Giving every £ a job

QueenJess

Ooh - gooseberry and apple crumble, what a great idea! I’ve got some gooseberries from the garden languishing in my freezer somewhere. This will definitely go on my menu as I have a lonely cooking apple in the fridge to use up too! 

Blackcats

It's starting to feel like springtime now.  We've been doing some bursts of spring cleaning - I washed the cushion covers and knitted blankets from the lounge and got them dried on the washing line, I bought a couple of hyacinth plants to go in a basket on the sideboard which looks nice.  I'll plant my own this year as I think it will be cheaper.  OH was in town yesterday so I asked him to get a bunch of daffs for the kitchen table - he came home with £7 worth of daffs and a bunch of roses 🤦‍♀️ It's the thought that counts! 

Friends visited for lunch today - we made a garlic herby focaccia and had some olives, mozzarella and tomato and Parma ham as a starter, then some chicken Provençal, new pots and roast veggies followed by bread and butter pudding.  Wine at lunchtime plus a big lunch means I'm feeling very relaxed and a bit sleepy. 

Money saving this week with Olio.  Got a great haul of fruit salad.  In the "spendy years" (copyright Foxgloves) I used to let my children fill up a tub each of the ready made fruit salad that used to be in the supermarkets - these were hideously expensive and often didn't get completely eaten.  I would also buy melons, pineapple, mango, kiwi etc etc and a lot of this used to go direct from the fruit bowl to the bin.  Nowadays I buy oranges, bananas, apples or pears and I have a stock of frozen fruit.  I also got 2 nets of mandarins from olio this week.  Yesterday evening we picked up 2 whole meal cheese and ham baguettes so we changed our meal plan to baguettes and chips - like a pub lunch, followed by fruit salad.  Last night's planned dinner can be rolled forward to next week.  

Sun_Addict

How many daffs did he get, they’re less than £1 a bunch at the moment 😱 I’ve not tried Olio or Too Good To Go. Mr SA would love baguette and chips for a meal 😆

Blackcats

Indeed SA - he bought a lot of daffodils - let's just say I've run out of vases.

foxgloves

Oh my goodness @Blackcats, I bet you only meant one of those cheery little £1 bunches of daffs! I love those but have had to move my treasured purple flower bottle because I'm sure Ash ate a piece of daffodil last month. He was very sick & later I found a suspiciously chewed looking one. But I could have a bunch up on my piano where they are not allowed to go. I think those spring bunches provide a lot of joy for £1.
F x

[Deleted User]

Oh no re Mr Blackcats and his flower frenzy!  Your lunch sounds absolutely wonderful, I bet you are great hosts.  And I am so impressed by your use of Olio - it's something I really do need to start looking at - you are very creative in the kitchen.

Blackcats

I'm feeling all William Wordsworth today amidst my host of golden daffodils 🤣 yes Mrs F I did mean a £1 bunch and I had shown Mr BC the small blue vase that I planned to use for the £1 bunch.  He was obviously in stand-by mode rather than receive mode.

rebecca you are definitely too kind - I'm such a newcomer to being creative in the kitchen - it's not so long ago that I spent £30 buying a whole cake from the w8rose coffee shop 🤦‍♀️

I have a financial frog to eat tomorrow so I've noted it here to hold myself accountable.  In fact there are 2 frogs but I'm ok with one of them but need to eat both.

I made a cake tonight when the oven was on for dinner - a marmalade loaf from the dairy cookbook (updated for the 1990's!).  My mum loved bread and marmalade and there was a jar in her cupboard so I've brought it home and made it into a cake using a recipe from her cookbook.  I felt a real pang of sadness when I was baking it - it took me by surprise yet again how much I miss her.

Sun_Addict

I still sometimes think about phoning my mum to tell her something then realise I can’t 😢 It never goes away that feeling. I love daffodils they are my favourite flower, so bright and cheerful. 

[Deleted User]

Blackcats said:

I'm feeling all William Wordsworth today amidst my host of golden daffodils 🤣 yes Mrs F I did mean a £1 bunch and I had shown Mr BC the small blue vase that I planned to use for the £1 bunch.  He was obviously in stand-by mode rather than receive mode.

rebecca you are definitely too kind - I'm such a newcomer to being creative in the kitchen - it's not so long ago that I spent £30 buying a whole cake from the w8rose coffee shop 🤦‍♀️

I have a financial frog to eat tomorrow so I've noted it here to hold myself accountable.  In fact there are 2 frogs but I'm ok with one of them but need to eat both.

I made a cake tonight when the oven was on for dinner - a marmalade loaf from the dairy cookbook (updated for the 1990's!).  My mum loved bread and marmalade and there was a jar in her cupboard so I've brought it home and made it into a cake using a recipe from her cookbook.  I felt a real pang of sadness when I was baking it - it took me by surprise yet again how much I miss her.

sending love - I'm sure she would be very proud of the marmalade cake x

[Deleted User]

Sun_Addict said:

I still sometimes think about phoning my mum to tell her something then realise I can’t 😢 It never goes away that feeling. I love daffodils they are my favourite flower, so bright and cheerful. 

sending love x