Live Below the Line Challenge 2016

This topic was created by I ain't Spartacus .

  1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

    Live Below the Line Challenge 2016

    Dear Lester and El Reg,

    I've just had an email saying that they're not doing the Live Below the Line challenge this year. Apparently they've got some new ideas, which forces them to take a year off or something. Even though the users do most of the organising...

    Anyway, was wondering if you were going to run something El Reg-tastic again, in which case people might like a bit of notice to prepare, or whether you'd also give it a miss until next year?

    I think I'd probably be up for joining in again in early April. And this year, no bloody chickpeas!

    I don't think I had time to get you my report, with the tasty pictures of all my stuff, but I've still got the left over dry chickpeas in the cupboard. They're quite nice in tins, but as my aunt advised me (and I didn't listen) they're horrible from dry.

    Otherwise I didn't really struggle too badly. My Italian (with added chick pea ickyness) stew was so nice that I kept eating it, rather than turning it into curry for the last couple of days as planned. But when I finally got round to totting it all up afterwards, I think I spent £5.09. Shame! And on the Friday night I was at a friend's house, one mate brought doughnuts that were left over from a meeting at work, they had roast chicken (while I ate my stew and rice) and finished with apple pie and custard. Then Steve decided to be really cruel, and cooked a sponge cake. My own fault for going I suppose...

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      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: Live Below the Line Challenge 2016

        When they've been soaked in food factories and the skins taken off by nice machines, chickpeas are OK. I wouldn't say yummy, given they don't taste of much - so the flavour is down to how nice your sauce is. Also why roasted red pepper humus is the food of the gods, and plain humus is a bit dull.

        But I soaked them for longer than the 8 hours the packet said (I think I gave them 12), and then they were cooked in a stew that got 2 hours, and they were still hard so I had to cook the stew for another hour the next day. Whereas the tinned ones soften up nicely. The problem was that it was more expensive to buy a tin, than a much larger packet of dried ones - and I was straining my budget by trying to have as much variety in my meals as possible.

        Looking at my spreadsheet, I spent more on chickpeas than I did on rice (44p as opposed to 42p). Weirdly, my biggest expense was £1.05 on tinned tomatoes, next 94p on frozen mixed veg, and 73p on 11 eggs. I think the chickpeas might have been better replaced with some cheese, more eggs, or another loaf of homemade bread (32p) and more marmalade. Lidl's 49p thick cut marmalade is surprisingly nice, though only had 2 or three actual pieces of (admittedly thick cut) peel in the whole jar...

        On checking my spreadsheet I went 10p over budget. Which I'm quite pleased with, given I did it in my head and calculated the budget at the end of the week, by working out what I'd used and comparing to the reciepts. If I do it again, I really want to try and get some meat in there, just to see if I can still make it add up.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

          1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

            Re: Live Below the Line Challenge 2016

            I'm normally prepared to spend the extra 30-40p required to get tinned ones, when I'm not on such a strict budget.. Though the real answer is that it put me off the humble chickpea, which was never an ingredient I cooked with much anyway. So I've not had them since. I'll find an alternative, probably lentils.

            Someone likes the things though. Or so I deduce from the downvotes I've received, possibly from the chickpea liberation front?

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  3. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    Spartacus - I also received the not-this-year email, but on speaking to Lester he didn't indicate any plans for a substitution.

    With regard to chick peas - I do the initial soak in boiling water, leave for four to eight hours (depending how forethoughtful I was) and then hit them with 20 minutes in a pressure cooker. That brings them out fine, but I've never had success with them just boiled.

    I think you need to check the package date; anything over a year old is a gamble.

    Are you considering doing a quid-a-day anyway? Malaria No More will take contributions at any time.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Neil,

      I'm thinking about doing it, but it's no fun on your own. I may try to persuade a couple of friends to join me in the suffering... Or see what happens here. How about you?

      I believe the pressure cooker is the solution to ALL cookery problems though. But I think the problem with dry chickpeas is as much the husks as the hardness. Anyway they're OK tinned, and there are other options. I'd have gone for potatoes, but I don't eat enough to use up a big sack, so end up paying more for less. But it definitely seemed against the spirit of the thing to buy loads to get them cheaper, then chick them afterwards.

  4. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    Much the same, but no decision as yet. I'm currently between jobs, so have a limited pool of people I can guilt into supporting!

    I was wondering about doing a 'WW2-rationing' style attempt this year, but haven't thought a lot about it.

    It'd be nice if Vulture Central did something, though. Just Giving is probably still around.

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