The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

hex2

that's a result on the avocados - you reminded me I have one (hopefully) lovely ripe one hiding in the fridge.

I am always grateful for the library and the cookbooks, love reading them even if I make nothing out of them.

mcculloch29

I've had a run on free and very cheap cookbooks lately. Am@zon sent me several to review, including one, Too Good To Waste, which purports to be quite moneysaving, but includes very expensive ingredients. I do actually recommend borrowing it rather than buying it in my review.

More up my street is The Glasgow Cookery Book . Whilst this is firmly based amongst the basics of good home cooking it does have some interesting ideas. It's very similar to the cookbook my Mum had which was supplied with her Main gas cooker sixty years ago. I read that so many times as a child. I can still remember the instructions for Beef Tea and scraping steak in to a glass. Weird.

I've mentioned my love of The Pauper's Cookbook before, and another favourite is More for Your Money, by far the best of Shirley Goode's cookbooks.
I've got both Jack Monroe's cookbooks, and I've crowdfunded the new one, which is due to arrive sometime this year! I know Jack has had a lot on their plate. The one advantage is, it's all paid for and so is a copy for a school or library. I have cooked so much from A Girl Called Jack
A Year in 120 Recipes is one to borrow from the library, I feel, although it is very good, I've used its recipes less. Jack has promised that the new book will be more in the vein of A Girl..

One book I haven't found so valuable is One Pound Meals
This one had a lot of gimmicks, plus the 'one pound' title comes from the fact that in theory the cost of the actual ingredients used in a single serving should be £1. The problem is that you can't buy bacon, cheese, eggs etc in small enough quantities to meet that brief and then you have lots of leftovers..

I haven't been to the library for some time, as I get enough to read from Amazon. At one time I used them extensively, and several of my oldest cookbooks have hand-written recipes painstakingly copied from library books on the blank pages at the back of the book or on the inside of covers.
Wow, didn't mean to write an essay...! Oh well, perhaps some will find the info useful.

hex2

mcculloch29 wrote: »

Oh well, perhaps some will find the info useful.

I did - thank you. I've got the original shirley goode kitchen book but not more for your money so will have a look out for that.

it made me smile a few years ago when I realised that both Shirley Goode and Jocasta Innes posted on the forums.

mcculloch29

hex2 wrote: »

I did - thank you. I've got the original shirley goode kitchen book but not more for your money so will have a look out for that.

it made me smile a few years ago when I realised that both Shirley Goode and Jocasta Innes posted on the forums.

Aw, did they really?
Sadly both ladies have passed away now, Jocasta in 2014 and Shirley in 2015, if memory serves.
Shirley had a very good blog and her very last post mentioned how nice it was to meet Jack Monroe's cousin.

Greying_Pilgrim

Ay up mcculloch, talk about books is always welcomed I have been in a different library today, and funnily enough, both Jack's books were on the shelf. I have to heartily concur with you about '120 recipes', but then I guess that was a reflection of where she was in her life at that point, and the professional kitchens she was around, sooooo.......... I think she does economy cooking very well, I think she should major in her obvious forte; but publishers have different ideas I guess, and a gal's gotta eat.

I didn't know Jocasta had passed away, I knew Shirley Goode had. And I am trying to think why the Glasgow cookery book rings a bell - I've not yet followed your link, but isn't it a reprint? and why is purple ringing a bell. I must have read something about it somewhere along the line.

Well, the 'different' library yielded rich pickings for me - I've two Elizabeth Luard books to work my way through now. She's a gal who knows how to make a shilling/pesata/franc do the work of 10. By her own admission, her hubby didn't earn alot, and drank heavily and they roamed all over the world with their 4 children, living in penury, most of the time - although they seem to have had alot of fun and made firm friends wherever they landed. Her book on European Peasant Cookery is a masterclass in using up things - including all the icky bits of various fish, beast and fowl..... - and making a feast for a family with not much moola.

