Love food hate Waste Part two for 2018 :)

Gem-gem

Made homemade pizza yesterday - used 1/2 whole meal flour and 1/2 normal plain flour (had run out of strong white flour). On the pizza we used up some homemade pasta sauce that was in the freezer. Hubby had it, as it was on the pizza. I whizzed up the left over jar of Sundried tomatoes and mixed it in with the sauce. On top of my pizza I place onion, tomato and ys red leceister, left over shavings of Parmesan and the last little bit of cheddar cheese.
Dug up some beetroots, roasted the beetroots and braised the leaves and stalks with some lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Have placed both into the freezer.

Gem-gem

Mummy2cheekymonkeys wrote: »

I haven't stopped all weekend. The plum tree in our garden has been dripping in plums so over the last week we have been picking them and then this weekend I had to deal with them so I now have:
4 jars compote
1 litre bottle plum dipping sauce
5 jars spiced plum chutney
8 jars plum jam
2 jars brandied plums
Was regretting it half way through making the jam as the weather was so hot but thank God it's all done now. Just had some of the compote with cold custard for pudding which was a nice reward. Phew!!

Good evening, wow, you have been busy with those plums.
So far I have made: strawberry jam, raspberry jam and black currant jam.
When you made your brandies plums, did your sterilise the jars with the fruit inside? When the tomatoes ripen I want to make pasta sauce but. Would like to store it in some jars. My freezer is rammed full. If you did, do you have any tips?

marns

VJsmum wrote: »

I have two tins of out of date condensed milk in the cupboard. Any suggestions?

Have tried making scottish tablet? You need a very sweet tooth mind. It makes a nice gift too.

This week I made a huge amount of moussaka instead of a sunday dinner with lamb mince from the freezer I got reduced. It's one of my favourites but it's a faff so I always make up plenty to freeze portions too. I also got some catering bags of sliced mushrooms from asda for pennies, left over from the pizza counter so lots of mushroom soup (another favourite).

I work funny shifts so batch cooking means I can have something quick for when I get in but I need a bigger freezer!

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Gem-gem wrote: »

Good evening, wow, you have been busy with those plums.
So far I have made: strawberry jam, raspberry jam and black currant jam.
When you made your brandies plums, did your sterilise the jars with the fruit inside? When the tomatoes ripen I want to make pasta sauce but. Would like to store it in some jars. My freezer is rammed full. If you did, do you have any tips?

I'm probably not going to be much help. I'm sure there are others on this forum who will have a much better knowledge on the subject than me. I'm pretty new to preserving. I normally stick to just jams, jellies and chutneys. I've never tried canning as I'm worried about the whole botulism thing. With the brandied plums I researched online and had a look at a few different recipes. It's also called rumtopfh. I sterlised the jars in the oven like if I was making jam and then put the plums and sugar in and then poured in the brandy until it was all covered. I did see a recipe that was with a sugar syrup and a small amount of brandy but that had to be done in a water bath and I wasn't confident so went for the other option. Maybe have a search online and look at all the different options first.

[Deleted User]

I'm trying desperately hard to run the freezers down before the coming house move as we're not taking the giant one or the small freebie chest that takes the overspill with us, they are just too old to bother but I seem to keep finding home grown fruit and veg from a couple of years ago in them, we must be more squirrely than squirrels! So this evening I shall use up some home frozen leeks and broad beans along with frozen peas, and sweetcorn and fresh courgettes, carrots, French beans and onion to make us a tomato based vegetable stew which I'll serve with a savoury onion rice base. I keep making fruit compote from blackberries/gooseberries/raspberries that surface too but this years fresh blackberries are ripening as fast as we can eat them and not helping the freezer cause one tiny bit!

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I'm trying desperately hard to run the freezers down before the coming house move as we're not taking the giant one or the small freebie chest that takes the overspill with us, they are just too old to bother but I seem to keep finding home grown fruit and veg from a couple of years ago in them, we must be more squirrely than squirrels! So this evening I shall use up some home frozen leeks and broad beans along with frozen peas, and sweetcorn and fresh courgettes, carrots, French beans and onion to make us a tomato based vegetable stew which I'll serve with a savoury onion rice base. I keep making fruit compote from blackberries/gooseberries/raspberries that surface too but this years fresh blackberries are ripening as fast as we can eat them and not helping the freezer cause one tiny bit!

I save up berries in a bag in the freezer, adding to it as they ripen and then when I have enough I make a batch of jam. Always worth considering if you are running out of freezer space.

[Deleted User]

Not running out of freezer space but running out of the will to live if I'm forced to eat many more things containing blackberries! We're moving in the very near future and to a destination far from Hampshire so we'll not be taking the old freezers, we've had the big one for at least 20 years and the small chest one is a freecycle jobbie that we got to put everything in from the big one so we could defrost it. Sadly we filled them both up that year and so it goes! allotment, big garden, greenhouse and big polytunnel mean full freezers! it's just amazing how much is actually frozen away from the last couple of years, I must have put it all in there but I certainly don't remember it being that much!

Hopeless_Case

I can't remember who said that they cut spring onions from the green end for salad, but thanks. what a fab tip

As I only cut a bit to go in our salad, a bunch really lasts for ages

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Not running out of freezer space but running out of the will to live if I'm forced to eat many more things containing blackberries! We're moving in the very near future and to a destination far from Hampshire so we'll not be taking the old freezers, we've had the big one for at least 20 years and the small chest one is a freecycle jobbie that we got to put everything in from the big one so we could defrost it. Sadly we filled them both up that year and so it goes! allotment, big garden, greenhouse and big polytunnel mean full freezers! it's just amazing how much is actually frozen away from the last couple of years, I must have put it all in there but I certainly don't remember it being that much!

I know how you feel but it's a nice problem to have I suppose. I've still got some sliced apple and bags of rhubarb from last year. The problem is you want to use it up but then the garden stars producing again and it's best freshly picked. This year I want to make a concious effort to use stuff asap and not let it build up. For me the worst thing is courgettes. I will think I'll use a couple in a few days then you go and have a look on the plant and theres loads more and before you know it I've got more courgettes then asda lol. Good luck with it.

[Deleted User]

Its awfully hard to run down the freezers and I have spent the last few months trying to do it just so I can defrost the blooming thing.I swear stuff multiplies in there :)
doesn't help that my neighbours bless them give me their overspill stuff from their gardens /allotments and I'm just a gal who can't say no


JackieO xx