From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

I've used the Chayote from this week's box.  I'm ever so glad i got to try it - I don't think I would have been brave enough to buy one simply to experiment with.  I found, raw, it had real grassy overtones.  To the point that it transported me straight back to my childhood, sucking on grass stalks, or straw in the spring and summer (I was right uncouth 🤣). 

I didn't peel it (it was a smooth purse pouch style fruit, rather than a prickly version), and I chopped it up, with the seed/core - as that is edible too, and apart from being a slightly different shade, it was exactly the same as the rest of the flesh.  Thankfully, cooked, the chayote did lose it's grassiness, and became somewhat bland, but held it's lovely textural crunch.  I have to say, I prefer it to courgette to cook with.  I ended up making a tomato/chayote recipe, and although I will freeze it, I intend to use it at some point in tacos/wraps. As I only had one chayote, I did pad the recipe out with diced carrot, and for the tomato element, I used the leftover HM tommie sauce that I'd defrosted last night to top the pizza with.  A real make do 'n mend mash up 😁

I was also seriously tempted to make Jamaican Chocho Curry, but figured there wasn't really enough chayote if we liked it.  I will, in future, have the confidence to make it though.  I also found an Indonesian recipe that used chayote and other vegetables in a coconut broth - which would be another contender.  I imagine that I would have to visit a market or world foods supermarket where you could buy veg at '3 fara pand', to make these dishes affordable.  I've just looked it up, and MrT charge 79p per fruit.  A bit expensive, but at least you can use all bits of it.  

Greying X

kaycastle

Just dropped by to say I'm so impressed with your low grocery spending. I want to see your meal plan and get all tips on this so yours will be the next diary I work at reading!

Greying_Pilgrim

kaycastle - that is incredibly kind of you to say, but I am afraid meal planning isn't my forte - dearest EssexHebriddean, SuffolkLass, themadvix, Bluegreen and rtandon (to name just a few), are all lovely folks who are infinitely better at making - and keeping to - meal plans than I ever am.  

Our perhaps 'lower than average' grocery spends are more a product of being vegetarian, actually liking vegetables, cooking most meals from scratch (I could do better though), and never buying takeaways.  The takeaways thing has been made easier by a) being veggie, and b) always living near to high priced, low quality outlets.  But it's a nuisance when you really, really need a helping hand with putting a meal on the table.

Whilst I don't particularly like eating the same thing for several days (and that is a pickiness I can currently afford to indulge), I do put leftovers, or batch cooking portions into the freezer.  

The only way I 'plan' meals is to try to take account of what we are doing on those days - something easy and from the slow cooker/pressure cooker/freezer on 'after school activity' days, and something (perhaps) that our kiddo doesn't like when we eat separately on 'club' days - and I'm the first to say that we've reached a stage where kiddo eats pretty much what we do - making one meal, that we all eat helps the budget enormously.  I do also (loosely) hold onto my weekly meal plan of; 'curry and rice', soup & sandwich' (sometimes 'soup & pud'), Omlette and mash, a pasta dish, pizza and wedges, stew or a bake.  These are never prescriptive, can include meals out of the freezer and are subject to being moved around if something crops up.  

HTH.  Greying X

Cheery_Daff

My meal planning never works 😬 I've settled happily (and somewhat haphazardly) on relying on batch cooking - I make 3-4 portions of 2-3 things at the weekend, and throw it all in the freezer. That's the basis of work lunches for me. Sometimes Mr C makes tea, often not. Sometimes I'll just fancy toast, so usually some of the batch cooked meals carry to the next week, when I'll add different ones. That gives me a range so I can usually just pull something (i started typing someONE there! 😱) out of the freezer for tea most nights without planning what. Works far better for me than actual meal planning!

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Enjoying watching the Six Nations Women's rugger.  

Tea was an easy recipe that I have had for sometime, but which i had ingredients for thanks to the MrS box this week.  It was Persian Chickpea Stew, which was devised for the insta-pot (IP), but I made it in the PC.  I used the 'salad-type'/waxy tatties I got in the box from MrS.  I didn't have any Lime powder - I have had it (to make this recipe), but I know that I threw it out (recently), so I used 'real' lime instead - zest and juice, again, from a lime that was in this week's MrS box.  

I ended up making just sufficient for 3 portions.  There are salad-type tatties left and there is still 1 lime in the fruit bowl.

L/O apple crumble with yoghurt for pud for those that want.  

DH and LG went out for a cycle this arvo.  When they had finally got themselves, sorted to go..........  I dug out a couple of 'fakey corneyettos' for them to take for a ride.  They usually skirt the park, which obvs has all the ice-creamy vans and outlets.  I know you all know that van ice-creams can get "somewhat expensive", so I thought this was a better compromise.  The sun wasn't cracking the pavements, but it wasn't raining neither, so perfect ice-creamy outdoors weather then!  😁

The clothes were brought in off the line about 4pm.  They were pretty dry - which, given we didn't have wall-to-wall sunshine, nor gale force winds - is greatly appreciated.  It's raining in Edinburgh, so we've blessings to count as we watch the sunset in a wonderful azure-golden-bronze-pinky arrray here.  

A low spend/no spend day today, with everyone fed and and entertained.  Success.

Ta for popping by.  Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good morning MFW'rs

A damp and grey start with us.  No laundry would get dry today, that's for sure.

