The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

in_need_of_direction · 28 June 2017 at 8:16AM

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Stop messing with my head, you........ :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:;)

Ach hun - you don't have to try any of my suggestions at all Besides, I'm not real, don't forget that...... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:;)

Greying X

Greying, the apology was as much to the universe as to you. When shopping on Monday, OH asked if something was within budget. I finished laughing for long enough to explain that our budget disappeared about two months ago. I need frugality.

Greying_Pilgrim · 28 June 2017 at 4:04PM

Thanks to the MSE'r looking out for me and my family; mentioning something that I need to be aware of. As it happens, I was aware, but I hope I convey regularly that I'm not too old to learn new things

, and I value and respect people sharing information freely, so that others may benefit.

Tea last night was 'made up' soup. It featured leeks and carrots

And I actually ended up incorporating the left over pilaf from Monday. Along with some (cooked) haricot beans from the freezer, it ended up being a soup worthy of a bitingly cold autumn day, or one for the snowy depths of January! When of course the leeks nor carrots would have been YS'd, so I wouldn't have been able to afford to make it :rotfl:I also tried out a recipe for Carrot and Chickpea pancakes that I had copied out from a library book

Unfortunately, there isn't a link to the recipe online - although there are plenty of other recipes for carrot and chickpea pancakes. But as it happens, in true Greying-stylee, I didn't stick to the recipe script anyway and improvised, improvised, improvised! I used a tub of the 29p Quinoa flour I got from HB, rather than chickpea flour (although chickpea flour is included in the offer and I got me a tub today), and because I thought that it might go wrong, I didn't want to "waste" a precious egg, so I ground up flax seed (of which I have a gazillion) and used water instead of milk. Right frugal! And I have to say, right tasty

Probably entirely the wrong accompaniment for such a substantial soup, but I'd swapped recipes to make use of the leeks and carrots, rather than buy something extra, so....... Anyhoo, the pancake recipe - the original and the improvised version (which I think makes it vegan-friendly) are keepers, and will be wheeled out again, I am sure. Picture of our rib-sticking feast here (please note that was all the pancakes - not one portion......

);

I was going to make chilli and rice for tea. I might change my mind, although the weather is no more summery, so it's appropriate.......

We've had a wander out and about to see how far it was. We got a bit wet, but no matter

Can't think of owt else to report that is MS at the mo, so I'll push off and do a bit more.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim · 28 June 2017 at 9:20PM

Good Evening :hello:

Well, of the library books that I got today - cookbooks, natch

- 1 has one recipe in it that I might use; 1 is more about lifestyle p0rn and has maybe two or three recipes worthy of investigation, although I'm already dubious about quantities of one bread recipe, and the third has quite a few recipes that look to be of interest. Glad I've not invested £70+ in purchasing them........

Tea this evening ended up being a sorta chilli. I had a portion of jambalaya left in the freezer, so that got jazzed up with a couple of spoonfuls of l/o baked beans, some cooked black eyed beans (freezer), the remnants of a bag of frozen pepper slices, an onion, some garlic and some passata. I also put in some more spice and some chipotle chilli flakes. Boiled up a bit of basmati and cooked some broccoli and there's tea;

In readiness for the Uber Frugal July Challenge, I have been looking out my recipes gleaned from Jack Monroe & Leanne Brown, and any other frugal source that I've come across over the years. The common denominator seems to be that it is easier to make 'inexpensive' dishes in the colder months........ there ain't alot o'salad................ Hope we don't have a heatwave in July like we did last year...... I think I had better have a good rake through my 'salad' recipes - you know, the 'lentilly', or 'cous-cous' or 'beany' versions. See if I can come up with some fall-back positions. I suppose ultimately, red lentils ought to be on the planner each day, but I think I wouldn't last longer than 2 days without some variety. And yes, I acknowledge that I have choice in the matter.

I've been thinking why I want to do this challenge, and how it fits into my 'Try Harder Trimester'. I'm not going to be able to save a shed-load of money that will fund the rest of THT, or even a small part of it - I was thinking was there an 'item' still on my list that if I could save.... £10, £30 or £50 that I could then purchase, but nothing springs easily to mind - we're into costly purchases/renovation territory now. I'm actually doing the challenge (on top of THT) for a 'mindset reset'. We've talked plenty of times about needing to surround yourself with your 'tribe' - and ultimately how difficult that can be in RL, when everyone around you seems to be buying into consumerism like it's going out of fashion, and at best they smile benignly at your frugal-weirdoness, and at worst, they poke fun about your miserliness - and these are folks you all but nod hello to in the street........

Well, I figure that if I want to continue on the path to happiness without 'stuff' there is no point in relying on finding a underground movement of frugal 'n happy souls locally. I've just got to start ploughing our own furrow, get to see results, and get the momentum to carry on. I'm actually very pleased with what has been achieved in June under the 'THT' framework, so I need to give myself and DH a boost, so that we scramble to the top of the bucket, away from the pincers of the naysaying crabby consumerists.

