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

GaleSF63

Florenceem said:

I was given some cooking apples - some were stewed to go in the freezer plus I made an apple crumble.

A nice dessert is stewed apples covered with grated chocolate - grated on before the apple is cold, so some of it melts in. Plain works best even if like me, you normally prefer milk. 

amber03

I did a stewed apple dish with a sponge topping. Had it with custard, even DH commented how lovely it was.

annieb64

There's only two of us so sometimes I make small sponges in one of those four portion Yorkshire pudding tins and put two on top of stewed fruit and freeze the other two for another day.

London_1

I'm just using up the last of my huge rice pudding I made midweek from the left over milk my little neighbour gave me.I shall make up some custard to go with it this afternoon,and the remainder I shall top off the trifle I made once its  cold enough.

Zero waste and any left overs get used on something else.Just had some of the celery soup I made from my DDs left over celery it is delicious and spicy as I added some lazy garlic and some spices from my stash.
Tonights dinner is a huge chicken thigh from my freezer wrapped in the last two rashers of bacon and cooked in a sweet chilli sauce with some steamed baby new potatoes and carrots (12p) reduced on Tuesday from Dobbies,the rest will make next weeks lunchtime soup, and some of the sweetheart cabbage that my other neighbour gave me as she was going away this weekend and had't used any. Absolutely nothing goes in the bin if I can help it

JackieO xx  

leftatthetrafficlights

amber03 said:

I did a stewed apple dish with a sponge topping. Had it with custard, even DH commented how lovely it was.

We used to know that as eve's pudding and I loved it! It's one of the only desserts that I'll eat - I tend to make it in the autumn when there are lots of free cooking apples available and I do vegan sponge so it's a dirt cheap option! 

I've got to go through and rearrange my kitchen cupboards this weekend as I am making some more pickles and chutneys along with flavoured gins and vodkas tomorrow- I don't want my worktops covered in jars and demijohns plus we've done pretty well at eating some storecupboard stuff so it's a good time to do the storage shuffle!

I'll do an inventory again but will be paying much more attention to it so that I plan more meals from it - we've used stuff but its just been what will compliment the veg plot haul over the summer, obviously we'll be making more use of it over the autumn and winter. 

The washing line use has continued in earnest and I'm beginning to get my head around doing fewer washes each week at a lower temperature- I was looking into getting a heated airer for the winter but we have the towel radiator in the bathroom which will probably do the job just as well 🤔 plus I am no longer working which means I can probably make reasonably frequent use of the line anyway. 

I've started the inside of the loo roll collection again to make the firelighters for autumn/winter - I've got plenty of logs and kindling along with a decent amount of coal and I'm hoping that once the new boiler is installed we'll use a lot less oil this winter due to the increased efficiency- I had an oil delivery this week into the new tank and it was 33% more expensive than last time I bought it (and the last time was 25% more than the time before that!! 😳).

Looking at the figures for 'average' energy costs really doesn't take into account those of us who have no access to mains gas - the 'new' figure given for October is pretty much what we've spent in the past 12 months! Heating oil prices have been increasing dramatically over the past 18 months and are incredibly volatile 😔

zaxdog

We are still settling into our new house (forced out of our last area due to the modern highland clearances) but it is gorgeous here. Looking out over the water to Bute with Barra the mad rescue sighthound on my feet.

Dug out a bed in the back garden today. Was originally planning on tatties but very stony so will now be a herb bed instead. Good news is the stones are manly quartz so are now lining the back path. Drying some lavender from the front garden in bowls around the house for the winter. Picked some brambles to add to the bag in the freezer which will be turned into wine when we have enough. Some carrot, onions and tatties from farm shop with a handful of red lentils made a hearty lunch. 

My house spreadsheet now has pages for budget, meal plan, electricity usage and gas bottle usage (use a camping stove as a hob). Press in kitchen will be organised this week and a stockpile re-started :-)

linz

There's also the borrow my doggy website. They could sign up to be borrowers. Think it's about £10 a year. People with dogs can then contact them if they need someone to look after their dog for a few hours, overnight, weekend etc. Insurance is all covered by the website too. Something to think about until they find their own dog. They'd be under no obligation when someone contacts them either, they can just pick and choose when it's convenient for them. I'm thinking of going back on there as a borrower tbh. Used to be on as an owner but I lost my beloved little terrier about a year ago and I miss having a dog around.

LittleGem

leftatthetrafficlights said:

amber03 said:

I did a stewed apple dish with a sponge topping. Had it with custard, even DH commented how lovely it was.