I forgot to mention that for lunch yesterday, I utilised the other half of the 'soup base' that I'd used to make 'mac 'n cheese 'n cauliflower' on Wednesday.  To it, I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, some tomato puree, a tub of l/o cooked rice from the freezer and a little more water.  Cooked it up and tomato, vegetable, rice soup was served up.  It tasted OK.  I think LG hoped there was pasta in it, and was a little bit disappointed that it was rice, but ate it up anyway.  

Certainly the way the weather is looking at the mo, it'll be another soup for lunch day for sure.  I want to do some baking this afternoon, to use up the bananas and apricots from the MrS box.  I'm thinking along the lines of banana cake and apricot 'upside down pudding'.  I had found a recipe for a banana pudding that used bananas past their prime, but I can freeze slices of cake for another day, whereas puddings are a bit more tricky.  DH and LG will eat apricots in a pudding, over - say - an apricot compote, so I'm better off utilising them like that I think.  Plus, baking the apricots will probably enhance their flavour.  They're not woolly, but they're not bursting with sunshiney, fruitiness either.....

It should be possible to achieve a nsd today.  I don't think we will need anything.  I'm mindful we're whipping through the milk, so are likely to need at least 2 x 2L of it before the month end.  I will just have to ensure that my 'nipping to get milk' doesn't result in a £30 shopping bill.....  It shouldn't, as we actually have plenty of food, and I've plans to have meals out of the freezer/make things from what I have for this last stretch. I am the world's worst for swapping things around on meal 'plans', but do find having a light 'framework' at the back of my mind, helpful.  As is the occasional flick through my recipe index to remind myself as to what I could make from the ingredients I have at my disposal.  

Right.  Sounds like the rest of the household may finally be stirring, so I'm away to find another cup of coffee.  And I wonder why the milk disappears......... 🫤😉

Greying X

themadvix

Ha GP, I’d never consider myself a meal planner… I make a plan occasionally when I want to sense check whether I need a veg box, but usually I’m far more a ‘what do we have in and what can I make with it’ kind of cook! (And quite often settle on something and then realise I don’t have a key ingredient and have to adjust/switch tracks!) Totally agree that being veggie is the biggest help to a low-cost grocery budget - even though we eat mostly organic, it’s still much cheaper than it would be if there was meat in the several times a week! If we’re catering, I always resent the meat cost - but while I’d rather cook veggie for everyone, the meat is sometimes the only option, particularly for my MIL who has a very restricted diet.

rtandon27

@Greying_Pilgrim - I meal plan now, but it wasn't always thus! 

YOU, in fact are the one who instigated my meal planning around 'themed' days of the week. 

Once upon a time, more than 10 years ago, 2014 in fact, you brought me to tears laughing over Saturday Curry nights, which I think you named something like Curry Murray in support of the Murray Matriarch.  If was also you that inspired Pizza & wedges on a Friday! - and I still feel that all is right with the world when we have pizza & oven fries of some sort to round off the working week.

The best part of this is that OH is now trained not to ask me 'what's for tea' and instead says 'let me guess, it's Tuesday we are having fish'.  So rather than my reaction being rather cross after a hard day at work, I say yes, xyz fish is in the fridge/freezer & recipe pinned to the fridge.  Back in the days when we were both working we'd work together to produce said dinner but He's retired now so thankfully happily gets on with it!  Bet you never thought you'd be a marriage therapist form afar did you???

Greying_Pilgrim

Ha ha - oh dearest rt - nope, I didn't think no-one would listen to my witterings, let alone apply them to anything, never mind marriage 🤣  I've not yet reached the decade into my own nuptials, so hardly feel like I know owt about it 🤣 Although DH and I are now into our 4th decade of partnership and tolerating each other, so I suppose summat is working 😁🥰

I think the curry thing was some theme or other that I was trying for a month - there was something about pairing wine with curry iirc - which may also have co-incided with Wimbledon, plus I know that I did something with curry around the six nations, and I probably made 'Chickpea Chasni' (veggie version of Chicken Chasni), which is - if I'm correct - a Scottish construct which gives a sweeter tomato/ketchup version of curry and originated in the curry houses of Glasgow??? I remember one year we also had 'half 'n half' with our curry watching Wales v England, as it is something that is popular in South Wales curry houses/takeaways and to me, is 'very Welsh', as I've not encountered it since.  Also pretty sensible - why chose between chips OR rice - why not have them both?  Genius.

Well, LG got a spontaneous invite to a chums house, which morphed into a lunch date and knowing our friends will have incorporated a 'light tea' before LG returns.  Our chums are born hosts - it's absolutely their culture and background, they are kindness and generosity personified.  Which does somehow make us feel we can never return the kindness - a punnet of okra doesn't quite match up really........

I will do some baking this afternoon, but I'm not quite sure what to do for tea now, as there is no way LG will come home hungry - I was going to do a veggie sausage based 'Sunday roast', but there's little point now.  DH and I had cheesy crumpets and baked beans for lunch.  The crumpets were YS'd.  It is soup weather really, but the crumpets hit the spot.  Even DH has just said that he feels down in the dumps today, simply because the weather is miserable.  I now wished we'd popped out in the car - just to take a sandwich for a little wander.  Ah well, never mind. We're still hail and hearty - nowt to complain about really, so I'll shut up.  

Greying X

badmemory

I suspect that LG's hosts are more than happy to have a well-mannered child in their home.  I did wonder if their child was also having problems with the bullies.