I'm not too sure if I take overly much notice of the doom and gloom scenarios that are being painted over the economy/recession/trade negotiations etc. Afterall, interest rate rises have been going to happen 'next month' for, oh, how many years now? One of these months the harbingers will be right, doubtless about many things; but rather than get worried, I'm more interested in living my life in the now, and, above all, enjoying family life - our version. Which is, by my own admission, completely different to the vast majority of folks in the modern world. I have no wish to 'drop out' of the 21st century, but neither do I wish to mortgage my, nor my child's future, to 'buy into it, at all costs'.

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

for being in the thoughts of an MSE'r

a helping hand from a stranger when my hands were full of Baby Greying

time - for a quick read and a think. Invaluable.

Ta for popping in, reading and contributing. Appreciated. Greatly.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim · 29 June 2017 at 7:15AM

Good Morning :hello:

Well, here we are again

Seems like I have hardly been away.......

The weather ain't very 'up and at 'em' today, but I must be. Chores, chores, busy, busy.

I see have somewhat optimisitcally slated 'bean bowl' for us tea tonight. Mmmm, sounds delish and inviting........... i'm not on top of my recording expenditure this week, so I'm not sure how much 'in the red' I am. I'm pretty sure I haven't over spent by more than £10, as that was what I withdrew from my account, and I've still some coins left - despite owing DH for some bread/milk. But I suspect there isn't any wriggle room for purchases - YS or not

My fault - no one elses.

Right, best get to it and get started. Accounts book is my first port of call!

Ta for popping in. Appreciated.

Greying X

Edit: Accounts all up to date. -£6.24 in the red currently

But hopefully there should be little or nothing to add to that total in the next two days. Famous last words.......

Cheery_Daff · 29 June 2017 at 8:18AM

Love the image of you and DH scrabbling to the top of a bucket with a load of pesky crabs below tempting you towards consumerism :rotfl: you do have a vivid way with words Greying

:rotfl:

Ooh yes - I had already forgotten about preparations for UFJ which I suppose starts on Saturday - eek! :eek: Fortunately I'll be starting it with a week off work so more time to prepare things (although this is meant to be our final week of house-preparing which usually means pizza and bran flakes

) Also Mr Cheery is still not eating proper food after his operation so i'm finding myself cococting a bizarre series of 'meals' out of whatever I grab first or doesn't need much preparation

For example the other night I had (so embarrassing to admit this) egg noodles, spinach, toasted sesame seeds and grated cheese. NOT exactly a gourmet dinner (although come to think of it, I suppose it did have carbs, protein, fat and a bit of veg so maybe it wasn't that bad after all!)

Ooh, and I meant to say all your talk of avocados made me remember how much I like them, and how rarely I buy them - often because of cost. It's funny, I have certain things I don't buy 'because they're expensive' but I'll happily spend the same or more on other things

avacodos were on my expensive list (along with potato wedges...) but the local fruit and veg shop had them 2 for £1 the other week - I ignored them for several days in the fridge but yesterday shoved half a one in an omelette and it was LOVELY so thank you!

Greying_Pilgrim · 29 June 2017 at 9:34AM

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Love the image of you and DH scrabbling to the top of a bucket with a load of pesky crabs below tempting you towards consumerism :rotfl: you do have a vivid way with words Greying :rotfl:

Ah, no, I can't take credit for the 'crabs in the bucket' analogy - I first came across that when Memorygirl wrote about it - you're striving to do something different with your life and family/colleagues/friends keep on pulling you back to their world - not letting you strike out for yourseld. I remember that and her 'Abbot' story - you know, all the friends/colleagues/acquaintances who start a rebuttal of why they couldn't possibly do what you do, with, 'Ah But....'

Avocadoes are on my 'too expensive' list too, but they are also firmly resident on my 'only buy if you know they'll be good' list

The grocer has wee avocadoes at the moment for 'only' 25p each (if you purchase a quantity), but they look shocking. I suspect the composting ratio could be high, even with careful selection. So 'only' 25p becomes 25p wasted, or 50p or 75p......

I admire your resolve Cheery - we need to get to the stage of 'enough done' to then decide what to do with Greying Towers. We're not there yet, but I can see how 'one more task' syndrome can stop us moving forward.

I'm only planning for UFM, because I really want to succeed and my momentum is high at the moment - I'm capitalising on that really. Not being saintly and doing extra homework :A:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Greying X

Cheery_Daff · 29 June 2017 at 11:36PM

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

I admire your resolve Cheery - we need to get to the stage of 'enough done' to then decide what to do with Greying Towers. We're not there yet, but I can see how 'one more task' syndrome can stop us moving forward.

