A Tray of Bliss

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Nannas Recipes in 4 Sentences...Mums Bombay Curry

Mums Bombay Curry...To whatever meat is inexpensive on the bone at the time, add a cup of relish, a couple of tablespoonfuls of onion confit (onion jam), and a half a cup of water, then cook in the slow cooker till tender. Thicken the juices with 3 dessertspoons of cornflour, mixed with a bit more water. Add a generous teaspoon of Indian curry powder, and garnish with slivers of carrot cut lengthwise, and stood up to look like flowers. Serve with rice.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Motherly Advice...Include fun food in the budget and save big $$$...

One big fast food corporation currently has a Meal Deal.

You may have seen the (very stupid) ads.

For $5.95, you get a cheeseburger, a small soft drink, a small fries, and an ice cream sundae.

Wow, sounds great doesn't it, and $6 is nothing.

Well, $6 each, so we're kidding ourselves right there.

So let's say you have to buy at least 3 because you have 3 children, or one for you, your partner and your child. That's not $5.95, it's $17.85, hardly anyone buys one meal deal.

For a little more than $17.85 at Aldi (or replace generic brands at any supermarket) you'll get:

500gms extra lean mince $5.99

Hamburger rolls $2.99

Cheese slices $5.99

1.25 litre lemonade .99c

2 litre premium ice cream $4.99

Chocolate wafers $1.49

Frozen French fries $3.99

That's a total of $26.43.

Now most of us on a budget would hesitate to add this to a tiny grocery bill.

But consider this:

We WILL all wilt and do this from time to time..no crime there.

But add in the petrol that you'd use just driving to the fast food outlet, and sitting in the drive-thru queue with your engine running, waiting to be served, let's say $5.

Add in the fact that someone will want to upsize their meal or get M & Ms in their sundae or something, add another $3.

Add a therapeutic cappuccino for Mum, another $4.

All of a sudden, our cheap treat ($5.95, remember), has blown out to $38.43 and don't you think the fast food companies know that!

And that's for just fuel to get to the fast food outlet, 3 meals for the kidlets, and a cappuccino for Mum.

From your $26.43 at Aldi, or add $5 for 10 sachets of cappuccino or latte mix, and the spend is $31.43.

But for that $31.43, (which provides me with at least two, if not three dinners, a couple of lunches for me at home, and several treats), I'd be able to make:

15 home made burger patties.

6 hamburger buns. I'd actually halve them crosswise and get 12 thinner buns, or I'd use bread at the same price.

Enough cheese for cheese toasties later in the week as well, another saving on a quick lunch or afternoon tea.

Enough ice cream for 10 sundaes with a wafer in the top with wafers left over for afternoon treats.

Enough frozen fries for a quick side dish on another night when we're a bit rushed.

Enough lemonade for a couple of drinks for everyone, not just one.

Enough cappuccino mixes for 10 treats for me!

Now it doesn't sound like such a chunk out of the budget, does it?

That $31.43, actually has the potential to save me buying:

15 cheeseburgers @ $2 = $30

5 Toasted Ham and Cheese Pockets on the go @ $2 = $12

10 ice cream sundaes @ $2.90 = $29.00

8 small fast food soft drinks @ $2.35=$18.80

Side dish of fries for dinner @ $4 at the fish and chip shop

10 cappucinos @ $4 = $40

Total: $160.23

So a saving of $128.80 for my $31.43 spend!!!

My point is that we all cringe at spending a little on convenience foods, but many of us (me included) don't hesitate to buy a happy meal and coffee on the run occasionally.

By simply planning ahead, and making a small allowance in the budget for FUN FOOD, you can actually save a bomb!

And before you all shout me down, yes of course, you could reduce this again by making your own fries or wedges, your own rolls, your own cappuccino mix and so on.

But hard as I try, there are just some moments/days/weeks, where this is beyond me. And I refuse to contribute to the fast food coffers, just because I'm having a busy time!

I reckon I'd rather budget for some fun food, enjoy ourselves in our lovely home rather than a neon lit bathroom masquerading as a restaurant, and feed my family properly.

What's your favourite budget friendly fast food copycat. How much money does it save you?

Monday, August 6, 2018

Motherly Advice...Be at Peace with where you are...

We are working hard on edging towards retirement here. Also we are on a tight budget for a little while here, as our business is seasonal and things are very quiet around this time of year. But then, nothing has changed really. We are at peace with making ends meet as comfortably as possible, as we always are.

It's a case of feeling like you're in control of things, rather than taking the view that things are happening to you that are beyond your control. That in itself is a really valuable mind set.

So here are some methods we employ, including growing lavender, and dreaming of visiting the lavender fields in France as seen above.

You can do this too.

Mostly we ensure that we maintain a decent standard of living, and feel like we are in control of our budget and our lifestyle, rather than being dictated to by factors beyond our control.

1. Make a serious effort to cut costs wherever possible. We've made a number of cost cutting measures ourselves in the last two years. We've downgraded lots of activities or found replacement activities that are free or almost free. We've replaced our cars with more economical versions. We've tried going vegan, but found it too difficult for a family for now. We continue to eat a diet high in vegetables. legumes and fruit though, adding protein in the form of meat, fish, chicken and eggs, which I have a slim budget for and for which I shop carefully.

