Look at that loaf. It looks like it came from some expensive artisan bakery but instead, it came from my humble oven. It was made with flour, water, yeast and salt and I didn’t even have to knead it. It tasted sublime, exceptionally crusty with a creamy crumb and rich earthiness. It was something I would have once paid a good five euro to buy, but now I can bake it every day with virtually no effort and only using the most basic of ingredients.
The technique here is the one taught in ARTISAN BREAD IN 5 MINUTES A DAY: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
The book advocates a simple master recipe that requires about ten minutes of initial mixing. The recipe consists of nothing more than flour, water, yeast and salt. It is mixed and stored in the same container reducing work and it’s kept in the fridge for use as needed. Once the dough is made it’s just a matter of pinching some off a pound at a time, quickly shaping it and allowing it to rest while the oven pre-heats. There’s absolutely no kneading involved and the resulting product is simply sublime.
What’s more is that the authors don’t advocate using fancy bread or organic flours. Standard plain flour is more than acceptable. Personally I used Aldi flour (which is really Odlums, but don’t tell anyone I told you! 
) and it turned out perfectly. Because I bake so frequently, I tend to buy my yeast in bulk, but for the sake of testing I used the generic sachets one can buy at the supermarket. This bread was on par with anything I have made with a starter that has taken me literally weeks of work. I simply can’t get over it.
The book itself is a like a bible for yeast baking. This master recipe can be adjusted and adapted to make a myriad of delectable eats. From brioche to rye to pitta to cinnamon buns, it has it all. For the geeks among us, there’s a scientific background to bread baking which explains the theory behind why this method works.
There is absolutely no excuse for store bought bread in this house anymore. This morning I was up at seven, the bread was out of the oven by 8:10. It didn’t interfere with my morning at all and the entire loaf was gone by lunch.
This book will pay for itself with one batch of dough, I cannot recommend it enough. It has revolutionised this household and I hope it will make a difference for you too. The website is an excellent resource in addition to the book, providing more recipes, commentary and even instructional videos. The book itself though, is something I know I will pull out any time I need a special bread. For anyone looking to save money through cooking and baking at home, this truly is a must-buy. Further incentive can be achieved by reading the ingredients on any packet of supermarket bread. I’ll stick to four ingredients I know thank you very much. Best investment I’ve made in a long time.
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Tags: Baking, Bread, Cooking, Dough, Flour, Home, Reviews, Sourdough, Yeast
I was at the local bookshop spending some Shop and Scan vouchers the other day when this book, The Thrift Book by India Knight caught my eye. I had a bit left with the vouchers so decided to pick it up.
I am a fan of India Knight and regularly enjoy her columns, so I expected a well researched, artfully written read. I was very disappointed.
The book is chaptered into the various areas you can save money including food, beauty, crafts, holidays and home.
Obviously I honed in on the food chapter. I found it contradictory and flippant. In one sentence she recommends Lidl but in another says Marks and Spencer is where it’s at because of their sustainable policies. It’s the type of thing written by someone who has never had to worry about money and gets a cheap thrill out of thinking she’s saving a bob or two shopping where the plebs go.
If you’re a SATC stereotyped city girl then maybe this book will be a good read for you, but for normal people who actually have to work hard to spend a penny, it will come across as patronising and insulting.
In terms of content I can’t help but get the impression that the book is just a big compilation of google searches. There’s really nothing in here that isn’t common sense or can be found with a quick internet search.
Having said all that, it is well written in Ms. Knight’s normal quirky style. You’ll get a chuckle and be able to read it quickly and enjoy it at the same time, but I wouldn’t recommend actually paying for it! Save your money and surf some frugal blogs, you’ll learn more and pay nothing!
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Few people know that when I was at university in the States, I worked as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant. American Chinese food and Irish Chinese food are two different beasts and to be honest it makes me wonder what Chinese food really is like when regional Chinese restaurant menus are dumbed down for the local palate. In any case, both have their perks and below follow two of my favourite recipes from the place I worked. Both are simple and cheap to make.
