COMMUNITY FRIDGE DAY

It was really cold this morning - in fact, when I left to go to the Community Fridge the temperature was 0°C - so I knew it would be a chilly morning there!

We had lots of produce and although the queue at the start wasn’t that long, the fact that the sun came out probably encouraged more people to come!

I found some more curious things on the “Tins and Packets” table as you can see.  “ Czaber” is a herb related to Rosemary and Thyme and known as Savory in the UK and is used to give stews, meat and fish a tangy, peppery taste.  

"Ground Ogbono" is the seed of a common African fruit known as bush mango. It is often used in soups and stews, is very flavoursome and has endless health benefits.  Wish I’d known that before - I might have brought some home!

"Matzo balls" are Ashkenazi Jewish soup morsels made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken fat - guess they may be something like our dumplings.

"Plantains" are actually a type of banana, but with a different flavour and culinary use. Like bananas they are originally from South East Asia, but they're grown all over the world today - I’m sure the dried ones are very tasty.

"Noodles", of course, were invented in China, and are an essential ingredient in Chinese cuisine but have become very popular over here in the UK and make a quick meal.  I just liked the wording on the packet “Lost the Pot” Noodles - it made me smile.  We had some egg noodles last night with our chicken but not these packet ones, and very tasty they were too although needed a bit of spicing up!

Amazing what we can learn and as we often say, "Every Day is a School Day on Blip"!

There were lots of peppers as you can see and I’m just hoping we gave one lady the right advice because she came up with a bag of peppers and asked if they were peppers or chilies.  Both Angie and I thought they were peppers, but they look suspiciously like the chillies that Mr. HCB grew last year - I hope when she uses them she doesn’t burn her mouth like I did!

All in all a good morning although very cold because the door was open for long periods of time.  Most people were very upbeat though and I had some good conversations.  Several people commented that they enjoyed coming for the chat as well as the coffee and cake, which many of us feel is as important as the produce they take away with them.

I’ve been under my electric throw since I got home and am just about thawed out now.  Thankfully, I made a huge pot of chicken curry yesterday in the slow cooker, so only need to boil some rice to go with it for our evening meal tonight!

Mr HCB was a real trouper because even at those temperatures, he put all the plants in that we bought on Monday and also the raspberry canes that came last week so he was well chuffed!

Stay warm! M xx

P.S.  Our Smart Meter hit the £9 mark yesterday - EEEEK - I think I may have to hide it otherwise I could become quite paranoid!