Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Pippilongstocking

Hey up me duck.

Well I've passed over a tickle stick for DP and hope he churps up soon!

We are a day ahead of you meal wise I think - our veggie bog turned into chilli (with the addition of more 'right dodgy looking mushrooms' (compost in the bottom of the box = whilst I am often observant- I nearly lobbed the whole box of them in - that would have been a bad mistake.)

Given I know you've suffered from the condition known as 'compost in the bottom of your mushroom box' - I did wonder if it was a bit of a scam to get the boxes a wee bitty heavier.

Anyway's rather than say yay takeaway night as its sat - we had recycled dinner which was very pleasant and meant no spendy's.

Horse carrots - I'm assuming are some tasty but dodgy looking ones from the farm shop. Bit like years back granpa giving us all oodles of sweetcorn from the farm -and only after we'd chewed it for a goodly while proclaiming of its sweetness (although it was a bit chough) - did he tell us it was a variety grown for cattle fodder ............................................................:D

Have a good un - coal face again for me today - hope you find more than chores to entertain you.

Karmacat

Its millpondish round here today too and my day is free - sorry you're working Pippi, and Greying, I *really* hope your DP doesn't need to wear his lunch :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Thinking frugalism ... I was having a thought experiment last night, of constructing a haybox from stuff I have kicking around the house. I reckoned a size about 22" x 22" on the outside, so I couldn't make that out of solid wood, too heavy to cart around. So a frame of wood (slats on an old double bed), sides filled in with hardboard (I have some shiny sheets left over from when my vinyl was laid), vermiculite from the garden, foam from sound insulation, a pure wool blanket we used as a picnic blanket when I was little, stuff like that. Anybody got any ideas, or already have one?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Patchwork Girl - Welcome. I am extremely lucky that a whole bunch of wonderful folk take the time to stop by here each day, leaving kind, supportive and humorous posts. It's a good place to be. I do hope you'll join us and pitch in.

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

Well I've passed over a tickle stick for DP and hope he churps up soon! He dithered between 'ok' and 'pita' for most of the day - must of been connected to blood sugar levels - OK when fed, a 'pita' at all other times

We are a day ahead of you meal wise I think - our veggie bog turned into chilli (with the addition of more 'right dodgy looking mushrooms' (compost in the bottom of the box = whilst I am often observant- I nearly lobbed the whole box of them in - that would have been a bad mistake.)

Given I know you've suffered from the condition known as 'compost in the bottom of your mushroom box' - I did wonder if it was a bit of a scam to get the boxes a wee bitty heavier. Yes, and I reckon some smart alec, time & motion bod has come up with the wheez that wrenching the mushies from the compost is quicker than cutting the stalk with a knife - hence how most of the compost gets in the box in the first place. Not impressed

Anyway's rather than say yay takeaway night as its sat - we had recycled dinner which was very pleasant and meant no spendy's. Yay!

Horse carrots - I'm assuming are some tasty but dodgy looking ones from the farm shop. Bit like years back granpa giving us all oodles of sweetcorn from the farm -and only after we'd chewed it for a goodly while proclaiming of its sweetness (although it was a bit chough) - did he tell us it was a variety grown for cattle fodder ............................................................:D Absolutely! And frankly, I suspect that those 'beasts 'o burden' have been getting the sweet end of said carrot for many a year

Have a good un - coal face again for me today - hope you find more than chores to entertain you. I kinda managed to avoid housework of all guises

Karmacat wrote: »

Its millpondish round here today too and my day is free - sorry you're working Pippi, and Greying, I *really* hope your DP doesn't need to wear his lunch It was a close-run thing at several moments :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Thinking frugalism ... I was having a thought experiment last night, of constructing a haybox from stuff I have kicking around the house. I reckoned a size about 22" x 22" on the outside, so I couldn't make that out of solid wood, too heavy to cart around. So a frame of wood (slats on an old double bed), sides filled in with hardboard (I have some shiny sheets left over from when my vinyl was laid), vermiculite from the garden, foam from sound insulation, a pure wool blanket we used as a picnic blanket when I was little, stuff like that. Anybody got any ideas, or already have one? Not something I've ever tried KC - sounding good though :T

Well, we did manage to get out and about. I was quite surprised to find Pearl Barley at 49p per 500g bag in mark$ 'n $pensives. I am pretty sure that this is the cheapest I have seen this year - certainly amongst the 'big' supermercados - and don't recall seeing it in liddly & Ald*. So if you fancy making stews or an 'orzotto' get yourself down to yer local 'foodall'

