Canned food.

[Arzosah]

I've got a little plastic crate of mostly tinned goods, with some dried (fruit etc) and the odd bit of sauce (tomato puree, and a jar of pesto) for a week of no-cook food put together in one easy place. I can't abide tinned sauces, they all taste awful to me, no matter how cheap/expensive they are, and they upset my stomach, so my idea for using tinned food (when the pesto runs out ) was to adapt a simple salad dressing recipe - put some oil and vinegar in a glass jar, chuck some herbs or chopped garlic in, shake it about again, let it sit for a few hours, then pour over the heated up veg.

[featherstick]

I've got a little plastic crate of mostly tinned goods, with some dried (fruit etc) and the odd bit of sauce (tomato puree, and a jar of pesto) for a week of no-cook food put together in one easy place. I can't abide tinned sauces, they all taste awful to me, no matter how cheap/expensive they are, and they upset my stomach, so my idea for using tinned food (when the pesto runs out ) was to adapt a simple salad dressing recipe - put some oil and vinegar in a glass jar, chuck some herbs or chopped garlic in, shake it about again, let it sit for a few hours, then pour over the heated up veg.

Aldi does bolognese sauce in jars, not tins, and they are pretty good, honestly. There are no preservatives or other nasties in them.

[Arzosah]

Thanks featherstick - trouble is, my nearest Aldi is a train ride and a long walk away, and I'm not travelling at all at the moment I'm even doing meetings that should be face to face on skype.

[whenfires]

I do sometimes struggle with tins. I'm not overly fond of tinned potatoes, therefore I don't buy them. But would I eat them if SHTF? Of course I would. Also, some tinned veg tends to be soft- again, not great, but I'd eat it if there was nothing else. The problem is that I'd have to run to the nearest Tesco to buy a job lot after the balloon went up, which really isn't the ideal scenario

Tinned meat from Marks and Spencer is pretty good - particularly the chunky steak and the mince. I do keep some of that at home, it makes a good meal poured over mash/roasties and some veg. Also, I'm a big fan of the Stagg chilli, although it's quite expensive.

I have a good stash of sweetcorn/soups/tuna/beans/spaghetti hoops/kidney beans - the basics I guess.

I'll second the Stagg chilli. It's pretty good even on its own.

[Brambles]

Slightly off topic but related, I'm looking for a fine mesh or plastic sheet that I can dehydrate stuff like frozen peas and sweetcorn, I think that could be a better option for tastier than from a can peas (especially, the sweetcorn is ok). I'm not sure using my baking parchment sheets will work.

Have you looked at those Quickachip mesh thingies?

http://direct.asda.com/george/george-ho ... tegory%5D-_-

[Deeps]

Slightly off topic but related, I'm looking for a fine mesh or plastic sheet that I can dehydrate stuff like frozen peas and sweetcorn, I think that could be a better option for tastier than from a can peas (especially, the sweetcorn is ok). I'm not sure using my baking parchment sheets will work.

Have you looked at those Quickachip mesh thingies?

http://direct.asda.com/george/george-ho ... tegory%5D-_-

Paul M came up with something similar, I kind of know what I need and it will need to be cut to the right shape for my dehydrator, I'm looking for a fine mesh plastic that will be more permanent than reusing baking parchment. Nothing wrong with the parchment but I fancy doing frozen peas and sweetcorn and I can see it not cutting it. A trip to B & Q will probably sort me out.

Thanks for the suggestion though, i appreciate it.

[Brambles]

Just realised what you wrote. I've dehydrated frozen peas and sweetcorn on the trays without lining them and they don't fall through, well the odd one or two maybe, but on th whole it's OK. I have the Westfalia Laser 2000 cheapie jobbie.

[Deeps]

Just realised what you wrote. I've dehydrated frozen peas and sweetcorn on the trays without lining them and they don't fall through, well the odd one or two maybe, but on th whole it's OK. I have the Westfalia Laser 2000 cheapie jobbie.

My one has holes that would be big enough for a hydrated pea to fall through, I should be able to get some plastic grill type sheet and cut it to size/shape. Its just another thing I'm fancying really, I'll maybe see how I go with the parchment, its been holding up pretty well.

[Decaff]

Just realised what you wrote. I've dehydrated frozen peas and sweetcorn on the trays without lining them and they don't fall through, well the odd one or two maybe, but on th whole it's OK. I have the Westfalia Laser 2000 cheapie jobbie.

My one has holes that would be big enough for a hydrated pea to fall through, I should be able to get some plastic grill type sheet and cut it to size/shape. Its just another thing I'm fancying really, I'll maybe see how I go with the parchment, its been holding up pretty well.

You can get sheets of cake tin liners (plastic/silicone) reusable and cut these to size, punch fine holes in to let the air circulate a bit more and voilà! Reusable dehydrator liners

[Deeps]

Just realised what you wrote. I've dehydrated frozen peas and sweetcorn on the trays without lining them and they don't fall through, well the odd one or two maybe, but on th whole it's OK. I have the Westfalia Laser 2000 cheapie jobbie.

My one has holes that would be big enough for a hydrated pea to fall through, I should be able to get some plastic grill type sheet and cut it to size/shape. Its just another thing I'm fancying really, I'll maybe see how I go with the parchment, its been holding up pretty well.

You can get sheets of cake tin liners (plastic/silicone) reusable and cut these to size, punch fine holes in to let the air circulate a bit more and voilà! Reusable dehydrator liners

Thats a good idea, cheers Decaff. Next time Her Maj is dragging me round Lakeland or the like I'll pay more attention.