If this sounds like your fridge/freezer/pantry, then you are not alone! Until very recently mine was exactly the same. Every week I would be chucking the old, dead stuff to make room for the fresh goodies I’d just purchased. Money in the bin every week, what a waste! And so, my next project is to change my habits, reduce the waste and become a “user” rather than a “chucker”.
Start by going through your fridge/ freezer/ pantry, work out what is salvageable and chuck the rest. That way you have a clean slate to work with .Those dead vegies will make great compost, and any that have sprouted can go straight into the garden! The crusts and half loaves of bread? Whizz them through the food processor and make breadcrumbs. Or, with summer coming, turn them into croutons for all those salads that will soon be on the menu. The half packets of pasta? Use them! Pasta bake, pasta salad, minestrone soup, who says you have to use the same shape shells for the whole meal? Or, if you have littlies in your house, pasta is great to play with. Dye the shells different colours and use them to make jewellery, sculptures, decorate boxes and picture frames, make pictures, or, like we did, have some fun with playdoh!
The next step is to build a workable shopping list. Go through what’s left in your pantry and fridge and start planning your meals according to what’s there. Canned goods will last for a long time, but not forever, so remember this. If you have an overubandance of vegetables or fruit, don’t let it sit until it has to be chucked. Fruit can be bottled and preserved, or even dried! If this seems too hard or time consuming, make up some fruit muffins and cakes and freeze them. Fruit can also be juiced and the juice frozen into yummy icy poles that littlies will love. Vegies can be peeled and sliced and then frozen for future use, or turned into soups, stews and casseroles.
This week I had an overabundance of oranges. Last weekend, Hubby, Little Lady and I went to a Framers Market in Tourquay. I LOVE farmers markets! They sell fresh produce (and I mean fresh!) at very reasonable prices. Among other things, I bought a huge bag of oranges for $3. Now I love oranges, but Hubby and Little Lady don’t share my affection for them. So, it became quite obvious this week that at least half of these beautiful fruit would be inedible before I could get through them all. Of course my new frugal lifestyle doesn’t allow for waste, so I made orange muffins and froze them for Hubby’s lunches, and a delicious orange birthday cake for my Dad who turned 53 on Friday. This was the most amazing cake, for such a simple recipe! And, as all good frugal recipes should be, there were no exotic ingredients that required special trips to the supermarket. I’ve also saved all the orange peels to make citrus bathroom cleaner. Details on that will come later!
So, today’s little piece of free advice? Be a “user” not a “chucker”!
125g butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup orange juice
2 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups sifted SR flour
1 tbsp orange zest
Icing:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar
2 tbsp orange juice (add more or less as desired)
1 tsp orange zest
Method:
Combine all cake ingredients and beat thoroughly for 3 mins
Pour mixture into a greased 20x10cm loaf tin or 20cm ring tin
Bake in centre of 180 degree oven for 30-40 mins
Turn onto wire rack and allow to cool
Combine all icing ingredients and beat until it reaches a suitable consistency
Spread onto cooled cake
*I split my cake mixture into two sandwich tins and baked for about 25 mins. I then sandwiched it with cream. YUM!
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