Thursday Thrift..........

I've been contemplating what today's topic should be; I've thought long and hard about which article/resource/activity would be suitable for a post about thrift and finally an idea arose when I was looking through my kitchen window at the autumn roses.

People. Friends, family, neighbours, workmates. These are some of the most valuable resources you can ever access. Your grandparents will have ideas and habits which may very  well save you some dollars! Mind you, they may also have some habits which will cause you to shake your head in disbelief..no way will I EVER let a teabag dry out and reuse it-I like my tea STRONG! ;)

Do you have neighbours who are handy at woodwork? Are they good gardeners? You may be able to get friendly and organise an exchange of plant cuttings or home maintenance for something you are good at....baking, preserving, even walking the dog or feeding their animals in return!

Your local library will probably have free internet access. Your local council should have a list of local markets. By spending a small amount of time fostering these contacts you should find yourself reaping the rewards. What other ideas do you have?

Thursday Thrift..........

I've been MIA lately due to a heavily pregnant daughter-but I'm baaaaaack! :)

This week's Thursday Thrift topic is tortillas. Yep, basic, easy to eat and use tortillas! These little beauties can be made yourself or bought at a reasonable price from the supermarket-whichever floats your boat!

I used tortillas this week for a Barely Burritos meal...I used leftover slowcooked lamb curry from the night before. I placed the curry in the middle of tortillas, folded and rolled them before placing seam side down in a greased pan and sprinkling with cheese. Baked in a moderately hot oven for 20 or so minutes until crisp, they hit the spot perfectly!

I've also used a sandwich press at times to make quesadillas with tortillas-another thrifty and satisfying meal! Tortillas also make great "crisps"-cut up, sprinkled with seasoning of choice and baked until crisp in the oven...eat alone or use with your favourite dip....yummmmmm.

Thursday Thrift..........

This week's Thursday Thrift is full of garlicky goodness!

I adore garlic-not only for it's pungency in cooking, but also for it's multitude of uses around the home. It can be used as a natural antibiotic ( ala Florence Nightingale!), a wormifuge, organic pest spray, companion plant and of course-a home strewn witth garlic is professed to be vampire free! It must work because thus far we are yet to be visited by vampires!

Last year I planted around 40 cloves-which I happily harvested in December. This harvest is to be used mainly in pet food ( both dogs & chickens) and as garden treatments...because although I love the taste of garlic, His Lordship suffers unfortunate side effects from it!

Garlic is an easy and cheap crop to grow-I tend to plant and forget about it! It doesn't require a lot of water or fertiliser, although avoid planting in heavy soils as it can rot.

Today I'm using some to add to both the dog food I'm making and the warm garlic & apple cider mash for the chickens. The chicken mash is just some rolled oats mixed with water and cooked in the microwave, then mixed witrh some crushed garlic and about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar-then girls love it!

Thursday Thrift..........

Today's post brought to you by.......nope, it's not a sponsored post-but it is because of ALDI!

I know, I know-anybody who enjoys a thrifty,frugal and sensible ( if you ask me! ;) )lifestyle already KNOWS about ALDI. There have been blog posts beyond count about that place......but, yesterday I found something there which got me very excited!

TaDa! I give you....the MINCER!

This baby is cast iron, comes with three blades and a sausage making attatchment-all for the princely sum of $14-99 AUD! I' ve been wanting to make my own sausages for quite some time, but baulked at the cost of buying a mincer. Happiness in the household today!

The idea is to produce sausages which resemble a food product-unlike the filler filled offerings from the local supermarket! The "gourmet" versions are quite expensive-so the plan is to learn how to make something which is tasty and cheap!

All hints gratefully received......

Watch this space!

Thursday Thrift..........

Today it's all about tomatoes. Home grown, sun ripened and plentiful! This year I had some free seeds of the Santorini Variety-which were purported to be quite capable of doing their tomato thing on natural rainfall. Normally here we get around 80mm of rain through January to the end of February-this year we have had less than half of that!

Therefore-the fact that these little beauties have flourished & produced lovely tomatoes with no feeding and little water makes them a thrifty addition to our garden! We have enjoyed them fresh on sandwiches, toast and in salads-and cooked them as sidedishes as well..I have saved seed for next year and plan to grow more than the 3 plants I put in this year.

I gathered some, chopped them roughly and tossed them in the slow cooker with a good splash of balsamic vinegar & fresh oregano leaves, added 1/4 cup of water and let them cook down for 4 hours on High. The resulting concoction can be used with pasta, to cook zucchini in or added to any other recipe you like. I don't bother to peel or seed them-adds to the rusticity of the dish!

To add to the thriftiness of our homegrown tomatoes, the scraps from chopping them up go straight into the chook food!

Thursday Thrift..........

I've decided to start a regular post: Thursday Thrift. Now the idea is that a thrifty idea will be shared on a Thursday ( See how the name evolved? Deepthinker I am! ;) ) With a semi self- sufficient lifestyle, all ideas/actions & activities which minimise spending our hard earned cash become of great interest!  Feel free to email me your ideas or leave a comment below!

My first Thursday Thrift post is about an item which has become indispensible in my kitchen.  A relatively small object, it's original purpose has NOTHING to do with culinary activities whatsoever! This little piece of plastic transformed itself one day when I had a particularly difficult pot to scrub-despite much soaking the *ahem* slightly brown ( OK- burnt to a cinder!) food residue on the base was refusing to budge! I was contemplating the cost of replacing said pan.....

I cast my desperate gaze around the kitchen and my eye fell upon a foreign object-would it? Could it? I contemplated it momentarily before deciding Meh! I had nothing to lose!

With little hope I started to scrape and scratch at the *ahem* slightly brown ( Ok,OK-burnt to a cinder!) residue-when to my amazement my new implement started to remove it all!

With my pan restored to it's former shining glory I cradled my new found friend and placed it with reference in the second drawer.

I give you.....................a wax comb! Yep, my daughter's wax comb from her surf board had been left on the bench (grrrr...) and has now be commadeered into my kitchen parphenalia! These little beauties cost but a few dollars at a surf shop ( and can also be purchased online), have a curved end ( handy for scraping around the pan), a tapered side ( perfect for scraping off * ahem* slightly brown food residue!) and two sizes of comb ( which really scratch off anything attached to the pans!)-to say nothing of the fact that they come in many colours and can therefore be colour matched to your kitchen scheme ( if that sort of thing is important to you!).