Away From The Madding Crowd

Humboldt

@Organgrinder regardless, I'm still impressed that you did a triathlon.

Today's simple pleasure - taking advantage of a sunny, breezy day - 2 loads of washing hung outside to dry.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go – Unknown.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 3 spend for October was £62.32.  Total to date is £194.75.

My sourdough project continues.  In addition to the joy of learning something new, the ingredients to make an organic sourdough loaf cost less than a £1. 1.5kg of M@S organic strong white bread flour is currently on offer for £2.00. 

Took advantage of S@insbury’s buy 6 or more bottles of wine and save 25%, resulting in a saving of £10.28.

I signed up (via the app) to S@insbury’s festive challenge ‘Count up to Christmas’ for Nect@r customers.  Customers can collect up to 1,500 bonus Nect@r points by completing 5 personalised shopping tasks. The challenge takes place 9th October to 15 December.   Given that I do not shop exclusively at S@insbury’s, I doubt that I will complete all the tasks, but by checking if they are price matching any of the products that I generally buy in Ald!, it may result in a few extra points. If you are interested in this challenge, I would suggest looking at the T&C’s.  I was disappointed to find that it does not include points gained when purchasing wine via the above offer.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Salmon with chilli ginger sauce (H@iry D!eters recipe), stir-fry vegetables and noodles.  I will replace the salmon with trout fillets bought when on offer in Ald! for £2.99, and frozen until required.

Tuesday – Leek and potato soup (N!gel Sl@ter recipe) with a hunk of homemade sourdough.  I will use homemade chicken stock from the freezer. 

Wednesday – Chicken chasseur (P!nch of N0m recipe), swede/carrot mash, lightly steamed cabbage.  I will reduce the liquid content and cook the chasseur in the slow cooker.

Thursday – Macaroni cheese surprise (Br!tish He@rt F0undation recipe).  As per the recipe this will include lots of vegetables and I will use half-fat cheddar cheese. To fully utilise the oven, I will also bake a Yorkshire sticky ginger cake.  Lots of sugar in this cake (but oh so good), so it will be sliced, frozen and enjoyed as a treat for Halloween, Bonfire Night and beyond.

Friday – Peppered mackerel and potato bake (from one of my recipe scrap books).  To fully utilise the oven, I will also bake a homemade sourdough loaf.

Saturday – Breaded cod fillet from the freezer, small portion of oven chips and peas/sweetcorn.

Sunday – Roast chicken, stuffing, swede/carrot mash, lightly steamed cabbage, honey roast parsnips, and gravy.  To fully utilise the oven, I will cook homemade pakoras, which will be eaten alongside a curry next week.  

Breakfasts continue to be oat based on weekdays, and lunches will include homemade soups from the freezer.

Healthier lifestyle.

Completed 2 free online workouts.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Step count for last week was 37,768.

Simple pleasures

Taking full advantage of every dry day; be it gardening, drying clothes outside, or a walk.

Spring onions and winter salads have been sown in the veg box and covered with a cloche.  Fingers crossed I am not too late.  I am making use of our homegrown rainbow chard, rosemary, bay leaves, parsley, and oregano, still harvesting cucumbers (grown in the summerhouse), and our homegrown tomatoes are ripening nicely on the kitchen windowsill.

Books read 14/2024 – The Yellow Duster Sisters by Susan Kennaway (a charity shop find). This memoir of two sisters evacuated during the Second World War, offered an insight into the trauma of evacuation and the impact it had on family life.  An interesting and moving read, which is dedicated to the Polish Forces in Britain during the Second World War.

1939.  Nine-year-old Susie and her sister Gyll live in Watford, but as war breaks out in Europe, the girls are evacuated to Africa.  Feeling abandoned and alone, the sisters find their new life miserable and get no sympathy from their guardians.  As time passes and letters from home stop arriving, the sisters dream of escape and of returning to idyllic England.  Yet when they finally do arrive home, all the changes that await them make for a very different life than the one they had longed for.

Thank you for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

bluenose1

Great diary update @Humboldt. Always in awe at how disciplined you are at doing your diary.
Had a couple of extended family issues that have kept me off forum for a while, think things will get worse before better so trying not to get myself too down. 

Don’t think The Yellow Duster Sisters would be my type of read, despite it sounding very interesting. I get maudlin reading sad books at best of times. Never been able to read books like “Angela’s Ashes” etc.
Just made a courgette and leek soup so looking forward to a bowl of that with some Stilton later.
Your sourdough sounds great, especially seeing as the sourdough from our local Delicatessen is over £6!!!!!

Humboldt

Hi @bluenose1, sorry to read that you are having to deal with family issues.  Something that is never easy to do.  Remember to give yourself some tlc. 

I am by nature, a disciplined person.  Thankfully, my DH is a good balance and reminds me when it is becoming an overdone strength lol. In terms of my diary, I create a draft which I update during the week so that it is not an onerous task on a Monday morning. 

£6 is a lot of money for a sourdough loaf! I was totally surprised at how little it costs to make one.  The ingredients consist of bread flour, water, sourdough starter and a small amount of salt - nothing more. When making a loaf, time appears to be the greatest resource.  However, don't let that put you off, because this just involves leaving the bread to prove for several hours.  I'm sure that others will tell me that you don't have to use this method, but I am a newbie to sourdough and still very much learning.  Also, if it is of interest, there has recently been some interesting links on the 'food shopping & groceries' thread regarding ultra-processed food.  I was shocked to read that mass-produced bread was number 2 on the BB( Good Fo0d's list of 'the10 worst ultra-processed foods that you can eat' (thank you @Doc_N).   I feel that I need to add that I am not judging here, making my own bread is something new to me and we still buy bread at the supermarket/bakery.