2. Plan for your needs later in life. We are Baby Boomers and have plans in place for our retirement that do not include a pension. We've made investments over the last twenty years to alleviate that need and although the GFC mucked with that a fair bit, we still think we will be okay if we continue to live carefully.

3. Eliminate expensive entertainment options. Our entertainment needs are simple. We stay home and watch movies, Husband has his music, I have all my creative endeavours, and we spend time with friends or family mainly eating at home. We don't have and have never had cable television, but we do now subscribe to Netflix for a nominal monthly fee. We love theatre, but even then, we are now choosing to support local theatre over the big productions and attend local dance school concerts in preference to attending the professional ballet. This means we see really awesome shows for around $30 each instead of $150 each. We're just as happy and find the shows equally entertaining.

4. Treat your role as the homemaker seriously. As the homemaker, I try to save us money by conserving fuel, making our clothes or checking out the charity stores (which incidentally sees us all very well clothed in 'name' brands), and feeding us economically. I make my own soap, laundry detergent and dog food. Treats revolve around special snacks or meals that I cook, and not around going out for meals or buying takeaway. I don't have expensive habits or hobbies and our only extravagance is that occasional concert or trip to the theatre.

My biggest recent extravagance was buying an $89 robot vacuum cleaner. I figured I'd see whether we liked it before we lashed out on the expensive version. Well, so far, so good. It's doing a great job and the time it's saved me means I can focus on baking, sewing PJs and casual clothes for Daughter, and volunteering.

For me, the choice to be a Homemaker means that I treat my role as seriously as I would a job outside the home. Whether anyone else sees it that way is irrelevant. I go to bed early and I rise early, get as much housework done as I can, and plan my grocery shopping or bill paying or other errands around one or two outings a week, to conserve fuel. I do what I have to do as quickly and as efficiently as possible and return home.

I then unpack the groceries ensuring that they are stored for the greatest longevity and freshness possible. I always bake and cook as I unpack, and try to get at least two meals into the fridge immediately. Today between 9:30 and 10:30, I put on a piece of corned meat, made pumpkin, potato and sweet potato soup, roasted some pumpkin pieces for risotto, and made GF red velvet cupcakes. I also soaked rice vermicelli for Daughters rice paper rolls for her University lunch tomorrow, and partially froze, then sliced one piece of marked down steak into paper thin slivers for ricepaper rolls and stir fry.

I sat down for the first time, at 10:45, having risen at 6am, for a well earned cuppa. Nothing I'm doing is difficult, but I do have to stay focused, resist the temptation to sit at the computer, go to small stand alone shopping centres where nothing is interesting enough to distract me, and say no to invitations to coffee or lunch. I prefer to eat at home anyway and will often suggest that as an alternative but for most of my friends, the lure of Westfield is too great. That's okay. I'm happy to be different, and if I had a job outside of the home, I wouldn't just be trotting off for a jaunt to the shopping centre for coffee whenever I felt like it. I'd be working. So work in the home must take priority as well.

5. Plan ahead for everything. Plan ahead for next seasons clothing needs, for birthdays, for Christmas, for Easter, for holidays for staycations, where you stay at home and entertain yourself and the family with planned activities instead of going away. Planning ahead means you can put what little money you have, into snapping up bargains or buying fabric from the remnants bin, or buying a sewing machine or overlocker or a robot vacuum cleaner, or setting it aside for something worthwhile, rather than frittering it away on random purchases that do little to enhance your life in the longer term. And don't just look ahead one year. Try to see 5, 10, 20 years ahead. This helps keep things in perspective. That pair of shoes, or jeans or bag or coffee will mean nothing in 5 years. That money on your mortgage or into superannuation or just into the bank for a rainy day, could have the power to have a significant impact on your life.

Well that's where I've been with my thinking for several years now. I'm always a fix-it kinda person. I can't sit around for too long complaining. I'm always trying to think 'what can be done to make this situation better', and then I do it.

I'm at peace with where we are in life.

Are you?

Are there things you can do to find that peace?

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Homespun Things....Inspiration and Imitation...

You can have the good things in life for less, if you're even a wee bit creative.

I've certainly squeezed quite a bit of luxury out of a tiny budget of late.

Below is the inspiration for my Daughters Glampavan.

Pictured above is the components of our palette....inspired by, not identical. Who needs to follow things that slavishly!

Inspiration above, reality below...

Inspiration on Pinterest above...my own jug, just done this morning here below...

Embroidered Llama jacket here...goodness...all of those French knots!

Our cheaty version using a store bought applique` and tassel trim below.

Here's the cake Daughter wanted for her 18th birthday earlier this year...

And here's my version...inspired by, but not an identical imitation...

I've lusted after a chintz bedspread since I was twenty years old. I particularly wanted this beautiful Spring-like colourway...

A random visit to a favourite charity shop last week yielded this beautiful duvet cover. King size, with fab tailored pillow slips, still with tags....$6!