Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

I'm back on the information superhighway And apparently, having had a re-wire, a *nu rooter* and all manner of *test drives* I am now 2 giggy, megabighty doodads (?) per second faster! Ha, *me tea* 'll be commin atcha pronto from now on! :rotfl:

rosieben wrote: »

GP, I've taken back the grocery challenge recipe list from October, as Bluegreen has heavy commitments at the moment. I've just added links to both the Leanne Brown books.

rosieben - you are a STAR :T It never ceases to amaze me how much the good folk of MSE are willing to give to make available wonderful resources for their fellow mser's - WELL DONE

NoOneAround - well done you making paneer. Something I have never done - was it wishus that made it the other week too??? Sure it was.

supersaver - lovely to *see* you - thanks for popping by

Well, it's been a frantic couple of days what with one thing and another. But we're still here, and still smiling...... well, most of the time.

I'm pretty sure that I have only nabbed one more nsd since I last reported But I've stuck to the meal-planner :j I've changed things around a little, but still stuck with the plan The following 2 recipes are in Leanne Brown's From Scratchrecipe PDF. Cauliflower soup is on pg 21. Picture here;



I don't think I would rush to make this version again. I was intrigued to see what difference the jalapeno and cumin would make. I liked the cumin, but didn't like the jalapeno. It was a shame, as I had dropped on the cauli YS'd to 25p in mrW, I had also dropped on a pot of 'West Country Extra Thick Double Cream' YS'd in m&$, so conventional 'cream of cauliflower soup' could have been made....... I did add in some cannellini beans as I had some, and it was a main meal, so I ramped up the protein content a little The recipe was very easy, and the soup quick to make, but not a keeper for me. Others may think differently

Last night, was pizza night, so I tried out the 'Fast' pizza dough recipe from pg 45. You may recall that I have already made the 'greatest' pizza dough out of this book, with good results. I hoped that this dough was going to be the same. It was It made a lovely dough, in a shortish amount of time, it was easy to roll out - easier than my current recipe and the 'greatest' I think. I also used a 'topping suggestion' from pg 50 and we had spinach and garlic pizza. Pic here;



It made a pizza of the size I usually make, and tasted just fine. Not quite as good as 'greatest', but certainly good enough 2 1/4 cups of flour is about 300g and I used more water again - about a cup or 250ml. I will certainly use this recipe again

Right, best go and do some chores.

Thanks so much for popping by, reading and commenting. I remain appreciative.

See y'all later.

Greying

moneyistooshorttomention

Shortie wrote: »

We went to the local fete too and I spotted a bread maker - have always wanted one. The woman wanted £1. No joke... £1. I couldn't face the thought so gave her a fiver. No-one else I mentioned it to could understand why I did that - am I the only one who would do that?

Just nipping in to say "No, you aren't the only one". Its rare to be undercharged for something (be it goods or services), but on those very few occasions where it happens it helps to restore my faith in human nature a tiny bit (sadly much-battered over the years:(). I hope I help restore their faith in human nature a tiny bit (ie the underchargers) when I turn round and go "No...you aren't being fair to yourself. Its worth £x" and pay them some more. I'd hate those generous souls who are underchargers (ie few and far between) to think I was yet another person who'd realise their charge was too low and just go off gloating at having "got one over" on someone else (if courtesy of their own lack of knowledge of the value of their goods/services they provide).

I'm not a "gloater" at someone else's lack of business nous and wanting to go off rubbing my hands with glee at their expense. I like to be fair. I balance things out in my own mind and gawdhelp anyone who tries to "rip me off", as they will be clobbered...ummm...rather hard. But this is the reverse side to that coin...ie being fair myself.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Went the day well for you Dear Reader? Mine has been ok. Snagged a NSD by not leaving the homestead, but didn't really put my back into my chores as such........

Dinner ended up being something 'made up', not off the planner, as we got gifted some runner beans. As it is Saturday night, why not make it 'Curry Night' and have some Sri Lankan Runner Bean curry? I know that I have made this dish quite a lot this season, but we like it, it uses up the beans and helps with getting our *5* a day I'm not mad keen on Runner Beans, so need to use them in a way that we would eat them, as whilst I would never compost them - especially ones so kindly gifted - neither would I waste valuable freezer space on them

So dinner was a curry plate;



Clockwise from the top, we have; plain boiled basmati rice, the leftover channa masala that I made from Leanne Brown's Good & Cheap (pg 93) the other day, Sri Lankan Runner Bean Curry and a curry that I had not made before Carrot Frythat helped mop up some of the YS'd carrot mountain that is still taking over my fridge I liked the carrot curry, I'll keep that recipe. So between 'gifted' produce, using leftovers and using YS'd goodies and storecupboard items, a pretty frugal meal methinks I think we were stuffed for little more than tuppence :rotfl:

PS I apologise for the curries being 'slopped' on the plate - rushing a little too much to take a pic and serve the food hot

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

that DP is always looking out for others - helped a neighbour with a fault that they'd not noticed :A

that the CC bill holds no fear - it's all budgeted for car expenditure and DP is on the case with a relevant saving pot

that I'm able to surf the web again......... is it sad that I missed it? :rotfl:

Thank you so much for popping by, reading and supporting fellow posters. Mucho appreciated.

