Filling the Oven ... One Way To keep Warm...

Hello there...

thought it was time I checked in ....everyone okay?

Just a bit of everyday doings... maybe a bit boring ... a bit bland ... but hey! this is my life ... its not all Sex In The City ... or even Eastenders .... 

We live a steady, quiet ...and contented life.

So yesterday ... the promise of a lamb hotpot kept Hubby P going all day...I like to cook a hotpot long and slow so I started in the morning.

We can't run (cannot afford to buy) to lamb chops for a hotpot all the time ...they are such a price. So I use half a pound of minced lamb ... browned in the frying pan ... it gives the hotpot a somewhat authentic lamb-y taste. 

 I fry it up with a bit of onion and here I have added a couple of spoonfuls of cooked rice ....left over from the previous evenings meal....it bulks out the mince well.

 Just look at this gorgeous veg ... wonderful vibrant colours.

I layered it all with the mince and sliced potatoes...sprinkled an odd oxo and some good old Welsh water ...and put it in the oven.

Now even the best of hotpots doesn't justify the oven being on for hours ... simply for it alone.

So ... looking in the fridge and baking cupboard ...it looked a lot like cakes. 

I lined a few cake tins ....in a rough and ready manner ...no frills here I'm afraid.

And set to....it doesn't take long ...just knocking up a few simple cakes .. I used what was to hand.

I made a coconut sponge, lemon sponge (yes .. still a lemon or two lurking about) and a chocolate marble sponge.

Nothing flash ... quick and easy... used the weight of eggs method.

That is ...weigh your eggs (or as I do put them on the side of your scale where normally you would put your weights)...then use equal amounts of sugar, butter and flour ...a basic sponge mix ...add whatever flavourings ...and bung in a tin.   

 I put a bit of lemon icing on the lemon cake and jam and coconut on the coconut....left the chocolate mable cake as it was ...choccy speaks for itself.

Of course this is a lot of cake for one household.... so I found some

odd/mismatched saucers ...gave them a good hot wash ... and plated up the cake.

I covered them well in cling film and took them to the boot sale today....everyone likes a bit of homemade cake.

And it raised a few pennies ....paid for me having the oven on and a delicious hotpot. 

 

 

A pound to a penny some of the old dears will wash and return my old saucers ...it was what they were brought up to do ...anyone else remember collecting pop bottles to 'cash in' ...and get a few pennies back. 

I remember too.. when my Grandparents had a Fish and Chip shop ...the local ladies would bring in their own plates and bowls for their fish dinners or whatever it was they fancied....and leave them to be filled .... Gran knew everyones household china ..

how things have changed.

Perhaps companies should bring back that deposit scheme ... I'm sure it would work, they have a similar scheme in other countries I think ... it must be an incentive to recycle.

What do you think ...would people do it these days ...does money back make a difference?

xx  

Stocking Up And Making Pennies..

Hello there ...

Just though you should have a little bit of a blog .... not a lot to report really ... the days have been chilly and a little dreary ...

But today we had sunshine!

And a good job too..

 We had this lot delivered ... stocking up for the cold weeks ahead... prices have gone up ... but then hasn't everything.

This lorry/trailer load was £130 ... it seems a lot but it is the only fuel we buy (apart from electricity.. the use of which can be a contentious issue with Hubby P's 'very careful' attitude to using it).

Is this an average price do you think? .... for the wood..

Luckily ... as I said it was a nice day and it gave us the chance to potter about and do some outside jobs.

Can't remember what Hubby P is doing here ... but I think he has a paintbrush in his hand. 

We ... well Hubby P mostly.. soon had them stacked away in the woodshed .. I have a very important role as Supervisor and 

tea boy...tea person? ...these days. Besides ... apparently no one else quite stacks them (the logs) as well Hubby P... not that I mind in the least. 

What else have I been upto ... well ...

 

 Bit thin on the old 'Pin Money' at the moment .... I spent what I had in my pot ..paypal .. on the last Approved Foods order ... so I thought I should try and generate a bit.

I had a bit of a scrat about the house ... turned out some cupboards ... its amazing the stuff your hoard/keep for a rainy day.

 

I found these pretty napkins ...nice and lacy ...not really something I would ever use ... with my house of men.

So ...

Bung um on ebay ... turn um into more pennies... for more essentials from App Foods and the like .. 

Likewise these funky retro cushion covers ... someone;; somewhere will enjoy them.

And at the moment it the funds I need ... just like so many of us ... we need a bit of savings behind us....this winter may be a hard one. 

