The thriftyish way to debt freedom

Honeysucklelou2

I thought of you when I was last cooking with courgettes. I have found an interesting way of using them up beyond cake...lasagne. DD1 has phases of wanting to explore a more ketogenic diet for health reasons. Last week I browsed through the ketogenic cookbook .i have and found lasagne made with sliced courgette in place of pasta sheets. I made her one, which took about 3 courgettes and she enjoyed it. 

Re chickens, I found the best was to determine the gender of chicks was to look carefully at their legs and feet. The male chickens have thicker legs, bigger feet and, if you look at the “knee” joint at the back of the leg, have less feathers  whereas the female chickens tend to have thinner legs, slightly smaller feet and the feathers cover the “knee” joint more. Every chicken keeper who rears chicks from hatching seems to have their own way of working out the gender of chicks! The most foolproof way is to rear RIRx Light Sussex.

Hope the first day back at school goes well for your DCs.

thriftyish

Thanks @f0xh0les & @Honeysucklelou2 for the courgette ideas! I think my courgette season is almost over and I never thought I would say this but I am sad to see them go! I've still lots of grated and cubed in the freezer, and added some to a chilli today, yum!

I can't tell much difference between the chickens legs/feet, and they are three different (unknown at the moment) breeds, I am hoping they are not all boys I will see if I can take a photo over the weekend.

Packed Lunches
Its been a crazy few days. I am not enjoying preparing 6 packed lunches (or the cost!) but it is amazing to just grab my lunch and enjoy it in peace at the allotment, without having to spend 20 mins preparing everyone else's lunch and be constantly interrupted to fill drinks / undo crisps / mop up spills.

At home the kids have a sandwich, something like cucumber/carrot and a small dessert. At school they are ravenous and need:- a sandwich, a yoghurt, cheese sticks, cheese straws, grapes, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, pepper and a biscuit. At least it's mostly healthy! I have been cutting our own cheese portions from a huge block, the cucumbers are from the allotment, and I can usually manage some sort of reduced fruit, but definitely an increase on what they eat at home.

Homemade Yogurt
School requested everything disposable this week, so I ended up buying the yoghurt pouches which are really expensive when feeding a small army. I don't like the waste from the tiny yoghurts either (and the kids are fussy and will only eat certain 'smooth' ones), or the cost of the bigger tubs so I have decided to try making our own. The ninja foodi we bought last month has a yoghurt function. I made some this morning, and now have some freshly made yoghurt in the fridge - whoo! It needs to set apparently and then I can add some yoghurt and honey. I am really hoping that it's nice and the kids approve, whilst it's not going to save us millions, it will save a little and we shouldn't create much waste either. I gave up on 'disposable' after day one, when I was reliably informed that I was practically the only parent who had dutifully packed a disposable packed lunch.

School
The return to school went okay. The first day was a bit of a nightmare, and there is little social distancing from the parents - helpfully I don't know anyone yet so am happily distanced - although a tad lonely. I knew 90% of the parents at our old school, and that was maybe 3 or 4 times bigger. I feel like I should be making an effort, but mid-pandemic is not really the time. The teachers are moving between 'bubbles' too but they are a small village school so maybe this is necessary.

Allotment
I am in full tidy up mode at the allotment. I have dirt paths and have spent half the year hoeing the paths, rather than tending the actual crops. Next year I will be able to complain about mowing the grass instead of tending the crops. I figure the surface area of the mower is bigger and easier to manage, and since its a push along with mower I should get a workout too. Winner winner. Please remind me of this when I moan next year  I need to clear the paths and prepare the ground before I can sow, and I probably have until the end of the month or I will need to wait until spring.

Apples
Did I mention the price of apples is ridiculous? A few weeks ago I was looking at the cost of bare root apple trees and proclaimed the same thing, but now the cost of the tree actually looks much more reasonable. I think it might be worth doing some research, and finding some 'eaters' in similar varieties to the ones we like and investing in some. I've had a quick look already and its not as easy as buying a tree, digging a hole and dropping the tree in the hole - there is a whole heap of things to consider like when they blossom if they need other species nearby for appropriate pollination. I am not paying £2.40 for a pack of DS favourite apples when I can buy full tree for £22 (even if I do have to wait a few years) I have one apple tree (James grieves) due to arrive in a few weeks, bought from my birthday money, but want another that similar to jazz / pink lady varieties that the kids love. 

