2009 the big Selfsufficientish Year - one month challenge

[Green Aura]

Why do you have to wait a year?

[Peggy Sue]

Why do you have to wait a year?

Oh OK then tomorrow it is

[Flo]

Just now I've been looking at recipes for beetroot. The one that I fancy requires puff pastry and I can't make that (can't make pastry anyway!) and the other one requires tomatoes which I haven't grown (suppose I could use tinned which I have).

I've run out of crumble mixes (meet the lazy cook) so might just have to make some or find other recipes for fruit (can't make pastry though).

Hey ho, shows you how lazy a cook can get with a supermarket 10 minutes away.

There are going to be some interesting recipes I can see if I'm going to survive the no shopping for food thing. I suppose that is part of the challenge of being self sufficient for a month though.

[Millymollymandy]

Crumble mix, Flo!!!! It couldn't be easier making your own and it only takes about 2 minutes!

[Flo]

I know, I know but it's easier to open the packet.

Like I said - meet the lazy chef

[Millymollymandy]

Well..... as long as the fruit is fresh and not out of a tin, I'll forgive you!

[Big Al]

I know, I know but it's easier to open the packet.

Like I said - meet the lazy chef

I made my own pastry up until 1995 then for the next 14 years i used packet pastry.

I made my first home made pastry last week and it tasted the same as my mother's did when I was growing up pinching the sausage rolls when I thought she wasn't looking,lol.

The only trouble was it was made from 16 oz white flour, 4oz butter, 4oz lard........ hmmm... and heres me being all healthy and the likes...

Am I right in thinking Puff pastry is normal shortcrust pastry rolled out then knobs of butter placed on the pastry and floded over then re rolled more butter more folding and more rolling then leave to rest??

[Flo]

Not quite normal pastry Big Al. Here's the recipe I remember mother using and I'll be darned if I have the time for all that palaver.

If there's no supermarket, there's no puff pastry here. Might be bothered to make shortcrust for mince pies and crumble mix for fruit. But puff pastry? Never.

[Millymollymandy]

Me neither! I remember making flaky pastry at school but never knew how you make puff pastry before.

[Peggy Sue]

Yep thats the idea for puff pastry, you use half fat to flour for short crust, 3/4 fat for flaky the equal quantities for puff. Lots of hard work....and lots of fat

Shortcrust is alot faster, doesn't make so muh mess when you eat it either so less hoovering

I've now tried the borage.... bit hairy in a salad, lovely in tea, you can really smell the cucumber smell but a bit 'meatier'....absoluteley ideal for Pimms and no I didn't buy a bottle aren't I good? Will denfinitely get one at the end of the challenge though!!

I'm not doing well with the trading, I give so much veg to people they seem to expect it for free now. The only trade as sorts I had was eggs for cakes and the farmer tells me they have slowed down laying now

Well I think we should last not buying and fruit or veg anyway with the exception of a few mushrooms

[Flo]

OK so I bought a couple of packets of crumble mix - it's a time saver and there is an awful lot of preserving to do at the moment. The glut season has been on for about three weeks and sometimes the days just are not long enough.

I also bought a loaf of bread! time, time, time. I needed the time to do some housework as well as cook and preserve. The weekend is ruled out with at least one day, if not two days as a volunteer at the gardeners association show. I need to go down the allotment to check the damage from the higher than high winds last night but there's also a pile of fruit and vegetables here that need dealing with.

What are the rules about going out for a meal on this month's challenge? Allowed or not allowed? If not allowed I've broken the rules. But there again I've put a lot of meals in the freezer too so swings and roundabouts. Just sometimes it's nice to get away from house and allotment though.

[Peggy Sue]

Flo you make me laugh, you do all this preserving then use a crumble packet mix

[Millymollymandy]

What's in it anyway - does it already have butter rubbed into it? I'd never even HEARD of the stuff before!

[Peggy Sue]

What's in it anyway - does it already have butter rubbed into it? I'd never even HEARD of the stuff before!

I'm sure the French have puff pastry..wonder what it's called?

You rub in 1/4 of the butter into the flour, make up the pastry with cold water. Roll it out into a rectangle, butter up the top 2/3 with knobs of butter. Fold the bottom third up onto the butter and the top buttered bit down then roll out again and repeat (endlessly, yawn) so that when it cooks it grows hugely and there are lots of flakes. Messy to eat!

[Flo]

With the crumble mix it's all prepared - you just open the packet and sprinkle on the chosen fruit.

Sort I get uses vegetable oil rather than butter - there are 100% vegans, 90% vegans and vegetarians in family and you never know who will turn up to eat your meals. So prepare for vegans and you can feed everyone.