August 2015 Grocery Challenge

joedenise

You can make the Tagine without apricots - I sometimes do if I haven't got any in stock. Don't think it really adds much to the dish. To me the spicing is the important bit!

With the sweet & sour pork I've got recipes with and without pineapple. Without the pineapple you just need to add a bit more sugar to sweeten it or you could use pineapple juice if you could tolerate that.

Denise

dramarama

Oh dear, I seem to be slipping off the bandwagon! I have spent another £10 on goodness knows what!
My problem is that I am home a lot at the moment and I can't help but continously graze out of boredom and habit! When I'm out of the house the temptation is gone.

I've looked through some more posts and the first page to give myself a kick up the backside. I've now rearranged the freezer and taken stock of what we do and don't have and meal planned for tonight.

My biggest struggle is OH works shifts and there doesn't seem to be a set pattern so I can meal plan for 3 days or 1 week. Any ideas to help with meal planning and irrgeular shifts?!

Anyway...long story short I've spent another £10.

cyantist

cw18 wrote: »

Don't have any of their books - are the recipes on-line as well? Would have thought this was very expensive having priced up oxtail when I fancied making soup a couple of years back?

I love oxtail, but for the amount of meat you get it is very expensive and I only ever get it when its YS. But ox cheek is about the same price as ox tail and is 100% meat and completely yummy. I generally use this for all my beef stews now.

I love meat and fruit mixed together. One of my favourite dishes is duck thai red curry with pineapple, grapes and strawberries. In fact that's been added to my list for next week! But you can make a tagine without apricots. You can also do your own pulled pork recipe and put whatever sauce and spices you want with it.

cw18

cyantist wrote: »

I love oxtail, but for the amount of meat you get it is very expensive and I only ever get it when its YS. But ox cheek is about the same price as ox tail and is 100% meat and completely yummy. I generally use this for all my beef stews now.

I've never seen ox cheek, and none of the supermarket sites are bringing anything back. I assume that means I'd need a butcher to get it, and I don't have one of those anywhere near me

You can also do your own pulled pork recipe and put whatever sauce and spices you want with it.

I don't have a clue how to use/combine spices unless I have receipes that tell me how much of what to add. As a child I grew up in a household that only had plain cooking (don't think my Mum used anything other than a sprinkle of mixed herbs, and that was a rare event - I know I was 13 or 14 the one and only time she made bolognese when a school friend of mine came home for tea), and then spent years married to someone who was another fairly plain eater (though he would accept bolognese, lasagne and chilli which I'd never had before buying my own home). Wouldn't have a clue on sauces either - only ever use pasta sauces for the same reasons as above.

Ladyluck1

Spent £62 out of £125.
Eldest is costing me a fortune in snacks being off school!
Got a veg box coming tomorrow so that's another £12 to add got lots of meat in the freezer but I'll probably buy some mince so I'll add £15 tomorrow.

cyantist

cw18 wrote: »

I've never seen ox cheek, and none of the supermarket sites are bringing anything back. I assume that means I'd need a butcher to get it, and I don't have one of those anywhere near me

They have it at my local Mr T (though it is a HUGE one) and at almost every waitrose that I've ever been in. But it's always on the butchers counter so doesn't show up online. It's about £6/kg.

Ladyluck1 wrote: »

Spent £62 out of £125.
Eldest is costing me a fortune in snacks being off school!
Got a veg box coming tomorrow so that's another £12 to add got lots of meat in the freezer but I'll probably buy some mince so I'll add £15 tomorrow.

Is the eldest old enough to bake?

Ladyluck1

cw18 wrote: »

I've never seen ox cheek, and none of the supermarket sites are bringing anything back. I assume that means I'd need a butcher to get it, and I don't have one of those anywhere near me


I don't have a clue how to use/combine spices unless I have receipes that tell me how much of what to add. As a child I grew up in a household that only had plain cooking (don't think my Mum used anything other than a sprinkle of mixed herbs, and that was a rare event - I know I was 13 or 14 the one and only time she made bolognese when a school friend of mine came home for tea), and then spent years married to someone who was another fairly plain eater (though he would accept bolognese, lasagne and chilli which I'd never had before buying my own home). Wouldn't have a clue on sauces either - only ever use pasta sauces for the same reasons as above.

Try Kalua pig.
It's just a boneless shoulder or other fatty cut with 5 cloves of garlic and liberally salted in the slow cooker for 9-12 hours and comes out delicious!

Ladyluck1

cyantist wrote: »

They have it at my local Mr T (though it is a HUGE one) and at almost every waitrose that I've ever been in. But it's always on the butchers counter so doesn't show up online. It's about £6/kg.



Is the eldest old enough to bake?

Hes nearly 5, did help me make some fairy cakes the other day which were just inhaled! Haha

cyantist

Should have just looked at your signature! Maybe letting him loose in the kitchen isn't the best plan then...

cw18

cyantist wrote: »

They have it at my local Mr T (though it is a HUGE one) and at almost every waitrose that I've ever been in. But it's always on the butchers counter so doesn't show up online. It's about £6/kg.

No Waitrose anywhere reachable.
Most local Tesco is only a small one with a very small counter. Will try and remember to check a larger store when next I venture far enough from home

Ladyluck1 wrote: »

Try Kalua pig.
It's just a boneless shoulder or other fatty cut with 5 cloves of garlic and liberally salted in the slow cooker for 9-12 hours and comes out delicious!

Is the salt essential? That's another no-no in my kitchen apart from when using my bread maker (but I'm finding a lot of recipes for that taste much too salty, as do the Mr M in-store bakery granary rolls I bought recently )