The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

westcoastscot

Hi guys, freezing here - but think that's the snow on the way out again. Roads towards Glasgow are ice-rinks, but i'm fortunate I don't have to travel far.
Ivy so happy to hear it went well.
Lisev nice to meet you - nothing to add but happy to listen.
Mar eldest has one - doesn't have a cooker at all - he has a halogen oven and an induction hob and does really well. I was impressed with the halogen oven, it cooks quickly and he seems to be able to make just about anything in it - roast chicken, layers of stuff, pasta etc.

Went for groceries today in our wee co-op and the shelves were pretty empty - no HP sauce which is a disaster for us!!!! Think i'll need to plan a trip to the city, or wondered about using Amazon Pantry - has anyone tried it??? We don't have home delivery from any supermarkets here.

mardatha

Thanks wcs, I'm not sure at all about getting one, just wanted to ask.

westcoastscot

I'm not sure I would, as I love my slow cooker - warms the kitchen and gives lovely cheap meals - stews and casseroles - which is mostly what we eat. Driving myself nuts over the shopping business - so wish we had a supermarket near by - it's a 72 mile around trip to tesco, our nearest - we just have a smallish co-op and local shops. There are so many things that I cannot get easily, it's frustrating!!!Going to have to start a monthly drive up again I think.
Not sure if it was this thread or the prepping, but we're going back to basics with what we eat - well more so even than we do already - and I'm going to try again and grow some veggies in my tiny garden. We're really noticing the price increases here - vegan margarine has gone up to £1.70 this week!
Anyway must stop grumbling and do something!!!!

mardatha

Could you not do a monthly drive down to Glasgow with a very exact list, and stock up then with 4 weeks supply of things like the marg? Or even come over here and we can hit Costco
I had a disastrous day. I hate cooking (as everybody on this thread knows too well lol) but today although I wasn't feeling good, I did try to cook. The RV says when I try then things get even worse..
Turned round too fast, got dizzy and knocked a full big jug of milk off the table, took ages to clean it all up. Then the damn bloody oven I know is slow but I thought I had allowed enough extra time- until we bit into semi-raw roast lamb. Ended up having a delightful dinner of roast tatties and veg in white sauce... I think I'm safer sticking to stews but I am getting tired of them lol

westcoastscot

I think that's what I'll start doing again - not keen to travel over the Rest in the winter, so shall use Oban for now but shall start heading to Glasgow in the summer.

Crap about the milk - so hard to clean up too, the smell hangs around for days I find! you could have roasted your lamb in the slow-cooker over the day? Gets the cooking out of the way first thing too
I'm going to get my books out and go back to some older recipes from when we grew most of our own food - carrot and barley casserole anyone??? (lovely and warming actually with chops or sausages) Thinking it will vary our diet a bit and be less expensive.

CRANKY40

I couldn't fault my halogen oven for the cooking it did but I had to get rid of it because the light it gives off was way too bright for me - it really hurt my eyes. I did once cook a leg of lamb in the microwave when that was the only thing I had to cook with......

camelot1001

I have a halogen oven, use it all the time and wouldn't be without it. Meat cooks really well in it but make sure it's a piece that fits! I always roast chicken in it and it cooks a mean cheese on toast!

Jazee

Morning all. Hope you're all ok. I'm another one who puts my joints/whole chickens etc in the slow cooker. Sometimes I brown them off in a shallow frying pan first.

I struggle to understand how some of you manage being so far from supermarkets etc. I consider my 10 mile trip a hassle since moving from a large town, so only go in every couple of months and stock up. What a wuss I am!

Have a great day everyone.

westcoastscot

Jazee, we have real shops! We have a butchers, greengrocer, fishmonger and hardware/ironmongers. We have an electrical shop, toy shop, gift shop and a small outlet shop selling seconds of M & S, Next etc. We have a small indi bargain zone place that I haven't been in. We have a deli that sells flour, pasta, oils, cheese etc. Then we have a small co-op, a tesco at the wee garage and that's it!
The bigger Tesco is a 72 mile round trip away, and they don't deliver to us.

It's a bit more difficult for us as we have food allergies to cope with, but mostly doable - the biggest issues is price - everything is way more expensive, and pack sizes are small. We eat seasonably, and have to adapt our shopping list to what is available.

mardatha

The slow cooker is the best kitchen gadget I ever bought, but I keep forgetting to use it. I didn't even think to do the lamb in it, wish I had now. My calor gas cooker is fantastic but the oven is very slow and getting slower- I have to add a quarter of the time more and knock it up a gas mark or 2. Still poking around reading up on halogen oven. ty all for your opinions.
WCS I'm sure we could live on scotch broth alone, the amount of stuff I throw in mine lol. The cat keeps out of the way when I make soup, she knows one day she might well end up innit