Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Suffolk_lass

AnotherNewDay said:

foxgloves said:

Hi @AnotherNewDay,
I am not an experienced bottler as I only started last year, encouraged by @Suffolk_lass.  I am only bottling tomatoes. 
Yes, I use the tall glass jars saved over the years from mayonnaise. I only use the ones with lids that have an obvious 'button' or similar.
The method I use is to wash the jars & lids thoroughly in hot soapy water. Jars then into an oven tray & into oven at Gas 2 (later reduced) for sterilising. I then peel the tomatoes, remove any green bits from around calyx, roughly chop & put in preserving pan. I bring these to a simmer for 5 mins.
Using jam funnel, I fill the jars, adding a half teaspoon each of sugar, salt & lemon juice to each jar as I go. Jar tops wiped with clean cloth & lids put on. 
Then I use water bath method - large stockpot with a clean kitchen towel folded at the bottom as a 'trivet'. I stand the jars on that, tucking a couple of clean tea-towels around them so they are not touching..I then fill with hot water (hot jars need to go into.hot water, cold jars into cold water) ensuring jars are completely submerged. Slowly bring up the heat & boil for 45 mins.
Turn off heat & leave to cool a little. Then I ladle out sufficient water to enable me carefully to lift out the jars with an oven glove. I stand them on a wooden board covered with a towel to allow them to cool slowly. When touchable, I check the lids are all on tight & continue cooling..You should start hearing the lid 'buttons' depress during this period. When cool, check that all these have depressed. If not, do not store but use straight away as jar has not sealed properly.
The batch I did last September as an experiment kept perfectly well for the year BUT please note I am new to bottling tomatoes & while this method seems to work for me, it would be a good idea to consult more experienced people/preserving guides, etc, as there are risks if the food spoils..I inspect the bottled tomatoes on opening, smell them & if all seems well, I have a little taste & would not use them if they tasted at all 'wrong'. So far so good, but as I said, it's early days for me & bottling, whereasI have been making chutneys, jams, jellies, etc for years.
F

@foxgloves that's great thanks! Do you use the same method for your chutneys and jams? A lot of the videos i've looked at are US based and/or recommend Kilner jars. I'm interested in re-using glass food jars if possible, but I'm also interested in avoiding botulism 🤣😂

If you are going to reuse glass food jars, the most hygienic way is to replace the button top lids. My own practice is to reuse mayonnaise and curry/pasta sauce jars (if I have the latter) once for pickles and chutneys with their original lid as the vinegar corrodes the lids and washing will expose this and degrade the silicon seal band. For jams and bottled fruit I buy replacement lids such as these (they come in standard and wide mouth sizes).

When I do tomatoes I cook them loose in a big pot, to evaporate some of the tomato water (I also sprinkle them with salt and rest them in colanders before cooking to bleed some out), then into hot jars already cooked (like jam but without worrying about a setting point) and screw on the lids (I let mine cool upside down if I am using kilner jars with the screw top band and disc). They pop quite quickly. I had 54x500ml (kilner) jars last year (16 left) and no fails (yet). I often pick up kilner jars on marketplace or in charity shops as you can always get replacement discs and bands (or silicon/rubber seals for the clip tops), and of course, the glass goes on and on.

I follow the same "jam" method (hot fruit into hot jars) for stewed fruit. I rarely bottle berries and tried again this year but lost a jar of raspberries. SO I do bottle stone fruit, apples and pears. It is less messy in the water bath method, but you can do them in the oven, as long as you bring them up to a bubble and try to equalise the sterilisation temperature before putting the jars of fruit in to cook.

foxgloves

Hi again @AnotherNewDay,
For jams & chutneys, I re-use jars & lids which I wash thoroughly in hot soapy water & sterilise as described before in the oven. Everything needs to be clean. I re-use lids for chutneys, but these are all checked first for any degradation/damage & are very well washed. I keep a supply of spare lids so I can easily swap out any which don't make the grade. I use the standard wax discs & cellophane covers for jams, which are sold in packs.
As with any preserving, good hygiene is very important, but bear in mind that you are cooking jam & chutney at high temperatures & they are primarily 'preserved' by the high quantity of sugar & vinegar respectively.
I'd recommend borrowing a selection of preserving books from the library so that you can read through the basics on this, as most books begin with a section on preparing jars. Some will suggest buying new jars, but I have to say I've almost never done this & when I have, did not notice any difference in keeping quality. 
F

