Potting Shed
This is my lovely new potting shed. The old one was literally being held up by the greenhouse next to it. The floor was in danger of giving way and all the boards were pretty rotten and a new one was well overdue.
Before the new one came, I emptied everything out of the old one prior to demolition and sorted through everything. Got rid of a lot of stuff. Was quite surprised by just how many black bags of different types of netting I've got, so some of those can go too. There's no way I'll use all of it.
I've also accumulated a surplus of plastic plant pots, so lots of those can go too.
We bought it from Skinners Sheds and the lads that deliver are very efficient. They come cauually round the corner with a shed wall hoisted on one shoulder and only took an hour and a half to build the entire thing. Its has 2 extra boards along the bottom for extra height as I'm tall. The boards themselves are extra thick, and it has a plastic roof. So it should last a good while.
Baggy Trousers
Can you see in this picture, that my everyday trousers have got pretty big on me.
I read Chris van Tullekens book about Ultra Processed Food and was surprised to discover that I was having some UPF's. I would have thought that someone that cooked from scratch as much as I do wouldn't have any in their diet.
But there is a jar of tiny peppers in the larder with firming agents in it and I have become a reader of labels.
I cut out just a few things and it seems to have made a difference. My appetite has reduced a little and I've lost 13lbs (can't quite get over the line to a stone yet, but I will) and my trousers have become baggy trousers!
One of my brothers is super sensitive to Omega 3, maybe I'm very sensitive to additives? Who knows, I'm just very pleased that I'm losing weight.
The trousers are just some cheap ones from Amazon advertised as ideal for nurses, care workers and old ladies!! Anyway, it hasn't put me off sending off for some more in the next size down, one pair in black, and another in blue. I wear them often. They're comfortable, practical and wash like a dream. And they're long enough. I take a 32-33" inside leg, and sometimes that's hard to find.
Really looking forward to losing a lot more, and if it's as easy as it has been, fantastic!
Flowers out of season
This beautiful amaryllis flower comes from a huge bulb in a pot that I've had a few years now.
It usually flowers in December, January or February, but for some reason best known to itself, decided to throw up a flower spike.
When I spotted it, I was very surprised to see it, and astonished at just how quickly it grew. I could practically sit and watch it!
It is in its full splendour now and is on my dining table where I can see it whilst working in the kitchen, which is the same room.
I've tried doing the regime where the bulb is supposed to rest, but it never dies down!
New recipes
I've been working on a few new recipes and will be posting a few very soon - Spaghetti with chicken, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, raisins and almonds, so a bit Sicilian; Cheesey cabbage casserole which is cabbage in bechamel, with breadcrumbs for texture and topped with cheese - really delicious; and a big batch of 5 different flavoured Hummuses made from a 500g bag of chickpeas.
Watch this space!
What I've been making in previous Augusts
What To Do With Leftover Bread
Bread is the most wasted food item. WRAP says that 240 million slices are thrown away every year. I find that such a huge number, that I had to break it down to something that I could visualise.
So I divided it by 22 slices into loaves. Nope still too big. 365 days, still huge. I ended up with about 148 loaves being thrown away every HOUR. That’s a lot of useable bread
So if you'd like some ideas on how to reduce any waste bread you have - here's quite a lot!
Lunches In The School Holidays
With school holidays here, many people need cheap meals for the middle of the day to replace school lunches.
I've gathered lots of ideas here, together with calorie needs for children of all ages.
After posting it, I found that many adults were using it for themselves, for work.
Lemon Jam
This preserve is made primarily using lemon carcasses that have already been used for something else. They’ve been zested and juiced and would ordinarily just be thrown away. If you don’t have any of those, it will work just as well using whole lemons, or a mix of the two.
And it's delicious!
Red Pepper & Onion Loaf
This is a very simple loaf to make that just happens to be a vegan bread recipe. Just mix everything together and leave for the gluten to develop, then shape, prove and bake. No kneading required
If you like, you can mix everything together and leave, covered, in the fridge for nearly a week and it will be fine. When you shape and prove, allow a bit longer for it to rise if it was fridge cold
I published an ebook for meal plan 1 in August 2021 and am delighted that many people have thought it was worth getting. I repriced it again in June 2022 and it was still holding on, even in these scary times. Now we are in September and prices have shifted again and I've managed to get my head around WooCommerce so I can feature it on the blog and you can find it here.
I was busy recooking, photographing and updating the recipes for Meal Plan 2 and putting them into an ebook as well. The meal plan was first written in 2013 and still prices up, which is fabulous and that is finally complete. The book is done now too, prices seem to be stable enough to do it.
I've finally completed the e-book from the Stretch A Chicken To Last A Week series. Took me absolutely ages to finish it off!
Do come and say hello on the Fantastically Frugal Food Facebook group, or the Sensational Slimming Sustenance group. I'd love to see you. Lots of useful tips, recipes and ideas. The over 17,000 membership are brilliant, brimming with talent.
And don't forget Thrifty Lesley, where there are 800+ recipes of fantastically frugal food and many weekly meal plans. And Cheap Family Recipes where you can find all kinds of delicious things that don't cost much, with two family monthly meal plans.
I've also got a few YouTube videos up, not many yet, but I'm planning to do more. I've done a couple more, need to edit them now. So much to do, so little time!
With all best wishes, until next time
0 comments