DS Birthday
I am not sure how it happened, but DS is 11 in 6 days. I have gifts, just need a few other things, and to make a cake of some sort. DD1 has bought him a gift with her own money too, she is super sweet and would spend all of her money on others. I try to let them spend their own money as I think they learn more about money that way, but I do step in with DD1 because she is FAR too generous and hardly buys anything for herself.

Pandemichaos
My head is still reeling, I am sure most people feel the same. At the figures, other countries, at the news, at stories from workplaces/schools around the UK. I am trying to focus on the stuff I can control, and trying to prepare for winter/xmas. 

Seeds
I am planning for next year already, because of the shortages last year. I am planning to seed save for future years, so not too worried about the cost and am happy to buy smaller quantities with the aim to save seeds for bigger crops in future. I am also researching varieties that can see us over the winter months like beans/peas I can dry to use in stews/casseroles. I thought it would be interesting to look at the 'victory gardens' from the war and try to find some recipes from that era. I think I am going to try and write it up on an 'allotment' blog, I started one a few months ago and have done nothing with it, so now the kids are at school and autumn is approaching I thought it might be interesting to write & take photos, even if no one actually reads.

Food
The food budget is already at £111 and only a third of the month gone. I want to top up the store cupboard so I aren't following that figure too closely, but I am still shopping the freezer / reductions / allotment. 

Breakfast: y/s avocados on y/s  toast 
Lunch: y/s egg mayo sandwich, a small portion of y/s noodles and a whole heap of fruit.
Dinner: Chilli topped jacket potatoes - potatoes were given from someone on the allotments, and I will definitely be growing that 'Picasso' variety next year, they were delicious.  The same awesome gent has offered me some of his seed potatoes to grow too. I am going to swap and give some heirloom tomato seeds I have just bought - he is a huge fan of heirlooms and will probably do a much better job than me anyway!

I can't wait to catch up on everyone's diaries. I've been so much busier with the kids back at school, I don't think it's likely to calm down until after DS's birthday. 

Honeysucklelou2

I think mown paths look lovely at allotments. I struggle with pathways but the main sections are grassed and I use a push mower to keep the grass neat.

What  a great idea to keep an allotment blog.  I’ve saved my cerinthe  seeds , mainly because they are so expensive. I haven’t yet got to the point of being able to have a child free day at the allotment, while they are all at school but hope it will be on the horizon soon☺️.

MagicCat

Schools and social distancing/socialising are difficult. My DS has just started reception, usually I would have been chatting with the other families at the school gate but it feels really awkward while standing in a socially distanced line, it's a shame as like you had been hoping to get to know a few people.

I would definitely read an allotment blog!  The victory gardens stuff would be very interesting, I love recipes from that era.

thriftyish

@Honeysucklelou2 I completely agree that grass paths look lovely in allotments. I've saved my cerinthe seeds too, and some marigolds/calendula, zinnias, sunflowers and cosmos. One of my leeks has gone to seed too, so I might try to let it flower and save that seed too. I also saved some tomatoes seeds from two different allotment friends, one is a delicious super-sweet plum tomato, and the other a huge apple-sized tomato, that has few seeds and the most delicious flesh - totally unexpected for such a big tomato! I have heard you can pickle/eat nasturtium seeds, so I might try that too if they are ready. I hear they are 'poor mans capers', but since I haven't tried capers I will be none the wiser. 

@MagicCat I lost myself in an internet rabbit hole to do with victory gardens. I would love to be pretty much self-sufficient in vegetables, but I can see that it would involve eating quite differently to how we eat now! 

School. 
I've just collected all the children from school early, DS had been pushed into a wall by another boy and banged his head. He definitely has concussion, so I am checking on him every 10 mins. I am glad they let me take all the children home at the same time, and it sounds like the school have handled it well. As far as social distancing goes it's better but not perfect. This week has a bit of a strange one as they were sent home at 11 am due to all the toilets been blocked, yesterday was also DS's 11th birthday and I don't think he will ever forget celebrating his birthday and been sent home early!

Food.
With the C19 figure rising daily, I have started upping the store cupboards. I did a £105 shop last week in the land of liddle, and also their £5 off from the app which was nice. We now have lots of chopped tomatoes, pasta, cleaning products, tea/coffee and peanut butter. We had a pizza takeaway for DSs birthday, which came to a whopping £34.50, but there were leftovers today and DS had a fab day.

Christmas
I've started shopping for the dreaded c word, which is unheard of for me! 

Chickens
We have four new rescue chickens, which have laid us four eggs each day since Sunday - they are a bit bedraggled and they were picking on our chickens quite a bit, so we let them pretty much free-range from dawn till dusk which has definitely helped. Four eggs a day is actually quite a lot of eggs, so I am not sure what we will do with 7 eggs per day when our three start laying - I think they could all be girls - whhhooooooo!! Phew. 

