Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

Bluegreen143

JackieO, I don't know if you've ever made hummous with your chickpeas, but I think it's so much nicer than shop bought.

I just whizz the chickpeas in the food processor with lots of olive oil, salt, some crushed garlic, lemon juice and a little peanut butter (traditionally you use tahini but I never have that in). Sorry for lack of quantities - I just do it all by taste, adding a little more oil, salt etc until it tastes good to me. You do need plenty of salt as chickpeas are naturally bland.

I also add chickpeas to veggie stews and curries, pasta sauces and as a filler to bulk out medditeranean style sausage casseroles.

Had a nice lazy Sunday tidying up and doing some cooking dinner tonight is already made (the cottage pie I made the other day) so I've made tomorrow night's dinner - a really lovely brown lentil stew I invented as I went along. It was so nice I thought I'd share the recipe in case anyone fancies a nice vegetable based (NOT vegetarian but you can make it so by skipping the bacon) supper:

- 2 rashers bacon, diced
- 2 carrots, chopped very small
- 1 onion, chopped very small
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- around 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (or to taste - you can add more at the end if you like)
- couple of really large pinches each of ground cumin, ground cinnamon and oregano (I used a bit more of the cinnamon than the other two)
- 1 glass white wine (leftover - could use cider or even beer instead)
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- brown lentils (I didn't measure these, just went by eye, but probably used around a cup or so)
- olive or vegetable oil to fry

I heated some oil in a large deep sided frying pan and fried off the bacon until cooked (not crispy). Then turned down the heat as low as possible and added the carrot and onion. Cook these as long and slow as you can - I think I managed about 20 minutes, but make sure they don't burn.

Add the garlic, chilli and other spices and continue to gently fry for a few minutes, then add all the other ingredients. Season with pepper but not salt at this stage. Add enough water to cover and leave to simmer until the lentils are cooked - around 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally and add more water as needed.

Once the lentils are cooked, reduce down the sauce so instead of covering the lentils it's more of a stew. Season with salt to taste.

Serve with crusty bread or pittas/wraps and yoghurt. I reckon there's enough there to feed four. I haven't costed it but this must be a really cheap supper.

zaxdog

Decided to stop lurking and post today :j

Mr Zaxdog works split shifts so spent a lazy 11.30am - 6pm with him.

When he left I made my lunches and dinners for Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday:

Lunches - spicy chicken & chickpea casserole (worked out at approx £1.50 so 50p a portion)

Dinners - lettuce soup that I'll have with oatcakes (approx 40p for the pot)

Planning to walk the few miles to work and back too so that will save me £2.40 to go into the savings pot

monnagran

Hi all.

Well this is goodbye to a manic week. We got back from our IOW break,(I dusted it off for you JackieO) and seeing my lovely family. Little one growing like a weed - you know, 2 going on 17 - and everyone else happily chuntering along. DS2 no longer 'BirdMan' of the Isle of Wight, he was beaten into 2nd place this year but is bearing the disgrace with no more than a token muttering and moaning.
We got back and hit the road running for the church indoor Garden Party. Most successful and FairyP's scones were a huge hit, many people asking for the recipe. Slight breathing space this afternoon before the Children's Holiday Club starts tomorrow. Apparently I am doing registration every morning, helping with refreshments and doing the odd story-time. It's not a good idea to go away, you find that you have been volunteered for all the jobs no-one else wants to do.

I did a bit of mending while away. My hostess had a cardigan where the collar was parting company from the body so I invisibly (almost) mended it and she was delighted.
Minimising was tougher. I managed not to buy anything at the Garden Party but the Rev was not so strong minded. So now we have a selection of mugs, oddly shaped vases, small ugly ornaments, bags of sweets that we tell ourselves that we are not going to eat and a candle that looks as though it has been knocking about in someone's drawer for a few decades. Bit by bit it will all be fed into the rubbish. I think it is past recycling even with my inventiveness.
As for making do, we went shopping when we came back home and I spent the heady sum of £12.48 which I hope will see us through the week and, Hallelujah! next month begins on Saturday.

x

mcculloch29

Chickpea recipes, I absolutely love Jack Monroe's peach and chickpea curry. http://agirlcalledjack.com/2014/09/02/jardaloo-ma-murghi-curry-with-apricots-22p/
Here is a list of Jack's chickpea recipes from her blog to date. I did try her falafels, they were okay, but the curry above is the recipe I really recommend http://agirlcalledjack.com/tag/chickpeas/

For myself, I cooked up a massive pot of stir-fry today from veg that would have been binned in the next day or two plus this week's Aldi Super 6 courgettes. I used a spiraliser for the courgettes that I was sent to review from the manufacturer and it was great fun, really efficient. I'd tried it with carrots but they are too hard and dense to do properly. Onions were diced with a dicer I was also sent to review!

For preparing carrots for stir-fry I use the coarsest side of my 1962 Nutbrown ex Army quarters box grater.
That, my Fifties/Sixties design black/red and white tablecloth and my rolling pin were not on the inventory of an Army quarter we moved in to in 1977. We had so little when we were first married that I felt no guilt at taking them with us on moving, and every one of them is still going strong, 38 years later.

Lynplatinum

Hiya folks
Welcome Zaxdog. Interesting lists of food.

