TTC

[August]

Artemis, there are huge swathes of the US where if you're walking along a perfectly normal paved sidewalk you will get hooted by every tenth car or so because it's such an unusual sight. While in many areas pedestrians can just wander all over the road safely because legally they're allowed to and they do, you wouldn't want to try it everywhere.

n or just for a walk on the "dirt track" next to the road

What a trooper she was, to walk on unpaved ground!!!

No, when we say no sidewalk, we don't mean a dirt path, we mean less than a body width between fence and traffic.

[Coconut Flan]

I really want to know more about August's background after seeing the expression "cheese sachet."

[church_of_dog]

I bought lentils today at the grocery store. No public transportation in my town. 7 miles to the only grocery store.

Well, I sort of bought lentils.... the only thing close to this thread was a can of lentil soup. lol

Hey - I tried. :cracking-up:

This thread inspired me to make lentil soup. I had some last night and it was tasty! Of course I blindly made a huge pot for a one-person household so we'll see whether I can finish it or whether after a few more meals from it I've had enough.

But usually I like the idea of lentils more than I actually like a lentil meal, so this was exciting just because it turned out well.

It's really still too hot for soup these days, I just made an exception because this thread got me fired up, but in another month or so when it's cooling down I will definitely try it again and hopefully make it often in the wintertime.

[DarkAnts]

This thread inspired me to make lentil soup. I had some last night and it was tasty! Of course I blindly made a huge pot for a one-person household so we'll see whether I can finish it or whether after a few more meals from it I've had enough.

But usually I like the idea of lentils more than I actually like a lentil meal, so this was exciting just because it turned out well.

It's really still too hot for soup these days, I just made an exception because this thread got me fired up, but in another month or so when it's calming down I will definitely try it again and hopefully make it often in the wintertime.

I make big batches of soup and then freeze them in individual portions. It works well for the nights that I dont have it together.

[OkToBeTakei]

Well, I do, but mostly they're so expensive!

Not as expensive as a Happy Meal.

[Mango]

Not as expensive as a Happy Meal.

No, but if I factor in the allergy meds, they come pretty close.

(Seriously, legume allergies SUCK. No lentils, no peanuts, no peas, and I have to be really careful about what beans, too... :()

Trying to do low carb, low sugar, not too much meat, high protein, minimal soy and dairy things that LAST on a budget is hard. Right now it feels like I'm living on pecans and celery.

[Anny Nym]

What a trooper she was, to walk on unpaved ground!!!

No, when we say no sidewalk, we don't mean a dirt path, we mean less than a body width between fence and traffic.

No, she was not a "trooper".

But yep, yep *wavestruceflag* I understand now, walking a mile is like walking into Mordor at certain places :D

That´s an interesting addition to this topic although: "there are huge swathes of the US where if you're walking along a perfectly normal paved sidewalk you will get hooted by every tenth car or so because it's such an unusual sight."

[hapamama]

... which makes lentils three times the price of beans. ie, not particularly cheap. Catching a bus across town with three kids after working two jobs in order to get a good price on pulses is exactly the issue. I can do it, because I have a car. But we're talking about food deserts, not people with cars and time.

Still not having any luck finding un-seasoned dal recipes, I see.

At that particular Safeway, the bags of dried beans are the same price as the bag of dried lentils. Needless to say, I buy my dried legumes from bulk bins elsewhere... Canned beans are cheaper at Safeway than their dried counterparts.

[August]

No, she was not a "trooper".

But yep, yep *wavestruceflag* I understand now, walking a mile is like walking into Mordor at certain places :D

That´s an interesting addition to this topic although: "there are huge swathes of the US where if you're walking along a perfectly normal paved sidewalk you will get hooted by every tenth car or so because it's such an unusual sight."

Yes, it's certainly a special area, that's for sure. Bless their hearts.

I was thinking more on the special hell that is walking around an Irish village for business, not tourism, and it reminded me of all the other less than comfortable things. I think there is a fundamental difference between Americans and many other countries. Americans are comfort lovers. Not that everyone doesn't love comfort, but there is little in many people's daily lives in America, and there's not that expectation to tough it out. Look at dryers, and water heaters and internal house temperatures, and yes, cooking when you don't feel like it. That's why I said there's such a difference between poor immigrant areas and poor native-born areas in terms of food availability.

