JANUARY PANTRY CHALLENGE

Brie

Lobster!!  We were in Aldo a couple of weeks back and they'd obviously got their Christmas lobster order late.  It was in the seasonal section and discounted but it was practically a whole freezer!  £3.99 each. 

So a bit of a seafood feast - a lobster each, a prawn ring that we'd bought for Christmas and never got round to, bread, salad, mayo, lemon.  Also some raspberry roulades for afters.  NOM!!!

purpleivy

Brie said:

purpleivy said:

I find it hard operating in a holiday apartment and never known why, but I think that the reason is because we are an ingredients household and eat few convenience food it feels like we have nothing in. I do t want to go and get big packs of things!

we always find we need to pack a big bag of essentials which is fine when we're driving to wherever.  last place we were challenged as there was only 1 fry pan and it was difficult to cook both sausages and eggs!!  OH thinks I'm mad when I start packing things like a pepper mill but then is happy that he doesn't end up needing to depend on someone's old pre ground pepper that might have no flavour at all.  

Strictly speaking we are somewhere you can’t bring in food. I was prepared  to argue the toss over some dietary requirements. Other than that salt, pepper, sugar for syrup for humming bird feeder and hub’s rum cocktail!  Lemon squeezer (isn’t one in the apartment, been here quite a few times before) brought small frying pan and smallest of my decent sharp knives. 

At present making chicken curry. Was able to buy small sachet of curry powder and smallest sachet of coconut milk powder. TBH it’s too Effin hot to be cooking. Also made salt fish buljol, which hub likes. 

‘Street food’ where available is often reasonably priced if you go where locals go. Hub got goat roti today. We like goat but it’s expensive at home!  

Have been making a lot of progress with the February portion of the challenge when we get home. Counting out stuff from the freezer for the meals I need to accommodate. Parents will be with us for 2 visits (they come monthly as a rule 4nts/5 days.) Respite for Dad looking after Mum with dementia.  Both past 90!  Dad has had some teeth out recently and waiting for denture so need to do soft stuff!

Meal needed for when hub’s mate and wife come round. Have made a list of puds I can do from the pantry and freezer. 

Top of the list is to do double batch of Delia’s ginger puddings. I now have ownership of my mum’s set of 8 mini pudding bowls, so can double batch without using muffin tins. Or I could do double batch of sticky toffee and double batch of ginger, doing half of each in bowls for ‘posh’ and the rest in muffin tins. There’s a thought! That wil be 32 portions of pudding for minimal effort. I have dates that have gone dry so can use those up. 

This thread and my warbling stimulates creativity!  

Brie

@purpleivy
oh - using up dates!!!  into something edible!!!!! I'm not a fan of dates in general but I do love a sticky toffee.....so if one could become the other I'd be delighted.  Someone (I won't name him) bought a big box of dates for Christmas so if I can magic them into something delightful that would be nice!!!

Recipe???

purpleivy

Brie said:

@purpleivy
oh - using up dates!!!  into something edible!!!!! I'm not a fan of dates in general but I do love a sticky toffee.....so if one could become the other I'd be delighted.  Someone (I won't name him) bought a big box of dates for Christmas so if I can magic them into something delightful that would be nice!!!

Recipe???

Delia Smith little sticky toffee puddings. 

I also use for date loaf. My recipe soaks in hot water first. 

cheerfulness4

All the fresh fruit gone in the house so making a dent into the frozen and tinned fruits.  Not much of those left either. I've a couple of tins of peaches and some fruit cocktail, which I'm not that keen on.  In the freezer I've eaten all the raspberries and blueberries but I've half bag of mixed berries and a tiny bag of strawberries. 

I think I'll be eating celery and carrot sticks to boost my raw fruit and veg intake although DH is just nipping down to Lidl as they have packs of 4 mandarins in juice for 48p and I love those set in jelly.

Yesterday we had the grandkids and their dad visit and that usually costs quite a bit for a quick and easy dinner but we decided to cook a Sausage and sage& onion plait. The kids surprisingly loved it (one can be a picky eater). We did it with the last tin of baked beans, peas for others, and chips. No chips left now.  

purpleivy

@cheerfulness4 sounds like you are making real progress in you stores. 

I’m home in a day or two and the quiet I have here has meant that I have thought a lot about my next month of using up. January challenge goes on till end February for me or until I get fed up, as we are away 2w. 

I printed my inventory and brought it with me so I sit and think about how to use stuff up. Some of the local dishes have inspired me for recipe ideas. 

Eg, been drinking a lime drink here and I know I have a bag with some cut up limes and also some squeezed lime juice. Going to have a go at home. Water, lime juice, sugar, citric acid but don’t need the preservatives. How hard can it be?  

I made a couple of cordials recently. Husband can’t have any with sulphites in, I avoid all artificial sweeteners. Contents of the freezer have  made some good offerings. Redcurrants (from the garden of my parents’ previous house- they moved 8 years ago!) and rhubarb from next door. So almost free!  Blackcurrants in the freezer have made a really nice drink. I put a small bottle in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. 

Has anyone else made cordials?  

Got a bag of frozen tropical fruit. Not sure that will make cordials what else could I do with it?  Don’t  drink smoothies. 

cheerfulness4

I've not made cordials but coincidently I was looking at these cordial recipes on Wezl74's thread from years back. I think she also made tropical ice cream from smoothie maker packs but that might not be what you're after during this cold weather!

Brie

@purpleivy
not making stuff but look for the Lowecy syrups at Lidl.  I like the sour cherry one and have also just bought a raspberry one as well.  It's good as a 1/10 mix with fizzy water.  No sweeteners.  I've also bought Rock brand stuff in the past.  Lemon is very nice but they have a couple of other ones.  Again no sweeteners.  Health food shops stock them but also Waitrose and other supermarkets.  

As for using up tropical fruit - I'd be mixing that in with my morning yoghurt.  

purpleivy

Thanks for the suggestions. I have had the Rock Orange and the blackcurrant. Both nice. Belvoir farms not too bad either. Also for recipe suggestions. For now I’m trying to use up for the January Challenge!  

Brie

pasta tonight to use up some veg and bacon.  so courgette, onion, peppers with a chopped slab of bacon in tomato sauce with whatever pasta we have available.  A bit of a kitchen/fridge tidy up.