Frugal Things to do in the Kitchen (while awaiting the birth of new grandchild).

EEK MOMENT! Must keep busy or nerves will get the better of me. Daughter's due to have baby on 24th but she thinks it'll be sooner. With an hour's travel for her to reach the nearest hospital, I'm more nervous now than when I was expecting my own! Why don't they teach you these things in school? Son-in-law off on holiday for a couple of weeks, so there shouldn't be any need for me to worry... I'll go into the kitchen, make or bake something... bread's made, corn's in the big pan on the stove to make more hot mash for the hens, I'm running out of biscuits and mince pies and I need to make some lemon curd. Where should I start?

Frugal tip - any time you see porridge oats or muesli on clearance, stock up... BEST BEFORE dates mean nothing in Frugaldom, the contents of such packs will stay in fine condition for years as long as they're kept sealed and dry. Likewise with tins, pasta, pulses and sugar. In fact, sugar has no 'Best Before'date, it lasts as long as it takes you to use it, sometimes years! Don't be conned by the 'BBE' dates, the food isn't bad beyond them. It's the 'USE BY' dates you should adhere to and eggs are always best consumed within 3 weeks. Sadly, I can't guarantee that shop bought eggs are less than 3 weeks old but having garden hens, ducks and quail means I always have fresh eggs available. (OK, so the quail eggs freeze before I get to them in the mornings but with temps at -14C, I'm amazed the birds don't freeze!)

FRUGAL FRUIT, NUT and SEED BISCUITS

230g rounded tbs self-raising flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
175g muesli
50g sugar
115g melted margarine
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 180C & grease or flour a baking tray
Mix all of the ingredients into a soft dough
Split into walnut sized pieces and roll into balls
Press gently onto the baking tray to rounds
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown
Cool for 10 minutes and then transfer to baking rack.

The above makes enough for approx 24 - 30 biscuits depending on the size you make them.

SODA SCONES / FARLS

While these were baking, I also mixed up 450g soda flour with about 175ml of milk. The dough was lightly mixed then formed into a round, scored into quarters and is now baking so we can have soda farls grilled with cheese as a quick snack - 2 for today, 2 for the freezer.

OK, that's the biscuits baked and the soda bread is still baking - time to mix up some short bread and some shortcrust pastry for more mince pies.

Off to make the shortbread and mincemeat pies now - making the most of all this extra heat in the kitchen. Lemon curd will get made on the stove, as that's the boiled corn and barley ready for the hens' dinner.



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Chilly Weather But No Snow in Frugaldom.



1st December 2010

The past couple of days have been very cold but gloriously sunny. It's actually quite warm in the sunshine, so we've been sitting out at the back door for coffee breaks in between seeing to hens, ducks and quail.

Egg laying is on the increase, so I've been able to set aside a few extras for selling and also made the first batch of stove-top lemon curd. It's just cooling now. I've also popped two trays of muesli biscuits into the oven, so bring on the visitors - we have something to accompany the coffee. :)

Keeping the stove going is a daily chore, as is trying to keep a ready supply of dry  firewood. Chopping logs and splitting sticks is a very regular occurance here - we just can't get enough of the stuff. With temperatures not getting above freezing, most days, it's going to be great once the wet weather returns - NOT!

The plan to summarise the past year fell apart. It just seemed silly copying it all over here when it's already on the old website, so that time-wasting project has been called to a halt.

Off to check on the biscuits then make lunch; can't decide between soup and bread or eggs on toast. Such are the major decisions that have to be made in Frugaldom.

LUXURY LEMON CURD RECIPE

4 egg yolks (I use our own freerange hens' eggs)
150g sugar
100mls lemon juice (you can substitute this for lime juice or do half and half mixed)
70g butter (or margarine)

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together whilst gently warming the butter and lemon juice. Add the egg yolk/sugar mix to the pan and whisk together with the lemon and butter. Keep this on a low heat and whisk regularly until the mixture thickens to resemble custard. If you are cooking on a log burner, it's easier to take the pan off the heat to whisk it, otherwise cook slowly over a low heat. Do not allow the mix to boil.
Pour into a sterilised, pre-heated jar and leave to cool. Once set, keep it refrigerated.

Did you know there are NO EGGS in many of the cheap, mass produced lemon curds?

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