Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

YAY! Just made it in before the witching hour

Um, yup, in short, fab day, stuffed with dinner and a good meeting with DP and caught 15 minutes of a silly, 'shout at people and look all important' prog on FN..... :rotfl:

mrsinvisible - you keep trying hun. We're kind of doing this because we want to get to somewhere else in life, so perhaps we're a little more frugal than needed - but we're still trying very hard to have fun/enjoy life. Balance is always the key

little_sweetie - bread plaits! Where's the *faints in awe* smilie when you need it???? You're flying hun! Keep going! Oh, and I bet you know this already, but if you can fit it around your schedule, try to make the gu1ness stew one day in advance - the stew improves like anything

And oh, I so wish we could do the same and have a few 'treat' nights, but there is nowhere around here we would want to eat out at You pay the same for a *find us a vegetable in this lake of sauce crispy lasagne* as you do for *half a cow/sheep/pig, plus fries and salad* So not fair.......

Piq - :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: WHAT are you like?? :rotfl::rotfl:

Karma - cardamom - my equivalent of *cat-nip* - love, love, love it

kem 10 - so right about the *day later* - Curry and Pizza too :D

dreaming - MSE rocks huh?

brizzle - is you hinting what I can yak on????? :rotfl::rotfl:

Pippi - I'd opt for the Cajun seasoning (if you are using *prepared* spices). Fajita spice mixes tend to include cumin, it's a popular South American spice...(well, worldwide really....) Failing that, I would opt for paprika (smoked if you have it) and a bit of cinnamon. If you used powdered ginger, you would get the same warmth as cumin provides... just a thought. Good recipe though, the important thing is to make 'em!

Well, I can claim my NSD - not a penny spent I did also forget to get the milk out of the freezer until just now, so it could get interesting in the morning...... :rotfl:

Dinner this evening was 3 bean chilli and rice. Photo here;



As it's not obvious from the photo, the 3 beans were; haricot, aduki and black-eyed. It was the very last of the aduki beans from AF (they were frozen from the last bag I cooked). I thought that I had bought a *pup* as they wouldn't cook conventionally. Thankfully I hadn't thrown them out by the time I got my pressure cooker and it managed to cook them and make them edible, so no pennies lost The haricot were also from AF - I got a couple of 3kg catering bags a while ago - you were limited to 2 per order The B-E beans were from the Asian grocery store.

So, a cheap and nutritious meal. No recipe as such, I just make it the same each time, but vary the beans.

As I use up things from AF it highlights how unlikely I am to bother ordering from them in future. They rarely have anything to tempt me. I have unsubscribed from their daily e-mail. I check occasionally, but I suspect they are going in a different direction with their business plan. They don't seem to have as much wholefood/beans/grains/pulses anymore and a lot of the stuff is in HB for the same price less postage.

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

for sunshine - I hope you got some today. Whilst it lasted, it made the day feel great, really spring-like

for *chats* with DP - I *think* we're on the same page...... :rotfl:

for getting on and decluttering - it's a PITA, I'll admit, but it does cause you to look at things differently and make changes to how you view *stuff*

Thank you so much for popping in, reading and leaving comments on this thread today. I love how helpful and supportive MSE is .... and I'm not the first person to write that today......

See y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Here I am again - have I been away?? :rotfl:

So, today will be a spend day - some bananas and the TV guide.

The milk is still currently frozen solid in the container. *sigh* Not sure this is the way forward for us......

Dinner this evening will be caponata and wet polenta. The caponata is made, I will just need to make up the polenta, which doesn't take long.

Best get up and at 'em.

Thanks for stopping by and reading - mucho, mucho appreciated

See you all later.

Greying

satchmo1

Hi GP, for next time (too late today), put the frozen milk into a jug of water (no, not hot water), and surprisingly it thaws quicker.


For today, shake the container hard and the milk will turn into "slush puppy" consistency. Fine for making porridge, passable in tea/coffee although it tends to taste a bit watery until properly defrosted.


I like the sound of the 3 bean curry, would it work with chick peas as one of the beans?

Piquant_2

satchmo1 wrote: »

Hi GP, for next time (too late today), put the frozen milk into a jug of water (no, not hot water), and surprisingly it thaws quicker.


For today, shake the container hard and the milk will turn into "slush puppy" consistency. Fine for making porridge, passable in tea/coffee although it tends to taste a bit watery until properly defrosted.


I like the sound of the 3 bean curry, would it work with chick peas as one of the beans?

Thank you satchmo :T I'd never thought of putting the frozen milk in water or shaking it Up until now freezing milk had been a bit of a disaster for me hence why I always have an organic long life in the cupboard. I'll try what you suggest next time and I won't have the horrible separated milk that I was getting.

