The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

Greying_Pilgrim · 6 May 2019 at 8:16PM

Good evening :hello:

Gosh, hope you've all had a good B/H. Ours was quiet in that we didn't 'go' anywhere, but it was full-on in terms of tatting around and getting bits and pieces done. DH has worked like a trooper today - supervised and unsupervised

:rotfl: #noworkersandtoomanybosses!

Lunch was cheese sangers, lentil crisps (mrL) and fruit for those that wanted it. I've been buying 'Red Prince' apples from HB - in their value bag range. Really yummy apples, so floral and fruity - they are great on their own, but my they would be so darn good in a fruit salad

Tea this evening was heavily influenced by THIS salad on the bbc g00df00d site. I used what I had, so I used feta, not halloumi, and I ran the feta through my lentil/chickpea salad. I did have some capers (go me!) and I used 1 lemon - very juicy - and i had a red onion, so 'pickled' that in the way described. My lentils were brown lentils, rather than puy style - as I have a load of brown lentils in the store cupboard - they tasted perfectly fine. I added red pepper and garlic into my version. I left the beetroot out, and instead made the 'Happy Pear' beetroot and apple salad (grate the beets and apple, mix with oil, balsamic and season - I always leave out the agave syrup and spinach of their recipe and add in caraway seeds - then top with toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds.). I also steamed some green beans and served those topped with LSA (linseed, sunflower, almond ground together in a 3:2:1 ratio) and a drizzle of olive oil. Very filling and very nommy!

It was all from stores (with the exception of the Greek feta which was purchased from mrL yesterday as it was 'on sale' - 4p less than usual, woohoo!)

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

a hard-working hubby

family fun

a full stomach

Ta for popping in. Appreciated.

Greying X

mary_hinge · 6 May 2019 at 9:22PM

I would love your recipe for lentil dhal if you don't mind sharing please GP? Hitch hiker is of an age for baby lead weaning and already loves a basic veggie curry with flat bread...… totally snubbed my Bombay spuds though :rotfl:

MatyMoo · 7 May 2019 at 7:46AM

I batch cook things like stew, curry, ragu type meals & soups when I am making them anyway and portion for the freezer. Through the week it can be easy suppers with my own ready meals as I just need to cook rice/pasta/potatoes/bread.

I find it is much easier to cook enough for 6 or 8 as it is 1

Greying_Pilgrim · 7 May 2019 at 7:56AM

Good Morning :hello:

mary_hinge wrote: »

I would love your recipe for lentil dhal if you don't mind sharing please GP? Hitch hiker is of an age for baby lead weaning and already loves a basic veggie curry with flat bread...… totally snubbed my Bombay spuds though :rotfl:

Bravo Hitch-Hiker! you've much more sophistcated tastes than BG!

The lentil dhal recipe is from Linda Cockburn's book (she did the original buy-nowt for a year) and lives sustainably. I think she was in Australia (mainland) at the time of the book, but has subsequently moved to...... Tasmania? Anyway, the book is called 'Living the simple life'.

Dhal

200g red lentils
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 potatoes peeled and chopped
4 tomatoes skinned and chopped
900 ml water
1 tsp ground coriander
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed (or to taste)
25 grams butter (optional)
1 tsp garam masala

Method; Simmer lentils, turneric, cumin, potatoes and tomatoes in the water for 10 mins or until the potatoes are cooked. Add coriander. Saute the chopped onion and garlic in the butter until golden, Add garam masala and cook for a further 2 mins. Add mixture to the lentils and stir through. Serve.

Now, I've copied the recipe as per the book. But that is not how I make it. I rarely bother with the potatoes anymore, and if I use tomatoes (not often), chopped tinned tomatoes do the job, just as well. But I never add the tomatoes until the lentils are soft and nearly cooked, as tomatoes can impede the cooking of lentils (as can salt). I also add in some chopped fresh ginger.

I tend to make it; sauted the onions and garlic and after 2 mins, add in the ginger. Add in all the spices and stir. Cook for 2 minutes on a gentle heat. Add in the lentils (rinsed) and stir to coat in the spices and onion. Add in the water, bring to the boil and then simmer until the lentils are soft. If using, put the tomatoes in at this point. cook for a further 10 -15 minutes to allow the dhal to thicken (watch it doesn't stick on the bottom of your pan!). I don't do the 'tardka' but do very often sprinkle in some garam masala and stir in at the end. If I'm making it for adults, I season with salt and pepper as necessary - also a splodge of lemon juice lifts it nicely if you have some.

