From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

in_need_of_direction

I wasn’t convinced that the match was well played but there were a few flashes of genius. Well done to England for hanging in to get the bonus point.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good afternoon MFW'rs

Slow start for us today.  DH and LG have now gone out on a bike ride.  

I haven't done any clothes washing today.  We have had the most glorious (and welcome) sunshine, but not alot of breeze, and as I am currently pretty much up to date with washing (touch wood) I thought I would give the machine a day of rest.

I made Snert (Dutch pea soup) for lunch.  The recipe I use is from The Global Vegetarian Kitchen by Troth Wells, which I borrowed from our library a whole other lifetime ago, and I can't find Troth's recipe listed online anywhere.  However, I did come across a veggie version (I'm pretty sure the original Dutch recipe uses something like a ham hock for flavouring/scraps of ham in the soup), that is not overly dissimilar to the recipe I used.  Snert is on a website for a soup cafe in Amsterdam, and pretty much if you used potato in place of the celeriac, you'd be in very similar territory to the recipe I followed.  However, you know how I improvise, so of course, I used tinned mushy peas over split green peas, and I used onion alone, as i didn't have any leeks.  I didn't, today, add in any Marrowfat (tinned) peas, as the 'mushy' peas from MrL pretty much kept their shape, so there was enough 'bits' in the soup.  

It does look like the website that I linked to has some other interesting soup recipes too - must take another look, to see if there is anything new to make.  It includes at least one courgette soup recipe, if you're looking for a way to use up your courgette harvest come summer........ 🤣

I still intend doing a 'sort of' roast for tea.  Will get and prep some tatties for roasties just now, and get LG to do the batter on their return.  I am pondering whether to get LG to whip up a half batch of 'Twinks H0bn0bs' too.  Someone at school was whanging on about the 'commercial' version of those biscuits and I just thought we could make some instead - I'm pretty sure i have most of the ingredients in. 

Haven't spent any cash today - but I, to my shame, haven't been out of the house either 😟 The weather has changed again now - the sun has disappeared behind cloud and it feels distinctly cooler. 

Right, best push orf.  I've tatties to peel. 

Greying X 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

We're out of the starting blocks with a sprint this morn!

Homework ✅ - and LG tried really hard today, no moaning, no complaints, and they smashed it 😁
Snap packed ✅ - and frankly, I'm jealous 😁
Uniform set out ✅
All the other carp resources needed, set out ✅
Breakfast eaten ✅
Wash on in the machine ✅

Phew!  Hopefully we could keep up this momentum until Friday..... 🤞

Activity this arvo.  Fees from CHB.  

Tea will most likely be lentil bolognese and pasta.  Bit samey as last week, but it does lend itself to making in the slow cooker, and LG will munch it until the cows come home, so not a bad choice.  I will also dig out some sort of accompanying vegetable from the freezer, most likely green beans.

I shall be trying ever so hard to not spend any money today - we don't need anything, so will try and keep my purse firmly shut.  

Best shift-a-tail-feather, just in case I've forgotten anything important. 

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

I've just noticed I'm eligible for another MrT voucher on my account, so have added it to the total for MrT vouchers I can shop with this month.  I know I've already spent £12.50, of the £33, but I don't think it'll buy me much 😟   I will admit, no longer being a MrT 'regular' shopper is putting me at a disadvantage, because I'm not truly au fait with what is good/same price/cheaper and good enough quality than my normal shop elsewhere.  But Thursday's expedition has given me some pointers, so all is not lost.  

I've pegged the wash out.  We're blessed with sunshine and a breeze, so fingers crossed it'll dry.  I'm going to go for a walk into Greying Town.  My goal is to spend as little as possible, but I need to go to the library for some printing and just need a quick glance around to see if the chazzers have any finishing touches for LG's school project.   But I will be clutching onto my purse tightly, as I don't want to waste the CHB on buying carp that is only actually needed for 1 day (and to be fair, the school have said NOT to buy anything - but we don't have 'excess' of what can be re-purposed.  But I have set myself a goal of no more than £3).

