After several days of gale force winds and stormy weather, the ferries have not been sailing across the Irish Sea so our supermarket shelves are becoming a little "lacking" in fresh produce.
I decided to dredge the lower drawers of the freezer to see if there was anything interesting.. (in one of those plastic tubs that have been lurking there for a while).. that would be suitable for today's lunch.
There was one that looked promising, although the black marker pen label had faded so it was not too clear what was inside. Anyway, I tipped the contents into a pan and reheated it. It turned out to be some kind of leftover stew comprising mainly courgette, potato and cannellini beans in a beefy flavoured broth. I used the stick blender to turn it into a thick, hearty soup which we ate with some crusty sourdough bread.
Hopefully, our weather is set to improve over the next couple of days so we should be able to stock up on fresh fruit and veg again. If not, there are still a few more plastic tubs at the bottom of the freezer.
Should you require more supplies I will fly over in my light aircraft and drop parachutes of foie gras, venison, artichokes, a portrait of Dave Northsider and whatever else you need to survive so no need to worry JayCee.
ReplyDeleteThat's very good of you. If you can squeeze in a couple of cases of champagne that should keep me going until Thursday.
DeleteRoger!
DeleteSounds yummy. I often find containers in my freezer where the label has come off and have no idea what is inside.
ReplyDeleteNot just me then 😁
DeleteWe have two freezers for "emergency" and "every day" supplies. Some day the powers that be will allow us to travel to Iceland (the frozen food store not the country) and buy Blighty supplies like Pukka and Hollands pies and bottles of Vimto. You did well to rustle up your hearty soup JayCee. Does P have any leeks ready in the veg plot?
ReplyDeleteNo leeks this year but I still have loads of courgettes in the freezer that will do for soup.
DeleteWe are lucky that there are local producers that make great food such as pies, meats, cheeses, bread etc so we can still get those when the boats don't sail. It is mainly more exotic stuff like oranges, bananas etc that we miss.
You don't have to put use by dates on your own containers.
ReplyDeleteGood job too. Some of the stuff in there is prehistoric.
DeleteLove the description of your freezer. Mine is a lot like that. I freeze leftovers and have no idea what they are. Smashing them with the stick blender was a brilliant idea. I hope I remember that tip next time I remove a tub with faded letters.
ReplyDeleteSometimes my leftovers have been there so long I can't remember what they were. I won't waste them though so we eat them all up!
DeleteI remember my mother in law producing dessert from the freezer.Mincemeat pie with custard.Only it wasn’t sweet mincemeat but beef mincemeat,It doesn’t go well with custard!!!!
ReplyDeleteBarbara
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Oh, yum!
DeleteYour story and the comments have given us a good laugh. We have a boat version of that - when the tinned supplies got wet and the labels fell off. These days of painted on labels wouldn't make it half so interesting.
ReplyDeleteEvery day a surprise!
DeleteI would advise accepting YP’s generous offer regardless of weather. And I agree - insist on a bottle of champagne!
ReplyDeleteOnly one???
DeleteI was trying to be polite. 😂
DeleteI went into our Tesco this morning and the vegetables were very lacking indeed. Two days of no ferries was definitely telling. Mind you we have no Sunday shopping.
ReplyDeleteOur ferry is supposed to be braving the seas tonight so I shall try the supermarket tomorrow.
DeleteHaving taken the o/night boat from Heysham to Belfast several times as a child I remember well what those seas are like.
ReplyDeleteI also know what it’s like to look at an unmarked container and wonder......removing the lid for a sniff doesn’t always tell if it’s sweet or savoury, neither does the colour of the contents although little red bits amongst brown if as good indicator it’s 1st course and not 2nd
I rarely travel on the ferry. Even on a supposedly calm day the Irish Sea is too rough for me! Such a wimp.
DeleteNow this made .edu laugh! The biggest lie I tell myself is: I will know what this is... Mystery meals. Everybody loves a mystery. Well. Sometimes.
ReplyDeleteIt has happened so often that I really should have learned by now to label the tubs more robustly. When P asks me what's for dinner, I just say, can't tell yet!
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