More month left than money!!!

It's that time of the month again (no, not THAT time of the month). Payday is still five days away and the bank balance is hovering dangerously near the red zone.

It's also that time of the week when I start to think ahead to next weeks' meals and start writing my meal plan.  This week, I'm not writing a list as there is no money to buy anything! Everything on the meal plan will have to be conjured up from the freezer/larder/fridge.

So a rootle through the freezer turned up 4 chicken breasts and some fish fingers along with oven chips and various packs of veg.

The larder contains rice, pasta, noodles, hotdog sausages, mackerel, tomatoes and not a lot else!

The fridge has a carrot, a few rashers of bacon, cheddar cheese, potatoes, some salad veg and some spring onions plus various jars of spice pastes, lazy garlic, lemongrass etc.

My egg bowl is full thanks to my wonderful girls!!!



 

 

So here's what I've come up with:

 

Friday:   Stir fry chicken, veg and noodles (ginger, garlic, lemongrass fried in smoking hot sesame oil, add the chopped chicken and fry until brown. Add the frozen stir-fry veg, a good glug of soy sauce and some pre-soaked noodles)

 

Saturday:  Fish fingers, oven chips and salad (nice and easy because I'm too busy watching Strictly and Merlin to spend too much time in the kitchen!)

 

Sunday: Chicken breast wrapped in bacon, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, carrot batons, peas and steamed kale from the garden

 

Monday:  Pasta bake (chop up the hot dog sausages, mix with half of the chopped tomatoes, add some dried mixed herbs. Top with breadcrumbs and grated cheese)

 

Tuesday: Omelette with chopped bacon and spring onions plus the last of the salad

 

Wednesday:  Home-made pizza (make the dough in the breadmaker, spread with the other half of the chopped tomatoes, add anything else I can find like mixed veg from the freezer, a chopped spring onion and top with grated cheddar)

 

Thursday: Egg and bacon flan with home-made oven wedges  (sprinkled with Nando's peri-peri seasoning)

 

Et voila! A mealplan without shopping at all. 

 

Have a look through your cupboards and freezers. Do you really need to shop this weekend or could you hang onto your pennies for another week?

 

 

Four Thieves Vinegar

Now here's something a little out of the ordinary......

The wonderful Rhonda-Jean at 'Down-to-Earth' is talking today about how easy it is to dry and/or freeze herbs. She gives a lovely recipe for Mint Sauce (http://down---to---earth.blogspot.co.uk) which makes my mouth water for a lovely roast lamb or some succulent lamb chops.

Herbs are really easy to grow, especially in pots and every cook should have at least parsley, rosemary, sage, mint and my favourite, basil. Brushing past these pots on a warm summer evening (if we ever have any!!!) releases the most wonderful fragrance and you can imagine yourself anywhere from a dusty Greek hillside to a noisy, vibrant Italian city.

A few months ago I clipped a newspaper article about greener cleaning using herbs. Always on the lookout for ways to banish harmful chemicals from my home, one of the recipes caught my eye: Four Thieves Vinegar.

The story goes that a group of thieves during a European plague outbreak were robbing the dead or the sick. When they were caught, they offered to exchange their secret recipe, which had allowed them to commit the robberies without catching the disease, in exchange for leniency.

Another version says that the thieves had already been caught before the outbreak and their sentence had been to bury dead plague victims; to survive this punishment, they created the vinegar. The city in which this happened is usually said to be Marseille or Toulouse and the time period can be given as anywhere between the 14th and 18th century depending on the storyteller.

I decided to make Four Thieves Vinegar - and what a success it has been.  I tend to use it for cleaning work surfaces and chopping boards but internet searching says it can also be used, diluted, as a face cleanser or a hair tonic. Given the antiseptic properties of many herbs I can see it being used for many more things than just this....

Here's how I made mine......

Take a handful each of rosemary.....

 

 

mint....

 

 

sage...

 

 



 

 

and marjoram.

 

Chop the leaves finely and place in a large kilner jar.

Cover with cider vinegar (I have used apple cider vinegar too)

Seal, and leave in a dark place for about six weeks, shaking the bottle from time to time.