We treated ourselves to lunch - we did our homework this time - in a cafe, which was lovely and we had far tastier food, made with love and by someone that clearly 'knows' food for only just over half the cost of the other cafe we went to a few weeks ago. I would return to this place (not often, we can't afford it, but...) whereas I won't be going back to the other place in Greying town.

I've bought mundane bits and pieces; spices, herbs, olives, vests for BG. We did cruise the chazzas, but there was nothing spectacular with our name on it, so we didn't partake of any goodies. I did buy myself a bowl for £1 in a chazza yesterday. It's a glass bowl, but there is measurements (liquid) on the side - pint and litre and it has a shaped spout for pouring and a handle formed at the edge. It's just the thing to beat eggs and milk in to add to pancake batter or that sort of thing - more room than in a normal measuring jug. It's not pyrex, but it was made in England. I don't know how much kitchenalia I've donated to chazzers over the years, but this was one item that really sang to me with it's usefulness. It fits snugly in between the 2 pyrex bowls I have too, so it's not actually taking up any extra space.

We came home the scenic route and called in on the gardening and non-gardening parentals. Always good for a cuppa and a kittykatty and they get to oooh and aaahh over BG.

I made Lobia Masala curry before we left this morning, and I'll whip up some dhal and some rice to go with.

Think that's about it.

Ta for popping in, keeping the conversation flowing and the information sharing going. Appreciated.

Greying X

hex2

mculloch, I think (searching way back in memory) that JI user name was something like chelsea housewife. I can;t find any posts now, but then I was originally 'hex' pre 2005 and I can't find any of mine either. I think she was talking about her book going back into print at the time but I may be confusing that with a similar post from SG. I used to read the SG blog too, had fond memories of watching her with my Mum (on pebble mill maybe?)

Did you come out of the cafe with ideas for new things to cook? Those are always my favourite meals out, when I come home buzzing with things we could adapt.

The jug sounds really useful - I like things that stack and fit nicely.

Greying_Pilgrim

hex2 wrote: »

mculloch, I think (searching way back in memory) that JI user name was something like chelsea housewife. ........

Did you come out of the cafe with ideas for new things to cook? Those are always my favourite meals out, when I come home buzzing with things we could adapt.

The jug sounds really useful - I like things that stack and fit nicely.

Hun, I may be remembering this wrong too, but I thought chelsea housewife was the nom de plume on MSE of Bernadine Lawrence - the benefits cookbook gal - feed your family for a fiver? came out in..... the 1980's???

The cafe was great, but at the risk of coming across as being big-headed, and not meaning to be, there was nothing on the menu that I don't make/have made. And so for me it was so wonderful to not have to plan, shop nor prepare and not have DH worrying about the washing up. We could just be, eat, leave. That is a rarity for veggie eating in these parts. Unfortunately

The bowl/jug is good. It'll have to feature in a pic before long - I'm getting into the 'food blogging' vibe :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: [Greying sincerely taking the mickey out of herself!!!! :rotfl:]

Greying X

apple_muncher

I comandeered what I consider to be a simply gorgeous teapot and milk jug from big sis for my bday. I do not drink tea at all, but a friend suggested putting my wool in the pot and having the yarn come up out of the spout. Awesome idea. Now I just need a few more similarly gorgeous teapots so I can do multicoloured knitting. And a humungous yet comfy knitting area to keep all the teapots on :rotfl:.

I, for one, am looking forward to your 'product placement' of the jug on one of your dinner pics...

Greying_Pilgrim

Pushed the boat out for brekkie, and had smashed avocado on sourdough toast Sourdough bread (M&$ YS'd), butter, roasted garlic puree, smashed avocado with s&p, lime juice (from limes YS'd in M&$ to 15p!!!), red pepper flakes, sliced tomato with basil and olive oil drizzle and then all topped with chopped sunflower and pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds and chipotle chilli flakes. DH said he'd pay £3.50 for it.........



Baby, Life's what you make it........ Celebrate it!

Greying X

Fortune_Smiles

Nom, nom, nom