Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

milann

They should certainly reuse the hangers. I know when I’ve bought things from M@rris@ns the checkout lad asked if he could have the hangers back…hopefully for them to reuse.
Enjoy your gardening. 

CRANKY40

If you go to that awful shop where you choose the outer skin of your teddy and then get it filled they use cardboard hangers for all the teddy clothes. Some of the items surely weigh more than a pair of knickers? It's awful by the way because by the time you've stood in a queue, had the thing filled, decided on a name (hard when you're small) and let your small person choose a few extras then you feel like you have given birth to it yourself 😁 The HT's came from a concession in Hamleys and it was the only thing that he wanted (he was 8 at the time). I needed a long sit down afterwards.

lucielle

Hi delurking to ask for help. I fancy having a bash at the sour dough bread. Please could you send/link on how to make the starter and how to keep it alive. Do you use bread flour to feed or whole meal. Any help appreciated. 

L

foxgloves

Hi Lucielle,
I don't have a link as didn't use online instructions. I wrote them out longhand from a book I borrowed from the library several years ago. I'm sure there will be plenty of instructions on making a starter online though. I don't feed with wholemeal, I just use ordinary plain white flour as it works & is the cheapest option. 
Sourdough baking attracts a lot of purists. I'm not one of them. I do as little of the faffy stuff as possible & while my sourdough loaves wouldn't win any awards, we enjoy eating them & they are tasty with a good crust.
Look forward to hearing how you get on.
F

chemteacher78

lucielle said:

Hi delurking to ask for help. I fancy having a bash at the sour dough bread. Please could you send/link on how to make the starter and how to keep it alive. Do you use bread flour to feed or whole meal. Any help appreciated. 

L

Hi @lucielle - I can recomend the instructions in the River Cottage Bread book? (Get it from the library maybe - or see if you can pick it up second-hand). Really unfaffy... and worked a treat for me first time. The book is full of info tho' if you want to get quite geeky about bread making (I did - but the clue is in my username). 

foxgloves

@lucielle & @chemteacher78, Hello & welcome both of you, by the way. Everyone welcome on here, the more the merrier for money saving chat & tips. I agree that the River Cottage handbooks are really good. I have the foraging one, preserving & fermenting, but I don't own a copy of the bread one. I could kick myself as our local charity bookshop had the whole set of these in stock recently, which they were willing to split. I almost bought the bread one, but decided I'd wait until next time, when of course it had gone.
I have remembered the author of the book I borrowed from the library from which I made up my first sourdough culture .....& actually, also my last, as so far, I have managed to keep it alive since first brewing it in 2017. It was a book by James Morton. If you are a GBBO fan, you may remember him? He was in an early series - a young Scottish medical or science student. It would have been his first book I think, which is called 'Brilliant Bread', although he has brought out another one since then specifically about baking sourdough. I do remember that when I made my original it included half a grated apple, but that was a one-off just to help it get going. There is an FB group called something like 'Sourdough rebels' - people who very much believe in experimenting, keeping things simple & very much NOT building in layers of faff which are unnecessary for home makers. I'm sure some of their experiments would cause the sourdough purists to hyperventilate, but it is interesting to read & the bread photos show that there can be different approaches & methods, it comes down to what works for the individual baker. I now mostly bake my sourdough loaves using half wholemeal & half white bread flours, mostly supermarket own label, but sometimes something interesting from a windmill if I have the opportunity.
@chemteacher78 - Re your comment about sourdough geekiness, when I was studying for my Food & Nutrition GCE back in the late 70s, we were only allowed to choose this as an option if we were also taking a science GCE because part of our course involved the chemistry of cakes rising, yeast working, cheese making, milk souring, etc. It never really felt like science at the time because the course involved a lot of practical cookery, but that's what it was. The only science GCE I took was biology.....I'm not sure how the life-cycle of the amoeba, reproductive habits of daffodils, etc, helped with the above, but was happy to be able to take the course, anyway, as it involved a range of incredibly useful life-skills on the meal planning, leftovers using, cooking & baking front.
F

foxgloves

Hello Money Savers,
Weird sort of day today. Had an awful night. I think I was suffering from  'Greedyfatnackeratetoobigajacketpotato-itis', as I felt very sick & uncomfortable. Was also worrying that Soot hadn't appeared for his bedtime biscuits which NEVER happens as that boy is a furred eating machine on legs. Decided to get up & walk around, go & eat some fennel seeds, see if he had come in, which he had, but by the time I went back to bed, I was wide awake & was so tired by getting-up time, I decided not to go into town, but to postpone until tomorrow when we need to go in & fetch our new specs anyway. I am a shocking overthinker when in the throes of insomnia, so frankly I just lay there winding myself up!
Anyway.......actually, what a ramble that was! So, what to do with the day. I decided to tackle a few things from the Annoying Jobs List - only indoor ones, as there have been on & off showers all day, including a really heavy one. I am pleased to say I have done 4 Annoying Jobs. I thought I might need to buy a product for one of them, but nope! Not necessary, job completed with a very slightly damp microfibre cloth. 1 of them was sorting out a tech muddle on my laptop, which Mr F helped me with & I did feel better about it when he couldn't work out why the issue had happened either! All sorted now though. 
Not a no-spend day as Mr F popped to A*di for a few pantry items which we particularly like & to the farm stall on the market for our veg, but nothing beyond that. I have been checking for surveys this afternoon, but nothing doing & as I as so tired, I am not really in the mood for them tbh. I am at £36-30 so far this month on PA, & I know I am being recalled for the 2nd part of one of these, so there shouldn't be a problem with hitting my £40 monthly minimum target.
It's not my cooking night tonight. Mr F is making Crank's macro-rice with salmon fillets, so that will be nice. 
Checked all the seedling babies & watered the aubergines, which haven't yet been potted on. I like to check every day, just briefly, in case there are any problems, as I am very conscious that there are a lot of future food supplies tied up in these little green friends.
Right, well I can hear the coffee machine in action, so shall sign off & go & have a coffee. Then I think I will spend some time reading my book.
F x

PennysIntoPounds

Hope you have a relaxing Friday evening and sleep very well tonight. Four annoying jobs, especially when suffering from the knock-on effects of greedyfatnackeratetoobigajacketpotato-itis is very impressive 
Glad Soot is alright

milann

Hope you sleep better tonight 🤞

foxgloves

Thanks both of you - Yes, I am hoping for a better night, especially as we are due at the optician bright & early. Hoping it won't take too long as intend to be a tightwad with how much I intend to pay for car parking but do want alao to choose a few decently-priced Easter cards & see if there are any treasures in the charity bookshop.
F x