Lawn to Lunch: Shopping Shopping....

Saving money is what all thermo-machines claim you can do if you buy it. In fact, my TM queen BFF saves as much money in a fortnight on groceries as it cost me to have the TM on a payment plan and have it paid off in under 1 year. In her case, she was saving heaps of money on school lunches which were also healthier and saving money buying things in bulk and making from scratch.

Until recently I missed the bulk part... I was going to the veggie department seeing tomatoes for $5/kg saying to myself “forget that” and walking a few metres to grab it in a can for about $1.50. The key here is to shop smart... I got that from Jamie Oliver...

Also canned tomatoes are not all that good for you, we have recently switched to bottled, and today I plan on making our own passata.

To make the pureed tomatoes you don't need the perfect ones... go to the local fruit and veggie store I absolutely love Capricorn Fruit Supplies the staff are friendly and helpful, they reward loyalty and you can get “cooking” and “juicing” fruits and veggies for cheaper. It is there that you can save money by pureeing and cooking the fresh tomatoes in your machine. I can't wait till our tomatoes start growing... I have plans for you.

I didn't get my tomatoes in bulk today but I ended up spending about the same amount of money for tomatoes as I spend on passata. The TM kind was thicker and I used up some red capsicum that was left over. It made one jars worth with a smidge left over that I will pop on my “risoni” with some cheese for lunch. It was very yummy. I used 1 kg tomatoes (Topped and tailed so our chooks have some food), 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, Italian herbs... pulverise speed 10 1 minute, cook varoma, speed soft 30 mins.

Juicing oranges were cheap so I'm also testing out the OJ.

https://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/orange-juice/31713

Ok its done, and its quite yummy. Honey and I do not generally drink soft-drink. When we go to friends places or have people over, we feel obligated to buy some... and then finish it when they are gone you know the cycle. I would feel totally comfortable serving this to my friends who come to visit. Now for the icing on the cake...

I have been experimenting with alternative spray and wipes. One I tried was with baking soda and a tiny bit of detergent, it worked but I will tweek it a little, but my main beef is that I was re-using a container that was broken so I squeezed the trigger and there was mess everywhere. Waste not want not... it sits by the sink and I use it to clean the dishes... and wait patiently for another spray bottle to re-purpose.

My vinegar and water combination needs tweeking too. I have read that citrus vinegar is better http://snapguide.com/guides/make-orange-peel-vinegar-cleaner/ and thought of “cheating” with some essential oil... but I am never in the right place with the right cash. Its funny the way life works because now I did not even have to take the scraps to the bin, I popped them in a glass jar filled it with vinegar and get to test yet another handy recipe.