Chickpea and Vege Curry

Another cheap, vege packed and easy meal this evening - Chickpea and vege curry.  Chickpeas have become one of my favourites, so versatile, tasty and economical.

Chickpeas work out way cheaper if you take the time to cook them yourself.  I brought a 1kg bag for $5 last month.  It made 15 cups of chickpeas which I froze, equivalent to about 10 tins - but for a fraction of the cost.  I just soaked them over night, rinsed and simmered for about 90 minutes until they were tender, then bagged them up with some of the cooking liquid and froze.

Dinner tonight cost a little under $5 and we have left overs for lunch too.

Chickpea and Vege Curry
Serves 6


2T Oil
1T Cumin Seeds
1 Onion, Diced
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced 1T Coriander Seeds, Groud
1T Cumin, Ground
1t Cinnamon, Ground
1T Mild Curry Powder
2cm Ginger Root, Grated
1T Turmeric
1t Salt
¼C Raisin or Sultanas
2 Medium Potatoes, Diced
1 Medium Kumera, Diced
1 Large Carrot, Diced

2 Tins or 3 Cups of cooked Chickpeas, Drained
1 Tin Coconut Milk
1½C Water
1C Beans (mine were frozen from summer)

Heat oil in a pot over medium and sizzle cumin seeds till the begin to pop.  Add in onion and garlic and cook until soft.  Add in ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, curry powder and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add in everything else except beans, bring to the boil and then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir in the beans and cook for another 5-10 minutes until they are tender.  Done!

Eating well with $130 per week - Week 2

$108 this week - with a few party supplies in the mix

This is my second post on shopping with $130 per week.  For week 2 my shopping trolley was on the expensive side (but still within budget).  With nappies, milk power, cheese and a few party things on the list I spent more than I have in a while.  Popcorn is a regular in our pantry, I can whip up a potful in 5 minutes.  A batch can last a few days for morning and afternoon teas with fruit and maybe a slice of cheese or natural yoghurt, cheap and easy, just like me, but in a good way!!

We are lucky enough to still have fiejoas in the garden which is adding to our fruit bowl and my kale and broccoli plants are still growing really well, adding greens to our plate.  Here's the breakdown of this weeks spend:

Green Grocer $21
Grapes
Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts
Mushrooms
Garlic
Onions
Mandarin
Carrots
Persimmons

Countdown $87
Toilet Paper
Tin Tomatoes
Brown Sugar
Popping Corn
Rolled Oats
Potato Chips x 2
Cocoa Powder
Sweets x 2 Bags
Sunflower Oil
Nappies
Toothpaste
High Grade Bread Flour
Cheese
Skim Milk Powder

I came home to the house smelly really good - I'd forgotten that I have beef stock bubbling away on the stove.  I got one lot of stock in the freezer yesterday and this is the second boil down today (how thrifty am I, 2 lots of stock from 1 set of bones!).  The very last bit from our home kill cow was a half bag of bones, so yesterday I roasted them and then simmered them with onion, carrot, salt and pepper for about 6 hours.  After straining off the beef stock I'm doing the same again today.  I froze 7 litres of stock yesterday and will probably get about 5 today.  Shop brought stock is about $4.50 a litre, to buy what I've made it would be over $50, I've made mine for about $5.  It's going to add flavour to soups, casseroles, rice dishes and many more recipes over the cooler months.

I've just peeped outside and the sun has appeared so it's time finish blogging and get gardening!

Roasted Beef Bones

Stock, stock and more stock - ready to freeze

Cheap, Fast and Tasty : Japanese Chicken and Sesame Carrots

Dinner was needed in a hurry last night - I had lost track of time chasing after my boys zooming up and down our drive on their bikes.

As soon as Pappa Bear got home the race for dinner was on.  Everything was ready a little after the rice cooker was done and everything disappeared in a flash.

I brought the chicken when it was on clearance (4 half chicken breasts for $17).  This meal cost us about $6 - a little more if the carrots were store brought.

Japanese Chicken and Sesame Carrots
Feeds 4

300g Medium Grain Rice (this is 2 scoops for our rice cooker)

10-12 Small Carrots (mine are Lady Fingers, straight from the garden)
2t Sesame Oil
1T Sesame Seeds

1 Chicken Breast, about 250-300g
1 Egg
1T Soy Sauce
2T Water
1C Plain Flour
Oil for Shallow Frying

Dressing
2T Each of Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Sugar
4T Water
2T Chilli Sauce or 1 Finely Diced Birds Eye Chilli (optional - I dish up the kids meals then add chilli)

Rinse rice and set to cook in rice cooker.

