Preparing for Winter V

pollyanna_26

Thank you for the link Si. I'd looked at the news not really clear or informative. iwas just wondering if Martin would clarify matters when I spotted your post.

pollyx

Jellytotts

2Scratters said:

@Jellytotts has your DH applied for PIP?
2Scratters xx

He gets PIP for a myriad of disability issues, but thanks.

daz378

I'm buying one of them portable power stations...probably  pay 140 or so  ...as I have a week off work next week...just in case

retired19

Happy_Sloth said:

i've got an electric pressure cooker, it's been a game changer for dried beans,  i've never had much luck doing them on the stove top.  i'm never organized enough to pre-soak them and even when i do they turn out like bullets. 

I got an electric pressure cooker earlier in the year and even if i did nothing else with it it's worth it for dried beans.  this evening i did black beans from dry in 20 minutes, no soaking needed just straight in, switch on the beans setting job done! 

Never heard of an electric pressure cooker.my old prestige one has been with us for 30+years. Beef casserole done in 20 mins. Dried beans about the same. Best if soaked overnight tho. Specially good on those days when I don't get stuff prepped in the morning. If I can set up in the morning then the slow cooker is magical, coming into the smell of casserole just waiting to be served with chunks of bread to mop up the sauce makes the whole house feel warmer.

Si_Clist

Funnily enough we've just Freecycled our slow-cooker after working out that everything we used to use it for can be cooked more cheaply in a pan on the gas hob, transferred to our haybox*, then just heated up for a minite or two prior to eating.

(*transferred to our haybox" = put on the folded blanket on the floor then covered with the beanbag)

NorthernMonkey1

retired19 said:

Never heard of an electric pressure cooker.

Imagine a cross between a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. 

Cooks like a slow cooker on slow, cooks like a pressure cooker on high mode

enkeltliv

Si_Clist said:

Funnily enough we've just Freecycled our slow-cooker after working out that everything we used to use it for can be cooked more cheaply in a pan on the gas hob, transferred to our haybox*, then just heated up for a minite or two prior to eating.

(*transferred to our haybox" = put on the folded blanket on the floor then covered with the beanbag)

I have a much smaller haybox than a sprawling beanbag but I salute your ingenuity. Mine consists of a box filled with wool insulation that, once the pot is in, is slid into a bag knitted out of Shetland wool. The bag is knit at a very tight gauge to prevent as much heat escape as possible. The solution is working very well for me, especially being able to have it on the kitchen worktop.

cornishchick

Ive been thinking of a sort of haybox for a while and i am experimenting.
Found this guy on my search..very helpful.
https://awpeters.info/design-haybox.html

enkeltliv

cornishchick said:

Ive been thinking of a sort of haybox for a while and i am experimenting.
Found this guy on my search..very helpful.
https://awpeters.info/design-haybox.html

What a super helpful link @cornishchick it is just about insulation and using whatever you can to fashion the receptacle that will house the cooking pot. They really do work if the heat can be trapped around the cooking pot.

London_1

Back in the 1970s when we had a lot of power cuts I turned one of my litte dd's toy boxes into a haybox. I used an old duvet and some pillows and tucked them as tightly as I could around my casserole dish I would make the casserole and put all the veg and meat in it once really hot and tuck everything in and just forget about it i usually did this in the morning and by around 5-6 it was piping hot and cooked beautifully.
Which was really handy as my house back then was all electric. If I'd had an early power cut in the morning I would be scooting down the road to my friends hot to get it hot enough as she had a gas cooker then back to my house to as my youngest 4 year old said 'put dinner to bed' She thought it really funny her Mum putting the stew to bed in the morning It certainly works very well and costs nothing but time and patience. With the high price of energy it wouldn't be a bad thing to consider doing today.
My DD brought me round my new kettle which is only a 1 litre one and I am using let water and it boils very quickly ,so hopefully less power as well 

JackieO xx