Monday 19 November 2018

£1.00 a Day Eating challenge: Day Two




The dough rose nicely enough overnight.  You can't beat the smell of freshly baked bread in your kitchen in the morning.  It's getting to the time of year when you can't really avoid putting the heating on, too, so baking in the morning can double as a handy way to heat up your living space.  Highly recommended.


Alright, not the greatest loaf I've ever baked, but perfectly adequate.  There's a lot to be said for that second kneading after you've first let the dough rise, something I hurried this time around.  I like the idea of making dough before going to bed, then rising early (ha ha) enough to bake it while the cheaper night electricity tariff is still on.  (Round my way, that's between midnight at 7:00am).  But, well, Sunday.  Who gets out of bed on that time on a Sunday?  Never mind.




And so it was that breakfast was homemade bread, with homemade blackberry jam.  About time I started breaking into the supply I built up at the back end of summer.


Worth waiting for, I can tell you that.

I posted about this whole exercise on /r/eatcheapandvegan and /r/simpleliving - which generated some interesting responses; some positive, others more critical.  Several people commented that it would be better to buy in bulk rather than limit myself to £1.00 per day with no "advances".  This is probably true, from a money saving point of view, although that isn't exactly my focus.  I'm more curious about the idea of drawing the proverbial line in the sand, saying this is what I have here and now, and allowing myself a meagre daily budget from that point on.  Which isn't that far removed from the reality of my situation anyway.  Though I hasten to add, since one comment asserted, "this isn't a game for millions of people; it's survival" - which is of course true, but a little beside the point - that I'm not existing on the poverty line by any means.  I have a steady income that covers my living expenses.  I'm not, as several others remarked, conducting an experiment - at least in the sense I'm not really trying to prove anything - I'm simply doing it to see if I can.  (Maybe that's pointless but so far as we know, so is the universe).  I already know I can, at least for a short period of time, so another thing I'm doing is finding out how long I can do it for.  Buying in bulk, allowing myself "advances" would defeat that purpose, such as it is.  Anyway, feedback is welcome.  It's all a learning experience.  If you're in the UK, you can find you nearest food bank to donate to here.

Lunch was what was left of the potatoes, roasted, with a side of baked beans.  I didn't take a picture of that, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Hug in a mug.

Tea was soup, of the "never ending" variety, now a dark green mush of potatoes, lentils leeks, broccoli, onions and salt that's starting to smell a little funky.  I drank two mugs of it, with some more bread.  I pondered going over to the Co-op for some knock off "red sticker" veg, but by this time I'd already changed out of anything I could wear outside, so curled up with a book instead.  This gives me a budget of £3 for today.  I may be able to get by one more day on bread, soup and beans alone, but there's nothing really fresh left in stock, so I'd rather not.






Related posts

In Praise of Bread
Bread and Jam and Circuses
Never-Ending Soup
A Soup Made of Scraps
Home Grown Green Breakfast Stir-Fry

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