THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

ivyleaf

Happy Birthday Lyn :beer: Glad you've had a lovely day.

ArthriticOldThing

I'm late I know but HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYN. :bdaycake:

NewShadow

I find it hard to get why some say we 'need' more variety. Personally I think we do okay in the UK and 'need' is a word that rings with entitlement - want, sure. We always 'want' more.

I'd much rather eat seasonally and semi-locally (British) than eat forced and tasteless food, or food that's been shipped halfway around the world before it gets to me.

It's not like we're spoilt for choice.

thriftwizard

Happy Birthday from me too, MrsLW!

All I can say to those of you who love the food you grew up with, is - you didn't grow up with my mother's cooking! Bless her, she tried... I'm writing about this elsewhere, but I've just discovered that she had never cooked a meal in her life before she married my father; she woke up on the first morning of her married life with less than no idea what to do about breakfast... this explains a LOT. Luckily most of us found ways of coping by trial and error, and I really enjoy cooking now. But I don't think any of us will ever be reconciled to custard...

GreyQueen

Mum's Mum was very much a queen of the hearth type and didn't want Mum 'messing about' in her kitchen when she was a girl. With the result that Mum started married life with Dad at 21 as a so-so cook and a rubbish baker.

There were many humourous incidents, such as the time Mum made a bun mix, decided life was too short to spoon it into individual bun cases, and put the whole lot in a cake tin and gave it the same amount of time she'd give the buns.

When the 15 or so minutes were up, it looked fine, brown on the top, out it comes from the oven, turned upside down over a mesh cooling rack and whoosh! the semi liquid 'cake' plops out.

So many and varied were the culinary catastrophes in those first months that next-door's chickens, who were the chief beneficaries, would come charging up to the fence in excitement each and every time our back door was opened...... :rotfl:

Dad was slightly chubby at the time of their marriage but soon slimmed down once away from Nan's superb baking skills.

mrssnowy_2

VJsmum wrote: »

No, not yuk..... I put a handful of oats or two in a bowl, grate 1/3 to 1/2 a courgette in, mix with almond milk, put in frozen berries and leave the whole to soak - preferably overnight. Then i add a couple of spoons of greek yogurt and add chopped nuts. it's delicious, I miss the courgette if i don't have it. You can't taste it, but it adds a great texture and bulks without adding to the carb content.

Try it - you might surprise yourself

If you google 'zoats' there are recipes, but most are eaten hot whereas i eat mine cold, like bircher muesli - it's very filling and i eat it as a sort of 'brunch' - it lasts hours before you are hungry again.

Hi VJsmum, not quite convinced -could be that my teeth are very sensitive at the moment and feeling the cold !!
Will wait for warmer weather.
Thanks for info anyway.
mrss

westcoastscot

Thanks Mrs L, that bit about brassica growing earlier in the year must have passed me by!!!

Edited to add Happy Birthday!!!!

mtstm, you can easily be vegetarian or vegan on British food - many were during the war, and still are today. Just takes a wee bit more effort but well worth it.

We eat fairly seasonally here most of the time, partly through choice and partly through circumstance. One of the things I love is anticipating much loved food as it comes into season, when we haven't had it for ages - raspberries, rhubarb, fresh peas, corn, new carrots, new potatoes, tomatoes............

ALIBOBSY

GreyQueen wrote: »

I know one place on the main road outside my Nan's village where apple cores have obviously been hurled over the years and where there is a wonderful show of apples every autumn, large ones not crabs, and some of them only 4-5 ft above ground level.

If hungry for apples, roadsides are surprisingly productive places to forage, which may be worth socking away in the old memory bank.

There is a small lane near us that alot of people don't even know of, it leads to a small fishing club and a childrens play area, but there are a number of crab apple trees planted along the land, a hedge made of black thorn, hazelnut, blackberries et al along the far side of the playground/grassed area and by the entrance amongst the bushes and trees is one of those "grown from a disgarded core" type trees which grows mid sized green apples which are so like golden delicious.

Ali x

moneyistooshorttomention

thriftwizard wrote: »

All I can say to those of you who love the food you grew up with, is - you didn't grow up with my mother's cooking! Bless her, she tried... I'm writing about this elsewhere, but I've just discovered that she had never cooked a meal in her life before she married my father; she woke up on the first morning of her married life with less than no idea what to do about breakfast... this explains a LOT. Luckily most of us found ways of coping by trial and error, and I really enjoy cooking now. But I don't think any of us will ever be reconciled to custard...

We didn't share a mother did we?:rotfl::rotfl: That sounds a lot like mine...:rotfl:

Hence I've been experimenting my way through learning about food/cooking/etc since as much as my money would allow of. Now - at my age - I chop out the bit about "as much as my money would allow of" and do so regardless. Not getting any younger as the phrase goes....:)

I alternate to and fro between being enthusiastic about cooking/eating food sometimes and CBA at other times and I just think "Grab some protein/some fruit & veg/some filler food and I've covered all bases". I'm in CBA mode at the moment - but it'll be time to experiment madly again once I've got my new kitchen and things like much more worksurface/more "time and motion conscious" layout by far/etc. Already waiting to "get at it".

On the variety front - personally I was going up the wall backwards back when I had to economise like mad with food - having the same darn things over and over and over again - as I'd figured out they were the cheapest to match my criteria (apart from the organic one - which was a later introduction). Hence - never mind rice, rice and more rice and I try out a wide variety of grains. Never mind one variety of apple all the time - I'll try out every type I can get my hands on now and so on. I got very very bored of such a restricted range of stuff to choose from for years at a stretch. These days I've got a bit of a motto of "See food matching my criteria that I havent tried = where's my purse?"

ALIBOBSY

Trying to get back to some sort of normality here. Had Dad's funeral yesterday and the church was packed out. My little sister and I spoke about some of our memories, not sure how I managed to speak, but I am so glad I did it for Dad and loads of people said to us afterwards how we had done him proud.

Our vicar was lovely and when I lost it somewhat coming out of the crematorium he put his arms around me and gave me a hug. His lovely wife keeps hugging me everytime we see her and she is one of those people who is so positive and lovely that she makes you feel better just after a few mins with her.

Went to church on weds before the funeral and taking communion and seeing alot of friends and that sense of community support really helps. I know religion is not for ev1, but for me my belief and the whole community support has been a god send.

Trying to concentrate on the year ahead and being more positive, got plans to revamp the garden and spend more time growing things as I let it slide a bit last year, but I get alot of joy from it and as my Dad was such a keen gardener I think I will feel a bit closer to him when pottering about. Plus the planning and shortly seed sowing is helping distract me.

Onwards and upwards
Ali x