Feasting

The secret to feasting off the smell of an oily rag is to eat well but without high cost. Our calculations show that a family can feast off the smell of an oily rag for about half the cost, without compromising the pleasure and nutritional value of their meals.

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Ripe bananas which are great for muffins and banana loaf can be frozen in their skins (as is) and just defrosted prior to use. I microwave them for a minute before I use them. - M.H., Christchurch.

Try to take your own lunch to work, its a sure method of saving! - Stretch, New Plymouth.

Anyone who buys the dozen pack of eggs, just have a quick look at the price of the 1/2 dozen pack, as I always find you can save anywhere between 2cents and 20cents by buying two of the 1/2 dozen packs instead of one dozen pack. - M.M., Auckland.

Making your own baby food can save hundreds. There are a couple of ways of doing it. Easy but not the cheapest: buy tinned fruit and puree it, then freeze in icecube trays for use later. Cheapest but a bit more labor intensive: Boil your own veg and puree and freeze as above. You can just simply cook extra when you're making family meals and puree it and freeze. When it's frozen in ice cube trays you can simply pop them out in to a zip lock bag and use one or two at a time. Perfect for little baby sized portions. - Plingie, Christchurch.

Watch for "Use today" meat specials, often half the normal price, and freeze for future use. Towards the end of the week meat that is already on special becomes an especially good buy. - Jaycee, Kawerau

A great way to get fresh healthy meat is to go rabbit shooting, many farmers are more than happy to allow you to shoot on there property if you ask. Rabbit meat is very healthy with little or no fat, with the added bonus of knowing where your meats from and knowing its fresh. - Chris L., Napier.

I buy bulk onions when cheap and chop and freeze, saves time and money and wastage from onions sitting in the cupboard, also slice up mushrooms and freeze in a plastic bag, great for a quick spag' bowl meal. - D.N.,Tauranga.

The taste of milk powder is never quite the same as milk. But what you can do is do half and half - by a 2 litre - pour half into another 2 litre milk bottle. Mix up your powder as per recipe and then add. That way it tastes more 'milky' - you can freeze one of the 2 litres if you don't get through that much. Make sure you refrigerate the milk powder mix before using it - helps with taste. - T.A., Auckland.

KW from Auckland has a favourite potato recipe to share with others. You need 6 large potato, 1 pkt cream of chicken soup mix, 250 gr sour cream, 1/2 cup grated cheese, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup chopped spring onions, and Salt and Pepper to taste. Partly cook then grate potatoes. combine butter, soup, milk , sour cream, onions and grated cheese. Combine with seasonings and potatoes Pile into lightly greased pie dish, top with a thin layer of breadcrumbs and a little more grated cheese and bake for about 45 mins. at 180 degs.

Want to freeze cream without it becoming a watery mess once it's defrosted? The secret is to whip it before you freeze it. Defrost it naturally and you would never have known it was frozen. This method lets me buy brand name cream when it’s on sale, usually as it's reaching its use by date. I whip it up, portion it off into 100ml containers and throw it in the freezer. I no longer have to worry about buying a full container of cream, then trying to think of how to use it all up before it reaches its expiry date. No more waste! - Rebecca F, Brooklyn.

Learn to make a basic scone mix. Scones are so versatile you can add in whatever you like. Dried fruits, nuts, spices, onion, pineapple, bacon bits. Use your imagination. 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons margarine or butter. If using dried fruit I find covering with water and soaking the fruit in a 500ml container gives sufficient moisture to make the scones. Mix well by hand or use a mixer. The dough should become "plasticy" pliable and dry to the touch. Bake 12 min at 220°C Savoury or plain mixes can be dropped into stews to make dumplings. All scones mixes can be frozen. Gives a wide variety made simply and inexpensively. - Tex, Christchurch.

I make a date and banana loaf each week. 3 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup bran flakes. butter or margarine, 3 teaspoons baking powder, spices -Cassia, mixed spices or others. One overripe banana cut into pieces. I whirl the lot in my food processor and add sufficient water to make a very thick moist mixture. Place in a greased ovenproof dish, and bake for 2 hours in a slow oven. Add or remove ingredients like dates, bran, sultanas or what have you. Makes a large loaf which will last ages. Mine does a week for 2 of us. - Tex, Christchurch.

