From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

redofromstart

They look spot on. Have a lovely Sunday.

mumtoomany

Hi all. @redofromstart, the park in was based on this recipe https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/parkin_90139. I say based because, I had no oatmeal, so blitzed some porridge oats. No brown sugar, so used white and added a desert spoon of black treacle, (which moved with us ten years ago!) Baking spread rather than butter. Self raising flour rather than plain. I have three bags of SR reduced from  Aldi, split bags. And I wonder why it sank??? Haha. It's not very sticky. Apparently if you keep it for a week or two it goes stickier. Who could keep it that long without eating it? Don't know if that helps. I hope so.

I am frugal because, growing up, we never had any money! My dad worked and earned very good money. But he smoked, drank though not to excess, and gambled. My mum stayed at home and was not good at managing. We never had new clothes. Rarely went on holiday, and when we did grandma or an aunt or both came with us, and I'm sure contributed to the cost. I got a second hand, gifted, bicycle for my eleventh birthday. Neither of my sister's had a bike, so shared mine, till we all outgrew it. Dadtoomany, found a bike for Aunty Pat, in a skip, and fixed it up for her, to do her paper round. When we got engaged my mum have us a vinegar bottle. When we got married, it was a cheese grater. Aunts and other family paid for everything else. It was a very cheap wedding! I always wanted better for my children, so learned how to manage money and make do with what we had. Dadtoomany also had a father who gambled, so we are kindred spirits. I always have a bit of money in savings, in case any of our children need help. 

Regarding the shower. As a temporary measure, could you selotape (sp) a piece of polystyrene to the outside, at the bottom, and tuck it into the bath. The drips should then run back in. Hope that makes sense.

Hugs to all, enjoy the rest of your weekend, mumtoomany.xxx 

debtfreewannabe321

Those sausages look amazing! I may have to try making my own. They are really expensive now and when they manage to keep the price the same I notice the product shrinks....
I buy s'burys plant pioneer plant balls and they are uber cheap at £1.42 for a bag of around 20! We love them in a HM sauce with spaghetti, I can't see how I could make them cheaper but sausages...yeh I would like to omit them from my shop if possible. Today I made some pineapple tarts, puff pastry rolled out, cut into squares and pineapple put in the middle and folded into a tart type thing, DP & DS seemed to like them, I wasn't fussed either way, they were okay... but I am trying to stop buying so many treats now and make our own instead as it works out cheaper. 
I made a lovely veggie lasagna the other day too! A new recipe for me, but everyone aside from DD wolfed it down..she did her usual and dissected it first to take out onions and mushrooms *rolley eyes*.

Joining in the frugal chat, I am frugal now because I grew up with money, I had a pony, went to prep school and had rich friends (we weren't as rich as any of them in their mansions but we never struggled either). And I never understood when you left home and stopped speaking to your dad you wouldn't have enough money to carry on a lifestyle in which you'd become accustomed to, hence my stint on the DFW diaries years ago paying off lots of debt I had accrued and never had any clue on how to get rid of. I am frugal now because I am lucky enough to have enough coming in finally over and above what is going out and it has taken me all my adult life to get here (and my eldest is 26 this year)....I intend on teaching my children this. My eldest already tries to save monthly and has enough coming in to pay bills, pay for fun stuff and pay off any debts he has (cars usually between him and his DW) and I always offer advice. I hope to teach the younger two the same as well.

FrugalHedonist

The cheapest sausages I have found are the A1d1 onion and rosemary which are £1.49 and I do like them. Linda's are still my favourite but I remember when they used to cost £1 and I can't bring myself to spend over £2.50 for them. However with all the talk in the media of UPF and veggie products making your own sounds like a much healthier option when time allows 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Thank you all for your positive comments.  

Tea went well - LG made some lovely batter that rose beautifully as Yorkies, but by the time I got a pic, they had deflated slightly, but that is par for the course, isn't it?  it'd be the same if we made soufflé.  LG had the same as us, although they asked for no gravy and no breadsauce.  The breadsauce wasn't homemade, it was packet as I had one left over from December and decided to use it up.  The 'sausages' cooked in the oven - partially because I haven't a large enough frypan to cook them all up.  They tasted fine - but LG was slightly put off by the texture - I think they had got in their head sausage shape = Sausage texture, but these were slightly more in the nut roast/falafel camp, rather than tvp/soy protein commercial veggie sausages.  LG expressed their verdict, but still ate them all up, and cleared their plate.  'Sunday roast' was - at one time - a meal that would take LG hooouuuurrrssss to finish, so this was just wonderful to see.  LG did say they would have the sausages again too.  I used the Aran Pilot potatoes for both the roasties and the mash, and they worked well, although not the tastiest potatoes I have ever had.  The mixed veg was from a frozen bag from MrL.  




