Cooking for one

Ames

I've read the instructions now and it should have been a moderate heat, not the highest. I'll know for next time.

karcher

Re disposable income: mine is next to nothing after the bills are paid..but I rarely go out and whilst most of the time I eat cheaply, when I 'fancy' something slightly more extravagant food wise, I buy it. Mind you extravagant in my world is a 'posh' £2 pizza

ETA To satisfy my bread cravings, I do buy a lot of fresh baguettes, but at 60p a go, it hopefully lasts me 2 days, (if I'm good and cut it in half and put half in the freezer before I start scoffing it! It does freeze well) I don't think that's too indulgent

caronc

karcher wrote: »

Re disposable income: mine is next to nothing after the bills are paid..but I rarely go out and whilst most of the time I eat cheaply, when I 'fancy' something slightly more extravagant food wise, I buy it. Mind you extravagant in my world is a 'posh' £2 pizza

ETA To satisfy my bread cravings, I do buy a lot of fresh baguettes, but at 60p a go, it hopefully lasts me 2 days, (if I'm good and cut it in half and put half in the freezer before I start scoffing it! It does freeze well) I don't think that's too indulgent

Karcher - do you have a Tesco nearby off their bakery you can get 4 batons (usually 45p each) for £1 each does 2- 3 decent portions. They freeze great

PasturesNew

karcher wrote: »

Re disposable income: mine is next to nothing after the bills are paid

For a level playing field, the adopted practice is after housing costs, so just after rent/mortgage and council tax are paid (and any compulsory service charges/ground rents).

Bills come out of disposable income - otherwise figures are meaningless.

karcher

caronc wrote: »

Karcher - do you have a Tesco nearby off their bakery you can get 4 batons (usually 45p each) for £1 each does 2- 3 decent portions. They freeze great

Thanks caron, but no I don't.

I often buy a pack of 4 ciabatta rolls for £1 which does 2 days and freeze well. 50p a day isn't pushing the boat out that much is it?

PasturesNew

I've never bought fresh baguettes. I find them too crispy - and I dislike the way they've been waved about in the public areas and potentially poked about by all sorts of people pressing them in the last 2 hours....

I get the part-baked vacuum packs, 2 baguettes for about 40p from Lidl/Aldi. Other supermarkets do similar, but I've always looked and thought theirs were smaller than Lidl/Aldi's.

Baguettes are therefore bought on a basis of: pennies-per-inch

I just checked as I've not bought one since mid December. Lidl now 42p (were 39p last year).
http://images.mysupermarket.co.uk/Products_1000/65/454465.jpg?v=1

karcher

PasturesNew wrote: »

For a level playing field, the adopted practice is after housing costs, so just after rent/mortgage and council tax are paid (and any compulsory service charges/ground rents).

Bills come out of disposable income - otherwise figures are meaningless.

Whichever way you look at it, I still have burger all left. :rotfl:

It still all comes out of the same pot!

I keep my utility bills as low as possible without freezing to death. Cheap mobile phone and internet connection with no frills.

As you say, nowt I can do about my mortgage, council tax and water rates (and no it isn't worth having a meter, it would cost me more).

My 'disposable income' is still next to nowt!

caronc

karcher wrote: »

Thanks caron, but no I don't.

I often buy a pack of 4 ciabatta rolls for £1 which does 2 days and freeze well. 50p a day isn't pushing the boat out that much is it?

Och that's a shame but 50p a day is hardly extravgant;)

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never bought fresh baguettes. I find them too crispy - and I dislike the way they've been waved about in the public areas and potentially poked about by all sorts of people pressing them in the last 2 hours....

I get the part-baked vacuum packs, 2 baguettes for about 40p from Lidl/Aldi. Other supermarkets do similar, but I've always looked and thought theirs were smaller than Lidl/Aldi's.

Baguettes are therefore bought on a basis of: pennies-per-inch

It's the crispiness I love and I'm in the everyone eats a "peck before you die" camp so don't mind/care about the being handled/waved about ( I have no idea how much in metric but I remember from school it is a quarter of a bushel LOL anyway it's quite a lot.......)

prosaver

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never bought fresh baguettes. I find them too crispy - and I dislike the way they've been waved about in the public areas and potentially poked about by all sorts of people pressing them in the last 2 hours....

thats the problem when you go to the re-done areas ... Aldi and Lidle seem to build there

mcculloch29

I'm on a very limited income, being self-employed and disabled. I teach online, unfortunately I'm no longer mobile enough to have a second income from classroom teaching. I had to give it up some years ago.

The fridge is my best friend for saving me money.

I have a Bosch fridge freezer that has to be about 20 years old, it was SH from my DD when her kitchen was refitted about six years ago. It works really well so food stays very cold and keeps a long time.

I have been very lucky in having been offered a lot of items to review by Amazon, which means that I haven't had to replace many small appliances over the last six years or so.
My vacuum cleaner, hard floor cleaner, oil filled radiator, steam generator iron, food processor, hairdryer, straighteners, radios, kettle, toaster, coffee machine were all from Amazon.

In February I nearly bought a new memory foam mattress, but I was then offered one to review, costing more than I could afford. I was so grateful, as the ones I could afford had very mixed reviews.
Sometimes I even get grocery items offered. Tea capsules for the Nespresso this week.

That has meant that I have been able to free up some income for better food, a decent winter coat, my disabled living appliances, etc and have a couple of magazine subscriptions.