And now we go again...

redofromstart

I may have imagined this but I think that at some point you shared your plum sauce recipe and I made it and liked it, but I can't find it. If I am right would you please share it again? 

Thank you

EssexHebridean

Ah LaPlan yes - back from STN would have been horrible because of more folk using the mainline into London from our neck of the woods I would think - and then of course no Vic Line from Tott Hale also. Such a nuisance. There are people who go on strike who - on the  balance of things - I have at least a degree of sympathy with. The Tube Drivers are NOT those people! 

Redo - I made the Plum Sauce twice - and annoyingly (for me as well as you!) I didn't make a specific note of what I did. Present me is VERY cross with past me for this.  After a bit of digging around though, I think I based it on this recipe: https://letsdishrecipes.com/asian-plum-sauce-market-monday - I added some chinese 5 spice to mine for definite, and I also added some smoked chilli flakes to one batch. We didn't  make it this year as we had less time, and the lot I made last year was still going strong. 

MSE Stuff:
The Sardine & butterbean pasta last night went down a treat - and in fact ended up as herring & butterbean as I had a tin of herrings in tomato sauce that were bought in the Polish supermarket ages ago. Really nice - meatier than the sardines, so more inclined to stay in chunks which worked excellently - note to self to buy some more next time I go in there. Also used up all the split HG toms.
As electric was going to be at good prices overnight I seized the opportunity to grab some mutton on the bone out of the freezer and threw that into the slow cooker along with assorted veg. That blipped along to itself overnight, and I'll portion out some for tea tonight, the rest will go into the freezer. 
The WM is set to run this afternoon with towels (again - cheap electric) and I'll probably bite the bullet and give them a blast in the tumble dryer this evening
All being well we should have some more cheap electric over the weekend to get the bedding washed. 
I'm rapidly heading towards having sufficient meals in the freezer to give us a nice easy food week next week - between the mutton stew, a tub of ragu, and the cottage pie I made the other week and froze. Tuesday will be either couscous or salad depending on the weather. 
- I intend shopping at M's tomorrow, as I have part-completed boosts that I will be able to do more towards, and there is nothing compelling on the Lil's offers to take me there. 
- I have realised that the surplus will not cover the tent/footprint cost, as MrEH fed his Oyster on Tuesday, and both cars need diesel again. 

EssexHebridean

Hey lovely Moneysavers - has everyone had a good a Friday? It’s been a nice sunny one here, and gloriously warm too, it feels like summer is having a bit of a last hurrah! 

A slightly unusual day for me as MrEH headed off this morning to meet a pal who won a pair of tickets to tonight’s rugby World Cup semi final, and kindly offered the spare to him. They’ve had a day of wandering round various pubs - including meeting up with another friend that MrEH hasn’t seen for at least a decade, I reckon. They’ve booked overnight accommodation and he’ll be heading back home tomorrow. 

I got out for a run this morning - a steady semi-structured run/walk to see how the dodgy ankle/knee held up, and so far, so good! Got to 5k before my knee started twingeing but wasn’t intending to do any more than that in any event, so all good, and I now have a nice benchmark to start back from. 

MSE Stuff:
- that free exercise, for a start! 

- a further walk this afternoon to post a birthday card - using a stamp we already had, of course! 

- the towels which went through the machine and were partly tumble dried last night went into the line this morning, and another two loads have been through and dried today too. 

- Shopping done at M’s this morning, and must list meant that I was able to complete a few of my monthly More card boosts, so a nice wodge of extra points will be heading to my card at the end of the month. 

- baked a batch of yogurt bread rolls with cheese and parsley, and did a batch of scones at the same time as the oven was on. 

- lunch used up the remaining salad leaves, a small home grown cucumber and some freshly picked tomatoes among other things. 

- a bit of a tidy in the kitchen after the cooking, but I want ti do another 15 minute burst this evening to just leave things a bit more sorted. 

- nearly veered into Al’s for snacks this afternoon, but had a stern word with myself and hung onto my pennies.

EssexHebridean

Morning all - and it's quite a chilly one down here, if we'd been in any doubt about autumn having arrived then we're not now, we've even had a bit of a frost the last two mornings!

Wordle in 3 this morning, beating MrEH who could only manage 4. A good start to the day! 