Greying, that three bean chilli looks lovely. I love chilli to top a jacket potato. I always save a little just for that!

kem10

That chilli looks really good.

I'm having a meat night tonight and have Pork which has been marinating in a made up in my head marinade since last night - lots of veggies sitrfried and it will make for a quick tea when I get home late tonight!

We freeze milk at work - the water trick is a good one. Maybe if you make a point of starting to defrost once the milk has reached a certain point. Like at work I take out the next one when the milk reaches the bottom of the label

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Piq - chilli + baked tattie = *snap* :D

satchmo - tip duly noted for next time Ta everso

Mmmm, right, the *theoretical* answer to your question is; yes, chickpeas can be used as one of the beans. However, if you want my humble opinion on the matter, then I would say chickpeas are best used elsewhere. Why? well, here at Greying Towers, we use a lot of chickpeas - we really like them. They are great in curries, in stews and in middle-eastern dishes. And therein lies the rub. In a chilli, they are too 'like' any other dish we make with them. So I avoid using them. Much the same as for lentil Bolognese I use puy, brown or green lentils, to get a different *texture* to the dish (they all retain their shape). You can, of course make lentil Bolognese with red lentils (and indeed, I have) but, do you know what? You get *dhal* with meditteranean flavourings....... it's a bit... disconcerting? So for chilli, my beans of choice would include; red kidney, haricot (or use a can of baked beans - same bean ), cannellini, black-eyed beans, black turtle beans or aduki beans. Erm, I hope that helps.

kem10 - ya gonna share your marinade? There are meat eaters passing through - they may wish to try it too And yes, I hear you about getting the milk out sooner. Slight disconnect between who uses the milk the most and the person who has to replenish stocks....... :rotfl:

Well, today has been .... w.e.i.r.d in a word...... Can't expand on that, as it t'ain't my story to tell, but, well 'serendipittydoodah' is in there big style Even DP's gabber was flasted when he found out what had happened ....... (all good btw )

I spent cash today, so my NSD total is stalled However, I got some jolly nice narnars from mrL and got to use their scales :j:T So I knew approximately how much it would cost me before I got to the till

So dinner was caponata and wet polenta. Picture here;



It's a Jaymee O recipe, from his 'Italy' book, I think. If you'd like to have a bash at it, recipe HERE I didn't use capers (hadn't got any) and I used passata, rather than whole tomatoes, but apart from that..... :rotfl:

Right, I'm away to watch the footy.

So today I am grateful for these 3 things;

for folks who perform a volte face - whether they are aware that they have done it or not.....It'll probably be the best decision for them and theirs in the long run....

for the vocal blackbird at one of my locations today - a magical sound

for the first sighting of a bumble bee - twas a big 'un (a Queen maybe?) and I'm pleased that even though it got caught off guard by a swirl of wind, it managed to avoid bumping into me

Thank you so much for popping in, reading, commenting and sharing hints and tips. Mucho appreciated, as ever

See y'all later.

Greying

Pippilongstocking

Enjoy the footie love - and thank you for the nudge and helpful advice with jacks burgers.

The tin is now out on the counter. You know, just so we both nudge each other.

I'm glad DP's flaber was gasted in a good way.



Still decluttering here too - I agree a PITA but also like you say makes you consider your belongings somewhat.

Enjoy footie......

dreaming

Gorgeous dinner pic. GP, then I looked at recipe and saw it was aubergine. I'm afraid that is in the same league as mushrooms in my books and so won't be going on my list of things to try. It's not so much the taste of those 2 as the texture. I can eat raw mushrooms in a salad more easily than eat them when they're cooked.
MSE certainly does rock. I have learned so much on this site - especially when I had solar panels fitted last year. Everyone was so helpful and generous in sharing their knowledge and experiences. Anyway I have decided against Talktalk as there have been some negative comments on here (and other forums) so will probably revert to my plan of keeping Virgin for 'phone and broadband (which I have to admit is very good) and going Freeview for tv.
I have a 'local' blackbird who cheers me up no end with his "chip, chip, chipping". (Not so much the magpies who sound like football rattles to me).

sonas_baby

Well thanks GP. Just made my first batch of yogurt very easy and delish would not have even thought of making it without reading this thread. Can't wait to try the Guinness stew.
goodnight.

Greying_Pilgrim

dreaming - promise ya that tomorrow's dinner has no mushroom nor aubergine

sonas_baby - woo hoo! way to go with the yoghurt. Do you flavour it or use it as natural yoghurt?

Right, well, the footy was dire. Nuff said.

I'm going for a scamper around some blogs and then I'm away to Bedfordshire.

See y'all in the morning.

Greying