[OkToBeTakei]

Yes, it's certainly a special area, that's for sure. Bless their hearts.

I was thinking more on the special hell that is walking around an Irish village for business, not tourism, and it reminded me of all the other less than comfortable things. I think there is a fundamental difference between Americans and many other countries. Americans are comfort lovers. Not that everyone doesn't love comfort, but there is little in many people's daily lives in America, and there's not that expectation to tough it out. Look at dryers, and water heaters and internal house temperatures, and yes, cooking when you don't feel like it. That's why I said there's such a difference between poor immigrant areas and poor native-born areas in terms of food availability.

I have zero idea what you mean about the first bolded. If my business involved walking around an Irish village I'd be quite happy compared to some other jobs.

To the second bolded. I see your point. This makes sense to me and I think it would be true not just in the US but in other parts of the world. Modern convenience and comfort have taken over as norm to some. Not like most are now beating their clothes down by the river to wash them. I hang my washing out and very rarely use a dryer, cultural and the ability to have a garden to do it in. Even when I lived in a flat (apartment) there was a communal drying green. I realise that is not the norm in other cultures.

The road that leads from my house to my child's school is a country road is 5.3 miles long exactly of which 4 of those miles have zero pavement 3 massive hills (did I mention MASSIVE Grrr) When the walk or cycle to school campaign started here we still did it and try and do it twice a week. Getting up at 6.30 rather than 8 is great fun (not.) Wearing high vis vests as we are ON the road with the SHOCK cars is not a fashion statement.

Some of the parents at my child's school were totally horrified when the school did not allow parking on any road around the school. They had to ..............walk from their cars to the gate. It was so traumatising :lol:

So your assertion that we are used to a comfortable convenient life rings true to me but the fact that some discomfort and effort can make some things possible is also true.

Whilst not ALL are just excuses, cracked pavements, no paths, so many miles, no time, some are really just plain can't be arsed. That's ok. As long as it is called can't be arsed not OMG it's impossible.

[Coconut Flan]

Just home from the store. I don't feel so great today so I only went to the closest grocery store which is a major chain store. Lentils, not on sale, were the cheapest of the bagged bean type items by 20 cents per pound. Red beans, pintos, garbanzos, white beans, black beans, etc. were all 20 cents to 70 cents per pound more. On to those crazy onions. I bought two. One was a specialty onion and one a plain one. One was $1.07 and the other 63 cents. Since I don't have to pinch pennies, I also bought scallions and sangria. :wink-kitty:

[OkToBeTakei]

I was lazy today and bought......wait for it. Ready chopped onion from the fridge section of the veg bit at the supermarket :lol:

320g for 52p. It was buy one bag get one free. No idea what I am going to do with them all as we are out for the next 2 nights for dinner. OH wait kid starts school on Monday. Time to torture her with tasteless lentil soup :P Her favourite.

ETA that is in total 22.575 ounces for 52p or 1 pound 6.5 ounces.

[Coconut Flan]

Freeze some to use in soup?

[OkToBeTakei]

Freeze some to use in soup?

Will they freeze ok? I was going to make the soup and freeze it for packed lunches. I'm not the best at freezing to be honest :(

[Arete]

I've never used the prechopped, so I don't have anything useful there. I did however buy 2 pounds of onions for 1.19 USD this afternoon. Five nice size onions.

Abigail, I am feeling pangs of jealousy that you are able to buy sangria. If I want it, I have to get the ingredients and mix it up myself. The west coast gets all the cool stuff in it's food supply. :lol:

[alchemy]

Guess where I was today? That's right, Lentil Fest! I normally wouldn't have gone but this thread inspired me.

Diced onions can be frozen for later use. They get a bit mushy when thawed so most apprpriate in soups, sauces, and casseroles.

[Coconut Flan]

Will they freeze ok? I was going to make the soup and freeze it for packed lunches. I'm not the best at freezing to be honest :(

As the OP said, they'll freeze fine but in a block so package them in sizes appropriate for your recipes. They can only be used in cooked dishes after being frozen but will be fine. I chop and freeze excess onions before they go bad all the time. Celery and bell pepper can also be done like that for soup mix.

