A use it up challenge

[Green Aura]

1 big spud, peeled
1 medium carrot, peeled
1 clove garlic, peeled
Roughly 1/4 onion (or a shallot)
1/2 cup cashewnuts
1 tsp salt
A splash of cider vinegar or lemon juice, for a little tang
1 1/2-2 cups water, start at the lower end, you can add more

Chuck everything in saucepan and boil until veg are mushy/overcooked. Strain it into a blender and whizz until smooth. Add the cooking water slowly to get the desired thickness. Let it down with a little more water if you want it thinner.

I'm guessing all these are adjustable to your own taste/ desired use. I don't know who invented it but my thanks to them - it is a vegan cheese sauce substitute that I can actually eat (I can't bear the taste of soya).

One other tip - when she made it the first time she used waxy new potatoes (all we had in). The texture was a tad grainy. When she made it with a floury spud it was fine. No difference in taste just that bit smoother.

[Flo]

Gee ta and so simple!

[Uller]

I've made that spud & carrot 'cheese' sauce, one of the best I've had. And yes, it works very well on pizza, dolloped about like blobs of mozzarella.

A use it up challenge would be a good idea here, we seem to have so much food but keep buying more. Maybe when we don't have any more visitors and I am more willing to serve up 'experiments'.

[Green Aura]

A few years back I got into the habit of "putting something back" - essentially if I got something out of the freezer, say a chicken, I'd put back in some of the bone broth, or a portion of the meat shredded for other purposes, or a full ready meal from the roast dinner (especially when my mother was alive).

Now I'm having real difficulty emptying the freezers and we're trying to get back down to just one. Hey ho.

[Flo]

Hmm now that sounds familiar Maggie

[Flo]

I've just discovered that I have a few things that are running out - the Suma group seem to all be running out of things as well so an order is in process. At least I can pick up stuff for the late December seasonal stuff. But it's things like laundry conditioner that are getting a bit urgent.

But the use it up scheme seems to have gone on far longer than I expected.

[Green Aura]

Flo, have you tried vinegar instead of fabric conditioner? I use it all the time. Fabric conditioner is not very good for humans or the environment. I don't know about so-called green ones but they're much more expensive than vinegar.

Have a look at this http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2011/11/d ... c-softener

I don't use more than a couple of tablespoons (guessed) and it seems to work just fine - 1/2cups may be for big American washing machines.

No smell by the way.

[doofaloofa]

Eau d'chipper

[Flo]

LOL at doofaloofa

[bonniethomas06]

Never heard of using vinegar before! But I did read a disgusting article about how the sugars in conditioner cause your fabric to get mouldy on a micro-level, which can cause some breathing/skin issues for sensitive types. Gross!

Think I missed this thread, but am thinking of doing 'no-spend November' this coming month.

[Green Aura]

It better not reach this house, it's my birthday in November!

However, after all the expenditure doing renovations this year I'm thinking a no spend January might be on the cards.

[Flo]

Trouble is that you might be tempted to stock up in advance there you know!

[Green Aura]

We do anyway, flo. I have a horror of being stranded up here, unable to get down to the shops in a severe winter, so I keep several weeks worth of just about everything in the pantry or freezer - dried, preserved or frozen. And candles, lots of candles.

In 2010 it came in handy, although we weren't totally cut off it meant we didn't have to traipse down to Inverness in very changeable weather.

This year we've added a butane camping stove to the store. In the January storms we were without electricity (light, heat, cooking) most of the day for nearly a week.

[bonniethomas06]

My dad is a bit of a survivalist. He has enough to survive the zombie apocalypse in his loft. I like that he also has cat-food, so the cats will live to see the new world too!

We mock, but I am sure we would be straight round to his house in a crisis!

[doofaloofa]

I used to store canned goods for the impending apocalypse, but there's only so many disappointments a man can take