See y'all later.

Greying

liltdiddylilt

What you meant to say GP *ahem* was that you missed THIS. Your diary, MSE friends and whatnot

The rest of t'interwebs doesn't hold much poke for me these days except to discover a way to seal my rattly old single pane sash windows for the winter. MSE meanwhile holds my attention way past bedtime

Dinner as always looks good. I haven't had a single runner bean this year. Too far from my dear mum & dad who grow these things in their big old garden patch. I too am not one to go out of my way to get them, but I do enjoy them when they are free. Mum lops both ends and the stringy bits off, runs them through one of those weird things that cuts it into thin strips, par-boils it for a few minutes, dunks it in cold water and bangs it in the freezer. She always saves a bag for Christmas dinner :rotfl:

I bought so many different types of beans and peas thanks to you at the start of the month. I have had a chickpea dahl which my mumma gave me the recipe for. Delicious, SW recipe. Would not have it the night before going to work however. It was powerful stuff, and I was paranoid about my breath!

I am slowly running down my freezer. It is a well oiled (frosted) machine almost. A few chopped peppers and some errant chipolata's and it will be perfect!

Hope you are well your ears must burn a hundred times a day with all the people and meals you inspire! xx

Hopefuljoy

Hurrah GP, you're back!! Dinner looks fab! I took DD to li?l today and she loved it, 18 pounds later and we're okay for the week as we have lots of stuff left. Just as well as I have thirty pounds left til my first payday on Wed. We have made it through the summer on my settlement without going back into debt.

I got a lovely surprise on Friday when the head master gave me some positive feedback and said he was glad he appointed me. It felt really affirming!

Hope you are all well!! No funny stories today but I am feeling blessed.

Love to all of.you!

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

lilt - yes, of course I missed the gang on MSE But it is also amazing how much you now 'look up' on the web. I was catching up with an episode of R4's Food Programme that I had missed back in August. It was about war time rationing and featured a blogger - Clare Miller - who hails from the metropolis of Brissle :wave: to brizzleDFW Anyhoo, she went out shopping with Sheila and I looked up the shops that they mentioned only to find that they were on the Gloucester Road. Now, if I was ever to go to Bristol, I know that parts of Gloucester Road would hold great interest for me - there are lots of independent traders - including those mentioned, and in looking those up, I found the details of other interesting food shops I may have to go to Bristol sooner rather than later There is no way I could have heard the radio programme and looked up so much info without the web

Hopefuljoy wrote: »

Just as well as I have thirty pounds left til my first payday on Wed. We have made it through the summer on my settlement without going back into debt.

:T:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:T

That is absolutely STUNNING Hopefuljoy - WELL DONE you & DD :T:T And such good news with the positive feedback from the Head Teacher So good when management take the time to do that What a great post to wake up to

So Sunday already - have a feeling this weekend is going to whizz

Chores to attend to today - a must! And I might not get away with a NSD. It may well pay me to spend money today as next week has got the potential to be a bit full on.

It seemed quite autumnal when I stuck my head out of the door just now, although it has the potential to brighten I think, if the mist lifts.

Right, I can hear DP shifting about - clearly he's finished his cuppa tea in bed - his idea of a luxury treat, and as it costs nought, I'm happy to indulge him

Thanks for popping by reading, commenting and joining in. Greatly appreciated, by me, always

See y'all later.

Greying

Karmacat

Hope your Sunday is good, Greying, even if it might be a bit full on as much as next week!

Greying_Pilgrim

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

Hope you are well your ears must burn a hundred times a day with all the people and meals you inspire! xx

It, has - in the words of Mr Arkwright, mangled beyond recognition, 'Already, been a funny old day'

DP and I have been working hard, and have only just stopped for lunch. It has been boring but necessary work, and I have been insistent that we do it properly rather than swiftly, as doing it right now, will pay dividends in the future

My mind has been wandering, as it is apt to do. And I'm sure that anyone that has been reading snippets of this thread, even for a little while, will know that I cogitate on a wide range of matters, and very often, it is a little snippet of a comment, or a factoid or an expression that a poster makes on here, that sets my mind to work. Such it was this morning, as I began reflecting on lilt's comment ^.

First of all, yes, my ears do burn on a daily basis, but I'm sure it's not because I've been inspiring all over the place :rotfl: But then I began - as we humans are wont to do - to reflect, and think, 'but I'm just me, I don't seek to impress nor inspire anyone, I'm just busy being the best that I can be at any moment in time.' And of course, I'm mindful of the fact that lilt was paying me a huge compliment - even if I don't think that I warrant it

You know how it is in life, you always see where you fail, you are less likely to see the triumphs. We all forget, easily, how much goes into the human 'machine' just to make us draw breath, consistently every minute of the day. We all could do better at seeing the extraordinary, in the ordinary.

