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

freyasmum

International supermarkets, world food aisles in supermarkets... or a cash and carry if you have access to one. 

A 430g jar of cinnamon is currently just under £6. I do buy my most-used spices from there. 

EssexHebridean

Elisheba said:

Actually, that's a thought.  I go through loads of cinnamon.  Does anyone know where I can buy a big tub, instead of those little 39g ones?  I saw them once in The range but think it must ave been a once off.

Google Fox’s Spices - but prepare for it to get expensive! (Their prices are more than reasonable, it’s just the amount of stuff you’ll end up thinking “ooohhh!” about that’s the issue. Annoyingly they don’t do online ordering but there is the link to their (e)mail order catalogue on their Facebook page. 

Toonie

Yesterday I made a huge pot of chicken stew with dumplings. It was fab and plenty left for dinner tomorrow too. It was cooking most of the afternoon in the big slow cooker which made the kitchen feel nice and toasty. The only downside was feeling hungry whilst it was cooking as the smell was lovely! I used chicken thighs (which I took the skins off of myself), bendy carrots, some potatoes, a tin of tomatoes, an oxo cube, some gravy salt, and herbs. Then the dumplings (S/R flour, suet, water) went in for an hour before eating and were lovely and soft. I laddled some of the liquid into a saucepan and added some cornflour to make a thicker gravy. I also cooked a little bit of cabbage to serve alongside. Total cost around £3.50 for 4 generous portions or 6 average sized.

Tonight it's homemade burgers and chips with salad.

I finally got my £150 cost of living payment as part of my PIP claim which I ended up having to chase up. It took 10 days from when I queried the abscence to it showing up in my bank account. In case anyone else hasn't had theirs, here is the link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment#report-a-missing-cost-of-living-payment For now it's gone into my savings account, but some will be used to replace the toaster which has broken.

Auntycaz

@Toonie where did you find gravy salt I havent seen any for years ?

Toonie

@Auntycaz I get Comptons gravy salt in Morrisons (I've also seen it is Tesco).

Auntycaz

Toonie said:

@Auntycaz I get Comptons gravy salt in Morrisons (I've also seen it is Tesco).

We always had Burdals growing up. I've not heard of Comptons. Thank you.

Toonie

You're very welcome. Look out for a red and blue cardboard box in the gravy/stock cubes section. My Mum always used it (she was taught my my Grandma who also used it) so it's always in my cupboard.

Wraithlady

Katiehound said:

Thanks folks some great ideas there which will be a change from everything tinned tomato based!!

I just think I ought to be a bit more adventurous with vegetables.........For example only last year learned that I liked in courgettes in ratatouille!! Clearly never too old to learn.......

I will write my list of what to hunt for next week. Might try friends to see if they have any of aforementioned items so that I can have a sniff before purchasing!!

Can I just add Sabzi Gormeh to the list? Seasoned Pioneers do it (though I'm sure other people do as well) - it's an Iranian herb-mix which is truly gorgeous and not spicy at all.

I can also recommend date molasses and pomegranate molasses - both add a little sweetness, date is richer and sort of umami-ish, whereas pomegranate is slightly sharper.

otb666

i am enjoying james oliver new series £1meals on the telly as it good to be reminded of the basics But he does use a lot of olive oil which he does not include in his costing

freyasmum

We had a steak pie for dinner with mash and veg. I cooked the filling in the pressure cooker for the first time and I was very pleased with the end result (though I did have a start when I opened the lid to see lots of basically water - all was well when I added the thickeners).

I used to be able to bring this in for £1 a portion but, out of interest, I decided to calculate what the cost would have been had we bought the ingredients today, and not reduced - £1.80 for the pie alone.

Unfortunately this will now be relegated to a treat meal, rather than a regular winter warner- unless we can find the beef reduced again.