Cooking for one

Nelski

PasturesNew wrote: »

It's complicated, but my family used to joke that my house was "Bleak House". There's rarely anything here, there's insufficient furniture, there's always things that can't be touched as they'll break/fall off the wall ... there's no milk, there's no food in the fridge and usually there's no heating on. There's no entertainment, there's no table/chairs or even any glasses.

Most of the lightbulbs are missing too, so little lighting.

In the main, people prefer to invite me to theirs, where they have food, heating, furniture, lighting, entertainment, drinks and comfort

When I first moved in here somebody from MSE came over for 2 days to stay ... brought her own sleeping bag to doss on the floor of the spare bedroom - and I have one folding garden chair and a garden lounger we used to sit on. She brought me some curtains that "nearly fitted" as I had just strung up a couple of bath towels for the first few days. I've since bought curtains "that fit", only they were a couple of inches long (so I've used hairgrips to turn them up a bit) and it appears that the curtain pole can't be up right as they're 1" longer on the right hand side of the room ... and the curtain pole's got no end bits to stop them falling off if you're not careful.

My patio door nets are ... Heath Robinson by design ... so don't open any windows or that whole lot'll fall down on your head

your house sounds fab and most importantly if you love it then who cares. I would quite happily sit on the garden furniture in the semi dark and laugh with you PN you have a lot to share

iammumtoone

Farway wrote: »

My bold, you're typo I hope, 3000Kw is 3MW, which is sort of what a factory will use. I think you mean 3KW, and even 3Kw is pushing a plug or socket, 2 KW is about right, which is a two bar electric fire

:eek::eek: gosh yes thanks you for pointing this out. It was a typo I do know its 3KW, well that's what I have always worked on, Can't remember now how I found that information (goggle I suspect) . I am never close to that, think the most I use is my hairdrier at 2.2 I always make sure that is plugged in on its own with nothing else running on that socket.

iammumtoone

PasturesNew wrote: »

I went for a new build house as it's got the most safety features etc, so I'm at least not having to deal with a 100 year old house that has a multitude of "bodges, work arounds, DIY and make it up" anywhere

With a new build your electrics will be fine. The reason mine scare me is I have that 100 year old house :eek: its in desperate need of a re-wire but its not something I can afford

My flapjacks are happily cooking can they count as healthy as they contain oats?

Dinner tonight I am treating myself to a takeaway/delivery. A local one has a low min spend of £7 from that I can get enough to last two full meals and a bit on the side for the third :T (its a Indian)

PasturesNew

iammumtoone wrote: »

With a new build your electrics will be fine. The reason mine scare me is I have that 100 year old house :eek: its in desperate need of a re-wire but its not something I can afford

Lived in that house ..... sat it out for 7 long years with "nothing" ... well, nothing except more issues all the time. When I could see the market was about to stall I bailed as I didn't want to sit there for another 10 years!

iammumtoone wrote: »

My flapjacks are happily cooking can they count as healthy as they contain oats?

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that... mine have banana AND oats in .... as well as 12 grams of sugar, 50 grams of butter and 30 grams of syrup Bifferland!

iammumtoone wrote: »

Dinner tonight I am treating myself to a takeaway/delivery. A local one has a low min spend of £7 from that I can get enough to last two full meals and a bit on the side for the third :T (its a Indian)

Blimey, that is good. Cheapest item I could get would be £8, but they have a minimum of £10-15 or so delivery ... and, actually, they're not even that good.

I go for a biryani as you get a lot of the rice portion, ensuring two meals from one order

iammumtoone

PasturesNew wrote: »

I go for a biryani as you get a lot of the rice portion, ensuring two meals from one order

Yes thats what I do, a veg one as its cheapest, then a side portion of masala sauce and a portion of spiced potatoes. (they are potatoes coated in the spices you get on southern fried chicken) that comes to just over the £7 for the free delivery, sometimes I treat myself to onion bhaji as well as you get salad and another sauce included with that.

PasturesNew

iammumtoone wrote: »

Yes thats what I do, a veg one as its cheapest, then a side portion of masala sauce and a portion of spiced potatoes. (they are potatoes coated in the spices you get on southern fried chicken) that comes to just over the £7 for the free delivery, sometimes I treat myself to onion bhaji as well as you get salad and another sauce included with that.

Yeah, veg as it's cheaper than the chicken ... and you never know if there'll be a funny bit of chicken that puts you off the rest... so veggie is best.

A biryani on its own usually finishes me off - no space for extras!!

Round here, just the biryani is £8-9 last time I looked. That's why I'm not fussed - it's a bit pricey and not good.

karcher

PasturesNew wrote: »

I have been thinking of writing it up next time I've got some milk in ...

