Living on next to nought - is that the key?

rtandon27

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

...If I've got this right - what your 'neighbours' call a 'bum-bag' had me in hysterics the first time I ever heard it...... it got compounded when I was in a vehicle with an 'mature gentleman' and his wife and he wanted to get into a parking space which a lady was dawdling past - he perfectly straight-faced - implored her to move her ***** a little faster...

Aye GP you do have it right - I firmly believe those down south 'neighbours' do say some funny things!

...but then again yours truly has been know to commit quite a few faux pas... Back when I'd first moved here from across the pond, quite a stir was caused in a mostly male working environment when I asked my female co-worker what she thought of my new velvet 'pants' - she told very firmly that under no circumstances was I to refer to my pants in any context, let alone velvet! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Your planned dinner sounds lovely as always! How do you make your harira - do you use preserved lemon in it? - chickpeas & lentils? - Served up with pita bread or couscous? - It's a great one for chasing away the winter blues - so warming and fragrant!

Greying_Pilgrim

rtandon27 wrote: »

Aye GP you do have it right - I firmly believe those down south 'neighbours' do say some funny things!

...but then again yours truly has been know to commit quite a few faux pas... Back when I'd first moved here from across the pond, quite a stir was caused in a mostly male working environment when I asked my female co-worker what she thought of my new velvet 'pants' - she told very firmly that under no circumstances was I to refer to my pants in any context, let alone velvet! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Your planned dinner sounds lovely as always! How do you make your harira - do you use preserved lemon in it? - chickpeas & lentils? - Served up with pita bread or couscous? - It's a great one for chasing away the winter blues - so warming and fragrant!

Oh, hun - you've just made me laugh - yep, trousers and pants.....:rotfl: And as for knickers...... :rotfl:

Now, see you are crediting me with too much culinary flair - we just had harira by itself tonight (a medium bowl for me - a 'big un' for him). I couldn't be a*sed to make any flatbreads I'm afraid I don't use preserved lemon no, only fresh (if I have it of course). But that is more because I have never got around to buying any/making my own (it is realtively straightforward - albeit a little patience is required)

As you know, harira recipes differ from household to household in the middle east. I don't necessarily think that my recipe is very authentic - but it does taste delish

Thanks for popping in - lovely to *see* you

Greying

dreaming

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Good Evening :hello:
Ah, well. 'tas been a funy old day......
On the whole, it has been great and I feel really blessed. But do you know what dear reader? I am trying very hard not to fall into the foulest of funks. Why? Because yet again a couple of people (in RL) have taken it upon themselves to shove their noses into our lifestyles and query, query query, why we do this? and why don't we do that? and why haven't you got this? and why do you not buy/spend/fritter money like we do? ..........and on, and on, and on.....................
I am trying, ever so hard, not to give into feelings of monumental p*ssedoffness.
Greying

Nah - go on - give in, just for tonight, although "those" sort of people aren't worth the effort in my opinion. When I bought this house 3 years ago I stretched myself but immediately started pinching the pennies to overpay the mortgage and so many people questioned whether it was worth giving up the Starbucks tea, nights out etc. Well, roll on 18 months and they announced the redundancies at work and although I was initially horrified, when I worked out the figures I realised I could use the redundancy to pay off the mortgage AND take early retirement as I had no debts. But then again, I thought THEY were mad as many immediately started having kitchens refitted, and booking holidays on their credit cards against their future redundancy payments. 'orses for courses. But it is annoying when they seem to think they have a right to comment. As long as you and DP are ok with things then stuff them (with chickpeas and sumac if you like).
On the subject of English/English it is not just the difference across continents that causes problems but how language changes over time. When I was working I had 3 meetings one day where the same person kept popping up. In the last meeting the whole room fell about when I said they were "really dogging me today". Someone kindly explained later what it means nowadays.:rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

There's nowt as queer as folks.

As you can imagine our finances and our 'living' arrangements often cause folks grief. These days I relish the fact we are different, as I'm sure you do but when folks just poke it's not fun.

A girl on my course once kept rubbing her bottom and shouting about how cold and sore her 'funny bone' was (I'll let you insert the American word for bum). Took use a week to ask her to stop, some words just don't translate.

