May 2012 Grocery Challenge

Suffolk_lass

fozziebeartoo - happy birthday to both the fozzettes - their birthdays are either side of my DS who will be 20 tomorrow. He asked me last night if I remembered having him and I was able to say that I'd already started to do so 20 years ago and I could remember a bit...:eek:

More to the point today :eek::eek: I've totally blown it this month. A total of £521.47 against my usual £400 target. I have been v busy but I have definitely reverted to my siege mentality as freezers and cupboards are back to their 2011 state - stuffed to bursting. I feel rather ashamed but I know my veg crops are growing well so that aspect should drop in due course and I could live for weeks without buying more than fresh milk, veg and fruit.

My target is £5000 for the year so I must rein in my spending or there will be a very basic Christmas. I will stick with my £400 for June (already over there) but must turn off the complacency switch.

Well done for trying to everyone, even those of us that got it wrong this month
SL

meg72

iQueen wrote: »

I was taught to bake bread at school, erm, in the late 50s. We used bog-standard plain flour. I've never used Strong flour. I always make it by hand - don't believe in unnecessary, electricity-guzzling gadgets!

The wholemeal turned out to be the best ever too! Mr M's bog-standard wholemeal flour. Made 2 Farmhouse batch loaves, and just finished the first, for lunch. (Must get a grip, or I'll be putting on weight! :eek:)

Proper breadmaking certainly stops bloating/heartburn. :T


Recipe: 1lb flour, 1/2 teaspn salt, 1 1/2 oz butter/lard, 1 teaspn of sugar, 1/2 oz of fresh (Mr M's) yeast, about 1/2pt+ of tepid milk and water, mixed.

Crumble the yeast into a small bowl, add the sugar and mix with a teaspoon until liquid. Mix in half the tepid milk and water. Leave in a warm place until frothy.

Oil and lightly flour (tapping off the excess) a large baking tray.

In a large mixing bowl, rub the fat into the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre, and pour in the frothy yeast mixture. Cover the liquid by sprinkling flour from edges. Leave for 15 mins to sponge.

Mix the yeast and flour together (with your hand or a wooden spoon), adding more tepid liquid, as needed, to make a soft, not too sticky, dough.

Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes, producing a soft, elastic consistency.

Lightly oil the inside of the bowl and the outside of the dough and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover top of bowl with cling-film. Leave in a warm place until the the dough has doubled in size.

Knock back the dough by tipping onto the well-floured surface again and kneading for 4 mins, Shape into 2 loaves and make light diagonal cuts across the tops. Place on the baking tray. Drape cling-film lightly over the loaves and leave in a warm place to prove for 45-ish mins, until double in size.

Place tray in the cold oven! Turn on oven and set at 230 deg C/450 deg F/ Mark 8. When temp is reached, cook for 10 mins, then turn down to 200 deg C/400 deg F/ Mark 6. Check done-ness after 20 mins or so, by tapping the bottom of each loaf - if it sounds hollow, it is done. Place on a rack to cool.

Try to wait 10 mins before slicing and buttering!

Have I read this right? you put your bread into a cold oven, I
was always taught that the oven had to be hot.

Coxy11

Hi everyone,

All this talk of breadmaking is making me peckish! I don't think I could trust myself to have a BM or make it by hand - too dangerous :rotfl:

My Dad is over from Cyprus and visited me today. I took him to the local cafe for lunch (my treat from another budget). He had liver and bacon - there is no way I would ever cook that - and I had a delicious tuna sandwich.

We then we to MrT and got some nice salad bits and pizzas for a quick tea - he paid - so I can declare today an NSD :T

I made a batch of choc chip cookies which we had for pudding.

I'm still here until 31st May. Hoping I'm not alone

System

Coxy11 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I'm still here until 31st May. Hoping I'm not alone

I'm still here! I don't get paid until Thursday so I'm hanging on... :rotfl:
I nearly had my first nsd but DD offered to get some milk while she was out and we always need milk so that was £2 gone and some more freezer tetris when we got home :rotfl:
Had our dinner from the freezer it's so muggy here I couldn't face cooking. I do keep looking at all these pictures of herby bread though and thinking it looks delicious! I used to make soda bread with bacon & cheese & sweetcorn in when the kids were small, it was lovely fresh with butter on... I'm getting hungry again!
Rx

NickJW

Hi All

2 more days to go (I get paid on Friday)!

It was very nearly a NSD - I had my salmon salad for lunch - was delicious - even better 'mashed together' than it was with salmon and salad separate on a plate!

Dinner is still sausages, potato salad, rosti and broccoli

HOWEVER, because the air con was broken at work I succumbed to a can of Diet coke - 59p. My throat was dry so bought a pack of chewing gum - 65p :eek: and fancied sweet chilli sauce with dinner tonight so £1.20 at Co-op

So...£.2.44 to add to total

Teatime

Hi Everyone,

I'm still here til the very end of May too but I am declaring my total now as I won't be buying anything else this month (too optimistic?).

Spent £262/£250. I'm quite pleased with it, though, as it is far less than we would have previously spent and isn't too far over. Planning to get it within the £250 this month although the obvious challenge is that our stores are seriously depleted with being so frugal last month. Will be a fun challenge, though.

MrsCD

fozziebeartoo wrote: »

My baby DD has her 20th birthday today :j

Took her and DGS out for breakfast as a treat - £13.15 in Wetherspoons.

Spent £3.18 in Tesco Express on Pepsi Max and then £8.15 in Lidl on 2 kilos of greek yog (one for DD), flowers, granola.

Signature updated.

So had breakfast out, have LO HM pizza for lunch or tea, depending on when I am hungry.

My other DD will have her 22nd birthday in 2 days, so more spendy days to come for me before I get to the end of the month

I'm 'officially' on the June thread, but keep popping back to see people who are still over here
Happy birthday (rather belatedly!) to both 'little' fozziebears.
Where does the time go.....

Mrs_Cookie

rosyq wrote: »

I nearly had my first nsd but DD offered to get some milk while she was out and we always need milk so that was £2 gone and some more freezer tetris when we got home :rotfl:

LOL Rosyq your freezer tetris line didn't half make me laugh, I've been playing that game for years just didn't know that's what it was called! :rotfl:

fozziebeartoo

Thank you for the birthday wishes to my DD's - much appreciated!! It was very MSE when they were tiddlers, with one born on the 29th and one on the 31st, we always opted for a combined birthday party on the 30th

I went back out for a 2nd time yesterday (very unusual for me) but I wanted to get back on the dating-horse before I chickened out completely

The Coop had 3 x Blue Dragon stir fry sauces for £1.00 which seemed good so £1.00 spent there. Tesco Express had packs of tortilla wraps for 63p which seemed less than last time I got any, so had the last 3 packs of them, some BOGOF Uncle Bens rice (have tried the cheap stuff but just dont enjoy it) and some full price :eek: strawberries.

Will have greek yog and strawberries for brekkie.

The rest of the day I am not sure about.

I was thinking today would be a NSD but forgot I am having a girlie evening out with friends so I will need to confess those spends tomorrow.

Btw I am here till the 31st too.......it gets a bit lonesome by the end of the month, doesnt it??? :rotfl:

bikelesschick

I haven't been following the thread due to lack of time but have been keeping track of spending and I'm glad to be declaring £199.87 for May.

I hadn't added shopping up for the past few days and only realised how close I was until I added everything up a few minutes ago. So I'm having a go at having a second purse in June.

See you all in the June thread!