Aretejo, we are spoiled out here. Although fresh made sangria would have tasted better, this was very easy and good enough Bless the wineries in Modesto. It even comes in single serving size bottles.

Edited: too much sangria to be grammatically correct apparently.

[Full enough quiver]

Maybe it's a regional thing (I grew up in Arkansas, about 20 miles from the Duggars), but my family loves tater tot casserole. Also tamale pie, Salisbury steak, chicken fried steak, and corned beef hash. They'll pry my cans of cream of mushroom soup from my cold, dead (probably of heart disease) hands. It's a special treat, because it reminds me of home. I've made it a bit healthier by browning the ground turkey with some grated carrot, onion, garlic, and frozen spinach. I use low sodium cream of mushroom soup, and add fresh mushrooms. Layer the tater tot/soup mix, turkey, and another layer of tot/soup, a thin layer of cheese and bake. Wallah! I feel like I'm back home. Of course, I eat a small serving and fill 3/4 of the plate with fresh spinach salad, so that's a bit better. Back home it would've been fried okra and creamed corn as sides. I really should weigh 400 pounds based on the way I ate growing up :)

[OkToBeTakei]

As the OP said, they'll freeze fine but in a block so package them in sizes appropriate for your recipes. They can only be used in cooked dishes after being frozen but will be fine. I chop and freeze excess onions before they go bad all the time. Celery and bell pepper can also be done like that for soup mix.

Aretejo, we are spoiled out here. Although fresh made sangria would have tasted better, this was very easy and good enough Bless the wineries in Modesto. It even comes in single serving size bottles.

Edited: too much sangria to be grammatically correct apparently.

Well it's 0915 here and the soup is on. I can freeze it in portions for the Wee one's lunch. SO much easier than making sandwiches when pressed for time in the morning.

Sangria my old friend. It's been a while, our last meeting ended with my good self talking to God down the big white telephone :lol:

[Artemis]

Hey, do I get Pharisee Points for harvesting 150+ onions today?

And planting all my winter/spring cabbages and kale?

(Spits on halo, and polishes it :))

[OkToBeTakei]

Hey, do I get Pharisee Points for harvesting 150+ onions today?

And planting all my winter/spring cabbages and kale?

(Spits on halo, and polishes it :))

I'm blinded by your shininess :lol:

You need to send August some onions they are like gold where she lives!!!

My radish are ready, potatoes looking good, my cabbage is puny though :(

[Sumeri]

My cabbages all were eaten by slugs this year, the buggers. When we have wet years I have a never ending battle against them. My son ate one in a salad a few tears ago and it put him off spring lettuce forever.

Luckily, you can buy cabbage for like 50 cents at the store. It's my constant cheapie veg, I put it in everything.

[Artemis]

What's worse than finding a slug in your lettuce?

Finding half a slug :D

[twinmama]

People who are cooking actual fresh food dinners every night after work, how do you do it?? My husband gets home at 8pm, plays with our kids and any dinner that we cook isn't ready until 9pm usually. It's super unhealthy to eat right before bed (he has reflux and can't eat that late), so we just never do it anymore. We used to when we both got home around 7pm, then we could eat at 8 and all that. But it sucks right now, just not possible.

[OkToBeTakei]

People who are cooking actual fresh food dinners every night after work, how do you do it?? My husband gets home at 8pm, plays with our kids and any dinner that we cook isn't ready until 9pm usually. It's super unhealthy to eat right before bed (he has reflux and can't eat that late), so we just never do it anymore. We used to when we both got home around 7pm, then we could eat at 8 and all that. But it sucks right now, just not possible.

Quite a lot of research says the opposite actually. Most of continental Europe eat late at night for instance. With reflux though I could see that being an issue dependent upon what you eat. We eat anywhere from 7 until 10pm, just a personal preference. Like you my chap gets home late and the kid is generally at after school activities three nights a week so it works fine for us. The days I work I finish at 9pm and they cook for me. Granted I tend to get bruschetta or similar, his skills aint the best although he tries :lol: