Living richly; simply and debt-freely

Greying_Pilgrim

beanielou wrote: »

GP~~Elidee is never wrong

Ellidee wrote: »

You are one of my fave people too Beanie - and not just because you said that ^^^ . XX ( smilies not working for me )

*snort* - I is sensing * teamwork*! :rotfl::rotfl:

We're not long in after perusing the high street and stopping off in a pub that we don't often frequent (no, really). Mind, it may become new fave, due to fair pricing policy and good music - I mean, when was the last time you left a pub with Doris Day blasting out the doors??????

I'm conjuring up curry and listening to LizaT on R2 - speaking of good music selection

We'll have us curry on us laps whilst watching a film - DP has requested it :smileyhea

I've read your very kind comments, and will respond tomorrow. Hey, who knows, I may throw in a pic of me tea too

THANK YOU.

See y'all later.

Greying x

Orange_Ena

I agree with everyone else, please keep posting 'pics of your tea'

You take lovely photos of 'your tea' and it's not just that, I love reading how you put the dish together. You're definitely inspiring me. While I'm not vegetarian, I am trying to eat 'cleaner', have less meat, more fish and heck, I'm even embracing vegetables that I've shunned for 38 years! I even had a stuffed pepper for me tea. I demolished it before I could take a photo :rotfl:

Happy Sunday

gallygirl

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

But I do sometimes think that a picture of food that has (maybe) cost £1.50 is not helpful to someone that has 30p left until next payday and nowt in the fridge.......

Apart from the urge to rootle down the sofa to find the other £1.20 it may help to inspire them the following month so they don't end up with only 30p left.

Another vote for the pics :T. Plus your realistic attitude to cooking in a tight budget - when celebrity chefs do it they'll include '3p worth of' something that costs £5 a bottle/packet. But they don't appreciate that if your food budget for the week is only £10 you can't afford to splurge on extra virgin oil hand pressed by Julio and Juan the handsome Spanish twins. The mass produced stuff will probably also be out of your budget - let's see what Gordon Ramsay can do with Lidl's special veg oil!

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

WOW! So much to respond to. Thank you to everyone that has posted. You've all taken time out of your days to do that, and I am grateful for it.

I did grab the camera as I was finishing off last night's meal, and tried to snap a few shots. The light wasn't brilliant, and the camera wouldn't actually capture the tone of the food correctly - it was either too 'blue' or 'too' orange, not how it actually looked in RL. None-the-less, it was Saturday night so it was 'Curry Night', and of course, because I had been discussing curry with starnac, it was because one of my favourites was already on the menu and it was fresh in my mind

We had Cambodian Aubergine Curry, lentil dhal and rice;



Now, I know the lentil dhal looks uninspiring and brown! But it tasted fine. All that was different was that I made it with masoor dhal - the normal red lentils, but that still have their 'overcoats' or husks on Which are also known as brown lentils. I couldn't be bothered to rootle through stores and grab out the new 2kg bag of red lentils and decant it etc.

The curry paste for this curry is really easy to make - and I had some 'cheat's' lemongrass to use up (but I do still have a bit left), so actually, the paste is much less 'fibrous' than when I made it using actual lemongrass stalks. The flavour was very similar though - a lovely zesty curry I got my aubergines from mrL they were 45p each, I used 2 and there is some curry left. I find mrL is generally consistently amongst the cheapest for aubergines - and that they are good quality. The green beans were frozen and from Ice1and at 89p for a 900g bag - you use a small handful. The coconut milk was a tin that i'd got 2for£1 from b&m a good while ago - prior to the pouches I think.

Sorry there is no recipe link for the dhal, it is one that I found in a book written by an Australian gal, about living for 1 year without buying anything. It's simple, straightforward and doesn't contain loads of ingredients, so it's my goto dhal recipe for all time.

We watched the film - a British rom-com. It was a bit rubbish actually. In fact Jane Asher delivered the only funny line, and that was in an excerpt as the credits were rolling. I do think that '4 weddings' broke the mould for the british film industry, but they've never been able to break away from it's formula. Add in to that the poor quality script and...... Anyway, DP and I had a nice chat too, so it was quality time together.

Thank you for your comments regarding my veggie food. It happens that I get a lot of inspiration from meat cookery anyway. I'll see a marinade, or a sauce or something on f00d network - and it may be draped around a steak, or a fish, but I'll usually try to seek out the recipe and see if I can make either a veggie version, or use it in a veggie context. Doesn't always work obviously, but I like trying

See y'all later.

Greying x

Greying_Pilgrim

So I've been thinking an awful lot about what you've written. I think that you have all touched upon aspects of what I was trying to convey. And possibly central to it, is the fact that sources of recipes, whether they be TV, books and even some blogs, seem to always use either top quality ingredients, lots of them, or obscure ingredients.

If cooking isn't your thing, or you have never learnt or been taught, it must be a minefield weezl did an excellent job in her 'Cheap Family Recipes' of stripping back things to their bare essentials. Making the dish, without breaking the bank. In mainstream media, you see precious little of that kind of cookery. And yet, dishes that are simple, or quick to prepare, or use only a few ingredients are something that we all need in our arsenal - whether because 'egg and chips' is something very nice to eat, or because we've 2 spuds and an egg to last us until payday.

mothernerd - you hit the nail on the head; Many of us are in this for the long haul. It shouldn't feel like a punishment

That is so true.

