Making ends meet

soy sauce substitute

My daughter came to visit on Sunday. I showed her the sauces I had made during the week, and she asked me if I could make soy sauce. I had been wondering about this myself, as I use a LOT of soy sauce, and it is expensive. I am very particular about the brand I buy, as I have bought some different brands and was not impressed at all.

After she left, i consulted my BFF#2 (Google!), and I had a look at some of the variations around. I did a little experimenting, and the version I came up with tasted pretty good.

Please note, this is NOT soy sauce – it is a substitute.

Soy sauce substitute

Ingredients:

2 beef stock cubes

4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (you could use white vinegar or rice vinegar)

2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (or 1 teaspoon white sugar)

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch pepper

pinch garlic powder / 1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 1/2 cups water – reserve a little of the water to make a paste with the corn flour (maizena)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon maizena (corn flour)

Method:

Combine all ingredients except the maizena and a little of the water in a pot. Cook the pot on a medium heat, stirring until the stock cubes are dissolved. Mix the maizena and water. Add the maizena mixture to the rest of the ingredients and cook on low heat, stirring until the maizena is incorporated and no longer tastes “floury”. The soy sauce will thicken slightly, but not a lot – this is not tomato sauce! Once the sauce is ready, pour into a sterilised container (I used an old soy sauce bottle, works great!). Label and refrigerate.

best ever homemade hair masque

I love, love this hair treatment. I have curly hair (sigh…) which is extremely dry and oh so temperamental. I have tried a whole bunch of things to get my hair to just behave, but to date, nothing has worked, except a keratin treatment at the hair dresser. Only time in memory that I LOVED my hair…

The good news is – I’m definitely not afraid to use myself as a lab rat, and have tried many things that just did not work, or didn’t work as well as I had hoped. As a result of my “experiments” I can bring you this little gem:)

Three ingredients, and you’re good to go – how easy is that?

Mix three tablespoons of mayonnaise with one tablespoon of shampoo, add one half teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and you’re ready. Section your hair, apply the masque and comb through after application. Once all the sections of your hair have the masque on, cover your hair with a shower cap, swimming cap or highlights cap. Let the mixture sit on your hair for a minimum of an hour, then wash it off with the shampoo already on your head. Condition and rinse, and style as usual.

My hair comes out very soft, and pretty darn well-behaved. I have noticed that the results are incremental – the more frequently you use it, the better the results.

**You can omit the apple cider vinegar if you don’t have, or prefer not to use it.

simple ways to start saving money – today

What do you do to save money? There is usually one or two things that we simply cannot live without (or it would have to be pried from our cold, dead hands!), but on the flip side, there are many things we can really live without (even if you think you can’t!). The ideas below are simple, stupid things that you can start doing today, which don’t really require much sacrifice. The money you save won’t make you a millionaire, but every cent helps.

Some of the simple things we do to save money in our household are:

