One thing led to another

stickywicket

I bought more dried herbs – fennel and tarragon – and returned home very tired because the supermarket is currently having a complete re-jig. Every trip requires a sat nav as nothing is where it used to be - or even where it was last week.

My herbs and spices drawer was as shambolic as the supermarket. Nothing was where it should be or even where it could be found. I removed all the herbs and began decanting and re-labelling, neatly at first, furiously towards the end as my bad knee started to protest and my feet yelled at me to stop.

I finished the herbs but the spices now looked at me reproachfully. They, too, were shoved in anywhere, making it hard for me to discover what I had and had not. I tidied them up too. The drawer itself needed re-lining. OK, my feet were beyond redemption now. Might as well.

My drawer looks lovely. I know what I have and where it is. And, if anyone wants a bag of Very Mixed Up Herbs they may sweep them off my dining room floor. That's tomorrow's job :roll:

Boomer13

Sticky, I desperately need to do this too. I bought new spice jars months ago but the herbs and spices remain firmly jumbled up in the cupboard. And.... the windows need washing, etc, etc.

It really irks me that supermarkets move everything around so often. How frustrating!! I know they want us to "view" all their products and possibly do some impulse buying, but for an arthritic, having to get oneself up and down an extra aisle or two can be torture and a seemingly unnecessary waste of precious spoons!!

OK, I bet you didn't think I could answer your post with a rant!!

Feet up now? At least you have earned yours....

Anna

villier

Last time I tidied mine up I had to throw about three quarters in the bin as they were well out of date :oops: shows how often I clean out the cupboards
hope the feet are up and you are enjoying a nice glass of CB you deserve it........Marie xx

dreamdaisy

I empathise - standing for too long is no good for any of us, is it? Mind you I've found out that lying down for too long ain't so hot either. :roll:

Right, here comes an idea for when you next have to do this: remove the drawer and contents (or get Mr SW to do this) and take them to the dining room table. Then you can sit and decant, re-label etc. You could also sup a cuppa at the same time. Feel free to throw a jar or three at me. DD

frogmorton

Mine are all done and neatly labelled - I actually did what you suggested DD and sat down to do the job

Poor Stickywicket, BUT I will say a job well-done there my girl

Love

Toni xxx

stickywicket

Anna - this wasn't just moving stuff about. They've changed the entire layout. They do actually provide disability scooters but I'm a dyed in the wool 'use it or lose it' believer. It's just that I'm also a divvy

Marie - out of date? What's that?

DD - That is so sensible The jars are heading your way. Better duck.

Toni - Thank you. It does look a lot better. Not too difficult

daffy2

Sticky, out of date for me turned out to be pre-millenium! I had a sort out and decided that various items bought on a late 90's trip to Holland were possibly not as flavourful as they once were. Mind you they still made my compost caddy smell interesting. I also decided that I didn't need three containers of (home)dried bay leaves when I now have a flourishing live tree in the garden. The tidy-up brought back memories though as a couple of the containers are pots that once held dried baby food for my daughter who is now 32, and the jar with the whole nutmegs reminded me of my dutch MIL who used freshly grated nutmeg on leeks and spinach, a habit I've been happy to continue, even if OA hands now make it a rather more challenging task!(Sorry, ready ground doesn't do it)

Boomer13

So after I looked up "divvy" in the urban dictionary, I realised I'm one too.....

I'd be lost (well, irritated) if my grocery store did that with or without a mobility scooter.

stickywicket

Grated nutmeg on leeks and spinach? Interesting, daffy.

Boomer - I am irritated Just ask Mr SW

daffy2

That wasn't very clear was it - the spinach and leeks were separate not together.MIL made a small amount of thin white sauce for the veg - think dressing rather than covered in - and a liberal grating of nutmeg would go on top. I don't usually bother with the sauce now, and for the sake of my bones rarely have spinach, but leeks with butter and a grating of nutmeg remain a favourite. It's also a good way of removing the need for salt.

stickywicket

daffy2 wrote:

for the sake of my bones rarely have spinach

Could you elaborate on that please, daffy? I rather like spinach but I'd no idea it was bad for bones.

(I'm always up for ways of avoiding salt.)

daffy2

Spinach is high in oxalic acid which isn't good for calcium absorption; rhubarb is the same and in fact that's why the leaves are poisonous. I am wondering though if the new varieties of spinach bred for use as raw salad are as bad as they generally seem to be free from the stripped teeth mouth pucker effect but haven't had time yet to try and find out. I don't subscribe to the alkali diet that many OP sufferers are keen on, but I was brought up to have spinach and rhubarb in moderation because of the acid content, and with a diagnosis of severe lumbar OP it seems sensible to carry on with that! Many years ago I was told that school meal directives required custard to be served with rhubarb to address the issue - the milk content wouldn't contribute calcium as it would be bound up by the acid, but at least it would prevent calcium being taken out of the body. As is so often the case it comes down to moderation. There is an old perennial veg called Good King Henry, also high in oxalic acid, which used to cause problems when it was consumed in large quantities in certain parts of the country. I grow and eat it but only in small quantities and occasionally.

stickywicket

Daffy you are a mine of information. Thank you.

I'd never heard of Good King Henry. I do, normally, eat coooked spinach with cheese so I guess I'm 'oxalic acid neutral' there though, if I eat it in a salad, cheese doesn't usually feature. Although we have rhubarb in the garden my rhubarb-fest days are long gone as the stomach objects now. It's normally one portion of rhubarb crumble at the beginning of the season when it's at its youthful best then Mr SW gets the rest.

numptynora

I've been AWOL for a while so just catching up,

I didn't know that about spinach, so thanks Daffy :-)


Just had to do a dash outside to get the washing in...almost dry though, that was lucky!