The soup is delicious and healthy and can be whipped up in five minutes but does need to be eaten immediately. The crab rangoon (crabmeat cheese wontons) are sublime and a perfect appetiser or late night snack, as seen here, hence the use of flash and general horrible picture. Wonton skins can be picked up in some posh supermarkets or any Asian one. Don’t pay more than two euro for a pack of 100. They keep well in the freezer until needed and can be used for any kind of steamed or fried dumpling or gyoza. A must have in my freezer!
China Palace Egg Drop Soup
(serves 1)
- 2 cups / 475ml chicken stock
- 100g tofu
- 1 large scallion
- 1 egg, beaten
- small handful frozen peas
- dash white pepper
- soy sauce
Slice scallion thinly, separating white and green parts. Cube tofu into tiny cubes.
Bring stock to a low simmer and add peas, white pepper, a splash of soy sauce and white parts of scallion. When peas are warmed through, turn up heat to medium-high and stir with a spoon to form a whirlpool in the middle. Tip the beaten egg into this whirlpool and stop stirring. Remove from heat.
Season with more soy sauce and top with green parts of scallion. Serve immediately.
Crab Rangoon
(makes 30 wontons)
- 1 8oz pkg cream cheese (the one in the foil)
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 small tin crab
- 2 scallions, finely minced
- 1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
- pinch salt and white pepper
- Wonton skins, 30
- vegetable/peanut oil for frying
- Sweet and sour or sweet chilli sauce for dipping
Mix the first seven ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Take a small teaspoonful of the mixture and place in the centre of a wonton skin. Fold over the skin in the shape of a triangle and seal the edges with water. Repeat with remaining skins.
Heat oil to 190C/375F in a large pot. Make sure it has a depth of at least 2 inches.
Fry the wontons in batches until golden brown. You may need to turn them in the oil, depending on the depth. Don’t fry more than 4 at a time lest the oil get too cold and the wontons absorb too much of it.
Serve hot with sweet and sour sauce.
Enjoy! 
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Tags: China Palace, Chinese cuisine, Chinese food, crab, Crab Rangoon, Egg Drop soup, Midland, soup, Soy sauce, Wonton
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Here’s a few links and articles I’ve found interesting over the last few days. Enjoy!
A cheap and easy casserole recipe for whatever ingredients you have on hand and some thoughts thereon.
44 Ways to Ruin Your Financial Life by Age 30 – Frugal Dad writes an excellent piece on what not to do in your early days on independence. Wish I’d seen this 10 years ago!
Fancy a free family day out? Then check out this great competition from Puddleducks!
Bonkers.ie is another price comparison site for insurance, broadband etc etc. They might help you compare prices and find a good deal.
The Irish Times has a family holiday up for grabs in this nice competition.
This is a great idea, printable allergy and medical travel cards in different languages. Could come in handy when in foreign countries!
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Tags: Casserole, Irish Times, links, Price comparison service
As with cutting your grocery budget, there are some easy tricks to cutting down on household spending as well. Hopefully these simple tips might help you cut down this area of your budget as well.
1. Use half the recommended washing powder. The recommended dose is only recommended so you’ll have to buy more sooner! Cutting it down to half makes your washing powder last twice as long and does just as good a job.
2. Brighten whites with baking (bicarbonate of) soda. A half cup of baking soda will brighten your whites as much as any specialty solution for a fraction of he cost. Just toss it in with your washing powder and you’re good to go.
3. Skip the dryer. Hang your clothes outside to dry if possible. Not only will you cut down on electricity costs, but you’ll get that lovely spring fresh feeling. If you have allergies in your house, you can still do this, but give the clothes 3-4 minutes in the dryer once you take them inside, to get rid of any pollen.
4. Buy all-purpose cleaners. Instead of buying a different cleaner for each job, buy an all-purpose one, preferably at Aldi or Lidl and you’ll save big time. If you have access to a wholesaler and can buy a concentrated all purpose cleaner, that’s even better and will save you substantially.
5. Embrace the power of vinegar. Vinegar works wonders around the house. Clean your windows with a solution of vinegar and water. Use old newspaper to buff them. Pour baking soda down your drains and follow with vinegar and a kettle of boiling water to give them a wonderful freshen-up. Add 2 oz to your wash instead of fabric softener and you’ll get beautiful fluffy towels. Vinegar is known to have both astringent and anti-bacterial properties. Google it for a myriad of ways to use it around the house!