Simply Sausage. Cook cubed potatoes. Fry sausages and sliced onions. Drain off fat and cut sausages into 3. Make up pkt of Maggi Oxtail soup with 1 1/2 cups of water, add to pan with sausages, onions, potatoes and mixed frozen veges. Heat until frozen veges are cooked. Ingredients can be added to for more people. I love this recipe. - JayFKay, Manurewa.

Some fish shops and supermarkets sell salmon frames, the back bone left over after filleting. They are a fraction of the price of salmon steaks or fillets and can be a really good buy. If they are not on display, ask for them. Poach in a bowl over boiling water, remove all bones and mash the fish with finely chopped raw onion and garlic, a generous squirt of lemon juice, seasoning and, if you like, some hummus. Best left in the fidge overnight. This makes a fantastic dip or spread for toast. - Thirties Depression Baby, Auckland.

When I buy oranges, I always grate the skin and use it for adding to recipes (muesli, puddings, cakes, muffins etc). I freeze any grated zest I haven't used for a later date. - Heather, Owaka, South Otago

If you have a glut of herbs in your garden such as parsley, mint, basil etc, don't leave it to get past its best but pick, wash, dry and put all together in plastic bag in freezer. When frozen, it becomes crisp and easy to just crush up and store in freezer. and is all ready to put a handful in endless recipes such as omelettes, casseroles, sauces, muffins etc. - KEW, Auckland.

Easy peasy! Sausages, a rasher or two of bacon, capsicum (not red), onion, garlic if liked, tin of tomato, seasoning (herbs if liked), sprinkle of sugar. Brown sausages, add onion, garlic and bacon. Slice capsicum and add. Add chopped tomatoes and season. Sprinkle a little sugar and stir well. 45 minutes on the top of the cooker or about an hour in the oven - casserole temp. Serve with pasta, rice, mashed potato etc. Easy peasy. You can add other veg - the idea is to keep it colourful!

After buying tins of fruit for years, I have found glass jars of fruit in the supermarket. I pay a little more, but it's for more fruit and I get to use the jar afterwards. Now I have lots of empty jars I use for storage or for preserving. - K.A., Hamilton.

Sausages and Pineapple - Fry sausages and add drained pineapple pieces. To each cup of pineapple juice add 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, 2 teaspoons cornflour. Bring to boil and when thickened, pour over sausages and pineapple. - Margaret Read, Napier.

Sausages and Sweet and Sour Beetroot - Melt 1 tablespoon butter, add 1 tablespoon cornflour and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add liquid from one tin beetroot, stir till thickened, add beetroot. Pour over grilled sausages. - Margaret Read, Napier.

Use glass jars with pop-up button lids to preserve fruit. If you don't yourself buy jams, pasta sauces etc., ask friends and neighbours for the jars they might otherwise recycle. As long as lids and jars are undamaged they can be used again and again. Sterilize both jars and lids in boiling water, fill with piping hot stewed fruit, plum sauce etc. and screw on lids while hot. Once the lids have popped down you can literally keep these preserves for years. Old stick-on labels can be soaked and scraped off and residue glue removed with eucalyptus oil. - Thirties Depression Baby, Auckland.

When bananas get too ripe, simply put them in the freezer skins and all. They will go black on the outside, but if you unfreeze (lay in a bowl first) and snip off one end, you can squeeze the banana pulp out easily. Pulp is ideal for use in all banana cooking recipes. - D.R., Masterton.

No microwave and the oven uses too much energy so I reheat lasagna, quiche, pie, etc in the double boiler or steamer. For things such as quiche put lunch paper, foil or similar so it held in the top pot. Yummier as all moisture is retained. - Heather Reynolds, Omokoroa.

1 chicken or chicken pieces
1 cup of strained tea, from teapot

1 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 -2 tablespoons honey.

What to do with lots of bananas. Process peeled bananas which are not too ripe in the blender with very little soy milk until of ice cream consistency and store in small containers in the freezer. (Being allergic to dairy I have not tried using milk.) My home grown bananas, plentiful this season, are quite sweet, but you can of course add a little jam or fruit jelly or honey. This makes a great dessert, much cheaper and healthier than ice cream. - Thirties depression baby, Auckland.