• Cheap, tasty, healthier bread and butter pudding.

    Published On: September 2, 2023Categories: Desserts, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Quick air fryer pizza

    Published On: August 31, 2023Categories: Baking, Light Meals, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Baking bread with dock seeds

    Published On: August 30, 2023Categories: Baking, Foraging For Food, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Free tomato powder

    Published On: August 30, 2023Categories: Growing Food, Preserves

    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 [...]

  • Piccalilli

    Published On: August 18, 2023Categories: Preserves, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Apple and Blackberry jam.

    Published On: August 17, 2023Categories: Foraging For Food, Preserves, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Yoghurt based flat breads

    Published On: August 14, 2023Categories: Baking, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Cucumber fridge pickles

    Published On: August 9, 2023Categories: Preserves, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Bramble crumble bars

    Published On: August 8, 2023Categories: Baking, Foraging For Food, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Rhubarb and ginger jam

    Published On: July 29, 2023Categories: Preserves, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Why I still preserve food for winter

    Published On: July 26, 2023Categories: Preserves, Saving money on food

    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 [...]

  • No bake chocolate orange slice

    Published On: July 24, 2023Categories: Baking, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • 9 cheap ways I add extra nutrition to my meals when on a tight budget

    Published On: July 23, 2023Categories: Healthy food, Nutrition, Saving money on food, Wellbeing

    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 [...]

  • Beetroot chocolate cakes

    Published On: July 7, 2023Categories: Baking, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Batch cooking with short crust pastry to stretch meals and save

    Published On: July 5, 2023Categories: Baking, Recipes, Saving money on food

    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 [...]

  • Courgette and sweet potato cheesy bites

    Published On: June 19, 2023Categories: Healthy food, Light Meals, Recipes, Snacks

    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 [...]

  • Summer breakfasts using what we have

    Published On: June 15, 2023Categories: Breakfasts, Saving Money

    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.  [...]

  • Elderflower and Lemon Curd

    Published On: June 12, 2023Categories: Foraging For Food, Preserves, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Elderflower sweet fritters

    Published On: June 11, 2023Categories: Desserts, Foraging For Food, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Coconut, lime and courgette (zucchini) cake

    Published On: June 9, 2023Categories: Baking, Recipes

    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 [...]

  • Rhubarb and walnut chocolate brownies

    Published On: May 30, 2023Categories: Baking, Recipes

    I don't usually make brownies as they have so much chocolate and sugar in them, and they cost a bomb to make.  I think that these are good value for the taste.  These brownies can [...]

  • burrito bowls

    Published On: May 22, 2023Categories: Healthy food, Mains, Recipes

    My brother bought me a burrito salad from Morrisons  a few years ago when we were doing some gardening and sorting out my Mum's house after she died. It was delicious.  They are too expensive [...]

  • Boozy banana, chocolate and apple crumble

    Published On: May 8, 2023Categories: Desserts, Recipes

    I like to make crumbles and we have a lot of different ones throughout the seasons.  It tend to make a big batch of crumble when I have made some butter from reduced cream.  I [...]

  • Tandoori Chicken Drumsticks

    Published On: May 3, 2023Categories: Mains, Recipes

    Have you noticed that the chicken that you get from the supermarket seems to have a more rubbery texture now? Marinating it in yoghurt makes it more juicy and tender. You can marinate it in [...]