Great ideas are best shared – and the oily rag community is full of fantastic ideas to enjoy the good things in life, without breaking the bank.
Leading into summer, there are some excellent tips for treats, and some really sensible advice – read on!
LTB from Auckland has this great summer treat tip for yummy chocolate ice blocks. “To make chocolate ice blocks, that turn out exactly like the expensive store-bought ones, at a significant saving, first make some chocolate custard. Place 500ml milk in a saucepan (I use fresh whole milk, but you can use reconstituted powder milk for extra savings) and bring it to the boil. Then add a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cocoa, and a tablespoon of cornflour. Stir constantly until thickened, then cool. Second, pour the cooled chocolate custard into pre-moistened ice block moulds. Freeze for at least three hours. Cost to make one ice block (if using powdered milk): approx 6 cents. The cost to make one dozen is approx 80 cents. Savings: $27.60 per dozen (based on the price of a dozen chocolate ice blocks at the corner shop).”
M.N. says, “Fritters are a great way to use up left-overs. If making fritters with meat or fish, you will find a little goes a long way. Sweet corn fritters are also a yummy snack. Keep a can of corn in the pantry for unexpected visitors.”
Mibs from Masterton writes, “To keep cauliflower for ages, wrap in a paper towel then put in a plastic bag.”
Lorraine from Hamilton has this butter tip. “I only buy soft butter in winter. Otherwise I buy blocks of butter and slice off what I need for a few days and store at room temperature. 500g of butter costs $2.50-$3.00 compared to 500g soft butter on special at $4.00.”
She suggests home-made soft butter. “To make your own additive-free soft butter, mix together 50/50 room temperature butter and olive oil or other vegetable oil. For a firmer mix go 2/3rds butter to 1/3rd olive oil. Mix in food processor, a hand blender, or use kitchen utensil and elbow grease.”
Lorraine also recommends buying a Mac computer. “Apple recently stopped doing updates for the operating system my old Macbook came with, but they give you a free upgrade to their latest system. I’m barely computer literate but all I had to do was hit a download button and check for updates. I use the firewall it came with and have recently installed Avira free antivirus but they say that 90% of the time you don’t need antivirus with a Mac. I’ve never had a problem with malware etc and I use public wifi spots most of the time. It still has the original battery.”
Janice from Kawerau has this interesting tip for gardeners. “To water hanging baskets pierce a small hole at the base of a small drink bottle, fill up with water and hang over the plant. This gives slow release water drip by drip and as temperatures heat up watering is hastened by the expansion of air pushing water out faster.”
Two Minute Mum asked for help to clean a badly burnt pot. Roberta Leathern from Cape Town has this tip. “To clean a burnt pot, take one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda, place in pot and add boiling water to the top of the pot. Leave for an hour. See how easily the pot can be cleaned.”
Denise from Auckland needed help to stop cats fouling around the home and garden. C.A.S. from Featherston has a suggestion. “If you spray white vinegar with baking soda added to it, around the areas where they foul around the home, it will deter them plus remove their odour. Put moth balls in containers with holes in and place around the garden.”
Nakichick from Taranaki also has a tip for Dense. “A tip I was given by an elderly neighbour is to sprinkle used coffee grounds around the perimeter of the area they are fouling.” As it happens coffee grounds are also a good growing medium for mushrooms and can be used as an ant repellent in the home or garden.
Don’t forget to send us your tips and queries so we can share them with the oily rag community – you can do that by visiting the oily rag website (www.oilyrag.co.nz) or by writing to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.