Speaking of which ... have you got your spuds in?

We had chips 'n gravy for lunch today .... real outdoor-sy  food ....

it kept Hubby P going ... lot of logs in a lorry load!

You stocked up then?

xx  

New Lady in the House ...

Hello there...

What to give you today ....

I refuse ... simply refuse to give you grim ...miserable .. news of the wet and windy-ness 'stuff' going on outside...

I have closed the curtains against it ... and refuse to think about it until I have to venture out again tomorrow morning at 4.30am.

So ... here to delight you is my new Lady...

  

Isn't she a devine...

A present from the lovely Hubby P ....I think she was supposed to be for my Christmas ... but he's pretty hopeless at keeping things for the day ...he just wants to delight me with his gifts straight away ...

So she arrived this last week ... its hard to tell on this photo but she is a mirror.  

 A perfect addition to my wall of mirrors ... just lovely. 

Although the 'children' roll their eyes and talk of the strangness of having photos and pictures of 'odd.. unrelated.. dead people' staring back at them from the walls.

I lit my candles this afternoon and had a quiet couple of hours to myself ... Hubby P was off delivering ... something ..bed or furniture or something ...quite boring .. it must have been.. I can't remember.

Anyway the candle light set her off beautifully.

Talking of light and loveliness I found this pretty lamp today.

Well I found the lampshade on a car boot stall (where else?) ...

the lovely ladies of the NSPCC were having a stall to raise funds and the lampshade was mine for £2.

I had a rummage about our stall/stock until I unearthed this lamp base (I knew we had it somewhere) .... and put the two together..

  pretty .    

 

Ideal for my windowsill,,, gives a nice warm glow.

And what I would like to ask you is ... what about the Lady...we can't just keep calling her 'the Lady'...

..who do you think she looks like ?

.. does she look like your Aunt Peggy?

..a glamorous screen idol?

What shall we call her ....any ideas?

xx 

Half a Pound of Thrifty Mince.... Endless Possibilities..

Hello there ...

how do you fancy a bit of tasty mince.

As a child I was brought up on mince ... as no doubt many of you were too.

 It was a conversation I had with an elderly lady today ... that got me in the mood for mince ... Hubby P will eat it anytime ...mind you he eats most anything 'meaty' ... any 

time.

Anyway ... back to the elderly lady ...we were talking of Thrift ... and the price of food .. and how its all very well saying these young families could stretch their pennies if they cooked good wholesome filling meals ...but a lot of young people do not know what to do ... cannot budget and cannot cook.

The lady said she remembered her cookery lessons at school ... it was basic cooking ....such as a good handful of different dishes all made from half a pound of mince. And that stood her in good stead to raise a family and feed them well.

As I sat in the fresh air (watching the rain ... Yes .. we were doing that 'making a living' thing again)... I pondered this conversation.

Just where have we gone wrong ... we have given our young people so much ... extensive education...better diet... health care...more home comforts ...more equality etc etc....

But have we equipped them for the hardships ... the skills of living ...if they cannot cook...make do and mend...use their money wisely ...how are they expected to survive the hard times.

I worry for them ....

So back to the mince....      

I made a bit of pastry..

Browned the mince .. added a bit of onion and bulked it out with some carrots and mushrooms.

 And made a couple of plate mince pies ... one for tonight's tea and one to freeze for another time. I made Richard a little veggie pie.

 These rolls have been sat in the bread bin a while .... so I thought they ought to be used up .... 

 

 A nice bread and butter pudding ...with a hint of marmalade (I have got one or two jars handy)... seemed to a good idea...and I had the oven on for the pies.

The ciabatta rolls were another good buy from Approved Foods...they are just handy to have in the freezer.

I'm afraid I slightly forgot the pies ....bit on the brown side ..but they tasted just fine ... I was on the phone trying to get a decent quote for house insurance. Just basic straight forward ...simple Insurance ... why they insist on trying to add on all these extras...how many times do I have to say 'NO I don't want it to cover my goldfish/steamroller ...or whatever ... just my house ...in case it burns down'.

Anyway the pie was nice .. I made a bit of gravy too...although this is Hubby P's ... he doesn't really like gravy ...strange ..I know!

Anyway what I was going to say ... before I got carried away with the pie making and the Insurance was... what about the mince and the poor people who cannot cook.

What can be done?

Should we encourage schools to teach basic life skills ...and if you were the teacher what would you teach.

How many of us have a handful of dishes to make from a half pound of mince?  

xx  

'Use It Up Fruit' .... Marmalade...

