Preparing for Winter V

Fruball

Auti said:

Hi Fruball - lentil soup sounds good is it possible to have your recipe? I am GF and have to make my own (which is much tastier) as wheat seems to be in everything or non GF lentils. Thank you

Hi Auti
I don't use a specific recipe so it is a little different every time but here's a rough guide:
3 large carrots
1 or 2 sweet potatoes if I happen to have some in.  Sometimes a random potato instead.
1 large onion
2 cups lentils (If I remember in time, I do like to soak them for at least half hour, or overnight in fridge, and discard the water)
enough ham stock to cover (I use Knorr ham stock cubes but no idea if they are GF - GF chicken stock or veg stock would be fine too)
3 bay leaves
Bouquet garni or mixed herbs, I am currently using Provence herbs
a LOT of black pepper - this soup can take a lot
1Tbsp butter stirred in at the end... YUM! 

You really don't have to be precise as long as you have nice ingredients and enough stock to just cover.

I use a stick blender once it is all done.

I do this in the pressure cooker (PKP) but have made it in a saucepan, in my soupmaker and in the SC.  I am not a fan of SC anymore but absolutely love my PKP.  In my opinion, a pressure cooker is far superior when cooking pulses. 

Hope that helps   Let me know if you try it! 

Fruball

Laura_Elsewhere said:

Hi Fruball- if the packaging is the stuff we’ve acquired from others, sort of like a hairy thick felt sheet, then I suggest you investigate making a kind of “haybox” to hold your thickest heaviest lidded pot, to reduce how long you need to use the hob or oven for a stew or soup or overnight porridge (or overnight breakfast-soup!). 

We use ours in summer, inside an insulated coolbag and with freezer-blocks, to keep food colder for longer.

and if you have plenty, you could cut it up and sew it into warm over-slippers for wearing when sitting- or if sewing is out, you could cut it into insoles, or simply staple it into a larger envelope to put both feet into! It will make a difference if it’s the real wool stuff- lucky you!

Some amazing ideas there!  Thank you.  I especially like the "envelope" idea for cosy feet. 

It did say wool and it does feel like it and yes, I have a lot!  I plan to make a couple of draught excluders and have made a makeshift cover for one of the french doors for winter.  It worked well last year and I plan to improve the aesthetics of it this year, maybe cover it so it is prettier.

Is yours the real wool stuff? How can I tell if it is definitely pure wool? *Edited to add, I checked the company website and it is pure wool.  Happy days! 

dND

Fruball said:

Is yours the real wool stuff? How can I tell if it is definitely pure wool? 

In the case of the wool I got around frozen cat food, smell!  The lanolin in sheep wool has a very distinctive smell 🤣
Sadly I can't afford to keep feeding my cats the frozen 100% meat food but the pieces of wool I have got are earmarked as padding for under the liner of my wildlife pond when I get round to making it. Dxx

Nelliegrace

Checked the rubber hot water bottle was still supple and the stopper leakproof. We replace them regularly. I washed the covers before I put them away. 
It was cold enough to be glad of a warmed bed. 

Cherryfudge

Fruball said:

Is yours the real wool stuff? How can I tell if it is definitely pure wool? *Edited to add, I checked the company website and it is pure wool.  Happy days! 

Lucky you! There's a way to test using a match: "You just need to snip a little off of each piece of yarn and put a match to those pieces. the burn test is the best way to tell the difference.

Acrylic will melt in this test and smell like burning plastic. Wool will smell like burnt hair and it will leave some sort of ash residue. The reason you go to the burn test first and foremost is that manufacturing techniques have improved so much that other methods make it hard to tell the difference." (Found here).

Fruball

Cherryfudge said:

Fruball said:

Is yours the real wool stuff? How can I tell if it is definitely pure wool? *Edited to add, I checked the company website and it is pure wool.  Happy days! 

Lucky you! There's a way to test using a match: "You just need to snip a little off of each piece of yarn and put a match to those pieces. the burn test is the best way to tell the difference.

Acrylic will melt in this test and smell like burning plastic. Wool will smell like burnt hair and it will leave some sort of ash residue. The reason you go to the burn test first and foremost is that manufacturing techniques have improved so much that other methods make it hard to tell the difference." (Found here).

Super!  Thank you for that.  Seems obvious now you've said it but I didn't think of burning some

London_1

Hope this helps a bit, sometimes if I’m in my sitting room and it’s a bit nippy I zip myself into my sleeping bag when sitting on my armchair. It’s cosy for keeping out any drafts, and with a small cardi round my shoulders and a hat I’m happy to knit while watching tv and I’m draft free and warm
if it’s really chilly a small hot water bottle at the bottom of the sleeping bag keeps my toes warm. A hot flask of coffee or even  Bovril by my side is a nice hot drink. I have to take anti coagulants daily and my feet are always like blocks of ice

Cheapskate

It's still quite mild here in Yorkshire (in the teens most of the time) so def no heating on yet, although I tested it last week to dry out the 18yo's football boots a bit!
Frantically trying to save money as the ex is due to move out mid-November and my income will take a massive nosedive hence the second reason for no heating, although I've built up decent credit on my gas & electricity DD, so when it gets cold I can put the heating on & not worry.
I need new curtains for my bedroom, they're absolutely threadbare, door curtains for the front & side doors, and something up across the wide floor to ceiling windows along the back wall.  Ex always poo-pooed all these ideas, no wonder the heating bill was through the roof, looking forward to making our home snuggly the way we like - already crocheting like mad as we need new blankets, and the SC comes out this weekend to start making stews and soups.
The garden needs a serious tidy, will have to wait until the forecast storm is done and everything's dried out again, all the gardening will keep us warm as well!
So glad to be getting back to MS ways, have missed these threads!  

joedenise

It's worth looking in charity shops for curtains as long as you know the sizes you need.  Doesn't matter if they'll be too long but don't want them too short!  If they're long you can either turn them up or just let them puddle on the floor!

If you can sew you can buy cheaper fabric online from sites such as pound fabrics.

Floss

Definitely check out chazzers for curtains, and Wundaweb is great for a quick hemming fix!