As I type this, the house is hushed, and quiet. The curtains are drawn against the mid day sun, and a jug of iced mint and lemon balm  infused water sits on the coffee table. [...]

At this time of year it is easy to feed ourselves using ingredients  mainly from our garden. I grow a variety of crops so that our meals don't feel restrictive, and are not boring. It [...]

Peas are one of the few crops that I grow that probably aren't worth the effort as you can buy them frozen for low cost. However, we love them as snacks fresh off the plant, [...]

Pickled radish is Mr S's favourite pickle addition to our table at the moment. I plant a continuous supply of radishes every few weeks as they grow so quickly. We use them in stir fry, [...]

I think that I have a bit of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, or something. I took my grandson out yesterday,  concentrated on keeping him safe and well, and didn't look after myself. Have you been [...]

It is important to stop plants shutting down during a heat wave. Unfortunately we can't  control the weather, but we can adapt and control how we deal with it. Most times, we get advance [...]

This is a recipe from my mum's note book and so I don't know where it is from originally. I remember eating them in the 1970s. The peanut butter cookie dough can be frozen in [...]

A bag of red lentils is surprisingly versatile. I have plenty stored in my pantry as they are cheap and I can use them in a variety of ways. They also store foor years. I [...]

I was given a few bags of oats that have short dates on them. We no longer eat breakfast and so I can't use them in porridge. I then remembered a chocolate tray bake that [...]

I reached into my hessian onion sack yesterday and found 3 stored onions that had started sprouting. Instead of throwing them away and feeling disappointed, I plant them as a source of tasty food, pollinating [...]

People who have followed me for a while know that I keep my food budget low by buying items when they are on offer, bulk buying, and, also preserving home grown or foraged food. Buying [...]

Frugal living is often sold as a challenge. You wake up at 5am, meal prep everything, track every penny, never buy coffee, only shop intentionally, and never get tired. My frugal habits are often extreme [...]

We live in a world that rewards noise. The loudest opinions rise first. The busiest schedules are worn like badges of honour. Notifications flash constantly, algorithms compete for our attention, and silence has somehow become [...]

I like to have a substantial salad as part of my summer meals. I am also trying to increase my protein as I age. A few people have asked me for the recipe  of my [...]

Keeping children happy and engaged during the school holidays doesn't need to cost a lot of money. If you do a quick search on line,  you can often find free places to visit, or free [...]

It is lovely and hot outside. I just thought that I would do a quick post with some easy, home made, freezer treats to cool us down. Home made no churn ice cream http://Strawberry and [...]

Knowing how to make simple, tasty meals from cupboard staples is a life saver. It saves on shopping as there are no expensive ingredients, and keeping it simple means no technical cooking methods. A few [...]

I made myself an omelette today. Before I added the eggs, I sauted some radish tops with garlic and onion leaves, and added a bit of spinach. There are so many second crops that we [...]

Everything is going up, except our incomes. Most people are having to tighten their belts. I find that reducing household spending works best when you target the few categories that usually consume most of a [...]

There’s something people don’t talk about enough when it comes to money, and that’s the embarrassment when you find it hard to make ends meet. I definitely felt it when I was younger. It is [...]

One of our favourite meals is chicken strips in a wrap with salad. These are some thing that we make regularly and these chicken strips make a great, healthy alternative to the McDonalds ones that [...]

I have been asked to share some frugal meals that we make. These are links to some of them, but there are many more on the website. These are old blogs and so prices of [...]

For months now I have been telling people to slowly stock up their pantry.  2 months ago I got called a conspiracy theorist, and a scaremonger.  Hopefully people are waking up now with what is [...]

A lot of people have asked me how I produce so much food in a small urban garden, mostly using containers. One of my tricks is to use successional planting. It sounds technical but it [...]

Frugal fun isn’t about deprivation, or as boring as some people imagine. It is about shifting where the enjoyment comes from. When you stop relying on spending, your creativity emerges, and you also  notice how [...]

We tell ourselves that this month will be different. We have stuck to our budget and been more disciplined.  Finally we get things under control. Then something small happens. A stressful day. A bad mood. [...]

I made this for the first time this week and was really pleasantly suprised. It is easy to make, and tastes like a melt in the mouth shortbread. Mr S loved this cookie tray bake, [...]

The price of food continues to go up. The television and newspapers tell us that there will be food shortages this year and into next year. However, don't despair. There is so much free food [...]

Rhubarb is a perenial and grows every year. It is the gift that keeps on giving and my crown of rhubarb will probably outlive me. It is at least 25 years old, probably older as [...]

For a long time, I thought simple living meant leaving. Leaving the noise, the pressure, the constant feeling of being behind. I imagined in my dreams a small cabin somewhere quiet, maybe a bit of [...]

Much of modern life is organised around the assumption that more is naturally better. We have more possessions, more convenience, more options, more improvements to makes. The idea appears so often that it begins to [...]

To provide myself with food at low cost, I tend to look back in history rather than have a modern food cupboard. Lots of people would probably open my pantry and think how boring my [...]

I have been thinking back to my childhood in the 60s and 70s lately. It dawned on me how many ordinary services have disappeared in my lifetime, and how much daily life has changed because [...]

I had been given some short date cream last week. With it I made garlic butter, some icecream, and used the rest to make mini trifles. Trifle was always a pudding served at Christmas or [...]

I had forgotten to take anything out of the freezer, and didn't feel like cooking. My lettuces and green leaves are just beginning to be ready to harvest but I decided to make a salad [...]

Nature is my safe space. It is where I escape to when times are hard. By the time Easter arrives, something has usually shifted, even if the weather remains cold and uncertain. The light lasts [...]