Note: You could easily make this with normal cheese, pasta and pesto. Sadly this one isn't actually vegan or even vegetarian as I used a beef stock pot, but if you aren't gluten free you could easily use worcester sauce or marmite for flavouring instead.

Ingredients

• 1 courgette


• 8 mushrooms


• 2 onions


• 1 tin red kidney beans


• 1 small size tin baked beans


• 1 tin tomatoes


• 1 cup tomato puree


• Enough gluten free pasta for two people


• 1 dessert spoon oregano


• 2 tsp basil


• Plenty of black pepper


• 1 beef "stock pot" (these things)


• 1 dessert spoon pesto


• 1 dessert spoon margarine


• Handful pine nuts


• Grated (vegan) cheese

Method

• Chop up courgette, onion and mushrooms (I prefer quite big pieces of veg in my bolognese)


• Gently fry vegetables in a little oil until softened


• Meantime, put the kidney and baked beans through a food processor until broken up, but not mushy (this is in place of mince or TVP mince)


• When vegetables are just cooked, add beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano, basil and black pepper


• Bring mixture to a gentle simmer and melt stock pot over top, stirring through


• While the sauce simmers, cook your pasta


• Thicken sauce with cornflower if needed


• When pasta is cooked, drain, then return to still-hot ring and stir through butter, then pesto, then finally pine nuts and cheese


• Serve the sauce over the cooked pasta straight away

I've done a little friends list cut and just wanted to post something here to say that if I've removed you, it truly isn't anything personal. It just means that we haven't really talked a lot or I don't feel much of a connection there. I wish you all the best.

(you can click this to see whether or not you can still see my locked entries if that's useful.)

This made two HUGE portions, which could easily have been divided into four with a side dish.

( Read more...Collapse )

Goals Started Since Last Update
I haven't got any new goals in progress, though I did achieve a few "one off" goals (see goals completed list).

Update on Goals Started  or Continued in February

• Launch my own copywriting business - I'm ashamed to say this really went by the wayside as I had a lot of personal issues come up and decided to try and straighten my head out first, then sort out external things.


• Set better boundaries - I'm still working on this one and making slow but discernible progress.


• Make a new friend - I think this is going ok.


• Write a list of three good things every day - I lapsed a bit on this one!


• Go gluten free for a fortnight - I've gone permanently gluten free so I guess I can say I achieved this one lol!


• Finish and publish The White Chalice - I've been progressing very very slowly, but a little progress is better than none, right?


• Celebrate The Wheel of the Year for a whole year - Imbolc was beautiful and in fact more intense than I expected, and I am looking forward to Ostara.


• Learn a new craft - I actually made a bag! I haven't put this as completed yet as I'm still very much a beginner and would like to be more confident before calling this goal done.


• Be more mindful of my speech - I am more conscious of thinking before I speak at least some of the time.


• Buy only essentials for a month - This didn't happen purposely, but looking back we didn't buy any non essentials during February, and are edging closer to officially starting that "buy nothing new" year.

The Goals I Particularly Wanted to Focus on in February

• Launch my own copywriting business - I've already covered why that didn't happen.


• Get into the habit of writing (on novels) at least four times a week - nowhere near. Having this list / community has been brilliant in that my March check in has made me go "OMG WHAT!" and helped me to see just how much of my time I fritter away, not getting anything I want to get done, done.


• Finish and publish The White Chalice - needless to say I am not happy with my (lack of) progress here.


• Go a week without referring to my body shape in derogatory terms - I did three days which was a good start I guess! I'd still like to do a whole week though.


• Spend a week consciously practising positive thinking - I didn't actually try this yet.


• Practice regular Tsa Lung - I got precisely nowhere with this one.

Goals I Want to Focus on in March

• Launch my own copywriting business


• Get into the habit of writing (on novels) four times a week


• Finish and publish The White Chalice


• Practice regular Tsa Lung

Basically, the goals I was not happy with in February. Although it's not on my official list, in March I want to seriously focus on why I procrastinated them so badly, and get to the root cause, so that this time next month I'll be able to say I started working on the things that are important in my life instead of frittering it away due to anxiety and low self esteem.

