Tuesday, 31 March 2020

BREAD-STALE or EXCESS --how to use it up

Uses for stale bread

At the present time when shopping trips should be limited and only for essentials then it is important not to waste anything so here are a few of my ideas on what to do with stale bread.

Bread will freeze well so worth keeping space in the freezer for some –it can be just part of a sliced loaf

It is worrying to see pictures of rubbish bins with packs of bread and buns in them --from people overbuying

Refreshing the bread

Often if it is not too hard then brushing it with water and baking a baguette, French loaf or small loaf will often revive it

Breadcrumbs

Easy to make in a food processor or with a grater and then freeze until wanted. They are useful for coatings of fish especially fish cakes and chops as well other items and make good toppings on dishes especially when mixed with grated cheese.

Croutons

Cut into squares and bake or fry and use to top soup –you can add grated cheese for more flavour. These freeze well.

Bread and butter pudding

My absolute favorite I cut up the bread –no butter for me, Put in layers in a dish with a sprinkle of dried fruit like sultanas add a mixture of an egg and milk and bake. It is easy to vary with spreading the bread with marmalade and omitting the dried fruit. I like to cook without recipes but this is a good one.

bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/breadandbutterpuddin_85936

Bread pudding

I cut the bread into bits and soak it in water for an hour or more. I then add dried fruit –to plump this up I often soak it in fruit juice or even squash made up with water and drained off. Then I add an egg and the plumped-up dried fruit and mix well bake in a really well-greased dish at about 180 for an hour or more. Sometimes I sprinkle with sugar and other times add a bit to the mix. Check with a clean knife to see it is cooked.

I may put it in a microwavable basin and cook for 5 minutes –then take it out and check with a knife to see it is cooked and if still sticks –cook a bit longer.

I do include a small amount of sugar in this mix. It makes a nice pudding with custard

htps://fyf20quid.co.uk/recipes/old-fashioned-bread-pudding

Sunday, 29 March 2020

Letter from Rome

Coronavirus outbreak

A letter to the UK from Italy: this is what we know about your future

An author in Rome describes what to expect based on her experiences of lockdown

Francesca Melandri

107,801

A deserted Rome: ‘We are but a few steps ahead of you in the path of time.’ Photograph: Stefano Montesi/Corbis via Getty Images

Saturday, 28 March 2020

Coronovirus myths

There is a lot of non-scientific myths about the virus and it is a shame people believe this

As regards nutrition it is important to have a healthy balanced diet with 5 portions of vegetables and fruit each day, regular meals and snacks plus 2litres of fluid for adults

The WHO has good information on myth busters

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters

This is an example of the information but lots more

Tuesday, 24 March 2020

STOCK PILING SONG

My husband was sent this by a friend in his U3A guitar group

This may amuse you

The tune is "I will survive"

A song about “stockpilers”. (Think Gloria Gaynor)

I was afraid, I was petrified, There was no loo roll down at Aldi and I nearly cried.

Oh! I spent oh so many nights just thinking how you did me wrong,

I used to wipe, And now I’m forced to just drip dry!

No anti-bac! No bloody soap and if you think you’re buying pasta well you’ve got no hope!

I would have bought that box of eggs, I would have rationed out my bread,

If I’d have known for just one second everyone would lose their head!

Go on now go, walk out the door! You bloody stockpilers, You are not welcome anymore!

Weren’t you ones who just bought all the sodding beans, You selfish gits!

I hope you spill them down your jeans.

Oh no not I, I won’t panic buy! Oh as long as I have alcohol, I know I’ll stay alive,

Though I can’t buy my usual cheese this will not bring me to my knees

And I’ll survive, I will survive, hey, hey!

It took all the strength I had not to not to fall apart, There was just apples and 1 carrot in my shopping cart,

And I spent hours walking round just feeling sorry for myself, The empty store, with boxes strewn across the floor

And you’ll see me, somebody who, Cannot buy anything she came for, and it’s down to you And frickin Reg from down the road is such a selfish blimmin git

Because he stockpiled all the loo roll so nobody else can s@*t!

Go on now go, walk out the door! You bloody stockpilers,

You are not welcome anymore!

Weren’t you ones who just bought all the sodding cakes

Can’t you make a crumble, Do you people not know how to bake?

