Life of Pie

The world, according to Frugaldom, is a complete package. We have all we need to create all that we want and if we break it, we have the wherewithal to fix it. Nothing is fake, everything is real - just take the time to look into this amazing frugal bubble that is our world. It's like the life of pie!

Life of Pie!

Humour me, if you will. I'm still the same person living the same frugal life surrounded by the same people, same space and same basic ingredients that make up Frugaldom and the world around me. Yes, some faces and places may have changed, some friends and family have passed along the way and new little humans have been born into our extended family, but nothing much has actually changed. We are still in this same bubble that holds all the secrets and solutions to all the mysteries. It still dumbfounds me that some people just can't see the bigger picture when it comes to looking after our spinning rock as it hurtles around that blazing ball that we call the sun.

Planet Earth (Free Blog Photos)

Don't get me wrong, I'm no scientist, I'm just someone who likes to think more and spend less when it comes to the topics of money and life. I can't stand money but it's a necessary evil in our society. Whether we see it as paper notes, metal, coins, pebbles or digital points, it is merely a number that can represent pretty much anything else, anywhere else. Our imaginations know no bounds and are restricted only by how much we can experience, not by how much money we have. It's like pie - some of us can bake our own from very little while others are happy to pay whatever it takes for others to do it for them.

Our world is a mish-mash of every possible ingredient available to mankind and it is all contained within this giant, multi-layered, bubble oven that's heated by the sun and insulated or protected by the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere, atmosphere and any other invisible-force spheres that engulf our ball of spinning rock. They contain everything, dictate our weather, our climate, our tides and the phases of our moon. As far as mankind is concerned, nothing more gets added and nothing gets lost - it is baking mankind in an ever evolving life 'pie'.

Life of Pie

We have what we have and it is up to us all to keep making pie and sharing it accordingly. Some people will be researching and developing the very basic ingredients, some will be tweaking the recipe, some harvesting and preparing the ingredients and some making the dough. Some will be helping bake this never-ending pie while many more will be contributing to all the various fillings needed to help our spherical bakehouse stay in production and meanwhile, we all need to contribute to maintaining the oven, as a complete break-down would be globally catastrophic.

Sadly, there are those who will always want a larger slice of the pie than others and there are also those who aren't prepared to share their slice with anyone else under any circumstances - they'd rather pig out, get fat and dictate the pecking order. But one would do well to remember that when times get tough, those who spit feathers, bully the flock and crow loudest are likely to be next in the pie, even if it's just to bring peace to the neighbours.

Feed the world... every single person is contributing to the global pie in their own way - even if it doesn't turn out the way we like it.

There is only one way out of this kitchen and it isn't by any earthly door that anyone's ever found. We're in it together and we're in it for life... only you can decide how you choose to contribute. What holds it all together and keeps things going is the balance of nature and our combined, conscious efforts to maintain the equilibrium. I believe this is the very basic principle of life itself and that everything we amount to is what gets returned. Trying to lead a balanced life and helping those who can't should be first and foremost, in my mind. Money won't buy food, water, shelter or even fresh air if this bubble bursts, so why accumulate useless 'stuff' that has no meaning in the meaning of life unless you already have everything you need for a balanced and happy life? By all means, protect your investments, but spare a thought for those who have nothing.

We need to find alternatives to save our bubble from bursting!

www.scottishmultimedia.co.uk / Frugaldom

More Simple Savings in September

Into week three of our 'Simple Savings in September' Challenge and the courgettes are still growing - fabulous plants that just keep on giving more and more - I cook them in everything at this time of year, even omelettes and chocolate cake.

