Love food hate Waste Part two for 2018 :)

carrielovesfanta

A third of fruit and veg deemed "too ugly to sell"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-45238732

It's a disgrace that we've got to this stage.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

carrielovesfanta wrote: »

A third of fruit and veg deemed "too ugly to sell"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-45238732

It's a disgrace that we've got to this stage.

:mad::mad::mad::mad: this really winds me up. We grow various items in our garden. I reckon we would be lucky if 20% was deemed pretty enough for the supermarket. It's still edible so what's the problem. I bought some wonky veg from morrisons the other day and I still can't figure out what exactly is supposed to be wrong with it!

purpleybat

Gem-gem wrote: »

Good evening Sashanut,

This is the website that I got the black currant curd recipe from.

https://daydreamingfoodie.com/making-blackcurrant-curd/

I made a 500g blackcurrant batch. In the Bain-Marie (water bath) I couldn't get the curd up to the 82 degrees, so I checked a couple of other recipes which did t mention a temperature and they all cooked them for longer. So I stirred it for 25-30 minutes.
I have decanted it into my jars and to be on the safe side stored it in the fridge.
I had my first taste today. It tastes delicious.

the books i have (and i dont use a bain marie) say to heat gently until consistency is like thick cream. curd does 'set' when cooling so all you want to do is thicken it a bit. i think of it as making custard. you dont want to cook it quickly or it scrambles.
i think if it starts to you can plunge the pan into a bowl of cold water and strain, but you dont want to get to that point.
i put mine into sterilised but still warm jars and they have a shelf life of 3 months max (according to book, im sure my sisters have eaten it after)

VfM4meplse

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I had friends over yesterday and yet again have a fridge full of food. Even after packing much up as takeaways, I'll be eating leftovers for 2 days at least, the rest is fresh salad and fruit so I'll try and hold off from shopping until after the BH weekend now.

Well yesterday I had 3 small and healthy meals and a small bowl of fruit (something I hadn't done for a long time, I'm a confirmed snacker / grazer) just to make some headway into my leftovers and the strangest thing happened - I actually woke up hungry this morning! It's been years since I've felt that sensation in my stomach, but am guessing it's a good thing.

Leftovers part II today :T

WeeMidgie

Tomorrow I'm going away for a week, and there were some veg from my veg box delivery that wouldn't last - cucumber and lettuce. I made cucumber, pea and lettuce soup. It made enough to fill two one pint milk cartons which are now in the freezer. The fridge is now almost empty and I'm having pork casserole tonight, made yesterday, with left over veg, to use them up.



The next veg box, which includes organic meat, is due to be delivered the day after I get back. I find I'm using everything up, and also not in supermarkets nearly as much. Apart from the meat, which is vacuum packed, there is no plastic wrapping and the veg are very fresh and mostly grown locally. The farm workers and delivery guy are all local, so the money is circulating in the local economy.



Although on the face of it, the veg (plus meat) box looks expensive, it's working out that I'm spending less overall. A solution for this singleton, not necessarily an option for larger households on tight budgets. But it's working for me.

[Deleted User]

WeeMidgie the soup sounds lovely, any chance of the recipe ? I am an inveterate soup make,r and love any sort, especially if it uses up odds and ends .
Sounds like you have got your meal planning down to a fine art.I too like to use if I can local produce, and I have a farm shop not too far from me

I get large pieces of gammon, usually reduced at Dobbies which is sourced from Brogdale farm which is local to where I live and can get a huge piece which is normally cut into two or three pieces then frozen until I need it in my DDs freezer (she has a second large box-type one )
A reduced large piece is usually around £10.00 for about a 3 kilo chunck.
I will cook a piece either in my slow cooker in cola or in my King Pro pressure cooker and sliced up I can get such a lot of meals from it, pasta,Ham salads etc well worth the lay out.

Its working out what works for you best I think and when you cost things out overall ,quite often its surprisingly good

JackieO

P.S. We got another bag of blackberries today on our walk

WeeMidgie

Good going with the brambles, JackieO.

The soup is dead easy. Sweat a chopped onion in butter till soft, add a head of green lettuce roughly shredded, or 2 little gems, and a cucumber, chopped, about 225g of frozen petits pois and veg or chicken stock to cover. Bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes before blitzing with a stick blender. I make it quite a thick concentrate for freezer storage, then when I defrost it I add more stock to the consistency I like. The BBC Good Food website has a recipe, which uses spring onions and rapeseed oil to start with, but I simply use what's in the house.

It's quite nice to swirl some creme fraiche or plain yogurt on top with a wee garnish of e.g. fresh chives to serve. Or a grating of nutmeg instead of the chives. Enjoy!

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

WeeMidgie, thanks for the recipe. I have a couple of takeaway boxes of salad bits in the freezer - so I will give this a go !

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

I've got 2 bags of fine cut salad from asda that is out of date but want to use. Would it be any good in a soup? Any ideas would be welcome. It's got thin strips of carrot and cabbage in it. I don't want it to go to waste. OH picked it up yesterday for 5p a bag YS.
Thanks

[Deleted User]

Mummy2cheekymonkeys wrote: »

I've got 2 bags of fine cut salad from asda that is out of date but want to use. Would it be any good in a soup? Any ideas would be welcome. It's got thin strips of carrot and cabbage in it. I don't want it to go to waste. OH picked it up yesterday for 5p a bag YS.
Thanks

Soup would be fine, but you could also put it in a quiche instead.

- Wash the salad and then sweat an onion in butter and add a bit of black pepper.
- Add the salad to the pan and cook gently until it softens.
- Make some pastry and line a tin. Blind bake for about 15 mins.
- Take the salad mix and put it into the pastry tin.
- Whisk 2/3 eggs and add a little milk / cream to the eggs. Pour over the salad mix.
- Top with cheese (or add grated cheese to the egg mix first).
- Bake at 200 for about 35 / 40 mins.