Greying X

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: Dear Greying, you do know that we first went to see a mortgage adviser about moving house in January 2015, yes? And that we immediately started packing things into boxes, and 'doing the last bits of decorating', and have been doing just that EVER SINCE (ie for TWO AND A HALF YEARS)? :eek: :eek:

We have finally got to the stage where one or the other of us might actually have some kind of breakdown if we don't finish soon, and also we have seen a house that we like VERY much and would rather like to buy... And if it weren't for those to things combining with a week off work for me, I suspect we'd still be faffing at Christmas :eek: :eek:

You will get there lass when it's the right time - as long as you keep putting your feet in the right direction

Greying_Pilgrim · 30 June 2017 at 5:50AM

Good Morning :hello:

But Cheery - you have done it, you've reached the point where you have said, 'Good Enough' and 'let's see what happens'. I realise that finding somewhere that you want to live/buy has been an important catalyst, but I think 'one more year', or 'one more task' or 'just until' syndrome is very real, and holds folks back from advancement, more than is realised. If I'm not careful, we'll still be here when BG has left school, learnt to drive and is making their own way in the world, which in some ways is OK; as much could have changed in that time, and there are many reasons why Greying Towers is 'sufficient' house for our needs. But it does also rather miss the point that at least one reason for us to move would be that I don't want BG to go to the local school........................... :rotfl::rotfl:

Tea last night ended up being pasta. I used the long macaroni, a splodge of red pesto paste, some lemon juice, a tub of mini mozarellas that were just the 5 days out of date

(hence why I waited until this morning to tell you if they were 'orf' or not.......

), some chopped up black olives and herbs. We also had a small slice of the l/o pizza from last week each - man, millet flour ain't venturing near my pizza dough ever again

I didn't take a picture, as I didn't want to insult your intelligence as to what a bowl o pasta looks like.

I did end up spending money yesterday. I ended up buying some filo pastry from h3ron f00ds. They often have the puff and shortcrust pastry at 3 for £1, but have the filo version less frequently. I'm keen to try out a recipe in the future, that uses it, so have 'invested' £1 of my 'float' money in 3 packs and stuck them in the freezer. Plus I got DH to get some cherry tommies from mrAl, for a recipe for tea tonight. Sincerely wish I hadn't, as I don't know if all the packs were like it, or whether DH just picked the first packet he saw, but ripeness is not a feature of these tommies

If we have pavement splitting sunshine for the next week, they might redden up, but I'll not hold my breath

Tea tonight, *might* be a new (to me) recipe involving fish. Just gotta hold my nerve and do it. Bit scared, as I've never been much of a fish cook anyway, and then have had *umpty-tumpty, more years that I care to divulge

* being a fully-fledged vegetarian, so....... there's alot that could go wrong...... :rotfl:

I'm currently -£6.95 on my grocery budget. And will need a lemon, so it'll go up a bit more before midnight tonight! At least the weather is co-operating and I'm not yearning for rocket salad, watermelon and grilled halloumi

:rotfl:

Right, can't think of owt else MS, so best push orf and greet the day. My coffee cup (singular) is empty too, so best crack on.

Ta for popping in, reading and encouraging. Appreciated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim · 30 June 2017 at 10:42PM

Good Evening :hello:

Today, I have been reminded, twice, co-incidently, about the value of not 'Sharft-ting' your future self by your decisions today. It stems from MMM, but other financial bloggers, mostly on the western side of the pond use the terminology too. However, i'm looking at the concept beyond finances and applying it to health. I could have all the cash in the world, but if I don't look after my health, I don't maximise time with my family. If I don't time with my family, I have nothing. You'll be relieved that I don't "do" lycra :rotfl: but I'm back in the zone of my own personal keep fit regime

and it's the focus of the challenges wot dun it

Tea this evening turned out OK. I had a bash at a Joe Wicks (the body coach chap) recipe for Baked Risotto with Cod. My cod was frozen, a bag of 4 pieces (2 'tails', 2 'steaks') from h3ron f00ds for £2.99. I used a YS'd organic leek, stuck a bit of white wine in and didn't used mushrooms, but did chop up the last of my jarred roasted red pepper into the risotto. I also used up some passata, rather than stock/tomato paste. I made a salsa of the cherry tomatoes rather than roasting them with the risotto. It was a reasonably simple recipe - I halved the quantities, and I think it pretty much worked. I'm not overly sure I would make it again - no fault of the recipe - I'm just not getting 'blown away' by fish cookery. I suppose I'm not so sure I'm missing out on something being vegetarian..............

Pictures here;

We ate tea whilst finally getting around to watching Despicable Me II (I know, how far behind the zeitgeist, exactly are we??). Funny, but not as good as the first movie.

Today, amongst many things, I am most grateful for Baby Greying being in our lives.

Ta for popping in and reading. Appreciated.

Greying X

Cheery_Daff · 1 July 2017 at 7:02AM

Mmm, risotto

I know what you mean about not feeling like you're missing out being vegetarian - I've been one for 21 years now :eek: and don't ever think I'm missing out. I suppose I stopped eating meat at 16, and we rarely ate out and my mum, lovely as she is, was no gourmet cook :rotfl: so my experience of meat was mostly F1ndus crispy pancakes :rotfl:

Love the idea of not shafting your future self. I'm also fond of the phrase 'a year from now you will be so glad you started today' - good for things that will take a while. I'm reaping the rewards from past years with house and garden and yes, while they seemed epic tasks, I'm so glad I don't have to start from scratch right now.

Have a cheery day lovely Greying :j

The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

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