LATEST MOAN FROM YOU AND ME 2017

Also, involve Trading Standards.

 

Gripe of the day!!

I've just watched a couple of programmes on catch-up TV based on money-saving meal ideas/recipes. Fab! All for a bit of "economy", especially at this time of year. *rubs hands in glee*.

So, great: in theory, but, I'm seeing a glaring flaw in their "money saving" philosophy.
As an example:
Recipe #1: Roasted salmon side. " title="WantLick " /> Tasty side of salmon (tips on how to find it cheaper duly given; good start!)
Recipe #2: Left over roasted salmon "pie" (tips on how to reserve 200g of that previously roasted salmon to make a second meal; good plan! )

So, what's my problem?

1) Price per portion (based purely on the cost of ingredients); and,
2) Fuel economy!

Why, when calculating the cost per portion are consumers being misled on this cost? Why isn't the cost of fuel included in the cost per portion? Fuel costs far more than basic ingredients, ergo the price per portion is very misleading!

Secondly, how can it be an "economy" recipe when, to produce it, the oven is heated/used to produce, not one but, two meals? (Costs far more to heat an oven twice than it does to heat an oven once and a hob once).

Back in the day of being taught "Home Economics" (vs Domestic Science - yes, there really is a difference ) fuel economy was just as important as food economy. Yet, I've been doing a personal (non scientific) study of all those "Economy Meal Ideas" across a number of various foodies and supermarkets who throw out these ideas to the public and realising that, while the ingredients may well incorporate a few "cold cuts/left overs" ... the actual process of putting them together to cook and present a meal bears no resemblance to "economy" what-so-ever!!

I've a good mind to write to one or three of these so called chefs promoting "economy" cookery and highlight their misleading, flawed logic/costs! Hrumph!!!

"Economy", my eye!

Worse still - there are plenty of people out there, who know no different, who take these ideas/costs/chef ramblings as bible and *think* they are going to be saving money!

Chefs on high earnings should be banned from promoting what they deem to be "economy" recipes on the basis they have lost touch with those people in society who really (I mean, REALLY) need to find a more economical means of feeding their families, including conserving energy consumption and yet still remain healthy!

Marguerite Patten would be turning in her grave!

End of rant

 

Salmons pretty damn expensive! Hated gutting and filleting salmon on tesco counter.. uch, so many god damn bones and they're bloody sharp!

Quite weirdly my peeve is about cooking too. Opened a pack of mince, chucked it in the slow cooker for bollocknaise, half hour later greeted with a waft of vinegar in the kitchen, it looked and smelt fine when I opened it and it's on today's date! P O Bollocknaise

I've just bunged 2 tins of carnation in a tin inside another tin of boiling water in the oven.. have I made caramel in the last 2 hrs? NO. Is my apple pie cooked? YES. P O caramel.

 

Think you are meant to brown your mince *before* it hits the slow cooker, Cherub!

 

I didn't last time.. it was fine!?

 

"Fine" is ... subjective?

Better to brown/seal your meat (of any variety) prior to putting it into the slow cooker, in my opinion. Even then, your slow cooker needs to be pre-heated to bring it up to top notch before adding the browned/sealed meat.

Remember, a slow cooker takes a bit of time to heat up.

The time it takes for a slow cooker to heat to maximum level (vs the time it takes to brown off meat at a high temp. on a hob) *could* (potentially) be a breeding ground for bacteria. Hence, why it is far better to err on the side of caution and brown off *any* meat - which means cooking it on the hob at a high temperature - prior to putting it in the pre-heated slow cooker.

Any meat, which takes half an hour to come to a point whereby it smells of vinegar, suggests to me that the heating through process has taken that bit too long and turned it somewhat ... rancid? ... none too pleasant; or healthy! (The chooks do not have "taste buds" as we know them, so they may even like it! Not that I recommend it, DEFRA watchers ).

Seriously - any meat product you wish to "cook" in a slow cooker ... brown it off at a high temperature first and make certain it is added to a pre-heated slow cooker! Fast browning does not mean fast cooking ... that is where a slow cooker comes into its own: the slower, more thorough cooking (especially of cheaper cuts of meat) tenderises the meat product

 

I normally do brown it off for chicken/beef chunks but last 2 times I've done bolognaise I've just bunged it all in..maybe I got lucky! And to be quite fair, it does taste much better browned off and cooked on the hob.. and quicker..maybe I was just hungry?!
Ah well, it's in the bin, pots been washed and I'm now frying off onion, leek, garlic and chicken for a stew "caramel" is thickening but I really have no idea when it'll be done.. maybe 3 am at this rate

 

Sounds great @shiney can't wait to be growing some different fruit and veg this year. I normally chuck my roast chicken in for soup/stew for the week (it doesn't last a week though and I'm the only one eating it!) but I dealt with a pack of chicken breasts instead. Still miffed my bolognese went tits up, I used tidy steak mince FGS! OOH! Like the spicy burger idea too

"Caramel" sauce is done took the foil off the top, it was taking too long..ended up slightly lumpy but chucked it through a sieve and it gave me a small ramekins worth. (What the hell? I thought evaporated milk couldn't evaporate much more!?) The kids can like it or lump it..literally.. and probably the latter.

