The Home Front meets Covid-19

Pyxis

Another thing I have been doing for a couple of years now is taking 1-2 tablespoons of a high quality olive oil most days, even if I use (a lesser quality) olive oil to cook with. Again, as a sort of ‘medicine’, straight from the spoon. It might sound yucky, but it really isn’t because, being a very high quality one, it doesn’t taste of ‘oil’ iyswim! It also has a very spicy kick at the back of throat, most unlike an oil! 
It does have to be a high quality one, though, both for the nutritional aspect and for the lack of yuckiness! That means expensive, but I use it just as ‘medicine’ and for drizzling over food, never for cooking.

I must say, one side effect of this lockdown and not being able to edit the veg box, as Greenbee said, has meant that I have had to eat fruit and veg I wouldn’t normally, or not as much, and so trying different ways of using them, like the apple crisps and carrot crisps and kale crisps. I was really pleased to discover the latter, as I really like them, and it’s such an easy way to get loads of dark green leafy veg into me!

I do miss my fresh chervil, though. ☹️ I used to eat it as a salad vegetable about three times a week, but haven’t had any since lockdown.

Pyxis

How are you doing, health-wise, Greenbee?

greenbee

Pyxis said:

How are you doing, health-wise, Greenbee?

Pretty much back to normal thanks. I think all the veg might be working! Lots of yoga and pilates, and now I need to up the outdoor exercise to get fit enough to get back to running. No hotel/airport/airline/conference food is doing me the world of good!

Pyxis

greenbee said:

Pyxis said:

How are you doing, health-wise, Greenbee?

Pretty much back to normal thanks. I think all the veg might be working! Lots of yoga and pilates, and now I need to up the outdoor exercise to get fit enough to get back to running. No hotel/airport/airline/conference food is doing me the world of good!

It’s amazing where silver linings can lurk, isn’t it? 😊😊

Toonie

My partner and I were already on quite a low income (I lost my job through disability and my partner was made redundant a few months ago) before this situation. Things looked to be brightening up as my partner was getting job interviews and quite a lot of interest via recruiters. Unfortunately this has all ceased and so we are doing our best on very little. What we have done is made use of what we already had, so we have sprouts of cress, fenugreek, chard, and beetroot growing happily away which are great as a little salad addition at lunch (love an egg and cress sandwich). Also going to do some mung bean sprouts when I have a little spare money to get some.

I've also stuck the end of spring onions and a pak choi into water and after a couple days they are already showing more life, so that will be useful in a couple weeks time. I'll do the same next time we get gem lettuce or romaine as they work well in water too. And we have planted up tomato, lettuce, rocket, spinach, and various herbs seeds to get growing, and our strawberry plants are growing well. Hopefully even those little things will help stretch our thin budget, along with getting cheap things from our local Turkish supermarket.

threepenny_bit

Toonie - the little sprouts and regrowing ideas sound great; will give them a try too.

Toonie

threepenny_bit said:

Toonie - the little sprouts and regrowing ideas sound great; will give them a try too.

This is a good guide to it.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/regrow-food-water/

ToastLady

Toonie if you have any green or brown lentils, you can sprout them, they work just as well as mung beans. I've been talking about this on the vegan thread.

cornishchick

I am finally getting an online supermarket delivery of more than essential stuff, how does the delivery get done now a day? I used to have the guy bring it indoors for me and we would unload it on to the table. I have some boxes I can ask to unload into on the doorstep. ? is that the best way ?

Pyxis

cornishchick said:

I am finally getting an online supermarket delivery of more than essential stuff, how does the delivery get done now a day? I used to have the guy bring it indoors for me and we would unload it on to the table. I have some boxes I can ask to unload into on the doorstep. ? is that the best way ?

They are delivering everything in plastic bags again, and just leaving it on the doorstep or in a porch if you have one.

I hadn’t had any supermarket deliveries for over twenty years, so it was a bit strange at first. In the 90s you sent them a fax with what you wanted ticked, and they then faxed you back the details! 😂

Because I have to wash/quarantine everything, I keep some large storage boxes in the hall, and decant each bag into those, then I can see what’s what. Bottles and jars and watertight things like yogurt pots get soaped and rinsed, and other things like cleaning stuff and loorolls etc get quarantined for at least a week before I move them to their rightful place.
Fruit and cheese get the soapy treatment too. Veg that will be cooked just get a normal water wash.

It means my living room looks like a warehouse, with things all over the  the floor, but needs must.