From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

beanielou

I once famously made macaroni cheese without the cheese 🤷‍♀️🤣

KajiKita

beanielou said:

I once famously made macaroni cheese without the cheese 🤷‍♀️🤣

< strides in, places hands on hips and announces …> 
I’m the one who made rock cakes without sugar! 😂😂😂😂😂

KK

beanielou

KajiKita said:

beanielou said:

I once famously made macaroni cheese without the cheese 🤷‍♀️🤣

< strides in, places hands on hips and announces …> 
I’m the one who made rock cakes without sugar! 😂😂😂😂😂

KK

🤣  🤣  🤣   🤣

badmemory

Spaghetti without any seasoning, biryani with no sultanas, beyond that I am saying nothing.

in_need_of_direction

Brownies without sugar, baking soda in a sauce that should have been cornflour 

KajiKita

This thread is becoming a cooking confessional! 😉😊

KK

Greying_Pilgrim

Ha ha - a confessional indeed.  I think my consistent 'fail' is forgetting to put the baking powder in cake batter.  I follow Nigella's example and only have plain flour and cornflour in the house, and so need to remember to put the baking powder in with the flour.  We've had cake 'slab' more times that I care to mention 🫤  I have left meal components in the oven before now - you find the roast potatoes when you're pulling out the apple crumble 🙄 And I've very good at planning to add garlic bread/rice/carrots or whatever to the dish, and then forgetting to cook them - so the dish is 'light' at component or side or whatever.  

I've popped a hot wash on.  We've a brief window (possibly) this morning of dryness, and there appears to be a bit of  a breeze, so I'm going for it.  If all else fails, I would have to use the dehu anyway - so all I'm expecting, is for the clothes to maybe come in a bit drier than they would be if it was a straight transfer from machine to airer.  

Marginally more sleep last night.  I was nodding off by 8.30pm, so took myself to bed, only to be kept awake by DH's and LG's talking downstairs!  I assume they were watching something on utoob, rather than the TV as I couldn't hear the tv 🙄  I must have fallen asleep after they finally went to bed 🙄

I don't think we'll be going anywhere today.  I'm a bit miffed by this.  Since DH was ill in autumn, we've really crept back into our shell.  I know the weather plays its part, but we're constantly at home.  I think we need a family summit.  There are at least 2 issues.  Since his infection, DH has lost hearing in his ear.  I think he needs to go back to the Dr, and start investigations as to 'why'.  Is it a natural progression? Age? or something else.  We need to know - it's affecting his life.  Also, DH has stalled with the tow bar.  He's seen the ones that would be fitted, and they stick out from the back of the car alot.  Dear Reader, have you ever clacked your leg on a tow bar?  I have.  DH doesn't want a removable one, but I think we need to explore that further.  Bike racks (with bikes on) are not light, but they surely aren't as weighty as a trailer/caravan, so for the use that would be made of it, could a removeable device be an option?  I don't know the answer to these questions, but all the time DH is dithering, time is advancing out of "we wouldn't go out on our bikes this time of year", staunchly towards "we want to take our bikes out and have a good time......... but we can't, because we don't have a towbar ☹️"  Our previous tow bar on our old car hurt if you clacked your leg on it, but it didn't stick out in the same way as the ones on the market now.  

I'm going to do a loose meal-plan for the rest of January.  After years of trying, I find that rigid meal planning still doesn't work for me - I used to try to do it monthly 😱 But certainly in the last couple of months, being far more mindful of what I have in stores, and looking up recipes for X (whether X is green lentils, black eye beans, mushrooms, miso or whatever), has helped focus on getting meals together, whilst using stocks wisely.  We all have fresh ingredients that we need to use up, and in some ways this is easier, than tackling the 14 bags of lentils, or 3 sacks of chappati flour, or 6 nets of horse carrots that you've squirreled away in the garage, because they "were a bargain".  Having said that, soup is likely to be on the agenda for lunch.  Tea is as yet an unknown quantity.

I can't think of anything MSE to add at the mo.  The troops are stirring and I need to check how much longer the wash will be.  

Ta for popping in.  Greying X

KajiKita

I would be tempted to ask tow bar supplier / fitter the technical questions about the weight v. performance capabilities of a fixed v. removable tow bars. Then you can present Mr GP with ‘data’ and it might either unlock the block for him or flush out the real reason he’s dragging his feet. 

Agree with you about the need for him to go back to the GP about his hearing. Overall I get the impression he doesn’t enjoy life much, maybe that could be something he might explore too? 

We plan meals one week ahead and shop weekly. We don’t waste too much - what doesn’t get eaten and spoils is typically vegetable remainders (1/3rd of a cauli for example) and all of that goes on the compost heap and becomes veggie patch eventually. 😊 I appreciate for some people that level of waste would cause a sucking in of breath through teeth, but when we are both working full time and Mr KK needs so much variation in foodstuffs (he can’t have the same form of pasta, potatoes or rice two nights running for example), I don’t think that’s too bad 😊

We never go to supermarkets so never end up with bargains that need eating up. 🤷‍♀️

KK

Greying_Pilgrim

DH is in charge of getting the tow bar sorted.  It's not up to me to get any information.  He's currently swearing at his bike, because apparently everything is 'seized up', because they have not been out on the bikes for 4 months.  I have never known a bike (which was not inexpensive when purchased, albeit something like 10 years ago), go rusty/stop working so quickly.  

DH has always stuck his head in the sand, or procrastinate rather than face things.  The daft thing is, very often, when he has faced things, he's completed them/made them work, or completed things to a better standard than paying for a 'professional' would have achieved - even if it does take longer.  You can't teach an old dog, new tricks.  

Greying X

KajiKita

Sounds like Mr GP has a very specific ‘process’. Maybe what looks like procrastination is creating space in him for ‘back of head thinking’ which is why he then delivers such good solutions?

KK