We couldn’t help but notice Oxfam’s Green Granny this week – she’s becoming somewhat of an internet phenomenon, posting videos on how to save cash and live better – the perfect combination!
In this video she takes some keen young cooks through their paces as they use up bread that would otherwise go stale in a delicious bread and butter pudding:
Did you know we throw away 1m loaves of bread a day in the UK? That’s a lot of potential bread and butter puddings. Instead of throwing away bread away why not try storing sliced bread in the freezer? Just toast slice by slice from frozen. Delicious.
And in another video she shows that, just like us, she’s a big fan of the shopping list. Our research shows that half of us have got the shopping list habit, but we don’t always stick to it… well, it is hard to resist a bargain and so provided I’ve got cupboard or freezer space for my special offer deal; it goes in the trolley with the things I have planned to buy.
For more on Oxfam’s Green Granny visit the Oxfam website, and if you’re reading this Barbara, we’d love to hear from you!
The Christmas festivities are a distant memory, Easter is still a few weeks away and there is nothing registering on the social calendar. Now is a great time to catch up with friends and it doesn’t have to cost much – a good thing as my wallet is still recovering. Read more…
In my experience, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, is a great excuse to empty the fridge.
Pancakes are easy to make, perfect for the hungry hordes when they come back from school. But while they are delicious for tea, spread with jam or golden syrup, or a squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of brown sugar, pancakes also make a great supper dish. You can add almost anything and roll them up, in much the same way as a wrap.
Has anyone been watching The Victorian Farm? The series has presented some interesting ideas about food issues a hundred years ago.
Last week, historian Ruth Goodman mentioned that it was possible to buy leftover food in certain shops in Victorian times. Places like hotels and gentlemen’s clubs made their surplus available for the poor to buy. A neat way of addressing food waste!
Kids can be fussy little blighters sometimes. I used to despair when I opened their lunchboxes to discover half-eaten sandwiches, apples with only a bite taken out and everything smothered in leftover yoghurt.
Until I came up with a few ideas to make their lunch boxes more exciting and encourage them to eat everything.
Why do we laugh about turkey sandwiches? I love them and let’s face it, after that huge Christmas lunch, I really don’t feel like cooking anything complicated again for a while. Throwing together a really delicious sandwich is a great way to get rid of some Christmas leftovers and contrary to popular belief, they don’t have to be boring!
Christmas is always expensive. It feels even more expensive this year, thanks to the gloomy economic forecast. BBC Spotlight Devon have made a series of four short films to help fight the Christmas credit crunch, two of which I thought were particularly helpful for shopping and cooking at this time of the year.
One of the children is sick. Very sick. And the washing machine has packed up. It’s cold. Everyone is tired, it’s nearly the end of term and, as my four-year-old complained, “Christmas is taking ages to come”.
Pasta has to be the ultimate convenience food. When I’m tired and haven’t got the energy to spend hours tinkering in the kitchen, I just reach into the store cupboard for a packet of dried pasta and fifteen minutes later, supper’s ready. The kids love it and it goes with just about everything, so its great for using up cooked meats and veggies and odd bits of cheese.
The husband laughs at my obsessive list writing, but I have to write lists as my brain is like a sieve. Writing lists gives the illusion of being organised, even though I am apt to loose my notebook. Of course Christmas is the perfect excuse for indulging in lists – especially when it comes to food. Planning christmas meals and writing shopping lists gives me a fighting chance that with a bit of luck I won’t forget the bread sauce, and I’ll only buy what we need.
