We're Having a (not so frugal) Frugaldom BBQ!

£50 Budget Sounds Like Loads!

Look at this! It's exactly one year since we had temperatures in the high twenties here in Elrig and, once again, history has repeated itself - only we are reaching 30 Deg C today. How much better can it possibly get?

 

Well, £50 better, that's how much! That's the amount of money that Moneysupermarket.com has given me to throw the best budget BBQ possible, to share all the fun of the sun and feed/water my guests while they're here and then blog about it. (If you are on Twitter, you can follow the tales of the others taking part by checking out #TheCharcoalChallenge).

 

Now all I need to do is take stock of what is already available and then get this event organised. I know for a fact that we have disposable BBQs and plenty of charcoal, because these things are kept for emergencies in most frugal households - if the power goes out in rural Frugaldom, a BBQ in most weathers (even in snow) can be a great way to cook up a quick meal when the stove's not lit.

 

Right, first things first... preparations need to start now and we need to throw our best BBQ ever this summer. The forecast looks great for the rest of this week, right through to Saturday, so that's time enough to organise the garden to provide space. (Can't forget there's a poly tunnel to be built here this week.)

Food and drink, entertainment and a bit of extra decoration for the all important party feel - doesn't sound too difficult to throw all that together once I've got an idea of numbers.

Who wants to come to a BBQ in Frugaldom? :)

I Got Love-Bombed!

Festive Love Bombs and All That Stuff...

 

There's no other way of saying it, I got love-bombed last week! I'm still in shock, over-awed by what happened when someone detonated the love bomb. I was completely taken by surprise, totally unprepared and at the mercy of the postman and all he could carry to my mailbox!

 

During November, I set up the 2013 Frugaleur Challenge, launching it to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week. It allows us to establish the ground rules and get a head's start before 1st January 2013.

 

This year's challenge, as I explained in a previous post, has been grossly increased to a whopping great £50 start-up budget and a 13 month period to plan, start-up, develop and grow a micro-business from home.

 

We of the frugal living brigade need to earn our income somewhere and there just never seems to be enough of it to go around, hence the continual series of mini-challenges going on throughout the year. Priorities are things like paying off any debts, overpaying motgages, saving loose change in sealed pots, shopping via cashback sites and pursuing all manner of activities in order to succeed at decluttering, making do, reducing, reusing and recycling.  For some, it is still a case of trying to keep up with the rent and monthly bills! Becoming, and staying debt free is the ultimate goal. Anything more than that is an absolute bonus.

 

So, for 2013, McGonks are my thing! I now have a website, Facebook page, blog, an adoption centre for rehoming my furry little friends and, this weekend, the launch of Kindle subscriptions to their stories, available via Amazon both here in UK and in USA.

 

Back to the love bomb - I have been talking McGonks non-stop for nearly a month now, while I scour Frugaldom and send out search parties to family and friends, looking for all sorts of bits and pieces suitable for my latest project. There had to be some spending, it was unavoidable - especially when I make treasure trove finds on places like eBid!

 

Well! While I have been busy beavering away at putting together a unique secret santa gift and creating my McGonk empire, I have been inundated with gifts of all shapes and sizes, replenishing my diminished crafting stocks and ensuring that the McGonk project gets off the ground.  Fellow frugal and crafting bloggers, I salute you! In the true spirit of the love-bomb, I shall, of course, 'pay it forward' at every opportunity and in any way possible.

 

Now I would like to mention a Christmas Crafting Competition, again being hosted by our friends over at Moneysupermarket.com. This should appeal to even the youngest crafters, as it's a Christmas card making contest. I think the McGonks might be able to pull a few bits and pieces together in order for Thrift Cottage to submit an entry, don't you? Details can be found here.

 

It's been another busy day here, what with all the McGonk challenge preparations, but I'm glad to say that they now have their own 'Clan McGonk' blog. (Feel free to follow, subscribe, read and share.) This is where all their news and great adventures will be recorded in 2013, as I don't want to swamp the frugal living blog with cute, furry, frugal gonks.

 

Finally, today is the last day of the stirring of the pink champagne-style fizz! It smells delicious and is just starting to bubble and ferment. It's ready for filtering and bottling, so that is tomorrow's job. I'll drain off the liquid through the jelly bag and then pour it through a paper coffee filter, just to ensure all the 'bits' are out of it. The colour is very rich, much more like a sparkling red wine than a pink champagne. At 15p per bottle, it's frugal fruity fizz no matter what colour it becomes. I may even transfer the strained fruit to the big pan and boil what's left of it into a jar of festive, gourmet jelly! After that, there probably won't be much fruit left for the compost or the worms.

 

Frugaldom

www.frugaldom.com

 

Pink 'Champagne' Style Fizz of a VERY Frugal Variety.

Champagne, Perry or Bubbly - Frugal Pink for Me!

 

With such a busy start to the month, I thought it best to get the frugal 'champers' on the go so we had some ready in time for Christmas.

 

I've no rhubarb left (other than frozen, pre-stewed for pies), so I'm using a mixture of fruits, meaning my 'pink champagne' may turn out to be a slightly darker shade of pink, verging on something resembling sparkling 'Ribena'.

 

Never mind, as long as it goes with a pop, fizzes and tastes nice, that is all that matters. I know there'll be Vitamin C in it, but not too much by way of alcohol. It's being started off as we speak!

 

CHRISTMAS 2012 LAST MINUTE 'CHAMPERS'

About half a kilo of mixed fruit (Free)

About half a kilo of sugar (50p)

1 sliced lemon (20p)

Splash of cider vinegar (1p)

3 litres water

 

I tipped three cartons of frozen fruit into my bucket - one each of blueberries, raspberries and blackcurrants - but didn't bother weighing the quantities.

 

To this, I added about half a bag of sugar, then a sliced lemon. I'm not a stickler for waxed or unwaxed as it seems to make no difference at all, from my limited understanding. In fact, a recent report actually suggested that the standard waxed lemons provide better flavour, so no point wasting money trying to source unwaxed varieties. Hopefully the lemon tree will grow and begin producing fruit over the next year or two, that would be handy!

 

Next was the water. I boiled the first litre and poured that over the top of the fruit and sugar, then added the next two litres, unboiled. It's warm enough to dissolve the sugar quite quickly. About a tablespoonful of vinegar was added and I used what I had available - cider vinegar. (The hens like it in their water.)

 

Job done! It's all been covered and is now sitting in the livingroom in its little bucket, infusing with flavour and alreay turning a pretty shade of pink. It will be left to soak until the weekend, but I'll give it a stir each day between now and then.

 

Come the weekend, the liquid will be strained, fruit set aside for some sort of pie filling or sponge topping and the resulting juice filtered off into my clip top bottles. I have three of those, recycled, of course, plus there are a couple of screw cap glass bottles that can be used. If my estimates are correct, I reckon it will cost 15p per bottle, including the electricity needed to boil the kettle.

 

I realise that this won't be particularly strong in the alcohol stakes, but a fortnight is sufficient time for the sugars to start fermenting and it does seem to work with almost every type of berry, edible flower or fruit I have tried.

 

Have fun if you try this at home, but don't forget to check the bottles for any signs of over-fizz, s pink isn't the easiest colour to get out of anything that happens to be in the way.

 

Until later,

 

Frugaldom.