Strain through a cloth into a clean bottle and  LABEL CLEARLY.

 

 

If you decide to have a go at this, please let me know how you get on.......  What other 'green cleaning tips' can you share?

A Grand Day Out .....

I have spent the most fascinating day out today at the Essex Police Musuem.
Loads of exhibits relating to Essex crimes, plus a mock-up of a crime scene, old police uniforms, a Victorian cell - loads to see.

I was particularly struck by the Moat Farm Murder which I had never heard of before.

In 1903, Samuel Herbert Dougal, a serial womaniser, stood trial for the murder of Camille Cecile Holland.

 

In 1898, Camille was living in London.  At the age of 56 she was still single and managed her own affairs, taking care of her stocks and shares which were valued at around £6,000. In the autumn of that year she had made the acquaintance of Samuel Dougal. Samuel was 4 years her junior and had enjoyed a successful career in the army, reaching the position of Chief Clerk in the Royal Engineers.

 

His first wife died in 1885 after a bout of sudden illness. Two months after her death he remarried, only for his second wife to die three months into their marriage. Samuel left the army in 1887, and from then on had a rather chequered personal life and career. He formed relationships with a number of women and held a variety of jobs, none of which lasted for very long.

In January 1899, Samuel and Camille moved to Saffron Walden to take possession of their new home, Coldhams Farm near Clavering. The property had been chosen by Samuel but had been paid for by Camille, who, despite Samuel's protestations, insisted that the property remain in her name. Since the property required some attention before they could move in, Camille and Samuel lodged with Mrs Wisken in Market Row, Saffron Walden. Although Samuel and Camille were not married, they presented themselves to the world as 'Mr and Mrs Dougal'.

On 22nd April 1899, 'Mr and Mrs Dougal' moved into Coldhams Farm, which they renamed Moat Farm. On the 13th May they were joined by their newly appointed maid, Florence Havies. Florence had barely set foot inside the house when she discovered that she was the subject of Samuel's attentions.

 

On the night of the 19th May, Florence found herself alone in the house with Samuel. Earlier that evening, at 6.30pm, Samuel and Camille had gone out in the pony and trap. At 8.30pm Samuel returned and when Florence asked after Camille he told her that Camille had gone to London and would return later that night.

When Florence came down to start her chores at 7am the next morning, she was surprised to find Samuel already up, dressed and eating breakfast. He told her that he had received a letter from Camille in which she said that she had gone on holiday.

Over the next 4 years, Samuel continued to live at the farm and enjoyed a number of liaisons with different women in the village. He became part of the local community, attending church regularly and giving generously to local causes such as the enlargement of the churchyard and the interior redecoration of the church.

How was it that Samuel, who had no visible means of support, could afford to be so generous? The answer came in March 1903, when he was charged with, 'forging and uttering a cheque value f28 15s purporting to be drawn by Camille C Holland at Clavering.During the trial, which began in the Spring of 1903, the prosecution produced evidence that showed that Samuel had systematically moved money from Camille's accounts into his own, sold her stocks and shares and even transferred title of Moat Farm from her name to his.It rekindled interest in the whereabouts of Camille Cecile Holland and prompted a police investigation into her disappearance.

Camille Holland's body was found in a drainage ditch at the farm and was laid out in the conservatory.  Since she had been in the ground for the past four years, identification was difficult. However, vital clues on the body helped the process. Her former landlady, Mrs Wiskin, and her nephew, Ernest Legrand Holland were able to identify the garments and the jewellery on the body as those of Camille Holland. Mr. Mold, Camille's shoemaker, also came forward and identified the shoes on the body, which bore his name, as those he had made for Miss Holland.

On Monday 22 June 1903, in Shire Hall, Chelmsford, it was indicted that Samuel Herbert Dougal, "on the 19th May 1899, did feloniously, willfully, and of his malice aforethought, kill and murder Camille Cecile Holland at Clavering." In his opening speech, Mr. Gill KC, for the Crown, argued that on the evening of 19th May 1899, Samuel took Camille out for a ride in the pony and trap. He then proceeded to shoot her in the head and buried her body in a prepared grave in the grounds of the farm.

