'supporting each other through really tough times'

stiltwalker

Molly41 wrote: »

Please could you show us a picture - they sound wonderful x

Thanks Molly - and thanks to everyone for the compliments on them - I'm a bit pleased with them myself!

Posted a link a bit back but here it is again Molly http://www.flickr.com/photos/8955183...7632652443106/

Made a few more things since then - some leeks and potatoes and some more lemons, oranges and another aubergine, oh and a couple of carrots!

As well as filling in the funding applications for the eye wateringly expensive buggy I also sorted the finances for DD's special car seat - we got a good chunk towards it from Family fund and I have been organising the rest for a couple of months now. So we should have that within 4 weeks - it's one that turns so we can get her in and out more easily now she is getting so big and heavy.

Got all the kids things organised for DH tomorrow as I'm up early and off to my first tutorial for my new OU module. Am really hoping it can inspire a bit as I am so not feeling the love for this course - it's a compulsory one for my degree or I would never have picked it - Oh well be all done by September, and then I can pick something more interesting next time and you never know - it might improve!

elizabunny

grandma247 wrote: »

Elizabunny My youngest and I saw one of those "how it's made" programs and have not eaten icecream since. Did you know that they can make it entirely without cream and get away with it? They use vegetable fat,thickeners and emulsifiers along with whey and a bit of skimmed milk and sugar as well as flavourings. It was all processed till it looked like icecream but very unhealthy stuff. I am going to dig out my icecream maker this year and try to buy cream regularly to make it as well as make some from yoghurt.
We do have a local icecream parlour that make their own and they do use cream and other natural ingredients. Most of it is wheat free too. Only the ones containing biscuits are not. My ds worked there so he knows what they used to make it.

Lisa the woman is green with envy. ignore her. people will quickly realise she is a liar and a trouble maker and will give her a wide berth.

grandma247 I had forgotton about my icecream maker, thankyou for reminding me:T I used to use it alot, but then it got buried at the back of one of the cupboards and rarely saw the light of day. Can't think why I let it slip, as the icecream was always lovely and so easy to make.

I have a dislike for most shop bought sausages and check the ingredients thoroughly -that's if I buy them and that's not often. When I make my own, I don't always use the skins. Our butcher will happily supply me with some -but I really can't stand the smell of them, though the finished sausages are lovely. If I make them without skins, for ease I just tend to make them a burger shape (not quite right I know:D) but they still taste the same.

I bake my own bread as many on here do, but again, some flour will just have wheat flour in it whilst others list additives.
The farm shop where I bought my last flour sold organic stoneground wholemeal flour with no other additives. It is lovely to cook with and also to handle. I love the coarseness of it compared to the softness of white flour.

I think I must be sounding a bit fussy:o but I really do dislike what is happening with our food generally. DH has become intolerant of so many things, that I feel I have to be careful. It's not cheap, but at least we can eat it knowing whats in it and not end up throwing it away.

I'm not able to do much in the garden at the moment, but DH is going out tomorrow, weather permitting to get the raised beds ready for spring planting. While he is doing this I plan to settle down to sowing some seeds in trays. I have successfully grown lettuce leaves from late Feb onwards and I need to start off the onion seeds. I fancy sowing some spinach too, because we are buying loads at the moment and it is so expensive.

Molly41

stiltwalker wrote: »

Thanks Molly - and thanks to everyone for the compliments on them - I'm a bit pleased with them myself!

Posted a link a bit back but here it is again Molly http://www.flickr.com/photos/8955183...7632652443106/

They are wonderful - very clever x

kidcat

katie - excellent news about your DD, I think its sounding really positive

Stiltwalker - well done on the car seat, I am very behind with paperwork etc but must get kicking I think

MrsLW - thank you.

katieowl_2

elizabunny wrote: »

I think I must be sounding a bit fussy:o but I really do dislike what is happening with our food generally. DH has become intolerant of so many things, that I feel I have to be careful. It's not cheap, but at least we can eat it knowing whats in it and not end up throwing it away.

Your not sounding in the least bit fussy to me! I think we should all be a lot more worried about what's in our food. I've just seen on Yahoo mail that one of the suppliers of HM Prisons has been dropped because their 'halal' meat supplied contains traces of 'non halal' meats, this on top of all the horse meat inclusions, I just said to OH "They really don't have a clue what's in food anymore do they?"

