Frugal Friday - the store room and beyond

One good way of eking out the food budget is to have a well-stocked store room - good meals can be rustled up from it easily, if you keep a good supply of basics in. My list runs something like this- various pastas, tinned tomatoes, baked beans, tinned fruits, fish. Basics are bread flour and other flours, lots of different beans and pulses, rice, porridge oats, tinned and dried milks, good stock powder, tea and coffee, cocoa.  Really good meals can be made with these,  and I keep a few extras in to liven things up - cooking wine, truffle oil,  real vanilla essence, that sort of thing. They might seem expensive per se, but they can all be stretched a long way, so are in fact good value for money, and can make a big difference to your cooking/baking.

I have re-stocked my store room now, after being away, and it really does give peace of mind, not just for wtshtf scenarios, but if harder weather hits in the winter, it will save going out. Likewise, good stocks of candles, matches and oils for the lamps, basic medicines and toiletries.
Another slant on the store room way of thinking is craft supplies - hence the stashes of wool, fabric, tools, materials etc - I'll never be stuck for something to do.
The weather has turned really quite cold now, getting into winter proper; there was some snow in surrounding villages I believe, but none here when I got up. Plenty of coal in the bunker and logs in the shed though, hot water bottles and thicker curtains. Should wear socks though - tiles and wood floors here, no carpets lol
I have big plans for an even more frugal 2012, wanting to spend as little money as possible, so that will be a challenge. No new clothes - I have lots to alter, re-make etc; no knitting wool until I use at least some of my stash; ditto fabric; try and buy as little new as possible; would like to keep notes/records as I think that would be quite interesting - what is spent each week on which items etc. Frugality will have to be the order of the day, well even more so next year, with eprsonal circumstances hopefully changing dramatically. I want to grow more too, and have amassed a good stock of seeds to see me through, and want to dig up some of the 'lawn' (read daisies and dandelion patches lol) for growing.
Watch this space................

Thought for a late night/early morning

Contentment is the greatest treasure. ~Lao Tzu

Today............

I feel a bit like this !  lol

Not been too good here for a few days, hene the lack of posts; cough and cold are proving difficult to clear, and things have mounted up 'to be done'. Have made great headroads into soting stuff out though, almost at the last of it now, all sorted and boxed up and stored/ready fro storing, but easily accessible for my craft bits and bobs. Next job is to thoroughly clean the sitting room and get the woodburner lit - it's verycold here by Dorset standards, might even need socks!! It's bright enough out there,  but cold. We've only had a couple of frosts so far, need some more to do the job properly in the garde; not that much rain either, Funny old winter so far.
Tomorrow, I will feel like this:

Even though I'm not doing Christmas this year...........

- I couldn't resist a little seasonal decoration of the knitted kind!

The plan is  to make a set of knitted bauble covers to show traditional British knitting - Snaquhar (this one here), Gansey, Shetland Lace, Ringwood, Fair Isle and Aran. Watch this space :)

Seasonal Sunday thought..............

Cut back the spending, but blow the budget on gifts of the heart

Frugal Friday

Another Friday rolls around :) Went shopping at the tip again, came home with this little haul:

Here we have a brand new and unused Spong mincer ( I know, but I'll add it to the collection lol) a vintage chip cutter - I had one a while back, but it broke and I hardly ever used it; however, I have an experiment coming up with homemade oven chips, so thought this would ensure uniform chips for that lol). The contraption at the front is a pasta machine. I have one, but it only does straigh sheets, would have to buy attachments for it; this one does three types as it is, so it came home with me, very little used and good quality. Just checked it on the net, seems to be over £60 for that. Total for all 3?  £2.00, thankyou very much :)

Frugal Friday's supper was home made chicken curry, loosely based on HFW's murgh makhani. Chicken was £9.00, fed three adults, with enough for another meal for three, plus the stock from the carcas, served with brown rice. Washed down with half price Montana wine, followed by homebrew.

Big satisfied smile :)

Old Irish prayer

Dear Lord,


Give me a few friends

who will love me for what I am,

and keep ever burning

before my vagrant steps

the kindly light of hope…

And though I come not within sight

of the castle of my dreams,

teach me to be thankful for life,

and for time’s olden memories

that are good and sweet.

And may the evening’s twilight

find me gentle still.



-Old Irish prayer

 
(Irish kitchen at Strokesdown Park http://www.strokestownpark.ie/ )