I have had a good day despite it pouring with rain until about 1pm! I had my favourite bacon sani for breakfast but went back on the Sl!mming world regime and they have recipe for chicken which was good today. Roast off aubergine or courgette and peppers and cauliflower (or add this in at the last stage if you already have cooked cauliflower) in the oven @ 200 C GM6 for 20 mins.

In a bowl mix (for onesliced chicken breast) 1 desertspoon tomato puree + 1/2 desertspoon vinegar (cider/white wine) + spices (the recipe says curry powder but I used paprika + turmeric + cumin - about 1/2 teaspoon each). Marinade the chicken in it as long as possible or, if you have already got cooked chicken coat it in the mixture. Put in the oven for a further 20 mins. Serve (officialy not with any carbs but you could put this with rice or cus cus - but tbh if you have enough veg you dont need the carbs.

I have lost 2lbs so far while on holiday :j - think that it is not just S!lmin W food but also thanks to my furry personal trainer - i.e. my friend's dog - we had another our's walkies today! It was fine for a while so we also pottered round the garden and deadheaded roses etc. :) I know it does not sound very rock and roll but it is so peaceful and I am slowly beginning to get some writing done.
Take care y'all. nite

charlies-aunt

Another beetroot pickler here! Its all boiled and waiting in the fridge .... its had to take a back seat as we got back from two weeks away yesterday to find our blackcurrant bushes bowed down with large clusters of fruit.

I managed to pick about a quarter of them before it started raining and have so far destalked and frozen 25lb of huge, juicy berries! ....still have a large bag left to tackle tomorrow night.


Hoping to get some more picked this week before the rain spoils them and the rhubarb patch has produced a mega amount that will need sorting asap.


The raspberries and strawberries have also cropped heavily but despite offering friends pick-your-own rights on the allotment, no-one took us up on it so the whole lot has just gone to waste.


We also harvested ten marrow-sized courgettes, a massive bag of sugar snaps, a feed bag of beetroot, two buckets of new potatoes and the first few runner beans. I feel a bit peeved as said friends are very happy to receive any freebie surplus fruit and veggies that we have picked but it seems they can't be bothered to put in any effort themselves. :mad:

vhalla1478

Good Morning All,

Back home last night after my two days looking after the tribe (aka six of my sixteen grandchildren). As Lynn said, I managed to make it a MMM weekend and ensure we all had (non-spending fun). So we went for long tramps in the beautiful countryside around here. We had a botany lesson, recognising and naming trees, shrubs, animals. I minimised by disposing of a lot of rubbish and giving the bins a thorough clean. My DDil has so much to do in the house which is large that this is a job that gets neglected. We also played Monopoly twice - the children absolutely love it, even though the age range is from 3 to 13 and everyone mucked in with the cooking, cleaning, having an outside lunch on the patio on Saturday, sorting out the four dogs and the chickens etc etc.

My reward? My youngest grandson, Mikey, aged 4, said, 'Granny, I don't mind Mummy and Daddy being away because you are here and that means we have lots of fun' and Matthew, third grandson down, who learnt to do his laces up this weekend after struggling with them previously, said Saturday was the best day of his life.

So a happy weekend even though I'm shattered! Out to lunch with an old school friend today to celebrate my birthday tomorrow.

Have a good day, Folks!


Viv xxx

candlelight_2013

Good morning all,

Thank you for the heads up on the Lidlee voucher in the Mail. We have the paper anyway so we decided we would pay a visit, having only ever been there once.

I bought masses of store cupboard stuff, having let that run down during the last few months, got to the checkout and thought I would be way over £40, would you believe £39.47 so I bought a small pack of nuts to make it over £40. I couldn't believe how well I had done.

We are definitely converts, I know I can't buy everything we want, but there is a huge saving to be had on almost everything. My store cupboard is looking healthy again, it is a little like a security blanket to me

Candlelightx

candlelight_2013

Viv,

We always took our 3 grandchildren away every year when they were younger. Their Father wouldn't go on holiday, and on the rare occasion he did it was camping, which the children hated.

We only went to Dorset, had a lovely large caravan and we went out every morning, came back for lunch, and then they could spend the whole afternoon in the swimming pool if they wanted. We always had a lovely time and they still talk about our holidays together even though they are grown up now. After our first holiday they bought us a soft toy which said "for the best grandparents in the world", how lovely was that?

We used to have a meal out on a couple of evenings, but otherwise they would help me prepare the evening meal. They always made fun of me because I took paper napkins with us

It is lovely to be able to be close to your grandchildren and that is possible for us because they live close, in actual fact DGD1, who is 22 lives with us.

Candlelightx

vhalla1478

Hi again, Folks,

I keep forgetting to post this small but useful hint, so better do it whilst I have some memory working!

If you have a top with a scoop/low neck, or a dress come to that, twist an elastic band tightly round each arm of the coat hanger - it will grip the fabric and your clothes won't disappear onto your wardrobe floor.

You are absolutely right, Candlelight, it's wonderful having the children nearby, especially as my other ten grandchildren live in Jerusalem, so at the most, I only get to see them once a year. It's also quite surprising, in that I've always been a career girl (from the days when we wanted it all - home, family, career - and some of us were fortunate in having all those blessings) and never thought of myself as the maternal type, although I love my two children to bits. Perhaps I'm becoming more maternal in my old age!!

Viv xx