Fabulously Frugal and Free at 50!

EssexHebridean

Oh for goodness sake - I thought you'd been quiet, and here I find the reason - a sneaky new diary without telling me! Pfft - well you'll have to try harder than THAT to get away....mwahahahaha!

Choc Beetroot Cake or Brownies - Huge Furry Wotsit has a lovely recipe too - it's in the first River Cottage book I think.

Can't shed any advice on the personal spendiness budget really as we're not good examples on this - we do make sure we budget for things like a takeaway here and there though - MrEH gets a wee bit extra in his spends to allow for the fact that it's usually him that stops and gets, and therefore pays for it. In the winter months I extract £30 weekly from t'hole int'wall but don't always spend it all - that's generally frippery money though, as you say charity shops and the like, the occasional posh coffee and a bun, that sort of nonsense.

Do the balance transfer to 0%. 29% is painful, even on £700. :eek:

Sure there's more but I'll have to read back. I repeat. S.N.E.A.K.Y. :rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

SNEAKY you say - if only

Thanks for that advice re the spendy spends and the card. TRG being the larger earner tends to take care of the treats, the main house and his own vehicles, as well as the housekeeping contribution. So he's happy to wear the burden of takeaways/eating out - but that being said - I do like to pitch in where I can and buy the occasional bag of chips

I'll withdraw £100 in total (90) and see where I go. Second credit card was a 'build up your credit card' so yes totally agree.

And yup HFWhotsist recipes are great for beetroot - HG paid me a lovely compliment the other day saying he thought my garden would be like HFW - if only he could see the mess I live in.

nice to see you.

Progress today aside EMPTYING my bank account.

I tidied up the dreaded larder to be and will measure in a mo.
Emptied the fridge and did a tidy looking grand now.
Resorted the freezer a bit for space
Stripped the boiled chicken a' la 'economy gastronomy' = I can't say I found this remotely fun or infact any meat/space saving. It was, if I'm frank a giant PITA. Usually I roast - enjoy the ambience, strip and then boil the bones. I think I'll stick with that. Whilst the chicken is cooked the meat which came off wasn't significantly different no more succulent. I'm a roasting kinda girl it would seem. Carcass is boiling again and I'll go through it again and make soup later.

Froze some well dodgy looking cheddar - I fear its got sauce in its future.

RT ANYONE - I have a dead Camembert - its rock solid - I don't mind that its out of date and sealed but its hard as a brick - any ideas - or is this simple a kitchen disaster and EX_FOOD. YIKES.

Plum cordial is bottled added some citric acid to it.

Used the plum moosh to make a 3rd batch of plum sauce - will see if the flavour is any markedly different having been used for juice first - who knows.

Cut back the oregano and now have four HUGE bunches drying in the kitchen to strip for dried herbs.

Plaited my onions and put the tiddlers in an onion box. Never done this before although I have no idea why.20 onions on each strip - all hanging up with pride. LInkie here

Aside that lot of crazy I tidied the store cupboard and sorted out all the plastic boxes.

I need more kilner (whatever brand) jars so I'll cruise the charity shops - prefer to get them second hand if I can.

Washed out a few more cordial bottles and left to sterilised.

Dug a tattie for lunch and had that with the last of the coleslaw.

Made chinese chicken curry for tea in waiting (prepared) using M*ysan creamed (?) paste from the chinese supermarket - its my fave brand I think and at 1.29 for around 10 portions of sauce that's value - don't really need stock in it either but I did put some fresh in from the chook. Used two onions ars we like this very oniony and makes the chook go further - although I didn't even use a breast.

Have also prepared Iains 7 minute rice which is fool proof, works everytime and there's fluffy rice in the fridge. I measured this time so only cooked a cup full of raw rice and we'll see if we can portion properly. Does make a lot of rice. Looks like a tea for two and at least one lunch from that combo. I'm adding green beans and tatties to mine.

Washing to hang out and then I guess I need to get myself organised for the city. Was going to message a chum about coffee but I've quite enjoyed pottering today.

Hope you have a nice lunch!

EssexHebridean

The Camembert - maybe try heating it and see if it softens? If so can you add some cream and turn it into a sort of fondue? Can't bear the thought of dead cheese - it's too traumatic.

With you on boiling chicken - i KNOW the theory is that it stays juicy (but I've never had any complaints on that score with roasting them!) but i always just find it seems to rob the meat of a lot of flavour. Not good. Roasting is here to stay chez EH as well.

Pippilongstocking

Marvellous me dear. I'll ponder a wee reheat when DD here - as she's likes it too. Or I may job lob into freezer and attempt a mutation of tartiflette with it at a later date but that's freezer spcae. Dear lord I hope its not dead. And yup agree re chook, I slightly feel as if I've been robbed.

I measured the larder.

Enough for 3 shelves to take big boxes - on two top shelves kinda walk in laundry/store will fit 6 ikea boxes wide along the shelf.
Lower shelf and worktop for stores - sounds like that will work out.

2.3m wide by 1.3m tall counter and wall space if used well could be mucho useful. Shelves need to be 53-60cm wide - might speak to the chap at work who's a joiner and discuss the merits of screwfix v diy store and see if they have any better ideas.

Thinking those strips up the wall with the shelf holders that attach its a p/b wall so needs proper fixing.

Room also needs a paint - once all worked out will paint prior to finishing - remind me I said that as truth be told once the shelves are up you'd never notice.

Old cupboard in there is heading to the works potting shed - its perfectly fine but just not what we need.

EssexHebridean

Larder sounds awesome - the shelves in ours are held up by using timber battens screwed to the walls each side - the shelves then sit on top and are screwed onto the battens to prevent movement. Works well and a bit more solid than the racking type fixings. For longer shelves than ours I'd put another batten along the length somewhere I think - just for safety.

Greying_Pilgrim

For anyone not lucky enough to grow their own beetroot, mrL are having bunches of beetroot in their 'Pickoftheweek' from tomorrow for 69p a bunch. I'm not too sure what constitutes 'a bunch', and they would need cooking....... I'm also not sure if that is nationwide - do mrL still do different offers for Scotland? Some of us may still well retire to h0me bargins to get our purple pleasures ready cooked ...............

Greying X

EssexHebridean

Ooh good tip off Greying - thank you! I can sense some beetroot salads coming on over the next few weeks then - blow the idea of messing about cooking the stuff! I shall make a note to pop to Lil's on Friday morning as I'm heading to Mums anyway! :T

Pippilongstocking

thanks ladies

New bridge #mental 3hrs to do a 15 hr journey hope it settles down.

3 bags freezer fodder for DDS flat defrosting and needs cooking tomorrow.

Car utterly stuff with half a flat for four people. Other half parked at one of their chums. Whilst a bit nuisance-y saves them 120 quid van hire, with 24 hrs between flats.

Tired but nice to help. Tea HM was epic.

Clever Mae planning.

Pippilongstocking

Greying thank you. So useful.

eH enjoy parents - and beets as easy as boiling tatties. Just saying! Xo

EssexHebridean

:rotfl::rotfl: Cheaper to eat 'em raw though!