I am sure most, if not all, of us are trying to limit our supermarket visits.
Ed went up last night to take dinner to our son Freddie who works casually stocking shelves. He then bought a few things while there.
He couldn't find burger buns as the bread aisle was completely empty, not one thing left on the racks.
I then thought about some of the lunches and easy dinners that can be made from the pantry/fridge/freezer.
Sharon's Pizza Base is a good yeast free pizza base that is made quickly.
Savoury scroll scones, minestrone soup which can be varied to suit your ingredients.

What are you making that doesn't require a trip for ingredients?

We have a neighbour who is 90, his wife is much younger but I am trying to work out whether it is irresponsible of me to leave soup and scones at their door and then phone them. I haven't visited any known exposure sites but obviously want to be careful.

At this critical time for Aotearoa I think you should abide by the rules and stay at home apart from essential shopping and exercise.. It is not for any of us to decide that we are exempt. Imagine how you would feel if you gave Delta to your elderly neighbours through a misplaced act of kindness.

Helen, as long as your meal for your neighbours was totally contactless and in containers that do not need to be returned immediately or are disposable, I can't see a problem.

Local pharmacies, couriers are able to make contactless deliveries. And what is the difference between having say a Hello Fresh and or supermarket delivery, to you leaving something on their doorstep with no contact? I am sure they would appreciate a phone call as well

I think it's a lovely idea.

Better than neighbours I saw across the road yesterday with no masks and only a makeshift gate separating them from a chat? And he is definitely immune compromised and his only mobility is via a scooter. Now that is duh!!

I agree with Irene. It is a lovely idea. I imagine there are many people around the country doing something similar, including shopping for those unable to do so for themselves and delivering it in a safe, contactless manner. Be kind is the mantra.
Lynne2

I actually did shop today for other neighbours who have been told to self isolate due to a contact at the Mitre 10 event.
They tried to do an online shop but it is at least a week away and their kids were screaming for breakfast cereal.
I feel very grateful that I am not home with little children.

I think you'd be fine with meals for the neighbours, and that would be very kind of you. It's not like you're stopping for a chat.

And I too am very grateful we're not doing this with young children, that would be a living hell. It was bad enough last year with 14 and 16 year old boys trying to do online school. Uh, no. The then16yo is now only a few weeks from 18 and has left school to start a cabinetmaking apprenticeship and so we don't have to worry about school from him, and the now 15.5yo is attending an alternative school of sorts, and they're not doing online learning at all.

Our house is very small and it is crowded with all 4 of us home all the time, and I hate not having personal space and alone time. I've struggled hugely with that since first lockdown last year, as my husband has been working from home since then and will remain so even if covid were to vanish. He has a desk in the corner of our living room as we don't have a spare room, so there is just always someone everywhere!

I feel for families in England who were shut inside for months and months and months. I'll be very surprised if there isn't a mental health pandemic that flows on from all of this.

At least we can get out and exercise. Spain is a lot more lenient now (have a Grandad customer there, but who is now flying and will get back tomorrow morning. However last year they weren’t even allowed outside- even in their own yards

That is very thoughtful of you Helen and want to reiterate what others said - as long as it is contactless, there is no exposure for your neighbours. I wish you were my neighbour

Thanks, thanks and thanks. Practical food plus a cream sponge (I need to practice and they love sweet treats0 are on the cooking list for the morning.

Great idea Helen, I think they will be very thankful.

I think our lockdown meals include a lot more pantry staples. I went the Sat before lockdown and topped up on things i had used in my pantry ie bag of dried pasta, rice, tinned toms and tinned beans... and long lasting veggies, so i would be able to rustle up different meals without too many fresh veggies... using frozen. Havent re visited supermarket yet!
Also i have been baking our own bread foccacia. Or filled breads.

We have eaten, roast dinners with cauli cheese, Home made foccacia cheese salami & bits platter as a dinner, mushroom ragu pasta bake, root veg mexican bake. Kerala style veggie curry from scratch, Tonight is Ottolenghi s mushroom steaks with butter bean mash. There are only 2 of us, so some nights are reheated Meals..
As for leaving a meal for someone on their door step, what a treatxx

Karen, I have this particular Ottolenghi mushroom recipe but haven’t tried it yet. Could you please post how it turned out and any changes you might perhaps want to make next time?