And gally, what irks me about any of the celebritee set - not just GR, is the plethora of ingredients that make up every dish. And you're right, it is because to them it is 5p, not £5 to buy the bottle in the first place. Well said That is what got me about the 'Greek' casserole recipe - I know it is silly, but we've heard about how ordinary folks are struggling in Greece, and for some reason, I just thought, 'Well you wouldn't be able to use 2 types of cheese in a meal, you'd have to economise, or even substitute - just to get something on the table' Which is actually a skill all of us need, regardless of our age or background.

joeyjimbles and Orange Ena - i'm actually glad that what I do appeals to you, or has something of interest. It's how I feel when I watch meat/fish cookery programmes - there is usually something to take from the recipes. I'm greatly looking forward to R1ck St3in's new series, I hope it's going to be a corker

............................

We got round to discussing the pub last night. And on reflection, we're probably not going to go there again. Although it is the local for one of our friends. But thinking about it, whilst the choice of music on the juke box was quite good, and someone was using their money to make good selections It was actually very loud - you couldn't hear to hold a conversation. And yes, Doris was blasting out the doors, but thinking about it, we could hear that music for quite a while as we walked away. Is that considerate of their neighbours? That was 5.30pm - what are they like at 10.00 or 11.00pm? Also, it was a very 'Locals Local'. They were all clustered around the bar, making it difficult to get to the bar to be served And thinking back, everyone was already quite merry..........

I've been thinking more about it this morning, and it dawned on me that whilst we do drink alcohol, I could actually forsee a time when we don't. I don't know why I'm pondering things at the moment - I think there is a load of 'low grade change' going on, and that is probably the driver. But I am apt to put things up to the 'Kondo Window of Scrutiny' Ie, does this give joy?

Apply it to socialising with alcohol. The answer for the pub is 'rarely', the answer for having a beer/wine at home; 'sometimes'.

Interesting.

We have a £20 a head budget for social/alcohol, per month. We rarely, if ever go to the pub more than once a month, we sometime don't bother for months on end. It struck me that £20 a month, over a year is £240. That would certainly purchase NT membership, pay for a dollop of fuel to get out and about and maybe even a cream tea or 2. Would that give joy? 'YES' - and lasting joy at that, with interesting things seen and memories made together.

Interesting.

I'd SIMPLY never, ever thought about this before. And I suppose because alcohol isn't a big feature in our lives, it didn't warrant it. But it's been an eye-opener. Are we going teetotal overnight? No. Will we have a £20 a head, a month budget in 10 years time? Maybe - but maybe we might buy one £10 of wine instead of 2 x £5 or something. Maybe we'll carry on as we are now.

It is very revealing if you do the 'Joy' test........ mmmm :think:

Anyway, I've blethered on enough.

Thanks again for giving me 'food for thought'

I appreciate it.

Greying x

Fortune_Smiles

Hello Greying


I love the idea of the 'Joy' test. I'm going to steal it and use it to decide how to spend my time.


Brilliant!


Fortune x

in_need_of_direction

For a variety of reasons, I no longer drink alcohol but I still remember the joy of an ice cold glass of cider on a summer's day either post work or in the garden when I got home. Sometimes, that was close to being equalled by a very dry chilled white wine and I did like bubbles once in a blue moon. However, little else would actually have sparked joy.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Morning Greying, since AppleMuncher lent me the MK book, I've had this thought going through my head frequently. Even down to the contents of my larder - aka shelving in garage :rotfl:

It has really helped me to let things go - stuff I was keeping for frankly odd reasons. The kids will have to go through their keep sake boxes again, as I don't want them to feel burdened.

I love your food musings. The other day you reminded me at I have Sumac to use up

I'm happy to use simple ingredients - Mr T and I were chatting about our veggie and fruit beds - we have hardly bought any fresh veg for months now. The joy of picking and preparing/cooking then eating is :j

Right, I can't put off doing my receipts any longer.

Best wishes Tilly x x

Greying_Pilgrim

Fortune_Smiles wrote: »

I love the idea of the 'Joy' test. I'm going to steal it and use it to decide how to spend my time.

:rotfl::rotfl: Fortune - if I did that, *housework* would get the axe quick smart! :rotfl::rotfl: For most other things though, it is a 'safe' application of focus:rotfl::D


In need of direction - one thing to consider is how alcohol affects me the less I drink it. I think if we phased out drinking we would reach a point where a *sniff* would get us tipsy I remember getting floored by british beer after returning from living in the states for a while. We drank beer there, it is just that it is a significantly lower abv and my system adjusted. Came back to the UK, and couldn't hack it

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

Morning Greying, since AppleMuncher lent me the MK book, I've had this thought going through my head frequently.

It has really helped me to let things go - stuff I was keeping for frankly odd reasons.

I love your food musings. The other day you reminded me at I have Sumac to use up

I found the MK principles (haven't read the book, just picked up stuff here and there) eminently practical and applicable. And whilst I found it a boon for getting rid of *stuff* - and yes, stuff that had survived the cut last time - I hadn't really thought about applying it to *situations* or as Fortune mentioned, *time*. And yet, of course, it works! No wonder that one woman claims to have *kondoed* her hubby as a result of reading MK's book! :rotfl:

What you going to declutter your sumac into???

Well, I'm stuffed - soda farls, leftover lentil dhal and scrambled eggs with lashings of brown sauce and a nice cup of coffee, for *brunch* - well for me, it was second brekkie after a mound of porridge for DP *rollseyessmilie* Lentils and eggs go so well together though, totally yummy And I've decluttered the dhal (the leftover curry was enough for another meal, as part of a curry plate, so has been put in the freezer).

I suppose I'd better go and do something useful!

See y'all later.

Greying x

beanielou

Fortune_Smiles wrote: »

Hello Greying


I love the idea of the 'Joy' test. I'm going to steal it and use it to decide how to spend my time.


Brilliant!


Fortune x

As do I.
Thank you.