How to make orange sugar

Home made Orange sugar
Home made Orange sugar

Really simple to make, this is made from something normally thrown away – orange peel.

Simply take one cup of sugar, add two tablespoons of orange zest. Then you can either give it a whirl in the food processor, to give a finer sugar, or simply mix the two and give it a stir every five minutes for around thirty minutes.

You can use the sugar to flavour your tea, or on pancakes or French toast. Maybe oats? Use your imagination!

*Note – I always look for the easiest, quickest way to do something, so I add everything together in a jar, and give it a shake every now and then:) I have a really fine zester (a microplane), so everything comes out really fine. If you don’t have one, no sweat, just use the fine side of your grater!

The sugar lasts indefinitely and can be stored at room temperature.

Don’t waste the “scraps”

I am kind of shocked on garbage day, when I see how much garbage everyone throws out. They have full wheelie bins, sometimes two, and our wheelie bin isn’t even a quarter full. That’s because very little in our house gets thrown out.

We recycle plastic, paper and glass, and most of our “scraps” get used up. Even egg shells don’t get thrown away – it ends up in the garden.

The plastic and paper help out a lot, because we sell it to the recycling companies, so it brings in a little extra cash AND we get to help save the planet – win-win!

Before you throw out food scraps, be aware that most of the time, you can actually use it again and save yourself some money at the same time.

Orange peels: they are great for your garden, but you can use it for more than that! I made candied orange peels on Sunday, which are delicious and (kinda!) healthy, and we always have dried orange peel on hand. This is great, because (on Sunday), we made desert, which was orange and brandy flavoured malva pudding. Delicious:). I used the water from the candied peels, grated some zest in, and added brandy essence. I also used some of the dried peel for flavour.

Dried orange peel can be used to make orange oil, orange sugar, orange sugar scrub, and also to make a general cleaning product.

Potato peels can be used as compost. It can also be used to make potato peel chips. You can also freeze them as is, to use in stock or bone broth. You can make a frugal and healthy soup – potato peel soup. You can also use carrot and other peels to make vegetable peel chips.

Bones – chicken or other, can be frozen and saved to make bone broth or stock. I actually prefer to make bone broth, as it is more nutritious, but I only do that when I really need and have a lot of bones (or chicken carcases) and peelings, as it takes very long to make (trying to save electricity!).

Extra herbs (ideally grown in your garden) can be used to make herb salt or herb oil, or even herb vinegar.

Don’t throw away the stale bread – use it to make breadcrumbs for breading chicken, or au gratin meals. Or make croutons from them…

Vegetable peels, carrot and onion tops – freeze them in a bag, for the next time you make stock or bone broth.

Apple cores and peels – use the seeds to grow an apple tree, the way I did, or make your own apple cider vinegar from them. You can make apple tea, apple juice or apple cider. You can make infused water, or apple syrup…

Avocado pips – grow your own tree, or let them dry and grind them up. Use for exfoliation and apparently, you can consume them in smoothies as well… I believe it is very beneficial.

Pineapple skins and tops – grow your own pineapple plant. The skins can be used to make sun tea (water left in a closed jar with some sort of flavourant in the sun for several hours), tepache, potpourri, or just throw the peels in the juicer and get the wasted juice out of the peel.

Tomato – when peeling tomato, don’t throw the skin out. Let it dry, and add to your herb salt when making, it gives it a nice flavour. If you just cut the tops off, throw it in your broth bag (the bag you are collecting peels in for bone broth). If you have a lot of tomatoes about to go bad, rather throw them in the processor and freeze the tomato in ice cubes, so when you need tomato for a meal, you have some frozen. Or make a tomato relish and freeze it, ready for the next braai.

OTHER HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE REPURPOSED:

I don’t throw out Styrofoam containers from meat, I wash it and cut it up to add “feet” to my cake boards.

Glass jars are re-used for Kefir, or beetroot salad or pickles. I used a lot of my glass jars to re-do my pantry – I spray painted the lids, and gave each jar a nice label, and I store herbs and spices, etc in them.

I love the Worcester sauce bottles, they are fantastic for herb oil, herb vinegar or even salad dressing. Soy sauce bottles work well for that tooJ

Please don’t misunderstand me – I am not a hoarder! I don’t need a shovel to dig my way out to the front door, but there are tons of ways to re-use or recycle whatever we would normally throw away. I encourage you to explore this, as throwing away is not only wasteful, it is also bad for the planet. Before you toss the next thing in the trash, think about what you are doing – are you wasting something that could be re-used in order to save yourself some money, and also creating a lower impact on the environment?

