The Crumpet family's journey to Mortgage Freedom:-)

Crumpets

Vegan halloumi recipe

Ingredients

80g cashews
125ml water
1.5 tbsp tapioca flour
1.5 tbsp olive oil
0.5 tsp cheese salt
0.5 tsp agar

Method

1. soak cashews for approx 8 hours
2. Drain cashews and rinse with water
3. Blend cashews in food processor and add the remaining ingredients
4. Blend until a thick paste is formed
5. Pour mix into a non stick pan and heat to 60 degrees C on a low heat. It is important to stir continuously
6. When the temp reaches 60 degrees the mixture will thicken. stir on the heat and heat for a further 1-2 minutes
7. Pour mixture into a flat tray and leave in the fridge to set for a further 8 hours
8. Remove from tray, cut into thin slices and pan fry until golden brown

Crumpets

Bleugh I've been feeling rotten all week so far, a nasty cold combined with hay fever I'm hopefully over the worst of it now but I'm having a quiet day at home today to rest and recuperate. I have a head, neck and shoulders massage booked in for this afternoon which will be perfect. I'm using money I got for my birthday to pay for this:T

We've had a couple of MS wins this week. After our trip to zizzi's last week, dd2 has won us a £100 voucher, after winning their drawing and colouring competition :T:T We can have a lovely meal out for that in the summer holidays We also received a free bottle of the new robinsons squash with our milk delivery this morning, happy days

All my ebay parcels have now been paid for so I need to make another trip to the post office. Unfortunately our local one has closed until new people take over so it means a little more travelling. The car boot box is now beginning to over flow so DH and I need to choose a date and bite the bullet and do one...the thought fills me with dread though:o

Crumpets

Well I've been AWOL! I couldn't find my diary it had been that long since I updated I had two weeks of being ill and then a week to catch up on all the chores I didn't do whilst I was poorly. I've caught up with myself now though so I'm back on track.

MFW ways are still going well, We had a spendy weekend as we went to see the Foo Fighters in London on Saturday night (which was awesome!) We spent nearly £50 on 4 beers and some food though :eek::eek: No regrets though, it was worth every penny :beer:

I've been getting on with jobs in the garden, painting fences and staining the kids climbing frame. We already had all the stuff though so the only cost to me was my time :T I have 3 wooden garden chairs which are next on my hit list for sprucing up. I'm hoping I have enough paint to do them, as I really don't want to buy any. I don't mind if they match so I will ask on freecycle for some if I run out.

I also have my selling mojo back, I sold some disney soft toys on FB for £10 and I have 3 items finishing in the Bay today. One item has a bid already :T I want to buy the kids a new wardrobe so some of my earnings will be going towards that but any left over will be sent straight to the mortgage. It feels like I haven't made an OP for ages I've also been clearing stuff from the garage (which needs demolishing before it collapses :cool:) Some has gone on freecycle and some to the tip (:() Still loads to go, most of it is random bits of wood/ pipes/wires etc which was left by the previous owners :mad:

It is soo hot today, it feels too hot to do anything, I've vacuumed and mopped the kitchen and I'm pooped now DD1 has been away for a few days so I'm going to enjoy my last day of freedom before she comes home this afternoon - not sure what I'll do yet. I may just sit outside and read my book

Crumpets

Well 2 out of 3 ebay items sold yesterday and have both been shipped :T I have £30 to OP now but I want to put the cash in the bank first before it gets frittered away Sadly my high value item (church pew) didn't sell. I've relisted it on a 3 day auction and if it doesn't go this time we might investigate using an actual auction house. I really want it gone but don't want to give it away as it really is a lovely piece of furniture now its been sanded and waxed.

I also got started with sprucing up my garden chairs yesterday, I found the dregs of a tin of country cream in the garage so one chair is painted and one empty tin to go to the tip. I have a tin of anthracite coloured paint to use up on the next one The chairs are really old so hopefully this will keep them useable for while longer.

