Cooking for one

caronc

monnagran wrote: »

OK, forget cooking for one. This is the week in the month when I cook for 70 on Wednesday.

This week I've decided to do gammon,. parsley sauce, potato wedges, peas and tomatoes followed by warm brownies and ice cream.

All is organised and I have made 6 dozen brownies today ready to be warmed through on Wednesday. Would you believe that I find something like this far easier than feeding myself. Left to my own devices I will live on sandwiches.
Weird.

x

I find cooking for a crowd much easier than just for one - once you get above 5 or 6 folk it is just a matter of scale though hope you have plenty of helpers

monnagran wrote: »

No. it has to be a pin Unless you stab yourself in the lips several times you haven't fully enjoyed the experience of eating a pomegranate.

LOL - been there :rotfl:

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never owned/used eye brow tweezers - I'll try to remember to keep an eye out in the cheap shops for some.

.

I think mine were 70p from Superdrug use them for lots of things in the kitchen

caronc

karcher wrote: »

PN everything you said in your last post relates exactly to me!!! (except I don't have a car)

I Just posted these 2 comments on the 'What's for dinner' thread, but thought they might be relevant here too :

I don't do menu planning as I would never ever stick to it.

I decide on the day, depending on what I fancy.

What I think I might want for dinner in the morning will change numerous times before the end of the day...so meal planning is a non starter for me.

I tend to buy the staples for making a variety of different things when i do a big shop every 2/3 weeks.

I think it helps that I don't live that close to any shops and don't have a car so am not tempted to just buy something I fancy as I pass the shops, which would blow the budget out of the water!!

I do of course, pick up a few bits, like freshly baked bread, salad and veg whilst out at the weekends but other than that I stick to using up what I've bought during my big shop.

I appreciate it's not for everyone and I'm not sticking to my "plan" religously - at the moment I'm more or less wholly reliant on on-line deliverys so find it is helping me reduce costs and tackle my food mountain in the freezers. When I'm back to being able to pick up stuff on my way back from work I'll be a lot more flexible. I think it comes down to whatever works for you there is no right or wrong:D

mrssnowy wrote: »

I'm a singly,DH died nearly 3 years ago so then used to share fresh veg with Mum,who sadly died last year.
I to love cabbage and have found that it keeps very well prepared as usual and will then keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for quite a few days-sometimes a week.It is great cooked in microwave in covered container for > 2 mins.
Cauliflower,just cut off as many florets as you can manage to eat,keep rest in fridge.Have heard to use damp kitchen paper,but never tried it.

I don't believe in wasting money on kitchen paper !!

I do very vague meal planning-but usually just one day at a time, and start when I wake at 5.30 ish with porridge/toast ,just porridge or just toast-decisions decisions.
Then after breakfast look in the cupboards/fridge,then remember what I have to do for the day (retired but busy),then it is whatever needs using up.

mrss

Hi mrss -welcome to the thread:D I've not tried the kitchen roll trick but do find tinfoil works. I tend to buy frozen cauliflower mainly because they have been teeny and expensive here recently and from the frozen bag I can just use what I need. I found when I was just sorting out food on each day I was eating pretty much the same things as what I might fancy wasn't defrosted and I was overbuying and wasting fresh stuff which I hate. Once I get more in a rhythm I'll no doubt be less disciplined

PasturesNew

karcher wrote: »

I don't live that close to any shops

Access to shops/services was a major part of choosing where to live. I could've got a bigger house, with a garage, 4-5 miles away ... but this house gives me access to shops/buses/places to walk to that might have something going on in the summer/weekends.

I work on the basis "If the car's off the road and you're ill and have just £5 in your pocket, can you get to a shop that stocks a good range of food at affordable prices" - so not only a tiny corner shop.

Within 1/2 a mile of here I've got: a bus stop running into town (1 mile); two budget supermarkets; a posh food shop; two 24 hour fast food popular takeaways; a pizza shop; a fish/chip shop; a small cafe; 3 small Spar/similar shops; 2 hot burger vans; a national supermarket.

If I had just £5 and was ill I'd walk 300 paces and trawl round a budget supermarket, knowing I could come out with a load of food.

PasturesNew

mrssnowy wrote: »

I'm a singly

Welcome.

I use frozen because I eat "badly" ... and I never know what I'll fancy, so it's in there when I want it. Still discovering which frozen veggies to buy and changing my mind over time.

Some fresh things I buy I chop/freeze immediately: peppers/onions.

Veg tends to be mixed bags - currently a 4-veg mix and I'm picking out the sweetcorn as I'm saving that up to use in the summer in a tuna/mayo mix

I microwave 75% of my food. 15% is provided by the toaster. 10% in a toaster oven and 5% slow cooker. I manage all right... even did Crimbo Dinner like that!

