Money Fritters 'Enough Now' DFW Diary - Chapter 2

Money_Fritter

If anybody is interested, the cost of the leek and potato soup is 50p per portion and the bread is 37p per quarter, however you could have a smaller piece of bread, I just love a nice chunk that you can break up with your fingers and dip into the creamy soup.

Who said you can't make a nice hearty, nourishing meal for a small cost nowadays!!!

Money Fritter

MrsPorridge

MF - have you tried freezing your jacket spuds? Its what I do - bake in the oven as normal (i usually do half a dozen or so). Let them go cold then wrap in foil individually and freeze. I then take one out the night before and then at lunchtime I just make a cross on the top and put my desired filling/topping on and microwave for a few minutes. Tastes fantastic and much better than just microwaving from raw.

Money_Fritter

MrsPorridge wrote: »

MF - have you tried freezing your jacket spuds? Its what I do - bake in the oven as normal (i usually do half a dozen or so). Let them go cold then wrap in foil individually and freeze. I then take one out the night before and then at lunchtime I just make a cross on the top and put my desired filling/topping on and microwave for a few minutes. Tastes fantastic and much better than just microwaving from raw.

What a great idea, thanks MrsP, I will have to try that

Money Fritter

Money_Fritter

[FONT=&quot]4th January 2013[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Friday has come around quickly this week, especially with it only being a three day week in work. The weather has been mild and has actually been quite pleasant. I just hope we have a decent year and the trend does not continue with all the rain we have had over the last several months, especially if I want to get lots done in the garden and put my plans into motion.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Not a great deal to report today; I managed another NSD, so that is 2 for January. I also managed a PAD of £159 towards one of my visa cards.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For lunch today I had some left-over leek and potato soup from last night, with the remains of the soda bread. For tea we had a simple throw it together meal of scampi and mixed veg, not bad!!![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It’s food shopping tomorrow and I am going to try and go to my local market and get some seasonal fruit and veg and see what dishes I can conjure up from the various cook books I own. I find it hard to do this, as I have always planned my meals. However, I am trying to be more seasonal and this means I need to see what is available and use my imagination. I think, being a chemist, I find this hard, as I always think methodically. So let’s see how I get on!!![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I have a north facing wall in my kitchen, which use to be a pantry. However, the previous owners ripped it out to make the kitchen bigger. This is a shame as I really would have liked a pantry. I have some cupboards on this wall, which are cool, so I might build a rustic wooden veg rack to sit in the cupboard. I use to own a plastic veg rack, a long time ago, but I threw it out. It had no character, no stories to tell. I am a firm believer that items, things, should tell a story. I think I have some spare wood in my outhouse, so I will see what I can knock together.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I hope everybody’s New Year’s resolutions are still going well. I am doing ok, I have done two days of running this week and eaten fairly healthy. I have also gone three days without an alcoholic drink, shock, horror!!!! I always find it more difficult during the weekend to go without a glass of wine or a pint of beer, fingers crossed.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Good luck everyone[/FONT]

Money_Fritter

[FONT=&quot]5th January 2013[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Well today was a good productive day. I got my haircut in the morning, I always find it hard to motivate myself to go to the hairdressers; I just think I could spend my time doing something more interesting. However, when I finally go, normally when I resemble something like a shaggy dog, I do feel good.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Later in the afternoon I took a trip into town and the local market, I had a good wonder around and bought a few vegetables. I bought carrots, swede, parsnip, onions, celeriac and beetroot; all seasonal produce from the UK. The only two items I bought from abroad were a lemon and a butternut squash. I must confess I have never had celeriac, so that should be fun.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]At the butchers I also bought some salami, as I fancied giving that a try; as that is something I have not eaten before.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I then had a good look around homebase, for some ideas for the garden. I then went to Lakeland; I do love that shop. I love kitchen stuff; it’s expensive, but it’s great. I bought some Kilner Jar’s with the airtight flip clip tops; I just thing they are great for general storage and they were on offer!!!![/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]So obviously, I did not manage a NSD today, but I got some good bargains.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I got back home and had a late lunch of cheese and crackers. I love cheese; when I was a kid I would quite happily munch a block of cheese, with nothing else; it always kept me quiet. Tea was a simple bacon and red pepper stir fry; a dish we have quite often on a Saturday night.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]When I go shopping I seem to lose all track of time, so I did not get chance to get any gardening done, as the sun was setting by the time I returned home from the market. All in all, a good day though.[/FONT]

