It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

newlywed

Add baharat to that too. Not spicy but lots of flavour. Lots of seed bits tho if that kind of thing annoys you.  Zaatar is really nice.

I was out in the rain this morning, walked 6 miles in total. Went to the larger ethnic food store and stocked up on packs of spices (can never run out of smoked paprika or cinnamon here!)  picked up some extra ones too that I know we will use.

I need to get out even if it’s raining. It does my mental health good, and I have a very good Cornish make of coat with a big hood too, and some new waterproof boots that needed testing.  They are waterproof (except where they lace up) and no blisters, but not especially comfy unfortunately. 

Elisheba

Actually, that's a thought.  I go through loads of cinnamon.  Does anyone know where I can buy a big tub, instead of those little 39g ones?  I saw them once in The range but think it must ave been a once off.

annieb64

Ethnic shops often have cinnamon in big packets. You can always decant it into an old jam jar.

I have one of those Cornish make waterproofs too newlywed. It was expensive but I had a voucher and it is worth the money. It comes down to my knees and keeps me dry.

MovingForwards

Have a look to see if there's any buy by weight / loose product shops, that's where I get a lot of my things from. 

Za'taar is great, tried it when I relocated and it's a staple cupboard item in my home.

elsien

Asda have 100 g bag.
 I have actually found in my area where there is a large Asian  population, the local Asian shop generally speaking isn’t any cheaper for spices than the big supermarkets, if you look in the world food aisles.
All the zero waste shops around here closed down during Covid.

Bluegreen143

I haven’t seen the microwave curry recipe/method, so not sure if this would work, but a curry is really just a stew with lots of spices. Could you use the same cooking method for a tomato based stew without the chillies and curry spices added?

-taff

@Katiehound sorry, turned into a bit of rambly post not especially directed at you, didn't mean to denigrate your cooking skills, just explain in case anyone didn't know these things, and let's face it, my OH would be totally stranded foodwise without me, he desn't understand cooking extrapolation...

Sweet smoked paprika is nice along with garlic [but then, I love garlic], cook a whole head of the stuff in the oven substitute and mix into mash, or mustard and honey carrots, maple syrup carrots and parsnips,  sumac is lovely, kind of lemony, haven't tried zatar yet. I make a herb mix for my meat, but it could equally be used for veggies, and normally consists of dried thyme, rosemary, parsley, garlic granules, salt and oregano and I whizz it up so its quite fine but not powder. I'll make another one in a couple of weeks when the rosemary has fully dried with just that, garlic and salt. Coconut milk can be added to veggies without spices, maybe a coconut milk non-potato dauphinoise? I'll stop now but I expect I'll be back with more ramble..

Katiehound

Thanks folks some great ideas there which will be a change from everything tinned tomato based!!

I just think I ought to be a bit more adventurous with vegetables.........For example only last year learned that I liked in courgettes in ratatouille!! Clearly never too old to learn.......

I will write my list of what to hunt for next week. Might try friends to see if they have any of aforementioned items so that I can have a sniff before purchasing!!

YorksLass

Thanks toonie for the tip about Poundland.  None near me but there are a couple in the city centre that were handy when I was working as I could go in my lunch break or on the way home.  Now retired, it would mean a special trip so it's probably a bit out of the way for me.  Also thanks skogar, I did check the other ingredients in the anti inflammatory gel and they're fine.

We do seem to have a lot in common Jackie, don't we?  The diclofenac was what my GP prescribed for the original trapped nerve but I had to stop taking it as I just couldn't keep any food down.  Apparently it's a common side effect.  The gel might not have the same adverse effect but I'm not willing to chance it, thank you.     And yes to pork chops with a bit of kidney attached - yet another thing that's disappeared.

I took my usual weekly stroll to the Co-op today and, although it was a bit chilly, it was dry and sunny with no wind so it was a very pleasant walk.  In addition to the couple of bits I wanted, I bought a small swede and a bunch of spring onions, both ys, and struck it lucky on the clearance shelf as well.  Two jars of Pataks sauces - a butter chicken for 60p and a rogan josh for 50p (both long dated into 2023/4) and two bars of Lindt dark orange chocolate with almonds for 57p each, again dated into next year.  Normally £2.30 each     so I was happy to have spotted them.  I also used a 40p membership offer on a couple of bananas so they were "free".  All in all, a small spend of just over £5.

Tonight we're having corned beef hash and broccoli and there's dumplings too so I don't think we'll need a pud after that!

newlywed

annieb64 said:

Ethnic shops often have cinnamon in big packets. You can always decant it into an old jam jar.

I have one of those Cornish make waterproofs too newlywed. It was expensive but I had a voucher and it is worth the money. It comes down to my knees and keeps me dry.

I got 100g bag of cinnamon for £1.45… but I went for whole meal roti and pita, much nicer than anything from Tesco.

I buy my Cornish coats from fleabay. Got a bargain long 3 season one for £25 but when it arrived it smelled really fusty so needed lots of washing in borax, soda crystals etc. got there in the end.

Also have a smarter Mac of small make which was about £10. Just need to keep searching and waiting.