Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Elnora32

Another vote for Foxgloves TV.

I also agree about cakes being too sweet. I find it so easy to say no to bought cake which is something I never thought I would say.

DawnW

I agree re the size and sweetness of bought cakes. They usually look lovely but.....
Don't get me wrong, I love cake, and always have one in the tin (Mary Berry's banana loaf atm). I often find recipes too sweet too, but it is easy enough to reduce the sugar content if you are in control of the ingredients. I always reduce by at least 20%, even the sainted Mary's recipe! And of course it is perfectly feasible to decide that no icing is required (unless one of my small grand daughters is involved, then icing is compulsory along with every kind of sprinkle and decoration - and the posh cake stand :rotfl:). And finally, you can decide to have a small slice instead of a huge portion, making it slightly less disastrous for the waistline!

Blackcats

I'd love to see Foxgloves tv too. I'd like to see the socks you knit - they always sound so clever. There's an audience for shows like Love Island which hold no appeal whatsoever to me so I think Foxgloves' socks could definitely appeal to a certain audience.
Reassuring that it's not just me that finds ginormous cakes off putting (and I love cake). Dawn W you are right that homemade cake gives you control on the ingredients and the size of slice. I could just eat a slice of your banana bread now - only a teency weency slice though.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Cake!!!!!!!

That is all.

foxgloves

Hi Diary readers,
I've just logged in & discovered that a number of you think I should have a frugal TV show. Oh my goodness, no. I'm sure I'd enjoy getting myself done up like a pigs breakfast for the first couple, then I'd go off the idea. Also..... In real life, most of the people who know me don't know what a debt-bedecked Mrs Numpty I've been with money in the past. I like the anonymity of posting on here. I quite like the idea of a podcast - How about "Fighting capitalism through the medium of mince & lentils"? then I could inflict my political ideology on everyone as well, lol.

Re cupcakes.... yes, completely agree. They are often more buttercream than cake. I can't eat them as have a dodgy gallbladder. I often prefer cheese scones when I'm out. I generally avoid colossal wedges of cake.

Re Bake-Off. I can't wait! Love it, though Mr F has to put up with me saying "Oh no, why is he/she doing that?" x about 164 throughout each episode. A retro classic for the technical? Maybe a black forest gateau? A battenburg? (My phone has just tried to correct that to 'Beaten Bug'..... yes, the classic Beaten Bug Cake, full of old flies which have just given up!

Re 'Shop well for less'. Yes, Kantankrus, I thought there must be a significant debt level there too. I couldn't see how that level of spending was sustainable on one income. I felt sorry for the daughter who had been bullied, but couldn't see how buying her so much stuff was likely to help. £70 on a set of make-up brushes for a 14-year old? She had so many sets already, & primary aged children having expensive branded aftershave. Mr F nearly fell off the sofa at that point.....I shan't tell you what he said, in case it sounds unkind, but I'll admit it made me chuckle.
Overall, it made me wonder why people need to go on a TV programme to learn such basics such as 'brands aren't always better' or 6 bunches of fresh flowers a month or it might have been every week will be expensive.
Then I thought how silly & spendy I used to be myself while always wondering why I didn't have any money.
Ah well.....
F x

foxgloves

And now for today's post!
Well after all I said about not needing any grocery purchases till the weekend, I did have to cycle to the village farm shop this morning for onions, as I've picked a basket of produce today & intend to do some cooking for the freezer tomorrow.
Apart from that, still continuing with 'Use it up' week. I made a veggie chilli tonight & Mr F loved it. It's very economical to make & healthy. I used up a courgette by adding one at the saut!ing veg stage, plus a beautiful green pepper from my greenhouse, our homegrown chillies & an annoying half tin of kidney beans I froze a while back. With red lentils, puree, a tin of tomatoes & various seasonings from my stores, it made a tasty big pan full & before Mr F could snarf seconds, I plopped a portion with some rice into a freezer container, which will do him a 'free' lunch at some point.
Anyway..... why is the woman wittering on about this lentil chilli?
Because I used to make it way back when I was Very Spendy Indeed. It was a go-to concoction when the light bulb used to have the occasional tiny flicker. I used to keep a journal back then, & if I dip in, there are entries where I say I must start to claw back some of my debt by pulling in my horns with the spending. There would then follow a couple of days of economies including my lentil chilli, before a special offer from the cosmetic counter with the white coats or 'needing' a new whatever-it-was & off I'd go again.
But the silly thing is, I've always had the skills & knowledge to cook economically. I had an old-fashioned home economics teacher & she taught us well. I just didn't choose to do it in a sustained way until the genuine, proper, totally 100% lighbulb finally pinged on.
Oooh, SOMEBODY'S dipped into his spends, as the lovely Mr F has just brought me a Mars bar!
And now I'd better sign out & think about putting in a few rows of knitting.
Love to all,
F x

Blackcats

Just a thought re the ill-fated tv show ......could you present it in a hand-knitted balaclava hat with a pixelated face and then only we would know it was you?

moving_forward

I just nearly fell off me chair laughimg at Blackcats then

Delurking (again) to vote for foxgloves tv but without the political twist - that could be a whole can of worms that one!

Kantankrus_Mare

Possible title for the "not happening" TV programme:

"Forage and Frugality with the Faceless Foxgloves"

Blackcats

The Foxgloves fan club couldn't be making the tv extravaganza much easier for the star. She will just need to polish her lentils, knit a balaclava, avoid getting tangled up with the tomatoes in her greenhouse and go steady on the Saturday night g and t. No need to worry about makeup with the pixelating machine working at full pelt,