How frugal can we be?

I was peeling carrots for lunch today, making a salad, and I suddenly thought, 'I could/should be popping these scraps into the pressure cooker to make veggie stock. I have celery, parsley and onions that could all go in...' Not that I actually went that far, but sometimes I do. It always feels good to be frugal!

Soon after we went back to England in the mid-Seventies, I bought a slim, brown-paper covered book called 'The Frugal Cookbook'. It was put out by the Friends of the Earth (where are they now??) and over all the years of feeding the family I've found it truly useful. As I remember, there was only one recipe I tried that didn't go down well. Mostly there are vegetarian dishes, but included too are a couple of recipes for lamb and fish... considered more sustainable in those days.

At Christmas time we're more inclined to be lavish, and why not, seeing as it is the festive season. But in between the feasts we can still be frugal. I suppose the secret is to make the most of what we already have around.