Frozen Vegetables

I had a eureka moment on the weekend. I always buy frozen peas, even in the summer, since fresh peas are so expensive. I went shopping on Sunday and intended buying fresh broccoli. Suddenly I realized that we were in the middle of the winter. What was I doing buying fresh broccoli? It will have come from overseas, it certainly is expensive and I don't need unfrozen broccoli since I don't eat it raw. I bought a huge package of it frozen and it will go much further and for far less money. This is what I used to do years ago. How did I fall out of the habit? I won't make this mistake again.

Here is a link to an article from the BBC website suggesting that out of season, frozen vegetables are the healthier options. Interesting!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2902223.stm

Charity Shops in trouble too!

Mary Jane posted this as a comment. I hope she doesn't mind if I've posted it here. In the UK, exactly the same thing is happening. It's interesting that the same thing is happening in both countries.

"[I] was talking to a woman who does marketing for second hand shops that benenfit adults with developmental challenges.

The adults' vocational programs benefit from the money raised in the three shops they have in this area and some of the adults work in the shops.

The marketing woman surprised me when she said the shops' revenues have decreased since the economic crisis began. She reports that they have a stocking problem. Their donations of saleable have reduced greatly and she gave two reasons for that.

People have less stuff to donate because they aren't buying as much new stuff to replace their old stuff.

The second reason for the decline in their revenues is competition. A large number of second hand shops have recently opened in this area, most of them raising money for their own good causes. This reduces the number of donateed items as well as the number of shoppers.

So maybe we will soon see "going out of business" signs plastered across second hand shops? They will have something in common with the high end shops in these parts."

Pea and Sausage Soup!

Here's a recipe for another really yummy soup I used to make (and will be making again now that I've remembered it!)

The measurements aren't exact. I just make it up depending on what I have in the house.

Sausages - cut into pieces

Flour

Stock (of any sort)

At least two tins of mushy peas (or you could use frozen peas I guess!)

Seasoning.

Fry the sausages until cooked. Add the flour and stir around until it has been absorbed by the sausage fat (making a roux). Add the stock gradually allowing it to thicken before adding more. Add the mushy peas and simmer. Add the seasoning and serve with bread or biscuits. Simples.

I like experimenting with different types of sausage; Tescos do some sweet chilli sausages which are really good in the soup.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

400g Chicken (or pork)

12g Sugar

50 ml Soy Sauce

50g Cornflour

1 Clove of garlic - crushed

25g Fresh ginger

1 Onion chopped

1 Pepper, green or red

1 Chilli - chopped

2 Pineapple rings - cut into chunks

100 ml White vinegar

150g Brown Sugar

125 ml Tomato ketchup

1 Tbls Worcester sauce

Cut the meat into chunks and marinade in soy sauce and sugar for 30mins. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetable. Then, boil the vinegar and brown sugar in a sauce pan.

Add the ketchup and Worcester sauce. Leave to simmer.

Take a wok and add enough oil to coat the bottom and heat. Add the chopper garlic and ginger and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the onion, pepper and chilli and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the sweet and sour sauce and allow to simmer. Add the pineapple chunks and cook on a low heat. Pass the chicken through the cornflour and deep fry until cooked. Drain and add to the sauce and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Serve with rice.

I don't deep fry the chicken I just add it to the sauce to cook. It's a good idea to coat it in some corn flour though as this thickens the sauce. I don't add chillis either but sometimes put in thinly sliced carrot. You can also play with the amout of sugar and vinegar you put in to get in sweeter or more sour depending on your taste. It tastes so close to the Sweet and Sour Chicken from the Take Away and is probably better for you! Granted, this is not one for the diabetics amongst us!