6. Polish furniture with olive oil and lemon. Mix 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts olive oil and use it to polish wood. You’ll need to buff afterwards, but you’ll get a wonderful sheen and scent for much less than you’d pay for a bottle of chemicals… I mean polish.
7. Stop using disposable products. Use rags and cloths instead of kitchen roll. A run in the washing machine at a high temperature will fully disinfect them. Microfibre cloths are great for dusting and can be washed. You might also want to investigate the advantages of cloth nappies if you have children in nappies.
8. Make your dishwasher more efficient. Rinse dishes before they go into the dishwasher and use the quick cycle. This will save you on detergent and electricity. As with the washing machine, if you rinse dishes before-hand, you can use half the amount of detergent. Vinegar also works quite well here as rinse-aid.
9. Recycle to make cleaning products. Old socks make great shoe polishers, old towels can be cut up and used as cleaning rags, old sheets make great drop cloths when painting and old toothbrushes are great for scrubbing small spaces or around the taps on sinks.
10. Make your own cleaners and detergents. I generally use baking soda and vinegar around the house for simple jobs and stick to store brand cleaners for everything else, but that’s mainly because I’m not sure where to find some of the ingredients to make my own products in Ireland. Borax and castile soap are required for a lot of the recipes out there and I’ve yet to come across them here. If they are available to you, home made cleaners cost about a tenth of the store bought variety and are just as effective with0ut all the chemicals. You can find some recipes here or here.
What are your cleaning tips? Do you use your own recipes to clean?
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- Old Fashioned Cleaning Tips Using Everyday Ingredients (natural-products.suite101.com)
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Tags: baking soda, budget, cleaning, home made cleaners, household, housekeeping, laundry, vinegar, washing
This week’s menu is based mostly on what I have in the freezer. With a birthday party this past Saturday, things are especially tight this month, so trying to keep costs at an all time low. This menu will require me to just purchase a few bits of dairy as I will bake my own bread and I have fresh herbs in the garden.
Monday: Swedish Meatballs (without the veal & doubled up to freeze extra meatballs)
Tuesday: Chinese Chicken Legs with fried rice
Wednesday: Salisbury Steak with garlic mash
Thursday: Bean and Tortilla Pie
Friday: Pork Tenderloin with Fruity Rice Pilaff
Saturday: Fruity Chicken Curry
Sunday: Pizza
What are you cooking this week? Don’t forget, for more tasty menus check out Orgjunkie later today.
Tags: Menu Planning, Weekly Menu
- Image via Wikipedia
- Image via Wikipedia
In Ireland, when we think of beans, we generally think of the type that come in red sauce in a can. Growing up in the US, my brother went nuts without his Heinz beans. Anyone coming over would have to bring him some and when a local gourmet shop started stocking them, he’d happily pay over $5 for a can. I could never see the fuss as I always hated beans… or so I thought.
In the last few years I’ve been experimenting with dried beans. I’m still not a fan of white or cannellini beans, something about them just grosses me out, but black, red, kidney and pinto beans are a joy to cook with. The best part though, is the price. They are so cheap! A pound of dried beans retails for anywhere between one and two euro. When reconstituted, that makes for a lot of beans. They are also an excellent meat substitute, being full of protein themselves. I aim to serve one bean/pulse meal a week to cut down on costs.
The following recipe has a tex-mex flare again and I was a little worried what the kids would , but they absolutely devoured it. I was pleasantly surprised myself to be honest and himself keeps asking me to make it again. High praise indeed. Leftovers make for a simple lunch when sliced cold. This would easily feed 6-8 people, so smaller households may wish to halve the recipe or freeze half. Enjoy!
Bean and Tortilla Pie
Ingredients:
- 4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, grated
- 3 sticks celery, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sugar
- coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1lb dry black or kidney beans, cooked per package directions
- 12 fl oz vegetable stock
- 1 can corn
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
- 8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese
- sour cream, guacamole and salsa, for serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, jalapeno, garlic, sugar and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5-7 minutes.
Add beans and stock to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Fit a trimmed tortilla in the bottom of the springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and sprinkle evenly with some of the cheese. Repeat three times, using all of the remaining cheese on the top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes. Remove sides of pan; garnish with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges and serve with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.
