Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Onebrokelady

There will be loads of cream of tartar in the shops Foxgloves because most of us don't know what you actually use it for 😀my DD asked me once and I didn't have a clue but could remember using it in recipes while at school, thanks for researching it so we can take advantage of your knowledge 😂
If you have a Wilkos in your area it's worth looking for baking powder etc wherever they have the display of baking tins, ours always has a supply of DR Oetkers baking powder nearby 

Tescodealqueen

Thanks for the info on cream of tartar, I had enough trouble recalling how much baking powder was needed if I didn't have self raising flour. Speaking of which our local Morris**s is selling the flour it would use in its in-store bakeries to customers weighed out in paper bags so managed to get self raising flour that way if it helps anyone

DawnW

I had a 16kg bag of self raising flour delivered yesterday, from a local wholesaler - many of them are now supplying private customers as there is no hospitality trade atm. I actually ordered a 10kg bag, as unfortunately they had sold out of the 3kg ones that I had previously, but they had run out of those as well, so substituted the larger bag of the same brand for the same price - £9.95. Delivery was free as I had ordered other things as well, such as 5 litres of white wine vinegar for this year's pickling and chutney campaigns, and a large pack of dishwasher tablets. Very reasonable having seen flour prices on Amazon and ebay! Safe to say I shan't need any flour for a while. I use self raising for everything except bread dough, but that is a lot of flour! I shall share with my daughter no doubt. It is a bit different from supermarket flour, not quite so bleachy white and seems finer, and it makes really lovely cakes, pastry and scones, better in my opinion than the usual supermarket options. Fun will come when I have to open it and split into smaller containers

PurpleFairy26

That sounds excellent dawn 

foxgloves work on your garden sounds lovely, it will be a great space for you to enjoy when it’s finished (and probably all the more enjoyable as work from DIY numpty will also be gone!) 

Pixiehouse55

Good morning to you all
Had a few hectic days as hubby redoing the worktops in our kitchen, putting resin on worktops it's a metallic grey, I must admit I wasnt sure but it does look good. It means no kitchen for a few days and things from the kitchen in the lounge, dining area etc!! I don't do mess, I'm really struggling. Might have to be takeaway tonight, it costs so much these days doesn't it, it will come in my food budget for the month. 
How are you all getting on with the lockdown?. I wonder what Boris will say tomorrow?. I think we should stay as we are, it's not over yet!!. 
Cleared hubby's cc off this month so that's good and the money I used to pay his has been added to mine.  Slowly getting there. N**t card still got a bit on it hope to pay a chunk off of it in may.
Not had a remittance slip come through the post yet so not sure what I've been paid for.
Good to see your work is coming on nicely Foxgloves. Thanks for the tip to use instead of baking powder.
 I know have to be gluten free, but expensive😁.
Wishing you all a happy sunny Saturday 

marionmgcars

Hello,  thanks for all the posts, I have been reading from beginning, and it’s very motivating.  I am trying to reduce my food bill as we decided we eat too much, so portion control is my challenge and to eat healthier meals too.  I am enjoying seeing everyone’s challenges. 

Baileys_Babe

I'm with you @Pixiehouse55 I don't think we should be easing lockdown yet. I'm hoping for once Boris shares my opinion, which on virtually everything else would be a miracle.

foxgloves

Hi everyone. Really interesting reading all your comments on sourcing flour, lockdown, etc. And welcome to Marionmgcars. Glad you found a bit of inspiration. We have a similar problem here. Mr F has to work hard at portion control & while I do eat sensible sized portions, I can be a shocking nibbler. I've said before that the saying 'Little pickers wear big knickers' is very apt for me!
I agree that Covid spread still seems too high for lockdown to be relaxed. Johnson's government have lost control of the message The hints that things might be a bit different from Monday have been grabbed at by the media who have built up people's expectation of significant change. I fully expect the gradual easing of the lockdown to be as bungled as every other aspect of leadership regarding the UK's pandemic response so far. How they are going to explain away ignoring the Operation Cygnus findings is beyond me.
Anyway, I had better get today's post on.
F x

foxgloves

And here are today's efforts. Hello m'ducks. Hope everyone is still managing to stay well. Had a more leisurely start to the day today, then Mr F helped me prepare the ingredients for more chutney making tomorrow. Everything soaking in a big bowl of cider vinegar overnight. Can smell the star anise as I walk by. Then I tackled a few more annoying jobs. I made Mr F some of his favourite garlic pickle.... this made it onto the annoying jobs list because I got out several tiny jars ready for this weeks ago & they have been sitting there ever since, getting in the way. Not a no-spend day, as 2 annoying jobs involved a modest purchase - 1 at £3.99 & the other at £11, but it did feel good to have sourced the items to deal with two silly long ignored tasks.
Then the bloke in charge of this week's building project arrived much earlier than usual to say he couldn't do the finishing off job today after all as he was pushed for time & it needs 2 to 3 hrs so he's coming on Monday instead. He did, however, say it's now ok to walk on the new courtyard, which meant (seeing as I don't have wings) I could get down to my greenhouse for a much needed watering session. Decided to fetch a big trug of home made compost to dig into the greenhouse border, set up some bottomless pots & transplant 6 of my tomato plants into their final spot for the season. I was going to pot up the courgettes & squash into bigger pots too, but decided instead to set up the job ready to do tomorrow, as my hands were starting to feel stiff. I did wear my thumb brace support, but I think trowelling compost out of the doors of the dalek-style compost bins is quite hard work for small arthritic hands, even though I can go for days with hardly any symptoms of it. I am feeling it today though, so it feels like a tv watching, magazine reading night tonight & my hands are not too sore to lift a gin glass, so that's all sounding ok.
Take care, all. 
F x

Onebrokelady

foxgloves said:

Hi everyone. Really interesting reading all your comments on sourcing flour, lockdown, etc. And welcome to Marionmgcars. Glad you found a bit of inspiration. We have a similar problem here. Mr F has to work hard at portion control & while I do eat sensible sized portions, I can be a shocking nibbler. I've said before that the saying 'Little pickers wear big knickers' is very apt for me!
I agree that Covid spread still seems too high for lockdown to be relaxed. Johnson's government have lost control of the message The hints that things might be a bit different from Monday have been grabbed at by the media who have built up people's expectation of significant change. I fully expect the gradual easing of the lockdown to be as bungled as every other aspect of leadership regarding the UK's pandemic response so far. How they are going to explain away ignoring the Operation Cygnus findings is beyond me.
Anyway, I had better get today's post on.
F x

They have a lot of explaining to do re operation Cygnus but not to worry they are handing out their £60,000 worth of blood money to the families of healthcare workers in a bid to stop those families from rightfully suing them 😡sorry for the political rant on your diary Foxgloves but I hate this government with a passion 😡