Quick Thai chicken curry soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 an onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger ( or 1/4 teaspoon powder if you don’t have fresh ginger)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste – recipe here (couldn’t find it in the shops, so I made my own!)
  • 4 cups of that delicious chicken stock you made using this recipe
  • 2 cups water
  • juice of 1 lime – or you can substitute lemon
  • 100 grams rice noodles – (I used two minute noodles, and only added them once the soup was cooked)
  • 1 can coconut milk (or make your own here)
  • 2 cups cooked chicken (I used only one cup – remember, my chicken made three meals AND stock!)
  • handful of fresh basil, torn
  • handful of fresh coriander, chopped
  • green onions to taste, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Add oil and onions to a large pot, and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring as needed.
  2. Stir in the ginger, garlic and curry paste and cook for around 30 seconds
  3. Add the chicken stock, water, lime (or lemon) juice and noodles(if you are using two minute noodles, only add them once the soup is done). Increase heat to high and bring to a gentle boil.
  4. Stir in the coconut milk and chicken. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. Stir in the basil, coriander and green onions. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
  6. Serve immediately. (You may need to add more stock the next day, as the noodles absorb more liquid the longer the soup stands).

Home made coconut milk

This is really easy to make, and no special equipment needed!

Ingredients:

4 cups water

2 cups desiccated coconut

Directions:

In a pot, heat water until warm, but not boiling. In a food processor or blender, place water and coconut and blend on high for a few minutes until thick and creamy. Strain using a sieve to remove most of the coconut pieces, and then strain through a clean dishtowel or something similar. **** remember where I said to not use a dishtowel washed with washing powder in my kefir post? The same applies here! You do NOT want washing powder flavoured coconut milk!

Drink immediately (or use for your Thai chicken curry soup!), or store in the fridge for a maximum of three days.

Home made red curry paste

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 tsp coriander seed (or ground coriander)
  • 1 tsp cumin seed (or ground cumin)
  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns (or 1/2 tsp ground black pepper)
  • 120 g red bell pepper (seeds removed and chopped)
  • 14-28 g red chilies (more or less depending on preferred heat-stems removed)
  • 3 g fresh ginger or or 1-2 tsp ground ginger)
  • 9 g garlic (skins removed)
  • 3 g fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp ground turmeric)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
  • 45 ml lemon juice
  • 1 medium lime, zested and juiced (~3 Tbsp or 45 ml juice) (or substitute lemon juice if you can’t find lime)
  • 80 g green onions
  • 30-45 ml oil
  • 15 ml maple syrup or sugar (to balance heat)

Instructions

  1. If using whole coriander, cumin seeds, and black peppercorns, add to a small skillet and toast over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes or until fragrant and slightly deeper in color, shaking / stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn! If using powder, skip this step.
  2. Once seeds are toasted, add to a mortar and pestle and loosely crush. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, slightly cool the seeds, add them to a sandwich bag, and crush with a rolling pin or a heavy pan. Set aside.
  3. To a food processor (or blender with a narrow base), add crushed spices, red bell pepper, red chilies, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, turmeric, sea salt, lemon juice, lime zest + juice, green onions (or shallot), oil / water, and maple syrup (or other sweetener).
  4. Blend / mix until a paste forms, scraping sides down as needed.
  5. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more lime zest or juice for acidity, salt for saltiness, chilies for heat, maple syrup for sweetness, oil (or water) for creaminess / to thin, garlic for zing, ginger for brightness, or turmeric for more intense curry flavor.
  6. Store curry paste in a jar in the refrigerator up to 10 days or more. For longer storage, transfer paste to an ice cube tray, freeze, then store in a freezer-safe bag up to 1 month.
  7. This curry paste is ideal for curries, soups, sauces, salad dressings, and more!

poor man’s chicken alfredo

Poor man's chicken alfredo

Ingredients

  • Chopped or shredded left over chicken
  • 250 g  pasta 
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1- 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 400 ml milk
  • 1 teaspoon dried or 15 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
  • 2 heaped tablespoons cream of mushroom soup

Directions

  1. Cook pasta in a pot of salted water according to package instructions then drain and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, slice chicken into strips and season all over with salt and pepper.
  3. In a pan over medium/high, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter. Add onion and sauté 3 min until soft Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
  4. Add milk and cream of mushroom soup, and simmer over medium heat 8-10 min, or until beginning to thicken. Add chicken to the pan, add parsley and season sauce to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper).
  5. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Heat another minute until warmed through then turn off the heat, cover and let rest 10-15 minutes then stir and serve garnished with parsley. 

Notes: I use one pot for everything – less washing up! You can use left over bits of ham or bacon instead of the chicken, or with the chicken if you prefer – remember, the idea is to use what you have instead of wasting. This recipe works best with fettuccine or linguine, but given the price, I chose to use spaghetti instead:)

Home made chicken stock

Home made chicken stock

Okay, so you normally buy the stock cubes, right? Not too expensive, quick and easy! But – these are laden with salt, and not very healthy, so why not use something you would normally throw away to make something nutritious and tasty for your family?

Don’t throw out your peels or your chicken carcass! Recycle them:). This recipe is for chicken stock, but with the simple addition of apple cider vinegar and a much longer cooking time, you can turn this into bone broth, which is even healthier.

