Eking out the food

You can soften up brown sugar by putting a slice of bread in it; no need for the coffee grinder!

I have been online to all delivering supermarkets but no delivery slots for March /April, May dates not up yet.
So I will have to go out to get fresh veg/salad. Stocked up on tins. So much for elderly isolation. Fortunately I’m in good health, gym class every day for last 15 years.

I have been totally caught off guard, I had been running everything down ready to move, now I’m trying to build up again but in at risk group, not panicking yet but may do if we get total lockdown.

Oh dear. It sounds as if there is a war and we are having emergency rations. If only the people of this country would heed the advice of the experts and not panic buy, we would not have to think this way. Me included. There is not a shortage of food just selfish panicking people.
Good luck to all of you with your inventive recipes. I will certainly get some good tips from you all.❤?

soups and more soups padded out with pulses,beans etc
ive seriously reduced my meat intake,may even turn me into a non meat eater!

Daisymae thanks for sharing. Its a simple recipe but one DH will eat. He's ultra pernickety with food which drives me to distraction. We met &married later in life so he has ingrained idiosyncracies whereas I was brought up to eat what your given or do without.
He will eat peas but not mushy so your dish is great.
Jamarie yes I have noticed DH is scoffing biscuits & twix bars like there's no tomorrow, bfast used to be toast & marmalade now he HAS to have grapefruit followed by porridge with a giant knob of butter in it and spoonfuls of sugar on top! He precedes this with heavily sugared tea & 3 or 4 biscuits. He's having puddings too something he didn't really bother with previously. He's mow got a pot belly & huffs & puffs if asked to do anything physical. Anyway ive just said you can see how many biscuits etc etc we have so when they're gone they're gone- end of! (But he keeps tootling down to the big supermarket to restock) I should add his favourites are fig biscuits & no one wants them

Great ideas here, thank you

Yes I am stretching what I have. A tin of beans is now four servings rather than three. A courgette is now in four meals rather than three. Oh I have lost a pound in last week...hahaha Just me to cook for. I have a reasonable store cupboard and my little freezer is stocked I am going out once a week to the village coop to buy fresh fruit and veg and nut milk. Oh...online shop is an impossible thing to get where I am as is click and collect.

I've been stretching too with some pleasant surprises, I found a half full bag of frozen casserole veg, which I cooked in the oven, I fried 2 sausages, chopped up some wrinkly mushrooms and opened one of my 2 tiny tins of beans. I added them to the veg with a bit of oxo and had enough sausage casserole for 3 meals. Delicious it was too.

Yesterday I was going to cook steak, onions, mushrooms with chips/ jacket potato, for a Mothering Sunday evening meal.

Then after reading the Eke it out thread, I decided to only use one small steak, and make a Stroganoff. It was so tasty, and I have another small steak to use for another meal for two at a later date.

In the fridge, I have a pack of ham, that I normally would have made Leek and Ham pasta dish, but now I am going to make some pastry and make a couple of small Ham and Egg pies.
So plenty to keep me busy in the meantime.

My partner and I are self isolating between our two houses.

Yesterday I made two batches of scones...one sweet and one cheese. I doubled up the recipes and now have a supply in my freezer. So handy to have with soup or in the afternoons with tea. Sadly can't offer these to friends who come and sit in my garden... 6 feet away. They bring their own flask of tea and sandwich etc. Hoping the rain will stay away, so we can still continue to do this..in our warm coats for now..looking forward to Spring and warmer weather.
I've noticed with online shopping that the basic and ordinary brands are no longer available so am forced to buy the luxury things I don't really want plus they are a lot more expensive.Lots of items not available.
I'm so glad everyone I know is well but yesterday, Mothers Day, my daughter and little granddaughter came round and sat far away in the garden. The visit consisted of my daughter constantly reminding my granddaughter not to 'go near Grandma'. So sad! The visit was quite stressful and we cut it short to 10 minutes!
Lots of adjustments to make...flexibily will cause less distress. And I'm just living in the day and finding things to be grateful for and meditating a lot more. Keep safe everyone.

