Living richly; simply and debt-freely

in_need_of_direction

Agreed. Sometimes it's this thread that keeps me anywhere close to grounded. You remind me of what's important in life. Thank you.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Aw shucks Beanie & INOD - i owe you both a fiver for saying such nice things! I bet you stick it straight in the mortgage overpayment pot too! :rotfl:

So Monday, here we are. Again.

Potentially we've a busy day. I intend to whizz some bits and pieces around to the food bank - I'll buy the milk on the way, saves lugging it too far. And we'll have had to stick a hairbrush through our hair, as Great Aunt Maude* and Great Uncle Topher* are due to descend in the afternoon. Great Aunt Maude is a bit of a stickler, so I've also got to look like i know what I'm doing on the domestic front! :rotfl:

Tea is slated as 'something from the freezer', but I've extended this to include using up bits from the fridge, freezer or storecupboard. I haven't given it any thought at present, but something will present itself Actually, I'm just thinking of something involving some of the parsnips that I bought yesterday - a Maria Elias recipe. I'll have to see what else I need.

Right, best shift-a-tail-feather I guess, and jump to it. Alot to shoe-horn into one day

Thanks for popping in, reading and writing spiffing things about me I don't expect it, but I do greatly appreciate it

Greying X

* not their real names. Obvs :cool:

EssexHebridean

The trick with wedges, I've found (this is from scratch ones, obviously, not whatever goodies the supermarkets can offer) is that you can get away with using not much oil BUT get it nice and hot before the tatties are added - similar principle to roasties, if there's no angry sounding noises from them as they hit the baking sheet it's not hot enough!

I plugged this elsewhere this morning GP but have you tried Huge Furry-Wotsit's "Merguez Chickpea" recipe? I made a big bath on saturday and thought of you as it struck me as a recipe that would be right up your street. I'm going to try it with lentils at some stage I think to see if that works as a quicker version. Mine made the "beany" bit of a Buddha Bowl on saturday, are going to do the same thing again tonight, and there are a few portions frozen too!

As for Great Aunt Maude, if she expects better standards than she has any right to, show her the cleaning cupboard. I would!

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon :hello:

well, we survived the visit

Baby Greying got given a very nice homemade gift, which is beautiful and functional And we got gifted some produce too

EH - I have looked up the recipe for Merguez chickpeas - you *know* me well Just my sort of dish I even have a stray orange and some dates, so could make the cous cous to go with it :j Definitely find room on the planner for that one this week. Thanks everso :T

We trundled some things around to the foodbank. Baby Greying opened up their bobs and bits box and made a contribution too. So that's our contribution for this week. The UHT milk was british :T So an opportunity to support our farms too. Great Aunt Maude is not a fan of FB's. I can see her point, and I know what she means. But there are cracks in the system. Folk are growing up not knowing how to cook/budget/cope. What is the answer? At least our local FB does provide an all-round service; money management/cooking classes/coping skills. it isn't a 'doling out food parcels until the shelves are empty' operation. It is about engaging with people when they are on their uppers and seeing if they can be helped through timely assistance and then what their needs are going forward. I think that our FB is the 'best' model it can be. Is it perfect? Nope. Should it be needed in the 21st century in a Western civilised country? Probably not. But it is needed and it is being run as professionally and correctly as it can be. By unpaid volunteers.

Baby Greying is asleep on my lap. I think having 2 new playmates for an hour has tired poor baby out! :rotfl:

I've got to try to work out how to move, without waking BG up. As napping is always to be encouraged

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Gosh yes, I definitely agree about napping. For adults too. In fact, I could just go a nap right now...

Glad your visit went well :j Personally I think it's a scandal that food banks are needed in this day and age, but I'm glad yours does provide a decent all round service. Good on you for making the effort to donate to it x

Tea tonight for me is based around the theme of 'veg'. Also known as 'we downsized our fridge for boring reasons and then for inexplicable reasons bought a giant load of veg which is now on *top* of the fridge and needs eating' :rotfl: Will report back

beanielou

Out local foodbank which I volunteer at also offers a more holistic approach & all in the process of planting a vegetable & herb garden.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Gosh yes, I definitely agree about napping. For adults too. In fact, I could just go a nap right now...

Oh good grief yes! I am in total agreement

Yep, it's a hard one about food banks. There shouldn't be a need. And I can see Aunt's point about education, but the national curriculum has been in place for....... 20? 25 years? now. Home economics - or household management has been off the agenda for a looooonnnnngggg time. You can't re-educate generations overnight. It's a complex problem, to which FB's are only part of the answer - and only if they attempt to do more than 'feed a (wo)man for a day....' But as you know, for that, they need support....... Aunt and Uncle are also very self sufficient/reliant. For whatever reasons, not everyone in this world is blessed with that characteristic.

beanielou wrote: »

Out local foodbank which I volunteer at also offers a more holistic approach & all in the process of planting a vegetable & herb garden.

Ours too Beanie, and not everyone has seen how fruit and veg grows. I think it's important to get exposure to how to grow food, even if you're unwilling or unable to give gardening a go yourself.



Not everything in life is black or white. There's plenty of graduation of grey. Let's keep exploring the grey



Baby Greying got called 'bonny' today I'm now pondering whether to place all my financial future on BG being a whizz at 'Bonny Baby' competitions. We could sweep the eastern seaboard, take down every prize on offer at every holiday park.......... wait, whassat? They don't hold bonny baby competitions anymore??????

HUMPF.