Oh no not I, I won’t panic buy! Oh as long as I have alcohol, I know I’ll stay alive,

Though I can’t buy my usual cheese, this will not bring me to my knees

And I’ll survive, I will survive! Yeah Yeah

Sunday, 22 March 2020

FORAGING FOR FRESH ITEMS

FORAGING

As a Country Woman who does a bit of Foraging I thought I would write some information on it.

As perishable items like salad and many vegetables are not easily available I thought I would look at “Foraging”.

I always hate to see items like blackberries, crab apples, sloes and various other plants wasted.

Many items are garden weeds like dandelion and nettle leaves which we tend to ignore or just pull up. They are useful in soups and salads.

PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK WHAT PLANTS, FUNGI AND FRUITS ARE AS SOME ITEMS ARE POISONOUS –I AM NOT GOOD AT IDENTIFYING WILD MUSHROOMS APART FROM A FEW SO I RARELY USE THEM.

Foraging: what to look out for each month

There are various sites and the Woodland Trust has a really good one which suggests items month by month. It also notes the vitamins in the various items. It also says on the site about harvesting and not damaging plants.

On the Woodland Trust site, March has various suggestions like nettles –do wear gloves to pick these and only pick the tender leaves for use in soups

There is a suggestion about Japanese Knotweed which is horridly invasive and will lift cement, foundations, and paths—I found some on a farmers field and told him and he killed it with weed killer followed by burning debris on the site. That I feel is the best thing for it as it is so prolific and destructive!

I have not tried Clevers but I think it needs to be really young as a friend told me that she was upset by eating the old ones

Worth looking at the garden and walks with new eyes.

Friday, 20 March 2020

BREAD MAKING variations

Making bread is great fun and the kneading helps to take away tensions!

We often bake bread so when I went to get yeast this week was told there was none available as people were buying it as they were worried about getting bread in the future

So I thought about alternatives

Chapatis and flat breads generally are extremely easy to make and made from flour ( brown or wholegrain) and water mixed into a dough and cooked in a frying pan. They are really delicious when warm. I used to make these frequently. I think this is a really simple and easy to follow recipe but there are others around

http s://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chapatis

Soda bread https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/irishsodabread_67445

This is made with bicarbonate of soda instead of yeast –it is best eaten warm as it does go a bit hard after a while. If you cannot eat it all freeze it and then warm it. Really good with soup

I liked this BBC recipe as really easy and like my mother made, but she used strained soured milk and I just use UHT skimmed milk

I heard someone on the radio who was self-isolating and had tried this bread and loved it

Sour Dough bread

I used to do a radio program with Vanessa the “sourdough guru” who runs schools on making it. I love it but you do need a starter and there are lots of recipes for making one or you can buy one. I just make mine from basically flour and water. Some make them with yogurt and other ingredients. Other people even name them as they are a living thing which takes on a life of its own as you have to feed them.

I like this recipe https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

They do take about a week to develop but occasionally are ready in 5 days. Great fun to make and children love the new “pet” and the bread is fabulous

Tuesday, 10 March 2020

VEGETABLE CURRY

https://www.heartuk.org.uk/

THIS IS THE RECIPE FROM HEART UK --I LOVE VEGETABLE CURRY AND I REGULARLY DO ONE WITH CHICKPEAS, CAULIFLOWER ONIONS AND TINNED TOMATOES PLUS LOTS OF SPICES

ingredients

150g frozen diced butternut squash

½ Aubergine, diced

3 squirts of spray oil

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 x 5cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 x red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp Garam Masala

100g mushrooms, sliced

1 medium sized courgette, sliced

1 red pepper, chopped

200g passata

300ml reduced salt vegetable stock

6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 x 400g tinned chickpeas, drained

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp onion seeds

150ml soya coconut yoghurt

Handful fresh coriander, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/ 170C Fan/ Gas Mark 5. Place the diced butternut squash and aubergine onto a baking sheet. Spray with the 3 squirts of oil and mix thoroughly. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the chopped onion. Cook on a gentle heat for 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for a further minute. Stir in the spices and cook for around 30 seconds or until the spices release their fragrance. Add the mushrooms, courgette and pepper into the pan and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften. Pour in the stock, passata and cherry tomatoes and give everything a good stir. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

After 15 minutes add the chickpeas, roasted butternut squash and aubergine to the mixture. Stir through and cook gently for a further 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Continue to stir occasionally.