Read more Oily Rag articles by Frank and Muriel Newman
It seems the festive season is a time for oily raggers to put pen to paper and write about living off the smell of an oily rag. The mail bags have again been full and lots of new tips are being added to the oily rag website, which is now a huge collection of tips and titillations. Here are some of the latest for your use – not to mention amusement!
Pamflitt from Hawera has a novel savings scheme. “Savings first! I make it a rule to buy one Bonus Bond for $20 every time a regular payment of income arrives in my account. This builds up quickly and produces some income through prizes, some of which can be quite a decent amount. This can be done online and the amount deposited is always available if needed – with a bit of planning – but not as readily as a bank account so you tend to leave it there.”
Ann from Whakatane has lots of tips to share.
- Cauliflowers. Years ago I cut the cauli out and forgot to pull out the plant. Months later I discovered at least 6 had grown up from the original root, and in diminishing size, each produced a cauli! In due course, more grew from those roots, and 6 months later another crop of caulis. It is a fun thing! I suggest you dig deep and dig in peelings, compost fertiliser, in a sunny sheltered spot and plant one cauli. When the older ones die, I cut them out being careful not to disturb the roots, and from the same spot, every six months or so, lo! – six or so caulis!
- Make your own bread — the recipe is so simple and speedy. Use 2 packs of wholemeal flour, 3 sachets of dry yeast, salt, and add dried fruits, muesli, porridge, nuts, along with 3 litres of warm water. Put all the dry ingredients in a preserving pan, but break the yeast into a basin with 3 soup spoons of raw sugar and cover with warm water and leave to rise. While this is trebling in size, butter basins, pyrex dishes – at least six. Pour yeast into the dry ingredients and mix well with warm water. Pile into bowls (I use a soup ladle) and put in 100C oven to rise for half an hour. Cook at 180 degrees for up to an hour. Put in deep freeze — will last you several weeks as one slice only satisfies you till lunch!
- One very handy easily remembered recipe for a lovely shortbread: 3, 6, 9. I can only do ounces — 3 ounces of sugar, 6 ounces of butter and 9 ounces of flour! Make as usual.
And from Nana C of Christchurch, “I brought up six hungry kids and we didn't have much money to spare (my husband would give me about $30 a week for groceries – it was enough 40 years ago!). My brother-in-law was a butcher and we would get meat cheaply from him. I would get mince and chop up onions and saute them in the electric frypan then add mince and brown and season it. Add water and some frozen veges or fresh ones when the garden was plentiful and let it all simmer until cooked. I would then add a large tin of baked beans to build it up. The kids loved it and would look for more. My eldest daughter still makes it for her kids. It made the mince go a lot further and lots of fibre from the beans was good for them. Chilli beans are good too. I would also make a big bread wheel with flour, salt and baking powder, mixed together with water and milk, then rolled out and cooked on a griddle. There was never any left overs!”
K.O. from Mahia writes, “My house is always looking for mouthwash, and a cheap, easy way to make some is to simply put half a teaspoon of baking soda in with a small glass of water, gargle as normal. Also, for a set of sparkling pearly whites, brush teeth with toothpaste as normal, then brush again, this time baking soda sprinkled on your toothbrush. Over two weeks your teeth will whiten, and save you an expensive trip to the dentist!”
Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. If you have a favourite tip then share it with others via www.oilyrag.co.nz or post it to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.
* Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips on-line at www.oilyrag.co.nz. The book is available from bookstores and online at www.oilyrag.co.nz.