Too Good To Go
Have you heard of this mobile app? The ToGoodToGo app is designed to link restaurants/cafes/food outlets with people who are happy to eat food that is on the sell by date. Left over food – that would normally be thrown away – can be ordered and collected in a mystery magic bag . You cannot chose the contents. The price is at most a third of the original cost of the food that is presented. This is not a new app, it has been going for several years. I heard about it last week and decided to test it out. I’m on a...
read moreCutting energy costs
We have been very lucky to have had such a mild winter so far. Last year I invested in two cheap convector heaters and we use these around the house to keep warm. They’re really good as they heat a room very quickly, have three settings from 750 watts to 2000 watts and have a good thermostat. The oil based central heating and hot water system is just too expensive to use regularly these days. It has an override and comes on automatically if the temperature falls below zero degrees. We are hoping that the remaining third of a tank of oil will...
read moreAllotment update: All Hallows Eve
Our allotment neighbour, Mark, has grown a giant pumpkin on his site and lots of little pumpkins and squash. I reckoned that his kids would be carving the monster pumpkin but this evening it was still lying on the ground looking like a vast, beached Humpty Dumpty. The allotment below us has tomatoes and plump red pepper ready to harvest for the past few weeks – they are just rotting on the plants. I must admit that I’ve been eyeing this bounty. Danny is severe, “Even if they are clearly just going to rot, you can’t take them. It’s...
read moreCooking in a Thermos or vacuum flask. Leek and potato soup recipe
When I first heard about cooking in a vacuum flask I had an image of a whiskery maiden aunts filling vacuum flasks with Spam, gravy granules and boiling water. Why on earth would I want to cook in a Thermos? The idea seemed grim until I bought my 1920’s Thermos at the village fete one year. This is a marvellous piece of kit. It was crying out to be used so I started researching the possibilities and I’ve used it for slow cooking ever since. During WW2 vacuum flask cooking was normal. Apart from a few minutes coming to boil on the hob and a...
read moreCollecting bean seeds from the garden saves money
This year I’m very behind in the garden. Seeds need to be gathered, pelargonium’s are crying out to be dug up and taken to a warmer place, the final lawn cut needs to take place. So yesterday I stepped into the bright autumn sunshine with a selection of bags. The seeds that I was chasing were sweet peas, broad beans, climbing French beans and runner beans. Last year I left the runner bean pods on the plants too long and they got damp, mildewy and rotted. This year I was determined to succeed. Seeds seem relatively cheap when you just buy a...
read moreRecipe for leftovers: broccoli, cauliflower and Stilton soup
A few years ago I woke up one night. I could hear a loud crunching coming from the bottom of my giant 100 year old bed. What on earth could it be? I hastily groped for the light switch and discovered that Inca, our youngest Min Pin, was gnawing a head of broccoli. She had stolen the head from the kitchen and dragged it upstairs. Inca loves vegetables and often thieves from the pig bin but this was the first time that she had stolen from the vegetable basket. I was too tired to take it from her. In the morning I was surprised to find that she...
read moreWe are now the proud owners of a Kelly Kettle
Suddenly at the Milton Keynes get together, Jean and Roy (aka Gottaknit and Seth) stepped forward and offered me a large mysterious object – wrapped in a dustbin liner with a very tight knot. “Here is a late birthday present Fiona. You’ll need this on the allotment!” The package was bulky. As I struggled to open the parcel I wondered what was inside. I could feel cardboard and something hard. Could it be metal? Some sort of feeder? Imagine my delight when I finally peeped inside the box and found a Kelly Kettle lying on a nest of twigs...
read moreThe Andrew James Halogen oven has been updated and improved: a review
We bought our Andrew James halogen oven in February 2010. Halogen oven are plug in devices that use a fraction of the electricity consumed by a large fan oven. That was the reason why we invested in one. If you can fill your conventional oven every time that you use it , fair enough. But what if you just want to bake a pie, bake some spuds or rustle up some oven chips? If you buy something that is a relatively new invention/model there are bound to be a few teething problems. Product testing probably extends to just a few months. It’s...
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