£300 -6 months shopping list help needed

mum_of_4

sandraroffey wrote: »

jamie olivers 'fantastic fish pie' is the best!! i make it using whatever fish i have to hand but i find that always adding a bit of smoked haddock makes it even better. and lots of veggies in it as well. and never mind spending the change on a big bottle of multi vits - you've more than earned a very large bottle of wine!!!!! do so envy you; that is one hell of a shop and so carefully planned as well. bet you make all your own preserves as well??? thought so!!!!! great stuff.xxxx

Is the recipe online or in one of his books?

sandraroffey

regarding the jamie olivers fish pie, i suppose what i do really is use the recipe as a basis then jig it about to suit me so really, it ends up not a lot like his recipe at all!!!:rotfl:it is in a book, return of the naked chef i think, but i have also found it on line. i just googled it and up it popped.

sandraroffey

what you are doing now, is what lots of people wanted to do in the 70s and 80s; be self sufficient etc. but they were all laughed at and thought of as weird and hippy. now, its an essential way of life if we are to survive financially. i dont have so much as a garden and not nimble enough to start digging an allotment (11 years waiting list where i live!!) but i buy as cheap as i can and make whatever i can. then the family and grandkids all get a share out. and in return they make me stuff that i love, like lemon cakes (am lousy at cake making but bread?? easy). and bloody good for you. wish i had the chance again to do all that.xxx

mum_of_4

sandraroffey wrote: »

regarding the jamie olivers fish pie, i suppose what i do really is use the recipe as a basis then jig it about to suit me so really, it ends up not a lot like his recipe at all!!!:rotfl:it is in a book, return of the naked chef i think, but i have also found it on line. i just googled it and up it popped.

Great i've got that book at the bottom of a cupboard.

I'm the same, i think that's the key to cooking know a few base recipes that can be adjusted to create any number of different meals.

mummysaver

Maz - well done on your planning and shopping! I thought I tended to stockpile stuff, but you're on a whole different level lol! I'm looking forward to seeing how your challenge goes.

Can I just ask how much time your allotment takes up please? I'm thinking about getting one, but I'm not sure whether I'd be prepared to sacrifice enough time to it.

mum_of_4

mummysaver wrote: »

Maz - well done on your planning and shopping! I thought I tended to stockpile stuff, but you're on a whole different level lol! I'm looking forward to seeing how your challenge goes.

Can I just ask how much time your allotment takes up please? I'm thinking about getting one, but I'm not sure whether I'd be prepared to sacrifice enough time to it.

well i have a full plot which is 220sq metres so a good old size. I also have a 20ftx14ft polytunnel so i can more or less grow year round. (sold cc vouchers on ebay to pay for it)

I spend about 11/2 to 2 hours most week days from April - September and watering at weekends. During the cooler months perhaps 5 hours spread over the week.

Some people just go at weekends and stay a few hours and seem to get it all done. Some people don't dig. I'm inbetween. i try to always plany crops as i harvest to keep the plot full amd then the weeds don't take hold.

Once i realised how much i could save i just saw it as my job. Tip- buy your seeds in the Autumn. Wyvale sell all there seeds at 50p a packet every August bank holiday. this year i got every thing i needed for £15 gift vouchers including 3000 pea seeds, multi packs of sunflowers and beans, cabbage well like i said everything.

dobs

wow i think u must have really green fingers, i'm the same age as you and have an allotment but can't seem togrow much lol! All i get success with are toms, runners, courgettes and broad beans - everything else either doesn't grow or pull it up and its full of holes!

mummysaver

Thanks Maz, not sure I can manage quite that amount of time at the moment, I work nights and need to sleep at least a bit whilst the kids are at school! I think I will see about fitting in a couple more raised beds in the garden though and see how I get on with those. Got 2 already and managed quite a bit from them this year - though I thought the strawberries were rubbish until I realised that the kids and their friends were eating them all, lol!

I can't believe how much you've managed to grow though, that's brilliant. Thanks for the seeds tip, I did grab a whole load of them, just happened to be there by accident rather than design and noticed them all at 50p! Best get myself organised and onto the greenfingers board for some more tips!

mum_of_4

dobs wrote: »

wow i think u must have really green fingers, i'm the same age as you and have an allotment but can't seem togrow much lol! All i get success with are toms, runners, courgettes and broad beans - everything else either doesn't grow or pull it up and its full of holes!

Not when i first started i didn't have a clue. I still amazed at how you stick a seed in the grounf and then it turns into food. I still have my share of failures. Tomato's this year what with blight and my purple sprouting broccoli were a non starter so i will miss having that in the spring. I don't bother with broad beans they take up too much room for too long and then take forever to pod.

I always say you can never have enough beans and peas and they store well.

Well everyone i've split up half of the mince the rest is still in fridge. I've wrapped the chickens and sausages in cling film as extra protection. I put them neatly into the freezer. I've done my freezer list and stuck it to the top of lid so i can cross things off as i use them.

Have now broken into the £200 budget. Picked up some 4 pints of milk £1.53 less 50p coupon £1.03

Beccah_3

I'm a bit of an OS newbie and am soo amazed by all that you're achieving Maz...your family are so lucky!!