Tenner Week May 2016: Day 7

Welcome to the final day of this Tenner Week challenge. Today’s activity is to have a picnic (you can have an indoor picnic or mini buffet if it’s raining).

Usually at this point in the challenge, food stocks might be running a little low. Here are just a few things you might be able to improvise:

• Falafel bites or lentil ‘meatballs’
• Cheese straws
• Pasta or rice salads
• Peanut butter sandwiches
• Salads based around canned beans
• Wraps or pita pockets with random fillings
• Cheese or vegetable fritters
• Cous cous
• Flapjacks

It’s completely up to you, depending on what’s available. As long as you have something to package up and take out for lunch and a snack, you’re doing well.

If you have any remaining cash from your £10, this is your last day so feel free to spend it on sandwich fillings, crisps or whatever you like. You can use supermarket points to get groceries as well, if needed.

What’s happening here

We’re having visitors today, and I’m doing a buffet for lunch. Two days ago we started to run out of bread, and as I only had 43p left I had to raid the baking box and make some. It’s the only stuff that’s never been part of an Empty the Storecupboard challenge before so fortunately it was well stocked.

We now have stacks of soft white rolls and a rustic rye batch which are nice enough to serve to other people. Yesterday I also made a batch of chocolate, oat and raisin cookies, and had to completely improvise a recipe because we had no eggs and were getting very low on sugar. I got round it by making a tablespoon of milled linseed and substituting honey for the missing sugar, and was surprised but very pleased when they turned out delicious. I’ll warm them through before serving them tomorrow.

The rest of the menu will be beetroot salad, pasta salad, cheese, ham, and a savoury tart which is basically going to be a block of thawed puff pastry from the freezer with whatever’s lying about in the veggies box on top (I’ll have to think of a better name for it than that, of course). Dessert will be roasted homegrown rhubarb and coconut custard or whip. Done!

That’s enough baking and making for the next few days, I reckon. Leftovers on Sunday…

Also watched 36 minutes of telly, including an episode of Silicon Valley. They’re giving Gilfoyle all the best lines this season, but no spoilers from me.

Am I going to make it through today with no TV, and no overspending? Because that’s a bit of a tall order.

Total TV watched: Three hours and 54 minutes

Total spent so far: £9.57

How’s your budget looking? Are you keeping busy, and what would you put in your picnic?