May 2008 Grocery Challenge

angelnikki · 23 May 2008 at 1:15PM

denisefowler you can put bananas in the microwave (with skins on) for 5-10 seconds to soften them up. Saves buying them ripe/overripe.

(be careful when you peel them though) I learnt this tip when I was weaning DS. HTH

Nikki
x

mama67 · 23 May 2008 at 2:04PM

Called in at Co-op to pay water rates thru payzone, and they had Richmond sausages 12pk [STRIKE]1.99[/STRIKE] 50p/pk.

Needless to say picked uip all 6 as these will be handy for cooking on bbq when boys have campouts during the summer.

ifonlyitwaseasier · 23 May 2008 at 2:07PM

b(_)gger, spent 90 p on a whoopsied galia melon in MrS, darn them and the lovely fresh fruit

mophead · 23 May 2008 at 2:14PM

Just popped in to update my sig, i've not been online that much recently trying to cut down:A . I have gone over my budget but this is my first time and i did have a birthday party included. I have been in the garden most of the day, we are having the turf delivered for our back garden tomorrow and at present it resembles a desert so we have be giving it a good drenching so we can give it one last roller and rake for it to be laid tomorrow.

I've been inspired by some of you gardeners to get back into growing my own veg, i have grown beans, potatoes, tomatoes, radish and beets in the past but stopped to make more room for the kids to play but someone on here posted a link to the Sq ft gardener so i have been busy making some old wood into boxes for some veg to be grown in.

The kids are at their grans for the weekend so we only have to feed the two of us so we will use up and left overs we have frozen and i have enough food now to last till the end of may. I am looking forward to next months challange will a bit more experince under my belt.

Also i don't know if it has already been posted but the sun have vouchers for MrM's £5 off when you spend £30.

Bye Clare.x.

mama67 · 23 May 2008 at 2:24PM

Here you go Victory

I used a pastry cutter with plain sides to cit them out. hehe!!

SHORTBREAD

150g SR FLOUR
100g BUTTER
50g CASTER SUGAR

OVEN 160°C / 3

1. MIX FLOUR AND SUGAR IN BOWL

2. RUB IN BUTTER

3. KNEAD WELL TO FORM A SMOOTH PASTE

4. ROLL OUT APPROX 1cm THICK

5. CUT INTO BISCUIT SHAPES

6. PLACE ON A GREASED BAKING TRAY

7. BAKE APPROX 30 minutes UNITL GOLDEN BROWN

Sosh · 23 May 2008 at 2:33PM

Checked my bank balance both online and via the phone. I haven't been paid. :mad:

I phoned up hr who said there was a problem as I'm now only being paid smp, but not too worry, they'll write me a cheque and POST IT AFTER HALF TERM!!! ARRRRRGH.... What the **** am I supposed to do until then? :mad: :mad:

I have taken my frustration out on my kitchen, which is now gleaming, there's also a batch of choc chip muffins in the oven and a loaf in the bm.

Luckily I have some savings and dh gets paid very well. It just annoys me that they think it's ok to treat people like this.

Rant over, thanks for "listening"

mandy_moo_1 · 23 May 2008 at 3:27PM

that's disgusting sosh. they obviously expect you to live on fresh air.....and the way things are going, they'll be charging us for that next :rolleyes:

hope you get it sorted soon

we've just "acquired" 2 more mouths to feed.....2 little guinea pigs that one of DS14's friends didn't want anymore.....i'm such a softy when it comes to animals :rolleyes: oh well, as long as they keep to the menu plan, and aren't too fussy in what they eat, i'll manage!!

Sunnyday · 23 May 2008 at 3:35PM

Hi all, just popped in to say Happy Birthday to Searching_Me
:bdaycake: :bdaycake: :bdaycake:
Have a great day!
SD

Frugaldom · 23 May 2008 at 3:43PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEARCHING_ME!

