Until COVID hit we had always had a pretty much ‘open table’ where, if people were around at mealtimes, they were invited to join us for breakfast/lunch/dinner or supper. Sometimes we would only be six or eight and at other times we mostly averaged about ten or twelve, but anything up to twenty people wouldn’t be unusual. So, I have three freezers, a large fridge and a range cooker, cutlery settings for twenty four people and enough plates and pans etc. to feed an army.
Since the advent of COVID it’s mostly just been the two of us and I have consequently severely limited my grocery shopping, but I’m now aware of just how much food I have/had in my store cupboards. The freezers are full of home-grown fruit and veg, plus a whole venison and the fish that our son catches for me. My husband makes our bread and I bake regularly, so I have half a dozen cakes in the freezer too. This week I’ve made 16 pots of strawberry jam, 3 jars of pickled cucumber and half a dozen bottles of elderflower cordial - to add to the various jars that are left over from last summer! I also have a cupboard full of home-made wine and liqueurs - e.g. sloe gin, limoncello, raspberry vodka and cassis.
I do give away a huge amount of home~grown/home-made produce (to friends, family, clients and neighbours - the Foodbank can’t accept it for obvious reasons), but I still have have enough jars and tins and bottles and packets to stock a small shop.
Is it just me, or do others have enough food to see them through a famine?
I'd probably have it all prepared ready to cook on the day.
Or have salad, garlic bread, jacket potatoes, ratatouille (made the day before) and get the men to throw a few steaks, sausages, halloumi etc on the barbie. It brings out their inner caveman.
Love your post Grannyactivist.
Your friends and family must love you to bits ?
Just two of us here, so only enough food for a week- maybe 10 days if we're careful. Nearest shop is 9 miles away, and I don't bake, since we are both Diabetic, and I can't then be tempted to make cakes, buns or biscuits! We keep a couple of tins of soup in, and the odd packet mix for casseroles, plus some pasta which could make a meal if pressed. We live at least 700 miles from our nearest relative - so no chance whatsoever of someone dropping in unexpectedly!
Wow! Can I move in with you? ?
I moved house yesterday and knowing I wouldn’t have a freezer for a while I ran my stock right downtown half a loaf of bread a container of rhubarb, some croissants and baps and bacon and 2 packs of smoked cod’s roe (don’t ask!). I made crosaants and bacon butties for the removal men, gave the peas to my son who is storing my cod’s roe til I get one. It’s a good lesson! Use food or lose it! Oh and the frozen rhubarb kept my meat butter and cheese chilled til I got to my new house. Ate the defrosted rhubarb for breakfast. I have ordered a freezer as I’m living happily in the country now! X
I am Coeliac. When Covid first struck and all the Pasta etc disappeared from the shelves - the non-Coeliacs raided the Gluten Free shelves as well ...................... myself, and other Coeliacs couldn't get any at all.
The same thing happened with other Gluten Free items. So from having an extremely limited choice of something safe to eat, we went to having NO choice whatsoever. I now keep about 6 packs of pasta in a cupboard of 'Reserves'. Same with Gluten Free Cereals - including GF Oats/Muesli.
Ouch and Miaow!
Sorry. Just seemed overly detailed.
I'm from a huge family too and we all "bring a plate". Most of us are vegan so we wouldn't be hunters like you guys... more gatherers!
Didn't mean to offend. If I'm honest, the slaughtered, butchered and frozen animal bits kinda got me going!!
Stay safe. x
That’s me as well Lucca. To have an open table is wonderfully generous, I can barely afford to feed myself and grandchildren (living with me)!
One Xmas my freezer defrosted as the door had not been closed properly and I gave the stuff over to the pub and the villagers had snacks with their drinks that night. You would think I would learn not to fill it up anymore.
I have enough to last about a month. Hate having almost empty cupboards.
Oh I am glad that I am not the only one 
You must be pretty well-off financially to be able to do this...my god...a whole venison in the freezer! And how many fridges was that??? You have a spare one for Boris Johnson to hide in! To someone like me (and I daresay a lot of others on this website) it looks excessive. I have a state pension, a small private pension on which I am still taxed and have to economise regularly. I'm really happy for you that you live so well and I guess quite envious because this sort of stuff is just a dream to me. Oh well, here's hoping for a lottery win so I can live such a luxurious lifestyle!
