Wanted - Eglu Cube Mk1 Roosting Bars

[Saronne]

My interpretation of all this is that you produce what you can for those 52 meals and buy locally produced/milled/fished/etc. stuff to make up the rest. Buying locally also helps reduce food miles which is a big part of HF's aim. Not everyone can, wants or even needs to rear all their own meat - but meat eaters can buy locally produced meat and share between friends if it's a large purchase.

 

Equally, bread eaters, can't all grow their own wheat - but they can buy flour grown and/or milled on local farms and bake their own.

 

We've got a neighbour who fishes regularly at a well known resevoir and sells a lot of what he catches to people in the village. We get lovely 'local' trout for a very reasonable price. Similarly, we have several farms selling pork/lamb/beef to the public. It's reared and slaughtered locally and I suspect the farmers get a better price than what Tesco or Asda would pay them. It's all about buying and sourcing your food more thoughtfully, as well as producing your own - a challenge I really enjoy - but also recognising what is realistically possible.

 

 

Saronne x

[C&T]

I like Saronne's interpretation.

 

That makes it practical - no point in striving to achieve the unachievable!

 

This year I certainly want to try and buy more local produce. It is very easy to get in a rut and rely on the local supermarket. And even if that is not the Evil Tesco's, it still isn't fantastic.

 

Having said that of course budget does play a part as well - and I think I need to go "back to basics" to look at what we are eating, and think harder about planning meals rather than falling back to the same old things!

 

I am also learning every year about what is best grown in the garden, to get maximum benefit - and last year having a proper dedicated patch (fenced off from the ladies!) I got a lot more produce then before. And this year, I am sure I can do better again!

 

So, I am going to try and do this 1 meal a week - but not starting till the spring, as at the moment i don't have a lot in the garden save a couple of eggs a day!!

[Couperman]

We try to include a bit of something homegrown in every meal. A lot of the time we have 50% home grown stuff. In the summer it is nearer 90% and sometimes 100%.

 

I bought a good book the other day 'The Allotment Gardeners Cookbook' from readers digest. The recipes are arranged by vegetable which helps when you have loads of veg you don't know what to do with

 

We do try to shop locally in local shops for local people especially for meat because it's so much better than the prepacked stuff and you don't have a load of packaging to get shot of. Work tends to get in the way though and sometimes you have to shop at one of the big stores. I do wind Cathy up something chronic if she accidently buys veg flown in from Egypt or somewhere.

 

Personally I would like to see shopping return to how it was when I was kid when you could all do your shopping at the end of the road and out of town monster shops didn't exist but white dog poo did . It will when the price of oil starts to rise and puts an end to all this air freight sillyness.

 

Kev

[Tombull10]

I've started making gravy the jamie oliver way. Very tasty and very easy!! Jamie olivers cookbook is the best ever and i use it daily!

[TAJ]

A week ago we had a massive 6½ lb home grown chicken for Sunday lunch (5 people, 3 people rest of week), we then had a reheated roast dinner Monday night, then chicken curry Tuesday, a break from chicken wednesday with some Whitby fish, Thursday we were back on the last of the chicken with bacon & sweetcorn in a white sauce. Friday we had a Spanish omlet full of potatoes, onions & eggs from the garden/allotment. Obviously all our veg is from the allotment anyway all week.

 

This Saturday we dispatched another chicken - yesterday was chicken pie (big enough for 2 nights) made from breast meat. I also made a chicken casserole from the dark meat - this is enough for 2 nights - both lots going in the freezer as I am getting complaints about us only ever eating chicken

 

I better get some 'real meat' out of the freezer for tomorrow before they rebel.

 

...now if they let me have some land and pigs there would be more variety

 

Tracy

[Daphne]

You put the rest of us to shame If pushed, right now I could manage a leek omelette with kale - don't think I'll get many queuing up for that!

[TAJ]

You put the rest of us to shame If pushed, right now I could manage a leek omelette with kale - don't think I'll get many queuing up for that!

 

Don't say that -we all just do what we can with what is available - I am trying to use up allotment veg from the freezer to make room for dispatching some more meat birds, but there is just so much sweetcor & beans you can eat in a week! Potatoes, onions, carrots, pumpkins, marrows & garlic are stored in shed & garage, but frozen stuff takes up so much room and we are not eating enough goseberries either out of the freezer.

 

Tracy

[Lesley]

We seem to have a surplus of stored potatoes - note to self.....must grow less this year!

 

We still have leeks and cabbage in the ground, stored carrots and potatoes and lots of frozen stuff. The tomato/passata that I froze has saved inumerable tins of tomatoes and are nearly finished. The Spring stuff is coming on nicely......plenty of chard and brassicas to come.

[Lesley]

We've just had home-grown brunch........

 

Toast - Home made bread and home-made butter.

Sausages from our own pork

Baked Beans - home grown dried beans,own tomatoes/onions.

Eggs!

[Daphne]

Well done you - that sounds delish!

[carrie]

well done, what sort of beans did you grow as I plan to grow some for keeping this year?

[Lesley]

I grew borlotti and Ying Yang - They half dried in the pod on the plant and then I finished the drying in the pod on trays in the utility room by the boiler. Making Baked Beans was quite time consuming but theye were very nice - I made a large batch and froze them in jamjars.