foxgloves

Hello Monday Money Savers,
Busy day & feel I've been a useful engine. 
*Laundry done at 30° -sadly not pegged out as we have had some very brisk showers here today. First heated airer use of the season, but I don't think it will be on too much longer.
*Did my regular Monday morning budget updates.
*Ordered our fish box - it's coming at a good time as it is my Big Budget Day next week so it's useful to know arrival date & cost.
*Cleared out our most dysfunctional kitchen cupboard - the one under the sink - theoretically the cat cupboard but containing too much other stuff. Cleared this out - Chuck, recycle, charity shop or find a better home for it. Can now fit cat meat & biscuits in there which has made space in the pantry. Also, as far as we know, Soot can't yet open the door to the under sink cupboard - though watch this space, (eye-roll).
*Also reorganised utilty & found the new can of WD40 Mr F swore we hadn't got, so that's a purchase that can be crossed off the list.
*Chopped up an old fleece for free cleaning cloths.
*Moved a few things around for a little bit of a new free look for Autumn.
*Mr F rearranged the freezers & managed to create some space 🥳.
*Made a small list for our visit to my favourite garden centre tomorrow. Yes, there are few things we need to buy, but there are also about 14 million things we definitely DON'T! It's a very tempting emporium indeed. Thank goodness my old spendy habits are a thing of the past (& increasingly distant past at that), as I honestly would have been spraying money into their tills on pretty much a weekly basis had they been here back then.
*Did a couple of surveys.
*Postie brought Mr F some supermarket vouchers - £4 off a £30 spend, so we must see if we can make those work for us over the next few weeks.
*Started crocheting granny squares last night from the free yarn my friend gave me. They will go into a sofa throw in time - no rush - shall make a few more tonight while I'm trying to beat Mr F at UC.
F x

milann

You’ve definitely got the granny square bug. I’ve been finishing a big one - shawl size I started many moons ago. I took it when I was showing the U3A folk what you could make with a simple square. I’ve still got 3 - 50g balls of the same wool so might as well finish them off then decide what the heck I’m going to do with a big turquoise shawl 😂😂 Doesn’t go with any of my decor. I might donate it to the hospital that did my arm surgery as they always seem to have a craft stall raising funds…..if it hadn’t have been for the hospital sorting my arm I wouldn’t have been able to finish it,
Enjoy the garden centre trip 👍

EssexHebridean

I'm entirely blaming you for my current granny square obsession too - I'd completely forgotten how gratifying it is to be able to just knock out a handful of squares while enjoying a few hours of downtime!

foxgloves

@milann & @EssexHebridean - I'm not very good at sitting watching TV in the evenings without a project on the go. I'm a knitter really. The crochet granny squares began as I thought new autumn cat blankets would be a good use of random odds & sods in my yarn stash. The other reason is that my current knitting project is 3 pairs of socks for Mr F. He loves hand knitted ones & I know some of his older ones are wearing out & have already been darned by his loving wife. I bought some lovely self-patterning yarns & have managed to get the first pair done & have started the second. But as they are for presents, I can only knit them while he isn't around, which rules out the evenings & all of this week. Hence the crochet granny squares!
F

foxgloves

Afternoon Campers,
Pleasant & useful morning. No spendy behaviour to report from our garden centre visit. Coffee & scones paid for from Personal Spends, so budget neutral. Stuck entirely to our list - mini-narcissus bulbs for my winter containers by the front door plus 2 packs of tulips (one of which was free as a bogof from the mini-daffs), 2 bio-degradable washing-up scrubbers & 2 packets of rocket seed. The final item on our list was not longer on display, so have bumped that to my town list for Thursday when I have the wheels.
Clean laundry sorted & as only 2 items required ironing, it saved both my time & electricity. Got my clothes storage bag out & unpacked my autumn & winter stuff. Started re-packing with my summer clothes & have left the bag on the landing ready to add garments as they come through the laundry process. Also decluttered & made some strong decisions about garments which realistically, I'm not going to wear again, or if I do, not enough to make it worthwhile keeping them, & packed a nice big bag for the charity shop. There are a couple of unworn sale rail skirts in there, a barely-worn dress (LBD-type) & a nice 'Designers at Debenhams' slinky tunic with flames up the sides, which I did wear for 2 or 3 nights out, but realistically, even with continued weight-loss (hopefully!), I am not going to have the kind of waist that this garment requires. It will be a great find for somebody, as will a pair of nice leather sandals which are too high for my unreliable achilles tendon to enjoy actually walking in these days. 
Solved a handbag problem....honestly, so simple, I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. The strap has broken through on one side, meaning it would be easy to drop or to be grabbed from my shoulder. I was popping my water bottle in there this morning & spotted that the damaged strap can be removed (fixed on with strong press studs) & I can use the other, shorter strap also attached. As I am short, this is perfectly doable & will mean my bag, which I still like, lasting for longer, hopefully until my birthday.
Have done a couple of surveys & will check PA again before I log out.
Not too much else to do today. I'll be making a fish pie for tonight & serving it with our homegrown beans & a couple of use-it-up carrots I spotted in the veg basket. Last 2 portions of pear & blackberry crumble for dessert, so zero effort there. Postie brought my CC statement this morning, but it can wait until tomorrow, as there shouldn't be any nasty surprises on it. I do need to do some financial admin tomorrow, so will do it all together.
Soot has managed to get into the Man Cave for a snooze on the futon & is both so pleased with himself & unwilling to relinquish this prime spot, that he even forgot to appear in the kitchen at midday to complain about the gross unfairness of cats not getting lunch!
Right, am off to feed my sourdough jar now, ready for baking tomorrow.
Cheers,
F x

