The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

Softstuff

Maybe we need to start our own thread Nuatha "Not-very prepared for the festive season".

Good grief about the shin beef. That rhymes, but I didn't mean it to. Over here you can tell when a chef touts an inexpensive cut on the telly, it doubles in price the next day. I nearly had a fit when I saw how much ham bones were going for.

I have 1 jar of mincemeat from last year in the cupboard, but I consider this to be quite the lack considering how much is normally in there. The problem is, I came up with too many recipes for "using up" mincemeat that my husband loves, so now make more for those recipes than I do for the mince pies.

Kidneys over here come very neatly trimmed and professionally packed. And stored directly next to the dog food meat in the fridge at the supermarket! Though perfectly fit for human consumption (I do love them, especially as little kebabs), folks over here tend not to go for those, they regard steak as a "simple meal". It's part of being Australian I haven't adopted, to me steak was what you had at birthdays or New Years!

I will go look at that bacon pudding recipe, I got some cheap offcuts the other day and it sounds like just the comfort food I could use. Thank you.

Nargleblast

Softstuff - you mention a suet/flour mix, could you try rinsing it to remove the flour? This idea came from frugalqueen, who avoids wheat products.
Alternatively you could drop in at the University of Google and contact suet manufacturers for help on locating the real stuff.

pandamonium

Could you use vegetarian suet, Softstuff?
Probably not available is Australia either, but it might go through customs?

kezlou

wrote a reply last night on my phone, pressed submit and it disappeared. Too exhausted to write it all over again, sorry peeps

Thats what got to me softstuff, i know alot of people in the industry and and the majority of salesmen are ethical lovely people.
But this one i had just a really bad feeling as soon as heard the "ear man", warning bells rang ridiculously loud.
Over the years i have had many dealings within the special needs industry and not once i have dealt with such a disgusting person as that. Over the years one audiology company have been amazing, they really took care of my father when he ran into money troubles, no interest or charges put on him, let him have his hearing aid when he still had £1000 to pay. I know not the best, to be honest i was fuming when i found out he bought a hearing aid for £1800:mad:
But what can you do? We told them about his dementia and the manager straight away called head office saying no more sale calls or letter, put him straight on the vulnerable list and checked him fully out. Honestly fantastic service. Its just other despicable con artists.

Thanks maggie were actually going through the legal process of Lasting Power of Attorney right now. Fingers crossed it will be all finalised by January 2015 :j
I am his appointee and fully verified by the DWP via home visit and things. Lovely woman, very reassuring. So now i can contact them anytime. All his pension, housing benefit and council tax letters are sent to me too. His utility providers all have my details to as well as all agencies involved. Nurse Practitioner regularly calls me to give me updates about his condition and to see if everything is okay. Honestly they fab.

What a miserable day, off to dads in a bit to wait for dementia social worker to come and have a catch up. Stay there for a couple of hours then off to a birthday party with kids. Back home then sneaking off to friends house to destress and assist with fundraiser packing.Also i get to play with my adoptee kitty, i'm an official feline aunty :rotfl: The old man runs down the stairs when i walk through the door demanding strokes and a fuss. Everyone else he growls and hisses at, but apparently loves me lol i just get purrs :rotfl:

Last night i had the kittens snuggled up with, little jilly purring on my head and jacky stretched out with he his on my chest and legs on his daddy. Shadow and tommy snuggled in between my legs and lucy by my tummy and cookie squeezed in between me and OH. The cats mother literally!

Kidcat glad she arrived home, what a story she will have a great tale to tell! Poor DS

Have to admit nuatha and softstuff i can stand kidneys, welll offal in any way shape or form. Spent my life with it under my nose. Hideous stuff

Softstuff

I got my suet!!!

I asked a friend who works in the next town over if she could pop in the butchers in her lunchbreak, she kindly did and had success. It's a butchers that smokes everything though, so at present it stinks, and is very meaty, so I'll render it tomorrow and filter.

Nargleblast, rather than being shreds like Atora is, the suet/flour mix here just looks like flour. It's really combined, so rinsing just wouldn't work. And it's thanks to google that I found this other butchers, great minds and all that Pandamonium, the veggie stuff isn't around either, so one way or the other I'd have been hunting.

Anyhoo, as always thanks for all the help and suggestions with my very teensy and insignificant problem. You can all have a virtual mince pie and port from me.

Kezlou, before the last job I had, that didn't pan out, I had an interview for a job at a hearing aid place here. I thought and indeed it was advertised as a receptionists position. When I got in to the interview, the lady doing it was quite a surprise. Though I've always worked in sales, I've never before come across such a brash, sly and underhanded sales technique as they had. After the interview, I walked out of the place open mouthed, passed an off licence doing a tasting and downed a stiff one before getting in the car and telling my poor husband even if they offered it to me I wasn't going to take it!

