Cooking for one (Mark Two)

moneyistooshorttomention

It's not just the bigger Tesco's that do that free fruit (for kids) thing Pastures. I think they all do - not sure about the absolutely weeny corner-shop size ones - but the rest certainly.

caronc

Good afternoon everyone,
Farway - hope you enjoyed your buffet.
Andy - I have dried onions in the cupboard they are "Great Scot" brand, Whitworth is another brand that does them. I think mine came from Morrisons or Asda as I know Tesco don't stock them.
If you have an Asian store near you they quite often have big bags of the dried fried ones.

It's wild outside and fully dark so I think the forecasted gales this evening aren't far away. It's not really cold but damp and chilly so my heating was popped on about 1/2 an hour ago.

Lunch ended up being toast and tinned soup, it was quick and filled a space! I've still not decided about tonight but don't think I fancy pasta we'll see!

PasturesNew

I opened the pack of cooked sausages and munched on about 8 of them (pack of 40)... then, for an early tea, I've just had chips, beans and grated cheddar

It turned cold, so I put the heating on for a bit. I find it's better to put it on when I think it's about to get freezing, rather than waiting until it does - as that heat is of most benefit and "lasts longer" than waiting until I'm freezing and it's the last possible minute.

Heating's on for the same amount of time, just "before I need it" rather than "long after I needed it".

Farway

caronc wrote: »

Good afternoon everyone,
Farway - hope you enjoyed your buffet.

Yes thanks I did, too much food for me, but it was pick N mix with plenty of choice. They used one of the "We supply your high tea" type of catering, posh china cups, tea pots, dainty triangle sarnies etc. Very well done, and no washing up for the kitchen volunteers

I came home with a doggy bag of mixed sarnies, sausage rolls, pizza triangle & a mince pie. No CFO tonight:T so a good food day all round, Shame about the calories

Dried onion flakes, they were very handy but I've not seen them for ages. Maybe gone the way of many useful but not a lot of profit items?

With the talk of stew & dumplings PN, with Caroline + Arctic plunge on the way, I have added a packet of Veg suet to my must buy soon list, along with the bangers & beans in a tin. I think I will decant the suet into a jar & store in fridge in the hope it does not go manky before I use it again

AndyCF

Thanks PN and caronc for the Onion ideas, appreciated.

I decided not to bother with the Onion Salt or Onion Granules on my order, they were 80p each anyway so not a mass bank breaker but I suspect I'd try them once and never want to use them again as I do not really think either was going to be ideal for what I needed it for.

The latter to me really really says "this is onion gravy granules in a way" (even though its not) as if I wanted those I'd pick a small tub or stock cube type item of said flavour.

I'll keep an eye on a local shop then for something suitable, it will turn up. I did think a "famous stuffing manufacturer" made them but their site is down so I can't check, it may be my memory playing tricks but the last box I had was certainly about that size. I'll just spend a bit of time when I'm in each 'local' to find (or actually ask someone!) if they have any.

meg72

AndyCF wrote: »

Oh I knew there was a quick question

I was looking for a pack of dried onions but could not find any. You know the usual 'cup soup' type size of box with just said onions in.

However I did see two small alternatives here both were tiny 'salt pot' size tubs:

One was 'Onion Granules' and one was 'Onion Salt'

Which would be best to have ? The salt may be a bit too much as really I merely wanted the dried onions to either throw into mash, perhaps put a few bits/flakes of them into a hot soup or such.

I'm thinking neither would be best really as salt is salt ( ? ) and the granules I suspect will merely dissolve like that "onion gravy" mix you can get. I may have to wait, I'd rather not have a fresh onion as a little 'freeze dried' pack will last me a long long time.

If you are near an Asda they have the Scots dried onions

https://groceries.asda.com/product/mixed-other-vegetables/great-scot-dried-onions/39636

PasturesNew

Farway wrote: »

I think I will decant the suet into a jar & store in fridge in the hope it does not go manky before I use it again

What I used to do was buy a box of the suet and a small bag of flour - because the suet used to be in 250g boxes ... so it was the perfect mix. But now it comes in 200g boxes (grrr). So now what I do is tip the whole box out and weigh out 400g of the flour and mix them - then just store those in an airtight container. Lasts more than a year, I've never had a problem with it at all. What I spooned out 2 days ago was mixed up at least a year ago!

Do it like that and there's no future measuring, just give it a shake and/or a spoon around to check it's still mixed, then just spoon out "what you fancy, by eye"

PasturesNew

meg72 wrote: »

Scots dried onions

At the risk of sounding as tight as I am ....

That's £10.75/Kg. My big bag was about £1.40-£1.50/Kg!

It's always that balance isn't it, between having a manageable quantity... or a trough-full that'll last 10 years because "it's better value"

PasturesNew

I fancy something sweet.... but the kitchen is soooooo very dark in the evenings. I was going to knock up a quick flapjack, I have everything there .... but then I remembered how depressing and brown and dark the kitchen is and decided to go without.

caronc

Farway wrote: »

I came home with a doggy bag of mixed sarnies, sausage rolls, pizza triangle & a mince pie. No CFO tonight:T so a good food day all round, Shame about the calories

:T:T and s@d the calories it's due to get artic;)

PasturesNew wrote: »

At the risk of sounding as tight as I am ....

That's £10.75/Kg. My big bag was about £1.40-£1.50/Kg!

It's always that balance isn't it, between having a manageable quantity... or a trough-full that'll last 10 years because "it's better value"

These wee bags convert into a lot of onions and they are really strongly flavoured so a little goes a long way so it doesn't feel hugely expensive IFYSWIM. It's not something I use a lot of so I'd never get through a huge bag. I do hope they don't discontinue them. I would dehydrate my own but can't face the fumes. :eek: I like to add a good pinch to stuffing mixes, dry BBQ rubs or HM onion soup.:)