MSE Stuff:
- getting the tent etc ordered turned into a palaver, and I'm not impressed with the people who encourage one to go outdoors in the slightest. Their stock management processes must be woeful if an item that their website says they have at LEAST 20 of in stock is apparently not available at all, and don't get me started on a system that opts to change your home address for a delivery to a completely different address, which apparently "can't be changed" once the order is placed. 
- On the plus side, we've opted not to spend £35 on the official tent footprint when it seems we can buy a tarpaulin that will do the job for about half that, or less. 
- My sleeping bag has at least arrived and seems fine.
- We had a good run of cheap electric over the weekend so ended up with washing all up to date including bedding. Good thing too as it's not showing much in the way of cheap slots this week! That said, our average cost over this month so far is at just under 13p/kWh so we're more than happy with that. 
- We've managed to resist putting the heating on so far but that may not apply for much longer - we'll see. MrEH is singing the praises of the new door that was fitted to the office as he says it was far warmer in there then he expected! 
- I did a stocktake of fuel for the the fire at the weekend and thanks to that special deal we got in the spring we should be fine right through the winter as long as we get another few batches of paper bricks made.
- Bought a replacement sander on Sunday as our old (very old - bought when we first lived together I think!) one had given up thanks to the sanding of the shed/office cladding panels. Opted for a B&D Multi sander which was a good power level and gives the option of using as a detail sander or a regular one, £45 in the big orange place, but I made use of a £6 off coupon they'd sent. Cost is also partly covered by a credit we ended up with on one CC as well, so just a £21 balance to transfer from the garden account for that. 
- I am going to designate October as a belt-tightening month in our household finances - and above all I need to start resisting the special offers in the supermarkets again! I want to get freezer 2 to a state before christmas where it will take the inevitable bounty that occurs at that point, for a start! 
- Managed a bit of batch cooking at the weekend in the shape of another batch of the creamy lemon chickpeas - that fed us on sunday lunchtime and gave a portion for the freezer too. I was intending to make the sweetcorn dhansak that you're all been talking about but annoyingly the final two corn cobs hadn't formed at all and weren't useable, so I ended up opting for a batch of daal instead - which had the added advantage of using some sweet potatoes that had been lurking for a while. Also partly got eaten for lunch on sunday with three portions for the freezer there - future me WILL be grateful! 
- in the process of making the daal I realised w were low on red lentils, T's to the rescue with a 2kg bag for £2 which is a win. 
- Still harvesting tomatoes and beans - there are masses of courgettes forming but it's touch & go whether the frost gets them before they finish maturing. Same applies with cucumbers too. 

Food is organised-ish for the week - we had salad last night, and this evening will be couscous - I must remember to get some pomegranate seeds out to defrost as soon as I get home, for that. We're out tomorrow meeting a pal for beers in the evening, so will grab something while out, and Thursday will be something from the freezer, most likely cottage pie. 

lucielle

I do love a good Dahl. Can you point me in the direction of the sweetcorn one?
L

joedenise

@EssexHebridean - there's no need to defrost the pomegranate seeds before putting them into the couscous just put them in before you add the boiling water/stock and they'll be ready when the couscous is done.

EssexHebridean

lucielle said:

I do love a good Dahl. Can you point me in the direction of the sweetcorn one?
L

The sweetcorn dhansak is a Riverford recipe - I believe this one https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/sweetcorn-dhansak?srsltid=AfmBOooEK2tQiyxmDXRpLpCdgJuPeP6laN3sHWnl4Rrd3lYhqtTWWcpm 

The daal was a make it up as I went along - red lentils, sweet potato, coconut milk, garam masala, a touch of Kashmiri chilli... 

joedenise said:

@EssexHebridean - there's no need to defrost the pomegranate seeds before putting them into the couscous just put them in before you add the boiling water/stock and they'll be ready when the couscous is done.

Yes - leases the couscous a bit colder than I really want it to be though, hence defrosting them first and throwing them in when I fork the herbs through the soaked couscous. 

Blackcats

Yoghurt bread rolls sound yummy.  Sorry if you've posted the recipe already but could you add a link please?  Pretty please 😉

I will be interested by your October belt tightening as I'm impressed by your usual excellent money management.  When I find myself straying from the MSE path I have a quick read of your diary for focus and inspiration.  

Greying_Pilgrim

EH - I derived inspiration from you mentioning you made sweet potato dhal 😁  I did the same for tea tonight, as I had to change round what I made.  We had some sweet potatoes, and popping them in the dhal increased the vegetable content and was simple to do.  Thank you!  