We used to know that as eve's pudding and I loved it! It's one of the only desserts that I'll eat - I tend to make it in the autumn when there are lots of free cooking apples available and I do vegan sponge so it's a dirt cheap option! 

I've got to go through and rearrange my kitchen cupboards this weekend as I am making some more pickles and chutneys along with flavoured gins and vodkas tomorrow- I don't want my worktops covered in jars and demijohns plus we've done pretty well at eating some storecupboard stuff so it's a good time to do the storage shuffle!

I'll do an inventory again but will be paying much more attention to it so that I plan more meals from it - we've used stuff but its just been what will compliment the veg plot haul over the summer, obviously we'll be making more use of it over the autumn and winter. 

The washing line use has continued in earnest and I'm beginning to get my head around doing fewer washes each week at a lower temperature- I was looking into getting a heated airer for the winter but we have the towel radiator in the bathroom which will probably do the job just as well 🤔 plus I am no longer working which means I can probably make reasonably frequent use of the line anyway. 

I've started the inside of the loo roll collection again to make the firelighters for autumn/winter - I've got plenty of logs and kindling along with a decent amount of coal and I'm hoping that once the new boiler is installed we'll use a lot less oil this winter due to the increased efficiency- I had an oil delivery this week into the new tank and it was 33% more expensive than last time I bought it (and the last time was 25% more than the time before that!! 😳).

Looking at the figures for 'average' energy costs really doesn't take into account those of us who have no access to mains gas - the 'new' figure given for October is pretty much what we've spent in the past 12 months! Heating oil prices have been increasing dramatically over the past 18 months and are incredibly volatile 😔

Would love to know how you make your fire lighters please?

sarahj1986

Hello all

poking my head in here again, it’s been a busy few weeks at work. It is high season so working all the extra hours I can 

I was stunned by the price cap on energy. I’m lucky I live in Spain, yes our prices have jumped but nothing like the UK and our government is trying to do something to help. Us being in warmer climates really we don’t use much energy for things like heating. I’ve now got my air fryer which reduces cooking time by half with things that I normally put in the oven. I plan to utilise that and my slow cooker more this winter. As we approach the end of august my shifts start to reduce thank goodness. 

sammy_kaye18

RE : Homeless cat / dumped animals

Sadly I have already seen the effects on my facebook page - not of cute cuddly animals being dumped but as a keen reptile owner - rescues are already starting to get call out of dumped lizards and other reptiles. I saw today from 3 different rescues that they had to go out to collect lizards and snakes today because the cost of living is being pushed up so much that people cannot afford to run things like UV lights / basking lights / heat mats etc and with no way to rehome the animals , they are just putting them out. I have already made it clear on my facebook page that I have a spare vivarium space so if any of my friends get stuck - then to please get in touch with me and I will have them rather than the alternative of them being dumped or worse. 


My jobs for today have been to tidy up my front garden because it was starting to look a bit unkempt and a bit untidy so now it has been cleared and I have made a start on de-weeding it. 
I have ordered some loppers to cut down the hedge because its currently growing towards electrical wires and I need to get it cut to a more manageable height for my little 5'5 frame so Im going to cut it in line with the top of my gate posts so it still provides privacy but is easy to cut. Im also hoping it will let more daylight in in the afternoon / early evening and help to keep the living room that bit warmer. 
Im also going to save some of the smaller branches etc and put them aside in a box in the greenhouse to dry out so I can use them as kindling etc for the fire pit / barbecue as an alternative cooking method because if there is rolling blackouts - that means my cooker goes off and I will be left without a way to cook. At least with a fire pit / BBQ I can make a dinner! Even if its just meats with some jacket potatoes in the embers and I have a camping kettle so I can heat water too for a hot drink! 

Tomorrows jobs will include - 
-  emptying some tubs that have finished growing in and get them ready and set up in the greenhouse ready to start growing some winter veg in. Also move some tubs nearer to the house so they have the cover of the outdoor parasol/awning I have created (will be used as drying space too but can also have a few bits growing underneath as well) 
- try to use my hand loom kit to make a few bits and pieces
- put up new shower curtain
- chop and freeze some veg in the fridge that looks like it might need using soon. Or make it into soup - not sure which yet! 
- Put hooks up for a net curtain wire above front door to hang a curtain on
- measure front gate space (son and FIL are going to make me a new gate since the hinges have dropped) 
- possibly more blackberry picking :-) 

Still trying to be as productive as possible and keep going!