(no subject)

[igenlode]

I got some DRIED MILK! Of such foolish things are our victories made...

There was only one packet on the shelf, and I actually hesitated to buy it because it was the last one, and someone else might have been in greater need -- but I really think I'm the only person round here who's actually using it on a regular basis, as opposed to hoarding it for contingencies.
It's not just that it's cheaper (though it is; about seven pints for £1·80) but that it's less wasteful, and therefore doubly cheaper; I don't have to buy more than I need at any given moment, and then find ways to use it up. And with the pint or so's worth of powder at the bottom of the old bag which I was saving for real emergency, I should be fine now for a long time, provided I don't embark on anything extravagant like yoghurt-making or chicken in milk.

I've got more space in the fridge, too :-p

And I managed to get some porridge just in time, since I only had one helping left. It's Quaker Rolled Oats (which I suspect were left on the shelf because no-one was quite sure how to cook them) rather than the usual shredded ones, but they were reduced-price and thus only 50p more expensive. And after all, I'm not going to be rushing to make breakfast and get out of the house in the morning, though I do find the longer cooking time a bit tedious.

So breakfast is now sorted for the foreseeable future. (The bonus is that Quaker Rolled Oats come in a plain cardboard box rather than a plastic bag, although the disadvantage of that is that they don't get smaller in the cupboard as you eat more of them!)

Comments

[betweensunandmoon]

Congratulations!

I wish my family had your luck. My mother and brother are both allergic to dairy, and there are no milk alternatives to be found anywhere. :P

[watervole]

My aunt always made porridge with water. Not ideal, but you get used to it in time. Mind you, only helps if you have porridge in the house.

[betweensunandmoon]

Oh, we have plenty of oats. In fact, my father solved the problem by making homemade oat milk. :P

[igenlode]

I did wonder if that was possible -- old curry recipes (i.e. before 'coconut cream' was offered on sale in general supermarkets) used to suggest soaking ordinary culinary dessiccated coconut in water to create 'coconut milk' if you couldn't get a ripe coconut. Of course the water you get out of coconuts, which has no fat content to speak of, isn't at all the same stuff that they sell for putting in curries nowadays, which I think must be pulped coconut flesh instead.

[igenlode]

The Scots traditionally make their porridge with water, of course...

I used to make mine with water and then add a splash of cold fresh milk to serve it with, since you can actually taste the milk that way (rather than wasting it on simply swelling up the grains!)

But with dried milk you don't want to be able to taste the milk :-p
So I just stir a tablespoon in with the oats at the start of cooking instead, which seems to produce reasonable results.

[watervole]

Rolled oats cook slower, but taste better and have more fibre.

[igenlode]

Ironically, it turned out that once I'd opened the packet, they were exactly the same shredded porridge oats inside -- it was just the illustration on the cover that showed whole grains!
They did seem to create a more rich-flavoured and 'milky' porridge than the supermarket own brand ones, but I'm not sure I'm a sufficient connoisseur to identify a genuine difference.

We did buy actual whole oats -- not even crushed, if I recall rightly -- as an experiment once, when I was small. They had to be soaked overnight so that you could cook them in the morning, and it was a bit like eating tapioca. Only much, much larger.