Hope that helps.

Greying X

mary_hinge · 7 May 2019 at 10:25AM

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Good Morning :hello:

Bravo Hitch-Hiker! you've much more sophistcated tastes than BG!

The lentil dhal recipe is from Linda Cockburn's book (she did the original buy-nowt for a year) and lives sustainably. I think she was in Australia (mainland) at the time of the book, but has subsequently moved to...... Tasmania? Anyway, the book is called 'Living the simple life'.

Dhal

200g red lentils
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 potatoes peeled and chopped
4 tomatoes skinned and chopped
900 ml water
1 tsp ground coriander
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed (or to taste)
25 grams butter (optional)
1 tsp garam masala

Method; Simmer lentils, turneric, cumin, potatoes and tomatoes in the water for 10 mins or until the potatoes are cooked. Add coriander. Saute the chopped onion and garlic in the butter until golden, Add garam masala and cook for a further 2 mins. Add mixture to the lentils and stir through. Serve.

Now, I've copied the recipe as per the book. But that is not how I make it. I rarely bother with the potatoes anymore, and if I use tomatoes (not often), chopped tinned tomatoes do the job, just as well. But I never add the tomatoes until the lentils are soft and nearly cooked, as tomatoes can impede the cooking of lentils (as can salt). I also add in some chopped fresh ginger.

I tend to make it; sauted the onions and garlic and after 2 mins, add in the ginger. Add in all the spices and stir. Cook for 2 minutes on a gentle heat. Add in the lentils (rinsed) and stir to coat in the spices and onion. Add in the water, bring to the boil and then simmer until the lentils are soft. If using, put the tomatoes in at this point. cook for a further 10 -15 minutes to allow the dhal to thicken (watch it doesn't stick on the bottom of your pan!). I don't do the 'tardka' but do very often sprinkle in some garam masala and stir in at the end. If I'm making it for adults, I season with salt and pepper as necessary - also a splodge of lemon juice lifts it nicely if you have some.

Hope that helps.

Greying X

fantastic Thankyou! Hitch hiker much prefers sausages and pinwheel pizzas but will give in eventually :rotfl: unless it's anything green..... that goes straight to the cat :rotfl:

Greying_Pilgrim · 7 May 2019 at 7:40PM

Good Evening :hello:

LOL - mary hinge. BG def. has an aversion to any 'green' food. Not even worth putting on the plate *rollseyessmiley*

BG played up a bit again today. And thinking about it, they didn't get a 'proper' nap yesterday again. There does seem to be a link - although it was their choice to not nap - they were too busy making sure they didn't miss out on nowt! And too busy supervising poor papa! It wasn't as bad as last week, but gee I could have done without it.......

For tea, I practised wot I (don't try to) preach, and we had lentil dhal (see ^ for t'recipe), channa masala and rice. BG point blank refused to eat any of the dhal

Still, our tea was relatively inexpensive and filled a gap, so........

Lunch was the leftover lentil/chickpea salad from yesterday, with the last betroot cut up and a lovely ripe avocado. I felt like a punter at an expensive restaurant, having such a convoluted lunch! :cool: Needless to say, BG was having none of it and stuck with their usual sangers and fruit *rollseyessmiley* [again....]

Today I am grateful for;

Sunshine (when I was expecting rain)

'wot the eye don't see, the heart don't grieve over'.... and your stress levels appreciate it

a cheap tea - lor' knows we need to bag 'em this month - BIG style

Ta for popping in. Appreciated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim · 8 May 2019 at 8:52AM

Good Morning :hello:

Well, this morning we have the forecasted rain. Loads of it. So definitely 'sank Evans' for the sunshine yesterday!

Can I ask some random questions? It may be that someone knows/has experience.

1) Do 'hard' (as in rigid plastic) coolboxes actually keep things cooler for longer than the material foil/insulation lined cool 'bags'? As in half as much longer, or twice as much longer? (using ice packs in both)

When I was young, all there was was the rigid plastic cool boxes - far too heavy to lug, hence you ended up eating in the car-park of a stately home or - more often than not, by the side of a busy road, where passing traffic was so fast the car swayed....... :rotfl:

2) Has anyone ever had any experience/knows a hack for making 'pouch' foods safe to eat if you've not got a microwave? I'm wondering if a FB has had a go at it - or a explorer (think the kind of living that Dame Ellen McArthur is researching; minimamilist/small space/travelling light)

I spotted some pouches of mixed grains (think quinoa or bulghar - that sort of thing) in MrAl the other day (all supermercados have ranges of these things) and I was thinking how it would add a bit of variety if you were travelling on a tight budget and didn't have access to a kitchen. In a microwave, they cook in 1 minute (which is nowt!) but if you've got no microwave, could it be safely heated in another method? I'm thinking if you are staying in budget hotels - not camping with a gas stove.......