MrsPorridge

MF - I use celeriac mixed with potato - cook both separately and then mash them both together as you would normally do mash. It's an old dieter's trick as there are very few calories in the celeriac so your portion of mash is half the calories it would be if it was just potato!

Money_Fritter

MrsPorridge wrote: »

MF - I use celeriac mixed with potato - cook both separately and then mash them both together as you would normally do mash. It's an old dieter's trick as there are very few calories in the celeriac so your portion of mash is half the calories it would be if it was just potato!

Thanks MrsP, I might try that.

I think I am also going to try some sort of veg roast, I will see what I fancy.

I forgot to say on saturday I tried a weird dessert, I thought it was quite nice, but my gf did not really fancy it. It is called Tumbler Trifle and it is a recipe by Nigel Slater.

You take 1 banana and slice into 2cm chunks and place in a pan containing 400ml of coconut milk, this is brought to the boil and then took off the heat and left with the lid on for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, take 500ml of double cream and whisk until thick and stiff.

Then you get 2 tumbler glasses and you take the banana chunks out of the coconut milk and place in the bottom of each glass. Then you open a tin of peach halves and place half a peach or two in each glass. Then you place a layer of whisked cream in each glass. Finally take 5-6 ginger biscuits and bash them into crumbs and coat the top of each tumbler with the biscuit crumbs. Serve straight away.

What you get is a warm layer of bananas infused with coconut milk at the bottom and then peaches, whisked cream and ginger biscuits an the top. Its not bad.

Money Fritter

Money_Fritter

6th January 2013

I do like Sunday’s, there is just something about them that yell’s RELAX, although we very rarely do in today’s busy world.

When I was a child, Sunday’s were traditional a day were no 24 hour supermarkets existed, only local corner shops were around and people spent time with family, Granddad’s and Dad’s spent time reading the newspaper in the morning, whilst eating breakfast and drinking a nice cup of tea or coffee. Mum’s prepared the ingredients for the traditional Sunday dinner. Kids played in the garden, or if the weather was bad, they would play games indoors. There were no computers or consoles to occupy the kids; it was good old fashion board games, cards and the like. When I was a child I would help out in the garden; I remember when my Nan and Granddad were alive I would rake their garden and help with the weeding, and they would give me some ‘sweet’ money!!! There was a real family spirit and community spirit back then. Also, who could forget the Sunday dinner; crispy roast potatoes, tender carrots and cabbage and last but not least roast chicken topped with gravy!!!!

Nowadays we do live in a completely different world; for starters 24 hour supermarkets are everywhere and lots of local shops and farm shops have gone out of business. The big supermarkets are only closed two days of the year now; Easter Sunday and Christmas day. People work weekends now as well; never stopping, constantly on the move. It may just be me, but people don’t seem to have time to relax and spend time with their families and saviour what they have and what is directly in front of their noses. Instead we seem more interested in what we don’t have and what we want.

Why am I waffling on about this; well another New Year’s target I have set myself is to appreciate my life and what I have already, and to try and lead a more simpler life.

So for breakfast we had scrambled egg on home-made bread, and I read a bit of my newspaper. Then the Christmas tree and decorations had to come down; the house always looks sad and empty when the decorations come down. The hovering and cleaning were done and clothes washed for work. Then I was out in the garden in my outhouse building a wooden veg rack that I mentioned in a previous post. It didn’t cost anything as I had some old wood lying around. For lunch I just had a quick cheese sandwich, before it was back into the garden to carry on with the veg rack. As the sun was setting I came in and we had a nice Sunday dinner; there were no roast potatoes though, just boiled, as I am trying to lose weight!!!!!