I whipped up a quick apple crumble for pud, just using apples from the fruit bowl and served it with the last of the vanilla ice-cream.  Today remained a nsd and I have used up some more stuff that had been languishing around for a while.  I've also worked out a couple of meals to make this week to use up some more odds and ends. 

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

Lovely sunshine and a line dried wash

Time to tinker with ingredients

For a lovely family day, doing family stuff at the family homestead - riches indeed.

Ta for popping by.  Greatly appreciated, as always.

Greying X

teapot2

Your meal looks yummy and clearly was GP, I'd certainly polish it off quick smart 🤤.  I have thought about making veggie sausages but never tried it yet.  I haven't found any of the s'markt ones that I really like.  I used to buy the C@uldrOn ones but have gone orf them too now.  

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

teapot2 - C@uldr0n sausages used to be my favourite by far too, but i think they have tinkered with the recipe, and also now they are rarely in my affordability bracket, so I've not had them for yonks.  Trouble is, to got the 'consistency' of the qu0rn/L1ndaMc/C@uldr0n ones, there appears to be a debate as to what ingredients to use and whether those are, in fact, any good for you.  I can't claim that my veggie sausages have the texture of the branded ones, but they tasted nice, and I was able to make a meal 'around' them.

New week.  We're cold here, but bright, so I hope to put a load of school uniform out just now.  I've banking to do and will need to get some more milk.  Copious cuppas whilst working outside (hubby), plus a hot chocolate treat and the yorkies has depleted stocks.

Tea tonight will be Afghan Carrot Hotpot.  It's an 'oldie but a goodie'.  I have some yellow split peas that I need to use up, so have soaked them overnight.  I have 'ordinary carrots' to use, but I think chantenay carrots were in the PoTW recently.  I will serve the hotpot with boiled basmati rice.  

DH had forgotten to tell me that a works 'do' that was organised for a Bank holiday in May has moved.  It now co-incides with LG's camp, so that's us not going then (we need to collect LG that day - and the events are in totally opposite directions).  I'm not too worried, I mean whilst it is a nice idea, I wasn't looking forward to having to buy new 'socialisation' clothes - I have absolutely nothing suitable for a spring/summer gathering.  I know it's me that's out of sync, but I'd rather spend my money on a decent pair of walking shoes, or some hiking/walking trousers (that fit) that I can wear everyday, rather than for stuff that can only be used once in a blue moon.  

Right, best shift-a-tail-feather.  Snap all packed, washing on, just need to get myself sorted, as we need to be out the front door for an early start today.  

Ta for popping in.  Appreciated.

Greying X

themadvix

Ooh thanks for the recipe GP - especially as I actually own the book in question and rarely ever use it. I think last time I looked I was put off by all the spices and it was probably before zero-waste shops existed and I was still trying to be plastic-free, which was virtually impossible with complicated spice lists. Will try the hotpot and refresh my mind with the rest of the book.

Re veggie sausages, I’ve started making Glamorgan ones using this recipe:https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/glamorgan-sausages, but instead of faffing with rolling them in the breadcrumbs, I just added all of the breadcrumbs into the mix and just lightly dust with flour before frying. They are tasty - although not as cheap as yours with the cheese. 

Greying_Pilgrim

tmv - I have got a recipe for glamorgan sausages, and used to make them - especially when I grew my own leeks (which always seem very expensive to buy 🙁), but it became difficult to get glamorgan cheese 🙁  I know if it's because I don't shop in the bigger supermercados, but I rarely, if ever see glamorgan cheese.  I realise that if I went to a deli I could probably get some - but then i would have the dilemma of wondering whether to cook with it 🤔 

I got Sally's books from the Library - well, at least one, I can't remember if she's authored 2 or 3.  I must admit, I didn't take to many of her recipes, but there's this one, and one she did for mung beans that are keepers for me and appear on rotation - albeit a rotation that has been severely neglected during LG's 'no-likey' phase.  But hopefully, we're getting (and gonna stay) back on track now.  

I'm pleased that it will use up 1/2 a jar of yellow split peas that I have had kicking about for a while.  Hopefully they will cook up OK and not remain hard as bullets.  

Greying 👍

themadvix

I couldn’t find Glamorgan cheese either GP - Just used cheddar!