<<<out of cheese error>>>

greenbee

Can't you get everyone to help with a game of sock snap and a prize for the winner?

Overslept. Need to do putting away of unpacking and a lot of laundry.

redofromstart

oh I sorted them all - all holes or too small gone, boys now have at least 30 pairs each in their drawers.

The rain stopped so we went for a walk.

greenbee

Had a shower and am now doing laundry. So of course it is raining. Should go for a run. Or at least a walk, but am wildly unmotivated! CBA to do food either.

redofromstart

Hope you got round to eating. Have you got any decent ping meals in the freezer?

Lots done, and OH went through and found a home for his stuff which was great.

I bought a few packs of RTC chicken thighs yesterday, froze most of them obviously but the pack I kept out I skinned, slashed and marinated in half a jar of jerk paste, lemon juice and veg oil for 7 hours before roasting them. They are rather ouch hot, and will need a cooling dressing. At least he wont complain that they are bland in his packed lunches. I've got a normal chicken out to defrost for Sunday lunch, and I plan to make TOPMs green quiche too

I collected some apples from the garden and found this recipe for apple crumble traybake which I made using bramble jelly and eating apples. V sweet, more like biscuits than cake so you can cut thin fingers. I would increase the apples next time, and maybe use the cookers for more flavour but a keeper of a recipe.

greenbee

have enough stuff defrosting to see me through until I leave again on Tuesday morning.

Must go to bed soon as I read until WAY too late last night and then didn't get up till lunchtime. Might have a bath while the sheets are in the TD. No chance of them drying outside anytime soon even if I leave them till tomorrow.

Hope you're managing to fill the freezer with some of the harvest from the garden as well. I think I had about 4 apples this year (not yet ripe) and zero plums. Both trees will be gone this winter, but hopefully the fruit bushes will do something next year and I should have the greenhouse up and running too.

My winter flowering cherry has flowers :cool:

redofromstart

Budget progress:
Me £29.69/100
Him £91/200
Food £209.79/500
Pets £31
Household £66.17
School £31 -more books to buy too

Food is higher than I thought but looking through maybe £10 of it is unnecessary fritter (eg doughnuts). Need to keep an eye on this.

redofromstart

Greenbee the apples aren't quite ripe yet, I've been using the windfalls. Ours are mostly cookers, so I freeze portions of cooked apple but it is dull and painful to peel and chop lots. Local farm animal rescue are appealing for apples so will take some round there as well as having a help yourself box out front. There are 7 eaters this year, and the pears have done nothing at all.

greenbee

I miss having a freezer full of stewed fruit It made life so easy.

I seem to have developed a cold today, but at least all the laundry is now done. I'm about to have breakfast (put it off for as long as I could - should really have gone for a run first) and then will make a batch of carrot and lentil soup to use up the ancient carrots and some of the onions. Breakfast is currently in the oven - bacon, sweet potato, tomato, mushroom & fennel.

Last week's work bootcamp did me a lot of good so I really need to try to keep up the salad eating and exercise now I'm home. So far it's not exactly going well... I might need to find a local running buddy. Problem is most of my neighbours are SAHMs who don't want to go out early as they run during school hours or elderly...

Seasidegal58

Hi redo - as you very kindly posted your Fitbit tip on my diary I thought I would toddle over to yours. Have just read through and subscribed. Wow - what lovely food - I don't have any tips to offer on the food front as you are the supreme expert but this might help with the mice since the cats have given up on them:

They don't like peppermint oil ( the mice that is!) - I got this from a book i read last year on cleaning/de-cluttering your home in 30 days. The author suggested you put the drops in her homemade cleaner spray to give it a nice aroma - and apparently it keeps the mice at bay (cockroaches too apparently - handy if you live in a New York tenement!)

Seriously though your budget is going well and congrats on clearing the student loan. It's a lovely feeling to finally tick off a debt

SSG x.

redofromstart

ooh that's really useful, thanks seasidegal Cat friendly too.