50p a day til Christmas - healthily?! Weezl's next challenge...

vandanfc

Can't persuade the OH to try the really cheap asda sausages - he is convinced only 'good' (read branded) sausages are edible! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

Have you tried Lidl's sausages ? They are very nice. Don't know what brand/price you normally get, but the Lidl ones are about £1.90 I think. So MIGHT be cheaper.

backtowales

Just popping back in to say good morning! I love reading this thread - its so friendly!

Weezl, thank you for the foraging tips. I hope the decorating is going well. We'll be going up the taff trail this weekend if the weather is good and hopefully we can come back with some goodies.

The cheesy chilli garlic bread I made last night worked out to be quite cheap, but I'm sure it could have been even cheaper if I'd made my own ciabatta. I'll be attempting bread this weekend if its rainy and can't go out to play.

Bf has been growing herbs and we now have coriander, basil, mint and dill
We used to buy a lemon and dill olive oil to use on salads, but its been discontinued. Would I be right in thinking that I can make my own with some lemon peel and dill in a bottle of extra virgin olive oil? How long would it take to infuse? (Sorry if I should be starting my own thread for this, but I thought I'd try the Weezlite expertise first!)

moneydribbler

Plum_Pie wrote: »

Oooh, I love Nairns oatcakes! I like to keep packs about the place (store cupboard, desk drawer at work) for emergencies! They're healthy, edible on the go and store well. (I like them so much I will eat them plain, if I have a bit of water to wash them down with!)

me too! - have you had the nairn's oat biscuits at all? (they're a bit dearer, but sometimes on offer and are ginger, fruit and spice, or mixed berries) they're VERY nom nom nom, but I find I don't eat as many as I would a "real" biscuit because they're more of a hard oatcake texture. I usually have a selection of normal oatcakes and those in my desk, at home and often in my handbag, too

frugalswan wrote: »

mmm, oatcakes. I was just reading a recipe for those last night, and oddly was wondering how much they would cost to make. Frugality is permeating every aspect of my life!

Oh - I wonder how they'd hold together (I don't know why I feel they'd be crumbly, but I do). I don't see there'd be any expensive ingredients in there, so they'd likely be worth a punt to make? Do you have a link to the recipe at all?

Money_saving_Diva wrote: »

, and his posh coffee he used to buy on the way to work. We dug out an old flask and he will be taking his own now.[/quote] I do that now :j, it's MUCH cheaper. I bought a "travel mug" (one of those insulated things with the beaker lid) from the £ shop (do check, if you do that, though that the lid is of sensible manufacture and not liable to drip coffee onto your chin whilst you're trying to drink out the sippy bit. It feels a bit less "frugal" than a flask, somehow (probably because you can get those expensive coffee places to fill up those mugs...)

weezl74 wrote: »

I'm still alive, and taking advantage of waking early to jot you a note before Acetate Monkey awakes and we begin another day's decorating.:eek:

Oi! Weezl, get your nose back to the grindstone girl! . I bet your place is looking totally FAB now.

It's raining fit to burst here today (think I could get enough wood from freecycle to built an ark?) and it's due to do the same over the weekend so I think there'll be mostly housework-type pursuits... but that's nice and cheap, so not all bad! The concert on Wednesday was just LOVELY - it's a very beautiful venue and I've been all very relaxed and calm since.

Freegan lunch today, one of the guys in m'office has a birthday so we're having pizza and pakora, his treat nomnomnom :j

System

I was reading "A Celebration of Soup" by Lindsey Bareham in bed last night, and came across a recipe which might be of interest to those of you who have (a) correctly identified an elder tree, and (b) remember where it is so that you can go back to it when the elderberries are ripe (not too long now).

The recipe is for a chilled Elderberry Soup, which I have not tried but which sounds as though it might be a rather flash dinner party starter (assuming that it tastes OK and that your guests aren't amongst the hordes of people who balk at chilled soup). The basic soup looks as though it would freeze well (excluding the dollop of soured cream added at serving, obviously).

Total cost if free crabapples are used for juice - £0.76 for eight, or 9.5p per head

Total cost if commercial apple juice and lemon juice are used instead of crabapples - £0.94 for eight, or 11.75p per head

By the way, the recipe stresses the general healthiness of elderberries - lots of calcium, iron and potassium, not to mention Vitamin A, Vitamin B and Vitamin C...