We have a surfeit of lemons, parsley and mint so made tabouli salad yesterday. Will make some hummus from canned chickpea's later along with a potato salad to have with some thawed steak. Also have found a wonderful sounding recipe for Chicken Shawarma on youtube and luckily have all ingredients for the marinade and the sauce plus chicken tenderloins in freezer. Will make a great Iskender and then a kebab wrap next day! Baked a sultana cake yesterday and we ate a lemon delicious for a couple on nights earlier this week. Have eaten heaps of soups, pasta's and risotto but luckily we both love them.

Chris we loved it, and really quite easy just takes a little time. I did add wilted spinach with some garlic to my butter bean mash..which to get it smooth I added some of the bean juice from the tin.
For the mushroom part
I didn't have a fresh chili so added 2tbsp pul beiber chili spice ,instead of the 1.5 tbsp of chipolte chilli flakes, but mine isnt hot. I also used a red onion, and i did crush my seeds until quite fine, I don't like the texture of not properly ground coriander seeds...
Husband really enjoyed it along side his meat steak, and even ate my supposedly left overs!

Thank you Karen, and especially for the substitutions/additions you made. Good sign when there are no leftovers.

My daughter introduced me to kitty kitchen blog. She had made her sweet chilli, ham and cream cheese scrolls. Wow so delicious and easy to make. Interesting recipes on her site, she lives in the states.

I made Helens featured recipe talked about in the Tray Bake topic - Harissa Vegetable, Chickpea and Egg Tray Bake for dinner on Friday night - but like lots of cooks & reading some of the ideas in that post I also added chicken drumsticks instead of the eggs & changed the Harissa paste to a Moroccan spice mix - so not quite a remake of the meal haha.

But the idea was great, it sorted out the crisper bin with the last of the cauliflower & yams as well as the other vege in the recipe ingredients. Very yummy & will definately be making this again.
(enough left for our leftover lunch yesterday )

We always try to stock up on food for at least a week, and we did it long "before all this." We usually buy a whole butchered cow and freeze the meat. This is cheaper and more convenient. So we ate and continue to eat meat. And just a month ago I bought a grill at home. Now we cook on it grilled vegetables, grilled meat, gyros, and much more.

By the way, can you share your recipes for quick grilled dishes?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2021 09:49PM by overtime.

When I read overtime's post, I didn't know what the word "Gyros" meant. I have looked it up and found a recipe. Sounds nice, but perhaps I've had my head in the sand?

[www.recipetineats.com] I think we in NZ call them Donar Kebabs.
Regards,
Dawn.

Dawn, gyro and doner kebab are pretty much the same thing, gyro is the Greek name, doner kebab is Turkish.

Thanks for your explanation TPANDAV. I still learn something new every day!
Regards Dawn.

Dawn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I read overtime's post, I didn't know what
> the word "Gyros" meant. I have looked it up and
> found a recipe. Sounds nice, but perhaps I've
> had my head in the sand?
>
> [www.recipetineats.com]-
> with-tzatziki/ I think we in NZ call them Donar
> Kebabs.
> Regards,
> Dawn.

I'm glad to be expanding your vocabulary
And then there is such a word as shawarma. It also looks like a gyros. Here is a shawarma recipe. By the way, it can also be grilled.

Thank you overtime, the shawarma recipe looks so good and very tempting.....I have printed off the recipe!
Regards,
Dawn.

Recipetineats is amongst my most used sites. Well written and researched recipes just like Helen does.

Chris, I have to agree with you. I discovered this web-site quite some time ago and have copied several of her recipes into my recipe book. I really like the notes she writes and extra little hints and tips on how to achieve the best results. There's also usually a video of 'how to' that accompanies the recipe. Yes, it's a blog, but it has to be one of the best blogs, it's so well done. Take a look, but be warned, you might spend hours browsing the very well put together site.