Easy Peelers

 

Is there anyone else out there that loves it when a sticker comes off a jar in one fell swoop?

I hate stickers of any sort with a vengeance, and I'm frequently found peeling them off things that Alan has bought, as well as anything that I buy.  I have had to fight for years not to peel all the information stickers off my laptop ... but Alan says that is a huge no-go.  The day it dies it's final death, not long to go now I fear, I will peel away with relish.

But jars, now that is a thing.  If the sticker peels off in one go, or soaks off easily in a bowl of soapy water, I am loath to let go of what might be a very useful jar.  

It seems I have a cupboard full of very useful jars.

Sue xx

And no, I don't have Pittakionophobia ... I just dislike stickers and the residue they leave on things.

The Books That I Read in March

 

Eat. Nourish. Glow. by Amelia Freer

This is the book that carried over from February's reading and that I promised to report back on.

I enjoyed reading this book, especially all the nutritional and food information that takes up about the first three quarters of the book, but the recipes in it were really not my sort of thing at all.  It is also quite a few years out of date as it was published in 2015.  Would I recommend it, yes if you can borrow it from the library or get yourself a second-hand copy, but I don't think it's worth splashing out the full cover price for.

The index, and one of the pages that resonated with me, just to give you an idea of the contents.

Now it has been donated back to the book table at Booths.

The New Whole 30 by Melissa Urban

I was really interested in reading the new version of The Whole 30.  I had the original book, and indeed did the Whole 30 for myself many years ago.  So I decided to treat myself to this new version.  It was a really good read and whilst I am not going to actually do the whole process again, it was good to refresh my mind and read about the new learnings since the original one was written.

This book has been kept on my shelves.

Food for Thought, Keeping Well in Wartime published by The Imperial War Museum

This is a cute little box set of two books.

One is all about wartime eating and the other about keeping healthy.  While some of the advice seems very dated, if you are interested in this era of UK history, as you all know I am, they are both good little reads.  Click on the link under the photo to find out more about them.

Donated.

Nancy's Green and Easy Kitchen by Nancy Birtwistle

I pre-ordered this book last year as soon as I heard that Nancy was writing it and it came right at the end of February.  Nancy is the down to earth lady that won the fifth series of The Great British Bake Off, and is famous for calling Paul Hollywood 'the male judge', something that has really stuck with her fans. 

All her books are really good, full of environmentally sound advice for both cooking and household matters.  She has a huge following on Instagram these days, and I believe regular slots on BBC - Morning Live.

This is a really good book with a mixture of tips and lots of recipes, and one that I am definitely keeping on my shelf.

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift

I spotted this book on the charity book table in Booths last month and thought 'that would be good to read just before Mother's Day'.  I just could not get into it at all, the style of writing just didn't gel with me and I was eager to get on to something else.

Donated ... back to the book table. (In time for Mothering Sunday. 😊)

The Garden Cottage Diaries by Fiona J Houston

This is the book that I have just started reading and that will start off the April books.

Artist - Jess Mason

Sue xx

I would like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are, some of them were bought from the Used section rather than at full price.  You do not need to spend a fortune to read good books. 💖

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops. 

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Spice of Life

 

Alan bought me this lovely Indian Spice Tin for Christmas last year.  We were shopping in Booths and had nipped upstairs for a bacon butty for his Lordship and a coffee for both of us, and then we had a look at their beautiful gift department, that in our store is situated just at the bottom of the stairs to the café.  It must have been having a full tummy and a happy heart that made him drop the spice tin into our trolley as soon as I had said the words ... 'ooh I have always wanted one of those'.  

No sooner said than bought.  I did have to wait until Christmas morning to play with my lovely new toy though.  😄 

It came wrapped in a beautiful sari fabric, similar to this one and it's almost a shame not to keep it in that but now it's naked in my cupboard, always ready for action.  I would love to have it out on the side of the cooker as it is in regular use, but spices like to be out of the light ... so I am being good.

It is slowly taking the place of my spice drawer, but I am finding it hard to downscale to just seven herbs and spices.

I think with the larger bags that I bought the other day I might decant them into larger jars and add them to the other things in the main food cupboard that keep me on the spicier side of life.  I think I need a spice edit.