Off the wagon.
I feel a bit like I have fallen off the debt-repayment wagon - I haven't gone mad, but we are now the proud owners of some new garden tools and an egg helter-skelter is on its way! Then there was the spending for DS's birthday, Christmas shopping and the extra on the food budget. In reality, we are probably only a little over budget in some areas, and we are past the hump of the month, so its downhill now till October. Wow. 

Allotment.
I am still trying to clear up a little early so I can sow some grass seed for the pathways. Today I distracted myself with putting up some gutter brackets to hold my garden canes and tidy my shed. I needed a day off from digging, I have been overdoing it. It seems such a shame to clear away some of the flowers while they are still flowering but I really do need to get this grass seed down. I have ordered new cultivating tool. I borrowed one from a neighbouring plot and it was amazing. Instead of having to dig all my paths over to prepare for the seed, I can use this tool which takes less than half the time!

Slugs have had a lovely meal with my 'maris piper' main crop potatoes. Over half of my main crop have holes. My earlies that are still in the ground are still perfect. I think I need to look for some resistant varieties for next year. 

My uncle called down today and I decided to harvest him some things. I found: potatoes, carrots, cabbage, leeks, broccoli, baby sweetcorn, green beans, squash, pumpkins and kale. Raspberries and rhubarb too. He left with two full bags, and I was surprised at the amount of food still coming from the allotment!

I am offski to update my spreadsheet while I debate what to make for today's tea and tomorrows packed lunches. 

Chrystal

Hope DS is OK bless him. Not exactly the kind of birthday he was expecting!
Definitely think it's a good idea to do a stock up on non perishables, heaven knows what the next few months are going to bring!
Brilliant that you got your rescue chickens and that they are laying. Hopefully they'll soon settle down and accept the other others.  Can understand why an egg helter-skelter would be useful, at least you'll have the use in order of laying.  I had to look it up, as I hadn't heard of them. 
The allotment sounds brilliant and if I was 30 years younger I'd be very tempted to try one.  In fact if I was 30 years younger I'd be very tempted to try a lot of things!   Annoying about the potatoes, but I suppose it's all trial and error at the beginning, and you live and learn, as they say.  Sounds as though your Uncle got an amazing amount, bet he was well chuffed. X

f0xh0les

Ideas for using up 7 eggs a day (worst qualified ever person - been vegan for 20+ years) are - mini quiches (great for lunchboxes) or crustless quiches - great for dieting and lunchboxes - use a muffin tin.  Scrambled/ boiled eggs for breakfast!  Home-made McMuffins (skin and squash a sausage into a round shape, bake the egg in a muffin tin),  Portuguese style custard tarts,  more custard, meringues, Spanish omelette.

Enjoy being everyone's favourite neighbour, tell them to bring their own eggbox!

And I am sure your fellow Allotmenteers will  love a trade of eggs for __________. 

Or you can sell them to friends and neighbours to pay for the upkeep of the chicks.

Kakiste

Baking! That would use up the eggs

Fortune_Smiles

Hi there Thrifty 😀 This is my favourite recipe for using up eggs - Creamy Egg Curry.  Great if you have older eggs too as they are better for hard boiling.  It tastes much better than it sounds 😂

Fortune x

Bluegreen143

Hey @thriftyish! I feel I’ve got so much to catch up on with other people’s diaries. 

Hope DS had a wonderful birthday and was OK after his head injury. 

Hope you are feeling OK. I get what you mean. I think in terms of mental health I’ve coped reasonably well throughout the main lockdown but I found myself feeling very down about increased restrictions etc last week. I think it’s me coming to terms with the fact it’ll probably last all winter. It’s totally normal to feel anxious, stressed, down etc during these crazy times and very natural to worry about the children. Here in Scotland the guidance is currently that under 12s are not required to social distance so I’ve probably been quite blasé about Monkey going back to nursery because he has been playing with other children as normal at the park or on playdates. However I’m wondering if this week they will announce that we have to social distance the children again and then it feels like how can they say nursery is safe if playdates aren’t? I think we all have our worries and anxieties and just wanted to send you virtual hugs.

How exciting re your chickens! Seven lovely ladies will certainly give you plenty of eggs. I find with four we have more than enough and are constantly giving them away, though our family is smaller. When I have too many I tend to go on a baking spree and make up some cakes and pancakes to freeze. Also making scrambled egg for breakfast for everyone uses a few up.