The Moneyless Chicken

On Christmas Eve (remember that far back!) I picked up three (out of date) sourdough loaves from a stand outside my church. There was a sign saying." Please take - useful for breadcrumbs and stuffing".
This was at about 4 30pm when most people were already at home preparing for the big day. The stand was labelled "Reduce, Reuse,Recycle".
Anyway - my daughter was horrified that I had taken them from a what she called. Food bank.
She is really cross with me for "stealing from the needy".
Oh dear!!

The church on the next street does the same thing with what's leftover from the Food Bank,  its usually bakery items, fruit and veg that won't keep for the next session.   It's there for anyone to take and really its a shame if it doesn't get used.

That's what I thought, Bren.
Thank you
I wouldn't have dreamed of taking it from people who needed it.

The Moneyless Chicken is approaching two years spending as little as possible on food, clothes and unnecessary stuff. I still haven't bought any clothes but I have had to buy a few electronic items this year which was a bit of a disappointment! My laptop had problems, including keys falling off!, so I bought a second hand replacement for it. It runs Windows 11 and, as I found out last night, the printer won't work with Win 11 and there are no drivers available to update it. Bought a cheap printer today. I also bought a cheap mobile phone in the summer as the old one couldn't be updated and, whilst not quite a gadget, I had to have a new electric shower installed. Its been an expensive year!! About £500 in total, otherwise, I've spent very little. Looking forward to another year of being tight!

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My 18 year old microwave packed up yesterday. 
One dial for temperature, one dial for time. 
I have only used it for reheating coffee, reheating leftovers or making porridge, custard and scrambled egg. But it is used almost daily. 
It seems that most microwaves nowadays have digital displays and different buttons for all sorts of "recipes" 
Does anyone use all this tech?? 

So poor ® has been sent off to Argos to get the nearest thing to our old microwave.
Sadly he is off to return it tomorrow. The box and description says 20 litres overall capacity......
But only 11 litres usable capacity.
What on earth does this mean!
In a nutshell, my measuring jug and "microwave dishes" that used to fit in my 15 litre microwave won't fit in this new 20 litre one!
Confused or what!

That's daft! I suppose it means that the actual cavity is 20 litres but the bits in the corners that are unusable with a revolving turntable take up 9 litres.
I've no idea what size mine are (I have 2). They were both FREE. Beggars can't be choosers.

Nothing is basic in the electrical/electronics world these days. My 30 Yr old microwave/combi oven died and I've had the new one for some time but the extra features haven't been used because the instructions are absolute carp. It mw's fine but mixing in oven heat and the grill is a mystery.

Who would believe that I've been a Moneyless Chicken for 3 years.......and its not over yet! Here comes Year 4 and I'm looking forward to it!
I have 3 freezers full of food, enough tins of fruit, beans and veg to live on for months plus all the dried food in the cupboard. I only drink herb tea, of which I have plenty and can supplement with homegrown through the year.
Most days, my food costs less than £1, usually its FREE. I'm hoping that the garden will be more productive this year as last year was abysmal. I'll be concentrating my efforts on quick and easy crops, not the slow to mature veg that hog the ground for months.
I won't need to buy any laundry products (having acquired the laundry eggs), no household cleaning stuff (I get through this very slowly ). I have a pile of soap and shower gel and other toiletries.
Haven't bought any new clothes in 3 years and doubt that I'll start this year.
All my "new" books have been second hand.
According to my garden balance sheet, I'm in credit, having grown crops worth more than what I've spent on the garden.
Its looking good.

Who would believe that I've been a Moneyless Chicken for 3 years.......and its not over yet! Here comes Year 4 and I'm looking forward to it!
I have 3 freezers full of food, enough tins of fruit, beans and veg to live on for months plus all the dried food in the cupboard. I only drink herb tea, of which I have plenty and can supplement with homegrown through the year.
Most days, my food costs less than £1, usually its FREE. I'm hoping that the garden will be more productive this year as last year was abysmal. I'll be concentrating my efforts on quick and easy crops, not the slow to mature veg that hog the ground for months.
I won't need to buy any laundry products (having acquired the laundry eggs), no household cleaning stuff (I get through this very slowly ). I have a pile of soap and shower gel and other toiletries.
Haven't bought any new clothes in 3 years and doubt that I'll start this year.
All my "new" books have been second hand.
According to my garden balance sheet, I'm in credit, having grown crops worth more than what I've spent on the garden.
Its looking good.

I know Putins been working his ticket lately so are you stocking up in case of a world war?  ? I've always said I want first dibs on your mattress when you croak! I bet its stuffed with twenties!

Most of my stockpile of food has been given to me and it would be impolite of me to refuse .
I have bought lots of Hodmedod dried bean/peas so I'm going to challenge myself to cook a different pulse a week. I'm lazy with dried beans and forget to allow enough time for soaking and cooking. Maybe I should try one of the slowcookers that are lurking at the back of the cupboard.
Sorry to be a disappointment but you won't find any money in my mattress.
My Mum was a hoarder of banknotes and she always told us not to give away her sewing machine without looking inside the base! I forget how much we found but my brother & I used to make regular trips to our banks to pay in a bundle of banknotes. I always felt guilty paying in the money - as if I'd robbed somebody!!

Most of my stockpile of food has been given to me and it would be impolite of me to refuse .
I have bought lots of Hodmedod dried bean/peas so I'm going to challenge myself to cook a  different pulse a week. I'm lazy with dried beans and forget to allow enough time for soaking and cooking. Maybe I should try one of the slowcookers that are lurking at the back of the cupboard.
Sorry to be a disappointment but you won't find any money in my mattress.
My Mum was a hoarder of banknotes and she always told us not to give away her sewing machine without looking inside the base! I forget how much we found but my brother & I used to make regular trips to our banks to pay in a bundle of banknotes.  I always felt guilty paying in the money - as if I'd robbed somebody!!

 Legumes can be poisonous and need thorough cooking to get rid of lectins? Does slow cooking generate enough heat?

I've told you before, vegetables are trying to kill you!