…

Having already begun setting up the project and welcoming various visitors, my thoughts are continually wandering over there, plotting and planning the overall lay-out and design of what will become a horticultural farm or smallholding with its own nature reserve. It has to be self-sustainable, in keeping with the frugal living ethos and with open access to allow our members the opportunity to become a part of it. The first plantings have been done but with all these … read more here

More Simple Savings in September

Frugal Living and Working :: Frugal Food Forums

Frugal Living and Working :: View Forum - Frugal Food - Cooking, Baking, Winemaking on a Budget

This is just a short blog to remind all of our readers that as well as this frugal blog, we also have Frugal Food Forums where we regularly discuss topics such as home cooking, foraging, preserving, bread making and, of course, our grocery challenges.

Whether you are trying to cut costs, reduce waste or generally make a difference to your diet, there is bound to be a forum topic to suit your needs.

From edible flowers to hand made chocolates – food is a fantastic subject and we would love you to join us in the forums discussing how to get the most for your money when feeding a family on a small budget.

Now that we are into porridge, soup and hot puddings time of year, we can start experimenting with simple ingredients and cost out the ingredients while also looking at cooking costs. With the utilities companies already bumping up the prices of electricity and gas yet again, now is a great time to join us in the battle to beat the home budget, be it in energy, food or general household shopping.

How many meals can you make from a single chicken?

How many meals can you make from a pack of mince?

Could you feed your family on £1 per person per day for all meals and still afford the toiletries, laundry and cleaning products in that tight a budget?

Do you forage for fruit and berries to make your own jams and jellies?

Have you ever tried cooking with cucumbers?

Can you bake a loaf of bread for 25p?

Would you like some soup recipes?

Can you make your garden (or other growing space) produce basic ingredients that could become a meal?

Have you baked cakes from courgettes?

How do you make your pickle and/or relish?

This is your invite to join us free in the FRUGAL FOOD FORUMS

Tonight, I will be joining in the online discussion about food that’s being hosted on Twitter. If you would like to take part, simply sign in to your www.twitter.com account and search for/follow @Frugaldom We use what’s known as a hash tag (# this is a hash tag) word for following the discussions, so look for #dghour and you should be able to see all the comments made by those attending tonight’s Dumfries & Galloway based food discussion.

Mark your diaries – on 9th November, I will be hosting an hour-long discussion on the topic of moneysaving. Everyone is welcome, even if you have no other connection with Dumfries and Galloway than being a follower, reader or member of the Frugal Blog, Frugal Forums or Frugaldom websites.

See you there, don’t forget to share!

NYK Media, Frugaldom

Doing the Monster Mash with Autumn Root Veg

Oh, Sweet Potato, you are HUGE!

Frugal food is in abundance at this time of year and my fresh egg supplies are, thankfully, still plentiful. Duck eggs, hen eggs, bantam eggs, quail eggs... not to mention the glut of cucumbers I'm still harvesting, plus apples, berries and plums. So much for so little and all there for the picking to help keep the grocery budget to a minimum.

 

Here in Frugaldom, we seldom sell eggs. It's more a case of giving them away and welcoming all sorts of gifts in return - home baking, greenhouse produce, garden produce, even furniture or DIY items that neighbours no longer require; I'll trade for anything useful!

 

Today's egg deliveries have been done: I set off with my supplies and came home with carrots, onion and sweet potatoes to add to the potatoes, squash, marrow, beans and lemon drizzle cake from last week's exchanges. I love this way of life, it's just so money savvy in a waste not, want not sort of way. Today's sweet potatoes are absolutely massive!

 

What does a frugal living person do with their root veg and squash? We do the monster mash!

 

Big pot of water on the hot plate and then let's start peeling... a few potatoes, a few carrots, a huge sweet potato and then, finally, the last of the squash. I don't salt the water to boil these and there's a very special reason why - chicken stock! My feathered livestock like this over their breakfast.

 

Once all the vegetables are cooked through, I simply drain off the water into a bucket and it gets kept for using in the garden, the poultry feed or else into the stock pot to make soup. Zero waste.

