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

Pollycat

Rosa_Damascena said:

Going onto a completely different topic, what are fellow OSers doing for Christmas Cake this year? Fond as I am of it, making one is going to be just too expensive given the cost of ingredients, scarcity of eggs and oven time.

My thoughts are to hold off now and buy it in January when I find a couple of quid knocked off it at Aldi.

Same as the last 40 years...not having it.
Dislike anything with cooked almond flavour (like the nuts though), Disarrono and Amaretti make me feel sick.
Don't like fruit in puddings (not fussed on sweet stuff at all), don't like candied peel, glace cherries.
So anyone else can have my share with pleasure. 

I'll be on cheese, biscuits and port.

Wednesday2000

I don't like xmas cake either or xmas pudding. I don't even really like mince pies unless they are covered in custard.

I haven't even thought about xmas dinner yet. I should book a xmas delivery slot soon really!

Pollycat

Wednesday2000 said:

I don't like xmas cake either or xmas pudding. I don't even really like mince pies unless they are covered in custard.

I haven't even thought about xmas dinner yet. I should book a xmas delivery slot soon really!

I used to buy mince pies because 'that's what you do at Christmas'.
They sat in the cupboard and eyed me reproachfully until they were past their BB date and then we'd eat them.
After a couple of bottles of wine one New Year's Day, we both confessed that we didn't like mince pies. 

YoungBlueEyes

That reminds me. We went to Dunelm yesterday for more curtains. Timed it just right to have lunch in the café. I had a beef topped toasty and apple pie. Himself had cheese and ham toasty and a slice of “winter fruit loaf”. The only edible part was the apple pie, which was absolutely beautiful! The winter fruit loaf jobber was like a very fruity tea loaf with spices and my god it was vile. Tasted kinda musty and old library-y. Avoid avoid avoid. The toasties were v thin on filling and luke warm. When I mentioned it to the woman behind the counter she just shrugged and said “yeah well I’m sorry about that”. 

So that’s Dunelm café off the list 😞

YoungBlueEyes

Wednesday2000 said:

I don't like xmas cake either or xmas pudding. I don't even really like mince pies unless they are covered in custard. 

The only way I’d eat custard would be at gunpoint 🤢

RobM99

Send me custard or the marzipan gets it!

YoungBlueEyes

😲          

Slinky

Floss said:

Have you spoken to the council @Slinky ? They may be able to help, or suggest a man with a dog...?

Don't think they'd be too interested. We had a private ratman out before when we had rats in the garden (we back onto a pub garden where people eat food outside). We have the traps and had some success outside.

Have cleaned the rest of the garage and visited the tip. Remembered to take the stuff we had stored in the builders portaloo overnight to keep it dry!  Now we need to see what happens. Caught nothing overnight. Maybe they've beggared off, but somehow I don't think we'll get that lucky. There's just so much stuff in there that they could be hiding behind, or inside, and moving around as we move stuff around.

Slinky

Mince pies, christmas cake, christmas pudding, icing, marzipan, custard..... love them all!

The Adnams brewery shops used to have a beautiful eggy advocaat custard to go with christas pud, but stopped when covid hit and haven't had it back in for the past 2 years. Severely alcoholic and absolutely delicious.

Toonie

Not that fussed on mince pies, don't like Christmas cake (and especially not marzipan-much to the dismay of my German mum), and don't like Christmas pud. I do quite like a dense fruit loaf/cake though, and definitely with a good bit of butter and cheese. Might have to dig the family recipe out.

DP likes Christmas pud, so we get him a mini one (usually when reduced) and he has some custard with it. I'm quite content with a bit of chocolate and a cheese board.

I do make follow some of my mum's traditions though, so I will make a bundt cake at Christmas and cover it in melted chocolate and sprinkle on some icing sugar, and I'll get some lebkuchen for a treat.

Today we are having roast chicken (in air fryer) along with potatoes and veggies. There will be chicken for DPs sandwiches for work for a couple days, and I'll use some for my lunches as well. I'll also make some chicken stock, which may go into the freezer if I can play tetris well enough!