Living richly; simply and debt-freely

teapot2

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Did anyone else watch that Alaska programme last night? We taped it and have just watched it - followed by the shopping/eating/cooking programme. The Alaska programme was really good Very fine photography and very sneaky whales...... And at least the gal on the shopping programme tonight admitted from the getgo that she wasn't a confident cook. I did like her kitchen............






I was really pleasantly surprised with the *bangers* recipe. They really were so simple and yet tasted so good. OK, I fried them, rather than bake them, as per the recipe, but even so. Definitely make those again My one criticism of the recipe is that it calls for 3 red onions - the *bangers* only need one - the other 2 are for an accompaniment - which is ok if you are going down the 'sausages and mash and gravy' route, but a bit misleading if you're doing anything else - after all, red onions are normally more expensive than brown.......

*NOM* in a word..........

The *bangers* need to be prepared in advance if you are making these for a midweek tea. But it does depend on how fussy you are about shaping - after all, the same mix would work as a burger, so that'd take next to no time. I used oats, not breadcrumbs, but with a processor, it takes moments to make the mix

Hi GP,
we watched the Alaska programme too and looking forward to the next 2 parts, have set the thing to record thing :cool:. Also saw the shopping/sharp intake of breath/cooking programme. Staggering amounts of money some folk spend on food and so interesting the valoo brands are often accepted once the labels are removed.


Thanks for the veggie banger recipe, I'll be trying that. I just don't get on with the Qurn ones no matter how much I try and sometimes sausage and mash just hits the comfort food spot.
Enjoy the rugby, we'll be watching too

little_sweetie

Thanks maddiemay for missing me. At the moment little Ern and the pusscats are behaving themselves Hope you are ok too.

maddiemay

Hi Greying and pilgrims,

Firstly thank you for the link for the Burmese Tofu,I should have some time to play in the kitchen tomorrow (as opposed to just producing the necessary meals), so may try a half recipe of this, by that time I should also have some HM tomato soup, so these should go well together, as long as I don't tell OH what he is eating:D

I was entranced by the Alaska programme and really looking forward to seeing the others.

I started the MK thing about a month ago, loving the results of what I have tackled so far, it all looks so neat and the amount of space gained is amazing. The thread on MSE is another great place to hang around too, a font of wisdom and much wit too:D:

Last week's rather loose meal plan has come to an end, and the one for next week is not even a glimmer yet:(, goodness only knows what delight I will drag from the freezer for tonight, I need to save February's take away for later in the month, when I have a hospital appointment 1 hour away from home at the very odd time of 18:45 hours, I think that me wanting to stand and cook at that time is extremely unlikely:eek:

supersaver1000

Hi GP and fellow Pilgrimers.

Well, I've just made a batch of scones :rotfl:. I'm laughing because my batch consisted of 3 scones!! :rotfl: Which disappeared like magic.

I used Delia's Plain Scones recipe. Its a long time since I made scones (I only made them once and they came out like biscuits) and so I used the cutter in my drawer and made the dough about 3cm thick as advised in the recipe (apparently making them too thin is why I ended up with biscuits last time). Don't get me wrong, they were lovely, but a few more would have been welcomed :rotfl:

I know GP advised on where to fashion a cutter from the things in our cupboards (at least I think GP did), but I've searched both threads and am getting a little frustrated as it was a long time ago (sorry GP it takes me a while to get going). Then I've just seen that there is lots of talk about scones currently, so hopefully someone can help me - what size cutter shall I buy or is there something I can use - even better? Please, all help gratefully received.

Sadly Delia's recipe was only for 225g of flour, so I'll be doubling or even trebling the next batch, but a smaller cutter will make a few more than three :rotfl: (However, I may make them just as big as they were very delicious and yummy) - I think they are elephant scones :rotfl:

mothernerd

supersaver1000 the pound shops or places like home bargains will usually sell a set of three plastic ones in different sizes (sometimes 3 round and three square or heart shape). Tessimos had some sets with about 7 different sizes in the sale after Christmas but may have run out by now. Metal ones last longer but sometimes go rusty (depends where you store them and if you are prepared to sand off the rust if they get spots).

I use the smallest size for fruit scones, but then use the milk for brushing the tops to stick two together, one on top of the other. These are easy to handle and space on the baking tray and you have a line to cut through for adding butter. It's very bad for your stomach to eat them straight from the oven (but difficult to resist).

I have read the first few pages of the Kondo thread on here and then read a few of the recent pages but this week I haven't gone back. It sounds addictive and a bit scary. All my clothes fit in a single 2' wide wardrobe. I only have three skirts, two dresses and one pair of trousers. These are all five plus years old except the dresses (bought one dress on 23 December 2013 and a dress and jumper from a cs before my operation). Two loose skirts I bought for wearing post-op have already been given back and I think one of those was mine originally (ie I donated it a few years ago, bought it back for £1 and have now donated it again).

