The Brexit Cupboard Part 2

[PerverseConverse]

Following on from the fantastic thread of the weekend, I thought we'd continue discussing our brexit cupboards and boxes here. Here's to all the preppers and their cupboards, no matter what they contain. (Keep quiet about your stash in real life).

I have loads of seeds already. I've probably got about 3 years' worth! Thankfully I have an allotment so can grow a fair bit, though not enough to be self-sufficient.

We got a big block of cheddar cheese (which we cut into 4) and 4 packs of butter today, which are also in the freezer. Farmfoods is selling salted Country Life for £1.00 in our local store, so I bought more than I normally would.

Our task is to eat through the remaining Christmas baking to make more room in the freezer for other stuff (tough task, but someone has to do it!). Like more cheese and butter probably. I'll save fridge space for the kids' dairy-free spread.

My children are not happy there is no longer room for ice cream in the freezer

Has anyone laid down falafel mix or have a brand recommendation?

I was thinking of nearer the time, chopping bananas into 2 or 3 pieces and covering in chocolate then freezing - will help with the lack of ice cream/ treats/ fruit, and shouldn't take up too much room.

You do realise that if there’s a shortage of energy the freezer’s content is going to go?
During the ex Yugoslavia war, families rushed to buy generators and changed the hobs from all gas to a mix of electric and gas, because for a period the supply was on alternate days...

I always recommend thought I'd given to shelf stable alternatives. I lost all my lovingly prepared home cooked meals made in advance of my daughter's birth when the freezer broke down.

My freezer isn't that big. There's more in my cupboard and boxes.

Hopefully this won't be anyway near comparable to a war zone situation. It is much much more likely that stocks generally will be a bit low for a few weeks/ prices will go up.

Your food is fine in a closed freezer for about 24 hours. And it's not really comparable to a war zone, I don't think. Or at least I hope not. Shortage of food will be a minor issue if things get that bad!

@Wolfcub

It one of my favourite vegan store cupboard meals.

I make my own falafel. I use tinned chick peas & although it's not recommended it's the same quality as a packet mix.

Tin of drained chick peas in food processor, salt, pepper, chick pea flour, crushed garlic, cumin and I put a little coriander spice and optional fresh (frozen) coriander in too.

Blitz, shape and fry.

Serve with lemon and tahini cream.

Cheap, tasty and nutritious. I think I can feed 6 for under 50p a head.

All long life store cupboard stuff.

That's a top idea @unexpectedgifts . And just to be a smart arse , don't forget that chick pea water is vegan substitute for egg white. It's not my strong area but I think that there's scope for whizzing the water up to make a meringue- or more likely a mess if I do it

Vegan cakes/cookies/pancakes can be made by following a normal recipe. Instead of butter use vegan margarine and instead of egg just mix half a cup of soya milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice and leave for a few minutes to thicken. Or use silken tofu instead of the egg.

Thanks Unexpected

Tinned mandarins didn't go down well - neither DS would even try them, and I found them more bitter than I'd remembered. We made pizzas using shelf stable pizza bases from Aldi though and they were nice. And my kitchen was a lot less floury than if we'd made the base ourselves. So I'm going to get more of those and more passata. Has anyone ever tried freezing mozzarella? I was planning to grate and freeze some cheddar and red Leicester already. I also made a double batch of buttermilk pancakes this morning and froze the rest so they will make a nice treat breakfast one day with syrup and frozen bacon or fruit.

To freeze peppers do I need to do anything except chop and stick in a freezer bag?

Perverse Stick a baking sheet in the freezer for an hour or two, chop peppers, spread out on sheet in freezer overnight, then bag. They will freeze quick and not stick together.

Those buying apple pie filling can you post a link to what you are buying? I could find no such thing in Sainsbury’s yesterday

@Wolfcub

How well do peppers defrost? Our two eat shit loads of them, but won't if they're not still crunchy! Fussy buggers!

Peppers are a bit limp after defrosting, not crunchy but great for cooking with.

Thanks @PestyMachtubernahme they are on the baking tray now. There's always at least one pepper from a pack that ends up rotten as I'm the only one who'll eat them. Freezing them will save me money. This prepping lark is great apart from the reason for prepping of course I'm more organised, eating more healthily, trying new recipes, wasting less as freezing more, learning new food tricks, and have a good supply of toiletries, make up and household essentials, and treats for us all as well as food.

It's making me calmer.

I like this stuff in pies

Re peppers: I'm planning on roasting them and blitzing into pasta sauce as none of mine will eat them. Just going to chuck them into a roasting dish with oil, salt, pepper and maybe some garlic.

I agree @PerverseConverse . A rethink of how you have been doing things and a bit more control in your own home of your pantry supplies does feel good.

I'm also enjoying trying new things - make flatbread is next on my list. I had a good sort out of the freezer this week and it's nice to know what's in there and where it all is.