It's Christmas Pudding Time

Last year I used half my Christmas Pudding Recipe because there were still 2 in the cupboard from 2012, this year I used 1 and a third times the recipe to make 6 puds of various sizes, some will be given as gifts.
  With the Rayburn alight it means I can steam them for free.

3 puds steaming and some fruit de-frosting with a pasta/salmon bake in the oven

 The suet, mixed peel and raisins were from Approved Foods, flour is Aldi - the cheapest I can find, value sultanas from Tesco,  eggs were thin shelled or odd shaped ones we can't sell, apples were our own windfalls, all these are small ways to keep the cost down. I'm still using some brown sugar that I had bought before I saw Dawns tip on making brown sugar. Something I shall certainly try.

I've had 3 or 4 Christmas catalogues in the post so far this year but I doubt I will be buying anything from them even if they are charity ones. Things always seem so expensive.
The Friends of the Earth Catalogue has a bag of 15 pine-cone firelighters which seem to be a cone attached to a a small wax circle with a wick to light them for £9.00, mind you, that's cheap compared to some I looked at on t'internet which were £16 for 12! There's money to be made from fir cones obviously, but £16 - Heck! If you look HERE there's info on how to make them. But why? because  a bit of scrunched up newspaper and a few pine cones would light a fire anyway without faffing about with melting wax and cup cake cases. This is a no faff household!

Today's post brought yet another voucher, the 4th in 2 months, from Wyevale Garden Centre. I'm beginning to think they are desperate for our custom. We had a £5 off £15 spend for September, same again for October, and another £5 of £15 to be used during the last two weeks of October and now £2.50 off anything. We will be popping along there again soon for another Christmas present.

Back Tomorrow
Sue