make do and mend for tougher times

Mrs_Chip

Just back from our local coop - went for a packet of dark soft brown sugar (no joy) but came away with 6 x 6 XL FR eggs - down to 56p a box, best before 22 Sept - down from 2.22. So thinking cap on to convert them into lots of different storable goodies!

I'm thinking make some meringues and freeze the yolks, bake some small cakes, make some orange curd as have some hanging about, some ice cream for Xmas (got some cream to use up as well)...

Anything else?

mardatha

Coming down to visit you at xmas mrs C
I meant to say this earlier - one of the vegetable soup recipes in the "Eating for Victory" cook book is awesome. I will make that soup weekly from now on. Few carrots, a leek, couple of tatties, a stock cube and a good handful of porridge oats. It's very thick and as filling as a meal. I like the wartime books because they dont have fancy exotic ingreds ( like courgettes!) in and things are easy to cook.

ginnyknit

OH has just gone to present the trophies at a cricket final so got him to drop me at Mr T for a good look at whats going on, to get some 6p custard and a bit of excercise.

At the door there was a lovely young lady promoting their new scheme to help the rain forest by donating your green clubcard points - great idea me thinks. So wander round and find 539gm's value tomato ketchup in a squeezy bottle at 19p - checked the scanner as I was suprised - yes its right. Lots of empty spaces where the value stuff should be but got a few bits. Feeling pleased with myself I go to checkout, lovely chap chatting away, so I said 'don't forget my green points for my shopping bag on wheels' he went a bit red and said ' I will give you a couple of points but Im so sorry you are only allowed them for ordinary bags, its not me its head office' :mad::mad: I said well I will be e mailing them when I get home and saying how nice you were and that its embarrassing for you to have to point that out, after all bags on wheels are the new black:mad: Also told the young lady doing the promotion she was really annoyed.

Mar why doesnt my soup ever taste good, Ive tried every recipe going. Except mushroom which tastes fab but looks euch and pea and ham which is a staple part of our diet.

2tonsils

Trying to get my head round the fact that we are near the end of summer and need to prepare for the winter. Went to the car boot sale but there was only one stall there today due to the rain storms we keep getting. only good thing is that its still very warm when we do get the sun.

Tightening our healthy food intake up and changing the exercise routine for me to the winter one. Three sessions of intense weight training with either kickboxing or power walking on the mountain instead of swimming. I will be doing the kickboxing practise at home as the lessons are too much money for me this year with all the cutbacks and extra expenses.

when it gets cooler the stew/soup pan will be back on the go, we love hot soup in the cold weather.

Going to sort out my winter/autumn clothes and replace the summer ones in my wardrobe next week. Time to wash all my gloves and scarves ready for wearing them.

Pooky

A bag is a bag is a bag, surely? :mad: Mr T learn your lesson!!

Been "booting" this morning, got my Dads birthday pressie (a collectible figure that he has a few of, boxed and perfect, £1 , the shop label says £49!) Got a gorgeous set of earrings and necklace from a new stall, 50p that will go in DD2s Christmas table stocking (we don't have crackers), 2 t0p shop dresses for DD1, £2 and £1, both fairly current and would have been at least £25 each new. A j@ne n0rman waistcoat for DD1 for 50p and the same make top for DD2 for dance, 25p. :T

DD1 has a job interview on Thursday so the waist coat will come in handy.

Tackling the ironing pile in stages today, have done around half of it but there's 2 loads of washing on the line to catch up with too

Mrs_Chip

Thanks for mentioning that soup Mar, starting to fancy it for lunches, and I must have a proper look through that book for recipes that will suit us (some are just a bit too asterity for me ).

fuddle

MrsC you gotta try those breadbuns! Bloomin' lovely!! Possession I love peach cobbler and EV custard. So easy too.

Family have gone. I despair but won't bore you all with how they annoy the life out of me. Shesh!

I will say (and I love this thread!) that I was telling my sister that Tesco value baked beans were no longer available it seems. Her reply "Ergh, I don't buy cheap sh*te, I buy Branstons!" I replied "Oh, they're in Lidl for £1 aren't they?!" I could see her annoyance when she said "Maybe so, but ours are from Sainsbury's" Snotty mare :rotfl:

Also, my sister went on and on about her house hunting and that her budget goes up to £250K. My mam chirped up "our fuddle would just be pleased to get a terraced house but bless her, she can't even get that" :mad: I am very sensitive and do take things to heart but there's only one way to take that I feel, and yeah I took it as a dig. Back to lying low, back to my happy little life

Opps. I did bore you with the details

Chicken dinner for our tea tonight.

Transferred the blackberry wine to the demijohn. Smells really nice and is such a deep colour

westcoastscot

I've got past my mild panic of yesterday - thankyou for all your sensible suggestions. Was talking to my boys yesterday and they reminded me that we used to eat much more basically, but plentiful, by having soup and a pud every day around our dinners, so going to go back to that to fill the hungry ones. Have pea and mint soup on the go just now - very filling and very cheap, using store-cupboard ingredients. I'm also going to re-prioritise as I have a small craft business that makes a small amount of money - i'm going to either mothball or close it to give me the time to save money on our main income (we share our household budget three ways) and then see what time I have left over after that. I used to make most of our clothes, woollens, grow fruit and veg and bake more, so am going to go back to that first to try and stretch what we have before I look at bringing in more - I'm not convinced that I'm coming out ahead by making things to sell to bring in a little money to spend on things I could have made - if you know what I mean!

Fuddle - ignore them - if buying your own wee home becomes a big priority in the future then you will find a way - if not, then a home is a home when you and your family are in it, wherever and whatever it is. btw is there any news of your new job starting? or have I missed that news?

WCS

Possession

Glad the peach cobbler went down well. It saddens me that your family would say such things but I reckon you paid 'em back with the Branstons beans!! Rise above it if you can.
We've just had our chicken dinner and now i could do with curling up for a nice nap. The children were offered a small financial incentive to get rid of more stuff they didn't need/want and it's amazing what has appeared in a big pile! Just too much stuff in general is our problem. Need to get rid.

Mrs_Chip

Glad they worked out Fuddle! I got sidetracked - made 2.5 kg butter from the cream I had stashed in the fridge, so after wiping down the kitchen :rotfl: did not have time to do the dough. Will make it tonight and leave overnight to prove then make the rolls in the morning.

If your sister is so daft as to look down her nose at you, well there is nothing you can do but know that you are SO much better than to be so petty. Whenever you talk about your Mum and sister I visualised them as the two ugly sisters and you as Cinders - is that bad ?