Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

DdraigGoch

As far as I know [AFAIK], the only thing you have to worry about oxalic acid is rhubarb, and that's the leaves. I must say though, they do a fantastic job of cleaning up any grotty saucepans. Bung a couple of leaves in with some water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes [or until you remember! but DON'T let it boil dry or you're back to a grotty saucepan and worse , you did it whilst trying to rescue it - don't ask how I know ....:o], take off heat, leave until cold, possibly overnight. Tip out the gunge - DO NOT TOUCH IT OR SMELL IT, IT'S VILE - and voila, a clean saucepan, after a bit of a scrub... Do remember to wash it out well, the rhubarb leaves smell horrid and it is very strong stuff.

Right, after that, I'm off to find out just how many saucepans I've actually got! Long story.

DG

redglass_2

Shaz, a friend of mine told me that mature nettles have a laxative effect. She discovered this when she got it into her head to make a nettle soup on honeymoon! :eek: :eek::eek: I'd definitely stick to the youngest plants/ leaves you can find.

Did a double skip dip yesterday and my living room full of wood for the stove . The pieces are too long to put in the woodshed and the rain is about to bucket down so I will probably saw it up indoors. Oops, here comes the thunder, better sign off....

Marru

Hi all,

When I was little my aunt used to forage nettles and there was this rule not to use the older ones but I really can't remember why this was. This might help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettle#Cooking

I have just updated my numbers. As I started in beginning of March I am in half way in the end of July. Soooo half of my budget is 1,672.50 which means that I have £323.73 to live on up to the end of July. This seems to be very doable so fingers crossed.

Marru

Frugaldom

Bails, I hope everything is OK with you, missing your input here

Not much to report here today, except that it has, at last, been showery, but stayed dry long enough for the washing to go out for a little while. DGD has been here all afternoon, so we have been out a walk to see if we could see the Ospreys, who now have 3 chicks hatched. All we saw was Mrs Osprey sitting on the nest, but the warden told us all three chicks are still alive and well. Between showers, DGD was outside with a bucket of soapy water washing her new Barbie bike, which she absolutely loves! (Courtesy of freecycle.) We watered the tomatoes and considered picking a few more strawberries, but decided it was best to leave them another few days until the sun shines again.

Had visit from Mr Policeman who took my statement about the fraud/identity theft thing, but he couldn't really tell me anything more. He'd just been passing and thought he'd pop in to let me know he was still investigating and would keep in touch or let me know if he heard anything new. Friendly bunch, our local bobbies, I thought it very nice of him to call in to say I hadn't been forgotten.

sophiesmum_2

Found this about nettles - seems it is the iron that may be the problem in older nettles not the oxalic acid:D

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]STINGING NETTLE (Urtica dioica) [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nettles grow in almost every kind of environment so it's normally not hard to find some. They like nitrogen-rich soil. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nettles are high in iron and are one of the best sources for us on the planet of this mineral. And, like all greens, they're full of chlorophyll, the green stuff which is very similar in chemical composition to haemoglobin and so provides an amazing nutrition hit. I will talk more about chlorophyll in the next issue. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nettles are best in terms of quality, vibrancy and nutrition in the spring when they're young. As they grow older, the iron content increases to the point where eating them in quantity may cause kidney damage and symptoms of poisoning. But cutting nettles causes them to grow back so you can have fresh, young nettles throughout the season. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So how to eat nettles raw? Don't be afraid - they're your friend. The spines that inject formic acid causing the sting are on the upper side of the leaf and not on the underside. So I pick a leaf from underneath, fold it in half along its length and continue folding it until none of the upperside of the leaf or its edge is exposed. I then squeeze the little leaf package to break the spines and pop it in between my teeth (ensuring the leaf parcel does not unfold in my mouth) and immediately begin to chew. It has a wonderful flavour and substantial quality. Another technique is to pick a leaf, roll it together so the upperside is not exposed and then rub it between the palms to break the spines before popping in the mouth. And nettles can be juiced! The leaves can also be used for herbal tea and as a medicine, and the stalks can be used to make cordage and cloth. What a versatile and wonderful plant - become intimate with nettles today! [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]See "Food for Free" by Richard Mabey, and "Wild Foods" by Roger Phillips. [/FONT]

sophiesmum_2

Evening Frunchkins:D

Have spent some time in the grounds today digging up shrubs and plants and relocating them. We have raised some money to have some decking built for the oldies to enjoy more of the garden and have had to make a start clearing the area ready for the contractor to start work at the weekend. Still have a few more to move tomorrow/Thursday but have done quite a lot.Found a rogue potato plant growing in one of the borders too - think it was from some compost last year that wasn't quite decomposed enough when it was dug in. Will dig it up tomorrow and see if there are spuds underneath:p