After the cases for both the prosecution and the defence had been heard, the jury retired to make their verdict.

After an absence of 56 minutes, they returned their verdict - guilty. The judge donned his black cap and passed sentence - execution by hanging.

Samuel Herbert Dougal was executed at Chelmsford prison at 8am on Tuesday 14 July 1903. He was buried in the grounds of Chelmsford prison and only his initials and a number on the wall near by marked the grave of one of Essex's most notorious murderers.

It was interesting to see her actual shoes but slightly disturbing to see her little dog, Jacko, who has been stuffed and now resides in all his glory in a glass case!

I have lived for many years in this area but didn't even know this museum existed! If you are in the Essex area, I highly recommend a visit.....

On Your Marks........

I always make a point of not starting ANY Christmas preparations until the following are all done and dusted........

 

A new year, a new class.....

 

 

All is safely gathered in......

 

All Hallows Eve......

 

Remember, remember the fifth of November ......

 

Lest we forget.......

 

 

AND NOW...

 

 

 

This will be my first Christmas on a Debt Management Plan so I don't have credit cards, loans or overdrafts to fall back on. My Christmas will have to be produced solely on whatever is in the bank from my salary and child maintenance. Scary, eh?

 

I count myself very fortunate in that I only ever see the positives in life (I am sure I drive my friends mad with my eternal optimism!) I am very much a glass half full person. Christmas will simply be one in a long line of challenges since my divorce that will have to be faced head on - and I love challenges!  They are exciting, they push you out of your comfort zone, they make you resourceful, they test your inventiveness, they make you think about what is really important..... and when you succeed in your challenge, the sense of pride is overwhelming. You can say to yourself 'I did that'!

 

And it spurs you on to the next challenge............

 

What challenges have you had to overcome, Dear Reader?

 

 



 

 

Learning to cook....

I'm going to get on my soapbox now so watch out!

I am very lucky in that my job involves teaching primary school children to cook. Yep, I cook all day long, 5 days a week - and get paid for it!! Good eh?

I am now into my fourth year at this school so my current year 5 class have cooked with me since they were in year 2.  They are now all competent little cooks, confident in handling sharp knives and more than capable of following a recipe by themselves with only minimal support from me.

However, when we started out in year 2, our 'theme' for the year was 'Dips and Dippers'.  We made all sorts of dips from Cheese 'n Chive to Avocado.  None of the children had even seen, let alone tasted an avocado. After de-stoning this fruit, we did the 'sticking cocktail sticks in the base and suspending it over a glass of water' experiment. (see, Food Technology can be cross-curricular!) Lo and behold, after a few weeks the long root started to grow out of the bottom and leaves started to sprout from the top. We planted it in some soil and managed to grow a plant about 18" tall!
The majority of them enjoyed the taste of avocado and have continued to eat it.

Year 3 brought 'Pack up your Lunch'. We started by making our own tomato soup, then roasted some tomatoes in the oven with basil and garlic and froze the resulting puree for the following weeks pizza. We made pizza using different types of base and calzones and pasties made an appearance too.

In year 4, they were studying World War II in class, so our cooking sessions looked at how difficult it was to make ends meet when food was rationed.  We tasted oatmeal sausages, potato scones, wartime carrot cake and corned beef fritters.  The second set of sessions we looked at Egyptian food to tie in with their study of the Egyptians.

They are coming to me for the first time today as Year 5's.  These next few weeks we will be looking at different sorts of bread, starting with soda bread but also making pretzels, cheddar bread, bread rolls, pizza bread and flatbreads.  Their second session will look at Indian breads as Hinduism is their class topic.

These children are so lucky to have the opportunity to cook at school. Many of them tell me that although they 'make cakes' with nanny, they do not do a lot of cooking with mummy. I fear that mummy grew up in the convenience era when most cooking was ping-ding in the microwave. Many mums go out to work now and simply don't have the time to  cook from scratch. Many are just not interested.

However, being able to cook is, I believe, a life skill equally as important as learning to read, write and count. Without the means to be able to cook healthy, tasty food from scratch the children of today will continue to exist on a diet of processed foods because that's all they've ever known and obesity will become the norm.