If I throw away the ones that are past their best or 'no longer give me joy' I'll have nothing to wear. These are the remaining items of my wardrobe having worked my way back through everything I had as I have lost weight. The item I have most of is t-shirts, the five bright ones were given to me by DS1 last February, my 'best' black ones are between 8 and twelve years old (I used to buy myself one of the m'n's ones when I thought I could afford it, the white ones haven't survived) and I have two Traidcraft ones I bought about 8 years ago which were borrowed by guests and ended up buried in boys rooms and I have only recently re-discovered them plus the odd sale SM one.

Things that no longer fit me get sent to the cs, used up as painting clothes and finally made into rags. Now if all goes to plan once I am more mobile (lots of walking this year) and I have lost the next stone (or two) and dropped another dress size (or two) then I will be happy to let go of these clothes as well - hopefully replacing them with home made ones.

Underwear is similar. DS1 gave me an unused 5 pack of sports socks last year and I bought a cheap 5-pack of knickers (peach and lilac yuck) bought after the weight loss caused a couple of near misses whilst out shopping (they started to slide down as I no longer had the hips to hold them). The worst offenders have been culled (the only bras I have are nearly new as I put on weight before getting to use them) but I am still in danger of running out on weeks when getting things dry is a problem.

I am due to tidy it all again but can't really afford to lose anything much (and I know I am not 'trusting the universe to provide'). I'd love to have a real go at my mother's stuff but I think she is going to call a halt to my clearing as her partner has noticed. You can actually get in the spare room I was working on and walk all the way to the window - you had to squeeze round the door when I started and that was as far as you could go.

Loving the food, as always - think my own diet for this month is going to be based on the butter bean (I do love them and they were on offer at 3 for a £1). I'll save the meat for DS3's curries - he thought the cauliflower dhal I made smelled lovely but looked yucky. His chicken curry will be stuffed with lentils and broccoli, using the dhal spices - the boy does love his broccoli (he's quite fond of lentils but thinks curries should have meat, even if he has to hunt to find a piece).

supersaver1000

Thanks Mothernerd I will give the pound shop a go. Although I may just make more huge ones but with a bigger quantity of mixture. Naughty I know, but very nice.

You are very restrained with clothes shopping. I have gone up from my usual 12 to a definite 14 and although my clothes are a squeeze I won't be buying any more so will need to get on the weight loss wagon.

I've just been reading about the benefits of walking so wondering if I should ditch the car on the outsjirts of town and walk the last bit. One to ponder.

SS1K

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon :hello:

teapot2 - *sharp intake of breath* indeed at the spending on food on this weeks 'Gr3g Wallace Show'

supersaver - I think you might well be thinking of THIS post when I was using cookie cutters as burger shapers. I think that is the only time I've talked about 'using one thing to make another thing'. I agree with mothernerd - plastic cutters are really cheap to pick up from a wide range of places. I have a set that is crinkly one side and smooth the other - I think there are about 7 sizes? The brand is 'Kitchen Craft' and although I don't recall where I bought mine, I do know that they will be cheapest in places like h0me bargins, W1lkinsons and teskimos.... do not buy them in 'kitchen' shops of any description - you pay at least twice the price for the same darn thing. I think they will set you back £4 or so - amazon have them at £5 - HERE I've had my set for yonks.

Oh, and is this the time to own up and say that I made coconut and cherry scones this morning? :rotfl: I used the Nigella recipe and got about 17 out of my dough (500g of flour to start though). Most of them rose nicely - I used the 68mm cutter. We took four of the little darlings out with us this afternoon, with a flask of hot chocolate and went down to the 'forgotten' picnic area. It is a gorgeous spot - I want to say 'with a $1million view' as a house has been built alongside, which 5+ years ago sold for £3/4 million. But unfortunately it is also the desired hangout for the local substance abusers, which makes it a no-go if they are around. However, we were lucky, there was no-one there and we just sat at the bench, munched our scones and stretched out - lizard like - absorbing the gorgeous sunshine Simple pleasures

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

supersaver - I knew you'd got me thinking about the scones that the non-gardening parental used to make, that were never cut with cutters, but shaped in the round and scored, ready to cut when cooked. They are Victoria Scones, from the ever dependable bero cook book. HTH

Greying

liltdiddylilt

Greying when I made cheese scones the other week, I remembered your burger shaping when I could not find a single cutter anywhere and channeled my inner GP :money: by using a tumbler to make the scones worked a treat for me, but I suppose it is dependent on the size of your tumblers and their shape

Upsidedown_Bear

Smilie of the day.