Poor lass, never mentioned how cold her nether regions were again. I guess she got use to the Edinburgh weather.......

I'm glad you had some sunshine :-) thanks for pouring some in my life too. Always grateful.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

dreaming wrote: »

But it is annoying when they seem to think they have a right to comment. As long as you and DP are ok with things then stuff them (with chickpeas and sumac if you like).

dreaming - that is just what irks me. Most days I can brush it off, but just occasionally......... And DP and I are in agreement about how we live our lives, well, DP would probably like a larger TV and to have bee tee sporty for the motorcycling.... but apart from that :rotfl:I wouldn't want to waste chickpeas and sumac on 'em, I'd need an awful lot.....

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

These days I relish the fact we are different, as I'm sure you do but when folks just poke it's not fun.

Yes Pippi - exactly, I'm not bothered about the 'Joneses', but you're right it's the 'poking', it's just no fun whatsoever.

So, today is a new day. Let us hope that folks have found some other wingnut to worry off a whatnot........

I'm going to aim for a NSD. I could get the TV listings guide, but I think I'll wait and see if I need bananas in a day or two and do combined purchasing.

Dinner this evening is going to be a 'new to me' recipe. Again, I am looking forward to it I'm pretty sure that I have all the ingredients, but i'll do a quick check just now.

Thank you dreaming and Pippi - and to readers and lurkers - your support means an awful lot. As does MSE, where we understand why we do what we do. The real world just hasn't caught up. And as I said, most of the time I can shirk off such attitudes. And I really wouldn't mind if they were paragons of financial acumen themselves - in fact, I'd have the gumption to ask them for some hints and tips....... however.........;)

I continue to be appreciative of your support

See y'all later.

Greying

Karmacat

Aw, sweetie, I'm glad there were some of our peeps online at the same time as you :kisses3: to offset others' rudeness.

Isn't it odd about mse? The click when we gel with some people is sort of audible :rotfl: and although I'm debt free, I've never found anywhere as rounded as mse - I belong to a couple of other forums, of course, but one thing that makes a difference on mse is that its *so* big, you can find a corner to congregate - in this case, with you and Pippi and kissjenn in the diaries section - and all is right with the world.

So *I* am grateful that *you* are here, Greying, very grateful. And I'm grateful that you share your passion and unconventionality with us here, because I think we're all like that, or want to be :T, each in our own way.

dreaming

Karmacat wrote: »

Isn't it odd about mse? The click when we gel with some people is sort of audible :rotfl: and although I'm debt free, I've never found anywhere as rounded as mse - I belong to a couple of other forums, of course, but one thing that makes a difference on mse is that its *so* big, you can find a corner to congregate - in this case, with you and Pippi and kissjenn in the diaries section - and all is right with the world.

So *I* am grateful that *you* are here, Greying, very grateful. And I'm grateful that you share your passion and unconventionality with us here, because I think we're all like that, or want to be :T, each in our own way.

Well said Karmacat. I was talking about the MSE site one day and someone asked me why I bothered as I have no debt. But it is precisely because I read this site that I can make my limited budget work so well, and learn new things.
Although I am still working my way through my stores from pre-Christmas I am looking forward to trying out some of the recipes which GP so generously shares. So in the next couple of weeks I will start to look at the meal plan for February and work in some meat free days.

EssexHebridean

*waves* Sorry to hear about folk with long noses and short manners being "poky" Greying. The other two in my office do that occasionally, although thankfully more in a curious way than anything else...there was a conversation in here yesterday about shopping, and one of them said "Ugh, no, I mean, I wouldn't shop at Lidl or anything!" - and I thought just how ridiculous that was. There's food I wouldn't buy in those grocery emporiums beginning with T, W, and M and S, it's all about sorting through what works for you - yet some folk seem to think if it comes from a particular place that THEY consider to be "better" then it's all OK.... :mad:

Double-figures on NSD's is excellent - we're not even halfway through the month yet! Things keep conspiring against mine....

