Preparedness for when

Confuzzled

craigywv wrote: »

meant to say i think they calling the kettle a stove top kettle xxx

that's the only kind of tea kettle i'd ever seen when i lived in the states, the electric kettle was an interesting gadget when i first came to scotland so many years ago

mind you the time to heat up the water may play a small part in why tea isn't as popular in the states

actually, the americans do have ONE energy efficient tea making thing that was very very popular in the 80's and i dare say is probably still quite popular in the south at least, sun tea. you take a clear gallon jar, fill it with water nearly to the top, place i think 8 tea bags in it with the tags hanging over the lid then carefully place the lid back on. you leave it in a sunny spot for at least 8 hours. mind you that's for iced tea, i was never a fan of iced tea

as for the stovetop kettles, if you're using it on a hob, i'm not convinced they are money savers overall, at least not for an electric hob. i only ever fill my electric kettle with what i need heated and it does it in a few minutes, on the hob it takes an age and that uses a lot more power than the electric kettle. however, if i had a multi fuel stove i'd happily get a stove top kettle as well as some fire resistant crocks and do my tea and soup slowly over the top of the stove, why not have free hot water and free cooking if you can get it!

mardatha

If you look at really old cottages, you see they always have provision for a kettle at the fire. Some of them also had a wee alcove built into the side of the chimney where you sat the pot to cook the dinner. And where you kept the salt and sugar
My son once rented a lovely wee lodge house built in 1881. It had the most fantastic fireplace - had an oven to one side, a bit for sitting the kettle on, and a bottom space for drying logs out. (or wet shoes!) So it heated the water/made the tea/cooked the dinner/dried logs all for the same coal. It also felt so friendly and happy as soon as you walked in the door. But it also had foxes raking in the bin and spiders the size of dinnerplates :eek:

mardatha

I'm another one who hates nuclear and would love to see coal coming back.

BigMummaF

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I have just put the plant pot heater into the downstairs loo and it has really made a difference it is usually Baltic in there but it is quite cosy now, So I think you would need a couple for a large room.

We live in a cardboard house..well, feels like it..without window sills At first I thought :j--bit less to gather tat & dust, but now wish there was somewhere to grow on seeds, have tealights safely out of Pup's incessant wagging tail draught & especially, a place for Iggie to soak up the sun IF it ever gets warm enough

The Offspring are becoming less wary of their old mum's weird ways & now when they ask what to do about x, y or z, are more inclined to believe salted boiled water & bicarb are really the only two things you should make sure are to hand :rotfl:

The chap who used to have our local pet shop told me to make sure Pup's chest & belly were warm & dry, as this is where doggits are prone to illness. Suppose it makes sense when you think all of their internal organs are in that area & less protected by muscle or fat, so we keep a towel by the door to give him a good rub down after his w-a-l-k.
He did make me laugh crimly day; came bounding in to granma's kitchen for his water (hardly bothers at home, but Nanny's does taste better than ours even though we're supposed to be on the same mains ) then straight over to six little packages put on the seat of a chair while someone was putting the cloth on the table. Do you know, he picked out one meant for him :rotfl: I'd put some of his treats into loo rolls & a kitchen roll innerds, stuffed with papaer & wrapped in the colourful pages of the old tv book; he LOVED it, bless'im

Crimbly Pud went down a storm :T I made the pancakes while lunch was cooking & left them in the grill oven to keep warm (it gets hot in there so didn't put the flame on IYSWIM), & had soaked the value dried fruit in black tea overnight. Sliced up a few washed glace cherries & stirred them in & left it in said top oven to warm thru; sliced & diced some eating apples getting close to eurgh & had them in the bottom of the big oven--mainly for Pup cuz he can't have currants & stuff--& some of that got mixed in too at the table. Definitely in the 'must do again' recipe collection & the bit of fruit left over went into probably the best acned ricky I've made to date, on Boxing Day.

The Offspring joke to Pup that he has the best dinners in the world but I sat there wondering how many other families would know how to make the basics such as pancakes & steamed puddings...lost skills yet again.

pineapple

Confuzzled wrote: »

however, if i had a multi fuel stove i'd happily get a stove top kettle as well as some fire resistant crocks and do my tea and soup slowly over the top of the stove, why not have free hot water and free cooking if you can get it!

I have a small multifuel stove and have a couple of cast iron pans that I use on the top occasionally. It seems a nonsense to ignore this heat source and use the hob! Only trouble is these pans can be expensive though one would probably recoup the investment over time . Plus they come in useful in a power cut..

mardatha

Pineapple if you bought them at same time as the stove then you'd never have to buy any more ever again. But at same time an ordinary casserole dish or kettle or a pot with a lid, works fine as well.
My gripe is that my own daughter thinks I'm mad and just laughs at me - her house and her kids are so wasteful and the money they go through is unreal. She's bringing up a whole family without any skills or knowledge at all between them.

[Deleted User]

Anyone contemplating buying an on the hob whistling kettle who has a T K MAX near them might want to take a peek in there, they had Le Creuset kettles for £29.99 large and £24.99 small yesterday. I know that is a considerable amount of money but the quality would mean they lasted many years and I know le Creuset as a good reliable brand. Hope that's useful, Cheers Lyn xxx.

pineapple

mardatha wrote: »

Pineapple if you bought them at same time as the stove then you'd never have to buy any more ever again.

Was having my stove door repaired recently at a little stove shop in Halifax when I asked if he had any cookware. They had stopped selling it but had one saucepan remaining which I got at half price (even then it was £50 :eek:). It's an Aga make - heavy, enamelled (I think) iron with a copper bottom and it's the best pan I ever had. I often use it to saute/fry stuff then add liquid to make a sauce or a stew. So it's great for both frying and simmering.
The handle is wooden though - so not for in the oven :rotfl:

Butterfly_Brain

Even though I have two stove top whistling kettles that I bought in Wilkinsons DH has told me to order a Kelly kettle for back up, he was going to buy it but didn't think that it was an apt Crimbo pressie and that I might throw it at him :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

pineapple

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Even though I have two stove top whistling kettles that I bought in Wilkinsons DH has told me to order a Kelly kettle for back up, he was going to buy it but didn't think that it was an apt Crimbo pressie and that I might throw it at him :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I bought my ex husband a Black and Decker Workmate and it wasn't well received
Edit: Maybe that's why he's an ex :huh: