From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

No money spent today.  

I did some baking this afternoon.  I made a banana cake with the most ripe bananas from the MrS box - they weighed just over 10 ounces (with peel on), and the recipe called for a lb, but I just used what I had.  The recipe - it's called banana bread - is originally a Blue Peter recipe (probably made by John Noakes, live....), but is also somewhere on MSE, as I've noted both origins on my recipe card.  It's a lovely simple recipe anyway.  It's supposed to fill a 2lb loaf tin - I put it in a 7in square tin.  I cut up the cake into 12 slices and have frozen 9.  We can have a slice each tomorrow.  Then I halved the apricots and put them cut side down in a round pyrex dish.  I then made up a simple be-ro sponge mix, with added mixed spice and nutmeg and poured that over the top.  The cake/pud took about 45 minutes to cook. 

Tea was a curry plate, using dhal and curry from the freezer.  A slab of apricot pud and yoghurt was for dessert.  LG and DH declared the pud delish, and it did taste nice - it was definitely the right thing to do to cook the apricots, really brought out the taste and sweetness of them.  I now only have 2 pears a lemon and some easy peelers left from the box, in terms of fruit.  Veg is just the salad tatties now I think.  



Ta for popping by.  Appreciated.

Greying X
 

Greying_Pilgrim

I don't know if this will work, but I have tracked down the Banana Bread recipe, just in case anyone else can use it.  It's in the Old Style section on MSE, and I think it is probably in the recipe index too - but fingers crossed (it's not as easy as it used to be), I can still link to the post with the recipe in it.......

VJ'sMum Banana Bread Recipe from Blue Peter 

Greying X

Edit:  YAY! the link works 😁👍

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

I think I listed a lemon remaining from the waste box (there are a couple of lemons, but not from last week's box), when it was a lime that is left over.  Plus I realised this morning that there is also some celery left in addition to the salad tatties.

I grated the remaining cheddar up this morning - DH is quite good with portioning grated cheese on his sangers, not so good if he has to slice it - especially as the block gets smaller.  There is also some red Leicester cheese left over, so we should make it to the end of the month - although obvs, I will buy some if necessary, but the potential is there to have sufficient for the next 7 days is my point. Budgeting/portioning it is, sack cloth and ashes with a side serving of parsimony it is not.  

Tea is going to be lentil bolognese with pasta.  A cheap and cheerful easy make and reheat for activity days.

Not too sure about clothes washing today.  The forecast was wall-to-wall-sunshine, but it's grey and still at the mo.  I will double check and review the weight of the fabric that needs washing.  There are a couple of thicker fabrics that need a breeze to get towards drying.

Can't add anything else on an MSE vibe at the mo, so will pootle orf.

Ta for popping by.  Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

I'm glad I did put a wash on, as the sun is now with us, and the clothes are all pegged out to soak it up.  

I've had a rethink regarding what to have for tea.  As we've left-over apricot pudding to scoff, it of course makes far more sense to put on soup, with a pud for afters.  I think I'll go for tattie soup in the SC.  I'm making the lentil bolognese, as there is always room for cooked lentils, or tubs of lentil bolognese as a ready-ish meal in the freezer.  

The lentils are cooked.  Now to whip up a batch of tommie sauce in the PC, and that'll be another meal (plus components) done.  

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

I hope you had wonderful weather today.  We were so lucky.  It was almost just a perfect spring day.  I was stood in the garden and just all manner of little birds were tweeting and shimmying at each other, there were blue skies, the sun was warm if you were stood in it, the bees were buzzing......  Definitely a spirit lifter of a day for me 😁

Tommie sauce, cooked green lentils, a large and a medium pot of Lentil bolognese and 4 pots of pizza topping made their way into the freezer and the fridge.  The large lentil bolognese will be for tea with pasta tomorrow night.  I used the waxy salad tatties, a couple of carrots, celery, garlic and onion, a slice of swede diced up, a stock cube, some water and a tin of evaporated milk to make the tattie soup.  I did it in the PC in the end, adding the evap. milk when we came back from activity.  The remainder of the apricot sponge was served up with natural yoghurt.  Everything was eaten up.  

No spend day today, other than the activity fee, but that doesn't come from the grocery budget anyway.  

I got the clothes in just after the school run.  Most things were dry, only 2 items weren't bone dry, but as they were heavier weight fabric, I can't say as I was surprised, and even so, they were only "cold" to the touch, certainly not 'dripping'.  The clothes are on the airer, and I anticipate that I will be able to put them away tomorrow.  

Ta for popping in.  Appreciated.

Greying X

teapot2

Cooking up a storm there GP.  The weather was lovely up here too, really lifts the spirits 😎

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

I'm drinking at the fountain of MSE today, and trying to keep on the straight and narrow.  

I did a wash - activity clothing needed washing and I bunged in a basket of 'lights' to make a load.  All pegged out and flapping in the breeze now.  Should get to 'ok' dryness, as we've a useful breeze, if not wall-to-wall-sunshine.  Although the sun does make an appearance from time to time.  

I walked to M&$ to get milk.  I chose there over MrS as I knew I would be unlikely to be tempted by anything other than milk.  My hunch paid off 🙄  I did pick up the TV mag, but that's from the non-food budget.  I went the 'efficient' walk, over the 'scenic' route today.  Will update siggie figgies in a mo.

Tea will be lentil bolognese and pasta, as per my made up on the hoof/let's keep to budget until the end of the month -  "Planner".

Can't think of anything else on an MSE vibe to mention, so I'mm push orf.

Greying X

rtandon27

The fountain of MSE must be the theme of the day! 

I thought I'd gone overbudget for the groceries when in fact I'm under by 10 pounds which will prove handy at the end of the week when we need mylk & OH will need ham.  Am under budget as part of today's shop was for a work activity which others will pay for & another portion comes out of my lunch budget - salad topping stuff - seeds & croutons which keep me from defaulting to the local expensive sandwich shop.  So much better on the food budget front than I had envisioned! 

We too are having a dry and somewhat sunny day, and as I'm working from home, will pop a load in now in the hopes of it drying outside by sunset.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Well done rt - good work with the food budget 😁👍

I've managed to 'stick with the plan' too today.  We had lentil bolognese and fusilli for tea, and I even remembered to steam some broccoli and cauliflower (frozen) to accompany.  Yoghurt will be for pud.   

DH and LG had a slice of the spiced sweet potato chocolate cake today.  I had put half of it in the freezer - it didn't seem to affect the taste nor texture, according to the in-house cakey experts 😁

I brought the washing in at around 4pm, as it suddenly looked as though it was going to pour with rain - although it didn't .  When I was outside, a couple of long-tailed t1ts landed in next door's hedge, it was unusual to get such a good view of them, the little flocks usually flit around in the silver birch across the way.  Then I happened to look up and saw a sparrowhawk circling - high up.  It looked like it was just riding thermals for fun.  Then a little bird started singing behind me, so beautifully, and I turned to see a dunnock atop the fence post.  It wasn't sure about me, but continued on, before suddenly taking off over my head into a higher hedge a garden or so along.  So blessed to have seen/heard that sequence.  Another plus for being able to peg washing out 😁

Ta for popping in.  Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, lovely 😊😊😊 I too love pegging washing out and listening to the birds 😊😊 Had a lovely day outside in the garden on Monday, although my bird backdrop is a little different to yours. I woke up Hootie (our resident tawny owl) and he started hooting at 9.30am 😬😂