Greying X

EssexHebridean

I need to credit my Mum for finding the yogurt rolls - they are really tasty and so quick and easy - and a great excuse to pop a batch of scones or similar into the oven alongside, too!

YOGHURT BREAD ROLLS

400g SR flour

1 tsp baking powder

500g tub of plain yoghurt

1 egg

Mix dry ingredients with flour

Whisk egg into yoghurt

Combine flour & yoghurt mixtures & mix till all flour is absorbed. Don’t overmix - it will look a little shaggy but should form a rough ball.

Turn onto well floured board & divide into 2 cobs or 6/8 rolls

Use air fryer on “bake” setting at 180° for 15 mins

Turn over & repeat for 10-15 mins until brown & temperature probe comes out clear and registers 93-96°

Cool & add lashings of butter

Job done

I threw in a good handful of cheese, some herby salt and some fresh parsley, well chopped, this time - I want to go again but swapping the parsley for chives at some stage too, and probably scattering additional cheese on top for the last 10 minutes of the bake time. I only ever do mine in the oven as my air fryer isn't big enough to deal with that amount of stuff at once! I also judge the bake by eye and the usual "hollow sound" that works for bread.

Pleased to hear that the daal created some food for thought (you see what I did there?!) and gave inspiration - it was certainly enjoyed at our end, even if it was the sort of dish where you start with a rough idea and add to it...!

The belt-tightening is going to mostly about ensuring that we keep an awareness of spending - there certainly will BE spending, as among other things we've got a meeting in connection with our voluntary role, which is seems is likely to soon be ending - accommodation for that is already booked, our choice, and as there is also the scope to join the meeting remotely, but we're opting for the face to face version, we won't be claiming expenses for travel. We also have a meeting with a pal for beers mid-month, and will be aiming to slot in a quick couple of nights in the new tent at some stage too. My plan though is to really reinstate the full thought process before buying - particularly when it comes to groceries - fresh stuff will be needed, but we have to get properly stuck into making use of the bits already in the freezer, and not add to them too much! 

MSE Stuff:
- One Reg Saver has matured, so that money's been switched to a different account, and we'll discuss what it's being earmarked for. 
- Replacement account for the matured one now set up, and first funding done with £200 from the old one - regular payments set for that too. We're being a bit more mindful about reg savers going forwards - but that one's 6.5% so worth having.
- I have another one coming up for finishing soon as well I think - but that might be next month, and MrEH has got one that's due to mature any day as well.
- Agile savings continue to tot up which is welcome although the rates haven't been brilliant for the past few days. We're still at an excellent average across the month though so all good. 
- Surveys - Ipsos creeping up slowly (their flipping surveys take SO long!), Prolific doing similar -  I'd like to get to £30 cashout for the month but we'll see how that goes. Got a free cleaning product to test as well which is a win. Need to dip back in to OnePoll & YouGov as well, ideally.
- I've done a trial run on the Sm0l cleaning stuff that's frequently plugged on social media - £10 for a trial kit involving 4 reuseable bottles, trials of the DW & WM tablets, washing up liquid, stain gel and multi-use cleaner spray, plus fabric softener which isn't something we generally use but I'm viewing it as effectively included free. I'll need to work out how to opt out of the bits that we probably won't stick with long term, but I've heard good thigs so will be interested to give it all a go. The bottles will get good use for definite even if I just refill them using refill pouches of more mainstream products!
- Cottage pie from the freezer for tea tonight - with beans (obviously!) and some of the coleslaw I made the other night if it's still OK - it was meant to be finished on Tuesday but we both forgot about it, and we were out last night!
- Remining surplus this month will be heading off against the tent I think

Plans:
- I'm out for part of tomorrow and all day Saturday, fun involving pals, my camera and aircraft, so should be excellent
- tonight I need to wrap my bestie's birthday present which I'm taking with me, and get a couple of camera memory cards cleared down, too.
- Sunday will be a bits and pieces day - shopping to be done, and almost certainly some tidying up in the garden too. We must also do a trial pitch of the new tent to make sure that's all OK.
- we need to find and commit to buying the right sized tarpaulin to replace the footprint for the tent that  Don't Bother Going Outdoors because we'll mess up your order couldn't manage to supply.
- Also want to get a large picnic rug which will work as a carpet.
- finally on that front, we must restock our levels of hard ground pegs as the new tent will have more guylines and the ones they'll have supplied will be awful!