go back to days of yore

cathy_3

Steve   COngratualtions!!  listen, if you have 3 you  might as well have 4,   they fit in  just like you and I did, ;D
the best plan is to sit and write out a weeks menus

breakfast   lunch  dinner   supper

and each day of the week  you have the same thing

when I was a gal,  thats the way it was   you knew on wednesday it was egg and chips  etc etc

then write out your shopping list for the week  

gradually you will not need to buy the same things each week as youll get a bit of a stock going on   so some weeks will be cheaper than others

if your list comes to  say £45   then when you go to the shops,  take £50  only  that way  you dont impulse buy and your a lot more careful with the cash,

put your menu on the fridge door and each day  you know what your having

ie   egg and chips and beans (tesco saver beans are just as good as heinz  honest)

half a pound of mince mixed with a cup of cooked lentils together    a chopped onion and a beaten egg make lovely burgers  and youll get enough for all of you

cant get easier than pancakes to make  with some cheapo ice cream for afters  

you can also make scotch pancakes (just as easy) for a snack

if you can get a booker card or makro   buy their scone mix and sponge mix  etc for cake making   you just add water  and theyre lovely

when you finish with a chicken  boil the carcass in seasoned water for about 15 mins then simmer for a couple of hours   strain it  then add a bag of mixed veg or casserole mix (45p  farmfoods) and a couple of chicken stock cubes   a handful of barley  a few diced spuds  and voila  a pan of  soup  ;D

I could go on for hours   sorry  ;D

but  apart from making the new offspring its own hemp trainers  :o  this could actually be the reason you save a lot more money rather than it cost you




the book I use is called "we'll eat again" you might get it on amazon

good luck and pm me if you need any more motherly advice cos nobody around here (home) takes a blind bit of notice of me so I'd be delighted ;D

Tim_L

Can't beat the classic "Food for free", either, which I guess can be found at https://www.abebooks.co.uk - this goes through everything you can find in the hedgerows and fields.

(And yes, I have eaten nettles, and yes they are OK*!).

Just on a train of thought (this time being 'dig for victory'), it's amazing what you can grow to eat even in a very limited space in a small town garden or even window box, for example:


- Courgettes/Tumbling Tom tomatoes in hanging baskets, window boxes, and so on.

- Potatoes in a stack of old tyres (add tyres as the plant grows which works like earthing up and increases yield).

- Grow runner beans in troughs intermingled with sweet peas. I plant herbs around them too.

- Globe artichokes are both decorative and delicious.

- Radishes grow almost anywhere in between plants, and grow very quickly too.


(*Not recommended in salad though)

cathy_3

http://www.passionateaboutfood.net/how_to.htm


this is an exellent site

ooo spuds in old tyres will try that one

ta

16011996

not got any good books to tell about, but would suggest the following when cooking (taught my partner how and he quite good now) Take your time, don't rush and never cook anything on a high heat so you never find its burnt.

Cheap meals we have are par boiled potatoes made in a casserole with value beans and value sausages (chopped lengthways in half), bunged in the oven for 25 mins. (My kids love this, beyond me why). Also for any stews or anything your making pearl barley or lentils are great to bulk it up and pearl barley is good for the memory allegedly.

System

THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL THE ADVICE IT HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP I'M GOING TO TRY EVERY ONE OF THESE IDEAS AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW I GET ON. ;D

Tim_L

Inspired by all this, I just nipped out into the hedge for a handful of cow parsley to sprinkle onto the vegetables we were having for tea. Really delicious with a very subtle, almost piney flavour, similar to chervil.

cathy_3

at the risk of showing my common-ness

whats chervil

come to think of it

whats cow parsley
??? ??? ???

Tim_L

Cow parsley is one of the easiest weeds to spot in hedgerows - it's a tall plant with small white flowers (flowering at the moment), and, err, sort of chervil shaped leaves. It gets bland and then a bit bitter as the plant ages, so now is not a bad time to find some.

See http://www.fishing-in-wales.com/wildlife/plants/spring/cowparsl.htm
and

http://www.oranssi.com/tsogy/01072003.html

Ideally you want to find some away from a main road, and find tall plants. There are two reasons for this: firstly there are shorter, stubbier, plants that can be taken for Cow Parsley, including (I think) hemlock And secondly, there is a limit to the height dogs and foxs can p*ss...

cathy_3

is that what we used to call the Onion plant?? wouldnt think i once lived on a farm would you??

also dont eat stuff from the roadside as its full of lead off the exhaust fumes

thanks for the info love learning new stuff

16011996

Spent an interesting couple of hours outside the pub with an elderly couple who live near me. They had loads of top tips for not wasting anything so thought I would post a few. When boiling eggs to shell and eat cold, make sure they are room temp before cooking to make the shell come off easier, and half the white isn't stck to the shell. Don't throw away the shell, sprinkle around plants to keep slugs and snails off as they don't like crawling on it, and to give the ground nutrients from the shell. Never peel carrots, parsnips, any veg like that as the goodnes is all under the skin, just scrub and cook. Rub a banana skin on dry skin on feet, apparenlty works wonders. Keep chocolate in the freezer in small pieces, as it will be harder to eat and you'll want less. Always have a glass of water with a meal, as you will feel fuller and eat less, therefore saving money as in time you will cook less so your not thowing it away. Use stale bread to make croutons, fry in bit of butter or oil till crisp, and seal in airtight container, if you like it crush some garlic in the butter/oil to flavour.Get a zester and scape the zest off oranges, lemons and lime, freeze then sprinkle over ice cream, or use to flavour other things (i like lime zest in curry, gives it a lovely tang) also if citrus fruits are going of, squeeze the juice and freeze. Always buy any cheap herbs near closing time in the supemarket, freeze and use in cooking, far cheaper than jars, and nicer too apparently. Use old (clean!!) socks for dusting, sports ones are best for picking up dust. Can't remember anymore, but she says she made ends meet by being thrifty, and she has a note book with some cheap but healthy meals in she's going to let me borrow so if any are any cop i'll let you know.