PennysIntoPounds

What a lucky charity shop, and well done on being realistic about if you'll wear things again. I do need to do that at some point, but not until I manage to sell/donate all the clothes and bits I have from not doing a stall at the local street party.
Great spot on the handbag too. Do you have a new one you're eyeing up for a Christmas request/new year sale?
I still can't believe narcissus isn't named after the Greek myth. In fact, I refuse to believe it! 

foxgloves

@PennysIntoPounds - I think I might look to choosing a new handbag in Spring for my birthday, as this one is perfectly functional if I use the 2nd strap, & I still like it.
I could have sold at least 3 of my charity bag items on ebay, but couldn't summon the will to start ebaying again. Hopefully they will be nice finds for someone & karma will come around in the form of me finding a charity shop treasure too.
F

foxgloves

Morning Diary Readers,
Well, there has been steam coming off the calculator this morning, as I have been reconciling my credit card statement & also transferring funds from Savings Pots to cover various planned expenditure. There is now significantly less virtual cashola rolling around in our Savings Pots, as one of the transfers was an eye-watering sum from the Dentist/Opticians Pot to cover my imminent private dental surgery. Anyway, the important things are that we have the money put by for this & there are sufficient funds left in the pot for our optician appointments, when we will both require new glasses. So lots of number crunching this morning.
Mr F has taken over the kitchen & is busy making cheese! His first attempt from a kit I bought him as a gift quite a while back. So far so good - he's got to the curds & whey stage at any rate. I did manage to squeak into the kitchen first thing to get a sourdough mixed up & also to get a batch of giganges plakis into the slow cooker, as I noticed that several tomatoes were getting pretty ripe & needed using. That will be a meal or two to go in the freezer anyway. Also transferred more ripe tomatoes from the ripening tray in the conservatory to the fridge.
Added to my shopping list for town tomorrow. Did meal plans for next week, but have left it quite flexible as I will only be able to have soups & mushy things following the dental work, then soft foods for another week or so, which means we will be eating different things. Where possible, after this weekend anyway, we have adapted meals so we can both eat at least some of the same thing. Depending on how quickly my mouth heals up, we may need to adapt this, so will just be flexible. Plenty of soup & pasta sauce in the freezer.
I have reached voucher cash-out on Ips*s i-s*y, but need to have a proper look at what has happened with their rewards. The voucher code I usually request no longer seems to be an option. I don't know how a 'Virtual Pre-paid Mastercard' operates & the other options give a link to various voucher options but on a quick reading, I found it about as clear as mud. The easiest option is a virtual voucher from the usual big online contender, but this is not a company we use, so I am not sure what to do. There is a paypal credit available, but I don't really use Paypal to buy stuff. I will have to read it through in more detail. 
Right, I am going to go & find some lunch, then I'm aiming for an hour or so in the greenhouse as I want to clear a few pots & also sow rocket seeds now that both summer grow-bags are free.
Wet & windy here. Soot had the best of the weather as he'd clearly been out in the early hours & had brought us a mouse. It started out on the kitchen floor, but when we failed to get up & serve cat breakfast at 5.45am, he brought it up onto the landing as a reminder that he would soon be hungry enough to begin dismantling rodents.
F