Is frugal the new normal?

CEW

GreyQueen wrote: »

Lynplatinum, I'd be embarrassed to call it a recipe, it's more like a happening.

1. Take large bowl and chuck quantity of wholemeal bread flour in it. Add one sachet of dried yeast and stir. Chuck in random amount of any dried herbs you have - I used the dill & mint combo yesterday.

2. Get jug of hand hot water from tap.

3. Oil a baking sheet and put a glug of oil into the flour. I use bog-standard veg oil.

4. Add hot water slowly until bound into a dough, turn out and knead until bored or tired, whichever comes first. Usually under 5 mins.

5. Form into balls of dough, park onto baking sheet, cover with teacloth and get on with other activities. Leave to prove for several hours.

6. Bake for 20 mins in pre-heated oven at Gas 7 or equivalent.

7. Allow to cool on tray for 5 mins then put on baking rack. Have wooden spoon handy to smack any thieving hands. Also bask in comments of passers-by smelling fresh-baked bread smell drifting out the window.

There's no particular reason for yesterday's choice of herbs, other than I had plenty of it. There's no culinary reason (at least not one known to me) for combining dill and mint in one jar, it's just what I did.

Love your non recipe happening GQ. OH was in stitches when I read it out. He loves making bread but measures everything exactly including weighing the liquids to ensure they are accurate. Maybe one day I will convince him to just give it a go. He's got so much better with adapting recipes and making ad hoc changes to them but will not deviate from the recipe when baking.

GreyQueen

I'm a very slapdash sort of cook, CEW, I detest measuring things. I once heard it explained that breadmaking is an art and cake making is a science.

I'm an arty sort and cake-making is a bit hazardous, unless it's something like banana bread or similarly tolerant of impreciseness.

Advise the OH to lighten up and enjoy his breadmaking, it's very instinctual. Why bother measuring liquids? If it's too wet, add flour, too dry add water.

fuddle

We've been in the Rang£ today to get a curtain track. In there we saw a rustic wooden milk crate washed in a rustic looking grey paint. It cost £20. DH picked it up and said "sawn timber that, I could make it for about £2.59. Is it fashionable like? Must be to charge that much for summat that is cheap because it's roughly sawn. I wouldn't care, you're not even paying for the craft, it's shoddy!"

So funny. He had a real bee in his bonnet about it. I really do think he was offended at someone trying to emulate something that should be a thing of sturdy design, no finish, not at all stylish and then whack a big price tag on it to appeal to the fashion loving masses.

GreyQueen

fuddle, your hubs is a talented chap, based on pix of the things he's made for your garden. You could have a small side business with him running up rustic stuff and you colour-washing etc and turning them out at sub-£20 and stealing the business.

decca2013

I love this new trend of being frugal. My parents used to be very snobby about food and also wasteful, they used to overbuy and chuck away lots of fresh food. My dad used to buy £3 packets of 'red onion and vintage cheddar croutons' - to me that just bits of stale bread! A new Aldi opened up near them and it's opened their eyes that cheap can be as good as or better than their comfort brands. Now my dad loves telling me all about his latest bargains!

[Deleted User]

GQ is so right FUDDLE your OH has a talent for making things that IS good enough to make them to sell and you have enough talent at decorating and painting them to make a very good team. Is it possible we might see a small cottage industry emerge in the future? I know I'd be in the market!

Lynplatinum

Hiya

GQ - thanks - may try my own 'happening' @ the end of the week - i'll let you know how it goes!

I can no longer use a saw but I've seen the same boxes and thought the same :-)

DIY, after all, is frugal and that's what I have been up to today!

Mr_Singleton

fuddle wrote: »

DH picked it up and said "sawn timber that, I could make it for about £2.59.

<FX:Shakes head> People know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Which seems to sum up so many posts I've read in this thread

Mr_Singleton

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Is it possible we might see a small cottage industry emerge in the future? I know I'd be in the market!

But thats the thing by the time you've factored in the cost of the materials, the cost of the tools, the time, postage & packing, advertising, business costs, a profit margin etc etc you see how stuuupppid a comment like [what a rip-off] I could make it for £2.59 is.

Nargleblast

If someone has the time and talent to take a couple of quid' s worth of raw materials and make them into something that would cost a mint in the shops, then all credit to them. Other people who buy these things are paying the inflated prices because of all the costs involved, but if they are happy to do that then so be it. Personally, I would be inclined to have a go myself, but I don't really have time and patience. Being of a frugalish nature I would not want to pay out shop prices so would either do without or find a nice person to do it for me at a more reasonable cost!