Dreaming - what you said about picking up new things from here really resonated with me - it's exactly that isn't it, and the feeling of "togetherness" I guess. :T

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Visitors, how luverly

Karma - you do leave the kindest of comments - thank you so very much

dreaming wrote: »

But it is precisely because I read this site that I can make my limited budget work so well, and learn new things.

Hear, hear, well said dreaming - and the day that I stop learning new things, then anyone has my full permission to *NAIL THE LID DOWN!* :rotfl:

Oh EH - I cannot do with snobbery of any form, actual, inverted, perverted - I dinnae care. We came into the world with nowt and we leave with nowt. End of. I've found some fab bargains in L*dl/Ald* and some fab bargains in mrW and some fab stuff and some dross at all places in between. How I agree, with *it's what works for you* not where you have to be *seen* to shop etc.

Thank you as ever for such supportive comments. You can't know how much it gladdens my heart to know that it's not just DP and I that think happiness isn't a shop bought commodity - (I think Rhonda Jean gets the credit for that saying....)

Anyway, today has been fine and I am perfectly chipper - as is DP

And I can claim another NSD :j I could of ruined it by buying chopped tomatoes for the dish for dinner this evening, but as it was, I am glad that I dithered, as the weather got so cold this afternoon that when I got in, I just knew that we needed something warming to eat. So to that end, I cooked up a batch of green lentil and kidney bean chilli and the new dish can wait for another day, or until I have some chopped tomatoes

Dinner is here;



Um, not too sure how informative this pic is.... But the chilli (no recipe as such) was onion, celery and garlic chopped up and fried in oil. Pre-cook the lentils (I use *puy* type little green ones, but most types work in this dish) and then add them into the onion mix. Add paprika, cumin and any chilli that you might use at this stage - I chopped up some of the sweet & sour chillies I had left and added them along with a little of their juice. Add in a box of passata and let it cook away a while. Add in a tin of red kidney beans and add a little water if necessary. Stir. I then took some of the last of the dark chocolate that I'd got on special for 17p from L*dl - and, dear reader, some of it even made it into the chilli In addition, I added in some dried oregano, a tsp of chipotle chilli powder, salt, pepper and I tried an experiment, using a little of the Ajwain seed that I have. It is worth being *light-handed* with the ajwain, as it is laden with thymol - the essential oil of the thyme family, and if you overdo it, you get the *mouthwash* effect :eek: But I have to say, it added the most wonderful *savouriness* to the chilli - something that is sometimes difficult to achieve in veggie cooking, and yet is often so *easily* found in a meat cookery. It's probably due to the Umami properties of thymol or something...... says Greying, trying lesson one in cooking bluffology (use terminology....) :rotfl:After adding in these herbs/seasonings, I stirred, tasted - it was ok at this point, turned off the heat and let it sit a while. The longer you leave it the better, but I think we managed 20 minutes :rotfl:

I topped the chilli with a little HM yoghurt with a sprinkling of oregano over the top and served with a portion of basmati rice. Lovely and warming, and just what was needed

I am beginning to know how Pippi's mrRG feels about her *media hubby*, GuyF - DP has really taken to watching Anna Ols0n on f00d nettwerk, and was filling me in that Anna, was; preparing cheddar filled beef and pork burgers for Tina & Bob, who were coming round for supper after letting Anna plunder their garden for produce to can and pickle..........*sigh* :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

for substitution - and that my store cupboard had all I needed

for meeting someone new* and having an intelligent chat with them - very nice (*all above board, nothing salacious )

for the support of the community - in this case, the MSE online community

Thank you so much for popping by, reading and commenting. I greatly appreciate it.

Right, I'm away to top up my NSD's figs :j

See y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Just a quickie from me this morning

I'm not too sure whether to have my spendy day today or tomorrow..... After all, we've bananas for one more day and won't need any additional ingredients for dinner.....mmmm. See how the time goes I reckon.

Dinner this evening will be Greek casserole and I am going to make it with 'Feta' this evening - I sometimes make it with boiled egg/omelette strips, but I have some greek salad cheese that was on special offer in mrT's, so we'll go with that

Right, best get up and at 'em I guess. Have a great day, whatever you are up to - I intend to

Thanks for popping in, reading and commenting. You know that I appreciate it.

See y'all later.

Greying