I was told about another flour improver, that I meant to come home and look up but I've forgotten what it is, I must ask again next week, and write it down this time. That was the lady at the flour mill that told me about that. I bought some spelt from her to try and see if I could tolerate it better, it's organic and biodynamic, so i thought it might be a good trial, but it's a very 'rough' flour, and a bit too wholemeal for my tummy unfortunately. Yummy though, OH likes it. Been making that by hand though, not in the bread machine.

Kate

elizabunny

katieowl wrote: »

Your not sounding in the least bit fussy to me! I think we should all be a lot more worried about what's in our food. I've just seen on Yahoo mail that one of the suppliers of HM Prisons has been dropped because their 'halal' meat supplied contains traces of 'non halal' meats, this on top of all the horse meat inclusions, I just said to OH "They really don't have a clue what's in food anymore do they?"

I was told about another flour improver, that I meant to come home and look up but I've forgotten what it is, I must ask again next week, and write it down this time. That was the lady at the flour mill that told me about that. I bought some spelt from her to try and see if I could tolerate it better, it's organic and biodynamic, so i thought it might be a good trial, but it's a very 'rough' flour, and a bit too wholemeal for my tummy unfortunately. Yummy though, OH likes it. Been making that by hand though, not in the bread machine.

Kate

:THow do you make your bread with the spelt flour? I have tried before but it always comes out very heavy and flat. This was when I used a bread machine though, so do you think I would have better results if I made it by hand? I would like to try again, thanks:)

katieowl_2

elizabunny wrote: »

:THow do you make your bread with the spelt flour? I have tried before but it always comes out very heavy and flat. This was when I used a bread machine though, so do you think I would have better results if I made it by hand? I would like to try again, thanks:)

I use the same recipe for all my bread, so broken down it's 500G flour to 1/2 pint warm water (use half boiled and half cold it's about right) then 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar/ honey and a glug of oil (sunflower/olive) into the flour goes about 3/4 a sachet of easy blend yeast. I say about 3/4 sachet, because when I use a 1.5k bag of flour, I put in all the double sachet in. I knead it in the kenwood with the dough hook. and then set it to rise somewhere warm with a damp tea towel over it. When it's doubled, I knock it back, and stick it in tins...they are the 1lb ones I think - 1.5k makes three. Set it to rise a bit more. I like to put sunflower or pumpkin seeds on it, just press them on, and slash the top three or four times diagonally, because that breaks the tension on the loaf and helps it to rise. Bake in a hot oven for about 20/30 mins until is golden, and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom when it's tipped out of the tin. Don't be afraid to stick it in for a bit longer if you don't think it's done!

Don't do anything different for any of the bread I make, the spelt isn't as dense as the wholemeal, but I usually do half wholemeal, half white when I use wholemeal anyway.

Kate

lisakay_2

Fuddle, I think that 10 ply is Arran. could be wrong, but that's what i would use x

The sun did come out today and it really did make me feel so much better even though it wasn't there for very long.
Realised that I was over reacting to that mum at school. she is horrible, but she's not important to me and the other mums are not daft. even if they dont see through her straight away they will do at some point.

I try to keep an eye on what we're eating and tend to keep away from too many processed foods. I was having a conversation with my friend before and we've both noticed that if we do feed the kids junk food then their behaviour alters, and not for the better.

i think i'd best start having a notebook near me when i'm on this thread. there were lots of posts i wanted to respond to, but by this time of an evening my brain has almost given up.

Oh, and DD2 has lost her cardigan in school again, and this time she also left her hearing aid in the pocket. I really hope no one has taken it home. It's all to easy to just throw it in the washing machine and forget to check pockets...and that means waiting for a new mold to be done and a brand new hearing aid, strangely enough they dont do well in the washing machine

maryb

Katie, you can get "white" spelt flour which might be more digestible than wholegrain?

katieowl_2

maryb wrote: »

Katie, you can get "white" spelt flour which might be more digestible than wholegrain?

I've never seen that..I'll keep my eyes peeled. All the bread from the mill is 'scratchy' even the white one...tasty, but scratchy!

Kate