OILY RAG
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Fishy recipes

A reader is asking the oily rag community for fish recipes. This summer they are going on a fishing holiday and are keen to try try lots of new fish recipes. If you have a favourite fish dish send in your comments and ideas >>>

Place mashed potato in bottom of shallow Pyrex and place hake or cod fillets on top of mash after dipping first into melted butter. Bake until fish is cooked about 12-15 minutes at 180C. Mix together - half cup of mayo., half a cup of grated cheese, 2 egg yolks, a teaspoon of dried mustard, and stir in the whisked egg whites. Place over cooked fish and bake until nicely browned in moderate oven. - Diana, Whakatane

Spicy fish. 3 minutes to prepare, 12 minutes to cook. Serves 2 people. Ingredients: 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, cumin, turmeric; 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (if you think this is too hot, use half the amount), 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil, 2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced, 250g fish fillet cut into 50mm pieces, 200ml canned coconut milk, and coriander leaves to garnish. Mix together the spices with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside. Heat oil in pan, put in garlic until lightly browned. Add fish and sauté for 2 minutes.  Stir in spices and cook for another minute.  Pour in coconut milk, cover and simmer for 3 minutes. - Diana, Whakatane

Raw fish salads are great.  Just dice pieces of fish, mix with chopped up red onion, red peppers, celery, tomatoes or whatever good ingredients you have and like, then pour a vinaigrette dressing over it. This salad is good left to marinate for a while, but can be scoffed as soon as it's mixed. - Raglob, Dunedin.

Share your oily rag tips?

Do you have a favourite money saving tip, a funny frugal yarn, or a comment about living on the cheap? How about sharing it with others. Click here >>>

Questions and answers

Can anybody help me clean the underside of my iron? It has black sticky residue on it which stains any clothes I might want to iron. I have tried baking soda, and ceramic cleaner (the iron is ceramic after all) but nothing will get it off as yet. – RJ, Auckland. Click here >>> to help our reader.

This is a tip that was given to me years ago and it really works. Use wet and dry sandpaper to clean the soleplate.  Use the sandpaper wet, then wipe off.  Take care not to get the steam holes gunked up with the resulting black goo and do a test iron on an old piece of cloth before you start ironing. – LM, Whangarei

A reader has asked about cooking offal. If you cook offal please share your recipes and tips with the oily rag community. Click here >>> to help our reader.

I only cook ox kidneys and liver and absolutely love them.  One kidney is generally enough for 2 of us but usually I buy 2, just so I have some left over for the following day. I just dice the kidney removing all the fat and dice up an onion with them.  Add 1 tsp salt and a good shaking of pepper for added flavour.  I cook this like I would a stew for about 30 -40 minutes on a slow heat then thicken with some cornflour and water.  Yes it smells but on goes the range hood and the lid on the pot reducing the smell. For liver, remove the sinew running through the centre and soak in milk for as long as needed. I cut the liver into pieces about the size of a small steak.  I usually prepare it in the morning ready for tea at night.  Remove from the milk and dry with a paper towel.  Dredge it with flour and put into a dish in the oven with a small knob of butter.  It can be fried if you like but we tend to love it oven baked with some bacon pieces and when cooked make a gravy and pour over it. We love having these dishes maybe twice a month. I only ever cook up ox kidney and dislike the smaller sheep kidneys immensely.  My father used to love the sheep kidneys halved and fat removed then fry them.  He always had a large pot of cabbage to eat with it.  As for my own family we don't ever fry food but the sheep kidneys have quite a different flavour and none of us like them at all. – Lynne, Dunedin.

Lambs fry (lamb liver), sheep kidneys, sheep hearts. Slice thinly, dip in flour and fry until cooked. Ox heart can be stuffed and roasted. – Robin, Palmerston North.

Chris from Tirau asks, “What can I do to make my washing smell nice without spending a fortune on conditioner.” Click here >>> to help Chris.  

A few drops of tea tree oil in your wash will make it smell fresh and lovely and have the added benefit of being antibacterial. - LAJ, Sydney.


Buy baking soda from Binn Inn and add to wash with laundry powder. You can also reduce the amount of laundry powder by about 1/5 as baking soda is also a cleaner. I use equal amount of baking soda and laundry powder. - Motel Owner, Whakatane.

When my son came back from flatting he asked me what washing powder I used to get my washing to smell nice. I discovered that he had been overloading the washing machine and drying the clothes in a poorly ventilated room so they ended up smelling musty. I do a cold water wash with unperfumed washing powder. I hang it to dry in the wind and sun or inside in the sun on an airer and if necessary put a fan heater going to speed up the drying time. I hope this is helpful to Chris. - Rosemary, Christchurch.

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READER COMMENTS: "I have read your 'Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag' book and think it is fantastic!… Thank you for such an inspiring book. I have told all my friends about it.” – Wayne. "Thank you  so much for a wonderful book. I hope my son and daughter get as much reward (financial and contentment - knowing that they have done it / made it themselves) from the book as we have. We are about to embark on the next adventure of our life - buying a little bit of land so we will soon be the family on the front of your book - free range chooks included! Can't wait to extend our veggie garden and plant fruit trees and save even more whilst having fun! Thank you - Tina"  "Your book is fantastic and now has a permanent place on the coffee table, where we can brush up on ORT's (Oily Rag Tips) whilst chilling on the sofa. Our enthusiasm for keeping our money in our pockets has been ignited and we look forward to many happy hours of ORA's (Oily Rag Adventures). Many thanks." - Sarah

Instead of growing leeks, plant spring onions instead! They will grow just as big as leeks, have the same taste and are more useful over a longer period. - TB, Blenheim.

My daughter loves to give her teacher a gift each year. Not costly, around $10. However, this year, she decided that she wanted to give a gift to 3 other teachers and also those who care for her after school. I realised this was going to be too costly so made a batch of Russian fudge, brought 6 cheap pretty glass containers from the warehouse, some ribbon and everyone got lovely ribbon wrapped Russian fudge for a gift! Definitely going to do it again this year as it's a very cost effective way to cater for all the teachers. - SG,  Wellington.

Here's a tasty tip to use with a tin of baked beans. You will need: 1 x capsicum diced, 1 x onion diced, 2-3 tablespoons jalapenos, a tin baked beans, and eggs. Fry capsicum and onion, add jalapenos (mine are from a jar), and baked beans - stir until hot, drop to a medium heat and crack eggs on top of the mixture - poaching the eggs on top of the baked beans - serve when eggs to your liking (I like mine semi-soft) - and enjoy Kids love this and have requested this several times lately. - Mum of 4 hungry kids, Christchurch.

Washing windows, get one piece of wet newspaper scrunched up into a loose ball and wipe all over the area of window, rubbing over dirt until it moves then wipe over with a piece of dry newspaper scrunched into a loose ball until the area is dry and clear of marks. - LS, Christchurch.

Here's a simple way to make hummus. All you need is 1 tin of chickpeas, 5 cloves of garlic, and the juice from 1 lemon. Whiz them together in blender, place on plate add a tablespoon of oil. And we are all set to spread! - Heza, Manurewa

Here is an easy way to use passionfruit to make tasty cookies. All you need is: 150g soft butter, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 1 egg, 1/3 cup passionfruit pulp, and 2 cups self-raising flour. Cream butter and sugar, add egg and beat well. Stir in passionfruit pulp, then flour. Roll into small balls, place on baking tray and flatten with a fork. Bake 15 mins at 180C. They can be iced using 2 cups icing sugar mixed with 35g butter and a few drops vanilla but they are yummy - and crunchy! -

Most the year round you can get away without peeling the potatoes - even a little trimming is okay. When the boiled potatoes are cooked, smash them the usual way. -  Faye, Auckland.

