Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

I got my Spiralizer from Lakeland


http://www.lakeland.co.uk/19736/Vegetable-Spiralizer?gclid=CIq5hrWd9cMCFSzKtAod_HsAlA&src=gfeed&s_kwcid=AL!49!3!66287873789!!!g!42886316544!&ef_id=OPTOUT:20150222092328:s


This is the one I have....but they also have another model.


It must be quite popular as they go out of stock quite frequently! It has 3 different blades and does spirals and 'pasta' out of your fruit and veg.


The only real 'issue' I have found is that you DO need to rinse the blade immediately...other than that I love the thing!...I hummed and hawed for a while...after all it is nearly £30 and that is a heap of money if you are on benefits! However, I justified it as a good use of my DLA which is meant for me to use on 'helpful' gadgets....and it didn't hurt that a family member gave me a Lakeland voucher to put towards it!!!


Like any gadget, it's value depends on how often you are going to use it....suffice to say I haven't put it into the cupboard yet...it stays out on the work-surface as I use it so much!

Coming out of hiding to Salute back to you Prinzessilein. From a fellow girl guide (queens guide in 1978) wow you have just rolled back a load of memories for me. I never before connected my thrift & make do with guiding! But it's obvious now (& following mums footsteps) I wish I still had my uniform but sadly if was lost many years ago. I think mum may have my badges tucked away somewhere, will have to go searching.
Thank you.:)

Wow, just looked at the spiraliser; what a good idea; it's out of stock at the moment, but will look into my finances next month and maybe put in an order for one.

Viv x

I was an only child as well, TudorRose, and I can still hear my very gentle mother saying 'is that wise, dear', to me. I was brought up to be a 'lady' so my poor mother and grandmother must have been sorely disappointed. My grandmother had been a nanny in an Edwardian aristocratic house, and although I loved her dearly I knew better than to cross her. When I went to Sunday school and to church, she insisted I had to wear a hat and gloves and have both my gloves on when I left the house. I thought it looked cool to wear one glove and carry the other and boy, was I in trouble when I was found out.

The worst bit was when I discovered boys in my teens; we lived in a terraced house and my new 'boyfriend' (I'd been after him for weeks, in a very innocent way, because we were innocent - I was in short socks until I was 18) was kissing me goodnight at the door. My grandmother had obviously been waiting for me and just opened the door, seized me by the collar and hauled me in - the humiliation of it!!

I'm ready for my guests rather earlier than expected so will post a recipe now and have fun reading everyone's posts later.

Sticky Coffee and Ginger Pudding - serves 4

2tbsp soft, light brown sugar, 2 tbsp. stem ginger syrup, chopped, 2 tbsp. mild-flavoured ground coffee, 4 ounces caster sugar, 3 eggs, separated, an ounce plain flour,1 tsp ground ginger, two and a half ounces fresh white breadcrumbs, an ounce ground almonds.

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees/gas4. Grease and line the base of a 750ml/one and a quarter pint pudding basin, then sprinkle in the soft light brown sugar and chopped stem ginger. Put the ground coffee in a small bowl. Heat the ginger syrup until almost boiling; pour into the coffee. Stir well and leave for 4 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into the pudding basin.

Beat half the caster sugar and all the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Stir the flour and ground ginger together and fold into the egg mixture with the breadcrumbs and ground almonds. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually whisk in the remaining caster sugar. Fold into the mixture, half at a time. Spoon into the pudding basin and smooth the top.

Cover the basin with a piece of pleated greaseproof paper and secure with string (or an elastic band). Bake for 40 minutes or until the sponge is firm to the touch. turn out and serve immediately.

I got this recipe from a couple of boxed books called 'The Chocolate and Coffee Box' for 50p at a local charity shop, which is a fascinating read as it recounts the history of coffee and chocolate. It's also very dangerous - full of delicious recipes!

Viv xx

Cheerfulness the head ache is probably dehydration so drink lots of water.

I was a tomboy too and a girl guide. I had not thought that thrift was from guides but we certainly learned a lot of useful things. I went to guides at the YMCA so it was in the centre of town. I can't imagine today's parents allowing their daughters to wonder around the City Centre in the dark but we still did all the stuff like tracking, treasure hunts, firelighting and all the other outdoor pursuits.

We played in a derelict house we called The White House because it was painted white. We climbed trees. The house was half demolished by us before the came to demolish it. We went for long bike rides and no one worried about where you were as long as you were home for tea.

I gave my kids the same freedoms and was disapproved of by other parents especially with the youngest who was 21 yesterday. My eldest is 42. She gets the same disapproval from other parents because she does not wrap her son in cotton wool. He is 20 months so like me she is a generation older than the other parents.