You will need the following:

  • Leftover bones and skin from a large cooked or raw chicken carcass
  • Celery tops and 1 large celery rib
  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • Carrots ( I use about three, if I use carrots, not peels)
  • Parsley, 1 bunch
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 3 Sprigs of rosemary and thyme
  • Garlic to taste
  • 3 bay leaves

Directions:

1) Put the leftover bones and skin from a chicken carcass into a large stock pot. Add vegetables and herbs. (I usually freeze my carrot peels, potato peels and other vegetable peelings, and use this when making stock or bone broth. Scrub the vegetables first before peeling if you plan to do this!).Cover with water. Add salt and pepper, about a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.

2) Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to barely a simmer. Simmer partially covered at least 4 hours, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.

3) Remove the bones and vegetables with a slotted spoon, and strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve.

Keeps for around a week in the fridge, and can be frozen for three to four months.

*I usually use my slow cooker or my pressure cooker to make the stock in – hands free cooking! Just throw everything in, and let it get on with things:)

Easy french toast

2 x eggs

2- 3 tbsp milk

Mix the milk and eggs with a fork. Dip the bread in, covering both sides, and fry both sides until golden brown. Each batch of the mix makes 3 – 4 pieces of toast.

Serve with syrup, jam, or butter. My daughter likes cinnamon sugar on hers, and my husband eats his with Bovril…go figure!

There are recipes online that use as much as a quarter cup milk, but we don’t like our toast soggy, so I use very little milk.

You can add variations to the batter, such as cinnamon, vanilla essence, etc. I saw a recipe online that actually rolls up the toast with chocolate and ricotta cheese, which turned it into a cannoli-like treat. Yum!

Week menu

Okay, as promised last week, I have put together a menu for a week. Please bear in mind that this is what my family ate, you are free to change it however you wish, if your family doesn’t eat the meals or ingredients listed.

I have a very fast and loose approach to cooking and recipes in particular. I have this crazy idea that a recipe is nothing more than a suggestion, and I take that as licence to change things up as I pleaseJ

Seriously though, it is really only a guideline, and one can always change ingredients to suit what you have on hand.

Monday: French toast -recipe here

Tuesday: Pea soup

Wednesday: roast chicken, rice, gravy, potatoes, veg.

Thursday: Boerewors rolls

Friday: Chicken Alfredo – recipe here

Saturday: Chips, wors and eggs

Sunday: Thai chicken curry soup – recipe here

This week boerewors was on special at Pick n Pay, so I bought a packet that had 12 pieces in. I used 6 with the rolls on Thursday, and three on Saturday with the chips. Total cost on two meals, with wors left over for another meal and rolls left over for lunch for school and work the next day: R 100.

The French toast was made with 8 eggs and an entire loaf of bread, with left over for lunch for school and work the next day: total cost: R 18.27 (eggs were purchased on special for R34.99 for 30, and I bought the Pick n Pay brand bread, R 8.99)

Chicken was on special at Pick n Pay for R 32.99 per kg, I bought a two-pack of chicken and only used one last week. Three meals were made out of the chicken. I roasted it, we each had a piece of chicken, then I stripped the meat off the breast for the Alfredo. I then made chicken stock with the remainder, and used the leftover meat in the chicken curry soup.  Total cost for three meals therefore under R 50 for three people.

The pea soup had been previously made, and the balance that had been left over had been frozen. I used two pieces of pork that I had bought from a bulk pack that wasn’t really suitable for frying as is, and made soup out of it. I would estimate that it cost around R 30 to make the soup, and it made two meals.

Total cost of meals for week: R 198.27. Let’s be generous, and add another fifty bucks to cover the veg and rice etc., although those were previously bought. R 250 for a week for three people isn’t too bad. We didn’t starve, and no beans or toast came into the mix at all:)

Home made body scrub

When times are tough, and a budget is limited, most of us forgo some things in order to save money. Women particularly are notorious for neglecting themselves in favour of their families. We also still need to take care of ourselves, and don’t we also deserve a little pampering too?

You can do that, without breaking the bank!

A body scrub at least once a week is a great idea to keep you skin glowing and healthy. It helps remove all the dead surface cells, which is good for you.

To purchase a scrub is a fairly expensive proposition, so why not just make your own? It costs very little, helps you feel great, and the variations are endless.

My go-to body scrub is actually usually made with salt, but can be made with sugar as well. I tend to use the salt because it is cheaper, but don’t let that hold you back…

I normally just take a cup of salt, mix with a half a cup of coconut oil, throw in a few drops of whatever essential oil I am in the mood for, add some dried lavender, and we’re good to go. Okay, not very scientific, I know, but it works.

Body scrub recipe:

1 cup salt or sugar

½ cup coconut oil (or any oil, really, but coconut oil has so many benefits and is readily available)

10 drops essential oil – lavender is a favourite, but there are good options (and this is strictly optional!)

Some dried herbs such as lavender (mostly for prettiness)

Once you have combined all your ingredients, go run a nice hot bath and have a long soak – you deserve it!