Hello there...

thank you so much for all the helpful comments on how to 'use up' the thrifty fruit .... lots of ideas there.... we can't be having any waste.

I made a start with some of the fruit.

I quickly Goggled lemon and lime marmalade and found a simple easy recipe .... one of Delia's I think...and got cracking.

Well ... chopping actually ... I even roped in Hubby P ...although he did tend to chop the fruit rather thickly ...in my opinion ... its a contentious issue.

And I must add ... using a term the boys were oft heard to make use of ... He chops lemons like a Girl!

Lots of moaning about the lemon juice getting into all the little cuts on his hands.

  

 But we got there in the end.

I used lemons (6)...limes (7)... an odd orange and an odd grapefruit.

It made quite a lot and I had to scrat about a bit to find some jars ... bit of an odd assortment of jars but they do the trick.

 

I still mis calculated and ended up with too much marmalade for jars .... so we have a breakfast dishful in he fridge ... needs to be eaten up ...shame!

 

Marmalade is quite cloudy (just like Delia's picture ) and tastes quite sharp and strong ... like real food should ...be nice on some toast with real butter first thing in the morning ... or for supper ...or marmalade sponge pudding with creamy custard ... or ..well ... anytime really.

Still lots of fruit to use up ... I've ordered extra eggs and value butter from Tesco ...thought I might make some Lemon Curd.

Keep the good ideas a commin ... just a shame I can't share this bounty with you all.

 

xx

Todays Gift ... Ust It Up Fruit...Any Ideas.?..

Hello there....

We've just got back from selling at the carboot sale....Brr it was cold...but nice and sunshiny.

I sat in the fresh air ... warm fleecy hat and sunglasses ...with a view of the Snowdonia Mountains ... 

We had lots of nice chatty customers ... a nice way to make a living. 

And todays lovely gift ... a box of fruit from Colin the veg that needed using up.

So lots of lemons and limes ... any ideas on what to do with them? 

I shall have to do something with them tomorrow .. be a sin to let them go to waste.

Whilst I was there I bought another sack of spuds ... I do believe the weather men are forecasting nasty weather.. the 'worst winter in decades' .. or so someone told me.

Anyone else know anything about this?

 

So as my Grandmother would say ... 'when there is a crisis buy a bag of spuds'... 

then you can always make a cheap and nutritious meal... even if you are snowed in...and all lines of communication are down... the family has flu .. etc etc..

 

..There is always egg and chips

... Jacket potatoes

... potato and leek soup

... bangers and mash

....you get the picture!   

Thank you for all your kind comments about the little chair ...

and yes.. it was sold on Saturday.

Its gone to live in a little cottage by the sea.

Please ...please give me some nice and easy ideas for the fruit...

I really must do something with it soon.

xx   

Just Trying To Earn A Bit Of A Living....

 Hello there ....

Hope you've all had a good day ....here we go with another weekend ... the weeks seem to fly .

We just seem to be trying to earn a crust... and keep the wolf from the door ... just like many people these days.

Our days are filled with sorting... cleaning...

re-vamping...upcycling ... the old ... used... and unwanted .. 

Hubby P has been having a painting session ... old furniture given a new lease of life .. ready to sell on.

 He does quite a bit of this sort of thing ...painted furniture seems to sell quite well. 

He chooses the small pieces that fit nicely in average sized homes ... pieces that are pretty and quirky. 

 Today I have had to have pieces drying in the house ... this time of year the air is so damp paint takes ages to dry in the workshop.

Not ideal ... but I have to look at it as my Grandmother would...

'those muddy boots/overalls/...'painted furniture' ... are/is bringing money into the house'.

Its what we do to make an honest living.

Look how pretty this chair is.

Once the painting was completed Hubby P needed a bit of help with the recovering of the seat ... not one of his strong points ... fabric and such like.

Luckily ... Gosh ...just by chance ... I have 'one or two' bits of fabric stashed away.

I thought this bit of vintage fabric would look nice ...tis rather a nice bit of stuff.

So I looked out my trusty staple gun ... every girl should have a staple gun ... just love mine ... I keep it hidden from Hubby P (he's a bit heavy handed).

 And... 

 with a joint effort ...

 one pretty vintage chair ... that was destined for fire wood until Hubby P painstakingly put it back together.

 

So its a selling day tomorrow .... 

Little chair will come with us and hopefully we can sell it on.

This making a living lark gets harder and harder ... how are you coping? 

  

xx