Tortillas, Fitness & Rent Tips

Feeding a crowd can be expensive, but there are fantastic meals you can prepare for friends which taste good and don’t cost a fortune. Or, when you have small children, entertaining in the evening can be problematic. Fortunately, our friends at Oily Rag have been sharing their best ideas for overcoming these hurdles. read on for more, including how to reduce the costs of renting and gym memberships.

Frugal Kiwi from Whakatane has asked for suggestions for finger food. Angela from Whanganui responded with these suggestions, “When I have a big crowd to feed I make burritos.  A bit of mince can go a long way if you pad it out with beans and canned tomatoes. I make tortillas myself (they are ridiculously easy to make from scratch) and let people fill their own. They are always a hit.  Here’s the Tortilla recipe:

• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

Combine flour, salt and oil in a bowl and mix together until crumbly.  Add water and mix until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes – 2 hours. To form tortillas, divide the dough into 12 equal portions.  Roll each portion into a ball and roll flat with a rolling pin until they are the desired thickness.  Heat fry pan on high heat.  Place tortilla in the pan and cook until puffed and speckled brown. Flip and cook the other side.

Occasionally I throw a pancake breakfast for friends.  We all have small children so dinner parties can get tricky – but pancakes at 10am when the children are fresh, works well.  It’s such a fun thing to do.”

A reader has written in with a lot to say about gym memberships. Over the years readers have sent in many tips to keep fit without having to go to a gym:

• Walk or bike everywhere! It keeps you fit and saves on the expense of using the car. There are lots of good cycling tracks nowadays so make the most of them.
• Try tramping. You can enjoy the great outdoors, keep fit, and enjoy the company of others. Enquire at your local tramping club for upcoming outings.
• Exercise on the lounge floor while watching TV. A few sit-ups and press-ups will help conceal those couch-potato bulges.
• Skip to keep fit. Make your own jump rope. A discarded piece of wiring cable about as thick as a pencil is ideal. Make two handles out of a block of wood or a piece of bamboo. If you think you don’t have the time to keep fit, try skipping while the adverts are on TV. (Tip – when skipping indoors watch out for household items as skipping seems to attract breakable objects!)
• Building muscles? You don’t need fancy weights – heft a tin of spaghetti in each hand or strap a big book to each ankle and lift away.

PHS from Fielding has this suggestion to remove permanent marker from whiteboards. “To get vivid permanent marker off surfaces, use Lynx deodorant spray.” We are pleased to say it works, and smells good too! Perhaps others can see if it works for all deodorant brands.

With spring in the air it’s a good time to start seedlings for the garden. A reader has this suggestion for re-using egg cartons. “Fill with topsoil and use to propagate seedlings. When the seedlings are ready to plant, cut the carton into portions. The cardboard will disintegrate and the plant will not suffer any damage during transplanting.”

Here are some tips for renters:

• Ask your landlord to reduce the weekly rent in return for work around the home. In one case the tenant (who happened to be a painter) had the rent reduced for redecorating the unit. It worked well for everyone – the landlord had his unit upgraded on what was, in effect, time payment, and the tenant saved money and lives in a unit decorated to their taste.
• Most landlords prefer long-term tenants. This saves them money because they reduce the “down time” between tenants, and the tenants tend to treat their property as their home. It also saves them a lot of hassles. Landlords don’t like finding new tenants because it takes time and they run the risk of making a bad choice. All landlords are keen to hang onto good tenants, and most will be prepared to reduce their rent to those who rent on a long-term basis. It also suits those tenants who want the security of knowing they are going to be there for a long time which avoids the upheaval of shifting and changing schools etc.
• If you are renting you could become a “sub-landlord” and take in flatmates to reduce the cost. We know of cases where enterprising tenants actually live rent-free!

By Frank and Muriel Newman. Read more here.

Don’t forget to let us know if you have a favourite tip to share with readers, or a question – you can contact us via the website at oilyrag.co.nz or by writing to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.