Fabulously Frugal and Free at 50!

Pippilongstocking

Bit the bullet and paid the whole £300/housekeeping+cleaner money to the CC reducing it down from 2700 to 2400.

Lets see what else I can pay off once the last of the spends this month are over.

beanielou

Good amount to get rid

Are you doing the bridge walk next weekend?
My ma was most put out not to get a place.:eek: :rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

Hey there Beanie my chum is but I didn't get a place either if you did then I hope you enjoy! Historic moment and all that loveliness. I hope you're well. Suns out for sure. Hope you have a great day.

Tatties are de shawed and should be OK no sign of blight on the ones I dug up - lovely though had one for lunch I do love a good King Edward tattie - made some HM coleslaw with the giant cabbage my chum gave me 1/4 of (the quarter fills a carrier bag) variety was Brunswick - they're like proper big cushions. Anyhows we had some coleslaw at theirs which I just love so I made some here - have some dodgy (as in I don't really like it) mayo to use up and that's worked a treat. Had the whole onion in, onion out debate with TRG. The onion made it in. Delish it was too.

We've run out of butter - so my tattie was butterless (usually a crime) but you know I have to say I didn't miss it.

Need to research sauerkraut recipes as I've also a few of the giant outer leaves too.

Found this one which looks easy enough - anyone any ideas?

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-193124

Greying_Pilgrim

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

Been given a seal a meal food sealer - if its useful to use to store bits in cupboard I will otherwise I'll head to charity shops with it. I like the idea of it = but is it useful? Might go for a nosy on the OS boards.

Honey, I didn't know what one of these was (from the name - I know what it is by 'sight'), so I looked it up. Everywhere that stocked it; 'the big river', 'MrT', ''LandofLake' no longer stocks it...... unless you've 4 million of the sealable bags to go with it, will it be useful in the long term?

I've no axe to grind, I've never used one, so have no idea if they are good, bad or indifferent.

I'll retreat from dribbling all over your thread... most unattractive trait in a friend......

Greying X

apple_muncher

May I slip in and ask an apple question please. I have a coxes orange pippin tree, which I keep telling dh is only ready to pick in late september. However, because the apples look nice and rosy (ish), he thinks that they are ripe and ready NOW, despite me picking one and cutting it to show him the inside lack of yellowy colour and to also give him a taste of its tartness. Yet he still insists on considering harvesting them...

Am I right in leaving it so 'late'?

All the other 12 years we have been here, he has not been interested in picking them and it has been left to me to do them when I think they are ready. Why he is suddenly keen to 'harvest' them this year is beyond me!

rtandon27

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

RT - have you much experience of the large Swedish shops hard cheese range - I nearly bought some but just don't know any of them......

Pips darling - it's cheese - can you really go wrong?!? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Not to mention very :money:! - decent price per kg

My favorite by far is the hushalls - creamy like havarti! - very morish
herrgard is like emmenthal
frast is a strong cheese & quite salty (good with wine and crackers)
the blue one (can't remember the name) is pretty mediocre - good for cooking - not really an eating straight kind of cheese - personally I find a good stilton (cheap after xmas) beats it every time!

since we are on the topic of cheese:D - Pips I've discovered the most wonderful Italian smoked cheese - Scarmoza - it is beech smoked and simply moorish - dare I say we even bought it full price! - next time we feel like a treat we will try it melted on homemade pizza

Pippilongstocking

rtandon27 wrote: »

Pips darling - it's cheese - can you really go wrong?!? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Not to mention very :money:! - decent price per kg

My favorite by far is the hushalls - creamy like havarti! - very morish
herrgard is like emmenthal
frast is a strong cheese & quite salty (good with wine and crackers)
the blue one (can't remember the name) is pretty mediocre - good for cooking - not really an eating straight kind of cheese - personally I find a good stilton (cheap after xmas) beats it every time!

since we are on the topic of cheese:D - Pips I've discovered the most wonderful Italian smoked cheese - Scarmoza - it is beech smoked and simply moorish - dare I say we even bought it full price! - next time we feel like a treat we will try it melted on homemade pizza

Well I did ask didn't I - thank you so much for the low down - sounds like yes I should have just bought some. I have also written down the name of the Italian smoked cheese - sounds utterly lush. I think we should print your review and ahve it added to their website! Ace thank you lovely.