Today's simple pleasure - I have emptied my two large terracotta strawberry planters, and re-potted them with fresh compost and new strawberry plants (grown from runners).  Apparently, strawberry plants should be replaced every 3 years.  Lets hope they will survive the winter and provide a nice harvest next summer. 

Organgrinder

I don't make bread but I do make pizza. I use 00 flour, mozzarella block, good passatta, pepperoni and anchovies (not on the same pizza).

I do have a pizza oven which helps of course but I can make 3 good quality pizzas for approx £5 vs say £10 for similar in shops.

And I've no doubt you too benefit from really good tasting home baked produce.

uralmaid

As I have told you before @Humboldt - I am in total awe of you.  I used to enjoy cooking and entertaining but since we moved to Lincolnshire 14 years ago there isn't really the chance to do it.  I try and cook healthy food every day though. My main vice is reading but as I read so quickly (I can devour up to 6 or 7 books a week) I tend to buy on my kindle and unless it is a book I really want, then I try to stick to ones on offer at 99p or £1.99 or better still free. I do bake every week and will occasionally make Focaccia with olives and tomatoes.

Humboldt

@Organgrinder welcome back.  Trust me, if you can make a pizza dough, you can make bread. My DH would love to own a pizza oven!  Learning to make pasta is on my to-do list, but only when I have finished, or should I say started, decorating lol.

@uralmaid as always, thank you for your kind words.  I guess it helps that I enjoy both menu planning, and cooking. Your baking always sounds 'b@ke off' worthy. 

Wow, 6-7 books a week is a phenomenal amount. Apparently, reading for pleasure is not just a leisure activity; it's also a powerful tool for personal development, intellectual stimulation and enrichment, and emotional wellbeing. Therefore, not so much a vice, more a necessity, especially if accompanied by chocolate. 

Today's simple pleasure - sunshine.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

No need to hurry.  No need to sparkle. No need to be anyone but oneself – Viriginia Woolf.

Money saving.

Our monthly budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 4 spend for October was £46.32. Total to date is £241.07. Given that October has almost 5 weeks, I am aware that I will be over budget, but I will attempt to keep it to a minimum.

Interest gained on various savings accounts for October was £167.39.  A bit less than last month because we paid the final balance on our winter sun holiday.

Bought 2 x 36 day matured Aberdeen Angus Sirloin Steaks reduced to £2.64 each (50% off) in Ald!.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Ping meal (cook once, eat twice – saves time and fuel)

Tuesday – Butter chicken curry, homemade onion bhaji’s and a small portion of brown rice. I will cook this in the slow cooker.  I will be using a pre-made butter chicken curry sauce mix (Ind! Gr@nd), currently £1.49 @ Ald!.  I rarely use pre-made sauces, but apparently it contains no artificial flavours or preservatives, so I will give it a go.

Wednesday – Vegetable tagine (P!nch of N0m recipe), with a warm whole-wheat pitta.  I will reduce the liquid content and cook in the slow cooker.  A tasty, nutritious, and economical recipe that uses up any leftover vegetables.

Thursday – Italian meatballs with a chunky tomato sauce (H@iry D!eter’s recipe) with whole-wheat spaghetti.  I will use ready-made meatballs.

Friday – Baked potatoes topped with tuna, chopped red pepper, red onion, and gherkins, with a large green salad.  I will utilise the oven by cooking a sourdough loaf at the same time.

Saturday – Superb Squ@sh S0up (J@mie Ol!ver recipe) with a hunk of homemade sourdough bread.  I will cook the soup in the slow cooker. 

Sunday –  Steak, a small portion of oven chips, peas, onions, and mushrooms. Steaks were reduced in price and frozen until required.

Weekday breakfasts are predominantly oat based and lunches will include homemade soups from the freezer.  This weekend’s breakfasts were poached eggs on toasted homemade sourdough, and sourdough discard pancakes with Greek yogurt, defrosted frozen berries and a swirl of local honey.  Eggs were half price and will be used well within the week’s remaining use-by date.  S@insbury’s frozen berries are currently buy 2 get 1 free.

Healthier lifestyle.

Completed 1 free online workout.

Step count last week was 61,541.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Simple pleasures.

A walk with a friend on a glorious sunny day.

DH will cook our steak dinner on Sunday.

Made several jars of chilli jam (N!gella’s Laws0n’s recipe).  Chillies were homegrown.

Thank you for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

Organgrinder

All sounds very good. Have been away this weekend so rediscovered two joys, of cooking and speaking the language of my country. Both of which I need to do more of 

I'd lapsed this year into frozen food/convenience food. Was with a group of friends this weekend so pasta alla Bolognese Friday, cooked breakfast Sat and Sun, and toad in the hole sat night.

Got back Sunday and made a Pad Thai for that evening and yesterday some Teriyaki chicken with noodles and bean sprouts.

Was great conversing with first language speakers too. There is something quite lovely to see people appreciate being able to use their first language with tourists as opposed to their second language. 

mark55man

can't beat a pad Thai.  It may not be original but ald1 do a good pack mix with a long life for the sauce and noodles just add fresh chicken and veg