You may well remember, that towards the end of last year, I got fed up with our homelife 'situation'. Greying Towers isn't a very nice place to live, and we had spent too long moaning about what was wrong and doing precisely SFA about it. You may recall, that DP and I made a pact that we would not be living here by 30th November, 2014. Now, at the time, that seemed like a momentous, but possibly 'doable' task. We made great progress - Team Greying really does work well together - and it seemed like everything was going well.

Then, it came the time to start involving outside 'help' in the form of trades, to make our decision a reality. This hasn't gone so well. It has resulted in the end of a 15yr acquaintance and a delay of at least 6 months in any tangible progress. We are currently on the cusp of it being, 'all systems go' again at Greying Towers, but I'm afraid that cynicism has crept in along the way and I've forgotten what it is like to 'believe'. So I'm trying very hard, not to mention anything, then I can't jinx anything......... However, one thing that I am determined NOT to do is to sit around and blame 'other people' for delays or missed deadlines. Sure, we've been let down, but there have been mistakes that we have made, times when we've dangled and dawdled, and times when we should have been brave, firm and possibly...... bolshy

I was thinking today, that I shall probably admit 'defeat' early. I do not think that I will be living elsewhere by the 30th November, 2014 - and I sure as hickey don't think it'll happen before :rotfl:

But, do you know what, Dear Reader, it doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't. Sure, I still want to move - sure I still think that the grass is greener in another part of town.... (Greying pulling own leg there ), but it doesn't matter, and it is no-ones fault. I have been surprised by someone's attitude to something - I read it elsewhere on the net - they are busy blaming everyone and anything and failing to see the reality as it is - and yes, the possibilities for them in that reality. I don't think for one moment that they will know, nor care, but they have lost me from their audience. As you'd expect, I rarely see life as black OR white, but as Grey-dation. The grey bits are where the hard work goes on, to make the magic happen. If you don't like where you're at. Move.

I had decided that whilst I'm pretty sure that we'll miss our (self-imposed) deadline, I'm not going to waste anytime with regrets over that, I'm not seeking any sympathy because we got let down. It happens, move on.

What is important is that in the last 10 months or so, Team Greying has grown from strength to strength. We've tried new things, achieved loads - surprised ourselves and met some lovely new people. We've been proved right, we've been proved wrong. We've tried to maximise doing right and minimise doing any wrong - I hope we've excelled at that We seemed to have shed a house and a half of crud! And we've still got rooms with *things* in them - honestly, I thought I would be down to a stool and a bowl, blanket and me boots by now We've concentrated on doing more - we've taken time out, walked, cycled, picnicked and laughed together. We've delighted in watching nature and had great 'free' experiences, thanks to the sun or the sea or the clouds or the flowers or the bees..............

Whilst prepping lunch (HM cream of Tomato soup and cheddar Jalapeno soda farls if you are interested ) I listened to the Food Programme on R4. They were at a food symposium in Denmark. Never too sure how I feel about such things, more of a 'doer' than a 'talker' meself - plus such events seem to attract the sort of person who has to be 'seen' at such an event. But none-the-less, without it, I would not have heard Ron Finley's experience of growing vegetables and fruit in his front yard in LA - an act that nearly got him prosecuted by the authorities, the same authorities that turned a blind eye to folk flytipping in those same front yards......

Mr Finley is a 'doer'. Mr Finley believed he lived in a food 'desert' with limited access to fresh produce. Mr Finley didn't like what he saw, wanted to do something about it, and made it happen. He didn't fall at the first hurdle, he didn't give in and he got the law changed. Mr Finley made things better. That is inspirational.

So, whilst I stand (erm, sit) before you today, and admit that we're probably going to fail with what we set out to do, I'm feeling richer for having started, richer for the journey we've been on (plus we made money for scrap :j:rotfl:) and richer for knowing that when we do finally get to where we're going, we're going to be travelling so much lighter; possession-wise, baggage-wise and space-wise.

We won't be blaming anyone else for us missing the deadline, won't be sending out any invites to a pity-party anytime soon. But what we are going to do, is put our ars3s to the wheel, our nose to the grindstone and make this thing happen. I hope you'll continue to keep us company along the way.

So, whilst I welcome all and every compliment that y'all wish to lavish on me * I think that the important thing is that you are constantly making me think and do better. And for that, I say THANK YOU for the inspiration

Greying

* y'all know I was joking right?

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Beautiful post and I understand how you feel.

Best wishes Tilly x x x

supersaver1000

Thank you GP. It's that spirit that inspires me to pull up my bootstraps and get on with enjoying the most precious gift we have.

:happyhear