To make breakfast porridge more appetising whiz a can of fruit to juice and pour on muesli really tasty and makes a can of fruit go along way. I am going to try it in my porridge tomorrow. - D.B., Featherston.

I make my own postcards using a collage option (Picasa have one, as do most editing programmes). e.g. I did one using various shots of young grandsons whilst they were here on holiday - printed it at one of the stores for next to nothing... eh voila a personal postcard. Probably cost less than the stamp! - Diana, Whakatane.

When using rubber gloves I usually find that the glove I use most (being right-handed) is the one that rips or splits. Splitting one this morning while cleaning my oven and not wanting to take a trip to get more, I turned one of the many left gloves I was reluctant to throw away inside and found that it was quite acceptable for using, so now instead of having 12 useless gloves I have 6 pairs of gloves to carry on with. - M.E., Auckland

When my kids were little I sewed up flannels (facecloths) to make a square pocket with Velcro along the top side. All the small scraps of soap went in to these pockets the kids used these to wash. no more nagging about leaving the soap in the water etc. – Barb, Ashburton.

I make my own garlic/herb salt for a tiny fraction of shop bought. Simply add garlic granules and dried mixed herbs to a small shaker container (recycled of course) of iodised salt. Shake before using. No clogging of shaker like the shop bought one seems to do and the taste is determined by which herbs used. - Mary Stevenson, Tokoroa.  

Some time ago Dot asked oily rag readers where she could buy Pearson’s sand soap. (It’s a Kiwi icon which, if you are of our generation, you may remember using as a child). J Pearson, a relative of the inventor, has sent us this fabulous reply. “In answer to Dot- Pearson's sandsoap has not been available since about the 1950's when my great great grandfather's company went out of business after about 70 years of trading. I believe someone bought out the name and continued making soap but my understanding is that the last person who knew the secret recipe didn't divulge it! The soap was made using pumice sand found on my great great grandfather's property in Hamilton, the only remaining bars are those in museums around NZ and Australia.”

I absolutely love your book and I use it in combination with other frugal advice websites. The amount of information about frugal living available is astounding. I am a living example of living a frugal life style. I have 4 children and a husband who all have learnt how it works. Mu eldest son is saving for a house and has told me he would rather pay me rent or board than putting the money in a stranger's pocket. So he is able to save up for his own house while helping his family financially by paying board. What are families for? We are here to look after one another and build each other up. As a unit we are stronger than when we are scattered. By the way we love our vege garden and hot water solar heating system Our average power bill yearly is $140.00 for 6 people in the house! Well I could go on and on. - Anneke

Check out www.whatsmynumber.org.nz to see if you can get a cheaper deal on your power. Power companies constantly change their prices and you may find a cheaper company who won't lock you in to a contract. - Lucie, Wellington.

How fuel efficient is your car? Click here >>>

Calculate the energy cost of your household appliances. See Energywise >>> 

A reader has asked about loo paper... specifically if we use the "flat roll approach" mentioned on page 107 of Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Here is my reply: "Nowadays visitors are subject to a quota per visit system. Each visitor is provided with a toilet roll as they are greeted at the door and the number of squares on that roll inventoried. They are given a usage quota of 1/2 a square per hour of their stay (or part thereof). On their departure a stock take is done of the remaining squares on that visitors roll. Visitors can elect to become part of an emissions trading system (ETS) modelled on the internationally recognised  carbon trading approach, whereby a group of visitors (typically a family but not necessarily so) may trade their allocated quota. This we believe is a fair system as it accommodates individuality and diet. Those visitors who exceed their tissue allocation are required to provide suitable compensation in cash or bartered goods (at a rate determined by market pricing), while those under quota are provided a return invitation." Just kidding. Oily Rag Ed.  

