No C word allowed

[bilboraggins]

As there are lots of threads, good threads that I keep up with here, about the topic I just wondered if anyone would be interested in having a c word free prepper chat.

The kind of thread @bellinisurge might drop in and tell us the latest dehydrator adventure!

Everyone welcome of course. I just feel like I would love to have a bit more general prep chat to calm my nerves.

Some general prep/housekeeping I'm doing today is going through my fresh stores and cooking up anything to freeze that's on its last legs so just about to cook up a big batch of roast potatoes for the freezer and try not to eat too many

[siblingrevelryagain]

I have always frozen roasties; started one November (prepped and froze many of the components of Xmas dinner to save time and effort on the day, now I just do it to keep leftovers etc)

I freeze cooked par-boiled spuds on a tray, til them in a bag when frozen. Then heat the oil when you want them and roast from frozen as normal

[bilboraggins]

Made some cottage pies 'for the freezer' today. I always have such a sense of satisfaction when it's packed with home made meals as well as the usual pizzas and fish fingers

I've never made marmalade but always look forward to the summer and doing lots of jam

[bilboraggins]

It's a game changer @siblingrevelryagain

[BiddyPop]

I sterilise my jam jars in an oven at 100 degrees for about 20 minutes if I haven't got time to do the dishwasher.

Blackeyedsusan I got my Kelly Kettle which I felt was languishing last winter, and then it snowed - I used the kettle to make maple syrup taffy in the back garden!! Great fun!! I also cooked my tea (a fried egg and rasher, with a lot of hot tea to drink) in the back garden another nice summer's evening that DH and DD were away - in the interests of practising how to lift the kettle without spilling the contents on small Cub Scouts, and also getting it going sufficiently for them to be suitably awed! The Leaders and I did share a round of tea from it one night on camp, but it didn't get proper use yet as I didn't go away camping or similar with DD (perhaps this summer).

I am at the point of looking for some solar powered charger capacity to get myself some rechargeable batteries for radios and torches etc.

And a proper trolley/wagon to move things, like this. Mostly for camping purposes, but could be useful for all sorts in some kind of zombie apocalypse or similar.

[HouseSpider]

Does anyone own and use a dehydrator? I dry fruit in the oven, but have thought about getting a dehydrator and giving that a go instead. Any views/ opinions?

[BiddyPop]

(I'm still working through the great red currant jelly glut from when I handed back the allotment in 2009, so jam making is off my agenda at the moment...but its still a useful skill to have).

[K9medic]

I have spent the last couple of days cleaning gutters and rodding the drains. With the last few days i noticed a few back ups in down pipes so finely got those cleared.

Had an old double bed to get rid of, so managed to salavege a fair bit of usable wood before the metel springs went to the tip.

It might seem a little over the top, but i highly reccomend everyone carries out a basic fire risk assessment. Note the ignition sources and fuel in each room. Then do your best to keep them apart. I fire blanket is the first bit of safety equipment most people should buy.

[HighlandYak]

Does anyone own and use a dehydrator?
I have one, game changer! Love it. I use it a lot to make homemade dried meals for when I go hiking, but also just dehydrating veg that is getting a bit past its best.

[SistemaAddict]

I have 3 new tubes of toothpaste but failed to get the shampoo again. Dd will have to use mine.
My stash boxes are full. Mainly with bread flour and lentils it seems. The brexit cupboard is looking good too. If you like chick peas, baked beAns, and tomatoes

[bellinisurge]

@HouseSpider .... [rolls up sleeves] I have one. It's brilliant - if you like that kind of thing.
I have bought a few bags of frozen veg and dehydrated them. They are chopped to the right size and so it's just a case of tipping them onto the trays, waiting while it does its thing, pop it into sterilised jars. Awesome.

[BlackeyedSusan]

@HouseSpider Hmmm. New around here huh? Someone I spent most of last year annoying Bellinisurge by commenting on her dehydration preps.

Annoyingly, I can't justify buying one yet but could do with dyhydrating mixed veg.

[BlackeyedSusan]

If the sun ever comes out again, I am getting the solar kettle out to play with. The sun has risen higher than the surrounding flats and tower block so it may work.

[HouseSpider]

Lol! Do I stand out that much. I have been thinking about prepping for a while and working on what to get, what I need, up skilling etc, but I haven't made a massive one off investment yet. So thought maybe I would treat myself to a dehydrator. I have a close prepper friend too and was thinking we could maybe go halves.

I appreciate the positive comments. I'm going to have a look around.

[bellinisurge]

@Bercows , shampoo is your Achilles Heel - or some other classical reference that I don't know. Told you, me and toothpaste. Always low on bloody toothpaste

[bellinisurge]

@HouseSpider , if you have a trusted prepper friend - going halves is a great idea.

[bellinisurge]

@K9medic , good idea. I'd like to think I'm prepped for a fire but I've definitely got to do some more critical thinking about it.

[BloomedAgain]

Could anyone recommend me a good solar powered power pack?

[K9medic]

Ok im a bit weird as i teach a lot of health and safety subjects and often bring my work home with me

But if you just goggle fire risk assessment template you can down load the blank version (i played around with mine because i wanted to experiment with it) but the ones designed for a b&b etc will work for you too.

[bellinisurge]

Good tip.

[bilboraggins]

Thanks a lot @K9medic much appreciated. Will look into that when I stop my cooking frenzy, currently have a lasagne on the go, again 'for the freezer'

My new thing seems to be cooking through low level stress, my freezer hasn't been so stocked up and organised since I was 'nesting' before dc! Normally stress makes me organise cupboards so I'm quite liking the change

[bilboraggins]

@bellinisurge you reminded me to top on kids toothpaste. My dc are unnaturally fussy when it comes to theirs while I'm quite happy tossing in whatever's on offer!

[bilboraggins]

@BloomedAgain I can't recommend one as I haven't got one but there seems to be quite a few with good reviews on amazon for around the £30 mark. One may have slipped into my basket although I haven't actually hit buy yet, will probably ponder for a while!

Anyone else have a multitude of things languishing in their amazon baskets?

[NewYearNewTwatName]

Hello all.

This year I need to really get into starting and continuing a veg plot. I started small last year with some tomatoes and strawberries, DS2 planted maze for corn on the cobs.

I'm afraid I'm a dehydrator failure though after buying one last year and crowing about it on here. It sadly did not become a hit with the family. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if my dehydrator not very good.

I keep eyeing up really useful/lightweight stand up 3 bedroom compartments tents.

[BlackeyedSusan]

Shhhhh.... I am already over bought on new prepping toys.

I could do with para cord and tarp for various uses. And I have my eye on a few other things too.

[bellinisurge]

@NewYearNewTwatName , my family turned their noses up too. Until I brought out the fruit leather then dd couldn't get to it quickly enough.
And then dh needed some celery for a soup in the middle of winter and there was non in the fridge. Tadaa! And then some peppers for a curry. Tadaa!