Anne_Marie_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

I rarely shop, I tend to run down what I've got - then "go without" some things for as long as possible... then I go food shopping.

Having shopped I've then got food overload and lots of "nice things", so tend to binge eat a bit in the 1-2 days after going into a food shop. After 2 days I've usually eaten all the "goodies" and then have to start looking at what needs eating first.

I've been in food shops 3x this month. First time just for crumpets/coffee; second time I can't remember, but not a great deal more than that.... and then yesterday's big blowout that had me going into Home Bargains, L1dl, Ald1.

I did make a mistake in HB ... saw loo roll and thought "Ah, better stock up", so grabbed a pack of 18 .... carried it to the car, opened the boot ... and saw that I'd had the same idea the last time I'd been there as there were still two packs of 18 in the boot that hadn't yet made it as far as the house.

When I shop, then park at home, I'll often leave things in the car, until a time I fancy bringing them in. I'll often only bring in the perishables and similar because I hate going back/forth a lot... and I know if I want things that are in the car I can pop out to get them. It's typically heavy tins and loo rolls that get left in there.

I always lift the heavy bags out first, then the rest are that bit easier. Always empty the car of all shopping. It's a chore if you do a big shop, but I find that after running to the loo first, and then going back and getting all into the house, getting things into fridge and freezer, and then all else can wait. Usually a cup of coffee and then can deal with the rest of the shopping, putting it where it should be.

Wish I left 18 toilet rolls in the car though....I have a fear of not having enough. As soon as I get down to having 4 rolls in a toilet, it's time to buy more. Not quite a panic attic, but definitely need to get more in.
I've got three toilets, so that's 12 loo rolls at my minimum level. In reality, it's the downstairs loo that is used most, the en suite next, and the other rarely. I always keep 6/8 loo rolls in the upstairs toilets, and the big pack in the downstairs toilet. (Big pack is usually 32 rolls). We all have our wee things to bother about. Know fine well that my thing about toilet roll is nuts.

mrssnowy_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

Welcome.

I use frozen because I eat "badly" ... and I never know what I'll fancy, so it's in there when I want it. Still discovering which frozen veggies to buy and changing my mind over time.

Hi PasturesNew

One of my favourite quick meals is fishcakes cooked from frozen with microwaved peas and broad beans BUT,MUST HAVE lashings of tartare sauce-ooo nom nom .

Made daal the other day,very good and used up(my own frozen, and chucked in freezer) onions and pepper.Made too much but also used up some of the lentil mountain and not as windy as when used in soup !! Don'know why,but always a bonus.

night
mrss

OMG,I too have a loo roll hoard,Mum and I both had same siege mentality ,having now combined 2 hoards in the same house.....guess where I am shopping.
Sardines on toast,corned beef hash/fritters/sandwiches,tinned fruit crumble/with yogurt/in jelly,tinned mushrooms in anything.Don't like crab meat or mackerel .A lot out of date,but all tins intact.Did throw out 5 tins of 2004 evap milk

PasturesNew

Anne_Marie wrote: »

Always empty the car of all shopping.

....I have a fear of not having enough.

I don't have a drive, I've a parking spot, so it's a pain to squeeze out of the car after going out, then make sure I've got the gate key, then carry what I can while still being able to use the gate key and use the house key to open the door and get in.... just about had enough by then

What's out there can wait.

The perfect house always had a driveway with a kitchen door right by that, so I could've driven up the driveway, opened the car and just moved stuff a few feet between the car and back door ... but beggars can't be choosers

They're building next to me; house like mine'd cost £275k. Daft prices I say! It's "identical" to mine (same sort of design/same builder) .... but 10% smaller in floor space and 20% smaller garden. One parking spot.

I've always had a fear of running out. When I brought all these three new packs of 18 into the house and put them with the other three in the house .... I realised I probably don't need more until next Christmas now

caronc

Morning everyone
Stashing loo roll maybe it's a single household thing as I've always got have a good stock in and get twitchy if it falls below 8 or 9 spare:)
One of the pros of on-line delivery is they bring it all into the house so no trekking to and fro laden with shopping:D I've no driveway either so it was either quickly park at the front and unload as quickly as I could to avoid holding up traffic or park in the lane at the back and heft it up my very long back garden (120ft) - don't miss that all

monnagran

I've had a 'hoard the toilet rolls' mentality ever since the great toilet roll shortage n the 1970s. Remember that?
I occasionally accompany a friend to the cash&carry where they do packs of 24 BOGOF. I always feel secure with 48 rolls stored under the bed. Last time I moved, the removal men enquire if I was expecting an outbreak of dysentery.

I find that a lot of vegetables keep better in the fridge if wrapped in tin foil. Salad stuff too which is a great thing because if there is only you to eat it a lot of it gets wasted.

x

caronc

Perhaps I should re-name this thread "toilet roll hoarders united"? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: