Day 13 - Cat Cuddling and Couscous

Last night Chef Hubby and I went round to Ma and Pas for dinner. Mum asked me how my $30 a week limit on food spending was going. I confessed sheepishly to the overspend. (see me last post for details).

However!

 After intense discussion the Mater Familia (my Aunt and Mother) over-ruled...

"Cough medicine and codral shouldn't count" They declared.

"But why? I bought them at the supermarket!" I innocently countered.

"Well, next time buy them at the pharmacy and then it won't count as part of your supermarket spend." They cackled. And I was defeated. My spending on medicines wouldn't count as I previously had thought it would... who was I to argue with those powerful women?

But I knew I had still overspent some of the budget - on wine. I confessed this to Chef Hubby...

"That money we'll take it from your pocket money" He declared

"But..." I stuttered. It was useless. Who am I to argue with such logic? Corporations "write-off" stuff all the time!

So it turns out, due to some careful accounting, we haven't over spent at all! (Haha)

Tonight's dinner is grilled lamb chop, marinated in lemon juice and salt, coleslaw with homemade mayonnaise (a la' Chef Hubby) and couscous with fire-roasted capsicum, red onion and coriander too. And when I say 'fire-roasted' I literally mean we put them in the fire on a rack and charred them up! 

Today I did something cool. I took the girl I mentor and we went to the local SPCA and volunteered for the morning. We were given the tough job of "cat cuddling". Armed with a brush we patted, stroked, socialised and groomed over 30 cats. So much fun, and so rewarding and so lovely. An introduction to the idea of volunteerism for one eight year old achieved!

Days 9, 10 ,11 - 2 for the price of three

So the week has turned in on itself really and I've not posted for two days. But posting became second priority with work demanding attention and family staying at short notice. But tonight I am back at the helm and so I hope to catch you up.

The supermarket budget has gone out the window - $50 last night (cough medicine, throat lozenges and codral add up!) and the "bugger the budget I'm having a wine" $20 tonight we have far exceeded our $30 a week target spend. Oh well. And I guess this is the reality many families face... unexpecteds arrive and the good budget intent goes out the window. That's real life - not some bloody blog!

But back to the blog, Chef Hubby has been cooking up a storm this week. Not just for me but for the dog too. He's making homemade dog casserole as I write. Rice, pearl barley, pet mince, frozen veges and water. Boil til gloopy.We'll freeze it in woof sized portions for reheating later...

We had Japanese Okonomiyaki Pancake on Tuesday night, Simmered Chicken Drumsticks (in soy sauce, vinegar, sugar in equal parts and a bit of honey) on Wednesday night. I was so hungry I forgot to take a photo and just ate it all! Tonight we had, Creamy Pasta Carbonara with a kick of Chili.

Friday night, my night to cook, is tomorrow... any ideas?

Day 8 - Pits and Peaks

A co-worker and friend of mine has introduced me to this little ritual that I love. It's called "Pit and Peak". It's a real simple concept. We were having some drinks after work some time ago and she asked the group what our "pit and peak" of the day was? Pit being the low, and a peak being the high point of the day.

Now working in radio means I have a heightened love of aliteration so the catchy 'Pit and Peak' really appeals, but what got me most was that cathartic feeling of sharing your trials and tribulations of the day in a kind of controlled way - you are only allowed one pit after all.

I gave this particular co-worker a ride to her car today and on the way she asked me what my Pit and Peak was... but I have just remembered I didn't ask her for hers! That might be my Pit of the day.

Anyway I really recommend the "Pit and Peak" ritual - introduce it around the dinner table, ask your flatmates, colleagues. It's an excellent way to close the day.

Tonight's dinner was chicken curry. And now I am craving something sweet ... normally it's be a trip to supermarket to satisfy it. But given our new weekly budget constraints I was resigned to missing out. Luckily I have found some (slightly expired) Lindor chocolate in the pantry... talk about a a Peak!

DAY 7 - I Heart Sundays

I am having a love affair with Sundays. It's a new crush. It used to be all about the Saturday, but now Sunday has caught my eye.

Jobs are done and sleep-ins are allowed. Friends visit and afternoons can be spent in the park, or on the couch.

And Sunday evenings are the optimum evenings for a roast. Tonight it was Rolled Pork Roast, veges and gravy - seasoned with a sprinkle of Garam Marsala spice. And chocolate crepes with lemon curd and yoghurt for dessert.

Yep Sundays, and this Sunday, has been pretty good.

Day 6 - Pizza Saturday

So we went out last night. A lot of wine was consumed, and not much dinner. Felt seedy all day but we did manage to get to the supermarket. We spend $28.30, hard decisions were made but we came in under our weekly target budget of $30!

We splurged on olives and brie for the pizzas we made for dinner. Man, I am proud of these pizzas. Homemade pizza dough and sauce, thanks to Gordon Ramsay's "World Kitchen" book. I have to say that this is the best recipe book, the recipes are spot on and well tested.

Chef Hubby's tip is to put the grated cheese on first, just after the pizza sauce and then place other ingredients on top. That way the pizza looks more appetizing.

Toppings we scraped together from the pantry - tomato pizza sauce, mushrooms, olives, capers, roast chicken, cheese, and spinach.

The second pizza is garlic pizza sauce (roast a garlic bulb, squeeze out the soft garlic, mash with olive oil and finely chopped rosemary) cheese, anchovies, cranberries, brie, and some rocket thrown on top at the last minute.

Yummy! And made by hand. Perfect cure for our Friday night...

Day 4 - A little sausage never hurt nobody

That dreadful Baz Luhrman/ Great Gatsby song "A little party never hurt nobody" is on repeat in my head. Yet while I do appreciate this could be my theme song, at the moment it is on the radio so much it's verging on 'shove cotton buds up nostrils' annoying. Hence tonight's title. I've cleverly changed 'party' to 'sausage', as we had pasta with tomato-y sausage sauce for tea. And have indulged myself in a little innuendo...

