Prepping for a Pandemic - Thread 16

[Sprayitall]

I don’t know why another thread hasn’t been created yet , so here you go. Now as we prep ourselves to the peak of this pandemic, let’s all face it together and appreciate how fragile our lives are and how we need each other to survive and flourish.

DD has a tummy bug, I usually think she has picked that sort of thing up at school .... clearly our disinfecting and hand washing regime has room for improvement!

Our local pub which is closed as a pub has opened a pop up shop for basics including fresh fruit, veg and meat from local butchers. Brilliant.

Just checked my freezer. It doesn’t have any cool trays (all trays have meat veg and fish pics on it) Found out that a tray in which I dump all my veggies in the fridge has a fancy name called “quick cool” tray. My fridge/ freezer is a free standing one and looks like this

posterSprayitall Google the make and model and see if you can get the manual. That will tell you. It's not the end of the world if you haven't got one. I would just nominate one drawer (probably at the top) as where I froze batch cooking and then move them when I had the net batch ready. That way is the temperature drops slightly when you put in unfrozen food it won't affect your other supplies.
To be honest when mine is really full all my organisation goes out of the window and I just ram everything in where I can

Mine is ram anything in where you can organised.

I am twitchy about shopping. I have enough food. More than enough. Just when the fridge starts to empty... I feel unsettled.

Mid afternoon slump after not getting enough sleep.

Talking of freezers, I think I need to see how much room I have in case I want to batch cook some dried beans.

So difficult to think and plan though that is probably lack of sleep.

@blackeyedsusan @grannycake I am same as you, I just ram anything in if I find space.

Does any of you lovely ladies know what to do with two little bottles of double cream? I want to make something with it so it lasts longer but don’t have any recipes.. half my fruit cake stash is gone already with other pouring spoons from this. I got this double cream left over from my milk delivery yesterday. I’ve never used them in recipes as such of this other than to pour over soups, teas and cakes.

Whip the cream with a pinch of sugar until stiff, portion onto a baking tray ( spoon out or pipe), open freeze on tray then transfer to a bag to store in freezer - just thaw and use on cakes, scones etc. Tv e sugar helps stop it splitting

Op I think you’re going a little overboard. Try and be calm, even with my ocd I’m not spraying my shopping! The virus certainly won’t survive in the water system! Please take a breather and try to relax (believe me I know it’s hard I had a dreadful day yesterday but a little better today)

“So trying to slow down and take each day by day.” So glad to read this I was worried.

And then the handwashing post that’s more than I do! I’d say (and bear in mind ocd!) before and after:

Going out, going loo, dealing with anything actually dirty, preparing and eating food.

Frozen grapes are DELICIOUS I’m going to freeze mine if I have space. I first did years ago when doing ww they’re like little bite size sorbets in your mouth you’ll get addicted 😂

“vegetarian and mostly Indian diet which means I cook fresh everyday” from the other thread where we were discussing recipes I wish I lived with you cooking for me! I’ve ordered some spices and herbs in and will be trying your recommendations.

@blackeyedsusan I’m REALLY struggling with organisation side, I’m trying to use fresh up before anything else, got a thread running asking for advice on batch cooking/freezing/reheating but I’ve a tiny freezer. Finding it so hard to keep track and not usually a meal planner.

Any tips on meal planning based on what you have in not what you hope you’ll get?!

Op feel free to post query re cream on my thread here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3861373-calling-experienced-cooks-and-food-safety-experts-please?msgid=95043140#95043140

Respondents have been most helpful

I use cream to make Butter Chicken in my pressure cooker. This freezes beautifully

I love all frozen fruit. It was such a tiny revelation when I thought about it, it makes it feel like it's more substantial too when you're eating it somehow.

Remember to cut up the grapes though for kids, I once half choked on one and now have to eat them very very carefully!

Graphista I am a food technologist, so I have commented on your thread.
If anyone has any queries about what is safe to eat out of date, how to preserve products etc. I am happy to help.

@Weedsnseeds1

Thanks so much for helping with this I certainly am glad for the reassurance

We usually have frozen raspberries and blueberries in our freezer but it's so tiny we've had to prioritise other stuff. I'm doing mini batch cooks to go in the fridge for a couple of days. Luckily it's just the two of us.

@Graphista I'm also beginning to twitch over shopping. We're still ok for now but starting to run low on some things and can't find any slots with anyone. I hope by next week they'll be more availability.

I must check out your recipes @Sprayitall We're vegetarian and love Indian cooking. I rely heavily on herbs and spices in my cooking but it tends to be making it up as I go one pots. With time on my hands Id like to try some proper recipes.

Some years back I ended up with very dry cracked bleeding hands from over washing. I made a conscious effort to stop touching my face and it's second nature now. Now when I'm at home I wash hands before preparing meals, before eating, after the loo, before and after cleaning the flat, taking in post, after being out (wash hands, change clothes, wash hands again), after putting dirty laundry on. It sounds quite a lot reading that list but it's only a few times a day now.

I'm not spraying my deliveries or post. Post I just open one or two days after it comes, food deliveries I'm decanting what I can into jars and other containers, put it all away, then washing hands.

Any tips on meal planning based on what you have in not what you hope you’ll get?!

