Monthly Archives: October 2017

Applesauce

I have substituted applesauce for both sugar and liquid in making muffins. I made the applesauce when I could get eating apples super cheap, cooked them down to a puree and bottled it in jam jars. When I made my muffins, I just tipped in a jar of the applesauce to substitute for both sugar […]

Butter substitute

I have substituted oil for butter in the bread I bake and there seems to be little to no difference in the resulting loaf. I substitute the oil at the same weight I have for the butter. – ie, 250 gram oil for 250 gram of butter. – Annette in Canterbury  

A replacement for butter

Margarine can replace butter in just about every recipe, which makes it cheaper. It can be used in recipes where the butter is melted or softened or creamed. I’ve used it in scones, biscuits, slices, cakes, muffins and everything, really. Oil can replace butter in recipes where the butter is melted, but it won’t work […]

Free money comes at a cost

We came across some interesting facts and figures about interest-free credit. Typically you see this type of credit advertised by appliance stores and furniture companies. As it happens about 12 percent of those who take out this type of free credit don’t pay it back at the end of the term, so we thought we […]

Butter or oil?

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

There were quite a few ways of making butter go further by adding water, milk, and even cornflour. These days, the simplest way is to combine warm water and butter in equal parts by putting the butter into a mixer on low speed and slowly adding warm water until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Store it […]

Frugal seedlings and bulky butter

Caron from the Waikato has a great gardening tip to share, “Last Spring I bought an unusual yellow heritage tomato plant at a Farmer’s market. It grew very well and produced the most wonderful large bright yellow, delicious fruit. I cut a thick slice from the last one, placed it on a paper towel and let […]

Growing heritage tomatoes

Caron from the Waikato writes, Last Spring I bought an unusual yellow heritage tomato plant at a Farmer’s market. It grew very well and produced the most wonderful large bright yellow, delicious fruit. I cut a thick slice from the last one, placed it on a paper towel and let it completely dry out on […]

No-cost family activity

An oily rag family from Northland has written to us about their no-cost family activity. Grandma and four kiddies packed a picnic lunch and had a great time at their local reserve. The kids each made a stick raft from dried flax flower stems, which they dropped off a bridge for a race down the […]

Coffee grinds

An oily ragger contacted us recently to share their excitement about a recent visit to their local McDonalds. It was there that they noticed a “free coffee grinds” sign. They came away with a couple of bags and some useful advice from the friendly McStaff. There are in fact many uses for coffee grounds: from […]