NaughtyNantheRed - as a child I lived in extreme poverty, so I remember what it’s like to literally go hungry, have holes in my shoes and have to hide from the rent man! Being financially well off is relative. Since 2010 we have lived off one wage and when I finally got my state pension a couple of years ago I felt as if I’d won the pools!
I hope that if you read the additional posts I’ve made on this thread you’ll see that in fact we’re very thrifty. We waited six years on a waiting list for our allotment and for the past eleven years we’ve worked our socks off to make it productive and that’s why we need our freezers. (And only one fridge.)
When we got married my husband told me his motto was; Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!
It’s been a marriage made in heaven. ?
NB We eat very little meat and our venison came at cost price through my husband’s job, which he has now left so there will be no more. ?
There is no need to explain or apologise to anyone, Grannyactivist.
Lots of people have allotments or grow produce in their gardens, eat in season and store it in some way and it is, in fact, cheaper than going to the supermarket.
Your kindness and generosity would put many to shame.
I watch a woman on youtube who has retired early and has no income to speak of, no benefits or pension.
She lives by extremely frugal means, but her saving grace is her allotment.
It's what allows her to ensure she eats. (Providing she puts in the work)
Grannyactivist Your stash is far more interesting than mine.
Although well balanced last year; - it did come in handy last year when I had to isolate ( but not as useful as I'd expected - the bug, suspected covid/negative test) made me nauseous & I lived on marmite drinks for a week.
Still no family gatherings so now all that is left in the freezer is carbs; chips, breads, puddings & a bag of blackberries from last year.
Cupboards; 6! tins of chickpeas - used to use them so often for the base for a quick meal or hummous. Trouble is, I keep adding them to my shop. Ditto tinned anchovies - the small tins just disappear!
A Christmas pudding & well stocked drinks cabinet awaiting some guests.
Oh yes, and a jar of homemade damson jam from my Aunt that no-matter-what, I can't get the lid off!
Dear grannyactivist
I am in need of fostering as l am an orphan. I am partial to venison loin and cake plus fruit and vegetables.
Please could you message me your address so that I could come and be fostered by you.
There’s just one more thing, I may be a little bit older than the children that you normally foster. I am 65 so will it matter much?
Yours sincerely nicegranny Matilda
Silvertwigs
That’s me as well Lucca. To have an open table is wonderfully generous, I can barely afford to feed myself and grandchildren (living with me)!
? Not sure it is me you are referring to ! I don’t have anyone living with me !
I do a weekly online grocery shop and have fruit and veg delivered weekly from local greengrocer.
Pre-pandemic I used to shop weekly at local Aldi/Lidl with a top up of items from bigger supermarkets every 4/6 weeks.
I have a fridge freezer and a small fridge in the garage. I also order meat every few months to stock up freezer.
My pantry is well stocked with non perishable and I always have at least 24 loo rolls on hand. My Mum was the same when she was alive. I also replace items as they are used generally.
I could probably manage for a month with meat and veg in the freezers, I have a few tins of meat and fish but don’t stockpile. I use mostly grass fed meat and leafy green veg, no processed foods at all.
A Christmas pudding & well stocked drinks cabinet awaiting some guests.
Ro60 do you think it would be ok if I served my guests a 5 year old Christmas pudding? I do have a well stocked drinks cupboard too, so I could pour a mix of spirits over the pudding and set it alight.
Would that kill off anything suspect?
All this talk made me rake around in my freezer and I discovered a container of plums. Extra special as there are not going to be any this year due to the weather (no apples or cherries either).
In Waitrose this morning there were a lot of empty shelves because of delivery problems.
On a number of items I am very glad my policy of having a stock of all the ingredients I use most in, because I have just put them back on the list for next week and will not be wasting time and petrol scouring other supermarkets to find them.
No room to hoard tins,bottles and packets.
Very little storage space but above average size of fridge freezer. I grow a lot of fruit and veg.
Weekly delivery and I’ll drive to near village (3 miles) for emergencies.
I wouldn’t stockpile/hoard if I did have the room.
I don't really keep much food in, replace it as I use it & plan meals 3 days ahead. There's only 3 of us but my DH and DS eat like horses. In my rural childhood everyone kept stocks. My mum once gave an old widower a jar of newmade jam and he was over the moon - he said "my missus left plenty of jam behind, but the last jars have crystallized - they still taste nice but the sugar scrapes my gums". She'd been gone a good ten years!
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