat Again' book.

I'm also currently fascinated by the recipes in 'Domestic Cookery' by Elizabeth Lea (free on Kindle). This is an 18th century American Quaker cookbook, I think. She even includes a recipe to help stop cholera (hot ashes and cider).

nuatha

mardatha wrote: »

Ty all who answered re food storage. I'm trying to get away from reliance on the freezer because we tend to get powercuts in bad weather. Once it lasted 5 days and everything was spoiled - but we got compensation from Scottish Power. However that's not a lot of good if the stuff you put back in costs twice as much as the stuff you threw out I'm not sure on a dehydrator and going to think about it more. I have tins but dont want hundreds of them.
Its a very hard frost here this morning and the car is frozen solid, lol winter here we come.

I started from the what do I use point, it may have helped that I was a backpacker. So started with instant spuds, found a brand I liked (Lidl) and stocked up. I us dry mixed veg in stews and soups, found a bulk supplier - those little boxes are seriously expensive. Dried apples work both as a nibble and for apple sauce, so they were added. Dried onions are very versatile and when I was buying them from a butchery supplier, I noticed they did dried leeks, which make a gorgeous leek broth.
So far not a dehydrator in the house, though I do aim to remedy that.
HTH

Linda32

ginnyknit wrote: »

linda wondered if you are from manchester as we call them entrys too although all the 'back entrys' now are gated here and they call them 'alley gates'. I call them alligators

Hi, No not Manchester, I'm in Leicester These a lot of houses in Leicester which still have open entries where you can walk through. Did you ever see washing hanging in the open ones, you still see that here?

Ours is only gated because our house is one in the middle of three. Thats the only thing that makes it a terraced house. All of the houses on our road are different one way or another.