Love food hate Waste Part two for 2018 :)

[Deleted User]

Hi chums ,boy its a warm one today, I had to go to Bluewater to get both my DD's anniversary presents as their wedding anniversaries are both in August 13th and 14th very hot on the way up and (hangs head ) used my air con in the car as with the windows open it was like having a blow torch blowing through the car .Still got what I needed and came home stright away without mooching round the shops .

Tonight's dinner is sweet chilli chicken thighs and salad, the chicken will go into my remoska store cook and the salad won't take five minutes to knock up.

Not buying any food shopping for the moment as I have more than enough in store.

I did have a nice freebie coffee and cake courtesy of John Lewis as I had a voucher and the apple tart and fresh cream was a nice treat after my shopping :)

I still have one more voucher to use up but it doesn't become valid until 3rd September

Hope everyone is coping OK with the heat I am really looking forwrd to some rain as Kent is so hot at the moment and not a lot of breeze at all.
Even too warm for me to do my knitting:mad::mad:

Cheers chums
JackieO xx

[Deleted User]

We had distant rumblings of thunder in the early hours but not a spot of rain and we were 23 degrees outside at 7 this morning, we've a little overcast at the moment but I think we're used to the heat now so it's hard to tell if it is cooler or imagination. The next few weeks will be a concerted effort to use up most of the store cupboard as I don't really want to move many boxes of tinned things so I'm going to be inventive and grit my teeth and cook despite the heat. I've lots of tinned tomatoes so tonight I'm making Huevos Rancheros (Mexican Farmers Eggs) usually served as breakfast but we like it for supper too, I even have a packet of wraps so I'll use them instead of tortillas as a base for it. I'm going to make a vegan Chilli Mole as I've peppers in the freezer and some very dark chocolate for the sauce and many types of beans in tins too. I'm going to do that in the slow cooker to keep the kitchen as cool as I can. Recipes for using canned pulses would be very welcome if any come to mind?

Hopeless_Case

Gem-gem wrote: »

Do butternut squashes like lots of water, like courgettes ?
Should you water around the root of the main plant or all along the plant. Are the twirling bits along the vine extra roots or just anchors?

It's the first time that I've grown them, so i'm not an expert, but I'm watering them the same amount as the courgettes and the squashes are starting to grow, and the vine bits haven't got too long yet so I can't really see what they are like, I always grow a courgette plant or two but I've dug up a bit of lawn and it's my first try with the squashes. They are in the shade of the house for much of the day, until the afternoon (North-West aspect) and that may be suiting them in this heatwave, as the courgettes are the best they've ever been

Hopeless_Case

Does anyone have any recipes for blackberry jam (or bramble jelly ? Or is this more wasteful/) - there is going to be such a bumper crop this year, the south facing hedges are overloaded already, and the north facing ones still flowering, and I pick some each morning when I'm out with the dogs, so i thought I'll easily collect enough for a handful in my chopped fruit most mornings plus a few crumbles over the winter, and fancy making a bit of jam

I've got a maslim pan but not tried blackberry jam yet

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

When ever I make blackberry jam I just weigh the blackberries and add the same amount of granulated sugar and the juice of a lemon. Add a small amount of water to the blackberries and start to cook them on a low heat then add the sugar and lemon juice. Once the sugar has dissolved turn the heat up and boil. I follow the same recipe for most of the jams I make and I've never had a problem.

Working_Mum

Hopeless_Case wrote: »

Does anyone have any recipes for blackberry jam (or bramble jelly ? Or is this more wasteful/) - there is going to be such a bumper crop this year, the south facing hedges are overloaded already, and the north facing ones still flowering, and I pick some each morning when I'm out with the dogs, so i thought I'll easily collect enough for a handful in my chopped fruit most mornings plus a few crumbles over the winter, and fancy making a bit of jam

I've got a maslim pan but not tried blackberry jam yet

Last year I used a recipe for bramble jam that I found online, strained the cooked berry mixture through a sieve overnight into a pan so the juice could be boiled up with jam sugar and a bit of extra pectin as it can be quite loose.

It is delish and my friends all loved it!

PS I did a similar approach with plums too as I don't like jam with bits in it

Bigjenny

I use this recipe, it covers blackberries, raspberries, plums and strawberries


https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11750/angelas-flexible-jam-recipe

[Deleted User]

I usually freeze my blackberries for crumbles or to add to plain yogurts as I don't eat much jam as I don't eat bread, but I save all of my spare left over empty jars from pickles etc for my sis-in -law as she makes beautiful chutneys in the autumn

We were supposed to have some rain by 2.00 and its now six 0'clock and not a drop in sight so if anyone has some raain can you send some to north Kent as its extremely hot and humid here with not aa sign of anything wet at all :):)
JackieO xx

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Sorry JackieO if we get any, I'm keeping it lol. We haven't had a drop here since may. The water butts have been empty for weeks. We are on a meter so have been saving every drop we can. We've been carting buckets of bath water down the stairs to keep the veg patch going.

[Deleted User]

pathetic drizzle last night around 7.30 which stopped after 10 minutes and everywhere is dry again.Sun has just come out and blue skies, so possibly another hot day ahead

I just wish we could have a good downpour for a little while as the air is really not that fresh at all.

Not going to do a lot today, not even much cooking, as it will be too hot in my kitchen. still a relaxing day catching up on some reading with the fan on should chill me out perhaps
Cheers chums
JackieO xx