Tired and tiffing. Nos da

 

Economy cooking, Buy ready made meal put in mic oven, wait for ping

 

I agree @Jiffy . I do them about three times a week.

And, speaking of ready meals, there was a programme on tv about dieting a couple of weeks ago and they turned out to be one of the most cost effective ways of losing weight. If you go for a brand name , rather than a supermarket own label you can get a really good nutritious, healthy meal for around 89p to £1.
My favourites are Lamb Hotpot, Beef Hotpot and Chicken Stew with Dumplings.

 

We have had those Lamb Hotpots and the Beef ones but don't buy them that often as they are so high in fat,we would be as big as a house if we continually ate them.

I like my microwave as I can cook a nice Jacket potato in double quick time.Ok they are not as good as oven cooked ones but with the oven cooked ones it takes forever,and it is only the skin that looks different We occasionally have Ping quisine but Mr Kandy mainly uses ours for cooking his porridge in the mornings whereas I like to use the gas bob.

There was a young lady in the DM the other day stating that she spends £38 a week on her groceries for a week but there was not one piece of fruit in sight,no mention of breakfasts plus what about toiletries,cleaning products,dog food etc.

I am trying to get some weight off ready for when I go and have my foot op hopefully in the near future and have already lost a couple of lbs this week by giving up butter,bread,and the skimmed milk I usually make my porridge with.

It shocked me recently when I sat in town waiting to have my hair cut the other week,the amount of young girls in their 20's and 30's who were clearly overweight by many stones and they were all squeezed into very tight clothes or having to ride on those mobility scooters.It made me feel like twiggy and I am overweight myself but not to the extent that these young girls are,and the thing was they didn't seem to care either

 

Probably because they taste awful and some people only eat a % of them! I bought some chicken curry ready meals recently when running late and didn't have time to cook dinner. On the plus side the rice was fine, the "chicken" such as there was had the consitency of cardboard. We all ate the rice and left the majority of the rest.If I bought lots of ready meals on a regular basis I think the family would mutiny and I would be broke as these meals seem very expensive for the amount of meat content in them. If you look at the ingredients on the packaging you'll see just how much meat content there is.....not a lot!
I can see the need for ready meals for those who may not be capable of cooking, are very very short on free time or are very elderly, apart from that they seem a very good excuse to be lazy and therefore aren't so good for those people wishing to diet. Preparing food, especially vegetables can be quite hard work!
What I do is batch cook say 10 lbs of mince or chicken with loads and loads of homegrown veg then freeze in portions for later use. I also make huge batches of soup from the less good vegetables I grow (plenty of those)and freeze them in 2 litre icecream tubs. Cost is only that of the cooking/freezing fuel and some seasonings.Batch cooking is maybe more economical fuelwise and more importantly I know what is exactly in the food unlike ready meals. It wasn't very long ago we had the horsemeat scandal which involved ready meals almost exclusively. There is absolutely no way I could mistake a horse meat steak to a beef steak but minced up and smothered in gravy I might not be so certain.Having spend a good portion of my working life involved with food production the likes of ready meals will be a prime target for using less than quality ingredients and often have loads of salt, artificial and non artificial colouring, MSG and or sugar added to make the food actually taste of something and look good.
I would also be wary regarding branded goods being superior. Often, not always, I'll concede, branded and supermarket own brand are identical apart form the packaging. I have seen ready meals being produced on production lines and any difference if any was negligible.
Daughter has delivered the likes of steaks/stewing beef to Aldi and M&S from the same slaughterhouse. Difference to the consumer, packaging and PRICE!
With the huge array of ready meals on offer and increasing it is obvious that they are very popular for both consumers and make supermarkets huge profits while our country's obesity problems continue to increase. There may not be a link between easy no effort food consumption and obesity but I would be surprised if there isn't. I'm not saying everyone should cook from scratch as I do but perhaps at least make the effort to peel the odd spud or chop up a few onions. I have never had a cooking lesson in my life and manage ok. My brother's wife died a couple of years ago. He'd never really cooked but since she died he now does and makes a pretty good job of it.