I have lost my OS ways, help!

bellaquidsin

Well done Caterina, a very inventive use of resources.


Bella.

EstherH

I was planning my shopping trip for tomorrow's lunch. Is going to be cold cooked meat, new potatoes and salad. I checked the fridge and there is just about enough lettuce left if I finely chop some of the red cabbage that I also have in the fridge, finely chop a carrot and some onion, also we had three tomatoes and I have put a couple of eggs on to hard boil. I did buy a cucumber but could easily have gone out and bought a load of stuff but I know that there will be plenty with the bits I had in. The lettuce is the remains of a pack of two Romain lettuces reduced to 3p in Mr A's on Monday. I didn't think they would make it to the end of the week but thought if I got a meal on Tuesday out of them it would be a bargain.

I start a new grocery month today and I am trying to use up what we have in the freezer, some of which has been there for a year. I also need to stock up on home made/batch cooked ready meals. Really need to have a think and some sort of plan.

Esther x

villagelife

I made a start on small very overgrown corner and removing ivy let light in and it looks less depressing and partially cleared ivy from a stone wall which looks lovely.

Dragon_on_roller_skates

Evening, all!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I've mainly been busy menu planning and cooking today. We've just finished off a delicious steak and potato pie with roast carrots for dinner, with some stewed apples and homemade yoghurt for dessert. I've worked out this week's shopping list and only have 13 items on it - mostly fresh stuff! I'm making the most of the well-stocked pantry this week. Just starting to get the children organised for school/daycare in the morning, so I've knocked up a batch of falafels for lunchboxes. DH has also been industrious in the kitchen, making a beetroot and ginger chutney for later in the year. The whole house smells of vinegar!

jlhmd666

Dragon_on_roller_skates wrote: »

Evening, all!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I've mainly been busy menu planning and cooking today. We've just finished off a delicious steak and potato pie with roast carrots for dinner, with some stewed apples and homemade yoghurt for dessert. I've worked out this week's shopping list and only have 13 items on it - mostly fresh stuff! I'm making the most of the well-stocked pantry this week. Just starting to get the children organised for school/daycare in the morning, so I've knocked up a batch of falafels for lunchboxes. DH has also been industrious in the kitchen, making a beetroot and ginger chutney for later in the year. The whole house smells of vinegar!

How did you make your falafels please Dragon?

ginnyknit

Have been a good Ginny this weekend. Saturday I always have a little shop for DGs coming to stay - fruit etc and stayed in budget. Hubby has stopped his addiction to sports drinks and now I make up numerous bottles of vimto (£shop) using empties and put them in the fridge. Got a chicken and deforsted mince - filled the cooker with both, casserole dish with mince and dried veg from stock plus carton of toms from stcok and bolognese stock cubes from pantry. Just did chicken plain. So thats a few days meals done.

Today went to Mr A just for diet coke for me and rabbit food and bought NOTHING ELSE! Then picked a bag of blackberries on the way back to go with pancakes - yes blackberry season is here so get picking guys, nothing tastes better than free food.

AnnieO1234

I want to go blackberry picking!!!! So annoyed last year the local bushes to me just came ripe as my mom landed in hospital, and now it's DH - maybe it's blackberry season I need to avoid!

Well the drinks from home went out the window with the weather - it's stifling here so the vending machine is at least cooling things down slightly.

I might have to get out early tomorrow with LO (as in 5/6am) and see if I can find some blackberries to prep and freeze. I love fresh ones, store bought ones aren't the same as those that have been heated by the sun and eaten straight from the bush! Yum!

Xxx

moments_of_sanity

ginnyknit wrote: »

Have been a good Ginny this weekend. Saturday I always have a little shop for DGs coming to stay - fruit etc and stayed in budget. Hubby has stopped his addiction to sports drinks and now I make up numerous bottles of vimto (£shop) using empties and put them in the fridge. Got a chicken and deforsted mince - filled the cooker with both, casserole dish with mince and dried veg from stock plus carton of toms from stcok and bolognese stock cubes from pantry. Just did chicken plain. So thats a few days meals done.

Today went to Mr A just for diet coke for me and rabbit food and bought NOTHING ELSE! Then picked a bag of blackberries on the way back to go with pancakes - yes blackberry season is here so get picking guys, nothing tastes better than free food.

DH works as a delivery driver and every evening I fill up the empty bottles that he comes home with and put them in the freezer, that way they keep his lunch cool and he gets a nice cold drink

Caterina

Hello all,

Welcome to the thread bellaquidsin and moments_of_sanity!

Unexpected expense today, apart from paying the builder and buying more grout, a neighbour is moving and had a garden sale. We bought a metal and wood table and 4 chairs for £20 and a long hosepipe on stand for £10. The table and chairs' wood is in a bad state but they are good quality, with stainless steel screws and although it will take some time and work to restore them they should come out nice. Anti rust and metal outdoor paint on the body, sanding slats and replacing the broken ones, a good oiling and we should have nice seating for the garden. We felt it was worth buying.

Personal expenditure NSD and we ate so much at the vicar's leaving do (it was a great party as expected) that we might not even bother with dinner, just a salad maybe and a big of yogurt. So personal balance still £11 something!

Hope you all had a nice OS day and are moving back towards the good old ways! Good night.

DawnW

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Morning everyone, I just wanted to flag up that this is definately the right time of year to start making OS pickles, chutneys and jams as the fruit and veg are at thier best and cheapest. Even if you don't have the wherewithall to grow your own the prices in my greengrocer are at thier lowest as most things are available in quantity. Today I'm making Bread and Butter Pickles to put in store for the winter, so easy and so cheap and only need cucumbers and onions and then I'm making some redcurrant jelly from our own homegrown fruit. The pickle is a cross between gherkins and pickled onions and brightens up mousetrap cheese over the colder months and the redcurrant jelly goes into casserole and stew gravies to make them richer tasting. I've always made preserves from scratch and they're so easy to do, so well worth the outlay for sugar and vinegar in the long run and make the cold weather food much more interesting for a much better price than buying in everything from the shops.

Bread and Butter Pickles

3 larrge cucumbers cut into thinish rings
4 onions peeled, halved and sliced
3 level tablespoons of salt
1 pint of white vinegar
6 oz of sugar
1 teaspoon of celery seed
1 teaspoon of mustard seed

Put the cut veg and the salt mixed together in a large bowl and leave it for an hour, it will put out liquid. Drain and wash and drain again in a colander. While this is happening heat the vinegar,sugar,and seeds in a saucepan and when it boils simmer for 3 minutes.

Have ready some clean dry lidded jars (the ones with the plastic coating on the inside of the lid to prevent corrosion) heated in a very low oven. Put the drained veg into the jars, pour on the hot vinegar with the seeds too to cover the veg and put the lids on when it's all still hot. Leave to cool, label and store for a couple of weeks before using. They will keep for a year or so and will get better in flavour as they stand in the storeroom.

Loving this thread! Lyn, please can you clarify what you mean by 'thinish rings'? Sorry to seem dense, but is that something like inch lengths, or smaller than that? And do you need to deseed the cucumbers? I have a collection of HG cucumbers at the moment, and have never tried this, though I make most other kinds of preserves. Thanks in anticipation