 

Brightly coloured monster mash can be made using most types of root vegetables, it's not just the preserve of potatoes, turnips and swede. I season them accordingly with salt and pepper, add a knob of butter or margarine, a splash of milk and then get mashing. Any surplus can be frozen, but I add some powdered milk to that before splitting it up into empty margarine tubs, it seems to help prevent the mash from going watery when it thaws.

 

This autumn coloured monster mash makes for a very orange dinner and I normally serve mine with vegetable-laden stew. The veggie mash is much more nutritious than simple mashed potatoes.

 

Not content with my autumnal coloured main meal, there's still the glut of apples to deal with, so crumbles galore! Add a bit of colour (and a few extra vitamins) by including a handful of stewed berries or a tablespoonful of homemade hedgerow jelly, which is what I did here. I do like my food to be colourful!

 

This crumble was made using wholemeal flour mixed with the sesame and sunflower seed bread flour.

 

We seem to have a real-life micro community here, based on a few neighbours who can see past the 'frugal living' eccentricities and see the lifestyle for what it really is - a caring and sharing one that doesn't like waste. Not only did I return home with my bag of vegetables, I was also given 2 small bolster cushions that I can recover and a bag of wool oddments. What a superb day's trading it has been in Frugaldom and not a penny spent.

 

Right, I'm off to finish making my free Velux blind so I can get part 2 of that blog post done. Hopefully, the blind will be completed tonight and hanging in the window by bedtime.

 

NYK, Frugaldom.

What's a Girl to Do when it's Lean, Mean and Flaunting Itself at Me?

Dear Musclefood,

We aren't body builders, we're just muscling in on your bargains! :)

 

Please note that I am using my personal 'refer a friend' links in this post. This is simply too good to miss, so grab a friend or neighbour (or anyone you care to grab, for that matter) and combine your orders so you can benefit from superb overnight free delivery. Fresh produce straight to your door, ready for portioning up and then filling your freezer. Shortened link is http://bit.ly/1bDkSEK
 

Premium Chicken Breasts - 1-1.15kg
SPECIAL OFFER: Buy one get another FREE!

Simply add to basket and enter code JUST8 at checkout to claim.

 

It's a definite win/win situation here and I can honestly, with my hand on my heart, personally commend this company. I think we shocked them a little by shopping on their site as frugalers, rather than bodybuilders, but there's nothing wrong with muscling in on a lean, mean bargain when it's flaunting itself at you, is there?

Here's how to make the most of the deal: visit the website - this is where you can claim your four free chicken breasts - and then go to the link that says 'lean meats', scroll down and select 'chicken'. From here, look for "Premium Chicken Breasts - 1-1.15kg, Was: £9.75 Save: £1.75 From £8.00" - do not click to buy, instead, click to view the offer. Once you do this, you will see some additional information on left of the page that says "SPECIAL OFFER: Buy one get another FREE! Simply add to basket and enter code JUST8 at checkout to claim."

Good luck with this, the offers are all on limited timescales, so I hope you are quick enough to be able to make the most of them. On a gram per gram comparison, not even the cheapest supermarkets within a 50 mile radius of here can compete with these prices. Perhaps you could set up your own food co-operative for local friends and family - any excuse for a get together when the order arrives!

Chicken is one of the main sources of meat protein for many of us who follow a frugal lifestyle, owing to its versatility, availability and price. When we get the opportunity to stock up on chicken breast fillets, we take it! I thought my bargain was superb at £5 per kilo but this is even better.


For those who prefer cooking a whole chicken, there's another deal available, whole chickens for £4 each. In a frugal household, one single chicken breast can feed 2 to 4 people, depending on portion size and meal type, but one single chicken can feed many more.

 

Frugalers can make even a small chicken feed a dozen people no problem and still get a pot of soup out of the bones. (See forums for stretchy chicken recipes.) So, when I also spotted this offer, I almost fell off my seat!

