The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

Greying_Pilgrim · 3 January 2017 at 9:46AM

Good Morning :hello:

Lots and lots of chores to attend to today.

Financial bits and bobs and movements are top of the list. And I want to put the xmas money (from the little old lady from across the way) into BG's savings account today. I don't know why, but I feel doubly obligated to make sure that the money is put where it was intended for asap. Neither DH nor I are the sort that would 'borrow and not pay back' from BG - even at this early stage, but, I still feel that it should be where it is supposed to be - even if the donor has no actual way of checking up on me! Sad, I know

The meal plan has not been constructed for this week, and it shows! Tonight should be soup, but I'm minded to make something with rice - which is normally a Wednesday thing! NO wonder poor little BG has been all out of kilter over chrimbo and the NY - take one look at their mumma, who's all out of whack with which day is where! :rotfl:

I've remembered that I forgot to add 3 items that I bought for the pantry on the 31st december (but out of Jan's grocery budget) into my accounts book, so need to rectify that soonest. I got them from the lovely wholefood store in the market town across the way. And despite what I said a few weeks ago, I was still tempted to buy a bag of beluga lentils!!!!! They've gone up 7p too - stoopid me! Anyway, there is £3.50 unaccounted for (the shop doesn't use a till that issues receipts), that needs to be accounted for.

I was wandering around mrmoneymustache's blog forum last night and came across a thread asking for favourite veggie soup recipes. I've not followed every link, but there are definitely some there that I have made (Four corners Lentil soup is one), and some that I like the sound of. If you're trying to cut living costs, eating more homemade soup is often one thing that may help, and therefore, to that end, the link to the thread is HERE. Hope it helps someone (other than me

)

Right, best shift-a-tail-feather and get moving. Tons to achieve today, so the sooner I start.......

Ta for popping in and reading. Much appreciated.

Greying X

Cheery_Daff · 3 January 2017 at 10:31AM

Morning Greying and pals :hello:

Tis not sad to want to put Baby Greying's money where it was intended - it is Good Financial Management and Sense, which hopefully they will absorb and inherit

:j

Thanks for the soup recipe link! :j I make an awful soup

I can take a ton of tasty ingredients and turn them into tasteless msh

Mr Cheery, on the other hand, can take almost just water and air and turn it into a tasty soup :rotfl:

But I want to learn! :j We have already decided to do soup every day this week for lunch since we're at home :j Did roast veg soup yesterday - I roasted the veg (well in advance) and Mr Cheery made the soup :rotfl: Not sure what's on the cards for today - will check out that link! :j

Incidentally, we were at a friend's house at new year and they made an extremely tasty french onion soup - then insisted we eat it poured over baked potato in a bowl with grated cheese on top. Goodness me, it was utterly delicious! Wouldn't have thought to do that myself but it was lovely, much nicer than bread :j

Have a good day, I'm off to learn about soup

EssexHebridean · 3 January 2017 at 4:15PM

HNY Greying and team!

I lack confidence with soup, I think. I am perfectly capable of making a lovely soup, and I know it, but more often than not I end up not doing it because I'm not sure it will turn out nicely... which is daft.

the exception to this is anything involving potatoes, when I can turn a pot of aspiring soup into something resembling wallpaper paste in an instant. :rotfl:

You've reminded me though Cheery - I've been wanting to try French Onion soup for YONKS, and as we currently have quite a glut of onions, perhaps now is the time...!

Toy box is a grand idea Greying - and a lovely thing for a child to have too, I think! :T

Greying_Pilgrim · 3 January 2017 at 5:31PM

Cheery - was your friend's french onion soup pureed to make it almost a cream soup, or was it more like stock with onions floating in it iyswim?

oh my dearest EH how I wish (now) that we had bought our dear child, an artisanally hand crafted and painted with fairy tale characters, toy box

Alas, we plumped for a storage box from w1lk1sons that is plastic

, but moulded to look like an old-fashioned treasure chest iyswim. They are marketed as toy boxes, but wouldn't have appeared in any Enid Blyton novel........ The only saving grace is that it has tidied up the living room in one fell swoop

Well, I've managed too get on pretty well with my chores. I've certainly done more than i thought I would, but there are still things to do and I've tea yet to make. I did make all the necessary money movements though and Baby Greying's bank balance has increased - by the gift amount, PLUS a whopping 25p interest! Don't spend it all at once Baby Greying! :rotfl: Still this is their deposit station, not their investment portfolio, so it ain't never gonna make them rich.

I've decided on mushroom pie for tea, with a mass of veg. It's going to use up some of my puff pastry mountain, and a punnet of mrL mushrooms.

Right, best shift-a-tail feather and do more - even though what I'd really like to do is curl up for a snooze on the sofa! Ah well, some day.

Greying X

Cheery_Daff · 3 January 2017 at 5:45PM

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Cheery - was your friend's french onion soup pureed to make it almost a cream soup, or was it more like stock with onions floating in it iyswim?

