The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

EssexHebridean

Slow cooker was on overnight at ours RT - smelt gawjus in the place this morning! Ours was vaguely "tagine inspired" goat - we threw in some moroccan sort of spices, the last of the figs (they were bought for last year's christmas cake, some were added to this year's too, and the last few were halved and thrown into the pot when I layered it up last night. LOTS of 'shrooms, some red lentils for bulk (I ought to have added either some pearl barley or some oatmeal though as in spite of getting some cornflour stirred it it's still quite liquid.) when I get home tonight it should have cooled so I can remove any fat from the top (goat can be quite fatty when it's mixed cuts, diced, as this was) and portion out.

Smoke alarm. Ours gets tested on a fairly regular basis - usually when I'm grilling sausages! :rotfl:

I popped some jars of jam into the FB bin at T's on saturday. They are now looking for christmassy type things as well so I'll see what I can find to add over the next few weeks, too.

Absolutely know what you mean about the kids walking down the road like that too Greying - they do that here as well. :mad:

Those S6 offers are on right until the week before Christmas now are they? That's good news as they're brilliant ones at the moment! :T

Greying_Pilgrim

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Those S6 offers are on right until the week before Christmas now are they? That's good news as they're brilliant ones at the moment! :T

Yes love, according to redfox over on the food & grocery shopping thread, they are on until Saturday 17th December. redfox is a boardguide and pretty on the ball with S6 postings

Our FB delivery is done The nice receptionist was in at the community hub I got what I needed from mrA for BG (it had gone up 65p since the last time I bought it, and now I notice it is on special offer at the footwear pharmacy - #youcan'tbloomingwin )and took a few moments to peruse their aisles, as i shop there so rarely now. I spotted that their tinned new potatoes (smartiepricey) are now 32p a tin. Last time I got some they were 15p, and I have also bought them relatively recently in mrL for 15p. MrAl is showing them for 15p on mesupermercado today as well. I know tinned tatties aren't everyone's cuppa tea, but I do find them good for salads, and they are a FB staple. A 112% price rise? (if my maths is correct......)

I remembered to come back the same route, so didn't get squashed or mashed :j

I got the uht milk from h3ron. They are so nice in there. I loaded the cartons into my bag at the shelf, saving one out so that it could be scanned and explained to the gal on the till what I had done. She was perfectly happy I was being above board, and not trying to rip them off - and it meant I had milk packed ready for hand over to the FB, without holding anyone up in a queue. Bravo for commomn sense And as the same gal served me when I went back for my frozen produce purchases later, they know I'm a regular customer I got another bag for life, as the FB can use them for clients, and it makes handing over stuff so much quicker and easier.

I've done alot and yet not today. Funny old day.

Right, several more bits and bobs to attend to. I need to do a sweep through the living room - it looks like a jumble sale in there! Then to start tea.

Greying X

rtandon27

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

...the footwear pharmacy - #youcan'tbloomingwin )and took a few moments to peruse their aisles, as i shop there so rarely now. I spotted that their tinned new potatoes (smartiepricey) are now 32p a tin. Last time I got some they were 15p...

GP - does your footwear pharmacy sell tinned potatoes? - none of the ones I have access to sell any food other than baby food!

Our Mr S does large tins of potatoes for 20p - I use them for making potato & veg cakes or fishcakes - saves having to boil up spuds - so easy to drain & mash - a store cupboard staple for us - have not seen them cheaper anywhere else! They also do small tins of sliced carrots, peas & mushy peas for the same price.

Him who grew up with a mom who could not cook says he likes the carrots that way better than fresh!;)

Greying_Pilgrim

rtandon27 wrote: »

GP - does your footwear pharmacy sell tinned potatoes? - none of the ones I have access to sell any food other than baby food!

Ha ha, no love, my bad grammar & punctuation. mrA sell a baby item that the footwear pharmacy also stock - mrA was a £1 cheaper, hence why I went there. Only to find they'd hiked the price by 65p, and now I find it's a £1 cheaper at the footwear pharmacy, because it is on special offer.

rtandon27 wrote: »

Our Mr S does large tins of potatoes for 20p - I use them for making potato & veg cakes with or fishcakes - saves having to boil up spuds - so easy to drain & mash - a store cupboard staple for us - have not seen them cheaper anywhere else! They also do small tins of sliced carrots, peas & mushy peas for the same price.

