Skip to main content

The Good Life Bible!

Hi guys, have you had a nice week?

Look at what i found!
Only 50p in a charity shop :D
I'm so pleased!
It's based on a tv show from 2010 where Sue Perkins and Giles Coren lived like Tom and Barbara.  
It's full to the brim of little hints and tips on how to become self sufficient , along with various crafts that Tom and Barbara did on the show


It gives information on how to keep hens (which we shall hopefully be doing soon!) various means of feeding them, housing them etc

A Christmas section on making decorations (which i already do) and various food recipes


A fairly easy looking cider :) 
and, of course, where would we be without the recipe for peapod wine? (hopefully will try this at some point, maybe not this year though)

How to make nettle dye, which is a great dye for wool :) 

Pickled eggs, which i shall be attempting soon :)

and lots more! 
I'm so pleased to have found this book!
some of the things i already know, but it also has a section on gardening and growing veg and preparing the soil, etc so i know already it was 50p well spent!




Now i have a lovely quick recipe for you, i made this today and my goodness it was delicious!

NB: If you have a cheese sauce recipe you want to use instead of packet mix then go for it. I just used the mix as it was in the cupboard at the time :)

Cheese and broccoli soup: 


This is my own recipe, made up as I went along lol
2 broccoli trees
 1 packet Morrison's cheese sauce mix 
280ml water 
Half a chicken stock cube 
1 onion 

Chop onion and sauté in butter for 5 minutes 
Chop broccoli roughly and add to pot,  
Make the chicken stock and cheese sauce mix in one jug and add to pot, you can also add a little single cream if you have it 
Bring to boil and let simmer for 45 minutes until the broccoli is soft and you can mash it or whizz it up in a food processor 
  If you would like it a bit thicker just sprinkle in a tablespoon of corn flour 
Also, sometimes the packet mixes aren't cheesy enough so i added a handful of grated cheddar too :)
Yummy!


In other news, we have a new table :)
We got it from a friend who had the sad job of clearing his late mother in-laws house , so he asked if there was anything we needed, and this was on the list of things to go, now it is doing a great job as a coffee/dining table



We also opened the ginger beer this evening!
Woohoo! 
Our first proper home brew :)
Well... it wasn't supposed to be ready until Monday, but quite frankly, we couldn't wait that long haha
It is absolutely delicious! We are both very impressed :)

We are looking forward to seeing Fast SOS's next home-brew project :) 

(hint hint Rich and Carly, lol :D )


I've also been crocheting rather a lot this week
I made a little pot holder as i was sick of forever burning my fingers when lifting pan lids (with the metal top/handle)


I've also been working on my blanket, slowly but surely :)
Our local charity shop had a big donation of yarn and i found this gorgeous mint green mohair type wool for 49p. 
I made a cowl out of it with broomstick lace (i can't find the picture, but i will post it on Weds for Yarn Along) and used the rest in the blanket, sadly it was only a 50g ball so only had enough left over for 1 round






Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. sarrabear13 February 2016 at 11:51

    Love the book, what a lucky find xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Simple Living13 February 2016 at 14:19

    That book looks really interested,the postman bought me some more books today. Lovely soup, I have made soup today as well, I just love soup so cheap and tasty.
    Your table is really nice, lucky you xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:19

      It's a brilliant book ,i'm so pleased with it :) i adore soup too, i'm planning on more cheese and broccoli this week
      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week xx

      Delete
  3. Susie - secondhandsusie.blogspot.com13 February 2016 at 16:14

    I remember that TV programme, I loved it! What a great find, your crochet is looking lovely too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:20

      Thank you Susie :) i didn't actually watch the giles and sue version, i'm looking for the episodes on youtube, but no luck so far :(

      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week xx

      Delete
  4. Tiny Toadstool Cottage13 February 2016 at 16:36

    Love Sue and Giles! Love everything they have done - and then when I saw they had a book on The Good Life - wow! I still love watching my DVDs of The Good Life. Tom and Barbara are my heroes. I borrowed this book from the library and loved it. You are so lucky, lucky to have found a copy.
    Love all your cooking and crafting. I never make soup as, according to my boys, soup is the worst meal ever. And it doesn't matter what kind it is - soup is just not on! Very annoying as it the cheapest meal to make. I try and make it thicker and call it stew, but I think they are working that trick out!
    Have a wonderful week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:22

      Me too :) i'm looking for the good life on DVD but no luck yet, they are rather expensive at the mo :(
      Your boys on't know what they are missing! Soup is the best meal, and as you say, ever so cheap

