Poppy Seed Plait

This week's loaf is a bit fancier than the previous ones and could come in handy over Easter or at the weekend.

1lb white flour

2tsps sugar

1tsp dried yeast

8fl oz warm milk

2oz margarine

1 egg

1 tbsp poppy seeds

Put a little of  the warm milk in a cup and add the sugar and yeast, leave to one side to get bubbly. Rub the margarine into the flour and add the rest of the milk and the egg, mix to make a dough and add the yeast mixture as soon as it is ready. Turn out onto a board to knead and add a little more flour if it is too sticky. Knead for 10 minutes. Place in a bowl and cover, leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Knock down the dough and divide in to three pieces. Roll each piece into a long strip and then plait them together. Place the plait on an oiled tin and brush the top with milk, sprinkle over the poppy seeds.

Bake at 190C for 40-45 minutes until the plait sounds hollow when knocked on the bottom. Leave to cool on a cooling rack before slicing and enjoying !

Kitchen Garden Magazine

The April 2018 edition of 'Kitchen Garden' magazine dropped through the letter box yesterday and with it came two free packets of seeds. One was for Rainbow Chard and the other for Yellow Delight Tomatoes. I'm not sure whether we will grow either of these this year as with 45 tomato plants still on the window sill we might be alright for tomatoes for this year ! We had also decided not to grow Chard this year as only MrShoestring really likes it. However, the multi-coloured stalks are very pretty so if we have some space I can imagine putting a few seeds in. Chard is also very reliable and with this very cold end to the winter it might take a bit of time for the soil to warm up, so it could be a good crop to sow later on.

The feature about rhubarb reminded me that I still have lots in the freezer from last year. I appear to have been saving it for a special occasion ! But if we don't hurry up and use it then the next crop will be needing picked ! There are a couple of good recipes in the magazine, one for rhubarb jam to fill a Victoria sandwich cake and one for an apple and rhubarb cake. Since we also have lots of apple in the freezer, this could be a good way of using up some of both kinds of fruit.

The other article which caught my eye was one about slug control. We have had terrible trouble with slugs eating the later sown lettuce and have been very annoyed about it. All the usual things like beer traps and picking them up by torch light do not appear to put a dent in the population. So I was delighted to read about a product which deters them and encourages your crops to grow. It is called 'Slug Gone' and these are wool pellets which expand around the plants so the slugs can't slide up to them. It is completely safe for children and pets and helps to hold nutrients in the soil. I'm going to look out for some the next time we are at the garden centre !

So this month's free edition of the magazine has given me lots to think about and 2 free packets of seeds. So far the subscription seems like a great way to spend the Tesco vouchers !

February Challenges 4

I'm back to sowing mustard and cress for MrShoestring's sandwiches today as we've used up all the growth from last week. The final grocery amount including household cleaning stuff and school lunches for MasterShoestring was £138.25, so just under £35 a week. However, the bottom of the freezer is now visible and only contains things like homemade pumpkin puree and a lot of courgettes, so I think the total for March will be much closer to the £170 normal budget.

Still no clothes buying, which is good and although I had the chance to go to a jumble sale on Saturday it was quite far away and decided that as we didn't actually need anything I would be better off with the money in my purse ! I went to the library instead and got my book 'fix' that way. I also 'hemmed' and 'hawed' all week about buying a copy of 'Home Economics' by Jane Ashley, but it costs £14.99 at the bookshop and just under £10 online. I had a detailed look at the meal plans and decided that we would not want to eat chicken 3 times in one week, which is what is suggested in the first plan and lots of the others we don't need e.g.) low-carb. So I decided not to get it and use my copy of Bernadine Lawrence's book " How To Feed Your Family for £5 a day" to plan menus for March. If I can get a copy for free through Swagbucks or a giveaway I'll be happy but I'm not spending money on it !

We did spend a bit of the gift budget on a Year 11 Yearbook and Hoodie for MasterShoestring's birthday in July but it is still looking very healthy and I also have £16 in Love2Shop vouchers from the Royal Mail survey so that's great. 

Now to think of some challenges for March !

Definite signs of Spring !

I was tempted out for a walk yesterday by the blue sky and shining sun. It was lovely to feel the sun on my face as I walked facing it, but oh the chilly wind as I walked back ! However, there are definite signs of Spring all around the neighbourhood now, not just in our garden.

Snowdrops out in the woods.

Crocuses in the grass by the pavement.

Celandines in a crack in a wall.

Hazel catkins all over the woods.

Tiny little 'Tete a Tete' daffodils in somebody's garden.

I shall remember all these pretty sights if it continues to get colder this week !

Frugal Chocolate Eggs !

Yes, it does seem a little early to be talking about Easter eggs ! But I wanted to let you know that this week Tesco have a very good offer on Cadbury's medium size chocolate eggs.

The offer is Buy 2, Get 2 free !

Each egg costs £1.50, so buying 4 would normally cost £6, this way it only costs £3. This effectively makes each egg half price at only 75p each. This is a bargain which cannot be beaten by any of the discount supermarkets.

So yesterday I bought 4 chocolate eggs, 2 Dairy Milk and 2 Mini egg ones. We don't need 4 chocolate eggs, only 3, but at that price I don't mind breaking up the spare egg and sharing it round !

Frugal Friday

The last full week of February and it seems that I will not be able to plant out those seedlings anytime soon, brrr, it's cold ! But the frugal living goes on !

This week there was plenty of wholesome home cooking to feed out tummies and generate some much needed extra heating at the same time ! We made leek and potato soup, red lentil and tomato soup, hummus, tortillas, refried beans, chips, salsa, stuffing, pasta bake, bubble and squeak, blackberry and apple crumble, lemon cake, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, pancakes, granola, vegetable curry, chapattis and yoghurt !

I washed out plastic bags and containers for re-use, planted some more cress and re-used foil. I got 2 free magazines and a free newspaper at the supermarket and downloaded a free ebook. I read some library magazines online and took my own lunch and flask of tea to a course to save buying anything. I also made lunches for MeShoestring all week.

Other than that I have been trying to formulate a menu plan and shopping plan for March and also to plan a Mother's Day card and present that will cost very little but look great !

I hope that you had a great, frugal week and are staying warm !

Getting Ready for Spring

You can tell that it is getting near to the end of winter at our house when every spare window sill has seedlings in pots on it. This year I was much more careful with the tomato seedlings and every time they got too leggy I re-potted them. So now we have over 40 little tomato plants. I'm not sure what we will do with all of them, but MrShoestring says that he will think of something !

I also planted lettuce seedlings every two weeks and although these have also got quite leggy I think they will be alright planted out into the cold frame around the beginning of March.

I haven't tried radish seedlings before but they appear to be growing strongly and might lead to some early crops.

In the meantime our weekly crop of cress is being mixed in with the egg sandwich fill in for MrShoestring's lunches and is stopping him missing home-grown lettuce too much !

Has anyone else started seeds ?