Applemuncher how lovely to see you here. The answer is as long as a peice of string - however I found a good article here.

http://humgardens.com/fruit_orchard/apples/apple-ripening-storage.htm

Essentially you can check if they are ready by.....
Apples on the same tree ripen gradually, generally from the sunnier areas to the shady side and from top to bottom, so you can be very selective and harvest only those that are at the peak of their excellence. If you have no harvesting experience or if you are trying out a new variety, a little trial and error will give you all the information you need to determine when to lift that apple off the tree. And that, by the way, is an excellent method of determining when many apples are ready for picking, just lift the fruit sideways. Many apples, if they are ready for harvest, will then detach from the bud. If an apple puts up a fight, leave it there. Try not to pull the bud off the branch because that is where next year's apples will come from.

Autumn has appeared quicker than normal this year due to a bit of an erratic summer and early warm spring. It could be they are almost ready - but they will contiinue to ripen after they are picked.

I wonder why he's in such a hurry - perhaps as autumn is early? I've a cox in my garden and I've not even thought of harvesting yet but I am north of the border. At work some of the early apples are ready earlier than usual - but we're not into full picking mode yet. Today we tackle the 4 remaining plums before we even think about the apples.

I hope that helps you :A

Pippilongstocking

Greying thank you for the comments re the food storer - my gut it that it should go to the charity shop - I was given it opened but unused. I think I can make better use of freezer space to help save food needing stored - am considering either a chest freezer for one of the sheds or a smaller under the counter one for the larder but for now - as its just us two I'm trying to make best use of the one we have. Hope you're weekend was good - thank you for the tofu advice both you and cheery - I might try the smoked first and venture into pressing.........and yes I'm sure it would taste lush if you made it for us .

Weekend was a flurry of jam sessions, walks, cooking, getting cars back, reading and then more adventures to 25th wedding anniversary bbq's. A lovely if hectic weekend.

Helped to bag up all the leftovers at the BBQ - and came home in food profit. We didnt' eat one meal at home this weekend aside my tattie with coleslaw. But, we didn't starve and only a wee sneaky egg roll out on sunday enroute to get cars he treated but the cost was minimal.

DD landed in the city today - helping her move this week - must see what time off I need for that.

Nice to have her home. Good chat with DS over messenger. Technology certainly bridges gaps doesn't it.

Picked up butter and juice for work so a hearty £2.20 spend.

Made a huge bunch of flowers for chums 25th anniversary (free) and man they did look lush - we've asked them here for a meal or out whatever they'd prefer as a present so whilst we part-eed it was very MSE.

DH got petrol - must pay him back and I think that's my petrol budget bust for the month, although I did have a big adventure to Englandshire which I don't do every month.

Been asked to speak at an event doon sooth vaguely worky but unsure of expenses - don't like to ask too hard but can't cough up a few hundred quid to do something out of my own pocket atm.

Ponders.

Must update spends and do weekly update. And, get ready for work!

Hope you have a good one!

XOXXO

Pippilongstocking

34.90 left in grub shopping account of 200 start of the month
Zero left in petrol account - which is actually -5 at the moment and the month isn't up so 200 a month is maybe not enough.....

Main account has -366 left of overdraft - other wages £500 still not in.

Second account has -£30 left of 1000 OD

One CC sitting at 2400 - down 300
Other CC same at 900

Debt down by 300
Total debt now - with OD's included 5300

Progress not perfection for sure.

All spends on cash card again this week - no credit cards used.
Budgets whilst not water tight - are helping to see where the dosh is going.
Less eating out last week due to more meals sorted in the morning or night before.
No lunch spends as being good and making sure we both have lunch.
Steps averaging 19931 steps a day - but weekends I'm still struggling with other life committments.

Greying_Pilgrim

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

.....the tofu advice both you and cheery - I might try the smoked first and venture into pressing.........and yes I'm sure it would taste lush if you made it for us .

Ha, ha my darling, you are so kind. But i think that you would perhaps still not be 'blown away' by it as a foodstuff. I was giving it some thought, and I think that I eat tofu more because of it's texture rather than any taste/flavouring I can pump into it. It's something a bit different to eat in the lexicon of veggies and pulses. I'd love to try it prepared by an chef, expert in tofu preparation and cooking - then I think perhaps I would be blown away by it for it's ability to take on flavours etc.

Have a great day - not a BH for you if iirc?

Greying X