Plan your weekly menu around what’s on special at the supermarket – check the flyers that come with your local newspaper. They usually have pamphlets for the local supermarkets. Check what’s really cheap this week, and then plan next week’s menu around that.
Cook in bulk if possible – if you are making macaroni and cheese, make double the amount. Freeze it in a freezer safe/ oven safe dish. Trust me, some night when you are really rushed or just not in the mood to cook, it will come in handy. I normally make double the amount with mac and cheese and soups, as these freeze really well.
Join a loyalty program. Clicks, Dischem, and Pick ‘n Pay are only some of the available ones. I normally shop at Pick ‘n Pay, as I don’t really have many other options in terms of proximity, but the Smart Shopper program has really saved my butt many a time when I was broke and needed to get bread or something. I converted my points to cash and used that. It makes sense to get something back for what you need to purchase anyway, and it’s free to join.
I don’t use an electric stove to cook at ALL! I don’t even own one. I do most of my cooking on my gas two plate – it costs just over two hundred rand to fill the gas, and a 9 kg bottle lasts around three months. I have a one plate induction cooker that I also use, and most of my other dishes are cooked in my pressure cooker.
All the light bulbs in our home are LED or energy savers. We put LED strips up outside for security, and in the kitchen, bathroom and two of the bedrooms. These are connected in such a way that when the power goes out (frequently!!!), we can connect to a car battery and are therefore not left in the dark. This saves us money and aggravation.
Make it yourself – many of the things we buy can be made at home. I no longer buy tomato sauce, Worcester sauce, soy sauce, dishwasher powder and several other things. I instead make it myself. It tastes better, takes a lot less time than you would think, and there are no funky preservatives in there.
Buy bulk when you can, but check prices first. Check the per unit cost – for example cheese – this is sold by kilogram. The cost per kilogram indicates the real price of the item, not the weight price of the item. If a package of cheese is marked R 55, but it is R 200 per kilogram, another cheese may be marked R 80, but is actually R 90 per kilogram, so it is better value. IT DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK OUT CHEAPER TO BUY BULK. Please remember that!
Fresh vegetable are usually cheaper than frozen, but not always. Buy fresh when you can, and freeze it yourself. It really doesn’t take that much effort to do.
Don’t waste the vegetable peels – use it to make stock or broth.
I don’t throw out soap bits. I save them and make rebatch soap.

The above are just some of the things we do to try to keep living costs down. There are many other ways to do so. Just have a look around your home today. Where are you wasting? How can you cut back? I gave the above examples because they can be instituted now, no special tools or waiting time needed.

Potato Frittata

This is a quick and easy meal to make for those busy nights, and it won’t break the bank. You can add ingredients such as bacon or sausage if you like, the recipe is very flexible. I have made it with and without the onions, added viennas, bacon and even russian sausages (not all at once!)

Ingredients

500 g medium-large potatoes
6 eggs
handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
60 g Cheese grated
3 tbsp oil
One large onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel and chop the potatoes into large cubes.
In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, boil the potatoes for about 5 min, until just tender.
Heat a large pan with the olive oil over medium heat. Fry the onions in the oil until translucent.
Whisk the eggs until well combined, add in chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Drain the potatoes and add them into the bowl with the eggs. Fold in the cheese and lightly mix all ingredients.
Add your mixture to your onions in the frying pan, ensuring the potatoes are spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.
Cover with a lid and cook for 10 min, gently shaking the pan every now and then. When the frittata is easily pulled off from the bottom, is ready to be turned. Using a plate with the same diameter of the frittata, carefully put it on top and flip the frittata on the other side.
Cook on the other side for a further 5-7 min, this time without the lid.
When the frittata is fully cooked, remove from the pan and serve on a large plate.
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days

***If you are afraid to flip the frittata, simply continue to cook it in the oven at 180 degrees Celcius after the first ten minutes. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes, until golden brown.

TWO EASY WAYS TO DEEP CLEAN YOUR PORES – NATURALLY

Pore strips are all the rage these days, but can be pricey. What if you could do it yourself at home, with ingredients you more than likely have on hand? Sounds good, right?

Gelatin is great for skin and bones, and well, everything! Everyone should be consuming gelatin daily to keep joints and skin healthy, but you can also use it outside your body for great skin.

All you need for a pore cleaning mask (or strips) is some gelatin and a dairy product – kefir works best, but yogurt and milk work too. I have even used lemon or orange juice, but it can burn sensitive skin, so be careful. As with anything, please do a skin sensitivity test before using any product. Apply a small amount to your skin, and check for any adverse reactions. If there have been no adverse reactions after 24 hours, it should be safe to use.

Gelatin and dairy skin cleaning mask:

1 tablespoon good quality gelatin

1 ½ tablespoons kefir (or yogurt or milk)

Mix ingredients together. Warm in a small pot, the microwave or in a bowl placed in a warm water bath. Once the gelatin is melted and the mix is cool enough not to burn your skin, apply it with your fingertips, the back of a spoon or anything that works for you. Leave for 10 – 15 minutes, and peel the strips off. Rinse your face with warm water, apply your toner and moisturiser, and you’re good to go!