 

Whole fresh chickens for £4 each - that's 5 chickens for £20 and enough there for 60 meals plus sufficient stock to make soup enough to last the entire winter. What's more, if it's delivered free then there's no added expense of driving to the supermarket or trying to balance 5 chickens on a bike! Call a friend now, make the most of free delivery or else fill your freezer... if you have any space in it.

 

By splitting an order with friends, all of these bargains are yours for the taking. My freezer is going to be over-flowing at this rate! It saddens me, somewhat, that I have almost no space to fit in any more bargains. I hope home of you can take advantage of this fantastic, lean, mean offer! In addition, there's usually a free sachet of seasoning and all that lovely packaging to be recycled! Also of importance to my fellow frugalers, your very own refer-a-friend link and bonus loyalty points when you become a customer of Musclefood.

 

Thanks to a couple of lovely fellow frugalers who have already signed up and ordered these bargains, my loyalty points credit has now increased to 1224. You can earn points by spending, referring friends and by writing short reviews of the products once you have tried them. It's like a frugal living dream come true!

Off in search of more money-saving opportunities now, catch you all later,

NYK in Frugaldom.

Easter Round-up in Frugaldom

First of all, I'd like to share the news that we have just managed to break through the £200 mark with our fundraising, trying to help raise cash towards replacing the local lifeboat. Our main challenges takes place Bank holiday weekend on 24th May, 2013, when we'll be leaving Port William and travelling to Fort William with the aim of taking members of Clan McGonk to the summit of Ben Nevis - UK's highest mountain.

Today, which also happens to be Easter Sunday, is the first day of British Summertime here in UK but our local Scottish weather wouldn't have you believe that. It's around 5 Deg C in the sunshine, the ponds are still frozen and there are still lanes blocked by snowdrifts. It is, however, dry and breezy, so frugal line drying of laundry is a boost. The roads are also clear enough to gt back out on the bikes, assuming you're careful and stick to main routes. This is the bike sitting next to the roadside on the main route into our area - still quite deep with snow, to say the least.

I took the opportunity to stop for a couple of photos to show how much had melted on the exposed areas - vast swathes of grass now showing through, but with lengthy drifts along the walls. The above was taken at lunchtime today, over a weeks since the blizzards hit us.

Yesterday, we cycled down to the local village to meet with someone who is keep to establish a project that really appeals to me - one involving a food co-operative for local growers and producers, along with a community based cafe and work space for the local artists and crafters among us.

The project revolves around the old corn mill and adjoining 16 acres of land. There are already hens, ducks and pigs there, plus the two Clydesdale horses that are being put to work, hauling out debris and ploughing the land where a heritage variety of wheat will be grown. It's hoped that the old water wheel can be restored and put back into use, powering the mill, while outdoors can be run as a self-sufficientish smallholding, providing fresh food locally. There's also a small fishing boat and scope for a wide variety of fruit and vegetable plots. And lest we forget, the favoured mode of transport could help reduce carbon emissions if work and local travel was done by horse power, on foot or by bicycle. It all sounds great, I just hope the project can get off the ground and achive success.

The bartering system may well come into play, but the project needs
to establish itself and garner the support of the locals in order that it may progress.

Spud, one of the Clydesdales, has already endeared himself to the village by being put to work during last week's power cuts, when he was out and about pulling fishcrates filled with fuel and delivering it to places that modern vehicles simply couldn't reach. Photo here is of Charlie and Spud relaxing by the side of the burn that flows alongside the mill.

Aside from visiting the old mill, we also had a stop off at the shore, where it was rather amusing to see snow lying along the edges of the slipways, right to the water's edge. Sunny it may be, but warm it is not. Who knows how or when anything can be sown in this weather but one thing's for sure - we'll be needing many more logs and pinecones before it's warm enough to do without the stove indoors and the prospect of being warm outdoors is still looking pretty distant, even in the greenhouse. Speaking of which, I wonder if there's space for a couple of fullsize polytunnels at either of the nearby frugal projects? Must ask!