Simple living in the country - back to basics

Cheery_Daff

Thanks SL 😊 All chickens seem ok so fingers crossed! 

Sun is shining again 😊 I've booked to go swimming - my back is still playing up a bit though so I'm not sure how I'll do, especially given my appalling bad swimming posture 😂 Still, the water might help, and I won't know without trying. 

Did you all remember the clocks going forwards?? 

Not sure what else is on the cards this morning. I'd like to make the most of the sunshine, as I know it won't last this week. We are off to a friend's birthday do at half 2 ish (a shame really as it's in a dingy pub so I'll miss the sunshine! But it will be nice to see people).

Ooh, I tell you what else I'm going to do this week, maybe today - a FOOD INVENTORY. We have SO many things in the store cupboard, and some of them get used and replaced often, but others don't. What is lurking? What do I need to use up? 

Anyway, a job for later, maybe over a cuppa after breakfast. My swimming session starts in 5 minutes and I'm not even dressed yet, and am 7 miles away from the pool, so clearly I won't be using my full 45 min slot!

Baileys_Babe

Enjoy your swim @Cheery_Daff

Doing a food inventory is on my list, the cupboards and freezers ideally. This won't be happening today but hopefully before May.

Cheery_Daff

Well, that was an interesting exercise! 😮

We actually don't store much stuff in the kitchen itself - just open rice/pasta etc, spices and oils, jam and peanut butter. All tins, unopened packets etc are in the 'offshot' (basically kind of utility room/back door area next to the kitchen).

So, this is what we've got in the house...

TINS
Beans x 9
Spaghetti hoops x 13 (!)
Tomato soup x 1
Kidney beans x 13
Cannellini beans x 7
Butter beans x 4
Green lentils
Rice pudding x 2
Peaches x 2
Chopped tomatoes x 5

RICE, PASTA ETC
Pasta x 9 (& 1 open)
Lasagne sheets x 2 (& 1 open)
Long grain rice x 4
Basmati rice x 2 (& 1 open)
Brown rice x 3
Dried egg noodles x 5 (& 1 open)
Straight to wok noodles x 1
Quinoa x 3
Bulgur wheat x 5
Cous cous x 5 (& 1 open)
Pre-cooked grains x 2

LENTILS & OTHER COOKING THINGS
Red lentils x 5 (& 1 open)
Green lentils x 8
Dried black beans x 1
Pre-cooked lentils x 2
Passatta x 4
Tomato puree x 4

OTHER STORECUPBOARD STUFF
Sugar x 6
Sweetener x 2
Sultanas x 5
Dessicated coconut x 1
Porridge x 4
Bran cereal x 4
Almond milk x 1
Hot chocolate x 2
Evaporated milk x 2
Coconut oil x 1
Gravy granules x 2
Stock cubes x 5
Fry light x 1
Salt x 1
Teabags x 500 (ish, didn't count, there were 3 half used boxes)
Posh coffee x 4
Decaf coffee x 2
Chamomile tea x 4
Squash x 1
Tonic water x 2
Peanut butter x 3
Honey 3
Boxes of cup a soup x 3

Will carry on in another post...

Cheery_Daff

FREEZER
Smoothie mix x 2
Blueberries x 1
Home grown gooseberries x 1
Home grown blackcurrants x 1
Spinach x 1
Peas x 1
Peppers x 1
Mixed veg x 1
Home made pizza dough x 2
Home made pizza topping x 1
Leftover Home made biriyani x 1
Brown unsliced loaf
Half packet pitta bread

VEG
Onions x 14
Sweet potatoes x 5
1 bag parsnips
1 bag carrots

FRIDGE
1.5 cabbages
Half a lettuce
1 courgette
1 brocoli
Mushrooms
Half a leek
Mozzarella x 3
Halloumi x 2
Half block cheddar
Reduced fresh coriander
Reduced fresh basil
Half tub yogurt

Then there's also a shelf of opened jam, marmalade, marmite, honey, peanut butter etc, and an assortment of spices, cooking oil etc.