Just back from the shops and spent a total of £3.92 on a carton of milk, half dozen farm eggs and 5 new potatoes. Yes, 5! The potatoes cost me £1.07 and I'm disgusted at the price and wish I had never bought them! My balance for the month is now sitting at £98.02 out of £100, but I have enough in to last until the end of the month. I just hope the potatoes hurry up and grow because I'm certainly not paying 20p + PER POTATO and if eggs get any more expensive then I really will be getting a couple of chickens!

I admit to the fact that I am going to struggle to drop my grocery budget to £1000 for the year. I've already spent £484.36, so I have only £515.64 to last me 7 months and see me through Christmas? :eek:

:mad: Just read the post by Sosh - that is completely unacceptable. If you are owed wages or salary then your employer has a duty to ensure you are paid on a specific date. I don't know what 'smp' means but I do know that a cheque takes far too long to clear, especially if there's a bank holiday concerned! Good luck with this, I wouldn't let it lie. If you incur any bank fees, I'd bill the employer for late payment and subsequent costs, including an administration fee. Everyone else can do it, so why not the employees?

greent · 23 May 2008 at 4:19PM

BigMummaF wrote: »

Recipe Requests.. GreenT for soap please:p 3 out of the 4 of us have sensitive skin, so I would be very interested in finding something we can use effectively without paying over the odds. At the mo, we are using MrT 'Pure' because Pears has become a rareity in both price & location:mad:

Soap making is kind of complicated - if you want it to be. I make my soaps with a mix of coconut oil/ olive oil/ shea butter/ cocoa butter/ castor oil & sometimes other butters/ fats. For selling soaps you need to get recipes certified (EU regs) and comply with all sorts of stuff. However, this isn't necessary for home use.

Assuming you want veggie soap (lard makes a good hard bar & is cheap, but a tad smelly!) an easy & relatively cheap first recipe is as follows:

INGREDIENTS:500g PURA/ TREX (vegetable fat - about 70p?? from Tesco, Sainsbury etc)
65g Caustic Soda (from Boots or Wilkinsons - you want the granular sort marked as min 98% caustic soda
175g Distilled Water (or tap water if you live in a soft water area) or I used tesco value bottled water for my first few
10ml optional Essential Oil - I'd suggest lavender as a start - not affected smell wise by the process

NOTE: Caustic soda is a pretty nasty substance to bare skin and eyes. Treat it with respect and you won't get hurt.

Method

Add caustic soda to the water (NOT the other way round!) and stir gently & carefully until fully dissolved. This solution gets hot all by itself - leave this to cool for about an hour - put it away from children & animals!!

Melt Pura/ Trex in a stainless steel pan over a low heat (or in a bowl in the micro - but be careful)Leave to cool too

Pour the caustic solution into the melted fat, then stir slowly & thoroughly witha plastic spatula - whilst wearing rubber gloves until it thickens and goes custardy, and a trail is left on the top when you lift the stirring implement out. This is known as TRACE. If it may take up to a couple of hours -constant stirring is not required throughout this time, just once every 5minutes or so...Then add your essential oil, if using

Pour everything into a lightly-greased plastic mould (a plastic lunchbox is fine, as is an old butter/ margarine tub), and place in an airing-cupboard or similar warm place, wrapped in a towel. Leave for minimum 24 hours (48 is good), unmould, and cut into chunks/slices. If it proves difficult to remove from the mould, pop it in the freezer for an hour or two and then let defrost for about 10 minutes.

Leave for between 3 & 4 weeks before using.

Things like oats can be added, as can powdered milk.

PM me if you want some more ideas. There are some threads somewhere on MSE about it and you can also try these sites: http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php,
http://www.millersoap.com/

Any recipe should really be put through a Lye (Caustic Soda) Calculator to ensure correct amounts are used.

Scraps of all soap can be used to make laudry gel and/ or general cleaning gel (I use mine for laundry gel and gen gel to clean floors, my hob, kitchen sides, bathrooms etc - pretty much everywhere!

This post is very messy - apologies - children talking to me & I also have a massive headache!

GreenT

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May 2008 Grocery Challenge

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