Living on next to nought - is that the key?

moneyistooshorttomention

Upsidedown_Bear wrote: »

Note to self:

and I want one like that with wording along lines of "don't believe everything other people say"..

Upsidedown_Bear

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

So borrowed and could do with a similar one googling on a computer:rotfl:

Any good?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Well, well, well You've all been very busy

Upsidedown Bear - I like the smilie today, the size of the specs clearly demonstrate that I am embroiled in very important recipe book research and analysis....... :rotfl:

The good news is that I nabbed a NSD today :j

I did, as I had said I would, try to 'analyse' the amount of water to rice that I use in the absorption cooking method. And I have to say, my gabber has been flasted. I didn't link to any of the recipes/methods on the web, as they all called for 1 part rice to 2 parts water, and I thought that this would give you very sticky rice. Imagine my surprise, when tonight, I weighed out 150g of rice (always work on a portion of basmati rice being 75g dry weight), which in turn = 150ml in volume (I have a scales that converts into different units). I then 'eyeballed' the water, as I would normally - then I drained it off into a jug in order to accurately measure it, only to find...... I had used 350ml of water, or just about double........ *gasp*. I have to say, the rice did fluff up well. There was just one slightly clumpy bit - if you look at the pic carefully, you can see it. But the rest of the rice was light and fluffy. So, in future, for every 75g of rice portion, I shall use 150ml of hot water to cook it in, using the absorption method I learnt something today, I learnt something today...... :j

Lilty - thank you so much for mentioning how you budget at Lilt Towers That is exactly the model that I am finding myself using. I currently budget £100 for food (only) per month. Readers, you may recall that I was struggling to stay in budget at £80, routinely going over, so I upped it to £100 a while ago. I must say, we've been eating much better since I did this - but...... I took my eye off the ball in September and October and now want to ensure that I'm not just spending for the sake of spending. So, for November, when I'm going to trial 'weekly' budgeting, I started off with £100. I have; bought the food required for this weeks meal plans, paid £10 into 'stores' for items such as rice, lentils, oats, beans and flour (all of which I hold in bulk, and 'buy' out of the store each month, replacing with the 'stores' money, as and when needed), I have bought this month's contribution to the Food Bank and I bought 3 x 3kg bags of bread flour from mrT that were on offer 3 for 2, so I got 9kg of bread flour for £4 or 66p per kilo. It is All1nsons brand and at that price is cheaper than mrL bread flour.

I now have a full fridge, freezer and store cupboard, I have everything for my meal planner this week and there is now £60 remaining for weeks; 2, 3 and 4 of November. Notionally, this gives £10 per person, per week. However, DP and I pretty much eat the same sorts of things, so I lump the budget together, as I am a firm believer, that it is cheaper to feed 2 or more than it is to feed one. So I shall be working on the basis of £20 available for each of the next 3 weeks, starting Saturday. I do feel OK with the budget at present (and yes, I know that we're only 3 days in..... :rotfl:) But I know that we've sufficient food, and I'm actually liking not spending hours out of the house on a Saturday, getting loads and loads of shopping from 8 different shops.......

Dinner this evening was a 'new to me' curry recipe. The recipe is actually vegan, however, I noticed that there is a preponderance of coconut appearing on the menu-planner this month, so I left out the coconut milk on this occasion and used yoghurt to top the yoghurt instead. It has made for a rubbish pic, but it tasted yummy! If you'd like the authentic recipe, it is; Vegan Sweet Potato Kale Coconut Curry - clearly, my version would not be suitable for a vegan, but pic here, anyway;



I hadn't got kale, so used up most of the remaining savoy cabbage. It's not as green as kale, as it was the inside leaves. The curry was nice though - very tasty. Easy to make, a few ingredients, adaptable and tasted nice - a keeper in my book

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

for our fantastic young people

that DP has mended my walking boots :j

for sunshine and blue skies - a spirit lifter

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

See y'all later.

Greying

Upsidedown_Bear

supersaver1000

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

and I want one like that with wording along lines of "don't believe everything other people say"..