Don't think we need to go shopping for a while 😱

Mind you, we did do quite a big stock up with our supermarket vouchers at the start of March, but plenty of this is way older, and needs bringing into rotation. When was the last time we ate bulgur wheat?? Or quinoa?! We throw a bag in the trolley every now and then but clearly they're just piling up 🙄 I do very much like having a well stocked cupboard, just in case, but we use and replace the same stuff (ready to wok noodles...) while leaving the less easy to cook stuff behind.

So, need a bit of a plan for bringing some of that stuff, and the stuff that takes a bit longer to cook (Green lentils, brown rice), back into rotation.

Will get my thinking cap on and do some batch cooking while I'm off.

Cheery_Daff

Looking at the list though, it's good to see it's mostly ingredients - we haven't got much in the way of preprepared stuff (few packets of lentils which I take to work in an emergency sometimes).

Not saying we never eat that type of stuff... I'm no stranger to a £1.35 supermarket pizza or a few quorn sausages. But none of that in the house at the minute. And no biscuits, cakes, crisps etc - we NEVER buy that in bulk as we just can't control ourselves 🙄😂

Anyway, morning BB, I didn't spot you up there 😊 I did indeed enjoy my swim, although I was so late I only had about 15 mins before they threw us all out 😂 Not sure what that brings gym cost down to, will check. 

Karmacat

That's very like my kitchen store, Cheery (except I have more peanut butter  ) and as you say, the stuff that needs a bit more care and forethought gets abandoned in favour of easy to cook.  My quinoa has to be rinsed using a fine sieve, and the amount of water it's cooked in also seems slightly more crucial than with pasta, so ... I tend not to   but its good food, and I want to do it!  Will try some tomorrow.

joedenise

Could you cook a load of quinoa and then portion and freeze so that when you want it again it just needs defrosting and reheating?  I do similar with brown rice and also with things like dried chickpeas.

Cheery_Daff

Glad it's not just me KC! And yes, joedenise, that's a great idea - I used to do it all the time in our old house and lost the habit since we moved. Should definitely get back into it again. 

Today has been good 😊 Had a lovely afternoon in the pub, I think we spent roughly £15 between us in the pub, plus £4 for parking - it should have been £2, but some idiot (me) paid online and didn't realise the system had remembered the other car 🙄😂 I have no idea if there was a way of cancelling it, couldn't figure it out quickly and for the sake of £2 it seemed more important to join in with birthday things 😂

Anyway, there was free curry and rice and chips, and a bit of birthday cake, so all good. 

Not got a set plan for tomorrow. I need to collect Bessie's tablets from Royal Mail Prison, and ring the vets to see if it's even worth starting them again now she's missed 5 doses 🙄 I've got a prescription to collect for myself too while I'm in town.

And I AM going to oil the darn skirting boards. I am SICK of seeing that on a million lists and it not getting finished. I've got the oil, got a brush, no excuses! 

Also, while we were in the pub we arranged for a couple of people to come and stay a week on Monday. We'll need two spare rooms, which gives us an excellent incentive to get into our new bedroom, and get the current one set up as a spare, even if it needs properly sorting out later. So plenty to do! 

Might even try to get a bit of batch cooking done.

Time for sleep now though! 

(Oh, and I realised I should have added 23 eggs to my list of food earlier - and that was AFTER I had a 3 egg omelette for dinner 😮😂😂)

Suffolk_lass

My Mum has a recipe for spaghetti pie - basically a pastry case, blind baked for 10 minutes so it doesn't go soggy (I paint it with egg-wash after that, for another 5) the filling is fridge veg of your choice fried and mixed with a tin of spag then topped with cheese and 20 minutes back in the oven to finish. She puts bits of bacon in hers. It's a great, cheap supper dish that goes well with a small amount of salad

SuperSecretSquirrel

Pasta pie 😋 I'll never forget being in Malta years ago and thinking the server was having us on when he said it was a popular local delicacy. I was convinced it was just a very strange attempt at using up leftovers...

Might have to have a crack at making my own Maltese Timpana this week - it's far more delicious than it first sounds! 😄