It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

YorksLass

We prefer butter but, with today's prices, we're probably being a bit more selective as to what we use it for.  As an example, if we're having something like beans on toast then we don't use any butter (or any other spread) at all.  But crumpets definitely need butter!  

I keep our butter in a ceramic dish with a lid and, as Bluegreen says, it's fine in summer just left out on the worktop but, come winter, it lives on a shelf in the pantry underneath the boiler.  I also cut the block in half - half in the dish, half in the fridge.  And I keep the butter wrappers - like my mum used to do - for greasing cake tins etc.

I have a small grocery order due tomorrow and, while I was doing it, noticed a few more price increases on some things I buy - salt, flour (both plain and SR), eggs and fishcakes.  These were anywhere between 2p and 14p per item and sadly all these odd coppers soon add up.  I'll be making my own fishcakes in future as the shop bought ones seem to have less fish in them than before but I guess I'll have to absorb the extra cost on eggs and flour as I do a lot of baking.  And I'll be stocking up on flour too.  If there's a shortage of SR then I'll use plain with added baking powder.

Brambling

I keep butter in the freezer, it means I have to think about it before using (used to be more for waistline rather than wallet) I'll soften in microwave, but it is just for me

My sister also swears by a lakeland butter dish, she has a china one so my BIL has been known to drop the lids!

Onebrokelady

London_1 said:

As asked for  by Spendless, here is the recipe for Melting Moments but you can adapt it for almost any flavour biscuits you want by adding perhaps some cinnamon, or mixed spices  or ground ginger or coconut, really what ever flavour you would like.

                                         
                            My late Mum's recipe for Melting Moments. as taught to me in 1949

Courtesy of the late Mrs Catherine Bearn (1900-1962) my Mum xx (She didn't have a blender though for the sugar)

I'm of the ...older generation so my measurements are in ounces but I'm sure the younger folk can work them out  



5 ozs soft marg (Stork) or butter (I save my unsalted block butter for shortbread )

3ozs caster sugar. (or whizz up ordinary granulated in the blender if you haven't any caster sugar in stock )

 2  teaspoons of Vanilla essence. OR 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract. ( I do have both in my cupboard, and the extract is more expensive, but you use less so its swings and roundabouts really)

5 ozs self raising flour  (sieved) force of habit as I have alwasy sieved the flour )

dessicated coconut or oats for rolling in and a couple of glace cherries to decorate,  (When I'm making them for my great granddaughters I decorate with those tiny chocolate chips, as they are not keen on the 'red bits' )

Method:

Heat oven to 175c or gas mark 4.

grease two baking trays.

 Should make about 24 biscuits depending on the size you want them. I like them around the size of a ginger nut shop-bought biscuit, just sits nicely on the saucer of your cuppa  

Cream the marg/butter together with the sugar until light and fluffy

 Beat in the vanilla essence OR extract

add the sieved fflour
 and just keep mixing with a fork until you have a stickyish dough.

take a teaspoon and a small amount of dough (about the size of a walnut and roll with your hand into a small ball.
Toss in either oats or dessicated coconut, or leave as it is for plainer ones .

Place on the tray and press the middle down with a fork to flatten it slightly.
Decorate with a small slice of glace cherry in the middle, or three chocolate chips 

Bake in the oven for around 11-12 minutes until just starting to go golden .
keep an eye on them  
Not too long, or they will go too brown.

Remove the tray, and leave to cool for a few minutes on the tray, then carefully, using a palette knife slide the biscuits onto a wire cooling rack to harden off

You may think they are not cooked as they should be pale yellow but they do crisp up as they cool. 

I store mine in a rectangular take-away box, not that they are in there for long
These are cheap as chips to make, and you can make a batch in about half an hour from start to finish .

I have been making these for the past 70 plus years and my children,grandchildren and great-grandchildren have grown up liking them. So I think I could probably do these in my sleep If you want to vary the flavour a bit add a teaspoon or two of mixed spice or cinnamon,ginger etc when you sieve the flour. 

Hope you enjoy them 

JackieO xx

Thanks fr sharing the recipe, they sound yummy 😊

Onebrokelady

t14cy_t said:

just bought sack of dog food, sack of corn and sack of layers pellets for the chooks and ducks, total up by £6. ouch. 

I've noticed the price of layers pellets and corn going up slightly, I do only buy 5kilo bags of each because I've only now got two elderly hens and I don't want to be stuck with loads left if they decide to pop their clogs 

Onebrokelady

ChihiroSen said:

I need to express my shock somewhere and sorry if this is the wrong place, but My food bill has trebled and its unsustainable, I just spent £113 for two people. No meat or fruit, just basics like frozen fish veg, pasta, cheese salad veg, bread and toilet roll. It’s insane. I’ve been watching it creep up and up. Every week it seems to cost more. Do they expect prices to rise even more. Because we are going to have to start skipping meals. 

The prices are definitely going up and you are right to be shocked. I don't eat meat but do eat meat substitutes and I'm coming to realise this will have to stop being a regular thing. I need to learn to plan more and I am going to be eating more vegetable based meals 

Flugelhorn

Wednesday2000 said:

I have been recording the channel 4 show about spending/saving money. It made me laugh that the husband of one of the women kept buying bed linen if he couldn't find any in the house. They said he was spending £100 a month on bed covers! They showed it near the end and he had stacks of them all in their original packaging.

it was incredible - he just went and bought more!

Onebrokelady

Wednesday2000 said:

I have been recording the channel 4 show about spending/saving money. It made me laugh that the husband of one of the women kept buying bed linen if he couldn't find any in the house. They said he was spending £100 a month on bed covers! They showed it near the end and he had stacks of them all in their original packaging.

What is the name of this programme please 😊

Flugelhorn

Onebrokelady said:

Wednesday2000 said:

I have been recording the channel 4 show about spending/saving money. It made me laugh that the husband of one of the women kept buying bed linen if he couldn't find any in the house. They said he was spending £100 a month on bed covers! They showed it near the end and he had stacks of them all in their original packaging.

What is the name of this programme please 😊

think it is this one https://www.channel4.com/programmes/secret-spenders  secret spenders

London_1

EssexHebridean said:

London_1 said:

EssexHebridean said:

Block butter kept in an insulated butter dish stays spreadable all year round - the butter dishes aren't cheap in the first place but ours has certainly been worth the cost I'd say as it definitely extends the life of the butter and means it's possible to put just the amount you need on bread without ripping holes in every slice. I just pop ours into the fridge if we're going to be away for a few days for any reason.  

out of interest where did you buy it ?
JackieO xx

Lakeland Jackie - they've done them in various types for years - we had a plastic one before the current stainless steel version. 

Thank you so much, I'll have a look when I'm next at Bluewater 

JackieO xx

Bluegreen143

I made proper chocolate mousse for dessert tonight and have just realised what a frugal dessert it is for us chicken keepers who get free eggs 🙂

1 bar Ms Molly plain chocolate from Tesco - 30p
3 eggs - free from the chickens 
2tsp butter - surely only pennies even at the current cost of butter?! 

Pinch salt 

Served all four of us at under 10p each - it’s £1.25 for 6 bought mousses in Tesco and they are smaller. 

Obviously a sweet treat and not for every day, but perhaps also a good way of sneaking some protein into fussy children (as they get almost a whole egg each, and won’t eat egg readily 😅). 

(Back on the diet bandwagon tomorrow…)