I'd like one with 'Don't believe everything you say'. A few times recently I've started to say something and then wondered where I'd heard it or read it and then whether I've dreamed it or made it up. Guess its an age thing?

rtandon27

Thanks for the lovely recipe GP! Three of my favourite things - kale & sweet potato & coconut milk - looks lush - think we'll add it to next week's meal plan!:)

Upsidedown_Bear

supersaver1000 wrote: »

I'd like one with 'Don't believe everything you say'. A few times recently I've started to say something and then wondered where I'd heard it or read it and then whether I've dreamed it or made it up. Guess its an age thing?

Just do what I do.
Look them straight in the eye and say "Or did I just make that up?"

supersaver1000

Lol :rotfl: I think I have said that a couple of times and wonder whether they all think I'm going mad :rotfl: Glad I'm not alone :rotfl:

mcculloch29

Whilst it is vegetarian but not vegan, I do find that I use a lot of Quorn - at least two meals a week. It used to be very expensive in the days when it was more or less a Holland and Barrett exclusive but now that Aldi and Heron sell it, it's a firm fixture.
I particularly like the fact that there is no fat to drain off from the mince, and no water to dilute sauces from the chicken or beef. Yes, you need good flavoursome sauces to eat with it but surely that's a positive not a negative. I like the chicken type chunks in Thai green curry and all the rather lovely ready made curry sauces that Aldi do. OK, ready made is not as MSE as it could be but the sauces with the spices in the lid are heavenly.

I got Allegra McEvedy's Economy Gastronomy in the post today - a 1p Am@zon buy. It was in absolutely pristine condition. It looks as if it's never been read, it's certainly not been cooked from unless they were superhuman in keeping items pristine in the kitchen.

Looking through my cookbooks the state of the pages tells me which recipes I tried.
I just picked up one of the oldest I have (c. 1977) Katie Stewart's 500 Recipes for Cooking for Two. No pictures here or recipes taking up a full page but good old Seventies stuff - I see from marks on the page and my memory I made such delights as mustard pork rashers, ham and pork pasties (Spam slices in shortcrust) and sausage curry.

Mustard pork rashers were actually quite nice once I'd modified the recipe, I might give them a go again sometime.
It wasn't all bad, I used Katie's recipe for sweet and sour pork for years before ready made sauces came on the market. For a few years it became a family tradition to have it on Christmas Eve, for some reason.

Looking through the recipes, the differences jump out at you, curry powder rather than turmeric and cumin; tinned fruit in recipes involving pears and peaches; tins of corned beef and the aforementioned Spam, recipes calling for sweetbreads, lambs' tongues and kidneys.

We did have Zena Skinner and The Galloping Gourmet along with Madhur Jaffrey, but it's amazing how little culinary skill was involved in a lot of the recipes back then.

liltdiddylilt

Hello GP

I am glad you found my budgeting jibberjabber of use. I suddenly wondered if I had committed a faux pas by talking actual figures but my £130 budget is to be STUCK TO like spaghetti to tiles this month or I shall pootle into self imposed overdraft land in my 'shopping' bank account.

This evening I wandered up to the till in Mr S, muttering about forgetting something and staring at my trolley of UHT soya milk, greek yogurt and nuts. The girl smiled as sympathetically as she could at 2 minutes to closing time, before I had my eureka moment. 'CASH, I need CASH!! For the photos!' - I was so busy repeating this to myself I forgot to pack my items, then realised as she said how much it would cost that I should probably bag them up. (At this point she must have been thinking what a looney!). I popped my shopping card into the reader and she said.. would you like to get that cash now as cashback? "Oh no thank you, I've got to use a different card for that money". Followed by a hurried explanation of my 3 current accounts, and feeling a bit embarrassed by now, thinking she probably thought I was broke. She BEAMED at me, and said... I do that too!!!! :D She was younger than I am haha! I felt so much better

Upsidedownbear - I used to have a whole album of that sad cute character you posted shielding a flower when I was at college and grungy loved it!

GP - I am not sure I understand you 'buying' from your stores. Do you put cash in a pot when you use something, or only when it is finished? Do you have lists you keep updated of all of your stores? I found some noodles that went out of date in 2010 the other week. This means they have moved house with me... TWICE, whilst out of date. I am trying to remember why I was so attached to them.... :huh:

I should go to sleep. I have to be up early tomorrow to take the small to nursery. I sincerely hope it will not rain to the point I need new trainers like it did today. The new ones haven't arrived yet... :eek:

Night!! xx