Living richly; simply and debt-freely

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Evening Greying, your post about boot bags made me roar with laughter. The times I've had that very conversation with myself. We ended up just using a blanket in the boot and newspapers - a tray sounds much more sensible.

Re the simple life - couldn't agree more. I was talking with friends on Friday about the life we live in Portugal (they've just come back from there) and how it will change when we are there permanently. They are just like us and the joy from walking, exploring, growing, cooking is more than enough.

I was shocked to see on my diary that some teenagers are gambling - maybe I lead a sheltered life but if they start that now, no way will their lives ever be simple.

Have a good week, Tilly x x

PS, curry looks lush

mcculloch29

GP, you asked "What is the difference between taking GP as is, and utilising turmeric in your cooking?"
The Turmeric Golden Paste that you make has to have freshly ground black pepper mixed in with it, something to do with the volatile oils, so using it in cooking, whilst a Good Thing would not have quite the same benefits.
Or so they say.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

rtandon27 wrote: »

Our biggest dilema of the week was a choice between walking up a hill through a somewhat neglected Victorian Garden or back the way we came looking at slightly dilapidated Victorian architecture...Garden won out and then we pootled back to the car and made our way home. Simple choices but we enjoyed ourselves. By the standards of almost everyone we know, we are DAFT! (in caps of course):rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

ooooh, rtandon - how lovely! See, I would have loved having those choices too - along with being out walking in the first place, rather than being 'stuck at the mall' or queing to see the latest 'blockbuster' movie so I can boast about it on Monday morning......

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

..... We ended up just using a blanket in the boot and newspapers - a tray sounds much more sensible......

Actually, I probably over-egged it calling it a tray - it's a cardboard carton from the supermercado - had cans of beans or tins of beer or something in it, and then we line it with newspaper. It stops the boots rolling around the back of the car, and can be composted if it gets too wet/minging

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

..... They are just like us and the joy from walking, exploring, growing, cooking is more than enough. Music to my ears

I was shocked to see on my diary that some teenagers are gambling - maybe I lead a sheltered life but if they start that now, no way will their lives ever be simple.

I think we've made gambling too easy - perfect storm of 'anywhere'/'anytime' access with the same access to our financials. I'm truly glad I've never understood the odds system and haven't the patience for bingo......

mcculloch29 wrote: »

The Turmeric Golden Paste that you make has to have freshly ground black pepper mixed in with it, something to do with the volatile oils, .

Ah ha, I see. Mmmm, freshly ground black pepper is also a constituent of my cooking too. However, I don't cook with turmeric everyday - quite often, but not everyday. Perhaps I'm doing us some good though Thanks mcculloch

supersaver - I love reading your posts - they contain nothing but progress and confidence :D:D I know what you mean about the Kondoing. I think we kinda ended up doing it 'quickly' and 'slowly' IYSWIM. The initial flourishes were decisive and cupboard emptying But we've actually kept on removing things, albeit at a slower pace, but they've been easier to remove because of the 'big push' initially. The boot bags are a case in point. They didn't get removed in the initial clothes sort out, but they actually surplus to requirements, and they are being released now, and we're both content with our decision. No doubt about it; for me the Kondo method has made it very easy to declutter and has certainly contributed to a mindset shift on what is spent on and is brought into the house in the future :T

I made yoghurt overnight and it turned out ok, so I must update my siggie figgie.

Dinner this evening will be some sort of salad, but I'm not sure which one (from the planner) yet, as we used up the feta in last night's tea (Greek style casserole) and in theory, I should have saved over some of the feta, but got a bit carried away Ho hum.

Right, best get tail-shifting and greet the day.

Thanks for popping in, reading and joining in. I do greatly appreciate it.

See y'all later.

Greying x

Greying_Pilgrim

Hey, Hey! Good Evening :hello:

'tas been a funny auld day...............

Lot going on at the moment and I think that my brain is in overload mode. Had a really queer moment today, in that in getting absorbed in something, I wondered whether my focus had gotten too narrow and I was concentrating on issues at Greying Towers too much at the expense of everything else. Trouble is, neither DP nor I are self-publicists and, frankly, it makes a change for us to be focussing in on ourselves for once. We're usually the ones dropping everything to help others. Daft thing was, it was the me, me, me, me oh, and me verbal diarrhoea of someone else (that I ended up getting absorbed with) that made me ponder if I'd got too self absorbed...

Funny thing, that also happened today, was that I had a conversation with someone about a 'specialist' thing - they were the specialist, knew what they were talking about, I was the amateur who didn't know much about the subject and even less about the 'current environment' iyswim. Isn't it funny how we quickly lose sight of the fact that what for us is 'easy', 'bread and butter' 'everyday' is for others a complete mystery. I'm not much more enlightened after speaking to them, but I'm pretty sure that it has boogered up my 'plan a' somewhat

Anyhoo. Another NSD, but this is not necessarily a good thing, as there are some things that we are now in need of - well, if the tucker is to remain interesting and we're to get our 5 a day, I desparately need to get some veg in!

