Friday 18 February 2022

It's What We Do...

That's the motto of the Co-operative Group - since 1844, this company has tried to provide good quality food, in a fair way, at a fair price, distributing profits to loyal customers [in the old days, you got your "divi" - dividend, but now it comes as loyalty points on your card. for every £1 spent, I get 2p back] 
The Co-op has expanded its range, now providing funeral services, pharmacies, in branch Post Offices, insurance, travel agencies, education services, and much more. I like the Co-op, not least because they work to strong ethical principals - FairTrade goods, supporting minority groups across the globe [eg they boycotted South African produce in the days of the anti-apartheid campaigns] they have good facilities for recycling...

Dereham has a useful branch, in the Market Place, next to the Congregational Chapel. I popped in for a few bits yesterday. Firstly some crumpets. These are primarily for Jess, who is happily weaning, and loves holding a finger of toasted crumpet, and gradually eating 50% of it [the rest ends up all over her person and the floor]
These were £1 for NINE - right next to packets of SIX which cost £1.20. "Do many people buy the smaller packet?" I asked the assistant who was stocking the shelf. "It's a temporary offer" she said. I resisted the urge to buy two more packets for the freezer! That was my first bargain.
The second was a bag of mixed roasting veg, reduced from £1.50 to £1.07. It held carrots, an onion,  a swede, and a parsnip. As the only parsnip eater in the house, this was a treat for me! Sue has been doing diligent price comparisons recently. So when I got home, I weighed out the veg individually
Total weight was 1kg. You cannot buy these goods loose, but taking the cost per kilo, and using their "Honest Value" Range, I calculated that my bag was worth £1.09. I had saved just TUPPENCE!!
But it makes it so apparent that if shopping for a single-person household, the odds really are stacked against you. These are root veg, and will keep a while in the fridge, and the crumpets can be kept in the freezer - but other products have a much shorter shelf life. Buying a large bag of spinach or punnet of soft fruit is only cost effective if it can be eaten in time. 
When I began teaching, I lived alone in a small flat, with no fridge [just a cool food cupboard]. I had guests for lunch one Sunday, and I made two desserts - apple pie and trifle. They just ate all the pie, and I had to eat trifle for supper, breakfast, and Monday night's meal, because it wouldn't keep and I couldn't bear to waste it.

The smallest carrot and onion from my bag yesterday went into a warming impromptu lunchtime soup for a cold day. 
Quick Minestrone
Drain one can butterbeans and put into saucepan with one carton of passata/chopped tomatoes and 150 ml water or stock. Bring to boil. Add 1 tsp mixed herbs. and half a pack of Maggi instant noodles. Reduce heat to simmer.
Meanwhile chop small onion and fry off in a little oil. Add to saucepan
Dice carrot and cook in microwave for 3 mins in 1tbsp water. Add to pan
Stir, simmer soup for at least 5 mins, then serve. 
[this will serve 4 medium portions]
I hope it is not too cold and windy wherever you are. 











17 comments:

  1. The one thing that would make this village better would be the Premier shop turning into an East of England Co-op, but doubt that will ever happen.
    Stay safe indoors today

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    1. Yes, I think EofE Co-ops beat Premier hands down. They say that the storm will start to get worse around 10am (typing this at 9:53 and its rough out there) We checked on all our elderly neighbours earlier, in case any were worried about garden furniture etc blowing around. All is OK in the Close. Battening down the hatches now!

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  2. The odds are definitely stacked against singles. Several people have commented on the size of my freezer but I'm always tucking away single portions or buying big packs and freezing most of them. Without a freezer I would waste an awful lot of food.

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    1. And a freezer is also useful if unexpected guests arrive

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  3. My brother who is single struggles with shopping but has done much better, and lost weight, by making soup. I gave him a soup maker last year and he never looked back.
    Prior to that he ate a lot of ready meals because they were cheap and less food seemed to be thrown away.
    Your minestrone soup sounds lovely, we are fans of butter beans in this house and that's a great way to use them.
    As for having to eat trifle for three meals on the trot.......sounds good to me!

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    1. Whilst I don't feel the need for a soup maker myself, I've come across a number of people who find them really useful. Sounds lie your brother's is proving to real blessing.

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  4. I have always like the Co-op since I was a child and I could lick and stick my Mum's little stamps in the book for her ... I really do not know why I liked the taste so much!!

    They do so much in the local community and so many of their own label cleaning and personal care products are Fairtrade, cruelty free and suitable for vegans.

    And of course there are the custard doughnuts ... gorgeous and completely vegan :-)

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    1. I forgot to mention the co-op's vegetarian /vegan ranges. I dream of custard donuts...

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  5. I sympathize with your trifle experience in your early teaching days. I had made a trifle ready to add custard and whipped cream, in anticipation of one of our family's failed visits at New Year, so with only the two of us to eat it, I left off the custard and just served it with cream. It wasn't as good without custard but we managed to get through it over a few days. However, I have lost enthusiasm for trifle at all and when they finally came, last weekend, I made two pies, raspberry and mincemeat.

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    1. I think a lot of people had shopped in anticipation of family visits that never happened. I have a pack of unopened "boudoir biscuits" (I think called lady fingers elsewhere) for a trifle that never happened

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  6. I love our local co-op, and if I call in on the way back from dropping bear at school, I'm at the perfect time to pick up the marked down bargains! I love their ethics and always go to their post office counters.

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  7. I had to look up butter beans - I guess they are called lima beans, here. :)

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  8. My sister and brother in law are Turkey and Christnas roast dinner for 6 days after they caught Covid and we couldn't go to then for Christmas! They started on it as soon as they knew we couldn't come! I was proud of them!

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  9. Impressive - you clearly belong to a zero waste family

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  10. The best thing about the Co-Op is their 5.5” chocolate cake. I used to run the factory that produces these and, as well as fair trade ingredients, free-range eggs, high grade flour, etc, they taste delicious. By far the best chocolate cake that we made and we supplied all of the well known supermarkets, except M&S and Sainsburys. X

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