Goals completed since last update

• Read at least five novels for every year of the challenge - so far this year I've read Iced, Shadowfever, Darkfever, Faefever, Lament, Ballad


• Swap sugary and junky foods for healthy and unprocessed ones - Aside from the occasional square of chocolate or soya dessert, my diet now is mostly wholefoods and no junk :D


• Go gluten free for a fortnight - I've actually gone permanently gluten free!


• Change my style - I realised I was trying to recapture my younger days, when in fact I'm really happy as a comfortable, bright, hippy type, so I've decided to embrace that and not judge how I look by other's standards.


• Invent a new cupcake recipe - I invented a lovely honey and almond cupcake recipe for Imbolc, and I've also been having a lot of success with gluten free chocolate spiced cupcakes


• Make my own gluten free bread - I jokingly refer to it as Lembas Bread because it's very small and a little is very filling. It's more like cake than bread actually, but I enjoy it a lot.


• Read someone else's work and offer constructive criticism - did this a couple of times on communities


• Buy only essentials for a month - Happened by accident, but it did happen!

Goals removed:

• Make three new ramen recipes (would be a little hard without gluten)


• Make a tea brack (ditto)


• Read LOTR Trilogy (I realised I had this on there because I felt I should read it rather than because I wanted to)


• Move somewhere new (I feel like I'm not ready to make and stick to this decision yet because I need to get my own house in order first, figuratively speaking)

Goals replaced (I tried to replace them with very similar goals, just refined a bit)

• Find a gluten free bread recipe I really like (I've made the gluten free bread, now I want to find a recipe I love)


• Make a baked alaska (have always wanted to try this!)


• Make a proper decision on where to live (so that I feel I am living my life by choice, not chance)


• Read at least five non fiction books a year for each year of the challenge (because I always go for the novel and think it would do me good to read some mind improving stuff too!)

You could make this without the quorn pieces and/or sausages if you wanted a more frugal meal, and it would still be pretty nice.

Makes 4 - 6 servings

( Read more...Collapse )

A really simple soup that I whipped up the other day because I just needed soup with garlic in. I don't know why. Made four portions.

Ingredients

• 8 - 10 baby potatoes
• 1 large or 2 small courgettes (zucchini)
• 6 mushrooms
• 2 red onions
• 1 cup green lentils
• 1 tin haricot beans
• 1 stock cube
• 2 tsps garlic puree, or 3 garlic cloves (chopped small)
• 2 tsps turmeric
• 3 tsps mixed spice (my mix includes dill, ginger, nutmeg and coriander)

Method

• Fry chopped onions and garlic (or garlic puree) in a little oil or margarine
• Add chopped mushrooms and courgettes and cook till veg starts to sweat its juices
• Add finely chopped potatoes, drained beans, lentils, seasonings, and enough stock to cover plus an inch
• Bring to boil and simmer 30 minutes
• You could puree this, but I prefer chunky soups so I just mashed mine with a potato masher

Nice with cheey garlic bread

Just to make things a little easier! Please note I haven't listed every sort of writing post here (most of them fall under my writing tag at the end of the day), just the ones that I think it might be useful to have a roadmap for.

Please also note that while some of these are public posts, a few of them are friends locked.

Miscellanies
100 words
2 lines
Freewrites
"Nanoisms" (in other words, cock ups that happen when trying to write 50 in a month, though mistakes from other times of year do end up in this tag too!) (mostly friends locked)
Writing prompts

Novels
Novel excerpts (friends locked)
Posts about the Fae series (friends locked)
Posts about The White Chalice (Fae series book 1) (friends locked)

Poetry
Haiku
Poems

Runaway Tales
Current prompt list
Index of RATS pieces
RATS pieces (all)

I love sharing my favourite recipes. Hopefully you'll find something here to inspire you, or just a new idea to try. Happy cooking!

Notes: Most of my recipes are dairy free, and many of them are vegetarian. They would be easy to convert to have meat or cheese in if you wish. Likewise, my few meat recipes could easily be made vegetarian or vegan.

