Thank you for comments yesterday, and welcome to a new reader, Terra.
The nice man in the bank sorted out our problem yesterday, he couldn't have been more helpful, all is well now. The town was virtually deserted, not many people about at all, it was relatively easy to keep the required 2m distance. Half of the shops in town were closed indefinitely, some still open but with less staff. We did what we needed to in the bank and Wilkos then went straight back home, we're not planning on going anywhere else for a while now - well, we can't anyway, other than dog walking.
I had some veggies going wrinkly as they were left over from a week or more ago - half an orange pepper, an aubergine, a large courgette and a handful of chestnut mushrooms. The obvious thing to make was ratatouille, I have several cans of tomatoes and plenty of leeks in the garden. I also had some limp long stemmed broccoli, so that went in too. Fried the raw veggies off first, before adding the canned chopped tomatoes, swishing the can out with water and adding that. Big squirt of tomato puree, a splash of balsamic vinegar and a couple of teaspoons of Italian herbs, then simmered for half an hour. We had it for dinner on what Joy calls 'posh rice' (one of those microwavable pouches of rice and grains), with feta cheese crumbled over the top. Delicious.
I'm trying to make sure I don't waste anything at all in the way of food. Not that we waste much anyway.....leftover cooked food goes in the freezer, along with bread crusts, broccoli and cauli stalks go in a bag in the freezer as well until there's enough to make soup. Stock from chicken carcasses or boiling gammon joints is used for soup, gravy or sauces. Any odd unusable bits of raw veggies are put in the compost bin, we have beautiful crumbly homemade compost.
I'm going to have a go at making yeast free beer bread tomorrow, we have a couple of cans of beer that husband isn't drinking....of course the yeast (and fizz) in the beer is what makes the bread rise. Allegedly! I'll let you know how it turns out, if it works it means I've saved a couple of sachets of yeast. We've run out of the last lot of jam I made a couple of years ago, so jam making will be on the agenda this week too, I have one bag of our homegrown blackcurrants left in the freezer, there might be some strawberries left as well.
How are you using your time, are you doing anything different to keep occupied?
That beer bread sounds interesting Sooze. If it's a success I will certainly give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI was the only customer in Matalan yesterday.
ReplyDeleteIt will be great if everyone would think about their food in the same way, we don't waste food, we are now cutting back on meat portion sizes, to ensure our meat last.
ReplyDeleteWe don't waste food either. I think the old war-time ethos will get stronger as the weeks go on. Trying to be inventive with what we have, although fresh fruit and veggies seem to be available. Had naan bread "pizza" last night - naan bread, tomato sauce (tinned toms, puree, dried basil) topped with grated cheese (vegan in my case), and using the rest of the sauce with rice and mushrooms tonight. Going for a walk in a bit, then into the garden as the sun is shining. Stay safe. xxx
ReplyDeleteI’d love to see how the beer bread turns out, Sooze! (and what it tastes like!) ;)
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds brilliant and if there's one good thing about all this, it is how people are becoming creative with their cooking again, so as not to waste anything at all.
ReplyDeleteAll your ideas sound fantastic!
xx