Empty supermarket recipes

[ina]

I'm sure you will! I rarely buy baked beans because most of them contain sugar... I have tinned butter beans, if I really feel the need, and tomato paste.

[Odsox]

One of my treats is Heinz baked beans sweetened with stevia, unlike the Batchelors sugar free ones that I believe are sweetened with maltitol which leaves a nasty taste in my mouth for ages.
When I tried making my own baked beans it was plenty sweet enough with just my own tomatoes, unfortunately I never managed to make mine taste like tinned ones.
Maybe I should supply the manufacturers with tomatoes, then they wouldn't need sweetener at all.

[ina]

I don't understand why they need to be sweetened at all... It's an acquired taste - we are trained from baby food onwards to expect everything to taste sweet. I've nothing against sweet food, but for me there should be a strict difference between sweet (i.e. fruit cake) and savoury (i.e. beans). Sugar is just about the cheapest ingredient in any manufactured food (apart from water), that's why they like to stick it into everything where they can get away with!

[Green Aura]

My tomato sauce has only been sweetened with carrots and onions, which I used for the base. A couple of sticks of celery, tin of tomatoes, squidge of puree and some water. Pretty much it apart from some herbs, salt and paprika.

Looks good thus far - I'll try to remember to take a pic of my dinner.

[Odsox]

Just found my original post for baked beans, complete with recipe.
It was very nice, but not the tinned baked bean taste that I like.
.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=28962

[Green Aura]

I can't tell you how good this was! Bear in mind I've not had any for about 3 years.

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[ina]

Looks good! Mind you, I'll never get used to beans on soggy bread... One of those things you have to be born British to like. Like Tunnock's teacakes...

[Viper254]

I'd kill for a Tunnock's Caramel Wafer right now.

[ina]

Shall I check if my local Coop still has them? I could send you a care parcel...

[ina]

Bad news for you. This is from a newsletter from my union:

"At Tunnocks the biscuit maker, the factory is too small for safe systems of work to be effective, and is clearly not essential. So, the factory has ceased production with staff being able to get 90% of their pay on furlough thanks to Unite."

[Green Aura]

If it's any help. Viper, L1dl do a very good substitute.

[Viper254]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I'll survive - thanks though :)

[ina]

The Coop had Tunnock's Caramel wafers tonight!!! I almost bought some - but I don't really like them...

It's weird what stuff they have and what they don't. At the moment, an extra display of Walker's shortbread etc - and they don't usually sell that. Plus, as far as I know Walker's had stopped production as well, although they are about to start again on a reduced scale. A lot of the usual stuff isn't around - I'm trying to get custard powder, for example. OK, not essential - at least I'm still getting eggs, and could make real custard for a change... (It's for the rhubarb - I don't normally eat a lot of it!) And then I found a small box of Lindt chocolates - not just Lindor - which they don't usually sell, either. I have the feeling they have to take what they can get, and so have we. Wish they had more veg...

However, the local farm is about to open their farm shop! It's amazing how they've been able to do all the work, and get equipment, in these times. Looking forward to that. Oh, and they've just had the material for a new poly tunnel delivered, too. So we should be OK for veg this summer; they've already promised to grow gem squash as well (a special customer request) - I love them, too... :)

[Weedo]

It doesn't surprise me that they have been able to get work done and equipment supplied. I have been trying for nearly 12 months to get a new roof and some carpentry work done but just haven't been able to get Tradies to turn up - even though they keep saying they will - the local building boom means simply too much quick, easy and extremely profitable building (their term, it is really just putting up overgrown meccano sets; all the framing, cupboards etc. etc. are pre-fabricated)

Well along comes Covid 19 and a severe slump in building and construction - the tradies are fighting each other for my work now; time to re-negotiate their previously quoted prices I think.

[Green Aura]

I've been trying to eke out our freezer stuff with legumes but I'm still trying to keep things low carb-ish. Anyway I saw a video about growing mung bean sprouts at home so I thought I'd have a go. I always thought commercially grown sprouts had special conditions - they probably do, but it turns out all you need is an old ceramic pot with a lid, some pieces of bamboo or similar to lift everything off the bottom and a piece of kitchen roll.

Soak about 1/3 cup mung beans in water overnight. Put the sticks in the bottom of the pot and fold up the kitchen roll to fit on top. Drain the beans and sprinkle over the roll. Cover and leave for 6-7 days, sprinkling with a very little water daily. On the video a spray bottle was used but I didn't have one so I just splashed a few drops over. Rinse well to removes the husks and store in a jar - apparently they'll keep for a few days.

I didn't get as many sprouts as I expected but I think that was down to overcrowding - there were lots of sprouts too tiny to use. I think 1/3 cup was probably a few too many for my Dad's old Pearsons Pottery stewpot, so I'll try 1/4 next time).

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