The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

greenbee

I have a pressure cooker but haven't managed to get the hang of it on the electric hob. I hope one day to manage to sort out my kitchen (i.e. actually have one) and will put in calor gas. Then maybe I can get the PC going. I should use the SC more given the appalling kitchen facilities!

Verbatim

aahhh pressure cooker I think. Got it!:j

Katzen

I agree that a sc probably adds more to cheap cuts of meat than to veggie meals but I have been reading recently that dried beans can be chucked in a recipe after the soaking stage and left to cook in the juices, rather than being boiled first. I need to try that though before I go recommending it. I also like the fact I can leave it on all day without fear of either having the gas hob burning unattended or the pan drying out in the oven. But, each to their own.
I do need a pressure cooker in some form in my life! Greenbee, look into one of those multi-cooler pots, they do SC, PC, saut!, rice, yoghurt and porridge (apparently) might be a worthy investment if your kitchen is rubbish

Verbatim

Sorry. So pleased I'd worked it out I posted before seeing all the helpful replies. Thanks everyone.

greenbee

Thanks Katzen - but I'm saving up for a kitchen I need stuff like a floor, a ceiling, an oven, a hob, some worksurface and somewhere to store things!

Katzen

Ha, yeah fair enough. Those things are probably more useful in the long run greenbee

beanielou

Upsidedown_Bear wrote: »

I thought it was....





although I was wondering how that related to cooking :doh::rotfl:

Me too :rotfl:

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Visitors, how luverly

EH - I was scared stiff of PC's - too many tales of *tea on the ceiling* and kids and cats cowering in the corner as a result. But the new generation of cookers are much, much less hissy and I was won over by a utoob video

Verbatim - well done - sorry about my shorthand

I don't think that it has actually stopped raining today Needless to say, we stayed firmly ensconced in the homestead We would have just got too wet if we had ventured out

Still, nsd by default Which is just as well, because the budget is evaporating before my very eyes Dh won't take leftovers to work anymore due to shift changes and has sandwiches instead. I'm sure it costs more in bread, 'butter', cheese and other fillings etc

I made Heidi's rice casserole for tea. Very nice. I've made similar before. And I'm sure that the wildrice would have given it a nuttier taste, but it was nice to follow a recipe (I usually just wing it) and see what came about The 'style' of recipe is a keeper for me, I think that what you put into it, is so endlessly variable. As it was, I used red onions (thank you S6), spinach and substituted yoghurt for the sour cream, because I had that. I teamed it with what I had, so that was the last 2 carrots (now waiting for Thursday when mrL have them for 29p kilo in the 'pick 'o t'week'), frozen peas, frozen sweetcorn and a tin of baked beans. I don't think Heidi would have served that combination........... Picture here;



Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

the blackbirds and starlings that became our entertainment - they were soaked, and yet were bathing in the puddles????

warmth and comfort for BG and I - dreading the bill though.......

seeing things at BG's level and watching their daily development - priceless.

Thanks for popping in, reading and chatting. Most appreciated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

I've just looked out of the window, and it's not raining :j at the moment......

I'm definitely hopeful that we can get out and about today, anyway.

Tea will be soup. I'm going for 'Snert' - Dutch Pea Soup. I have made it before. I will be making it with yellow split peas though, I think traditionally it may be made with green split peas, but h0me barg1ns don't seem to sell those for 49p for 500g. So you have to cut your cloth. I also don't have a carrot (forgot I needed one when I used the last for tea last night ) So I will substitute with the last sweet potato instead - or might just leave it out altogether.

I might use a walk to get the TV mag today. It'll mean that it's not a nsd, but then I don't really bother with those anymore, so......... I suppose it is nice when you don't need to spend, and you rack up lots of days - but they are a tool to curb impulse spending really. I'm usually buying needed bits, but I am buying them in dribs and drabs.

I think going into the NY we need to do a budget overhaul. Whilst I am grateful to DH picking up bits from the supermercardo, there seems to be more and more days where 'bread and milk' are being gone for, and then there is x or y or z being bought on top. We use it all, waste none (or rarely, rarely), but perhaps we need to s-t-r-e-t-c-h what we have a little more and dare I say, 'do without' sometimes. Actually, that has happened today, as we are out of bananas. The world has not caved in..... yet...... And one look at the fruit bowl shows that there are plenty of apples and pears. Substitution is no bad thing.

Right, I'm off to attend to Baby Greying and find some coffee.

Thanks for popping in and reading. Very much appreciated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Lawks, that's depressing

In the spirit of looking at the budget for food, I just did a quick and rough estimation of 'staple' costs per month. So; oil, flour, beans, lentils, oats, w33tab1x, sultanas, tea, coffee, spices - those sort of things. I know that I don't know for certain precisely how much of these things I use each month - And I KNOW what greenbee and EH are going to say..... :rotfl::rotfl: but I've done a pretty fair estimation, and......... I need £50 per month just to cover these things.......:( That is £12.50 (at least) per week before I buy any eggs, any vegetables, any cheese, tofu or tinned tomatoes

And within reason, I am getting these staples at the best prices. The oats are w/sale price because of the co-operative. Pulses and spices at asian grocery prices, not chi-chi supermercado packet & jar prices.I shop mrL and h0me barg1ns for baked beans, tea, coffee etc.

And I know w33tab1x is a brand. I know you can get generic breakfast biscuits. I started eating w/bix when pregnant - I didn't usually bother with breakfast. But thought I better had..... I investigated the alternatives and they all seem to have much higher salt content, and not always the same vitamin content. I realise I could have the cheaper cereal, and only eat 1 'biscuit' per day (I currently have 2) but then I might as well give it up all together. I'm still not fussed about eating first thing in the morning any way.

Gosh, this has been an eye-opener.

Greying X