I'm back! Trying to spend less on food!

maddiemay

De-lurking - my G Aunt Nell was baptised Ellen, born circa 1900 and was the station master at her nearby little local train station, formidable lady, but great fun.

thriftwizard

I think our little flock are slowly shutting up shop for the winter now   They're not laying hybrids, but Cream Legbars; they lay blue eggs like the clappers in spring & summer but shut down as they go into moult. The flip side is that they are all 5 or 6 now & still laying well for about 8 months of the year, except Norma (Head Bird, as far as she's concerned) a 10 y.o. Speckledy, who hasn't laid a single egg since she was about 18 months old!

This evening we had pie, made from last night's left-over chicken (from Sunday's roast) & leek in tarragon & white wine sauce, plus chunks of ham saved & frozen from a gammon joint cooked last month. I had enough to make 2 pies and we'll be taking one with us tomorrow when we head off down to Cornwall for a couple of days. With a bit of luck that'll help me keep OH out of Gr3ggs for a couple of days! 

ladyholly

Going to Gr3ggs when in Cornwall? Sacrilege.

Nelliegrace

Padstow Cornish Pasty shop on a day out on the cycle track. Unforgettable.
We made proper pasties in a cookery lesson which were pretty good, though I make do with beef mince now. 

thriftwizard

Did it! Three days away & he didn't manage to sneak in a sausage roll once. I did allow a bought pasty yesterday before the match, but have to admit it was the other side of the border in Plymouth, and was visibly made on the premises from decent-looking ingredients. The pie lasted until we were leaving for home yesterday evening, in the little camping fridge in the back of the car, along with my ferments & some salad. I run the fridge off a storage battery; when I had to sell my beloved van, I bought the battery, the fridge & a solar panel to keep them running when I'm car-camping, but the battery & fridge can be run stand-alone for a few days & are perfect for stashing good bargains when I spot them out & about, e.g. sheep's cheese in Pembrokeshire. Can't say it's all paid for itself yet but it's proving a sound investment health-wise.

sammy_kaye18

Hello all
Been slightly AWOL but catching up slowly - hope everyone is well. 

Duchess2

Long time lurker here. Keep looking but no sign of @mumtoomany since beginning of October. Hope everything ok with you and yours. I so enjoy your tales and economic exploits. You really know how to get the last squeak out of every penny. You’re my hero😃 Please let us know you are ok. Hopefully you are just very busy. Take care xx

thriftwizard

Echoing @Duchess2's concern! And adding - I nearly got to the famous greengrocer this weekend, having hurtled up to Wales to help the kids finish decorating before their baby arrives, but I ran out of time - I needed to get back here to keep half an eye on OH. DDiL now shops there all the time as she works nearby; she'll miss it once her maternity leave begins. Hoping I might get there next time...

beckstar1975

Also popping in to say I hope things are ok

mumtoomany

Hello all. Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Life just got very busy! Over the last couple of months we've been up north three times. DD2 and her family have bought their first house, I think I mentioned it before, so we spent three days decorating with them and fixing the kitchen. Then another trip to help them move, OH is happy to drive a big truck, he used to drive one for a living. So saved money by doing it all ourselves over two days. Then DS1 and DD3 moved, so back up again. Another truck hired and another three days taken. Problem is DS's house had 25 concrete steps to climb to reach the front door! A long way to carry everything! We moved them to their Aunts house. The house he was buying fell through and he didn't want to risk losing his buyers. All their furniture etc is in storage. He called this morning to say he's had an offer accepted on another house, so we'll be going back again soon I think. This one is not on the side of a hill. Every time we go up it is a four plus hour drive each way. 

Food wise, I'm still trying to eat through the food we have in. I'm at last down to only one and a half chest freezers. Started this thread with two full chest freezers and an upright fridge freezer all cram packed. The shopping lists are getting much shorter. 

Still got sprouts, kale, cabbage, broccoli, peppers, a few tomatoes and squash growing in the tunnel. I've planted some peas and more French beans in there, they are in flower, so maybe I'll manage something from them. I've planted garlic and broad beans outside, ready for next year. Raspberries are almost finished. 

Lunch was chilli on toast, we had chilli and rice last night. For tea I made a turkey and bacon pie, served with potatoes, carrots and parsnips. The turkey was from a turkey crown I bought after Christmas 2022. I saved it to use for Christmas 2023, but we went to my sisters instead. Cooked in January, we've been eating it all year. Tonight's was the last of it. We had parkin for afters, made with treacle that was dated best before 2015! 

I'll try to post more often, lovely to hear from you all, hugs, mumtoomany.xxx