Bon appetite! Do you have any great bean ideas?
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Just a few wee websites that caught my eye this week that may or may not be of interest to those of you trying to save a few bob.
Clothesline is an interesting concept for buying used, but excellent condition children’s clothes. You send them old clothes, they give you half the value of said clothes in credit to purchase new clothes. It’s a great idea, the only thing I don’t like is the catch that the credit can only be used for up to 50% of your shop. They’re already making a profit off the clothes you send them, so it doesn’t seem fair that you shouldn’t be allowed to use the credit in full.
Promozebra is a new site for Dublin based deals. It’s got some translation issues, I assume the mother company is German, but there is the potential to find some good deals around town.
Prudence Magazine is a new Irish magazine aimed towards the savvy shopper. Both the printed version and the online blogs and articles are great. You can also get a good deal to subscribe for a mere ten euro on Pigsback.com.
Smartshopper.ie is a website that will compile the weekly grocery deals for you for a yearly fee of €11.99. If you’re short on time, this might be a good option, although all that information is freely available if you have the time and impetus to do it yourself.
Sell My Wedding Dress is an Irish site that let’s you sell your wedding dress online (for a listing fee of €25) or buy a used dress. I think this is such a fantastic idea, as mine is still hanging in my wardrobe. Thrifty even then, I designed and had mine made to save hundreds as I just cannot fathom paying obscene amounts for one day.
Hope some of these might help you! Any other sites I should be aware of?
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Ground beef is one of the cheapest forms of protein for us carnivores. It’s virtually always on sale at butchers, supermarkets or even farmer’s markets. Unless it’s organic, I would never pay more than €3.00 per lb and usually pay substantially less when all is said and done.
In order to keep costs down, we generally have ground beef at least twice a week, which is extremely frustrating for me, as I can’t stand Spaghetti Bolognaise or Shepherd’s Pie and all the other boring bog standard things we make with it.
I am always looking for more exciting preparations and based on some bulletin board discussion, it seems I am not alone. I have decided I will do a weekly post with a ground beef recipe that is a little more interesting than the old standards. Hopefully this might inspire some of you and by all means, please make suggestions of recipes to try and feature here.
Today we will start with tacos. Tex-Mex food is hard to find in Ireland, those Old El Paso kits are terrible, but for someone who’s never tried the real deal, I suppose they’d do. Taco’s are ridiculously easy to make from scratch and kids absolutely love them because they can fill them with things they like and there’s the whole novelty of making their own. You can use hard or soft tortillas (pronounced tor-TEE-ahs, say it with me!) but we find soft is easier for the kids.
The accompaniments are what make it a fun feast. I make my own salsa and guacamole, because it tastes superior to anything you would buy and it adds much more crunch and flavour to the finished tacos. I also make Mexican rice which can be served alongside or inside the tacos. I’ve included recipes for everything below. The sauce itself is ridiculously easy and can be whipped up in 10 minutes. The kids will not notice the chillies and olives once you get the tomato paste in there. It really flavours the sauce and you chop them fine enough that you can’t taste them individually. The jar chillies are quite mild in comparison to fresh ones, but if you like heat, by all means use a fresh jalapeno. If you’re tight on time, skip the additional recipes and serve with store bough salsa.
Beef Tacos
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- handful jarred chillies, finely diced
- handful black olives, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 6 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup beef stock (bouillon cube is fine)
- handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onions in a large pan or wok until softened. Add beef and saute until browned. Add chillies, olives and seasoning and continue to cook until the beef is done.
Add in the tomato paste and stock and allow to simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes until sauce is thickened. Season to taste.
Before serving, stir in the coriander.
Pico De Gallo / Salsa
- Four large ripe vine tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, finely diced (seeded and veined, if less heat is required.)
- large handful coriander, roughly chopped
- juice of a lime
- salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together. If you prefer a smoother salsa, use a food processor. This will keep in the fridge for a week.
Guacamole
- 2 avocados, cubed
- 1/2 cup of salsa (see above)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- juice of a lime
- salt and pepper to taste
Again, mix all ingredients together. If you like a puree, use a food processor. To make the guacamole last longer and retain it’s green colour, add a tablespoon of sour cream.