The general idea was that if the office didn't have bookings, you had to head into the streets and try and book appointments for hearing tests. You were to go for the elderly, the infirm, but make sure they looked like they had a bit of money. Then you'd book them in for a hearing test. This test inevitably said something was wrong. At this stage they'd try to get the person to choose a non government funded hearing aid. If they wanted the government one, they were basically booted out and told to go elsewhere.

I not only declined the job, but have made sure that the local retirement villages were aware of what's going on. Though it's not ethical, it's quite legal unfortunately.

There's so many vultures out there it makes you wish for a shotgun.

nuttyp

Hi all, sorry been a little busy over the last few days.


TODAY IS ALDI VOUCHER IN MIRROR DAY £10 off £50 shop tho!!!!


THE SUN has £5 of free fruit and veg when you spend £10. valid till sunday tho.


Sorry for not previously posting about the vouchers. I did a sort of good shop this week, not as tho I am going to be buying much extra for Christmas. I even added some of mums shopping to mine so I made up the total to the 50 to get the 10 off. Its amazing really as the stuff is so cheap, well cheaper than Tosco mr a and mr m.


I am on a late shift today and then tomorrow I have the day off to take dd to her interview. It is a half day interview, so no idea what she will be doing.


Black Friday tomorrow, and there seems to be lots of offers around. I don't need anything really and I know if I went and looked I would find 'something' I need. So I will be avoiding them. Will pop into the branch of the same company I work for, to get a free coffee. I rang the other day to say I would call in. Will be nice to see them and to chat - and save a good couple of pounds against buying a drink.


Take care all x

maryb

Softstuff agree it sounds like rinsing wouldn't work with the suet/flour mix but you could put it in a pan with a cup or two of water and boil it up. The fat will rise to the top when it cools and you can scrape the floury sediment off then grate the solid fat.

Suet makes a very firm layer of fat so you should be able to get nice shreds like Atora. When I steam my pud, I always have a layer of fat on top of the water in the pan next day. I save that for making mince pie pastry - it sort of absorbs the smell of the spices in the pud and the lemon in the steaming water and makes lovely short pastry

lillibet_dripping

nuatha wrote: »

Could you ask for the kidneys complete with fat? (Then ask them to mince the fat) Of course this only works if you can then use the beef kidney (kate and sidney pie?)

Mincemeat will work with grated butter - has a shorter shelf life and needs refrigeration
I haven't come across a Christmas cake that uses suet? (Or just - just, he says - post op fatigue etc?)

HTH
Back to lurking

We always call it 'Snake and Pygmy Pie':eek:

fuddle

Guess what night it is? Seafood chowder night :j got smoked river cobbler as opposed to smoked haddock to try, only as a way of shaving off the pennies. I have part baked rolls so don't have to make my crusty rolls. These part baked things are a godsend to have in the cupboard for bread emergencies too.

We have salmon pate for supper so going to make rounds of wholemeal bread toast for us all to enjoy.

One keep in the car permanently mitten is crocheted and I think I had best get the other one finished sharpish as I think the weather will get worse soon.

Eldest DD has about 5 inches crocheted of a blanket she's making. I am very proud of her. She wants it finished for when we go up north in Feb. Youngest is kicing herself she can't yet suss out how to do it so I think I will have to crochet squares for her to sew together. Problem being time and too many projects :rotfl:

Pooky

Afternoon all

Softstuff - glad you got your suet!

Fudds - Yay to DD1 and her crochet - I taught both mine when they were younger but neither of them have the patience for it at the moment. Your dinner sounds lovely. I always keep some of those part baked rolls in for "oooooh we're out of bread" mornings, so handy. I use them for cheaty garlic bread too - slice in half, butter as you normally would and add some garlic flakes and herbs - 5 mins in a hot oven and you have really gooey, tasty garlic breads.....nice with cheese on too to go with soup.

Hectic day here with lots of housework, lots of work work and then popped into town with DH to collect meds etc. He saw the tinnitus clinic yesterday who are arranging for him to have a hearing aid to help combat the other noises he can hear. They also gave him a little speaker thing that plays white noise/soft sounds to have on during the day and night to help him tune out - typically his tinnitus is on a different frequency to mine so those sounds that help him annoy the wotsit out of me! We settled on a thunderstom sound track last night when going to bed, it was so relaxing to listen to the rain coming in waves and the distant rumble....I was asleep in minutes!

Cottage pie for tea here, it smells lovely, just need to go prep some veg to go with it.

An evening of work or ironing awaits. I'd like to think I could get both done but that would just be wishful thinking!