From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

Waves to Cheery 👋

I forgot to post a pic of the cakes



Spiced swede on the left, and hazelnut, thyme apple on the right.

Greying X

BookWorm

They look and sound yummy!

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks Bookworm 😁

So we tried the spiced apple, thyme and hazelnut cake for 'elevenses'.  It was indeed, pronounced 'Yummy' by the appreciative audience, but I should point out that they are cake fiends and will devour anything buttery, sugary, floury, eggified......... 🤣  But I think - although I'm not the best person to ask - it is the sort of cake that (assuming no nut allergy) you would select in a cafe to have with a cuppa, and you'd be really satisfied with your choice.  It had that 'luxurious treatness' about it.  The only thing I would change is that I would use ground hazelnuts in the cake and make sure the nuts on the top were chopped finer.  I bashed mine to try to break them up, but wasn't meticulous about it, and whilst I love hazelnuts and appreciated the taste, coming across the odd whole nut/large piece detracted from the cake slightly (if I'm being critical).  But definitely a keeper of a recipe.  Guests would feel spoilt if that was served up at a coffee morning 😁

The swede cake remains a good 'utility' cake to serve as is, or dress up with the cream cheese topping, or served with icecream or yoghurt or something. I'm glad I found that recipe - thank you Shetland Island residents!

The breeze isn't strong here today - despite what the forecast said 🙁So I've not got high hopes for the washing 🙁especially as the sunshine has mostly been hiding too.

I shall be serving soup for lunch - I think it will be from Sabrina Ghayour's book (did I mention it is a library book?), with some YS'd wholemeal 'sandwich thins'.  

Yesterday's washing was lovely and dried, so I have taken it off the airer and it's back in the various drawers. 

Right, soup to conjure up!

Greying X

teapot2

i had a look at the recipe for the swede cake and was also impressed by the accompanying pic of the tumshie lantern for Halloween.  Pumpkins weren't a thing when I was growing up so the tradition was to carve swede or 'tumshie' as they were called.  Not easy to do, sore on the hands and hard work.

Glad the cakes were enjoyed by all, I might try the tumshie one at some point, good way to get some veg into the visiting tiny humans [as long as I rename it] 🤣

debtfreewannabe321

dfw321 - polenta is a 'carrier' - it tastes of nothing, and is meant to be paired with rich, flavourful stews and the like.  Unless you do like the..... Alpine(?) regions of Italy and melt extraordinary quantities of cheese into it, and eat it on it's 'own'.  But then if you've been trudging through meter high snow, chopped firewood and are just trying to stay warm - you could probably use all the calories you could get!   But the way I make polenta is to buy the cornmeal grain (the bags in the 'world food' aisles are much more cost effective than the boxed products in the 'mediterranean' section of a supermercado).  You then boil up water and pour in the cornmeal and stir over a low heat. It can be dangerous as it quickly turns to 'plop' mode and looks like a hot mud spring.  If cooking polenta lands on skin, it can burn.  You can then serve the polenta 'wet' (ie it looks like porridge), or pour it out onto a dish and let it cool, and it will set.  You then slice up the cooled polenta and fry it.  You can buy precooked polenta from the supermercado (it comes as a yellowish block).  I don't think polenta is everyone's cup of tea - and you do have to work at either putting flavour into it (with seasonings, stock or cheese), or serve it with a mega flavourful stew.  If tatties weren't so expensive, I would say that mashed potato was a better option - as tatties can be naturally more flavourful.  I'm glad to have it as an option - and I'm doubly pleased that I now have it back as an option, as i know that if I put it on the plate with a (non-chillified) stew, LG will eat it.  

Thanks for this...I'm not sure it sounds all that appetising to be honest but I am willing to give anything a try once

debtfreewannabe321

edinburgher said:

I can't quite wrap my head around people spending £200 or thereabouts on groceries!!! I think to myself "right, so that basically means being a vegetarian" but then canny folk like EH mention free range chicken and eggs 🤔

I was spending this nearly every week on shopping and we eat a plant based diet (with the odd bit of cheese and yoghurts and ice cream for the kids). I can't quite believe I spent that now after making a conscious decision to cut it to 500 and make meal plans. I am in awe of those who eat for even less than 500 a month, because I don't know how I'd cut mine down any more I think maybe I need more practice and could shave a bit off but not hundreds (4 adult sized portions per meal here).

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

teapot2 - I agree with you - carving a swede must be near impossible - you need a sharp knife to get out the inner flesh, but it's so tough that one slip and......  So the pics on the blogpost were indeed a testament to patience and artistry I think.  'Tumshie Tiffin' has a nice ring to it, and in no way gives away the mystery ingredient 😁  You watch - it'll be on the silver platters of all these places that do 'Afternoon tea' experiences now....... 😉

dfw321 - I think it's fair to say that polenta 'needs work', and there is a strong possibility that even then, you'd find it ways too bland.  You are right to highlight that you are feeding 4 adults with your budget - everyone has different parameters that they are working to.  I'm delighted that LG is eating a wider range of foods these days, and that they are much more likely to eat what is proffered, but I have also noticed that they are eating slightly bigger portions, so that is probably starting to exert pressure on our grocery budget - and over time, our household budget will transition to feeding 3 adults.  

I just jumped on to do a bit of admin regarding a recipe I used for lunch yesterday.  I made a soup from Sabrina Ghaybour's book I got from the library, and initially I wasn't impressed with it, until I added the lemon at the end - and then it elevated it to a 'keeper' recipe for me.  I have found a link to the recipe online, so I will link to that in a mo, but the reason why i tried it in the first place, is because it uses red lentils, which are normally always in my pantry, so I collect recipes that use them.  The things I liked about Carrot, Fennel seed and red lentil soup, was that it used; carrots (I had some wonky ones from MrM), fennel seed, which I always have on hand to make spice mixes - but I did roast and then grind my seed in a mortar & pestle, because sometimes whole seeds are off putting.  And of course, I have the MrT lentils from the offer.  I liked the fact that you made the carrot soup 'first' - coincidentally I did that the other day with my 'made up' mushroom soup lite.  Although I have to query why it needs to cook for so long.....🤔  i'm afraid I take energy use into account in my cooking, so I cooked the soup in my PC for 5 mins, natural release.  I then added the lentils, probably put in a touch more water, and cooked again for 5 mins in the PC, natural release.  My soup came out very like the one in the recipe book, as I didn't blitz the lentil mix.  I didn't bother with the toppings.  I hadn't got any labneh - but could have used greek yoghurt, pul biber is a no-no for LG even had I had any in my spice rack, and although I have some (ancient) sesame oil somewhere, I didn't bother adding it.  As I say, up until the point I added the lemon juice (and I always add it at the end of cooking), I thought this a 'so-so' soup, but the lemon made the fennel sing, and it was a really nice soup, that I will make again.  LG liked it and there were clean bowls all round.  Win.

I need to add £1 to LG's 'C4C' total as DH gave LG a pound for the express purpose of adding to the jar, and LG was delighted to add to their total (which is going soooo slowly this month 🙁).  I did double check the 10p/5p/2p/1p collections over the past few days.  We're no where near getting any bags filled in any of the denominations 🙁  Ho hum.  We have just over a week before the next instalment has to be in.  Thinking caps deployed! 😁

I think I shall make soup again for lunch today - not necessarily trying any new recipes, but it's just a dreich day 🙁 although I think the rain is forecast to ease up from what we have had overnight.  It seems to have eased since I have been on here typing this.  I am now doubly glad I managed to do some washing yesterday.  In the end, I managed to keep it out until just after lunch time when it started to spot with rain.  Naturally, it stopped just after I got it all in 🙄and my neighbour left theirs out, but by the time the rain came and set in by mid afternoon, it had spitted and spotted more intermittently - so it probably was a wise move to quit whilst I was ahead-ish.  I put the washing on the airer and whilst I was really pleased on how (relatively) dry the towels (in the second wash of the day) were, I'd sacrificed line space for them, so the rest of the load was damper.  However, I put the de-humidifier on for a couple of hours (just on normal, not laundry setting), and it certainly got them much more 'touch dry'.  There isn't any condensation on the living room window this morning, despite the washing being in here overnight.

Right, best toddle off, I'm the only one up and about this morning. Thanks for popping in and keeping me company!

Greying X   

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Well, it's been a whirlygig already this morning and I'm all behind with myself.

LG had to be at school early this morning, so that was a bit of a concentration of the mind, first day back and all that.  The weather forecast for today was for fine weather and a breeze, so I got one lot of washing done and pegged out, and then put on a top of LG's that only needed a quick wash (not due to wearing so much as getting pen marks on it 🙄), so I put that on, with the expectation of pegging out on my return from the school run.  No such luck. The machine started playing up 'sticking' on various times and generally not spinning/removing water from the garment.  I tried several things and then gave up and checked that the manual drain wasn't blocked.  All i got from that was water and an elastic band 🤔 Tried again, still no dice.  Removed the garment from the machine and set it to go empty whilst I tried to wring water out of the sodden top by hand.  The machine completed the cycle perfectly.  So popped the top in, crossed my fingers and set it to go.  Worked fine.  So 1hr + later have put the top out.  Hopefully it was just an imbalance issue or something, as the machine is quite new 😬

Have taken the meter readings and submitted them to the energy provider.  They have updated the account and despite starting the billing period with a small credit, we have used that and the DD amount, plus some extra.  Not surprised at that as we have used both the CH and the dehumidifier, so it was never going to be a cheap month.  So i have paid an additional amount onto the account so that we are back in credit, and hopefully it will stall any hysterical DD rises in the future.  I like that the account works virtually instantaneously, even though we don't have smart meters.  It was never this straightforward/simple with BG - and there were smart meters fitted at the rental house 😮

Lunch yesterday was Snert (Dutch pea soup), much to LG's disgust 🙁they are not a fan of peas (in any form) and to add insult to injury, they weren't over-enamoured with the YS'd potato cakes that I had served up with the soup.  However, credit to them, they cleared their bowl.  Tea was omlette, mashed potato/swede and baked beans.  We had mango jelly and greek yoghurt to follow.  

Right, I need to get going as I need to pop into Greying Town to do a bit of banking and to get some money sorted out for LG's club payments.  Not looking forward to the cold breeze, but it will be free exercise and we do have sun, so grateful for small mercies and all that.  

Can't think of owt else MSE to report/record, so will shuffle orf.

Ta for popping by.  

Greying X

greenbee

When I had a WM repair guy out a few years ago he mentioned that putting too little in the machine can cause problems as it can become unbalanced. So hopefully nothing wrong with your machine, just not enough for it to work effectively. 

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks greenbee - that's reassuring.  The top was sweatshirt material, so actually quite heavy when sopping wet.  I just wish there was a code or light or something to alert the user to the issue.  

So I took my pootle into Greying Town and did the banking.  I also got a 2kg bag of tatties from HB for £1 - they are the ones I got last week, and I have found them to be 'good enough' for what I need to make with them, so I am hopeful that this bag will see us to the end of the month. I got a bag of apples too, so £2 total spend.  I need to alter my siggie figures, but I'm now down to £20 for the rest of the month 😬  Not too sure I am going to be able to save £9 for 'C4C' and purchase groceries 🙁 Never mind, where there is willpower, there is a way 😁👍

I enjoyed the walk and the sunshine was glorious on my return leg, so actually I got quite warm 😁 Plus I was carrying at least 2kg of shopping, so load bearing done too - 'tick'.

Right, I am away to make savoury veggie mince for tea, as this afternoon will be another whilrygig and then it'll be time for bed!

Greying X