In a way, I also feel a little sorry for these children because by the time they move on to secondary school they will be so far ahead of the other children in Food Technology lessons that I fear they will get bored when they have to make a cheese toastie in lesson 1!!!

I feel passionately that cooking should be a part of both the primary and secondary curriculum and that after-school cooking clubs should attract funding.

I have seen first-hand the benefits of teaching young children to cook. They are all now more adventurous in their tastes and are willing to try new flavours. We are also learning to identify herbs and spices from their appearance and smell. Their eyes have been opened to the possibilities in the kitchen and I hope that they do not lose their enthusiasm for cooking and food. We are using numeracy, literacy, history, science and geography in the kitchen not to mention the social skills like sharing, teamwork and helping others.

What's not to like?

What about you, dear Reader? Do you have children who cook at school? Do you cook at home with them? Do you think cooking should be on the National Curriculum?

Paganism?

As you know, I am a great devotee of Moneysavingexpert. A discussion on there has got me thinking about Paganism.

Now, before you think I'm going to start dancing naked around a bonfire (bit too chilly at this time of the year!!) let me give you a few facts.


Paganism describes a group of contemporary religions based on a reverence for nature.

The recognition of the divine in nature is at the heart of Pagan belief. Pagans are deeply aware of the natural world and see the power of the divine in the ongoing cycle of life and death. Most Pagans are eco-friendly, seeking to live in a way that minimises harm to the natural environment.

Since I moved to this semi-rural cottage three years ago, I have become very aware of the changing of the seasons and Mother Nature herself.  I have watched the field at the end of my garden being ploughed, scattered, watered and harvested. I have watched the birds nesting, the frogs spawning, the trees clothe themselves in spring green and autumn gold. I have watched geese fly overhead in huge skeins, I saw the arrival of the swallows and the muntjac deer peeping out from the forest. In my own garden I have sown seeds, nurtered them and provided my family with fresh salads and herbs. I have spend many a comical moment with my chickens - everytime I collect the eggs I thank them!!!
My culinary year has encompassed fresh spring salads, barbequed meats (ok, not very often this year!) warming stews and casseroles and lots of home-made bread.

Does this way of life make me Pagan without realising it? The more I research it, the more I think it does....

Looking forwards now, the celebration of the year (if you are a Christian) is upon us - but Christmas is a relatively new invention.

The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.

Ancient people were hunters and spent most of their time outdoors. The seasons and weather played a very important part in their lives. Because of this many ancient people had a great reverence for, and even worshipped the sun. The Norsemen of Northern Europe saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons. It was from the word for this wheel, houl, that the word yule is thought to have come.

The ancient Romans also held a festival to celebrate the rebirth of the year. Saturnalia ran for seven days from the 17th of December. It was a time when the ordinary rules were turned upside down. Men dressed as women and masters dressed as servants. The festival also involved decorating houses with greenery, lighting candles, holding processions and giving presents.

The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year (21st December) and was celebrated in Britain long before the arrival of Christianity. The Druids (Celtic priests) would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.

When you think about the commercialism of Christmas we have all fallen for the shiny advertisements on the television. We are lulled into the belief that we must change our tree colour scheme every year, must buy new decorations, (indeed, even a new sofa in time for Christmas!) must buy the latest hi-tech gadget for the kids so that they don't feel left out in the playground - and so it goes on. We fill our trolleys on Christmas Eve with food we will never eat (candied fruits or dates anyone?) and our fridges are full to groaning. The shops are only shut for one day, for goodness sake.

Once you learn to turn your back on this commercialism the true meaning of this winter festival becomes clear. The earth has been resting as the days get shorter but she is slowly, but gently, gathering her energy for the re-birth of the sun. Humankind also needs to rest and regain strength  for the new growing season.

And so the wheel turns ......

I know I would much prefer to celebrate the Winter Solstice than Christmas Day. What about you, dear Reader.....?

