Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag » Reader questionsLiving off the Smell of an Oily Rag

Cleaning blood spots

reader — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 02:13:59 +0000

Gloria from Christchurch asks,
How would I get blood spots off-white polycotton tablecloth?

Dishwashing liquid?

reader — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 03:28:33 +0000

Trudy from Napier asks, “Does anyone have a recipe for dishwashing liquid?”

Too much plastic

reader — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 03:25:10 +0000

JO from Waimate writes, “I have been thinking about: ‘Do we really need to use so much?’ This I apply to everything I can think of, especially if it benefits the environment. I have made a serious effort to reduce the plastic I buy. I noticed that nearly everything is packaged in plastic, especially in the supermarkets. I, now, take a recycled plastic container to the butcher, who is very happy to fill it for me. I have found a farm, where I can buy loose milk and provide my own bottle. A one-litre bottle with flip-top cost $4 at the Warehouse. I pay $3 for a litre and each time it feels great to have one plastic bottle less going to waste! I’m now using more jam jars to put in the freezer. I have bought cheese from a cheese factory, still in paper, which contains a thin layer of plastic! Grrr! I wrapped it in a beeswax wrap but I noticed it still dries out the cheese. Any other suggestions?”

Limes

reader — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 19:57:18 +0000

Rosiesview from Whangarei writes,

When we are lucky enough to get free Limes we juice them and freeze the juice. We use it all year for cooking – and in drinks. Homemade Lemon Lime & Bitters is a particular favourite, along with Thai recipes.

Porridge

reader — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 20:17:58 +0000

A reader has asked for suggestions on how to make porridge more appealing. If you have a favourite tip, please share it here oilyrag.co.nz

Recycling phones

reader — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 21:53:09 +0000

Adriana from Auckland asks, “What’s best to do with old broken unusable phones?”

Butter or oil?

reader — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 18:05:14 +0000

Laura from Paeroa has a question:

I would like to do some baking however butter is so expensive at the moment. I would like recipes that use oil instead of butter. Unless someone knows how much oil to use to replace, for example, say 250 grams of butter in a biscuit recipe? Could you replace butter with oil?

Malt Meal Wafer recipe?

reader — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:49:26 +0000

Faye from Hastings asks:

“Has anyone mastered a replica recipe for Malt Meal Wafers? They are a large square lain biscuit that was lovely and buttery. You can no longer buy them and I cannot find anything online. I would really like to make some.”

We understand Griffins used to make them but stopped doing so in the early 2000’s. – Oily Rag Ed’

Glycerine cleaner?

Oily Rag Ed' — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:57:04 +0000

PAL from Christchurch is asking for help. “Many years ago I recall a mixture I made up and wiped over clean windows. This helped prevent condensation from forming on them. I have asked several friends and they seem to think I may have dreamed it. But not at all. I recall making this mixture up and I’m wondering if it could have had glycerine in it.”

Can you help PAL recall this formula – but not one using nitro glycerine!

Community barter?

reader — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:41:21 +0000

Declan from Christchurch has this question:
“Hi there. I keep hearing about how barter is a great way of doing things. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to barter on facebook barter groups. Admittedly, they do seem to have very low memberships. How do other people go about bartering?”