There's a website where you can put your ingredients in, but I can't remember what is called

Jack monroe is doing recipes from a photo of your ingredients at 5pm on Twitter she's a good egg.
RE double cream you can freeze it in tablespoon sized blobs (beat slightly). My mum does this and uses a little at a time in a veg soup or risotto.

TemoraryUsername I think you can just list your main ingredients in the google search bar followed by the word recipe and it should come up with ideas

Thank you @Weedsnseeds1 for your suggestion. I am going to try that.
@Graphista I was thinking all those water systems and stuff yesterday until I decided to stop my mind from chattering. I have now decided to slow down and taking it day by day. I would love to cook for anyone who loves South Indian for that matter. I have also learnt lot of British recipes after I have come here and I love baking. Did a little bit of gardening today and I am waiting for all the seeds to sprout. My Bucket list has this - One day I wish to have a larger garden and make one proper traditional meal from only the produce of the garden. (It might sound like an easy task but believe me, making a proper Tamilnadu vegetarian meal isn’t easy- I have attached a picture for the same) Traditionally the meals are served in a large banana leaf (no plates to wash/ disposable/ eco friendly/ and it releases vitamin c, polyphenols and antioxidants) but Some of my friends here find it’s tricky to learn how to eat from it. With British cooking I have always found finding a vegetarian recipe that’s also appealing to my taste palette is difficult. I don’t prefer cold or chilled foods here but prefer hot foods like toasties, hash browns, curry sauce as such. Did you know some English recipes here like mulligatawny soup is actually from Tamil Nadu and is a traditional rasam recipe that’s given when one has cold and fever? It even has a tamil name. I am learning a lot of British cooking from my friend here and the latest one I learnt was spring vegetable pasty (the only recipe I have appreciated from her so far other than Yorkshire puddings as she always sends me these cold salad recipes)

@TemoraryUsername How to freeze by blobs? Like the way we do fruits? I think that’s also a good idea.

@tryingtoprep I just get paranoid like that - as I have said I have worked in infectious units and chest physio units so if you had known me personally you will understand why I’m a borderline hypochondriac lol For me I’m freezing more of the ingredients (no one at home prefers reheated food as it tastes different to freshly made but would eat them if it’s the only option left) I have batch cooked a little stuff that is on rotation and can be used if/when everyone falls ill. For fruits I have some dried ones if things get tough and I don’t want to leave the house. I have frozen some fresh fruits too like grapes, bananas etc I’m running out of freezer space already and how much ever I arrange there is no space left because of the frozen bags of veggies.

Ahh op glad you’re feeling/acting calmer

I knew mulligatawny soup Indian in origin, it’s a very popular soup here in Scotland, we like a bit of spice just my tummy doesn’t!

One dish I think you’d like is haggis! I’m veggie and have the lentil version which the spices work just as well with. Each family tends to have their own exact recipe but I think most contain black pepper, mace and nutmeg sometimes cinnamon and cardomom too. It’s not hot spicy it’s flavourful.

One of the few things I miss as a veggie is oxtail soup, I don’t miss the meat element but it’s perfectly spiced, again flavour not heat.

You might struggle with the spices from your garden OP

I tend to agree with you on the British vegetarian dishes, other countries do it better. Middle Eastern, Indian, Greek...

@Graphista I have never heard of haggis but I love Scotland. Once when me and dh visited Scotland to celebrate our anniversary 12 years ago, it was august and I still remember how beautiful the place was and we were travelling to the Isle of Skye and highlands etc.. then the worst thing happened and I had my heavy periods start. But we continued with our itinerary anyway for the day and I started feeling weak and cold because my iron levels were low. It was lunch time and I was praying that the place they stop has something warm and vegetarian /rich in iron to eat ( it was 2008 and vegetarian wasn’t all that common) Thankfully they stopped at a lovely little place on way to Perthshire countryside and they had this vegetarian scotch broth that day with chickpeas.. I was so grateful for the soup and until now I can’t zero in on a recipe that’s exactly the same.. it was so fantastic I should say and I am a great fan of that. Sometimes life throws surprises and miracles at us that would make us smile and I believe it was one. It was full of flavour and I loved it so much. I have revisited the place so many times after that but have never found veg soup being served.

@Sprayitall open freeze on a baking tray, with parchment paper if you're feeling fancy but I don't bother. If it won't come off you can warm the baking tray on the hob very briefly to melt the undersides of the blobs!

Mmm, I love haggis ( the meat version) and always buy it post Burns night to put in the freezer. I live nowhere near Scotland, so it's always reduced as nobody buys if here, so I fill the freezer
SprayItAll you can find packs labelled Scotch Broth Mix in the supermarket aisle with the lentils and things. It's a mix of Barley, dried lentils and pulses. You add onion, carrot, celery and so on to make the soup.

@TemoraryUsername thank you so much. I think that will save me a lot of work than me making them into a fancy recipe

@weeds I’m just looking at the vegetarian haggis recipe. I might give it a try. Can it be used as a veg patty kind of thing? Or made into little vegan meatballs ? And for the scotch broth mix - tried everything and nope, nothing hits the spot. I should try it once again properly with barley and all as last time I skipped it as I didn’t have some at home.