The cost of living... what can we do?

I have a wood burner and never used it, but it's good to have if there's a point where power cuts become prolonged.

I haven't had a television for thirteen years and don't miss it. I still get the occasional call to check I haven't got one, damned cheek!

 

Same here John we hardly ever watch it, but occasionally a good series comes along but even then we watch it on catchup normally. Like for example the new The Capture series..But yes a licence is still required unfortunately for viewing via catchup.

 

Something else I forgot to mention is that with it just the two of us we tend to heat a kettle up for washing up as the pipework to our kitchen is a fair distance. Just thinking of all that hot water cooling off in the pipes unused makes me shudder at the sheer waste of it!!!

 

Re: the loaf
It is an even bake - holes not too large but not too dense either.


Toast is " rustic" - crisp on the outside but soft inside .





Jenny namaste

 

3 basics for which I have profound respect :
bread ( home bake )
Assam tea ( Yorkshire gold )
Mashed potato ( King Edward or Maris piper )
Jenny namaste

I can be happy with just these in my life
♡♡♡

 

The best loaf I've ever made (I went through a phase of baking, adapting the recipe in my search for a different result) was not made in the bread maker or the oven. I did it in the steamer. My research found that master bread bakers put a tray of water in the oven to partially steam the bread. The science behind it being something to do with caramelising the crust to make it thicker, to produce a crustier crust. I didn't do this. I went one step further and cooked it in the electric steamer, before finishing it for ten minutes or so in a hot oven to dry the crust.

The result was delicious. Crusty on the outside, moist and light on the inside.

 

Totally with you on your choices and your bread looks delicious!

 

Following a price / taste comparison re: a tin of baked beans....
Waitrose are selling a 415 gram tin of Heinz for @£1.20
Lidls was 32p for the same size can - correction 420 gram-
yes 32p ......
So, I bought some and we had them for lunch- bog standard beans on toast
I am so cross with Heinz
the taste difference hardly discernable and I will NOT be buyng Heinz anymore.
May their shareholders rot in hell or join the foodbank queue . An eye opening RIP OFF
Jenny namaste

 

We always have them now Jenny...you certainly can't taste any difference at all.

 

What cheap, simple, wholesome recipes do we all know. Here's some of mine, but before I continue, let it be known that my approach to cooking is casual, all my recipes can be easily adapted to taste.

Spicey lentil broth
About one medium sized onion, two or three cups of red lentils, some tomato puree or powder, maybe a carrot and/or a pepper. Spices of choice.

I finely chop the onion and any other veg that's going in it, then lightly fry just to seal in the flavour. Chuck it in the slow cooker.

Add two or three cups of red lentils. The formula here is 3 cups of water per cup of lentils, so before chucking 3 cups of lentils in, make sure your slow cooker can take 9 cups of water.

Add a good squirt of tomato puree, or a table spoon of tomato powder. You could also swap one of the cups of water for a can of tinned tomatoes for a similar result.

Add whatever spices you fancy. I usually go for about a table spoon of turmeric, about half a tablespoon of cumin, and about half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Sometimes I'll add a stock cube if the mood takes me. Without the stock cube I'll add about half a teaspoon of salt, but I put less in if I use a stock cube because they're quite salty alread.

Stir it all up together, switch the slow cooker on high, and enjoy the rest of your day.

After a few hours, the lentils will have broken down to just a mush and all the flavours will have blended.

Serves loads, can be frozen, and it's full of protein and fibre and it's delicious.

Downside: an hour after eating, your household cohabitants may need to open a window.

Chinese inspired fried rice
One cup of rice, one or two eggs, a small onion, any scratty bits of veg or cooked meat that need using up. Spices.

Cook the rice, one cup of rice goes with two cups of water. We do ours in the steamer but of course you can do it in a pan, it's just a washing up nightmare in the pan.

When the rice is cooked, put it in a large bowl. Mix in a few frozen peas if you have some. The heat of the cooked rice will thaw the peas. Leave it to stand until it stops steaming. Mix it up occasionally just to reduce the clumping.

Finely chop the onion and any harder veg (like roots or cabbage heart), and fry until just soft. Add the eggs, and continue to fry to make a sort of course omelette. I find you get best results if the egg is just not quite cooked. Set this mix aside.

With a bit of oil, fat, butter, cooking medium of choice, heat the wok. Chuck in the rice, and stir it up so the cooking oil gets right into it. This only takes a few seconds. Add in the cooked eggs and veg mix, and any cooked meats. Stir it all together

Add about half a teaspoon of salt, OR, about two teaspoons of marmite or soy sauce.

Add spices of choice. Again I find turmeric and cumin go well here, but I also add ginger and cinnamon (the cinnamon discover was an accident from picking up the wrong jar in a hurry, and the result was even nicer than usual). Paprika and or cayenne work well too, but for a very different flavour.

Keep cooking and stirring until the rice clumps naturally fall apart, typically about 5 minutes.

Serves four of us. You can also make a quick curry sauce to make a half decent fakeaway. Or cook up some cheap frozen spring rolls and satay skewers to make a fake Chinese buffet if you have family or friends round.

 

I use to do all the cooking when our brood were here and hubs was working but try not to now.

Hubs has always been a brilliant cook and thankfully our 3 sons have inherited their Dad's talent. They can all just look in the store cupboard and come up with amazingly unique and tasty meals. I sometimes take a pic of the meals but when asked what I would like and I show them the pic.....they have to try and zoom in to discover what the ingredients were they used. We are a family who eat 'no name ' meals.

 

I get brilliant mpg with my 16-year-old Honda Jazz due to anticipation and the fact I am always in the highest gear it will manage. The car has a five-speed gearbox (it's that old) and on a level road, I get into 5th at about 20 mph. Edinburgh city centre is all 20 mph speed limit and I love it. I motor around in 4th gear and provided I am not stopping and starting at lights I get about 60 mpg. I have a device fitted to the car called a ScanGauge and it displays (accurately) the instantaneous mpg and the average for the trip (since the last engine start if stopped for more than a few minutes). I also make as much use as possible of Deceleration Fuel Cut Off. DFCO is an emissions device on all modern cars. Provided the engine is turning over at more than a minimum rpm it cuts the fuel off entirely when you lift your foot off the throttle. On a nice long downhill, you can go a good distance and use no fuel whatsoever. My calculated average fuel consumption for the 6+ years I have driven the car is 55 mpg and my best figure from one top-up to the next is 69.9 mpg.
And yes. You need a TV license if you have a TV, even if you never watch BBC at all, live or on the iPlayer.

 

I think im going to need help somehow,i look at the predicted price hike and it over £4000,now thats 2 holidays abroad in my eyes and i couldnt afford 1 for last few yr so ive no chance of paying these prices!.... if i cant afford to top up my gas and do without running my boiler then does that mean i will still go into arrears for a standing charge? x