Still, it was a lovely complement, from a very nice lady, who was telling me all about her bonny baby....... who is now 50 :rotfl:

Tea this evening was Maria Elia's Parsnip Orzotto. I have to say, I can't remember whether it was orzotto or risotto in her book, The Modern Vegetarian, but I always think parsnips pair well with pearl barley, and I had some in the storecupboard, so I made orzotto. I'm afraid that there is no recipe link, as it doesn't appear anywhere. Which is such a shame, as it is very easy to make - it appears complicated, but the most consuming bit is cutting the woody bits out of the centre of your parsnips - the thinner the parsnip, the less there is to remove. In effect, it is a orzotto/risotto with parsnip 3 ways. You boil parsnip with the onion/garlic and rice/pearl barley. You make a puree out of parsnip with milk, butter and garlic (optional) and then saute some parsnip 'chips' to put on top. Delicious.

Picture here:



The recipe used 4 tablespoons of mascarpone, and I was going to substitute with creme fraiche, but frankly, it didn't need it. The parsnip puree is so unctuous, it didn't need anything else - although the use of lemon juice (and I shoved in the zest too) is inspired, lifts the dish

A tea and a half for a Monday night But a dish that screamed autumn flavours DH loved it and said he was savouring it - ultimate compliment I think. Very cheap to make too, when parsnips are on offer/ in the super 6 (which they are currently)/ you grow them yourself.

Today has been full on, but enjoyable. I am grateful for these 3 things;

a handmade gift, imbued with love (despite the giver's cranky exterior! :rotfl:)

a simple recipe that yields a restaurant quality dish

help from a council department

Thanks for popping by, reading and debating stuff. There's never a simple, clear answer. Human kind can only keep striving to do their best in each moment in time I guess.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon :hello:

I have an 'in form' Baby Greying on my lap, so this could be a short post!

Today has already been spiffing - we've been invited out for tea later on in the week :j That hardly, like never, happens!

I got a yellow pepper and a ruby grapefruit from mrW, both YS'd to 10p each :j

I found out that m&$ now has a dedicated YS'd area :j Where they knock about tuppence off the original selling price of each item

Baby Greying got ooohed and ahhed over by a nonagenarian Love it when folk insist on telling you how old they are.

Tea this evening will be soup - it's the Maria Elia sweetcorn and lemongrass one - I re-noticed it (have made it before) when I was looking to see if the parsnip risotto recipe was available anywhere online. I did buy frozen sweetcorn, as I've not quite enough, but as we have that in the freezer normally, it was no big deal. I have YS'd lemongrass in the freezer and the bargain creme fraiche from h3ron f00ds in the fridge. I do now only have £5 of this week's food budget left due to having to sub the 'non-food' area (lightbulbs, lightfittings and loo paper!), but should be OK. It depends on what we end up taking to our dinner hosts. Although I've got out of the knack of making 'posh'desserts. I'd better check what they want me to bring. can't go empty handed.

Can y'all help a luddite out. I don't particularly want a book of face account, however, everyone keeps on banging on about how spiffing the local selling pages are. I assume you have to be a fb a/c holder to participate? Does anyone know? Oh, and does it eat data to 'look' -we've limited data useage on phones, unlimited on BB. Ta.

Baby Greying has fallen asleep :j i must write really boring posts! But the difficulty is that I'm now reduced to typing one-handed, so I think I'll sign off.

See y'all later.

Ta for popping in and reading. Mucho, mucho appreciated.

Greying X

Pippilongstocking

Can y'all help a luddite out. I don't particularly want a book of face account, however, everyone keeps on banging on about how spiffing the local selling pages are. I assume you have to be a fb a/c holder to participate? Does anyone know? Oh, and does it eat data to 'look' -we've limited data useage on phones, unlimited on BB. Ta.

Hello lady and baby

You can use the book of face anonymously if you like just make up a fake name and keep your profile private - you'll often be asked to 'join' or request to join a local selling page - its free. You do need to link it to your/or an email address I use a diff email address for FB than I do in real life. Just prefer the privacy.

Otherwise you can browse it without an account but that Mark Z man does not make it easy.

If it were me I'd use a fake [private] name/private account and I'd just browse at home on unlimited BB - if you join/follow local groups - you'll be able to see any updates as it will alert you when you log in.

You can use your phone to update you and get instant notifications but lifes, not that long and there are too many screen zombies out there already with data being munched. And you've got cutie BG to be oggling at instead of screens

i'm sure you won't succumb.

Mind on it can be addictive but barganious.

There is a MSE small things sub-group on FB its a nice friendly bunch, some folks just have their anonymous 'handles' on there.

My FB name isn't a real name either it always makes me chuckle when folks dont' realise and meet me and call me my made up name. FB isn't real life all the time I tell them, its fairy-book-land

Cheery_Daff

Evening :hello: I confess I don't know anything about FB selling groups Listen to Pippi's wise words Alarmingly I seem to have a reputation in some circles for being the 'techie one' as I once made a skype conversation happen in a meeting with a group of people who had never seen such wonderous sights... Slightly regretted it ever since as now I'm in charge of that type of thing whenever it arises - should have kept my mouth shut!

I cooked tonight Peach and chickpea curry on your recommendation Pretty tasty actually, although on reflection I really should have used some of the veg mountain, or the multiple dishes of leftovers, rather than eating all tinned stuff But hey ho, it's done now (and I've added another pile of leftovers to the collection of pans on the stove top... :rotfl: )