From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Watty1

oh my goodness that menu …so many things I want to try! now I really do have to get better :)

EssexHebridean

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81866953#Comment_81866953

Home cooking temperatures often differ a lot from restaurant ones is one difference that it's difficult to get round - I tended to cook "hot" when we had the gas cooker (I could never use standard non stick there as I killed it in no time - domestic pans just aren't meant for super-high temperatures!) and even then, still couldn't get pans to the same sorts of temperatures that the chinese takeaway - for example - would use ! That in itself makes a difference to the flavour of course. I think to a degree it's a "all the notes, but not necessarily in the right order" situation - you can have all the ingredients, and all the processes, but the "X factor" is gained by both super-high heat AND super controllable temperatures, and of course any half decent restaurant chef is also going to have refined a standard recipe in their own way - the reason why the same dish from different places tastes really different sometimes! As Greying says - the authenticity is the hard bit to recreate I reckon.

Yes to fenugreek in curries making a big difference - tamarind is another flavour like that too!

Greying_Pilgrim

Hellebore World view on a rainy day………..

rtandon27

Gorgeous Pic GP!

EssexHebridean

Oh they're so pretty!

redofromstart

I love Hellebore, thank you for sharing that lovely picture

Greying_Pilgrim

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81870283#Comment_81870283

It was in support of rt's call to participate in remembering how cancer can turn families, and individuals lives upside down, as part of World Cancer Day. I figured hellebores are always looking downwards, so I'd see what it's like down with them, and then turn it on it's head - hence the raindrops reaching skywards 😁

So I'm just back from MrS. I had the bright idea to go with LG to pick up some clothing after school, and do a quick shop whilst I was there. I wish I'd stuck to my plan of going by myself…… And I know I'm a luddite, but I was trying to double check my n*tar account in the shop - what a fandango, no wifi connection, then the account thought I was an imposter, so it sent me codes, which I had to toggle pages to get to, which wouldn't load….. In the end, I missed extra points on my shop by a £5 underspend - and no, it wasn't bl00dy worth it! However, I got a HUGE cauli - one of their extra large ones - YS'd to £1 from £2, some organic little gen lettuce for 39p and a bit of frozen veg on 342 special offer. We also remembered to pick up the clothing order on the way out!

I spent £34.85 in MrS, and I spent £2.84 on nuts and dates in hB this morning when I walked into Greying Town to do some banking. I will update my siggie figgie. Tea is easy oven chips, plant-based nuggets and baked beans tonight. I need a bit of convenience help for once.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

I totally forgot to add, I was thinking of all the MSE marmalade makers this afternoon when I was in our MrS. They had approximately 4 if not 5 of their nets of seville marmalade oranges - which I've looked up to see are 1.5kg bags - YS'd to 75p each, from £3.50…… I mean, how many jars of marmalade would that yield. I'm not a preserve maker, but oh, I know you all could have whipped up a frugal feast with them 😁

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Tea munched. I wouldn't buy the plant-based nuggets again. They were 15 for £1 from FF. I didn't have high hopes, but if you don't try, you don't know. Now I know. The chips I bought this afternoon, and we had a tin of baked beans from the cupboard and I got the broccoli from the carrot/cauli/broccoli bag (MrM) that I sorted the other day. There is only the cauli left now. I had intended to make curry with it, but now I have the huge fresh cauli, I may use that instead.

For pud we had the leftover apple steamed pudding (warmed) and some natural yoghurt. That's the steamed pud finished off now.

I know supermarket 'meal deals' are nothing new, and some are better than others. But in the vein of us nattering about takeaways or eating out, I happened to be in M&$ today, and noticed that they have a pizza and sides offering - 2 pizzas and 2 sides for £14. There was also some sort of pasta offer - which i couldn't work out - but I did see that 12 dough balls were part of that, even though they were close to the pizzas/sides, which could have been misleading. Also there was a rotisserie chicken and 3 (?) sides offering. The rotisserie chickens had different marinades, depending on your preference and that deal was £15 (I think). Whilst I never think veggies get such a good deal in these offerings (the veggie pizzas were noticeably thinner), and of course you have to do some of the cooking yourself, I could see how it could be a good option for a takeaway alternative. And this was just m&$, I'm sure other supermercados do similar offerings. Certainly the pizza deal was supposed to serve 4. I'm not sure it would be an option for us, but I'm glad I had a wander around - I didn't find any YS'd bargains in M&$ - even YS'd things were dearer than I would pay 'proper' price.

Greying X

rtandon27

Meal deals have become our mainstay! A meal for 4 does us two meals and is definately more affordable than. Takeaway or delivery. For value, c0-0p is best for us, but for taste, Waitflower comes out on top! - of course our choicechoices are not the vegetarian ones so I'd be curious to find out which ranks best in that department!