From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

mumtoomany

Hi greying. Still reading along, but internet normally too dire to reply! I usually buy the essentials carrots from aldi. Never had a problem with them being woody. I always choose the bags with big ones in, then less waste if they are peeled. 

Was weeding in the tunnel and remembered something aunty Pat used to make, so passing it on to you. She would make saag aloo, but with stinging nettles. Tastes great, not stingy when cooked, just not the easiest to harvest. Might be worth looking at. 

Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

rtandon27

I know naught about potato varieties dear GP - other than red, white, little and big.  OH loves a boiled baby potato, but I'll only partake if they are seasoned wedges or green mash.
(Oh yes - and the canned variety for adding to a thai or Indian curry - but if I remember correctly these are banned on your thread!🤣)

redofromstart

I'd pick Maris Piper over an unknown every time, some of the generic all rounders taste of nothing whatsoever especially the sold for jacket potato ones. 

Greying_Pilgrim

beanie - I feel your pain!

EH - I thought it was odd about the mobile reception, particularly when the app really started to take off.  But then just assumed maybe it was our provider.  Best reception at our local MrL is in the doorway at the front entrance.  You can imagine how well that works with automatic opening/closing doors and folks trying to get in/out the shop...... 🙄

mumtoomany - that sounds a spiffy idea about the saag aloo.  I might try that - I think it would fire up LG's imagination to pick nettles.  They do actually have a thick pair of gardening gloves that would offer sufficient protection.  You just use the topmost leaves, don't you. I probably wouldn't use nettles from around here, as there are too many dogs, and it's not just the 'watering' I would be worried about.  But I think if nettles have started to grow, that might be a project for the Easter hols.  Watch this space!

RT - loves me a tinned tattie - they are the best for potato salad, and I have used them in curries too.  Definitely not verboten here!

Redo - I agree about tasteless tatties.  Those Arran Pilot weren't big in the taste department, and when you do get a nice tasty tattie, it makes all the difference - especially baked or mashed.  

The Mung bean soup was OK.  Not stunning.  I thought that the lemon would lift it more than it did, and ended up popping in a tablespoon of white wine vinegar, which did enhance it.  I will keep the recipe, as it may prove useful if I have a stash of mung beans to accommodate, but not one of my stand-out dishes.  I also made a chocolate steamed pudding in the SC again.  I used some of the remaining Advent chocolate that the Advent Fairy had over-ordered, to put in the bottom of the pudding bowl.  It did create a sort of 'self-saucing' pudding, although there wasn't alot of sauce.  I could have put more chocolate in, but not having done it before, wasn't sure whether it would work.  I used the adaptation on THIS basic recipe to make the pudding and cooked it on low power for 4 hours.  

I am niggled about the weather.  I could have got about 7 hours of drying in today.  There was the odd raindrop floating about, but the breeze was sufficient to counteract it.  The rain proper didn't kick in until 2.30pm, so I could have got a load partially dried - grr.

I was pondering earlier about grocery costs and I was thinking how I regularly spend £50 a week now (on average, when grouping together shopping from HB, MrL, MrAl, MrS etc), so I multiplied it by 52 and then divided the total by 12.  Interestingly it came out at £216 per month.  So if I could stick to it, i would hit my new budget.  

Worryingly I could smell damp plaster earlier on, and DH has just come downstairs now, and said "I can smell wet paint...." 😬  Will have to have a proper investigation in the daylight.  

Today I am grateful for the teaching profession, and the 'dedicated' within it.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Well, woke up to a black screen again this morning ☹️ Not surprised as I knew I was on borrowed time. It's just a pain is all. Using the phone is marginally easier if the site isn't running slow, but I don't find it easy and my phone is beginning to fail as it is ☹️ I was planning to upgrade this year as it was, because of 4G comparability, so how to afford a phone and a computer is anyone's guess. I suppose a £500 computer lasting 2 years is less than £1 a day, but it's a chunk of change to find to replace. And yes, I need to be grateful I had a reprieve to rescue my photos, but blessed heck! 2 years? I don't even game on it, or run countless movies/TV progs ☹️

I have set a couple of washes out this morning (before I knew the computer was crook - have no way to check the weather now). I think I only have until lunchtime at best, but DH's work clothes were becoming a priority. I also did the whites wash, which is fewer items, but we don't have copious spares. Not quite enough to last us into the hols, anyway. We'll have to see how dry I can get them, otherwise to the launderette I will go.

Tea will be chickpea wraps. Don't hold out much hope for them working as I only have the mini-wraps on hand. Might need to give some thought to this. Will also need to set the stew going for tomorrow's tea, it's another one that improves for sitting around. 

What do people think about computer repair? I remember a good few years ago, a local repair company wouldn't book you in unless you paid £100 up front, and any repairs/time was added to the bill. Although £500 is alot of money to me, it seems like you can quickly get to that spend in (possibly) fruitless repairs. I was reading up about 'repairable/upgradeable' laptops - the market leader is £2.5k 😮 Not an expense I can currently justify. I'm still struggling to understand why my relatively simple computer usage wears them out so easily ☹️ ho hum.

Vest do summat constructive, before I foist a set of 'down-in-the-dumps' on myself.

Ta for popping in. Appreciated. Greatly.

Greying X 

greenbee

You should be able to pick up a refurbished laptop for around £200 if you shop around. They often come with some kind of warranty too. I’ve seen a number of posters mention buying from backmarket (I think @Cheery_Daff was one of them). It’s not really worth repairing at the moment, although changes in legislation are going to improve this. I’d avoid buying used from a private seller and go for something refurbished from a business if possible. Same goes for phones. 

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks greenbee Back market was the name I was trying to remember. 

Greying X 

FrugalHedonist

Regarding chickpea wraps I often make these but I up the spices and add a square of dark chocolate as these are quite basic - I use natural yoghurt on the top

https://www.netmums.com/recipes/chickpea-enchiladas/

kayannie

My computer died on me a couple of years ago when we hadn't long moved to a new area. I found a family run computer shop in our nearest small town & took it to them but it was unrepairable. I bought a refurbished one from them which cost less than £200 & came with a 3 month warranty.  They transferred all my files from the old pc to the new one - I didn't lose any. This shop has been so helpful with any problem I have, such as Excel disappearing without warning just recently & they have not charged me for anything since my initial purchase. More recently I bought a refurbished phone from them. It is so useful to find a reliable independent retailer that you can trust.
KA

Cheery_Daff

Sorry about the computer Greying 😕 I did indeed buy one from Backmarket about a year or so ago for £200, had no problems with it, it works perfectly. In fact Mr Cheery replaced his last year too (after it was struck by lightening 🙄) - he went for one with more power/memory but I think it was around £350 or so.  They come with a warranty. My phone came from there too, also still going strong after a couple of years 😊