infoxicated

Due to paying off the car & home insurance and our holiday all in the space of a month, my bank account is running on empty for the first time in ages. So, to help cushion the fall into overdraft territory we decided that May 2006 would be a budget month.

In order to cut out the unnecessary expense of multiple short trips to the supermarket we went and done one mega shop at the end of last week. It consisted of things like a bag of pasta so large we can go camping in it after it’s empty (some time circa 2008, most likely), and other odds and ends that were two–for’s or own brand items that aren’t that far removed from their more expensive counterpart.

Disappointments so far have included the Asda own brand apple shampoo, which is pretty average as far as washing goes, and the apple fragrance is so weak it just washes away. The own brand fun size treats are pretty grim, too. I’d agree that in a budget month we shouldn’t have any fun size treats at all, but I like to have a couple in my bag to eat with my lunch at work, plus they were two for one, so they seemed like a steal. A couple of them are alright, but the caramel and peanut variety are disgusting, so I wouldn’t get them again.

Good buys come in the shape of the Asda own brand coconut bubble bath, which certainly does the trick bubble wise and it was a three for two offer, so that’s a result. I also got a whole bunch of decent bread rolls, too, but since our fridge has started playing up again I’m afraid they probably wont last long enough for me to eat them all.

I’m happy that my beer and wine sacrifices saved a around ?20 from the get–go, and I’m sure we could have made more effective cost cutting measures if we’d thought more about it. If June ends up being another budget month I’m certain we’ll be better prepared for picking up cost reducing items.

Tonight I was at a loss as to what to have for dinner. I’ve had these Quorn balls in the freezer for ages and I keep meaning to use them for something, so now seemed the ideal time.

With only half a plan in my head I placed six balls in a bowl in the microwave, with some sweet and spicey rice in its packet beside the bowl. This gave me three or so minutes to conjure up some kind of sauce to add to the above.

Raiding the cupboard, I made myself a concoction of random amounts of ketchup, mustard, mayonaise, vinegar and, after tasting, some honey to try and rescue the situation. If I’m being honest, it didn’t quite end up as tasty as I’d imagined it would do, so the honey was an attempt at sweetening up the brown gloop before me.

The balls and rice were ready now, so I stuck the sauce in the microwave for a minute while I neatly arranged the quorn balls on the bed of sweet and spicey rice. Not quite sure why I allowed myself to get ahead of things at this point, but in those Jamie Oliver adverts he always seems to be throwing any old shit together and conjuring up wonderful meals, so I was kind of looking forward to eating my dish in the same way Jamie’s hipster friends must do.

With a ding the super foxy sauce was ready and I poured it directly onto the meatballs. It was a little thicker than I’d hoped for, but I knew the milk was on the turn so I had nothing to thin it with. Besides, I was hungry – time for my tastebuds to take the super foxy fork ride to heaven.

Well, I thought, this is promising – couple of mouthfuls in and I haven’t yet gagged. Sadly, the gagging would arrive at the same time as the fourth meatball. I misguidedly opined that there was no way it could be the super foxy sauce. I was simply guzzling and eating more slowly would cure that.