Put away your purse & become debt-averse

HairyHandofDartmoor

You've inspired me to move a leftover portion from the fridge into the freezer before it goes off Foxgloves. Even in a house of 4-5 adults, a single portion can be really useful sometimes.

I was also thinking about you this morning when I decided to keep my purse closed and come home without browsing the charity shops, because I knew there'd be a danger I would buy something and what do I actually need? Nothing .

foxgloves

Yeah, the single portions are defo worth freezing, HHoD, even if just to use when somebody fancies eating something different.
Re charity shops..... Love 'em! Was really restrained last week when I met my friend for charity shop treasure hunting. She bought 4 tops, & another 2 garments in a clothes shop sale, as she had some birthday money. I was very tempted by a slinky maxi-dress in one of the charity shops we visited. I wouldn't have worn the dress itself, but would have altered it into a maxi-skirt, using some of the fabric from the top half to make a waistband. I decided not to bother, though, as I have almost spent my personal spends allowance for this month, & didn't feel I could really justify buying it from our clothes piggy.
When I had a big overhaul of my wardrobe a couple of months ago, I identified a few additions which would be useful:
1. Two new dresses (Sorted as Mr F bought me a couple for my birthday..... had a voucher for 30% off).
2. A new denim skirt. (Sorted as found exactly what I wanted in M&S on a £5 off day)
3. A plain black tunic style top to wear with jeans & black trousers, along with a rather psychedelic jacket I have, which really only works with black (Not yet found anything suitable or that I like)
So knowing I did this audit of wardrobe needs, is kind of helping me with other new clothes temptation.
Am looking in charity shops as well for black tunic top, as am quite happy to buy 2nd hand if it's what I'm looking for.
Well..... apparently only going to be sunny this morning, so must crack on with some greenhouse jobs & get ham hock into the slow cooker.
Have a good day, all.
F x

foxgloves

Morning Campers,
I've been on Rubber Ham Hock duty this morning. I think a ham hock has to be one of the most bargainaceous grocery items we buy. Our butcher sells them for £2.50 each. I bought one & cooked it in the slow cooker yesterday. I didn't do anything fancy with it. The meat is so tasty that I just sat it on a bit of sliced onion, a bay leaf & couple of black peppercorns, poured in some water about a third of the way up & slow cooked it for 8 hours on low. We had it for Sunday dinner with some home made parsley sauce, new potatoes, carrots & broccoli. It was lovely. Today, I've taken off the remaining meat & divided it up to use on the ham & pineapple pizza I'm making tonight and the pasta bake I'm making tomorrow. I've saved two small containers of the jelly stock, as it's a tasty addition to lentil-based soups, & also adds a bit of ooomph to gravy. I didn't bother with making extra stock from the bones this time, as I have no need of it atm, but I often do so in the winter months when I tend to make a lot more soup. So, stock aside, I think 3 days of main meals from a £2.50 ham hock is good value, & I think when I see them on our butcher's counter, I'll buy one to put in the freezer, knowing that it'll be good for a few days of meals at some point.
It's clouding over here, after a lovely sunny start. Hope my washing dries before the showers start. I'm also aiming to plant out another 2 trays of lettuce plugs, so could do with it staying dry a bit longer. Really enjoyed popping down to the greenhouse early this morning to water everything. The sweetcorn has started coming up & the squash plants are looking happier since I potted them on. Soon be able to get more stuff outside.
Right, I mustn't start woffling on about my garden, I've got lots of jobs to do, so will wish you all a peaceful & productive day, & will crack on myself!
F x

Blackcats

Hi Foxgloves, I've never cooked a ham hock but it sounds easy, tasty and economical so I think I'll try. I feel pleased with myself that I've made stock from yesterday's roast chicken, just finished a delicious chicken salad sandwich and am making chicken and asparagus risotto for tea tonight. I might start clucking like a chicken soon if stretch the leftovers much further. In the past I never bothered with leftovers which was a waste of food and money. Steady progress for me.
Your vegetable garden sound amazing and it sounds like you get so much pleasure from the growing and eating.
Enjoy the rest of Monday.

foxgloves

Morning Blackcats,
Sounds like great rubber chicken action. Keep up the good work!
The crazy thing about my spend years is that I did often use up all my Sunday roast meat AND sometimes made stock. I've always had those traditional cooking skills, as I was taught O-level Food & Nutrition at school by a very old fashioned teacher who insisted we all knew how to stretch food & cook economically. So even at my spendy worst, there would be soup making, blackberry picking for jam, etc. But outweighing all those hopeful glimmers, there was all the bad habits which simply ATE money...... no meal planning, rarely bothering with a shopping list, at least 3 top-up shops a week because I fancied something different, at least 1 takeaway a week for the same reason, never prioritising food supplies I already had in.......
I just don't have the excuse that I didn't know how to cook economically because I absolutely did, I just opted not to use those skills the majority of the time.
Very different now. More rubber ham hock on the menu tonight. Am adding red onion, sweetcorn, tomatoes, cheese, etc, & making a pasta bake. Plenty of herbs in the garden for adding to that.
Ooooh, just spotted how sunny it is. Am off to peg out the laundry then go & wake up my greenhouse plants.
F x

chocomonsta

foxgloves wrote: »

Morning Campers,

Right, I mustn't start woffling on about my garden, I've got lots of jobs to do, so will wish you all a peaceful & productive day, & will crack on myself!
F x

Please do - its so interesting :T loving your posts

foxgloves

Awww, that's lovely of you Chocomonsta. Until a couple of years ago, I had a blog about my garden, it's wildlife & all my recycling projects, simple 'How to' posts, etc, with photos, etc, but I gave it up. The biggest fan of my blog posts was a dear friend whom I'd known since I was 18. She used to read it on her way home from work & used to say it fair cheered her up to read about all our frogs, veggie growing action, etc. Sadly, she died very unexpectedly & after that, I just didn't feel like writing it any more, as one of its features were all her funny comments. So I suppose, as I now garden in a very money saving way (a bit different to the Spendy Years when I practically lived at the garden centre & would think nothing of blowing £50 just to fill a couple of pots), that my garden efforts now feature regularly in my reformed spender's diary here.
The Holly blue butterflies were out today, so nice to have them flitting about while I was planting out my larkspur, clary & cosmos.
F x

Chrystal

Hi foxgloves :hello:

Loving your posts, as always.
Will you be really kind and tell us your recipe for the garlic flat breads please. My 14 year old GS eats like three men (literally!) and I'm sure they're something he'd love ... he's over 6 feet, size 11 shoe and still growing:eek: I need a second mortgage when he;s here, and as that's every weekend and every holiday my purse is feeling the pinch.:rotfl:

Toni'sfriend

I would love a garden but only have a little verandah type thing. It's amazing what you can get on it though. There's more space than you think but I'm not a very good gardener. Love butterflies and bees. Are there any container plants that are particularly good at attracting them?

Honeysucklelou2

A lavender plant in a container would smell nice, look good in the summer and last well. The soil In my garden is acidic so lavenders don't do well in my garden but they flourish in containers. You can get English or French lavender. The English lavender can come in pale pink and white colours too.