Greying X

badmemory

I shop with my fingers now before I go.  So I end up with a list that basically says only buy from here if it is under this price.  It is more difficult doing it at the moment as supermarketwatch appears to have a problem.

rtandon27

Wow - I'm amazed at your list - amazing that you did all of that before 8am!

This weekend, has been grey and drizzly in our parts, so the rather large load I did on Friday took until Sunday morning to dry next to the dehumidifier.  Second (again larger than normal) load went in a day late, so is still up drying inside as the mizzle is steady today.

Greying_Pilgrim

badmemory said:

I shop with my fingers now before I go.  So I end up with a list that basically says only buy from here if it is under this price.  It is more difficult doing it at the moment as supermarketwatch appears to have a problem.

Yes, I agree badmemory, but with only a limited budget of cash this month, and vouchers for MrT and MrS, I can't be as flexible as I normally would.  But all is not lost, and I'm certainly looking to get the most bang for my buck out of the cash budget.

Back from my wander into Greying Town.  I got the printing done, and I found something that 'would do' in a charity shop.  It was 50p more than I'd budgeted, and I forgot to look for the second item I was after, but it might be that we can do without the second item anyway, so I may end up at £4.50 charitable donation, for 2 items and that's how I'm looking at it, as we are unlikely to need the garments again - especially as they are having to be 'adapted'.  Plus the CHB will be the budget line raided, not my grocery budget.   I did have a look around some other chazzers - and I couldn't have got anything cheaper - in fact, I've saved at least £1.50 as far as I can see.  It does amaze me how much shops charge for stuff though - stuff that is clearly damaged, or worn or stretched.  

Right, best crack on.  Spent a bit more time 'looking/shopping' than I'd intended.  

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

We had a great time at activity last night, and even without 'mommy gogglers' on - LG tried so hard and got rewarded for their tenacity.  We were lucky that traffic was light on the journey out, and not too bad on the way back - plus it is staying lighter longer and that little bit of extra light made a difference when navigating dark country roads, so for that I am very grateful.

Tea was lentil bolognese and pasta, and I admit I forgot all about the green accompaniment 😞Must try harder.  I made a batch of tommie sauce for the bolognese, so 2 portions, plus a pizza topping portion went in the freezer too. 

We're all out of apples as the last 2 in the bag were rotten on the inside - not discernable from just looking at the outside of the apple unfortunately 😟

I've a wash on - mix of uniform, activity wear and my stuff - and will peg out just now.  The breeze seems good already this morning.  I've got banking to do in Greying Town, so will walk in after the school run.  In addition, I think the food waste diversion venue is open today (casual walk-up), so I may have a look to see if they have anything.  I don't use that venue very much, as they have only a small offering, and that is where we were implored to take bread last time (we'd spotted that they had masses of cooking apples to take FoC), and having lugged it home, we found it to be blue with mould 🤢  I know it was 'free', but annoying when we didn't want it in the first place 😟

Snap is packed (not quite as 'interesting' today), uniform laid out, homework done.  

Best get shifting a tail-feather, and get that washing pegged out.  

Ta for stopping by.  Appreciated.  

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Phew! Here I am again.  

Money spent, but it's been a productive morning.