Mt courgettes have suddenly burst into flower this morning. OH was laughing at me as my first comment was "you can eat those in a salad you know" he also gave me one of those "oh oh here she goes again looks":rotfl: :rotfl:
Sure I have seen a recipe somewhere for courgette flower fritters :rolleyes:
Radishes are ready so need to sow some more to replace them soon. Also about to go to frugalmums to collect some carrots that she has thinned out and has a surplus of:D . Don't you love free plants:j

System

ooooh frunchkins, iv had another hard day with the terrible teens :eek:

they all have so many problems and decided to take it out on little old me today

i then went to work a couple of extra hours (for MONEY oooh) at a cookery group, I was looking after a couple of babies while their mums cooked, so i got a free dinner

i was at my money trainig yesterday, someone in my group works with young people on apprenticey things who earn £55 a week, and I said oh, I do that, and later he was moaning about the government and how it was impossible to live off that etc, then was asking how i did it. He actually looked pretty angry when i said i actually live off a little less as I am saving for uni!!! :eek::mad: how rude of him to be angry with me!!!

(I am well aware that it is very difficult for many people to do this, I work everyday on the frontline with the issues and barriers to financial capablility that people face, and I would never be blase about it, or think that people who struggle are lazy/stupid etc. - plus i know there are a lot of exceptions,so i hope no-one gets offended! - the problem is generally with peoples ability to deal with money (very complex) and not the low sum itself - it is not literally impossible).

sorry to moan about him, but I had to bite my tongue and steer away from the converstaion yesterday as he reacted with disbelief bordering on aggression!

rant over.....

Also it was my birthday yesterday, i am getting so old(ish) - 24!!!! mid-twenties!
I had a wee party on saturday, so i now have a good stock of wine bottles for my home brewing.

I was feeling a bit 'ruff' on sunday so i got my bf to read me out the posts from mse, and he got totally jealous of mr DT what with all the bingo/home brew flirting :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

apparently 'mr dt' doesnt stand for mr davie tesco, but 'mr dog turd' :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:(sorry mr dt!!! please don't let it put you off a bit of :lovethoug:kisses3::blushing::heartpuls )

edit - oh i have also changed my UC/IB yet again, im now trying to aim for bus fares for the entire course too (i had been budgeting for a normal bus pass before, forgot I would get a student one, d'oh)

Marru

I was desperately driving around trying to find a petrol station that had normal unleaded for sale. After failing at the third one DD announced that she wanted to go to the toilet. Quick call to Auntie Bails and toilet around the corner was found. By this time the petrol light came on :eek:. After refreshing cup of tea and some biscuits (and admiring all creatures feline) we ventured out (except DD didn't want to leave and had to be wrestled out) and went to try the last of the petrol stations in the area and thank goodness we now have a full tank. :T

DD is in bed and I am considering having my supper a bit earlier than last night. All the betting for tonight has been done and can't do anything for tomorrow until my next free bet clears in the morning.

Oh - forgot to tell that won fiver in the bingo yesterday and I have almost convinced myself to play it through AND I signed up for the piglet site last week and thanks to all the lovely people in the appropriate thread here won yesterday one of the quizzes and have now £20 worth of vouchers I can claim (couldn't do it today as I have been member for under 10 days!!!) :j

So all is well here apart from piggy that is losing weight. :embarasse It will be a trip to the vet tomorrow morning.

Have a great evening all Frunchkins.

Marru

Edited:

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY JUMBLE-BEE!!!!

System

sophiesmum wrote: »

Mt courgettes have suddenly burst into flower this morning. OH was laughing at me as my first comment was "you can eat those in a salad you know" he also gave me one of those "oh oh here she goes again looks":rotfl: :rotfl:
Sure I have seen a recipe somewhere for courgette flower fritters :rolleyes:

oooh i had those once years ago when i was visiting my penpal in venice, they were sooooooooooooooooo nice i would actually grow them just for the flowers if i had a garden!

MrDT

Jumble-Bee wrote: »

I was feeling a bit 'ruff' on sunday so i got my bf to read me out the posts from mse, and he got totally jealous of mr DT what with all the bingo/home brew flirting :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

apparently 'mr dt' doesnt stand for mr davie tesco, but 'mr dog turd' :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:(sorry mr dt!!! please don't let it put you off a bit of :lovethoug:kisses3::blushing::heartpuls )

Hahaha excellent :rotfl:

I just hope the lads don't catch wind of that acronym, I'd never hear the end of it :eek:

(and that goes for you lot too, Mister Davy Tesco is just fine thank you very much )

Mister Davy Tesco - "The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous"... I can live with that. Hell yeah :cool:

Oh, and happy bealated birthday sweetie Muahaha!