Dinner this evening was a triumph! And I say that, not in a triumphal manner, simply that the stars aligned and my cooking mojo was 'at home' and a somewhat complicated dish (in terms of no. of steps for a 'schoolnight', not actually what needed to be done) was rattled off for our delicatation

I had seen a recipe for nut coated fish steaks and thought that I would like to try it with my 'new friend' of firm tofu. I figured that I would take it in an Asian direction, and use up my 1 remaining lime to make a lime version of the tahini, miso, citrus dressing and that all this would sit atop brown rice - but in order to make the rice more interesting, I based the rice dish on the Severnshed's Bazargan recipe - that I know that I've shared with you before :wave: brizzle. Basically, I replaced the bulghar with brown rice and used courgette and onion in place of the other veg. I toasted up some pumpkin and sunflower seeds and used a bit of leftover passata to complete the dish - flavourings were cumin, turmeric, coriander, black pepper and parsley. Unfortunately, it looked very reminiscent of those packaged rice products you can get from AF at 97 sachets for 10p , but I assure you it was 'made from scratch' The tofu was pressed whilst I did other things - I did wonder if it would be done in time, thankfully, it was and then coated in crushed, toasted hazelnuts, whizzed up oats and some rice flour with s & p. The catnip dressing was as per Laura's recipe, but as I say, made with lime tonight.



It doesn't look much, but I have to say, it was yummy. I was really pleased with how the version of the bazargan turned out

Normally, it would have been too labour intensive for a week night, but as I say, my mojo was on, so I just ran with it

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

authenticity - glad I don't feel the need to make myself out to be something that I clearly am not.........

my mortar and pestle - for grinding and for pressing, it's the tops! £5 well spent in Woolies!

for learning things - even if your teacher ain't a natural born communicator..........

Thanks so much for popping in and reading. I greatly value your support.

See y'all later.

Greying x

muddywhitechicken

Mmmm that looks delish Greying :drool:

We took my brother to Quince in Mayfair before Silvena quit and I have to say I wasn't impressed When I made the reservation I mentioned that he was vegan yet they made no effort whatsoever (rice on menu cooked in chicken stock and they wouldn't cook him plain rice, they couldn't make dishes dairy-free because they'd been made in advance etc etc)

MWCx

Greying_Pilgrim

muddywhitechicken wrote: »

We took my brother to Quince in Mayfair before Silvena quit and I have to say I wasn't impressed When I made the reservation I mentioned that he was vegan yet they made no effort whatsoever (rice on menu cooked in chicken stock and they wouldn't cook him plain rice, they couldn't make dishes dairy-free because they'd been made in advance etc etc)

MWCx

Really? Gosh and yet her big thing now is 'gluten free' isn't it? well, I'm now rather glad I didn't win the lottery this week :rotfl:

Greying x

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

So plan A got scuppered yesterday, definitely. Plan B had been found to be a non-starter by 11pm last night. Wot will today bring? :rotfl: It's interesting isn't it, you try to be a bit different about things, or try new things and you seem to be thwarted at each turn - especially if budgetary restraints play a part Well, plan C has started with an e-mail, so we'll see where that gets us

Dinner this evening is going to be salad again. Without feta, but I've had some yoghurt straining off o/night - need to press it now, to make some labne. Not quite the same, but a 'cheese' product that will work, I think......

Thanks for reading and popping in. Very much appreciated. very much.

See y'all later.

Greying x

Greying_Pilgrim

Sooooo, the e-mail's in.

Plan C is a non-starter

Beginning to think that the universe is trying to tell me something. Mebbee I need to start listening

Orf into the kitchen to make us some tea and will probably have an early night.

Greying x

joeyjimbles

I'm sorry your plans are being scuppered, but feel sure that can only be because you haven't yet hit on the one that will be right for you. I hope it arrives soon.

Am back from 4 days away with DS1 - theatres, museums, galleries and teenage shopping (tho Sales meant great bargains and good things bought), oh and lots of nice meals too. It doesn't sound very MSE but it was all budgeted and actually we came in under by a considerable amount despite no stinting. MSE has clearly rubbed off on him however as he dutifully filled water bottles before we set off and stopped at supermarkets for cold drinks to balance the coffee stops etc.
Spent a lovely long time in chinatown yesterday buying stores of spices, herbs and flavourings and several hours today packaging, decanting and freezing. So looking forward to dinner - a thai curry with fresh lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

joeyjimbles - have you been in londinium town? Tea sounds lush - redolent with all those aromatics! Yumcious!

Dinner;



Channelling my inner Judith Kerr, I think that I will have to nickname this dish, 'We ate a tiger for tea' Those nectarines have really taken the grilling colour well - a great buy for 97p for 5 from mrA. They were perfect for grilling, ripe and juicy but not mushy We had a version of this dish last year and I know that THIS blog post heavily influenced the development of the dish, although I substituted with nectarines last year too, iirc The dressing I used is exactly as 'farmgirls' (although I omitted the peach/nectarine that she uses in the dressing - there is enough in the salad). I used brown rice to give the dish a little bit of 'heft' (I used bulghar wheat last time) and the cheese, as I mentioned this morning was labne, rather than feta. I tried to make quenelles, and they actually came off the spoon quite well (obviously labne is the same consistency as cream cheese, not like feta at all) but because the rice was freshly cooked and therefore still warm, it started to warm up and soften the labne! :rotfl:A few toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds were scattered over the top along with a drizzle of olive oil.

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

tomorrow - hopefully we can try, try and try again.... :rotfl:

a nice, helpful member of staff in the bank

for the taste of seasonal summer fruits - spot on!

Thank you for popping in and reading. Mucho, mucho appreciated.

See y'all later.

Greying x