tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post5052891671225839318..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: Ladies a platekatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-37503169300072345812008-07-04T13:47:00.000+12:002008-07-04T13:47:00.000+12:00Tomato SoupKeep an eye out for tinned tomatoes & t...Tomato Soup<BR/><BR/>Keep an eye out for tinned tomatoes & tomato paste on special.<BR/><BR/>Puree tomatoes (or roughly chop, bring to boil and mash if you don't have a food processor)<BR/><BR/>Roast or sautee as much garlic and onions as you like, add to pureed tomatoes, add tomato paste - about 1 x 140g container to every 2 cans of tomatoes.<BR/><BR/>Add basil, thyme and oregano, salt & pepper to taste.<BR/><BR/>Simmer, taste & add more herbs if needed.<BR/><BR/>This is an vague recipe because quantities don't really matter, it always tastes slightly different each time I make it. I love onions and garlic so use lots, but use less if you'd prefer. <BR/><BR/>You can add carrots or other vegetables if you've got them to spare.<BR/><BR/>I have a large stock pot so use about 16 cans of tomatoes to make a pot full then bottle or freeze what can't be used in a week or so.<BR/><BR/>If you boil it until it's really thick you can use it as a sauce for pasta or pizza too.homepaddockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08596903968235369282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-79633336115899514022008-07-03T12:48:00.000+12:002008-07-03T12:48:00.000+12:00I find the Healthy Food Guide magazine (the same p...I find the Healthy Food Guide magazine (the same people who do the healthyfood.co.nz website Danielle mentioned) has heaps of v cheap recipes, and so far I've found most of the ones I've tried have been keepers. <BR/><BR/>Two other little money savers that I do are:<BR/>1. Buy treat packs of choc bars at the supermarket (if you get them on special you can often get 30 bite size bars for $6) and slip one (sometimes 2!) of these in my handbag when I go out. This way I don't splurge $2 on a choc bar when I'm at the shops. <BR/><BR/>2. Mix more expensive cereal like muesli with a cheap base like Homebrands Ricies-equivalent. This makes a box of muesli go a long way and if you pick a plain flavoured cheap base then it doesn't diminish the flavour much.<BR/><BR/>And finally (for now), on the issue of meat - many cultures just use meat as a garnish on food, and I find that shifting my thinking to this means we can make a normal serving of meat go a lot further than one meal.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08977150346842277994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-17050687652375567872008-07-02T18:10:00.000+12:002008-07-02T18:10:00.000+12:00If you haven't already got it I recommend Alison H...If you haven't already got it I recommend Alison Holst's Meals Without Meat. I basically taught myself to cook from it as a student. She consciously targets her recipes at people in New Zealand cooking on a budget- no weird, expensive ingredients and lots of down to earth, uncomplicated recipes for those days when you have silver beet and pumpkin to use up & not much else in the house.<BR/><BR/>I still make quite a lot of recipes from it and I found myself returning to it A LOT when we were on one income.<BR/><BR/>Nowadays on two incomes we haven't actually found our food bills have increased recently. I think this must be down to the fact we are vegetarian and increasingly are cooking a lot of vegan recipes and the current increases are mainly meat and dairy.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04797661728002935006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-35357854987181748802008-07-01T18:36:00.000+12:002008-07-01T18:36:00.000+12:00Danielle, I don't think any of that sounds nutty. ...Danielle, I don't think any of that sounds nutty. Part of the problem with some living on the cheap recipes/advice is that it takes a big capital outlay on stuff to do it. Murial Newman - social welfare spokesman for ACT (they called men and women alike spokesmen as a powerful blow against political correctness) - released these crazy books in the 90s, advising people how to live on the cheap. Hints included things like knit your own jerseys - but obviously, you need to spend $50 plus on wool, buy needles, etc in order to do that, so it doesn't help you economise. I would guess that WWII recipes would be designed for people who basically had no resources! They would possible require more skill than I have though - 2 minute noodles challenge me. <BR/><BR/>And I am a recent convert to beans too!Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06076244041878300351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-45603650967439622762008-07-01T13:56:00.000+12:002008-07-01T13:56:00.000+12:00Do you recall that when Julie set The Hand Mirror ...Do you recall that when Julie set The Hand Mirror up, she suggested these possible topics?<BR/><BR/><I>.....the justice system, body image, capitalism, reproductive politics, social welfare, and cleaning tips. </I><BR/><BR/>Perhaps the time has come for housekeeping tips....Deborahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182573274494086468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-9277166969672190672008-07-01T13:21:00.000+12:002008-07-01T13:21:00.000+12:00This may sound nutty - and, in fact, may not be pa...This may sound nutty - and, in fact, may not be particularly practical, given the time investment involved in flicking through things at the library - but old NZ Woman's Weeklies have really economical recipes in them. Particularly ones from the WWII rationing years. Of course, they tend to assume that you're at home all day and can spend hours stewing things... but there's also another more Web 2.0 way of economising, which is this site:<BR/><BR/>http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes<BR/><BR/>The dropdown boxes on the left there allow you to search recipes by ingredients and things like 'low cost', which I find very useful. <BR/><BR/>Also: beans. Beans, beans, beans. They are magically awesome foods. I mean, they might give you... issues (ahem), which is why I avoid red kidney beans at all cost, but I couldn't live without chickpeas and cannellini beans.<BR/><BR/>I can't help anyone with sewing and knitting, though. I'm utterly useless, unfortunately.Daniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03896817139131485525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-39392254886562649382008-07-01T13:04:00.000+12:002008-07-01T13:04:00.000+12:00Ask and yee shall receive. Although it has a long ...Ask and yee <A HREF="http://exexpat1.blogspot.com/2008/07/stefs-stew.html" REL="nofollow">shall receive.</A> Although it has a long cooking time, not that much prep is involved.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05680274679737065263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-7786328171380914572008-07-01T12:05:00.000+12:002008-07-01T12:05:00.000+12:00I've been thinking about this too Anna, thanks for...I've been thinking about this too Anna, thanks for writing about it. We are pretty comfortably off compared to most, but now that the paid parental leave has run out we are finding things tight. This week we are trying a financial challenge thingy that I read about in Little Treasures - the idea is that you get by on $21 for the whole week, if you can. Of course you can adjust the rules to suit your situation, so we have decided to do $42 ($21 each, so it is a competition to see who spends the least!) and exclude bills which may come in this week. <BR/><BR/>These econimising measures do tend to fall more on women than men, imho. We have a reputation for being irresponsible spenders, but in fact many many women, particularly once they are mothers, take responsibility for organising their household, including the finances.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08977150346842277994noreply@blogger.com