Put away your purse & become debt-averse

CRANKY40

Humdinger1 said:

Some things some of us can only learn the hard way! Thanks @DawnW for your kind words...my speedy friend considers herself frugal, that's what's staggering me

Getting someone else to pay could be considered frugal in a roundabout kind of way? Said tongue in cheek obviously 

maddiemay

poppy811 Have not ever grown courgettes, but when a kind friend used to pass them on to me we liked them cut into rounds and fried in butter and oil, grated or chopped small into mince based meals or made into chocolate courgette muffins, using good old fashioned cocoa not oodles of expensive chocolate. 

QueenJess

poppy811 said:

Realyhave reduced what I grow this year because of illhealth but have a a glut of courgettes, any ideas because  I do not want anymore soup!

This made me chuckle.. so anytime I read something useful on the forum like a recipe, I copy and paste it into the notes on my phone. I distinctly remember a conversation about courgettes last year and I think it may have been in the frugal thread. I can’t remember, but anyway, searching for courgette on my notes yields three results - pickled courgettes, courgette and chocolate cake and cheese and courgette scones. I’ve copied and pasted below from my notes that is an exact copy from the original poster… sorry I can’t remember who or where posted them! Hope it helps though!

Pickled courgettes

These are not over-vinegary at all.

Right, thinly slice 1.4kg courgettes & 450g onions into a large non-metal bowl. Cut really big slices of courgette in half. Dissolve 225g salt in 2.5 litres water & pour over courgettes & onions. Leave for 3 hours. Stir now & again.

Drain & rinse very thoroughly with cold water. Tip onto a clean tea towel & dry off water. Transfer to large pan.

Using a smaller pan, make the vinegar. Just heat together 500ml white malt vinegar, 225g white sugar, 2 cloves thinly sliced garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1tsp black peppercorns, 1tsp mustard seeds

Stir to dissolve sugar then pour your hot flavoured vinegar over the courgette/onion slices. Leave to stand for 1 hour then put pan on hob & boil gently for 3 mins. 

You're done! Use a slotted spoon to transfer courgettes into warm sterilised jars. Pack them down well. Pour the spiced vinegar into a jug & use it to top up the jars so that the veg is covered. Put lids on. Leave for 2 weeks to mellow before eating. 

Chocolate and courgette traybake-

120g Margerine

125ml Sunflower oil

100g caster sugar

200g light brown sugar

3 eggs, beaten

350g self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp cocoa powder

450g courgette, grated and drained

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/190c. Line a 20cm x 35cm tray with greaseproof paper.

Mix the margerine and oil and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg mixing well until thoroughly mixed. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder into the mixture and fold until well combined. Stir in the courgettes and vanilla. Pour into baking tray and bake for 35 minutes. 

Cheese and courgette scones

450g Self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

340g Grated courgette

112g Margerine

150ml Milk

112g Grated Cheddar

1 egg

Preheat the oven to gas mark 7/ fan 200.

Using a muslin cloth squeeze as much water as you can from the grated courgette. In a bowl rub the margerine into the flour and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the grated courgette and cheddar and mix together.

In a jug mix together the egg and milk. Add to the mixture to make a soft dough that is not too sticky. You may need to add a little extra flour. Roll out the dough and cut into rounds with a cutter. Place the scones onto a greased baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes. They should be golden and well risen.

The scones are a good one for using up a lot of courgette. 

foxgloves

@Humdinger1 - That's a lot of money in the current climate. The way I'd look at it is this. If I had seen a £65 item I'd mentally earmarked as something to buy for a friend's special birthday, I'd be in control of the decision in its entirety. So if, nearer the time, my finances were looking shakier, I'd be able to choose a different more affordable gift. While splitting the cost with a friend can potentially be a saving, the agreement to do so can also tie your hands if you then need to redirect the money elsewhere or see a cheaper but equally appropriate present.
I do think £65 is too much to ask atm.
F x

milann

The courgette recipes are great…thankyou. I’m going to make a note of them and hopefully next year I’ll have courgettes to use 🙄
The jam making sounds fantastic👍
I also think £65 is quite a lot to pay atm.

Cheery_Daff

I agree with the others. I barely spent £65 on Mr Cheery's recent birthday (which included stuff for the house/both of us too), and I never spend that much on family members, let alone friends. I'm afraid I'd say no, I'd rather not, that's more than I'd usually spend on a present, and leave it at that.

Humdinger1

foxgloves said:

@Humdinger1 - That's a lot of money in the current climate. The way I'd look at it is this. If I had seen a £65 item I'd mentally earmarked as something to buy for a friend's special birthday, I'd be in control of the decision in its entirety. So if, nearer the time, my finances were looking shakier, I'd be able to choose a different more affordable gift. While splitting the cost with a friend can potentially be a saving, the agreement to do so can also tie your hands if you then need to redirect the money elsewhere or see a cheaper but equally appropriate present.
I do think £65 is too much to ask atm.
F x

Thanks @foxgloves that's what also bothering me; plus the pressure in spite of explanations.  Made me determined to say no and felt really cross.  Xx

Onebrokelady

Whatlifeis said:

Our MP is Liz Truss. So probably not going to get too far with that 😞

You have my sympathy 😟she is evil 

poppy811

Many thanks for the courgette recipes, will give them a go

Jellytotts

@QueenJess just caught up and saw your comment on average kWh usage....I've no idea! But...there's 2 of us here all day and we have an electric car to charge (but do have solar panels). Our average use last week was 11kwh per day but it was a heavy week for charging the car as we needed to pop to feed our daughters cat twice a day and had a drive to my parents and back which needed a full empty to full car charge.

Its the "anything that heats up" that uses the most power, so the oven will draw loads whilst, switching to a halogen or air fryer will help as its a smaller space to heat and instant heat so no waiting for things to warm up.  Only fill the kettle with the water you need (I did an experiment yesterday. 1 litre of water boiled in the electric kettle was 6p, the same boiled on the gas hob kettle was 1p.  We have a big pump action thermos so I fill that in the morning and we get decent hot water until 2pm ish, I use the last of the warm but not tea making temperature water to wash up the glasses after dinner, wipe the sides and table down etc (so the boiler isn't going on for a bit of hot water).

If you pop over to the old style boards there's lots of posts with hints and tips for keeping the costs down over winter.