If anyone would know, it would be someone on MSE :money:I'm not willing to compromise food safety, but just wondered if there was a hack - or if, in actuality, they are packaged in such a way that they ARE in fact OK to be eaten cold - although anything with rice would be a no-no I would have thought? (and interestingly, rice packets seemed to need longer microwave cooking times - which I assume is about getting the product past 70 degrees for 2 mins).

Tea is currently a mystery, but I want to try to keep up the cheap 'n cheerful stock cupboard vibe, so I'll have a rootle and a think. I must also note down the lentil/chickpea salad recipe, as that is definitely a keeper - particularly as it works well with brown (and presumably green) lentils over the pricier puy-style lentils. Fits the :money: brief!

Right, best vamoose. Ta for popping by. Appreciated.

Greying X

UncannyScot · 8 May 2019 at 9:15AM

Hi Greying,

Plastic cool boxes keep things cool with the ice packs for up to 12 hours in my experience it's mostly beer...

The microwaveable pouches of rice n grains n stuff can be cooked via conventional means, I use em all the time when hiking and camping. I do however use a wee compact gas stove with a wee pan set and just add a wee dash of water to the food to cook in the pot... cooks in a couple of minutes and it tastes grand. However, it may be possible to boil water in kettle and add a dash of the boiling / just boiled water food to warm and soften it up IYKWIM
Sorry, as a tight-fisted scottish wild camper I don't have much experience of cooking in hotels n that but I can cook up a feast at camp nae bother

Greying_Pilgrim · 8 May 2019 at 9:43AM

UncannyScot wrote: »

Hi Greying,

Plastic cool boxes keep things cool with the ice packs for up to 12 hours in my experience it's mostly beer...

The microwaveable pouches of rice n grains n stuff can be cooked via conventional means, I use em all the time when hiking and camping. I do however use a wee compact gas stove with a wee pan set and just add a wee dash of water to the food to cook in the pot... cooks in a couple of minutes and it tastes grand. However, it may be possible to boil water in kettle and add a dash of the boiling / just boiled water food to warm and soften it up IYKWIM
Sorry, as a tight-fisted scottish wild camper I don't have much experience of cooking in hotels n that but I can cook up a feast at camp nae bother

:wave: to UCS

Ha ha Sweetie! If it keeps the beer cold, that MAY well be good enough

I'm thinking about getting one to transport frozen food that will defrost gradually, but at least be OK for the next day - say like bread rolls, so that you could make your pack up for day 1 (fresh) and then at least have something to eat for the second day of your stay, without having to resort to cafes or supermercado lack-lustre sanger ranges. I think for that, it would be a good investment - but I prefer the cool bags for transporting a picnic to the beach, or into a garden or whatever.

Camping - ay, apart from the midgies, I would be with you with the camping - wild or tamed, but definitely NOT glamping! Unfortunately, DH shed no tears when we donated our tent to the chazzer, and is not keen to purchase another

Although I would love to introduce BG to the joys of outdoor living. For the trip I've in mind, budget hotels (not as grand as they sound......) have actually worked out cheaper than S/C accommodation......

So I've got to get creative with food options. We won't starve, but it can't break the bank neither

Well, according to a review site, the JaymeeO pouch meals can be eaten cold........... And according to another site (and the actual ingredients listing) rice is cooked in the packets to the point of sterilisation by industrial steam oven things. So, technically, you should not get ill by eating it straight from the packet - although it won't give you the best 'taste experience' that heating would........ :rotfl:

I wonder if I could do some experimenting whilst I'm at home and within an ambulance ride of a local hospital?

Greying X

Suffolk_lass · 8 May 2019 at 10:53AM

You can pop a vacuum sealed pouch in a kettle and heat it that way - never having bought a pouch of ready cooked food I do not know if it is vacuum sealed, however.

We take a rigid cold box away with us and put a bag of ice in it to keep everything cold for a weekend's camping. As long as you keep the food in sealable boxes so the water does not ruin them - works with salads, yogurt, milk, meat, butter and cheese (and of course wine and beer :whistle:)

The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

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