Chilled elderberry soup
(serves 8)

Ingredients:
1 litre ripe elderberries (free)
1 litre water (free)
1/2 tsp cinnamon [(£0.01 estimated, but original recipe suggests 2.5 cm of cinnamon stick, which would be dearer)
4 cloves (£0.01 estimated)
1 large lemon, sliced (£0.28)
570 ml unsweetened crabapple juice (Free if you can find crabapples and can juice them! Or substitute 280 ml budget apple juice (£0.16) mixed with 280 ml water (free) and 1 tbsp lemon juice (£0.02 from a bottle), and reduce the amount of sugar added later in the recipe)
75 g to 150 g sugar, to taste (or much less if using commercial apple juice) (£0.06 for 75g)
1 tsp arrowroot (£0.01 estimated)
2 tbsp cold water (free)
lemon juice (to taste)
120 ml soured cream (£0.38)
nutmeg (£0.01 estimated)

Method:
1. Rinse the berries. Put them in a saucepan with the cinnamon, cloves and sliced lemon. Simmer for 40 minutes.

2. Force as much of the mixture as possible through a sieve, into another saucepan.

3. Make up the soup to 2.3 litres with the crabapple juice (or the apple-and-water mixture).

4. Re-heat and sweeten to taste, stirring well.

5. Mix the arrowroot with the cold water and stir into the soup, simmering until the mixture thickens.

6. Taste, and adjust the seasoning with more sugar or lemon juice if required.

7. Cool, and chill for at least four hours.

8. To serve - pour into eight chilled bowls, and decorate each one with a tablespoonful of soured cream and a dusting of ground nutmeg.

sammy_kaye18

Avocet wrote: »

might be of interest to those of you who have (a) correctly identified an elder tree.

I can just about correctly identify bleeding bramble berries let alone an elderberry tree!! i know its white star shaped flowers but that could be anythign over here in port talbot!

On an off note - some of the blackberries over here in port talbot are already ripe and a lovely deep black shade - think i will be out foraging with my littlie next week to keep a nice stock in the freezer. I have 3 patches to 'hit' so should get enough for a crumble i think on monday. may bring them home to freeze them though then take up mother in laws as she is really good at pies etc

anyone know how i clean them?? is it as simple as in a bowl in the sink with clean water??

Lesley_Gaye

annie123 wrote: »

I do a monthly thread there http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1060475 and I'm never frosty:D

I have noticed a lack of use of the thanks button from people that ask questions get good answers and never thank anyone and that never happens here.
but do pop over and see me

OK, thanks, I'll be over

shaz_mum_of__2

Found an oatcake recipe for those who were looking

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usrecipes/oatcakes/index.html

not made them though ,i like the celery biscuits our organic farm shop sells at christmas though

Mrs Mc - will stop wirretting about my BNS now ...................i do have 2 pumpkins the size of footballs which are turning yellow and getting about 8 - 12courgettes a day!! as well as lettuce and still got new potatoes to eat also getting 1lb a day runner beans wish the tomatoes(green) and cues(tiny) would hurry up though

been planting out pak choi,chard,purple sprouting broccoli and chinese cabbage today - hubby organising protection as we speak bless him

i really should pop over to the green fingered board ....................link anyone??

shaz

ceridwen

Quick thought - re the "posh" coffeeplaces filling an insulated mug - errr...they will also fill a flask. Leastways - I've been into one before now with a mini-flask and asked for my takeaway coffee in that purlease. The guy didnt bat an eyelid - I was a bit worried, but didnt want to take my coffee in a disposable cup anyways (never mind the fact that I was planning on drinking it during a bit of environmental campaigning - so HARDLY appropriate ).

BASHFUL_2

thanks everyone for all your lovely ideas for stale bread....all really helpful! And I will definately be trying the prawn crackers....my OH's mum lives in Leyton and apparently there are lots of chinese supermarkets there....so I'll be stocking up!!!!!!

angchris

for those of you looking for uber cheap meals here is my fav at the moment i cooked it up tonight so thought i`d share....next time you go to your local butchers ask for lamb breast, my local butcher charged me the princely sum of 12p...yes just 12 pence per breast :eek: now both oh and i love lamb but can rarely afford it as a joint is expensive (we try to live on £100 a month food for 3)
the breast is a hardly used cut of meat as if you slice between the ribs theres not enough meat to make chops etc and too much work for the butcher to make it profitable so most people hardly know about it just choosing to stick to the old favourites. anyway what you will come away from the butchers with is about 2 foot long and 6 inches high and has several lamb ribs running through it and a layer of fat over it.
place the whole breast in the slow cooker with a slug of water and leave it to do its thing on low all day, the house starts to smell divine :drool: when you are ready fish it out and leave it to cool for a bit and you should be able to just peel the layer of fat off and the bones will just slide out when pulled, you need to get stuck in there for 5 mins sorting out the edible from the fat (no worse than getting chicken off a cooked bird) but you should come away with a plateful of meat which is certainly enough to make a good meal for us 3 piggys and theres also a huge plateful of scraps which my rottie wolfs down like its xmas. i`ve popped my lamb meat in the fridge covered in tin foil ready for tomorrows tea, its perfect for doing things like special fried rice or lamb curry, shepherds pie, irish stew and meals like that.
for 12 pence a breast you can`t beat the price and for 5 mins of your time you have a really delish meal for next to nothing :j :money: