Living richly; simply and debt-freely

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Excuse the radio silence. Greying Towers is on a few days R&R, so we're taking it easy

We have 'done a Cheery' and set aside some 'no quibble' money to make any purchases we may want. We may already have spent some of that on notelets to keep in touch with folk (20 notelets featuring Alex Clark designs for £6!), a birthday card (for next Feb :eek:) and some yummy apples at a Natty trusty place we visited yesterday We did however, pack a picnic and spend our time sitting in the garden eating it, and then doing one of the estate walks, so simple pleasures We also went a different way to the property - shaved about (seemingly) 1 hr off the journey time and at least 400 miles! But I am sure it was quicker and a shorter route, so we'll go that way, next time that we go

Saturday night remained 'curry night' and I made Sweet Potato Jalfrezi from the 'meat-free monday' cookbook. I can't find an verbatim copy of the recipe on the net anywhere, the nearest version is HERE. Having said that, it is a recipe that is endlessly adaptable, so...... I also use Jaymee O's jalfrezi paste recipe, but the version in the recipe i linked to is also good. Picture here;



Last night, we had quite a 'grown up' tea Can I be honest and say it was a nice change We had a version of Creamy Zucchini Fettucine, which is a Leanne Brown recipe from her superb free cookbook 'Good and cheap'. It utilised the last of the gifted courgette (which was a wannabe marrow ) and I substituted natural yoghurt for cream. Some white wine did get put into the pan though (alcohol burnt off, but a lovely flavour remains). I did actually forget to put some chilli flakes in, which is a nusiance, as I now have two types!!! (get me! :rotfl:). But we enjoyed it none-the-less. I got the spirali from mrS, we rarely eat fettucine/spagetti/tagiatelle. Picture here;



We followed it up with apple crumble, made with apples bought at the natty trusty place. Served with the last of the vanilla icecream, which means we can start on the kEllyz C0rnish icecream (with raspberries) next :j I didn't take a picture sorry

Tunathecat - you were asking about nigella seeds the other day. I happened to go into mrS on Saturday. It's not a supermercado I frequent. However, I noticed that they have revamped their 'own brand' herbs and spices. They are now in little jars that could double up as chichi display items in your kitchen! They are very similar to the jars stocked by that high street clothes shop that has food alls........ However, the good point is that these jars are £1 each. They had nigella seeds, and there were 48g in the jar for £1. Not as reasonably priced as in an asian supermarket, but not bad. MrT jar size is 45g for 85p - cheaper, but the jar isn't so nice! :rotfl:

I indulged and got some chipotle chilli flakes for £1 The jar is just the right height/width to fit in my cutlery drawer. I can see some more purchases occuring

Meals this week will veer between picnics and anything that I can conjure up when we come back from wherever we have been Hopefully a couple of treats will be possible.

We'll have a nice time, so no need for absolute scrimping, but no need to descend into bad habits and splurge everyday either. Life is pretty rich at present

Thanks for popping in. Know that you are appreciated. Always.

Greying X

joeyjimbles

I noticed the MrS revamp of the herbs/spices too and agree they are very attractive. And they are stackable - some of mine are tapered or have shaped lids. Several of my jars have poor plastic lids with ageing or missing seals so I have decided to treat myself to a new pot each time I run out of anything. I tend to top up spices/herbs with much larger bags resealed with my L@kel@nd gadget so this might be a long process especially when I look at the industrial sized bag of cumin in the larder. Hope they don't change the design in the meantime.

beanielou

I have an Alex Clark coaster but dident realise.
Love their cat stuff.

moneyistooshorttomention

Lurker popping in again - as I've recently encountered a new-to-me website and been reading through the recipes there thinking "I know just who would like this.....".

So, it's:

https://www.veganricha.com

Personally - I've sent off for a copy of her book - as that's how I like things (ie in book form). But she has loads of recipes on her website..

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon :hello:

We are having a spiffing time here at the towers, but as ever, time is whizzing.

Yesterday afternoon, we went out to see the parentals and the gardening parental came up trumps with some gifted garden produce Sweetcorn freshly picked off the stalk :j and some potatoes that make the most wonderful wedges and mash :j Yay! for wiljas

I used one of the sweetcorn cobs right away in us tea. I had a roll of puff pastry lurking in the fridge, that I had taken out of the freezer with the intention of making 'sausage' rolls with. Well, best laid plans of Greyings etc etc. It was 'looking' at me every time i opened the fridge So I grabbed the punnet of mushrooms that DH picked up in the mrL 'pick 'o t'week' and sliced them up with onion and garlic and fried them off. I cut the sweetcorn kernels from the cob. Whipped up a quick, thick savour white sauce and combined. I then left this to cool. I took the pastry, unrolled it and bunged the now cool filling in. Folded. Pressed. Made pretty. Sprinkled with sesame Cooked for approximately 25 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees, with some tatties (m&$ YS'd marfonas). Served up with carrots, peas and broccoli. The pie did 4 portions, we ate 2 last night hot, and had the remaining 2 cold for lunch today. Picture of whole pie and 'us tea' here;





The pastry was barginacious stuff I got from h3ron foods, yonks ago, at 3 for £1. Lush

The other sweetcorn will be utilised in tea tonight. I'll be making sweetcorn chowder, also using up some peppers that I bought from a roadside stall on Sunday I don't know whether to use some of the gifted tatties, or use the YS'd ones, and save the gifted ones for pizza night......... :think: Decisions, decisions

I went into a mAtAlan today. Haven't been in for yonks. It showed, as the gal behind the desk laughed at how out of date our 'card' was They have some pretty spiffing kiddies clothes - nice designs and colours. Not just the ubiquitous 'gender specific' guff. On a par, price-wise with the supermercados too - and a heck of a lot cheaper than b00ts! As it turned out, DH was the biggest 'winner' of the purchased basket

Oh, and I also called in at FArmf00ds. I got some of their frozen veg. It's not quite the bargain it once was, as it is 4 for £3 and alot of the packet sizes have changed. I got 2 x spinach (700g), 1 x broad beans (550g) and 1 x chopped leeks (900g). But I did notice that they include sweet potato chunks in the deal. The bag is small, 400g I think, and I know you are all about to shout - go to mrA's and get fresh Greying! I know, they are MUCH cheaper 'fresh' BUT, there are times when frozen veg is a godsend, and I know that our friend greenbee is able to have a range of veggies available frozen, even if not at the homestead for a while. I also thought if you just needed a small amount for say a casserole, or burgers, or a curry or something, then this would be ideal. Of course, the bag would only be 75p if you bought into the deal, they are.... £1 (I think) otherwise.

B& 'em also have their large tins of coconut milk for 50p and the small ones for 29p - Full m00n brand. However, as you know, stocks are very hit and miss - so please don't make a special journey, as your local store may not have the deal. Ours did also have tins of beans for 29p, cannellini and I think....... butter beans? I got 3 tins of the cannellini anyway (240g drained weight). The red kidney and one other type were dear at 39p a can - you can get them cheaper elsewhere.

Well, I had best shift-a-tail-feather. We've achieved lots of 'bits' today. Constantly on the go, but there is still more to do!

Thanks for popping by and reading. Mucho appreciated.

Greying X

greenbee

I'm currently experimenting with buying frozen fruit for my smoothies as well GP. Although I prefer to buy fresh, unless it's from the farm shop I'm not convinced that it really is. I had to go to the supermarket on Sunday, and am still traumatised While I was there I thought I'd give the fruit a go. The Sainsbury's mixed berries are OK, although they have blackberries and blackcurrants in which mean they have rather a lot of pips when used in smoothies. I have blueberries and mango to try too.

I never managed to do anything creative with fresh sweetcorn. I just cook it as soon as possible (8 minutes in boiling water) and eat it with a bit of melted butter or lemon juice and chilli powder/flakes

Greying_Pilgrim

I've bought more frozen fruit lately too greenbee. I'm hopeful that we will at some point get out and pick some blackberries - if we've sufficient, I'll freeze them, but given the amount of apples we've acquired, they risk getting used up PDQ!

I also like the frozen raspberries from h3ron f00ds - and I've yet to try their 'forest fruits' - they are £1.49 for..... I think it is a 300g box. I also used mrW's 'essential' frozen blueberries for a cake t'other week. These really are quite good - £2 for... mmmm, I think it is 500g, I made 3 lots of the cake anyway. They are really quite plump, and the good thing is that they are covered in 'frozen' juice, so when you douse them in flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake, they take on just the right amount of flour, don't sink and your cake looks spiffing! I did however, buy a small punnet of 'fresh' blueberries to decorate the cake with. Frozen fruit does have its limitations. However, very much a used product at Greying Towers

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

We had a lovely day yesterday. We took some egg mayo sandwiches & a bun, round and about to see how far it was. It was just far enough We also had a small bowl of soup in a veggie caff. £3.25 each. gulp. It's still very difficult to spend money on such things, even from a 'no quibble' fund Was it hot? Yes. Was it nice? Yes. Was it worth the money? .............

For tea we had Yotam's baked orzo & mozarella, which used up one of the 29p aubergines that was lurking in the fridge. I hadn't de-frosted the last of the bargain mozarellas I got from h3ron, so used a punnet of mozarella pearls (mrS basiks £1) that I had got for something else. I topped it with some grated grano padano - also from mrS's basiks range. Served with french beans and cauli - both out of the freezer. Picture here;



Presentation - nul points! Tasted ok though

Today is a pottering day and for doing some life admin. Which I'm hopeful will free us up to go adventurising tomorrow. But best laid plans of Greyings etc.

Right, mustache!

Greying X

joeyjimbles

Pie and orzo look utterly delicious.
Our Bee&Emm have the same sizes of coconut milk almost always so perhaps stock is quite well spread. And I've succumbed to the frozen sweet potato as DS1's favourite quick lunch is a tortilla wrap (or two) in the panini press (or a dry frying pan) filled with soft cheese or greek yogurt, a small handful of sweet potato, a little blue cheese, shredded red onion and red pepper and a sprinkle of chili flakes. Mine are typically from tesco in a 600g bag

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Hope you are all well. Was it cold with you last night? I'm loving the sunshine this morning, but wish it wasn't dependent on the cold last night. Still, it's better than rain, so I'm not complaining.

We have had a busy few days. Making memories and, quite frankly, enjoying ourselves We have been spending money. Most of it wisely But we did buy one thing for Baby Greying, only to be given exactly the same thing a couple of hours later, by our lovely, generous neighbours a few doors down There is probably room for 2

We zoomed along the motorway a few stops to the next city along. Popped in the asian supermarket and stocked up on pulses and spices and am now £38 poorer :eek: Prices have risen! And that is from the cheaper (overall) of the shops that I visit. I must admit, I couldn't be bothered to go to the several other shops in the vicinity, you either have to have perfect price knowledge, or go in every shop, price up everything on your list and then purchase from each shop accordingly. OK on your own, but not with a husband and baby in tow. But then the husband is useful for carrying stuff, so swings and roundabouts, swings and roundabouts...... It was interesting that I picked up a bag of kalawanji/kalonji seed (Nigella seed), 100g for 79p. The 400g bags were proportionally cheaper at £1.49. So if you have access to an asian supermarket, they do beat the 'big 4' supermarkets for price in this instance.

We rounded off the trip out and about with a picnic lunch in the garden of a natty trusty place over that neck of the woods. Bliss.

Meals have been planned or make do. Thursday night we had a buddha bowl. It was centered around coating tofu in nutritional yeast, as I picked up a tub from a dyed in the hemp wholefood store on Wednesday. I had been wanting to try it for ages, as it is something that they serve in the Bye & Bye pub in Portland, OR, which I know I've wittered on about before - and no, I've not been there and I don't own shares! I think I was probably too shy with the NY, as I couldn't pick up the flavour much in the finished dish. But there you go, probably should have been shy with the cornmeal and not the NY. The dusted tofu was on brown basmati rice, spinach, onion, garlic and tomato. The spinach was coated in a citrussy, miso/tahini sauce with the remainder being drizzled on top, with some pomegranate molasses. Nigella seeds sprinkled with sumac completed the dish. Picture here;



It lacked flavour for me, so I would tweak if making again.

Friday night we were tired after a long road trip, and then our neighbours called around. So tea ended up being oven chips, beans and a piece of courgette crustless quiche dug out of the freezer. Filled a hole. NO picture, and could someone please run for the smelling salts, as rtandon has possibly keeled over in disgust that friday night, was NOT pizza night :eek: And she might need them still, as Saturday night wasn't curry night, neither :eek::eek:

Last night, I made a 'special' pizza for us. This week has been all about remembering and celebrating. We're not rich financially, so we have to cut our cloth accordingly. I wanted to make a pizza 'like' the sort of wood-fired oven baked ones you get in posh pizza joints. It was never going to be exact, as I don't have (and don't really need) a pizza stone, and a wood fired oven (maybe one day, if I get a garden fit for entertaining in). I made the dough on Thursday and used beer to get a nice flavour in it. I then put it in the fridge to prove. I bought antipasti from mrL - aubergines, peppers and courgettes (85p a jar and I still have half a jar left of each). I also had a punnet of mozarella pearls that I got from mrS (basiks) and some red pepper pizza topping (HM) dug out of the freezer. I teamed it with the HG (by the gardening parental)'Wilja'potatoes, cut into wedges. Picture here;



A nice treat, and something that i would make again. Whilst the ingredients alone cost £6, it made 8 portions of pizza and I have some antipasta left. For a special splurge, I don't think that is too bad! I my well have to make curry for tea tonight though, to try to claw the budget back under control!! :rotfl:

Right, Baby Greying is getting fed up, so I best finish up.

Thanks for popping by and reading. Appreciated.

Greying X