Wash carrots, cover with cold water in a small pan and set on high, with lid on.  Proceed with chicken and keep an eye on the carrots *

Slice chicken into 1cm steaks, place between 2 sheets of baking paper and bash with a rolling pin till 5mm thick.  Whisk egg, soy sauce and water in one bowl and have flour in another, ready for dredging.   Coat chicken in egg and then flour and set aside for 5 minutes so they go gooey.  In a fry pan heat 1cm of oil over med-high heat.  Shallow fry a few pieces of chicken at a time for 90 seconds on each side, drain on paper towels.

*When carrots come to the boil simmer on medium for 10 minutes until tender.  Drain and set aside (leave element on).  In the empty pan add sesame oil and seeds, return to heat until seeds begin to pop.  Return carrots to pan and put the lid on (or all your seeds will jump out of the pan).  Toss carrots with seeds over heat for 30 seconds or so, done!

Whisk dressing ingredients together - adjusting sweet, sour, salt or heat to your taste.

Serve the chicken sliced over rice drizzled with dressing, with veges on the side.

Clean, Green and on Budget

We're finding a really good way to stay on budget and away from nasty chemicals is by making our own cleaning, skin care and hair products.  Today I'll share with you the recipes I use for liquid hand soap, all purpose spray and cream cleaner.

All are super cheap to make and once you've brought things like glycerine, castile soap and essential oils they last for ages, I get my from Go Native.

Liquid Hand Soap
Fills 2 x 250ml Pumps

3T Grated Sunlight Soap or Soap Flakes
350ml Boiling Water
1ml of Essential oil (Lavender, Teatree, Grapefruit, Lemon or Eucalyptus are all good options)
2t Glycerine
2t Witch Hazel or Rose Water

Put soap and boiling water into a bowl and stir.  Leave 5 minutes to dissolve.  Mix in the remaining ingredients and pour into soap pumps immediately, with the lid off.  You need to pour into pump bottles right away or the soap with set and you won't be able to pour it.  Leave for 15 minutes or so to cool slightly then put the pump lids back on.  Give the bottle a good shake every few days to loosen up the soap for easy pumping.

All Purpose Spay
I use a 1L Spray Bottle

White Vinegar

15 Drops Each Teatree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil and Lavender Oil
1T Liquid Soap (I use organic Castile Soap but Sunlight Soap works fine too)
Water

Fill a third of your spray bottle with white vinegar.  Add in oils and liquid soap.  Fill up to the top with water and shake before spraying.  Cleans kitchen benches, stove tops, sinks, highchairs, surfaces, everything pretty much (I find spraying it immediately onto dog puke or spills on the carpet while I get warm water to mop it up helps alot).  If something is really stuck on leave the spray on for 15 minutes or so to do the work for you.  For super powered cleaning us with the Cream Cleaner.


Cream Cleaner

1C Baking Soda
2T Cream of Tartar
20 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil (or any other oil you like, peppermint is a good antiseptic)
1T Castile or Sunlight Liquid Soap
Water

In a large jar mix baking soda, cream of tartar, oil, soap and a couple of tablespoons of water.  Keep adding a little water at a time till it reaches a creamy consistency.  Shake or stir before use.  Apply to a damp cloth and scrub away.  Spray surfaces with All Purpose Spray first if dealing with something extra grimy or greasy.

I think I'm turning into a country girl

I think it's safe to say I'm turning into a country girl.
 
The reason I say this is because we made a trip up to Auckland to buy some fabric over the weekend.  It's been nearly 7 months since I went to a mall or shopping center - I'm not in a hurry to do it again.  Everyone rushing, no one smiling, full car parks, long queues, heck, even traffic lights!  A trip that I thought I would enjoy, browsing fabric and patterns to keep my boys toasty over winter, was stressful and overwhelming, next time, I'll look online first.

The rest of our weekend was really good, all I needed was a bit of a sit-down and a cup of tea to settle my nerves after our visit to town, and I was back to chilling with my boys and Pappa Bear.

Making clothes for my kids is something I think I'll try and do more of.  For $21 I made a jumper and 2 pairs of pants.  The fleece is good quality, same as the thread I used plus I made the jumper extra long in the back (just like Mr 3).  And the look on his face when I presented him with it, priceless.

A very cuffed little boy in the new snugly track suit Mumma made him

We had Sourdough pancakes one morning and Mr 3 was a very happy helper, he didn't even object when Mr 1 started pinching our creations.  I got to do a couple of hours sewing and make up a polar fleece track suit to keep Mr 3 snug as a bug as winter sets in (he's grown out of most things - he's quite tall for his age and right now he's growing too).  Mumma didn't have to cook any meals with left over pulled pork and then Pappa Bear making a bacon paella.  My babies and I went for a walk in the crisp evening air and visited Mr Pig, who lives on our street.   Then after tired babies were in bed on Sunday Pappa Bear and I whiled away the evening playing a zombie survival game - Perfect.