All in all a good day relaxing and doing jobs around the house and I also managed another NSD; so that is 3 for the month.

I can honestly say that I got more enjoyment out of making that veg rack than watching the TV or playing on a computer or console, there was an end product, something useful, something I could show people and say ‘I made that’.

Money_Fritter

7th January 2013

Monday is here, and the start of the first full week back in work. Groan!!!!

Actually work was not too bad today and I was reasonably busy with a new project that kicks-off at the end of the month.
I managed a NSD day today again, so that takes it to 4 for January, which I am pleased with. Also I have not had an alcoholic drink for 6 days; I was good over the weekend and didn’t have a single drink. I weighed myself this morning as well, and last week I lost 2.5lbs.

I managed another run when I got in from work; just a couple of miles, but it all adds up. I always find it easier to go for a run in the evening time. I find I have no energy if I go for a run in the morning time, my legs feel like lead!!!

For lunch today I had a simple jacket potato with cheese spread for the filling. This evening I cooked a nice casserole; sausage and salami. It was very nice indeed and very easy to do. Firstly you chop an onion in half, and then chop each half into four pieces and place into a casserole dish with olive oil (2tbsp). The onions are then cooked for 5 minutes. Then a chopped garlic clove is added. Then you take the salami (200g) and remove the skin and chop into bite-size pieces and place into the casserole dish with the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate pan you brown the sausages (4-5) in a little olive oil. Then you place the sausages in the casserole dish along with green or brown lentils (150g) and a tin of chopped tomatoes or passata, along with boiling water (500ml). You then bring the whole mixture to the boil and cover with the lid and simmer gently for 30 minutes. This should give you 4 good size portions. A simple hearty casserole on a dark winter’s night!!!!

Tonight I finalised my seed list and I am now ready to order my supplies; I am starting to get excited. I already have quite a few seeds that I have gotten free with garden magazines. I have the following:-

Spring Onion (Ishikura)
Rocket and wild Rocket
Courgette – All green bush and Zucchini
Tomato – Money-maker, Garden pearl and Garden delight
Lettuce – All the year round
Broccoli – Purple sprouting and autumn green calabrese
Mizuna
Beetroot – Detroit 2, Perfect 3 and Boltardy
Kale – Dwarf green curled
Lettuce leaves – Mixed
Radish – Scarlet Globe
Leek – Autumn mammoth 2 (snowstar)
Carrot – Autumn king 2 and chantenay red cored

So I am going to order the following:-

Garlic – Solvent wight
Onions – Red Baron and Sturon
Runner beans – Wisley magic
Cucumber – Carmen
Mangetout – Oregon sugar pod
Peas – Hurst green shaft
Lettuce – Little gem
Potatoes – Swift
Raspberries – 4 different varieties
Victoria Plum tree
20 Strawberry Runners – Elsantra
Rhubarb collection – 3 crowns
Blueberry – Top Hat
Blackberry – Loch Tay
Blackcurrant – Ben Sarek

I also need to order a couple of apple trees, but I cannot decide which ones to buy yet.

Money_Fritter

8th January 2013

Not a great deal to report today.

Today was certainly not a NSD, I ordered the majority of my seeds for the garden. I debated for some time before completing the order. I started doubting myself, what if I am rubbish? What if the seeds don’t grow? Then I just thought, ‘well you have just got to give it a go, think of it as a learning experience’.

Today for lunch I had some left-over Sausage and Salami casserole. Fantastic!!!

I went for another run tonight, just a couple of miles, but they all add up. Slowly but surely I will increase my pace and distance. I have signed up for a 10k run in April; I have never done one before, but I thought it would help motivate me in my quest to keep fit and hopefully raise some money for a good cause.

Tea tonight was a simple jacket potato with tuna mayo and a sprinkle of cheese. I also cooked some carrots and broccoli to go with it, really getting into this seasonal food lark now!!!