My recipes tend to be based on simple store cupboard ingredients with some fresh veggies, and are intended to be easy to make, satisfying, and relatively healthy. They're mostly simple and uncomplicated, but I always have requests for seconds!

Desserts
Fridge cake
Microwave chocolate cake

Leftovers
Leftover bake
Mashed potato cakes

Mains
Beans and rice
"Cheesy" salmon fish pie
Chilli
Deluxe dairy and gluten free spaghetti bolognese
Fruity chicken korma
Kedgeree
Millet casserole
Stuffed baked potatoes
Tai's spicy beanburgers
Vegetarian risotto

Side dishes
Lemon chilli and garlic tomato sauce
Mushroom gravy
Savoury rice


Soups
So-easy lentil rice soup
Spiced courgette and potato soup
Spiced root veg soup

Here is an index of my 100 things articles

10 ways to look good on a frugal budget

1. Thrifting
2. Natural beauty
3. Accessories
4. Trying new things
5. Hair
6. Statement pieces
7. Don't worry so much!
8. Mix and match
9. Hair and skincare
10. Smile!

10 favourite frugal recipes

1. Chilli
2. Everything soup
3. Risotto
4. Easy veggie pasta
5. Stovies
6. Onion mash and veggie sausages
7. Simple soup with garlic bread
8. Chick pea pilaf
9. Cheating goulash
10. Stuffed jacket potatoes

10 frugal meals that can turn into other meals

1. Chilli bean mix - shepherds pie
2. Chick pea pilaf - spicy chick pea soup
3. Mashed potatoes - potato cakes
4. Pasta and sauce - pasta bake
5. Risotto - rice soup
6. Noodle stir fry - ramen soup
7. Rice - egg fried rice
8. Mash and cabbage - colcannon
9. Stovies - hearty stovie bake
10. Tomato and lentil soup - pasta sauce

10 things that are surprisingly easy to find cheap

1. Boots
2. Housewares
3. Beauty treatments / products
4. Furniture
5. Books
6. Days out
7. Travel
8. Good food
9. Health and wellbeing
10. Entertainment

10 frugal tips for holidays and celebrations

1. DIY everything
2. Homecooked food
3. Unlikely places for gifts
4. Unlikely places for outfits
5. Homemade gifts
6. Homemade decorations
7. Focus on what really matters
8. Have a spirit of adventure
9. Last minute food bargains
10. Buy nothing!

10 favourite frugal memories

1. Dinner in a B&B
2. Picnic at station on way back home
3. Christmas buffet
4. Anniversary cupcakes 
5. Birthday Thai food
6. Nano S'mores
7. Dinner out with my jeans and tie
8. Furnishing the house
9. Easy Christmas presents
10. Mince pie and egg cup Christmas

10 frugal food "treat replacers"

1. Fridge cake
2. Cupcakes
3. Sweet chilli noodles
4. Chicken Korma
5. Stir fry with egg fried rice
6. Ramen soup
7. Burgers and chips at home
8. Breakfast for dinner (or any other time of day)
9. Roast dinner
10. Fried potatoes

10 tips for a frugal mindset

1. Learn to love who you are
2. Learn to be content with little
3. Find the joy in little things
4. Find things that are important to you that are not materialistic
5. Build community / volunteer
6. Learn to resist marketing
7. Don't compare yourself to others
8. Treat it as a game or challenge
9. Laugh at yourself, in a nice way
10. Don't feel sorry for yourself/ find gratitude

10 low cost ways to say "I love you"

1. The gift of time
2. Make something
3. Learn to listen
4. Little things that spread joy
5. How are you doing?
6. Suggest home grown entertainments
7. I saw this and thought of you
8. Quality time
9. A helping hand
10. Show interest

10 lessons I've learned from being frugal

1. The things you think matter in life don't always matter
2. Things that make the biggest difference often don't cost money
3. Patience is really key to making changes
4. Change is like turning a ship
5. The less you have, the more you learn about yourself
6. Being frugal can be a huge adventure
7. The joy of spending can't hold a candle to the contentment of simple pleasures
8. More stuff /= more happiness
9. People don't care as much as you think
10. If you are happy with yourself other things fade in comparison