Mexican Rice
- large knob butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 tomato, finely diced
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups hot chicken stock (or water with a bouillon cube)
Saute onion in the butter until soft. Add the tomato, cumin, garlic and rice. Stir until fragrant and the rice is coated in the butter, a few seconds. Pour in the stock and turn heat to lowest setting.
Cover and let cook, undisturbed for 15 minutes. The water should be absorbed and the rice fully cooked. Depending on your stove, it may need a minute or two longer. Fluff with a fork before serving.
To Assemble
- Taco Filling
- Tortillas
- Salsa
- Guacamole
- Sour Cream
- Shredded lettuce
- Shredded cheese
- Rice (optional)
- Refried beans (optional)
Grab a tortilla and fill with your favourite fillings.
I’ll have some more “mince-spiration” next week. Feel free to post recipe suggestions in the comments! Buen appetito!
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Tags: beef, Beef mince, cheap eats, Chili pepper, Cooking, Coriander, ground beef, mexican, mince, Onion, Recipes, Sour cream, tacos, Tomato
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I’ll admit it. I hate leftovers. Nothing is more depressing than a big cold plate of what you ate yesterday. There is very little that I would want to eat again the next day. However, in this day and age, waste is not an option so I have had to find ways to make leftovers more interesting or indeed, a whole new meal. I’ll be posting some ideas and recipes periodically and as always, I’d love to hear your ideas!
Below are the remains from a Sunday roast. I made roast beef with all the trimmings and had a fair amount of beef and mashed potatoes leftover. Mashed potatoes are easy as they can be turned into boxty or potato cakes or even to top a shepherd’s or fish pie the next day. The beef is a little trickier as the cut will dictate what you can do with it.
Potato Pancakes
This is a rough recipe, it will generally vary depending on the quantity of mashed potato you have left. I always use one egg, but if I have a lot of mash, I’ll bump it up to two. I generally add flour until it’s a thick paste, similar to scone dough.
- 1lb Mashed Potatoes
- 200g flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 bunch scallions or chives, diced
- oil and butter for frying.
Mix together potatoes, egg, flour and scallions until thoroughly combined.
Shape into small patties.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and add a teaspoon or so of butter (to get that buttery flavour and golden brown colour.) When butter begins to sizzle put the patties in the oil. Keep the heat medium so as not to scorch. Cook until golden brown and then flip. Do in batches, as over-crowding the pan will cause them to get soggy.
You can keep them warm in the oven while you finish the rest. Serve hot with sour cream and apple sauce or whatever toppings you like.
Borscht
Borscht is a Russian stew known for it’s distinctive pink colouring derived from beetroot. There are as many varieties of it as there are Russian cooks and this is one I found and adapted a long time ago that we all love. The kids get a kick out of ”pink soup” and I love that they are getting a wonderfully healthy fibre-packed lunch. It’s borderline sweet, but the lemon takes the edge off. If you like beetroot, you will love this. This also works perfectly in a slow cooker, just adjust the times accordingly.
- Leftover roast beef, cubed
- 2L beef stock
- 4 large beetroot, tops removed
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 can tomatoes or 4 fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Juice of a lemon
- Sour cream or creme fraiche and chives to serve
Bring the stock to a simmer and add in the whole beetroot* (with skin on) beef, carrots, onion and tomatoes. Simmer for approximately 2 hours.
Remove the beetroot and allow to cool whilst keeping broth at a simmer. The skin should just rub off. Remove skin and coarsely grate the roots back into the soup.
Stir in lemon juice and sugar before serving. Serve in bowls topped with sour cream and chives.
* You can use cooked vacuum packed beetroot for this, in which case leave out this step and grate it in later. You won’t get the lovely rich pink colour that you would with fresh beetroot though, it tends to fade with cooking. The taste is almost as good.
Adapted from this recipe.
What are some of your tricks to make leftovers more interesting? Do you hate leftovers too?
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- XWR3UD24M73G
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Tags: beef, beetroot, beets, borscht, leftover beef, leftover mashed potato, leftover recipes, Leftovers, potato pancakes, potatoes, Recipes
