Old Style vs the USDA head-to-head challenge...

MRSMCAWBER

Hello all

Thought i would pop by and share this recipe .... I haven't tried it yet as i haven't seen any elder trees... but im on the look out next time i go round the golf course with hubby as im sure they will be in there somewhere (the course is cut out of woods)... am i too late by the way are we now onto elder berries? hope not :rolleyes:
Elderflower "champagne" - non alcoholic (sorry folks )
makes 14 litres/3 gallon

• 10-12 heads of elderflowers
• 900g/2lbs white sugar
• juice and rind of 2 lemons
• 2tbs white wine vinegar

1. pick the elderflower heads in full bloom... don't wash -but check for bugs
2. dissolve sugar in hot water
3. add lemon juice, grated rind and vinegar and stir
4. add the elderflowers
5. pour into a sterilized bucket
6. make up the liquid to 14 litres/3 gallon with cold water
7. leave for 3 days..stirring occasionally
8. strain into glass bottles, cork firmly and lay on their sides
9. after 2 weeks the liquid will be sparkling and ready to drink

Well i have been out in the garden checking things out...now have flower buds appearing on my asparagus peas :T sooooo exciting.

Going to spend today sorting out next months meal plan and shopping lists... planning on trying for €60 for the 2 of us for next month....although i do have lots of stuff in allready to use
When i was chatting with hubby the other day i finally saw that we don't have to sit down to a "full cooked dinner" every evening .. We both love poached eggs on hm bread toast... but i just couldn't bring myself to let hubby come in after a days work to it ..Now i have accepted that if we both like it does it matter?.... so next months menu plan should be "different" to usual.
right i will get of and get that sorted then back to the x stitch and knitting for xmas:D
have a great day everyone and keep up the good work

:T :T weezle.. just read your cunning plan..what a star you are... brilliant idea:D

weezl74

OOOh Trow, I think we crossed posts! I like your idea tho, let's me off the hook! But I think I'm gonna try and be strict about it, because one of my hopes in doing this challenge was to make it, 'just like real life' but on a budget, so people reading could maybe feel like it's achievable, even if an unexpected 'bring and share' pops up!

I don't want to be pedantic about your nice idea.... But I think I'm gonna try my hardest to take all food spends out of my original budget.:o

Feel free to laugh if I have to eat my words.:D

Hmmmmn, eating words.... I wish!!! I wouldn't go hungry then eh? :rotfl:

shaz_mum_of__2

weezl

Am i right in thinking you have lodgers???

I assume you dont feed them maybe you could offer to feed them on a regular basis for a profit? or shall we say money neutral ?

Shaz

ifonlyitwaseasier

it's not cheating, it's fabulous planning and inventive use of ingrdiants

redsquirrel80

I think it's a great plan!

Plum_Pie

Whoever posted the potato bread recipe, I could kiss you!

No whoops'd bread in the supermarket yesterday. (Well, there was 5 second before I got to the shelf, but a big family was buying it all and I'm not about to steal bread from kiddies mouths!) So, in the spirit of keeping this week's food bill low after last week's restock, I bought some yeast instead, knowing I had flour and spuds and had saved the recipe in the 'maybe, one day, pile'. Botched it together (ie I halved all the ingredients except for the water andthen wondered why it was so sticky and the added more flour and yeast...) I formed it into rolls and baked it and.... it turned out fantastically well. I love the texture - delicious with my morning egg and with lunchtime lentil pate. Mmmm. I will definitely be doing this again.

Also, I totally agree with Trow. If you gave someone a scarf for a present, it wouldn't come out of your person clothing budget, would it? But I understand the satisfaction of sticking to your plan, shine on you crazy diamond.

weezl74

Thanks for all the support for my creative accountancy!
:beer:
Really liking the craft and beauty products areas of discussion too!

Yes, ceridwen, my mad challenge has included: shampoo, conditioner, soap, washing powder, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, monthly things for ladies- ahem, loo roll, cleaning products (tho thanks to a canny stardrops purchase a year ago, I still don't need any!) and bleach, shaving foam, deodorant and painkillers.:eek:

Still, we're managing!

But I think Mr Weezl maybe struggles with the lack of spontenaity (sp) this brings about. Not that I am hugely good at being spontaneous under normal circumstances. He is remarkably tolerant. With forays into the world of intolerance when tired and grumpy, as are we all!:D

So, £1.97 for a dish for 20 people, with hopefully some left over (money I mean!) anyone up for a challenge? I feel one coming along! The other constraint is that it's a post-work do, and there's no fridge, so it'd have to be something that could sit out all day and not kill anyone!!!!:D

Love to all,

Weezl x

MRSMCAWBER

Ok... not exactly inspirational.... but i will give it a go

What about a selection of those bread sticks i posted... really cheap, you can make

1. poppy seed
2. carraway
3. sesame
4. plain
5. parmesan (using hardly any;) ) and mustard seeds
6. and no doubt you can come up with many more with what you have stashed in your cupboards

Bonus as you can make them several days in advance and just keep wrapped in a tea towel... and then im sure you will have plenty of beans n pulses to make a selection of dips .... and they shouldn't suffer for being out of the fridge as things like that are nicer when they aren't chilled right through... plus that kind of thing is great for gatherings where folks don't want to balance plates etc

well its a start :rotfl: im sure there will be loads more ideas coming:T

weezl74

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

well its a start :rotfl: im sure there will be loads more ideas coming:T

It's a GREAT start, thanks for jogging my memory , I found your recipe again on the March grocery challenge. If it doesn't have to be bread flour, just plain flour, then I can buy:

plain flour 36p
oil for the houmous (I have no oil left!) 95p
sesame seeds 40p

I have everything else and will be able to make caraway flavour, plain, cumin, garlic and rosemary flavoured breadsticks, and enough for 6 breadsticks each plus 3 tubs of houmous. Well done Mrs M! :T :T :T

In_Search_Of_Me

umm...hurro! Ok Weezl what spare ingredients do you have that could be used for challenge? Thinking on my feet (actually sitting on my botty but YKWIM!!) how about some rosemary bread? Pasta salad? As a slight asside should something like this not come out of the fun budget because its socialising rather than day to day feeding? Although as I type that I am doubtful that it will wash as know how dermind you are to not cheat in your head...as you know my thinking is that if you DID live on that little you would certainly be trying to wangle things any way you could (well that was legal anyhoo!!) !! So in the knowledge that you are unlikely to "cheat" tell us what is spare & we'll see what we can come up with that is yummy & wont require a hospital stay!!