My happy helper

Plus a pancake tester

Chinese Pulled Pork, Asian Coleslaw on Ciabatta

I am a funny kind of cook.  One minute I'm following a recipe to the letter, the next I'm letting ingredients fly willy-nilly.

Today's recipe was a fluke - and the best yet!  I kid you not, the BEST.  I urge you next time you get a pork roast cut give this recipe a try.  I just about melted off my chair biting into my latest creation, I really did surprise myself.  The pork is the perfect combination of hot, sour, salty and sweet, then, mixed with crunchy Asian coleslaw and chewy, fresh Ciabatta - it couldn't have been better.

You'll have to forgive the state of my end shot, hungry kids and bad lighting don't mix.

Tender pork, ready for shredding

Chinese Pulled Pork
Serves 8

2.5kg of Pork Leg Roast, skin removed and trimmed of fat
1T Chinese 5 Spice, Heaped
3T Soy Sauce
3 Star Anise
1t Chilli Flakes, Heaped (more if you like things hot)
1T Sesame Oil
1T Rice Wine Vinegar
1t Szechuan Pepper, Ground
½ Mandarin Peel
1C Water
3T Brown Sugar
2 Large Onion, Peeled and cut into wedges

Heat oven to 140ºC bake.  In a oven proof pan, with tight fitting lid, add 5 spice powder, soy sauce, star anise, chilli flakes, sesame oil, vinegar, Szechuan pepper and mandarin peel.  Roll the pork in the mix, rubbing it in well.  Pour the water into the base of the pan, careful not to wash spices off the pork.  Cover pan with foil, making sure it dips slightly in the center.  Adding foil like this allows the moisture to drip back down onto the top of the meat, continually basting it while cooking.  Put the lid on the pan and bake for 3 hours (check every hour to make sure there is still at least 1cm of water in the pan, add a little more water if needed).  After the 3 hours the meat should easily come away from the bone.  Remove the bones then with 2 forks shred the pork, fine or chunky, what ever you prefer.  Mix in sugar, onion wedges and enough water to half submerge the pork.  Return to oven with foil and lid for another 4 hours, stirring every hour.  Serve with Asian Coleslaw and ciabatta or with steamed rice and stir-fried Asian greens.

Ciabatta

Recipe can be found here from October 2013
I did a 1 and a half batch which made 15 rolls, enough for 2 meals and a few to freeze.

Asian Coleslaw
You need a stick blender for this


¼ Cabbge, Washed and finely shreeded
1 Large Carrot, Grated
2T Sesame Seeds, Toasted in a fry-pan till golden

Dressing
1 Egg
175ml Neutral Oil
1T Sesame Oil
1T Rice Vinegar
Pinch of salt and cayenne pepper


Put cabbage, carrot and sesame seeds in a large bowl.  In a narrow, reasonably tall container (that your stick blender just fits in to) add all of the dressing ingredients.  Whizz on high and pretty much instantly you've got mayonnaise.  Add dressing to salad, as much or as little as you prefer, and mix well.

A sad shot for something so satisfying

In Case of Emergency : Grab a Tin Opener

Days like yesterday are why I always try to have a tin of beans or homemade beans in the freezer.

The day started out great, went for a walk around town, got all the washing done and made a start on my new composting bins.  Unfortunately, Mr 3 was suffering the effects of an ear infection and Mr 2 is cutting 2 eye teeth (the worst kind), so the afternoon was filled with tears a few tantrums (Mummy may have had bit of a tantrum too).  With all that going on, plus, a visit to the doctor, me having a mild asthma attack, coming home to the dog getting into a nappy that I'd abondoned when rushing out the door, I forgot to put our roast on for dinner.  Bummer!  My lovely neighbours must have seen I was at my wits end - I must have looked pretty frazzled - I sure felt like it.  They offered me a drink while my kids played with theirs to take time out for a few minutes.

Before I knew it, it was 5:30pm and dinner time.  Luckily I have beans from my shopping trip, so in 10 minutes I had toast, beans and eggs ready for hungry tired boys.  I have only brought fish fingers once for my boys for a quick dinner - they're gross, added with extras and really expensive considering only half is fish - which has been 'joined' or glued together - ICK!  I won't even touch chicken nuggets - 26 ingredients and only 39% chicken.  I think beans are the way to go in a pinch, ideally I'd have some in the freezer, homemade with no numbered ingredients, but out of a tin 79% is beans and tomatoes, the rest is water, spices, onion, vinegar, and maize flour (corn flour) for thickening, great, and 2 vegetable gums, one of them is not so great (that's a whole other blog post).

We ended up with both boys in bed early then Pappa Bear and I flopped down in front of the telly with a movie.  We enjoyed homemade pasta from the freezer, topped with salmon (tinned) and herb white sauce with peas.  Both meals together cost about $8.50 - a little on the high end for me.