"I put in family specials, but once you know the basic method, you can cook almost anything. This would make a delightful Christmas or birthday present. Get it started for next year!"
Karen from Northland has a sock problem. "Does anyone have any suggestions on a quick way of removing grass clippings and other vegetation from woolly working socks?"
If you can help Karen please drop us a line (and if you can solve the riddle of where all the missing single socks go, then please share that with us too!).
Valerie from Taupo has sent in a tip for using duck eggs. "Make Scotch pancakes / pikelets. You will need 2 duck eggs, 4 tablespoons white sugar, 3 cups self raising flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, and full cream milk -- to mix.
Beat the eggs and add the sugar. Combine baking soda and cream of tartar with the flour and sift into the egg mix, adding milk as you go until it's a dropping consistency.
Heat an electric flying pan and smear with butter. Drop in tablespoons of the mix and turn when covered with bubbles. Stow under a linen tea towel. Lovely the next day with bacon or served with fried eggs."
Many thanks for the recipe Valerie -- we have tried it and can say they are delicious.
Planning a summer wedding? Lori from Paraparaumu Beach writes, "I paid $100 for a second-hand dress from an opportunity shop in Waikanae and customised it. No need for a $2000 dress."
Mrs Valuable Forthright Opinions from "somewhere near Canterbury" in the UK believes she must be the most frugal person in the country. That's saying something because frugality may well have been invented in the UK!
Our frugal friend writes, "I get the most enormous thrill out of making / growing things and generally avoiding supermarkets, with the consequence that we were able to buy our modest little house here in the pricey southeast of England for cash on a very meagre income. Here are a few tips:
"Explore the wonderful world of the hot water bottle. Warming yourself is much cheaper and probably healthier than heating the space around you. Re-boil the water when it's no longer warm enough to keep you toasty but still has some warmth in it -- it boils much quicker this way. And wrap the hottie up in a blanket if you leave it for any length of time. It stays warmer longer.
"Add layers if you live in a cold climate. It you're a gal, wear a petticoat and long johns underneath. Fetching I know, but sexier than frostbite and large heating bills. Wear a number of layers of cotton then a woollen layer over the top.
"Make your own tofu. Boil up the cheapest shop-bought soya milk you can find -- 1 to 2 litres is a good amount. Coagulate it with some vinegar or lemon juice. Drain it through a tea towel and squish it down with something heavy. Use the yellow liquid that's left over for making bread. This is the cheapest and freshest tofu I know."
2014 has been a bumper year for frugality.
We have received hundreds of tips from readers and the Oily Rag Club now has over 6000 members on the weekly newsletter mailing list (fortunately we no longer have to lick stamps to send it out!).
It's amazing that although people have been practising frugality since the beginning of civilisation, oily raggers are still able to come up with new and interesting ways to turn penny pinching into serious savings.
Best wishes for a fun and frugal Christmas - see you in 2015,
Frank & Muriel Newman.
You can send your suggestions and join the Oily Rag mailing list, by visiting www.oilyrag.co.nz -- or you can write to us at Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.
Read our wealth of tips at target='_blank'>www.oilyrag.co.nz.
