Dips, treats and hungry kids

Dips, treats and hungry kids

By Frank and Muriel Newman

The mail bags are full again so let’s take a dip and see what treats emerge!

TB from Blenheim has a tip for gardeners - instead of growing leeks, plant spring onions! They will grow just as big as leeks, have the same taste and are more useful over a longer period of time.

SG from Wellington has a teacher treat idea. “My daughter loves to give her teacher a gift each year. Not costly, around $10. However, this year, she decided that she wanted to give a gift to 3 other teachers and also those who care for her after school. I realised this was going to be too costly so made a batch of Russian fudge, brought 6 cheap pretty glass containers from the warehouse, some ribbon and everyone got lovely ribbon-wrapped Russian fudge for a gift! Definitely going to do it again this year as it's a very cost effective way to cater for all the teachers.”

Mum of 4 hungry kids, Christchurch, has a tasty way to use a tin of baked beans. “You will need: 1 x capsicum diced, 1 x onion diced, 2-3 tablespoons jalapenos, a tin baked beans, and eggs. Fry capsicum and onion, add jalapenos (mine are from a jar), and baked beans - stir until hot, drop to a medium heat and crack eggs on top of the mixture - poaching the eggs on top of the baked beans. Serve when the eggs are to your liking (I like mine semi-soft) - and enjoy! Kids love this and have requested it several times lately.”

LS from Christchurch has sparkling clean windows at no cost. “To wash windows, get one piece of wet newspaper scrunched up into a loose ball and wipe all over the area of window, rubbing over dirt until it moves then wipe over with a piece of dry newspaper scrunched into a loose ball until the area is dry and clear of marks.”

Heza from Manurewa in Auckland explains how to make a simple hummus. “All you need is 1 tin of chickpeas, 5 cloves of garlic, and the juice from 1 lemon. Whiz them together in a blender, place on a plate and add a tablespoon of oil - all ready to dip or spread!

A little while ago we asked the oily rag community to help an oily rag reader with their ‘problem’: how to cook the fresh fish they caught! Here are some of the replies.

Diana from Whakatane has two favourites.

“Fish and mash - place mashed potato in bottom of shallow Pyrex and place the fish fillets on top of the mash after dipping first into melted butter. Bake until fish is cooked about 12-15 minutes at 180C. Mix together - half cup of mayo, half a cup of grated cheese, 2 egg yolks, a teaspoon of dried mustard, and stir in the whisked egg whites. Place over cooked fish and bake until nicely browned in moderate oven.”

“Spicy fish - 3 minutes to prepare, 12 minutes to cook. Ingredients to serve 2 people: 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, cumin, turmeric; 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (if you think this is too hot, use half the amount), 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil, 2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced, 250g fish fillet cut into 50mm pieces, 200ml canned coconut milk, and coriander leaves to garnish. Mix together the spices with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside. Heat oil in pan, put in garlic until lightly browned. Add fish and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in spices and cook for another minute. Pour in coconut milk, cover and simmer for 3 minutes.”

Raglob from Dunedin has this recipe for a raw fish salad. “Just dice pieces of fish, mix with chopped up red onion, red peppers, celery, tomatoes or whatever good ingredients you have and like, then pour a vinaigrette dressing over it. This salad is good left to marinate for a while, but can be scoffed as soon as it's mixed.”

If you have some ‘secret’ money-making ideas you would like to share with readers – send them to us via the oily rag website or by dropping us a line at Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei. The book Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag by Frank & Muriel Newman is available from all good bookstores or online at www.oilyrag.co.nz.

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