We also picked up a 'carving' pumpkin from mrW. I saw on the food thread that someone had picked up a YS'd one from mrS for 10p. Well, I paid 49p for one that had been retailing for £3.14. It weighed in at approximately 3.4kg and I think is a bit of a bargain. I roasted half of it. Not to uber caramelised state, but for about 45 mins. And then made thai flavoured pumpkin soup for lunch. I have to say, I was well impressed. Whilst I appreciate 'carving' pumpkins are not grown for flavour, this actually had 'just the right' amount of flavour. I have grown plenty of pumpkins in the past, and occasionally, have been put off by the 'overriding' vegetal taste of some. But I added in ginger, chilli (fresh), garlic and coconut (powder) as flavourings and by luck got the balance spot on. You could taste these flavourings with pumpkin if you see what I mean. I also bought a lime, with the intention of using that, but actually, threw in a (frozen) lime leaf whilst the ingredients were bubbling away, (removed before blitzing) and that imparted sufficient citrus 'vibe' to the soup - so the lime will get used for something else :money:. The chillies were ones that an uncle grew - least likeliest person on earth to grow chillies, but he has such a green thumb, he can grow almost anything So, we had a big bowl of soup each for lunch and there are 2 'snap' sized portions left over. Plus I still have half a pumpkin left And yes, Dear Reader, I did roast the seeds too. Maybe not the best variety for this, but they taste good - albeit, I will roast them for less time in future, they are a little difficult to peel.

I also picked up a pack of loo paper for the food bank donation - so I have everything I want to give now. The LP was a little more expensive (didn't go to mrT) but is far better quality. So in total, our FB donation will be £3.80 - but there is no way I am going to split hairs over 80p - especially as I know it is stuff that they have requested

Pippi look away now please........

To make best use of the oven, I made some of Memorygirl's Jamaica Ginger Cake -LINK here. The only thing I changed was to use half treacle and half golden syrup, because I wanted a really dark cake. And yes, I did use her tip of a little ground black pepper :T I wonder whether you would be interested in a photo?



No, I didn't cover myself in glory with a shot worthy of inclusion in C0untri L1ving. Also, it looks like we've demolished half the cake - rather than just had 2 slices :rotfl: However, this is my fault, I grabbed totally the wrong pan to pour the batter into, using a short and squat one, rather than a longer 'log' type. It should of dawned on me when the greaseproof cake case really didn't fit....... :doh:It got scary as the mixture started to bubble up over the side....... luckily it set just at that point and didn't go all over the inside of the oven So of course, the cake is 'deep' but not very long. I reckon there will be about 3 more slices out of it. But, I have to say, top marks to MG - lush cake, that tastes 'better' - but just like - the shop-bought one IYSWIM

......OK Pippi, you can look again now.....

Dinner this evening was a simple affair of baked potato, HM baked beans (not as spiffy as I am making it sound, just 'naked' haricot beans coated in HM pasta sauce with extra cumin, smoked paprika and salt & black pepper added) with a 2 egg rolled omelette on top. No photos - as the food styling was even worse than the cake The best bit? Definitely the omelette - sometimes it is just the simple things........

So, today I am grateful for these 3 things;

simple foodstuffs - and the knowledge to do a 'little' or a 'lot' to them to transform them into a nourishing meal.

for a walk, in the sunshine, with DP - just what we both needed

for DP - for better for worse (there's worse :eek:), in poorness and in wealth (:huh:), ain't nuffink more annoying than a bored and restless, house elf........ But I still wouldn't be without him

Thank you so very much for popping by, reading and commenting. It is greatly appreciated by me.

See y'all later.

Greying

Upsidedown_Bear

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

:T I wonder whether you would be interested in a photo?

:D:D
Thank you
I love ginger cake

Only 2 slices?

boredofbeingathome

Looks yummy Greying. I like a bit of cake and am baking at the moment-C&&&%&%&* is around the corner tha' knows and i have my orders.

KC-once made a version of a hay box on camp-it worked well. Sadly it was a long time ago, so my suggestion would be to just go for it as you have nothing to lose as it is all recycled stuff.

beanielou

Cake :drool: :drool:

Greying_Pilgrim

Upsidedown_Bear wrote: »

Only 2 slices?

Yes, I promise :o:o

boredofbeingathome wrote: »

KC-once made a version of a hay box on camp-it worked well. Sadly it was a long time ago, so my suggestion would be to just go for it as you have nothing to lose as it is all recycled stuff.

Well said BoB :T

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Brr, someone has definitely turned the thermostat down outside

So, start of the week. I'm aiming for a NSD. I'm going to also try to get to the Food Bank to drop off the donation.

Dinner will probably be the Greek Casserole - I've everything in for that

Snap bags packed, flasks filled and we're.......off

Thanks for dropping by, reading and commenting. I greatly appreciate it.

Have a Great day. See y'all later.

Greying

beanielou

Have a great week Grayling & friends

Karmacat

Morning! Ooh, cake!

Greying, Bob, thanks for the input on the haybox - it will remain a thought experiment at the mo, my table *must* be dedicated to my accounts :rotfl: but a haybox is such a practical thing that can save me money *now*, I think that'll be the first project (I wonder if it will cook cake? )

Temperature has definitely gone down, and the same person that turned down the thermostat has also crept into my house and scattered dust all over it

Today - I've tried to sort out my web connection, so I can start to get back to the trading, I'm cleaning up that dust before my client arrives, and then I'm going to practice making a million pounds