Egg white pore cleanser:

Whip the white of one egg until it is frothy and light. Apply the white to a section of your skin with a soft paint brush or blusher brusher, place a layer of tissue paper on the section, and paint another layer of egg white over the tissue paper. Continue in this fashion until all problem areas have been covered. Allow the mixture to dry, then peel off the tissue. Rinse your face with warm water, tone and moisturise and you’re done.

**To get best results from any mask, steam your face gently first, in order to open the pores.

Hearty bean soup

Here’s a meal that is warm and filling, and won’t break the bank. More than likely, it will make a second meal – freeze the left overs for some night when you don’t feel like cooking.

You will need:

2 pork chops

1 dry cup of sugar beans (red speckled beans), soaked overnight

Three carrots – grated

One onion, finely chopped or grated

Two – three potatoes (depending on size) grated

One clove of garlic (or one heaped teaspoon crushed garlic)

Two bay leaves

Half a 50g packet tomato paste

Half a teaspoon of basil

Half a teaspoon of thyme

Half a teaspoon origanum

Two beef stock cubes – to taste. (I sometimes find that I need two and a half to three, but for goodness sake, check before adding more!)

Around three litres of water – my pressure cooker holds 4.5 litres, and I use the water to fill the pot once all the ingredients are in.

Here’s the part where your kitchen gadgets come in handy – I normally grate all the vegetables with my food processor, throw everything in my pressure cooker, and when I get home from work, supper is done! For those of you who don’t have a pressure cooker, here are the steps:

Rinse the beans and soak overnight. Alternatively, you can place it in a pot, bring to the boil. Once the pot is boiling, turn off the heat and allow the beans to soak for one hour.
Place grated vegetables and meat in the pot, add water to fill and bring to the boil. Simmer for around two hours, or until the beans are soft and the meat falls from the bones.
Serve with crispy rolls, bread, pita bread or even over mielie pap.

I normally have around two litres of soup left over, so I freeze for another meal.

*** The pork chops can be substituted with beef, or even bacon. Using the pork chops means you can leave out the spek (pork fat) that is traditionally put in this soup. I have found that the soup tastes better with pork, and this is a cheaper meat. Sometimes, when we have some extra, I throw in some bacon for extra taste.

***my mother in law makes this soup by adding oxtail soup when the soup is done and allowing it to simmer for ten minutes. Personally, not a huge fan of oxtail soup, so I leave it out.

***to make the soup more nutritious, I normally use bone broth as my base in place of water, but I realise not everyone has bone broth or uses it.

Simple lip balm

Winter is definitely here – the last few weeks have been colder and colder. Unfortunately for most of us, winter also brings chapped lips and dry skin.

Here is a simple recipe for lip balm you can whip up in your kitchen in a snap, no special ingredients needed:

Lip Balm Recipe:

Melt one tablespoon shea butter (this is the best option, if you have it) OR one tablespoon coconut oil at a low heat – how you melt it is up to you. You can either use a microwave, a small saucepan, or even place your container in some hot water. Please remember – this is a small amount, so it will melt very quickly! ** You can substitute Vaseline for the coconut oil or shea butter, or use half Vaseline and half coconut oil or shea butter. This would work better in warmer weather**

Now add either one tablespoon of honey OR one tablespoon of castor oil to your coconut oil or shea butter and stir. Pour your balm into a small container – I normally use an old empty container that had lip balm in. Allow to set, either overnight or in the fridge for a few hours. Voila – cheap and quick.

Variations:

You could add a few drops of essential oil to the mix, or some vanilla essence. If you wanted to colour it, you could use a little of an old lipstick that you have a smidge left of. Or you could add a drop of food colour, or some eyeshadow powder.

*Please note that this is softer than normal lip balm – in summer it will melt. Traditionally, lip balm contains beeswax, which is what “holds” the balm together. This recipe is for a quick, inexpensive lip balm, using what you probably have on hand already.

