From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

greenbee

https://www.food.com/recipe/the-almost-original-branston-pickle-recipe-246675

Greying_Pilgrim

Ha ha - redo - I just checked and it is the same for the MrL one too.  Interestingly, a goggle brings up there is such a thing as swede pickle - more along the lines of how you make sauerkraut by the looks of things, but certainly a 'thing'.  I suppose turnips/swedes are in the brassica family (I think 🤔) and so it ain't such a leap to pickle it in the fermentation style.  Trouble is, DH ain't a fan of sauerkraut, so I suspect i would be on a hiding to nothing there.  Mind, I recall my grandad loving piccallili when I was growing up - I couldn't stand the stuff, and yet now - looking at the ingredients, there isn't anything I wouldn't eat that goes into it, so.......

Sorry dfw321!  Not my intention to put you orf your favourite bangers.  I have to say, it wasn't plant p10neers that I tried with that particular casing on - it was something that I picked up in H3r0n F00ds a good long time ago, I just remembered how they looked........   

So our council tax bill - the full one with all the 'what your local bobby on the beat is costing you' costings has come in the post.  Regretfully it is the same figure as that sent out to us the other day - no reductions appearing in the ether 🙁

Just as well that i didn't consider putting on a wash today, as the weather forecast was wrong and we had rain for far longer than we ought.  

I have processed the coriander and that is now in the freezer.  Yet to do the mushrooms as I haven't really come up with THE recipe that they will go into.  Got too much swede type thoughts!  I have cooked up some pasta though and will portion that up for future lunches for LG.  They don't take pasta all the time, but i do like to shake things up every so often and send in 'non-sandwich' type fare, so having the pasta cooked and portioned to be made into salad, or covered in sauce, helps.  

Ta for popping in.  

Greying X

teapot2

Can I ask wat you do to process and freeze the coriander GP?  I've not had much success with freezing it in the past and not tried for a long time x

Greying_Pilgrim

teapot2 said:

Can I ask wat you do to process and freeze the coriander GP?  I've not had much success with freezing it in the past and not tried for a long time x

Oh, I just wash it, spin it dry in the salad spinner and depending on how 'dry' that gets it, I might squeeze it with kitchen roll.  I then chop it up finely with a knife ( but imagine chopping it with a mezzalune) and pop it in a box into the freezer.  

I only use this type of coriander in cooking - so curries or soup.  It does stay a shade of green, but it's nowhere near like 'fresh'.  And I wouldn't top a dish with it - only incorporate.  I don't think I have ever tried to freeze sprigs of coriander, I would imagine it would go black and sludgy on de-frosting - but I don't know that.  

What were you using the frozen coriander for?

Greying X

redofromstart

I make chutney rather than pickle, and there are far more recipes for that with less sugar than those trying to replicate the branded thing.  Sugar, vinegar, finely diced veg (of the 19p variety) and some cheap apples make perfectly edible sandwich pickle. I make piccalilli too, great way to use up gluts.  Mine is nicer than the Fortnum & Masons version (it was part of a thank you hamper - interesting to try).  If you are remotely thinking about it then start saving all of your empty jars.  I do make jellies and chutney every so often, I started with simple bramble jelly here because sugar is expensive and nobody likes pips in the jam, and working juice to sugar meant I used less. Slightly over fruit and any windfall apples with a squeeze of lemon juice with cheap white sugar generally make a rather nice jam. I have yet to try the F&M blackberry jam, but my lemon curd was also nicer!  I hate wasting ingredients so I tend to make one or two jars of something because we had a glut, or there was a bargain buy.

The bit that put me off for years was jam sugar and pickling vinegar - both expensive, neither necessary.  

Greying_Pilgrim

No redo - I have no intention of starting pickling or jamming.  I might do the 'quick pickle' type thing where you'd end up with say a small jar of something, but anything else if off my radar.  We've no room for storing jars full or empty.   To be fair, DH is quite cheap to keep, and if a couple of jars of pickle per month are what are required to keep him taking snap to work, then I guess it's economical in the long-term.  

We don't eat enough jam to warrant making it - although we were gifted a couple of jars last year (from a spiffy jam-maker) and have enjoyed jam on toast at weekends as a very lovely treat.  I rarely if ever buy jam - although I did buy some mulberry jam to try - interesting texturally................. 🫤

I'm hopeful I am shaking off the lurgy.  I have felt better today - not so achey, although I still have got slight sniffles and am doing that 'sneezing violently several times apropos of nothing'.  So fingers crossed it's just progressing and I'll get through it.  

Greying X

redofromstart

I really like the radish, cucumber, onion eat in half an hour type pickles, although I did make some rather lovely cucumber pickles last summer in spiced diluted vinegar in a jar when we had our (first ever) cucumber glut. My late FIL used to do a lovely onion pickle, sliced and left in diluted vinegar and sugar to sweeten and soften.  Must put that on the menu this week.

We have a jar of MrT sandwich pickle (39p per 100g against 42p per 100g for the branded small chunk in a  big jar - I usually wait till branded is on offer), and some value beetroot in a jar (26p per 100g drained) which is also nice in a sandwich. 

rtandon27

GP - Fridge pickles (quick pickles) are great, as you can make them up in small quantities, they take up very little room & add something to an otherwise hum-drum meal!  We routinely do taco tuesdays (fish fingers or cheap pollock) & make up half of the pink pickled onions from this recipe - I love them on EVERYTHING and polish off most of the jar each week - then again I will also happily eat half a jar of gherkins in one sitting!

redofromstart

They sound lovely @rtandon27, one for my to do list

Grumpelstiltskin

This recipe is nice and easy you just need a jar to store it in the fridge.

Quick Pickled Cucumber Recipe | Waitrose & Partners