      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week xx

      Delete
  5. Chickpea14 February 2016 at 01:17

    What an interesting book, I remember watching the series which was hilarious, I didn't realise there was a book. Lucky find :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:26

      It's an amazing book, i'm incredibly chuffed :)
      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week xx

      Delete
  6. Amy at love made my home14 February 2016 at 16:06

    Enjoy your book and your crochet! Happy Valentines! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:27

      Thank you Amy, Happy late Valentines :) xx

      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week xx

      Delete
  7. Tricky Wolf16 February 2016 at 04:54

    well done on the ginger beer! glad you like it, life is super busy at the moment but we PROMISE to do the next easy-peasy home brew by the end of the week :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:29

      Thank you :) It is sooo yummy! i could get addicted very quickly haha I'm looking forward to th next one :) x

      Delete
    2. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:36

      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week x

      Delete
  8. Unknown17 February 2016 at 02:23

    Love the book that sounds great might just have to look at that on Amazon :-) Your Ginger beer sounds lovely to its always such a good feeling trying things you have made for the first time, enjoy dee x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:36

      It's a fantastic book, i definitely recommend it :)
      The ginger beer was absolutely delicious, i plan on having more made very soon
      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week xx

      Delete
  9. Jules18 February 2016 at 07:20

    The book looks great. I've never heard of the tv series, I would have enjoyed it. I've just caught up with your posts. For some reason you haven't shown up on my blog list since Christmas! I wondered where you had got to. I'm pleased all is well with the BW. It must have been a worry. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown23 February 2016 at 10:38

      Me neither, i've been looking for the episodes on youtube, but nothing so far , which is disappointing :(
      Haha not to worry, blogger does that to me sometimes too, very irritating when it does that lol
      sorry for being so rude and not replying earlier, we've had the builders in and haven't had access to the computer all last week xx

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments, they are always appreciated :) <3

Popular posts from this blog

Hello?

*Peers round corner* Hello? Is anyone there? First of all, i would like to apologize for being so long updating here! It's been pretty busy around here, especially in the past month or two, and i have been updating mostly via Instagram.  We discovered that The Bearded Wonder has been having quite big heart issues , so much so that he was initially referred to get a pacemaker fitted, but on the day of his surgery the surgeon decided he was too young for a pacemaker and ended up fitting him with an under the skin monitor instead, which shall be in for 3 years, then he'll be re-assessed to see if a pacemaker is more suitable. He is doing well, and recovering nicely from the surgery. In other news, today is the day that Angus has been in our lives for a whole year! He was so tiny then. Somehow, out of nowhere, he has turned into this really fat, obnoxious fluffball! We are still enjoying going out and about on the bikes, and we are looking fo...
4 comments
Read more

Adding to the flock- Ex battery hens

Hello! How the time has flown! This Saturday saw us adding two new girls to the flock. Meet Felicity and Penelope. The poor little buggers were so frightened by this strange new world, with fresh air, room to move and dirt to scratch in, but they've soon got used to it and are coming out of their shells. Felicity is definitely the bolder of the two, and now she's figured everything out she likes to show poor little Penelope who's boss Felicity checking out the dust bath Barbara checking out the roost in the new indoor shelter (formerly a wendyhouse) Felicity stepping out into the sunshine. This afternoon saw me teaching the new girls how to peck at the broccoli i'd hung up for them. Fliss was unimpressed, she'd rather try and eat my engagement ring. The good news is that after a week they are all starting to settle in with each other, and now there is much less squabbling between them and the older girls,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Patience Is A Virtue (apparently) A Tour Of The Craft Room

Evening all :)  Sorry for it being so long, this week has completely nuts, I've barely had a chance to breathe! I've been attempting to organize my craft room. On Monday we finally got a double bed for our room ( we were sleeping on a double mattress on a sofa bed), at a bargain price of £5 :) So, we had to move the sofa bed into the spare room (that was fun!) and, up until now, the spare room was just used for storage until we got the house sorted. Let me introduce you to...The craft room! Woohoo! By the way, this is tidy by my standards! A lovely squishy sofa to curl up on and draw or read, and the spare duvet in case it gets cold and my knitting machine in the corner . (by the way, if you ever have the urge to put a knitting machine back in its' case, it is advisable not to! You need a degree in physics!) My cobbled together drying rack (and the sad looking hand made dress form in the corner) baskets of yarn and my sewing machine. Ugly ...
5 comments
Read more