Evening :hello:

It was stock with onions floating in

(although more delicious than that makes it sound! :rotfl: ) All our soup is like this - Mr Cheery can't abide pureed soup so we never have it (although actually I'm rather partial myself so I might one day investigate a stick blender just for my bit...

but Mrs Frugalwoods today said to wait 72 hours before buying anything non-necessary so that I shall do!)

Made carrot and parsnip soup for lunch and it was actually pretty tasty :j And enough leftover for 2 portions into the freezer. Although we swapped our big fridge for an under the counter fridge with freezer compartment - and that is now entirely full :eek: so my plot of stashing a load of lunches for next week is foiled! Unless I eat the entire 2kg bag of green beans before then, that is... :rotfl:

Greying_Pilgrim · 3 January 2017 at 9:42PM

Good Evening :hello:

Am exhausted.

Tea this evening was indeed mushroom pie. Which was just as well, as our mrL is sold out of mushrooms..... our mrL is sold out of alot of things. We won't mention toujours baby wipes...... oos since before Christmas, with no-one able to say when stock will be instore again......

I dropped off a small bag of items at a charity shop today. The first of several, but all I could carry today, what with returning library books etc.

I fried off a (gifted home grown by the gardening parental) onion with some garlic. I added the mushrooms and some rehydrated wild mushrooms. I cooked them down, added salt, pepper, thyme and oregano and then popped in the remainder of a pot of Skyr I had. Left to cool. I unwrapped the pastry roll, dolloped the cooled mushroom mixture on one side and folded over. I got it a bit wrong and there was quite a big pastry border on one side - ho hum, 'tis artisan & homespum innit? :rotfl: I scored the top, crimped the sides, brushed with whey and scattered onion and sesame seeds on top. Cooked at 180 degrees for about 25 mins (wasn't furtively timing - when it's done, its done or overdone). Served with roast potatoes (mrL) and parsnips (mrAl) which were overdone! mashed potatoes (mrAl), green beans and carrots (mrAl). Picture here;

Interesting that the filling darkened with cooking, it was lighter when I stirred in the skyr. Tasted nice though, really 'mushroomy' and savoury.

Cheery - I have taken notes, and am going to have a 'ponder' on your friend's soup idea..... and I am sure it was delicious

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

that I achieved progress through patience - the queues today! Kept a smile on and still got everything done, and bumped into an old work colleague when utilising time wisely!

for gifted food and bargains - seems to make tea taste better somehow

For lovely, thrifty, foody ideas - seems to be something in the air at the moment........

Thank you for popping in, reading, commenting and supporting. Know that I appreciate it. Greatly.

I'm away to see how soon i can legitimately escape to my bed........ :rotfl:

Greying X

rtandon27 · 3 January 2017 at 10:12PM

GP - your pie is just so pretty! Am trying to convince the chef to add some seeds to his next creation! We too have a mountain of pastry but it's all short crust! I forsee many pies in our collective futures!;):D

Tonight, we had the rest of yesterday's pie with some leftover mashed root veg made with a splash of milk, a knob of butter & a pinch of nutmeg. mmm - I could just eat a big bowl of mash & be happy!

EssexHebridean · 3 January 2017 at 10:33PM

Pie looks yum Greying!

Cheery - sneaky way way of semi-pureeing soup without a stick blender is to get stuck in with as potato masher. You'll never get it entirely smooth that way but you will save yourself twenty quid... :rotfl:

Cheery_Daff · 3 January 2017 at 10:53PM

Oh I'm already a soup-masher EH

:j :j Most effective. Well, not AS effective, but as you say, nearly. Certainly won't be spending £20 on a blender! :eek: Won't be acquiring one unless I spot one for under £3 in a charity shop! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Greying_Pilgrim · 4 January 2017 at 5:01PM

at last - house to self again!

We have had workmen in today. Boots in the house make for a very unsettled Baby Greying (who, actually, has coped admirably really) and an equally unsettled mumma, who was well enough prepared to not be caught with a leg in a pant when they turned up 1 hour early :eek: Didn't swear (outloud

) when told the work would last longer than stipulated and who managed to keep the teapot warm and freely flowing........................

The highlight of my day (Baby Greying excepted :smileyhea) was definitely lunch. Cheery planted a seed of an idea with her description of French Onion soup over baked tattie, which I was actually going to try as per, but with the soup pureed for added creaminess. However, i got to thinking, and it dawned on me that I had a single serving of mashed potato left from tea last night. An idea was born

I added thyme, parsley and pepper to the mash, and then formed it into a potato cake. I didn't add flour to it, but in hindsight, should have added a bit. I then coated the top and the bottom with nutritional yeast. And fried it.

The potato cake was placed in the bottom of the bowl. Adorned with grated cheese and then the pureed version of Leanne Brown's French Onion Soup (minus the bread and cheese, natch) was poured around. Picture here;

For the purpose of the pic, I didn't pour all the soup, but you get the drift. Cor! Winner, winner!

I shall be putting that gem in my recipe index

Thank you to Cheery and Cheery's friends, individually and collectively for coming up with such a brilliant culinary creation, and for sharing it

Still have no idea what's for us tea

:rotfl:

Greying X

The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

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