I wanted to have a go at growing some kind of grain to become more self sufficient and so I grew quinoa for the first time this year.  I did not know what a beautiful [...]

I like to use any free resources around me to save money and one of the ways that I get free soil for my containers that I grow my vegetables in, is to make leaf [...]

Phase 1 Ever since I have had a family, I have had periods of time when I have intentionally not spent any money. These are called ‘no spend’ weeks, or months.  In the old days [...]

Bread and butter pudding is a favourite of Mr S.  I usually only make it in winter, but a friend was throwing lots of crusts away after making an afternoon tea, and, hating waste I [...]

Sometimes when Mr S is at work I have a busy day and do not feel like cooking him a meal for when he gets home.  On these days I will make him something quickly [...]

I am always looking for ways to save money or to visit the supermarket less.  During the pandemic I ran out of wholemeal bread flour and so I foraged some dock seeds and used that [...]

At this time of year I am processing lots of tomatoes grown in the garden.  I roast them and take the skins off before making them into passata or bolognaise sauce.  I hate waste and [...]

Flavoured gins and vodkas are all the rage now, but they can be expensive.  The nicest ones I have ever tasted are home made blackberry gin and vodka.  They bring back that taste of summer [...]

I like to be as self sustainable as possible and at the end of every season I let a few of my crops flower and go to seed, or I save the seed from the [...]

This is the favourite pickle of Mr S.    The origins of this pickle are in south east Asia. One of the first recorded recipes for making this in the UK was written by Mrs [...]

It is that time of year again when I am busy preserving foraged food and things from the garden.  When ever I cook black berries (brambles) I usually mix them with foraged apples to stretch [...]

We eat a lot of Mediterranean food, and curries in our house, and since we have making all our own yoghurt (I use a slow cooker batch which works out really cheap), I have been [...]

Are you living on auto pilot and bored with your life? Have you forgotten what makes your soul sing, or how to be happy anymore? Have you sacrificed most of your dreams and desires and [...]

Mr S had some cucumber pickles at a restaurant and loved them and so we decided to make some of our own.  We have plenty of cucumbers growing outside in the garden (I didn't use [...]

Living intentionally. Before I retired, I used to think that simple living meant that you had no plan and stopped having goals.  I thought it would be spontaneous, and I would just see where the [...]

We tend to go on a lot of self-catering holidays out of season as it is possible to find really cheap, last- minute deals.  We have seen a lot of Britain in this way. Life [...]

I needed to make some room in my freezer the other day as I was making bread and it doesn't last as long as shop bought because it doesn't have the additives. I tend to [...]

Yesterday I was collecting female seeds from the nettle and drying them out to use in bread, porridge, smoothies and seed bars. You can tell the female nettles as the seeds hang down in big [...]

Rhubarb is almost ending in my garden at the moment.  I tend not to pick it after the end of July, (unless there is absolutely loads still growing), to preserve the energy of the plant [...]

What is the Wheel of Life? About 4 times a year,  I review my life,  though I have let it slip recently and have not done it since the New Year.  I also look at [...]

One of my older pals who popped in when I was making pickles the other day, and picking and freezing berries, said that she didn’t know why I bothered preserving these items of food for [...]

I fancied some chocolate and we had nothing in that was sweet except for some cheap Aldi chocolate.  I therefore made this no bake chocolate orange slice as I did not want to put the [...]

I have become a lot more conscious about my nutrition and what I eat as I have got older. I want to stay healthy as I age, and am aware that the NHS is not [...]

Our local moors are totally covered in bilberries at the moment. I think that they have other names if you do not live in the North of the England, and are also known elsewhere as [...]

The beetroots are coming in thick and fast now. Beetroots are really good for you as they lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. I don't really like them, to be honest, though I did [...]

Today was bread making day and when use the oven, I don’t want to waste any energy and so I cook a few things at the same time using the same base ingredient.  Today it [...]

My daughter and her partner are extremely frugal, even though they are both on good wages.  This way they can spend their income on what they want and therefore have a camper van and do [...]

Most of us have woken up at some time or another with that feeling of regret after a night celebrating. You feel dizzy, have a raging headache and your mouth feels like the bottom of [...]

I went on a local permaculture course earlier in the year and they suggested that you should study your garden for a year before you plant anything, and then make a detailed plan.  Well, I [...]

The courgettes (zucchini) are coming in thick and fast now.  I have picked 9 in the last 2 days.  I didn't really cook with them before I started growing them, but they are so versatile [...]

I don’t pretend to be a doctor, or even a herbalist.  I am definitely not a professional forager, but I do like to study and utilise the plants and trees that are around us to [...]

What we eat changes, depending on the seasons.  When I am planning my shopping and food budget, except for buying oats which I use for baking, I don’t really factor in the cost of breakfasts.  [...]

This week I went on a retreat that taught some skills of self-reliance.  It included basket weaving, making toiletries from nature, archery and making fire by friction.  These skills might seem a strange thing for [...]

I am always looking for more ways to consume elderflower as it is full of goodness and is a free medicinal and nutritious resource.  Nature provides every thing we need, if we would only use [...]

Every where I go walking at the moment I am spying elderflowers.  Did you know that they have incredible health benefits?  They are full of antioxidants, are anti-inflammatory and are so are good for my [...]

This recipe is dairy free and one of our favourites at this time of year.  The courgettes (zucchinis) are coming thick and fast now. We always make a lot of these cakes whilst we have [...]