I am classified by Sainsbury's as 'vulnerable', so eligible for priority online booking slots available only today. Did my shopping, but can't check out/pay without a booked slot, and there aren't any, nor is there any link to 'priority booking slots', so can do nothing. Anyone else with this problem? It's driving me nuts!

My husband went to the local farm shop to buy half a (paper) sack of potatoes. They last much longer because they have not been washed and put into plastic.

He also came back with a big bag of onions, chillies and eggs so it was a good trip. It all came to about £7, a bargain I think.

I am high risk so he will be doing the shopping now and says he will come back in through the garage, take his clothes off and go straight to the shower.

Doing the same here. We had two very thick steaks in the freezer so had half each of one on sat with veg and having the other tonight with chips. It was plenty. Normally we would have had one each! Other dishes will be made to go further.

Its the extra people at home here. DH is now working from home - normally he'd buy his lunch, and DS usually has lunch at college. Luckily we are just "social distancing" and have been able to go out and get food although maybe not what we would want - however both dh and I are good and resourceful cooks so we can see what is in the shops and plan round that.

I took my beef mince , mixed in a bit of paprika ,salt ,pepper, home made bread crumbs, and rolled it in little 10 cm sausages ( cevapcici in Croatia) and froze them. Now I take 2/3/4 each out , fry up with onions , and add a bit of veg. Helps stretch the mince and cheer up a boring meal.

Just a note to those discussing GF cooking. Fine - if you already have it in. But not if you snatch it off the shelves because other food is not available. Spare a thought for those with coeliac disease who are now struggling much more than those who can eat anything.

I made teacake this morning for the first time. We had them for our lunch as a change from sandwiches and they were lovely. Any veg left over from a dinner is now kept for the following day, instead of being given to the dog. I'm now putting 2 teabags in my teapot instead of 3 and letting it "stew" more lol

Rice pancakes MamaCaz! I remember a josceline Dimbleby recipe for those filled with sliced bananas and apricot jam. A great way to use up the last banana in the fruit bowl. Rice pancakes are quite substantial I recall and are great with odds and sods of fruit a little past their best.

A cheapo Roman dish with leftover spaghetti: toss some chopped or diced bacon in pan with just a little oil. Toss the cooked pasta in the hot oil. Pour over seasoned beaten eggs and mix together well. tip onto plate and eat. Delicious!

I put a small unused freezer back into service in order to stock up for Christmas and was still using up some of what was in there so I've topped it up with some cheap ready meals and done a bit of bulk cooking too. Like someone else said I have bought more of a few things like cans of soup but not panic hoarding. I find it unbelievable the crazy hoarding behaviour of some. I just hope they donate some to the food bank when this is all over! I'm in the vulnerable category - diabetic and over 65 - so have been self isolating but am now running out of fresh fruit and veg. I won't starve but wondering how to eat healthily when the remaining stuff is gone. I've never shopped on line so registered for it but then found no slots for weeks so will have to go out shopping soon. I just hope I can go when there are no crowds but some food available. I normally eat loads of veg so that is going to be my biggest problem.
In our locality they are starting to put things in place to support the vulnerable who can't go out but it's not there yet and I need to collect a prescription tomorrow! Hey ho!

So pleased I have a milkman, so if nothing else I’ll concoct various messes from eggs, cheese, butter and milk.

Anyone else dug out the old teapot to make one teabag for two people?

I only buy a few potatoes at a time and have now run out. Rummaging in the freezer I found a bag of Aunt Bessie mashed potato that I bought ages ago though still in date.

It was an exciting moment!

@Riverwalk
Exactly what I am doing. We bought an xtra freezer and filled that. Never had enough space even at Xmas.

Because my son and husband have various vulnerable health issues I started buying extra back in December when the news of this virus first came about. It was what wasn't being said that set off alarm bells in me.

Surely filling up new freezers is why there’s nothing left for others? I’m not actually saying that anyone on here is deliberately stockpiling but there is a reason that the frozen food aisles at my local supermarkets are empty.