Home made herb salt

Okay, so it’s the end of the month – we’re all broke and out of well… everything! I was heartbroken to discover my trusted aromat and Worcester sauce were finished, because how the heck are you supposed to cook anything with no spices??

I am going to try to make my own Worcester sauce tonight, so fingers crossed that it comes out okay. In the meantime, at six am this morning, I made some herb salts so that I at least have SOME flavourants for my meals.

Once again, this is really easy to make – I have made rosemary salt, a Mediterranean kind of salt (thyme, rosemary, dried tomato peels, basil and some oregano), garlic salt, basil salt, etc. The possible combinations are varied, so feel free to play around with different combinations, or single herb salts.

It works great with fresh herbs:

½ cup of salt

2 loosely packed cups of fresh herbs

Throw the herbs in the food processor, with some of the salt to help grind it down. Once it is fine enough for your liking, place in a clean, dry glass jar and top up with the remaining salt. Give it a shake to spread the loveJ. Store in the refrigerator.

Version 2:

Using the same ingredients and ratio as above, grind the herbs with some of the salt. Combine the remaining salt and dry in the oven on a very low heat / in biltong maker/ food dehydrator/ air dry until the herbs are dry and bottle the salt. This can be stored in the pantry or grocery cupboard.

Version 3:

½ cup of salt

2 – 3 tablespoons dry herbs

Following the above steps, grind your herbs, combine with the remaining salt and bottle the salt. Can be stored in the pantry or grocery cupboard. I just use herbs that I dried previously, as my fridge space is limited, so I try to avoid making things that will take up space unnecessarily.

Home made labels for just about anything!

Give those glass jars you have a new purpose in life – use them as storage! We all seem to have the problem of “matching” storage for all our herbs, spices and other assorted food stuffs.

I got frustrated by my pantry looking messy and mismatched, so I made myself “matching” jars. I took old jars, spray painted the lids, made labels (to avoid the good old “what the heck it’s in this bottle” scenario – we’ve all been there!)

The labels were really simple to make. All it took was some paper, wide sello tape, water and a credit card or something similar.

1) Print the labels on normal paper, taking into consideration the thickness of the tape you are using. Pick whatever font appeals to you.

2) Cut the labels out, stick it to the tape, print side up.

3) You then take the credit card and rub over the tape, to transfer the writing to the tape.

4) Place the tape in a bowl of water for about five minutes. Gently rub off the paper, and stick to your jar (or whatever you want to label!). The tape will regain its stickiness once dry. Gently wipe the label with a dry cloth, to squeeze out the air behind the label, and any excess water.

There you go – one very pretty label, done to your own taste, and it didn’t break the bank:)

Potato peel soup

Use potato peels to make a delicious soup

For a new take on not wasting the scraps, why not make potato peel soup? Using the peels instead of whole potatoes, thus minimising wastage and using the whole potato.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter or oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped OR carrot peels (you can leave out the carrots if you like)
1 1/2 cups potato peels
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (healthier by far, but if you don’t have, you can use a stock cube)
2 cups milk or cream
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Garlic to taste (optional)

Instructions

In a medium-size pot, heat butter or oil.
Add onion and carrots to pot and fry over medium heat, stirring frequently until onion is translucent.
Stir in potato peels, stock, and bay leaf.
Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until carrots are soft.
Remove from heat. Stir in milk or cream, and let soup cool slightly.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, or blend it in batches in a countertop blender. If you don’t have either, just strain it through a sieve. You can then just push the veg though the sieve as you go.

*Notes

You can feel free to add different veggies, as you prefer. Just don’t blend if using green veg, it kind of looks gross! Experiment with what your family eats – if they don’t eat carrots for example, sub it out with another veg, or leave out altogether.

You can serve with bread, the croutons you made from the left over bread, or just crumble some bacon on top. Cheese grated on top also goes well with this.

My mother in law suggested using packet soup with the potato peels instead of all the other things. I haven’t tried it yet, but will let you know if it’s any good. And if you try it yourself, feel free to let me know how it turns out.