Old Style vs the USDA head-to-head challenge...

Softstuff

ceridwen wrote: »

Was doing some shopping today and replenished my supplies of Spicy SeasonAll or Cajun Blend or similar and thinking - "that is expensive for an ounce or so of flavouring". I get most of my herbs/spices loose for 30p/40p odd - but they dont do the "mixes". Am wondering if anyone knows a "recipe" for a suitable spicy-type blend for my spicy baked potato wedges. A "recipe" for curry paste and passata would also be useful.:D

Spicy wedge mix for me is black pepper, coriander, cardomom and cumin with a pinch of chilli. Works a treat.

germish_se

Weezl
I never said I serve those things to my kids, ;-) that is what I grew up on.
I've spent the last 7 years learning too cook traditional English cuisine to pacify DH, now branching out more with exotic foods as the Terrible Twosome like it, but still have to cook other stuff for DH as he's not keen on exotic and adventurous food.
Trying to give them swedish foods too but mostly meat dishes as DH will eat them without prompting.

moanymoany

Oops, must've clicked twice.

moanymoany

Made the chicken liver pate - with a twist. As the mix was cooking I thought I would put a bit more butter in. As I held the pack to cut of the extra the force of the knife made the whole lot slide into the mix! It wasn't a vast amount, but it is not hugely 'livery', though very nice.

I don't think we will need to butter the bread.

I also made the sun dried tomato bread. I used half value plain flour and half wholemeal bread flour. I only had a round cake tin as I had all my loaf tins in use. I made the mixture into balls and dropped them in the lined tin. It didn't come out as bread rolls but as an interestingly shaped loaf.

It is lovely, I strongly recommend it.

I will be taking some on hols.

We like wholemeal bread, I make a loaf with half Able and Cole basic meusli and half wholemeal flour. It is really lovely as well, not sweet.

I also did what you suggested and made sandwiches with my new bread and the pate. They will be frozen for lunches.

Well, off to Dorset tomorrow, that's why the rain is coming down in sheets. Just off to get out the winter woollies! :rotfl:

BigMummaF

Have you seen the pictures of MrsMc's "potio apotment" Ceri? I swear that woman has a magic wand or the blue-print to the Tardis:p

Slightly o/t but our shower gave up the ghost a few weeks back & the landlord hasn't been in any great hurry to sort it:mad: so we've been having baths. For some obscure reason, I wondered just how far one humble bathroom sinkful of slightly-warmer-than-lukewarm water would go. I've washed & rinsed my shoulder-length thick hair & had a good scrub using the back brush from the bath, & have to say that I feel as if I'd stepped out of a power shower:T

shaz_mum_of__2

moanymoany wrote: »

We like wholemeal bread, I make a loaf with half Able and Cole basic meusli and half wholemeal flour. It is really lovely as well, not sweet.

I also did what you suggested and made sandwiches with my new bread and the pate. They will be frozen for lunches.

Well, off to Dorset tomorrow, that's why the rain is coming down in sheets. Just off to get out the winter woollies! :rotfl:

Would love the recipe

Where abouts in Dorswe stayed at Monkton Wyld last yr near Charmouth fab scenery and organic lamb farm shop next door ..........................it rained 10/14 days and the tent flooded but we had a great time

Chesil beach is amazing too

Shaz

MRSMCAWBER

Afternoon all

Thanks for the comments on the potio apotment bigmummaF helps when you don't have kids/dogs wanting the garden not that i don't want children:D ...

Well after being an avid reader and occasional visitor on this brilliant thread... i think its about time i got my bum into gear.. not that im expecting to reach the dizzy heights that some of you are achieving in the "super frugal" stakes... but its time for me to pull our purse strings and belts in a bit further;)

I have realised that when i have been setting my grocery challenge budget i have started using it like a goal... buying extra bits we really don't need -just as long as i stay under budget i have thought "its fine" :wall: ..so as of next month im going to try a reverse aproach..im not setting a budget -then just buying what we NEED.. a good chance to run down the freezers/cupboards further too. I think i may actually get on better that way (well we will see:p )
I have a good incentive as hubby and i have been talking again -looking at when hubby leaves the army in about 4 years he should be looking at about £40,000 lump sum and £400 a month pension... hopefully if we sell our house (not that we have ever lived in it :rolleyes: ) we should have a minimum of £35,000 left when we have paid the mortgage off which means if we take out the same mortgage as i we have now -£55,000 we can look for a bigger property for upto £130,000 -which for where i live should get us somewhere with a big enough garden for a proper veg plot and some chickens etc.. so we can hopefully become more self reliant.... and hubbies monthly pension would cover the mortgage repayments :T ...
sorry, after my life story..what i was trying to get to is that i now intend to start getting as much saving done as possible so i will be looking to you inspirational lot to keep me on the straight and narrow ....
Ok let battle commence..off to draw up some lists and ideas for cutting things down and making things go further...may have to go back to the start of this thread and catch up on anything i may have missed:p
thankyou for the inspiration everyone :j

moanymoany

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

Would love the recipe

Where abouts in Dorswe stayed at Monkton Wyld last yr near Charmouth fab scenery and organic lamb farm shop next door ..........................it rained 10/14 days and the tent flooded but we had a great time

Chesil beach is amazing too

Shaz

The basic recipe for bread that I use is

1lb wholemeal flour
1 large teaspoon the yeast you mix with the flour
1 large teaspoon sugar
half teaspoon salt
11fl oz lukewarm water
dessertspoon oil

I mix all the dry ingredients in my Kenwood bowl and mix the water in. Flour is funny stuff and sometimes it takes a bit more and sometimes a bit less. I then mix it up a bit and then use the dough hook to knead it for 3 - 5 mins.

For the meusli bread I replace half the flour with 8 oz meusli. It does take less liquid so I add half and then go slowly. You could use less meusli, it's a flexible recipe.

If I think I've overdone it with the liquid I add a bit more flour. If it's too dry I add a bit more water. It sounds a bit hit and miss but always turns out OK.

Recently I stopped making bread but a couple of weeks eating bought bread - cheap or expensive alike - drove me back to the Kenwood!

ceridwen

BigMummaF wrote: »

Have you seen the pictures of MrsMc's "potio apotment" Ceri? I swear that woman has a magic wand or the blue-print to the Tardis:p

:T

Indeed I have - I'm taking her as role model in this respect and busily planning away what containers to get and how much I can put in a limited (very!) space.

Now what I want is a total (and I mean total) Idiots Guide to how to fix shelves to garden walls and what to use to make said shelves.

(Heh! You know you're getting older when your mother asks you for financial advice and tells you "You don't need to go THAT far in moneysaving".)

MRSMCAWBER

Evening all

Ceridwen..its amazing what things will grow in..i even saw Jamie Oliver growing a baby tomato in and old can :T
If you use the large plastic bottles of milk they are supposed to be great for growing herbs and the like in;) and if you cut them right the top bit can be a funnel of used as a scoop ...ooohhh am getting the hang of this
well i have had enough veggies out of the garden to do for dinner tonight:j
There are only odds n sods of beans/peas but with the kale, chard and even a few tops of the kholrabi..it was enough...and i can't believe the difference in taste..


I have started working out where i can cut back and have come up with quite a few things so far luckily i have a really easy to please hubby who will eat just about anything and would quite happily live on HM bread and salad :rotfl:
right better get off again and get some more planning and plotting done.. i have a lot to live up to with some of you on here