The great NZ FLOUR Survey

The results are out! We asked the oily rag community where to buy the best value flour. This is what we found:

• The cheapest way to buy flour is in a 20kg bag. A reader from New Plymouth pays $15.60 for a 20 kg bag of high grade bakers flour; that’s 78 cents a kg. The next best price was 90 cents a kg for a 20kg bag bought at Gilmours in Tauranga.

• The only other place to buy flour for under a $1 a kg is in a 10kg bag purchased from New World in Oamaru.

• For those buying smaller bags, 5kg bags averaged around $1.40. There was very little difference in the supermarket prices, ranging between $1.35 and $1.43 a kg, with Pack N Save coming in with the lowest price.  Supermarkets offered better value than some of the bulk bin outlets. The average cost of a 1.5kg bag was $1.55.

• One word of caution, bulk is not always the best buy and there is quite a big price difference depending on the retailer. We found one bulk outlet that promotes the economies of bulk buying, had higher prices.

• Our pick? We reckon you can’t go to far wrong buying a 2.5kg bag of plain Campion flour from Pak N Save. It costs just over a $1 a kg and offers good value and a convenient size for most oily rag kitchens.  

Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey. 

What can you do with a can of baked beans

 We want to know what you can do with a can of baked beans. send in your tips and suggestions.  Click here >>> For reader tips click here >>>

I am 76 years of age so was brought up in the days of "waste not want not". It amazes me sometimes when I see waste especially electricity eg: lights being left on, food being thrown out when it could be used the next day, vegetable scraps going down the thing  in the waste disposal unit, huge pieces of land covered in lawn or weeds instead of it being a vegetable garden etc." - Maureen.

We are looking for New Zealand's biggest pumpkin. Click here >>> Check out the latest newsletter from Sam at GiantPumpkins.co.nz. Here's the link >>>

Media play catch-up on milk pricing

TV3’s Campbell Live have discovered what oily raggers have known for quite some time. Read more >>>

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Frank & Muriel Newman on Breakfast TV 
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Living the real simple life  
(ABC Nightline)

A New Zealander and his family live on a fifth of an acre section in the Los Angeles community of Pasadena. To view the video click here >>> 

Links of interest

Down to Earth blog. Australian site, very interesting stories and tips. Go to >>>

The Oily Rag Club

Join the hundreds (thousands!) of people who are already members of the Oily Rag Club. It's fun, it costs nothing, and we will email you when a real pearler of a tip is sent to us. Be part of the oily rag community! Click >>> for more.

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(as at ) - and growing by the day!

The price of milk

Oily Rag News Headlines

Adrian pays between $30 & $60 a month for power

Frugality finds a home in the US...

Wedding cost take the cake (NZ Herald)...

 Tightening budgets and soaring meat prices are fuelling a revival in the cheaper, old-fashioned cuts that granny used to cook.

Don't know how to boil and egg? You are not alone.

Heat pumps blamed for power bill rise (NZH) ...

 See stories click >>>

Oily Rag Club Newsletters

Oily Rag Questions

Do you have any oily rag questions you would like to ask the Oily Rag Research Department? They have their clip-boards in hand, pencils at the ready... to ask a question click here >>>

Oh boy...what have I done now?
When we first wrote How to Live off the Smell of an Oily Rag in 1991, we didn't realise what we were getting ourselves into! Since then the Oily Rag tips have been published as a syndicated column in 30 or so community newspapers in New Zealand and as far afield as Norfolk Island. We have received thousands of letters from those eager to share their favourite penny pinching tips. It would be a shame not to share these gems and what better way to do so than through the web. So here goes...   

The oily Rag 
Stampede 

New Zealander's are joining the oily rag movement in their droves! Lots of kiwi's are becoming disenchanted with the rat race. Millions of New Zealanders (OK, that may be an exaggeration!) are realising they don't have to sell their soul for the sake of a few extra dollars when they can save heaps around the home and have a better quality of life by living off the smell of an oily rag. 

Why live off the smell of an oily rag?

There are lots of very good reasons why so many people are living off the smell of an oily rag. To view or add your own reasons click >>>