Today I have booked and paid for a short holiday in August, we're going to an eco community in Wales where workshops are provided for adults and children to learn about living an eco lifestyle and living from the land. I'm really looking forward to it :T DD1 has bailed out though- she's not out doorsy at all :rotfl:

Skiing and snowboarding lessons for dd1 and I today, paid for ages ago, so just £2.75 spent on cold drinks afterwards. Boot camp for me tonight which is £3. I've lost 5lb recently so I'm really trying to keep up my good work. :A:T

I've just cooked chicken curry for the children's meal. I used half a jar of korma sauce and have frozen the rest, hopefully it will be fine as I've never frozen just the sauce before:o Not sure what dh and I will eat, I quite fancy bruschetta, with nice pickles etc and a gin and tonic...we'll see though

themadvix

Sorry to hear you've been ill Crumpets!

The garden furniture sounds like it will be a funky eclectic mix - very cool! I really need to break out some paint for our garden bench (a donation from our neighbours ) - it needs a refresh!

The holiday sounds fab - is that at CAT?

Crumpets

Hi Madvix, thanks for dropping by, I've totally lost track of everyone's diary, will try and catch up on yours. The holiday is at Lammas, have you heard of it? We're going with some friends who told us about it. I'm just worried that I might not want to come home :rotfl:

I've made a £30 OP today :T feels like absolutely ages since I last made one. I also cancelled the direct debit for ds's karate class as he's decided he doesn't want to go anymore It will mean a few extra pounds to spend on fun stuff over the holidays though.

We have the school end of term family party today, £12 for the ticket (incl food) plus we will need to buy drinks there. Should be a fun night though. I also need to give £10 towards an end of year present for ds's teacher. He's had her for 2 years and she's amazing. I'm more than happy to contribute as we all love her and will miss her.

I've been looking at holidays for next year :cool: we want to go abroad and I really want to get fights booked before prices start to go up. They seem pretty reasonable at the moment for long haul. We know what country we want to go to but deciding where abouts is proving difficult (because it's bloomin massive :rotfl:) I'm getting excited though as it's somewhere I've always wanted to go. This will probably have an effect on OP's for a few months but we have to live too

themadvix

Ooh, yes, I've heard of Lammas - that will be lovely and I don't think I'd want to leave either! They're quite permaculture oriented aren't they? (I might be confusing there with somewhere else though!)

Definitely have to live too.... That's my justification for the two trips week need to book/plan this week!

Crumpets

Hi MV, to be honest I don't know much about Lammas...yet. Can't wait to find out more

Well it looks like a destination has been decided on now, so the next thing is to book our flights. On the look out for good deals now :T:D

The weekend was another busy one with parties, watersports, swimming lessons and a barbecue. It was really nice and not particularly spendy. I only had to buy a birthday gift, and paid £15 to hire pedalo

I sold another item on Fb so £5 in the OP pot, I've also given a vacuum cleaner away on freecycle...more stuff leaving the house :T I'm very grateful to see the back of this one though, me and vacuums don't seem to get on very well :mad:

I've cancelled the milkman for the rest of the week, the kids just don't seem to be using it at the moment, maybe it's the heat? It looks like we'll be having pancakes this week to use it all up (shame :rotfl:)

I've been so tired today, the heat is disturbing the children at night - which means I get a disturbed night. I fell asleep on the sofa this morning - Oops Still managed to get everything done though, including boot camp :T

DH has been in London today, and has just stopped for some dinner before heading home. He just noticing a sign in the restaurant saying minimum card spend is £20! :eek::eek: I hope he brings some leftovers home with him :rotfl:

Mortgage and regular OP have gone out today, I'll give it a couple of days and check the balance :money:

julicorn

I only just saw that you posted the recipe! How on earth did I overlook that? Thank you so much, I'll try it soon and report back :heart2:

Congratulations on the overpayments as well, and on getting rid of stuff

Crumpets

Ha ha, no worries Julicorn