First port of call was a chazzer.  I'd seen a piece of fabric yesterday that was wonderful, and fairly priced (for what it was), but I couldn't think of a project I 'must have' it for, so I left it.  As I was wandering home, of course THE idea sprung into my mind of exactly what I could do with the fabric.  So I figured that I wouldn't go back yesterday, but if it was there today, then I'd buy it.  It was still there 🥰 So, I now have the incentive to make myself a very, very nice project bag for my knitting.  The ones that I have seen, made with tweed from the Isle of Harris are - rightly so - very expensive, and I would never treat myself to one.  But now I can have something "similar" using tweed from one of the other 4 nations..... milled just down the road from one of our friends here on MSE I think 😉

The food waste was open for business.  Actually it was the same volunteer today imploring me to 'fill my boots'.  But I stuck with some carrots and some rolls which will be good soup accompaniment.  They are the 'french bread' style, so even though they 'appear' fresh, they will be even better dipped in soup.  I also got some apples and I am going to have a go - inspired by....kayannie? - to make an apple steamed sponge pudding for tea tonight.  I will come up with some sort of soup, using the carrots I got today from the waste scheme - they were perfectly OK, but they can contribute to a 'cheap' tea 😁  I shall also dig out my recipe for custard - I have a 30 - 50% success rate with it but I won't have to make much, as I'm not sure where LG is currently on the 'likey no likey' with custard.  Last time I made any, we were living at the rental house.  

I sorted out the banking ✅  Then I popped to hB and managed to get 3 packs of wholemeal baps YS'd to 30p each.  This is a saving of 8p on what I would pay in MrL, but actually these baps are slightly larger, and better (imvho) for sarnies - whereas I prefer the MrL ones when we have burgers.  Plus I bought apples.  I will tot up my grocery spends just now - at least I only bought stuff that I would have bought anyway, and couldn't have got cheaper with my vouchers.  

I just rushed out to get the washing in.  It's starting to spit with rain, and the weather radar says it's here for a couple of hours at least so I quit whilst I was ahead.  Actually, because of the breeze, the clothes have done quite well. It helped that they were predominantly lighter fabrics, but still, I'm happy with where they're at.  

Right, off to tot up (excluding the fabric expense), and get the washing up on the airer.  Will need to fold yesterday's first.  All go 🤣

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Cor, I think that there is an (outside) possibility that i may have beaten Dearest redo and Dearest greenbee in step count today.  Not content with walking into and out of Greying Town this morning, I thought it would be a spiffing idea to walk to the retail park with LG this afternoon to get an ingredient for a DT activity LG is doing at school tomorrow.  We did have notice, but LG didn't get organised. 

Anyway, they gamely accompanied me and we went to hB.  I did also buy some yoghurt, and there were also 2 YS'd cheese & onion quiches in the reduced section.  The one looked like someone had played football with it, but the other one was OK.  We had one of these (YS'd) last year, and whilst no one can claim that they are haute cuisine, for 99p they are good enough for a family tea with veg etc.  So that has gone in the freezer.  £2.48 spent - I will add to my cash total, and keep my fingers crossed that I can keep out of hB for the rest of the week!

We had soup for tea - Butter Bean and thyme, a Lyndsey Bareham recipe, out of..... 'A Wolf in the Kitchen' (I think).  The only thing i did differently was to add in some of the carrots i got from the food waste today - which altered the colour of the soup a bit.  I served with the 'french' bread I got from the waste scheme too.  I kept 3 of the 'better' carrots back for something else.  Pud was apple steamed pudding which worked very well.  The apples are really fragrant and I picked out the really red skinned ones, and left the skin on - and stewed them down a bit.  Then I added some into the bottom of the pudding bowl then put in some sponge mix, and then added in the rest of the apple and topped off with sponge.  Cooked for 4 hours on Low.  I made custard - it was ok, but not perfect.  Anyhoo, DH (who loves custard) slurped it up and LG had some too, so in that respect it was 'good enough'.  The pud was nice - I'm glad i made it.  I don't have a terribly sweet tooth, so I preferred it to perhaps a jam or syrup sponge pudding.  There is some left for tomorrow.  

LG had a mostly great day at school, i walked something like 7 or 8 miles (15000 steps??), we had a filling, nice and inexpensive tea and I managed to get several food bargains to help eke out things for another day.  That's definitely a win.

Ta for stopping by.  Greatly appreciated.

Greying X