Weekly meal plan

When I was starting out on my Debt Free Journey, one of the first things I took on board was menu planning.  I had always half-heartedly done this but still went round the supermarket on a Friday evening on auto-pilot. Putting the same old things in the trolley, producing the same old meals - and chucking the same old stuff away.

I am an extremely organised person - I can't function unless I feel 'in control' of things. I think it goes back to being married to a very controlling man and being kept in the dark about our financial situation. (Divorce was actually the best thing that ever happened to me - apart from the birth of my babies that is!!). The housekeeping money was dished out every month and woe betide me if I didn't make it stretch to last until payday. I hated having to ask for money for clothes for the children, adult education college fees for me, nursery fees etc. I was treated as a doormat for years, but only realised it when he left!

Knowing what meals to cook for the forthcoming week is also one less thing to think about in an increasingly hectic world!

On a Friday morning, I sit down with my sheet of paper and list the days/dates of the week. Alongside, I list the family commitments for the week (parents' evening, after school clubs, sleepovers etc.). Then I mentally go though what I've got in the cupboards/freezers and what meals I could make out of that. My shopping list is divided into Meat/Fish, Dairy, Fruit/Vegetables, Tins/Packets, Frozen, Pets, Cleaning/Toiletries and Anything Else.


I would like to say that I only buy what is on the list but you have to allow for reduced price items. No point passing up a bargain because it's not on the list. My first stop when shopping is always at the reduced counter (and my shopping is usually done at 'knock-down time' - about 4 p.m.) and anything that's on my list in the reduced section makes me a happy bunny!

If I manage to pick up any meat or fish reduced, it usually goes straight into the freezer or into the slow cooker.  Many a casserole or curry started out as a 'yellow sticker' item!

This week's menu plan is as follows:

Friday: Mushroom omelet with goat's cheese salad

(I have plenty of eggs left this week. The goat's cheese was gifted by my friends' going to Australia - they cleaned out their fridge before they went and I was the lucky recipient!)

Saturday: Fish fingers, potato wedges, salad

(Another childhood memory here - Saturday was always taken up with ballet classes in the morning and then 'going down the town' in the afternoon. Saturday tea was often fish finger salad with tinned Heinz potato salad, grated carrot, a few lettuce leaves, sliced tomato, sliced cucumber and Heinz salad cream. Usually eaten whilst watching The Generation Game - nice to see you, to see you nice!!)

Sunday: Chicken & cider casserole, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire puddings
(Remember the chicken & cider casserole which was in the slow cooker earlier in the week? Here's the second portion making an appearance from the freezer)

Monday: Jacket potatoes with chilli mince
(Something nice and easy after the weekend. The chilli mince is already in the freezer from a previous batch cooking session)

Tuesday: Sausage casserole with dumplings, mashed potatoes, carrots and peas
(Reduced price pack of eight sausages, split into two portions of four and frozen)

Wednesday: Tuna Salad

(Something quick tonight as DD is being presented with her Duke of Edinburgh Award and we have to be at school for 6.45 p.m.)

Thursday: Home made pizza

(Just because!!!)

And there we are, back to the beginning again. Of course, if I was REALLY organised, I would keep the previous three weeks' plans and combine them into a monthly plan and just rotate it according to the seasons! But hey, this will do for now.....

Over to you, dear Reader, do you meal plan? Have you found it helps with the budget? Do you do a MONTHLY plan?

NOvember!

Stoptober! went very well - better than expected really - mainly due to funds being non-existent to start with!
I managed no unnecessary spending at all. I stuck to my weekly 'envelope' system of grocery shopping, stocked up the pet foods from the 'Pet' envelope, set aside the weekly bus fares, filled up the car with only the allocated amount of money set aside for this purpose and still managed to give DD some pocket money!

I remember vividly going on a sleepover to my best friend, Tracy's, house. I must have been about 14 I guess. Tracey's dad was a postman, paid weekly in the little brown envelope. I was there on a Friday night when Tracey's mum 'did the books'.  She had an A4 lined hard-back book and at the top of the page she wrote the amount in the wages envelope.  She filled in the columns for utilities (I don't think she paid anything by direct debit - everything was cash) and set that cash aside. Tracey's school bus fare was dished out and logged. She checked the calender for family events coming up that next week, and set aside money for that. What little was left was allocated to the savings pots like Christmas, insurance, emergency - just like I do now. This weekly ritual really had an effect on me.