I am feeling smug.

I am drinking Deutz bubbles tonight - a free bottle of wine as a sales reward! Hey, you know what they say... something about innuendo and bubbles and not hurting nobody...

Gah ---- out damn song! Out!

We will be making our first trip of the week to Supermarket soon, normally we would have been several times. But we are being thrifty. We have $30 for the week and we need onions, eggs and milk... and the weekend wine.

Wish us luck!

Day 3 - Katsudon - a winning dish

Chef Hubby is cooking tonight. Katsu don - you crumb chicken cutlet in panko, then deep fry. Then you make a sauce, which is japanese "dashi" stock and soy sauce, mirin and sake. You cook off some onion in the sauce, then add the cutlet back into the pan to get some of the flavour. Once the chicken is warm, pour a half beaten egg over everything, whack a lid on the frypan and cook the egg until softly set. Garnish with something green, Chef Hubby used sliced spring onion tonight. Slice the cutlet into bite sized strips and serve on rice.

So far, so good, we haven't spent any money on shopping. But, I'm a bit concerned about the level of milk we have left. The conundrum is any dollar spent on milk is a dollar not spent on wine. And as we only have a self-imposed budget of thirty of these dollars to spend on groceries each week, each dollar is especially precious.

Popular Japanese tradition has it that students should eat Katsu Don before an exam, as the word Katsu can also mean "to win" in Japanese. It's a homophone. That's a grammar lesson for free - though when I run out of milk I'll wish I charged you for it :)

 Here's another something I'll tell you for free - google Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and decide if you're down with what they're doing.

Day 2 - Sweet and Sour

Day 2 of the "love the food you're with" Thrifty July challenge as we try to not spend more than $30 per week on groceries this month. So far the supplies are holding up which means more money left over for WINE.

Sweet and Sour Pork today, from a packet that has been in the pantry for a long, long, long time. I was eagerly anticipating the satisfaction of "using it all up" however I opened the packet to discover TWO sachets of Sweet and Sour sauce mix in there... oh well, it's halfway all used up.

A combination of pork and shrimp for the meat and carrot, onion, red pepper, mushroom and garlic chives stirfryed off with this packet sauce. It calls for pineapple but alas no pineapple in the house. Normally I would have gone to the supermarket especially and got some, probably grabbing chocolate and wine as well, but not this time! We made do and this was more than acceptable by Chef Hubby as he is not a fan of cooked pineapple. So happy times all round.

Overall the flavour was great but the pork wasn't juicy and succulent. Any ideas? Do you normally coat the pork in cornflour, or is it a longer simmering time? The english instructions on the package were a little "lost in translation". (I've just asked Chef Hubby why and he says that normally you coat the meat in cornflour and deep-fry and that will make it juicier.)

So that's a tip for all of us I guess. Tomorrow Chef Hubby is cooking... Japanese "Katsudon".

Day 1 - Retro Glam - Wiener Schnitzel

Beef Schnitzel was the first freezer victim in Day 1 of our Thrifty July adventure. Wiener Schnitzel is something I haven't eaten for years however I remember it being a flash dish back in the day and I've tried to capture a little of that Retro Glam in the photo. 

Tonight for dinner I spiced it up. I rubbed a little Jerk seasoning on the meat, before stuffing with cheese and crumbing to make this Wiener Schnitzel. I seasoned the crumb with some turmeric too. To add to this kitsch in the kitchen we made a coleslaw salad and I sauteed some homegrown silverbeet and yams in a splash in vinegar. 

So how did it taste? Well it was quite spicy for me, whereas Chef Hubby didn't even know there was jerk seasoning in there! My tastebuds are so much more alive since I finally knocked smoking totally on the head...

There was homemade pumpkin soup for lunch. We made litres of it yesterday, and I managed to drop a chunk of it on the floor by accident, which was a bit dumb. I also squirted petrol on myself today when I was filling the car up. Waiting for what the third spillage will be? 

Here's Chef Hubby's tip for yummy pumpkin soup. Roast the whole pumpkin in the oven for about 1 hour until soft. The cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and scoop the soft pumpkin flesh into your pot and make as normal. We also added in a Bacon Hock too. 

So, what do you think of what we thriftily rustled up from our pantry?

Thrifty July... the next spark of madness project.

The fire is cranking, and there is a lovely aroma of baking bread, this is what Sunday evening in winter is meant to be. This morning I did something I've never done before. I did a stock take of our freezer and pantry. Have you ever got a handle on just how much "stock" you have on your shelves?

Hubby loves a good meat special. Loves it. And our freezer is full of meat, I know cos I counted it today. We have 10 kilos of meat that we are keeping cold, half of which is chicken. So let's say that on average we bought that meat at approx 9.99 a kilo, that's 100 meat-y dollars. Frozen assets you could say (!) We have a good amount of tins, veges and assorted Japanese items (I say items cos I'm never quite sure what the packets are). We also boast an insane amount of pasta and noodles.

We also spend a ridiculous amount on feeding and watering ourselves. $300 a week. After a small and informal poll on facebook last week it seems that this is a fairly normal amount... for your average 4 person family. But our household is just the two of us, and a wild corgi.

So, we are making a change this month. Instead of shopping for tea each night, we are going to fling open the pantry doors, and feed ourselves from that.  We have also set ourselves a weekly budget of $30 per week, and that'll save us over a grand, the cost of a weekend in Auckland we are planning this month.

Wish us luck, I'll blog our meals to show you the hopefully delicious, and probably odd meals being thrifty will bring you.