My favourite spice is cumin, and is the one that I always chose for the Ration Challenge ... what is your favourite and most used spice?

Sue xx

What was it I said about NOT doing a Challenge?

 

I'm obviously missing the opportunity to visit Sainsbury's, as while our little store is closed for renovation we have been to two different Sainsbury's for a look around.  The shopping above came from the branch in Morecambe, we have driven past it so many times on our way to the sea front, but this time we decided to stop on our way home as we needed to buy a microwave for the bungalow ... the renovations are almost complete now!!

I don't actually know what this little lot cost me, as the total was £29.80 but with some things for Alan that he has already used up and I can't remember what they were. 

Then yesterday between working on the bungalow in the morning, and visiting Mum in the afternoon we stopped in Sale town centre for a quick lunch and a coffee, parking in Sainsbury's car park.  Alan mentioned that he needed milk, so while he went for a snooze in the car ... he was really tired ... I took the £1 coupon part of the parking ticket and went into the store for a ten minute wander around.  Now in this huge branch, unlike ours, there is a World Food aisle, so I decided to stock up on a couple of spices that I use a lot of.

I spent the grand total of £7.65 on my spices and the milk. 

400g Turmeric - £2

400g Cumin - £2.90

100g Garlic Powder - £1.30

Milk £1.45

What a bargain. 😀

Then this morning, while I'm on my own as Alan is back at the bungalow for a day of electrical work,  I went for a mooch around Booths and bought some really treaty kind of shopping.  A couple of things that I needed, and some that I just wanted.  

Another £44.81 spent.

Oh, and a final temptation while I was dropping off a couple of books onto the charity book table in Booths, this Jamie Oliver book made me buy it.  I used to have the hardback version of this and sold it at a car boot sale a few years back.  I instantly regretted it, and here it was in paperback form, in perfect condition for just £1. 

 It just had to be mine.

And now I have to rein in my frivolous spending, as there are no wages going into my bank account at the end of this month.  My Scope pension starts on the 1st May and that is the grand total of £77.02 each month.  It's actually going to be quite interesting having such a small amount to play with.

At the moment I have an extra £25 a week going into my bank account as my son is midway through paying a loan back, so I have an extra hundred a month for the next ten weeks.  To top me up even further I have decided to reverse my current 'keep the savings account figure nice and even' thing and instead of adding to the savings to top up the random figure left by the interest going into my savings account, I will be moving the interest amount out of savings into my current account.

Every little helps when your pension for the next year is going to be so low.  😀

What was it I said about not doing a Challenge!!

Sue xx

So ... What COULD You Buy?

 

It was a lovely morning on Saturday, so after an early coffee on the patio we decided to go to Booths for a couple of things that I needed and while we were there have another coffee.  It's always a lovely atmosphere in our Booths café, and especially at the weekend if you are there early enough to avoid the crowds ... and we were.

It was going to be just a coffee each as we had already eaten, me porridge with peanut butter and Alan a couple of slices of toast, but while he was waiting his turn in the queue (yes, that is him waving at you in the photo), Alan spotted a sign that said the  Victoria Sponge slices were half-price.  Well he said, it would have been rude not to partake ... so he did.

We spent -

Black Americano  £3.10

Latte  £3.50

half price Cake -  £1.88

Total = £ 8.48

Now you just know what's coming next don't you!!

For just £6.40 we could have bought a whole Victoria sponge cake and a whole jar of coffee.

OR

Enough food to make three meals a day for two people for two days ... with leftovers.

On the menu:

Breakfast - both days

2 slices of toast and marmalade plus a banana per person

Lunch

Day 1 - Cheese and onion sandwich

Day 2. - Cheese and tomato sandwich

(Using 3 slices of bread per person, per day)

Tea - on both days

Spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce, served with broccoli and a side of garlic bread, made from the crusts of the bread.

Leftovers

Approximately 6 slices of bread

Two thirds of a jar of marmalade

Two thirds of a jar of mayonnaise

Six cloves of garlic

Half tube of tomato puree

Half a bag of frozen broccoli.

Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

1 tin of tomatoes

most of an onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

half a tube of tomato puree

grated carrots

You pays your money and you takes your choice. 😀

Oh, and of course I brought home our unused things.  😁

Sue xx