Something else happened that weekend that also had a life-changing effect. Because money was so tight, Tracey's dad had an allotment - and a thriving one, at that. On his way home from work that day, he stopped off at the allotment and pulled some carrots, lifted some potatoes and cut a cabbage. Dinner that night (on those clear Pyrex plates) was pork chops with home-grown vegetables and gravy. I had never tasted vegetables like it and if I close my eyes, I can still taste those carrots. I often wonder about Tracey and whether her parents' way of life rubbed off on her. I would hate to think that, growing up with money so tight, she became a spendthrift......

But I digress (again!)...... Bring on NOvember!  This is going to be a tight month anyway as I'm trying to get ahead for Christmas.  I only started my Debt Management Plan last April and haven't been able to build up any of the 'savings pots' yet. After Christmas, one of my New Year plans is to really get to grips with building the Christmas/Birthday fund, the Car fund, the Insurance fund, the Contingency fund but most importantly of all the EMERGENCY fund.  If this had been in place last year, the unexpected veterinary bill and the sort-of expected car repair bill wouldn't have had the impact that it did.

Saving money and cutting back has become an addictive hobby for me now! I'm really enjoying hunting out the supermarket bargains, getting one over on the utility companies and generally keeping those pennies in my pocket rather than the consumer giants.  I have been a fan of moneysavingexpert for some years now and taken on board many of the hints and tips on there. To anybody starting out on this simple lifestyle, whether by choice or by necessity, it soon becomes second nature. Many of the money saving ideas are now carried out without even thinking about it. I think the hardest thing is 'training' the rest of the family and getting them on board. Reminding teenagers to 'turn off the light' gets very repetitive sometimes but you will eventually get a break-through, especially if you point out that saving money on the electric bill means a little more for treats.

Over to you, dear Reader - will you join me for NOvember!?

Chicken, mushroom and cider casserole

It's that time of the year when all thoughts culinary turn to warming stews, casseroles and stodgy puddings. (If you are reading this heading for summer, well, I'm envious!!).

This is where the slow cooker really comes into its own.

I have been chicken-sitting for friends who are on holiday in Australia and whilst there couldn't resist a peek at their cookery book collection. I thought my recipe library was huge but there are always new books to tempt me... I came across 'River Cottage Everyday' and thought I would give the Chicken, Mushroom and Cider casserole a whirl.

It's in the slow cooker as we speak and my, the kitchen smells amazing!

No, this isn't one of my friends' chickens!!

I always buy a whole chicken and joint it myself - it works out much cheaper. My usual supermarket had an offer on chickens this week. This one was £4.00...

... and I jointed it into two breasts (cut into six 'chunks'), two thighs, two drumsticks and two wings.

Guess where the carcass is going? Correct.... it will become Celery and Stilton soup later on!

There are plenty of 'how-to-joint-a-chicken' clips on the Internet if you google it. Much easier to see it being done than to try to explain it!

Dust the pieces of chicken in seasoned flour.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces, in batches, until nicely browned all over. 

Once browned, remove the chicken to the slow cooker pot (or a large casserole dish if you are going to cook this in the oven)

Add a good glug of cider to the pan to de-glaze it. It will bubble furiously but all those lovely flavourful bits of chicken will be released from the bottom of the pan.

Pour the cider over the chicken.

Chop up some mushrooms, any kind. I have used ordinary closed cup mushrooms.

Melt some butter in a pan and gently fry the mushrooms until they start to release their juices.

Add to the chicken, sprinkle with some dried mixed herbs, tuck a bay leaf or two in amongst the chicken and top up with a little more cider if necessary. The top of the chicken should be just showing through the cider.

 

 

 

When you are ready to eat, strain off the liquid into a clean pan, add a little cream and a teaspoon of English mustard. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes. Dish up the chicken, pour over the sauce and serve with a pile of velvety mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

 

Hearty, warming fare for a winter's evening.