Into a bowl, knob of butter. Nuke to melt.
Add the flour, stir until smooth.
Add a bit of milk, stir until smooth ... repeat a few times.
Nuke a bit (30 secs or so), check/stir and stare at it, how's it coming along?
Add more milk as you decide/require.
Nuke/stir/look a few more times
When it "looks about right", lob the grated cheese in, stir.
Nuke to melt the cheese, stir it ... does it need more cheese or milk? Add if required, stir, nuke.. serve.

It's easier done than it sounds ... it comes down to: You know what's in it... you know how you expect it to look .... so lob the stuff in until it's the right consistency.

I'll write it up with photos one day ... been doing it donkeys' years.

Thanks PN that's great, and written in your usual witty prose:D:T

I will definitely give that a go next time I make a sauce. Thanks

Tiddlywinks

PasturesNew wrote: »

I am always concerned that the electrical system is overloading, then overheating, then catching fire ... maybe visibly, or maybe behind a wall where I can't see it!

In the kitchen I have two sockets side by side, in the same plastic housing. One has the 700 watt microwave, the other has the ~1kW toaster oven. I daren't even have both turned on at the same time.

I'm not keen on having the kettle on at the same time as the toaster either (adjacent sockets).

Have a look at this site:

Electrical Safety

Socket calculator

It's like anything really - if you understand it then it's not as scary.

karcher

iammumtoone wrote: »

Yes thats what I do, a veg one as its cheapest, then a side portion of masala sauce and a portion of spiced potatoes. (they are potatoes coated in the spices you get on southern fried chicken) that comes to just over the £7 for the free delivery, sometimes I treat myself to onion bhaji as well as you get salad and another sauce included with that.

Oh lucky you. I wish I could get one delivered that cheap. I think the cheapest main dish is about £8 then add nann/ rice/ onion bhaji/side veg dish and you're looking at about £15-£20.

I'm very jealous, I really want a curry now, but I have bought a Pizza so that is on the menu tonight....and yes I will eat it all, so no leftovers :cool:

caronc

iammumtoone wrote: »

For those who struggle to get through milk (I don't I love custard and use it up that way) In poundland they sell those mini pots of UHT milk you see in cafes (think you get 36 in a pack) one is just enough for a cup of tea/coffee and they last months.

The thing that annoys me about milk is it only cost pennies more for 4 pints than two :mad: I can't get through four pints and don't have the freezer space for the extra

PN as you dont like to use the oven, do you have a George foreman? I love mine it is one of my most used kitchen gadgets. Perfect for cooking just 2 sausages / toasting cheese sandwiches / heating up pasties. I have even done "roasted" veg in it. Very easy to clean just wipe it down with kitchen paper whilst it is still hot.

These wee pots are great aren't I used to use them at work. I don't find getting through milk an issue and manage to get through the bigger cartons ok. I find it keeps well past the use by date and can't think of the last time I ran out or had to throw away any that gone bad

PasturesNew wrote: »

I have been thinking of writing it up next time I've got some milk in ...

Into a bowl, knob of butter. Nuke to melt.
Add the flour, stir until smooth.
Add a bit of milk, stir until smooth ... repeat a few times.
Nuke a bit (30 secs or so), check/stir and stare at it, how's it coming along?
Add more milk as you decide/require.
Nuke/stir/look a few more times
When it "looks about right", lob the grated cheese in, stir.
Nuke to melt the cheese, stir it ... does it need more cheese or milk? Add if required, stir, nuke.. serve.

It's easier done than it sounds ... it comes down to: You know what's in it... you know how you expect it to look .... so lob the stuff in until it's the right consistency.

I'll write it up with photos one day ... been doing it donkeys' years.

Thanks for that sounds just the business if you just need a wee bit of sauce

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Have a look at this site:

Electrical Safety

Socket calculator

It's like anything really - if you understand it then it's not as scary.

My house is an old one to though rewired around 15 years ago. I use a circuit breaker on my IT not so much as I'm worried about fire but to protect from power surges. My main also has breakers that trip if something faults and is pretty sensitive.

Nelski - "picky" bits for dinner so good on a Saturday night. Not sure about them not being good for a crowd - isn't it just a mini buffet? My boys used love these kind of meals when they were younger (still do probably) we called them "picnic teas" and I used to pop a blanket on the living room floor which seemed to make all the more special.

Tonight my son and I are having breaded haddock made from scratch which I'm really fond of. I've realised it isn't something I've made "just for me" but instead use the ready breaded frozen stuff which is fine but not as tasty. It just seems a bit of a faff for one but I suppose I could do a few fillets at a time and just freeze them will think about doing that in future when I've used up the ready made ones.