Him who grew up with a mom who could not cook says he likes the carrots that way better than fresh!;)

i've just looked on mesupermercado, and mrT are 35p (valoo 567g), mrA 32p (smartiepricey 550g) and mrS 20p (basiks 540g). mrAl are 15p, as mrL were last time that I got some - which wasn't overly long ago. MrAl tins are 560g.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

It's gone cold again. How come all I keep hearing is that we've temperatures higher than Spain & Greece and it'll get warmer this week - we're through day one of the week, why's it not warmer????? :rotfl:

Tea has been munched. I was guilty of overcooking the buckwheat But it was OK despite this. i do like buckwheat. I prefer it to cous cous I think, but it is pricier than cous cous, so something of a luxury at Greying Towers. The Hungarian Casserole was tasty, as always, and considering it is not overly expensive to make (depending on where you get your butter beans from, I get mine in HB for 29p a tin), gives plenty of bang for your buck There is a portion leftover for my lunch tomorrow :j Picture here;



There was actually more 'liquid' with the casserole than is apparent - pesky gravity, pulled it to the bottom of the bowl!

I read over on frugalwoods website that she is running an ultra-frugal month in January. I don't think that I will sign up, but I love that people take the time to organise these things. I have certainly been thinking alot about our household expenditure of late - initially following a *conversation* over on the groceries thread about *treats* becoming the norm, and you put them in the trolley every shopping trip after a while. People were discussing crisps ( I love crisps) and mentioning that they bought them only once or maybe twice a year, yet other people will happily munch a packet + a day. Whilst i'm not really an advocate of hardcore monastic do without it ness, there are as ever, nuggets of truth to be found in what people say, and if it makes you think about your own lifestyle....... I can definitely see where what formerly were 'treats' have crept onto my weekly shopping list. My downfall (well, one of them...... ) is icecream. It was continually in the freezer. I haven't bought any now for a week or so, and whilst it would have been nice to have had one, say on Saturday night, we're still here and we haven't wasted away....... I shall certainly be looking in to see how Mrs FrugalWoods and her merry band of frugalites are faring. And I shall be looking closely at my own actions and seeing what and where I can get sharper.

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

kind and caring shop assistants

A good walk in lovely sunshine

that Baby Greying was warm on our walk partly due to thoughtfully gifted/crafted clothing

Ta for popping in, reading and sharing casserole tips Mucho appreciated, by me, as ever.

Greying X

beanielou

Blooming chilly here.
Currently, about -2.

Upsidedown_Bear

Quite warm here - about 3C I think :dance:

beanielou

Upsidedown_Bear wrote: »

Quite warm here - about 3C I think :dance:

Love it.
Bear ~~I so love your talent in finding your fantastic pics~~ you brighten up so many threads~~Thank you:T:T:T

Upsidedown_Bear

beanielou wrote: »

Love it.
Bear ~~I so love your talent in finding your fantastic pics~~ you brighten up so many threads~~Thank you:T:T:T

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

A bikini????? Brrrrrrrrr!!!!! :rotfl:I'm afraid I'm much more a sort of *sewyerselfintoyathermalunderwear* kinda gal, these days......:rotfl:

So apparently, it is warmer today.... and will be even *warmer* tomorrow....

Mmmm, still soup weather methinks, and we're gonna have this'un fer us tea

I'm pondering whether the chrimbo edition of the TV mag will be out today - must have a look in the one I bought t'other day, it'll probably have the publishing date. If it's out, I'll try and nab one and support the newsagents rather than m&$, as there is nothing that I need from them today (will get bananas tomorrow).

m1llets have finally despatched an item that was ordered a week ago. Wonder how long it will take to reach the store, have some operative unpack it and e-mail me to tell me I can collect it. So much for online shopping being more 'convenient'. What is more convenient is the store actually having the blessed item in stock...... which they never have and i've been checking for over a year..........:( I'll probably not get to collect it until tomorrow, as the e-mail is bound to turn up after I have returned from the high street.

Right, best shift-a-tail-feather, we've made a good start this morning, so I must capitalise!

Greying X