Just a Little Thought

I thought of this the other day. The simplest way to make a meal cheaper;

- add more vegetables.
- add more stock.
- serve with rice or pasta.

yes? no?

Relapse

Right, bad news... I only ended up saving $300 in the past 2 weeks... I guess it's not bad, and it's better than nothing.

Sometimes it's hard not to eat out when you live in Melbourne, isn't it? I mean, there are sooo many good places to eat out! And I'm not saying they're expensive either, but they're certainly not helping me and my super tight budget. You know, I can't help it sometimes, I love good food, so it's almost like a relapse...

Anyway, I'm not giving up my New York dream, so I guess I just need to try harder. And yeah, wish me luck :)

Sardines On Toast

For some reason I don't think many Australians like sardines... but I might be wrong. I mean, I hope I'm wrong because I think it's yummy! I remember when I was little my Mom used to make me and my sister this sardines cooked with chopped tomatoes and chillies whenever she's busy and our helpers were away. So each time I go to supermarket and walk pass the canned fish section I can't help thinking about getting some sardines.

Now, I had some leftover sourdough bread at home, and I bought a canned portuguese sardines, I can't remember exactly how much I got it for, but I think it was less than $2.

I normally mix seeded sliced chillies, and finely chopped shallot with the sardines but I got this sardines with spicy oil, so I didn't use any chillies. I only add some chopped shallot in the sardines and mashed them, and spread them on my bread.

Then in to the pre-heated oven, 160 degrees for at least 5 minutes. Some days I like the bread crunchier, so I toast it for longer but this time 5 minutes is just perfect. Drizzle with a bit of lemon juice. I love it, so simple. I can have this for lunch or snacks anytime...

It's Just Tuna Sandwich

It's not a recipe, it's just a little note.

I've been smoking less lately, 4 cigarette a day, and that's not bad, right? I guess that somehow counts. And tonight I was craving for a tuna sandwich. I don't think anyone needs a recipe for this. It's just bread and tuna and cheese and anything else you want in it?

I like good bread though, and good cheese. Oh, and I had it lightly toasted. Yum...

My Favourite Guilty Pleasure, Spaghettini Carbonara

I actually cooked this 2 days ago, but I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't post it. But anyway this dish is by faaaaar my favourite guilty pleasure food ever (part of it because I really shouldn't have bacon and pork, for a religious reason! But don't tell anyone).

I love the creamy-ness of the sauce from the grated parmesan and eggs, and I'm sure if you like bacon and eggs you would love this dish because it's basically like bacon, cheese and eggs on spaghettini. If you prefer another type of pasta, I would recommend small pasta just because it is easier to mix it.

Ok you would need;
- 2 slices of middle bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1 free range egg, beat it.
- around 1/4 cup (or more if you like them extra cheesy) of finely grated parmesan cheese. I would recommend good quality cheese, trust me, it's worth buying. I'm on budget so I bought some from Victoria Market deli, it's good and cheap, it's about $3 to $4.
- 3 serves of spaghettini.
- chopped parsley to garnish (optional)
You can easily get all the ingredients for under $8.

All you have to do;
1. Cook pasta in boiling water with some salt.
2. At the same time, cook the bacon pieces with a little bit of olive oil. The goal is to have the pasta ready  around the same time the bacon is cooked. I like the bacon pieces slightly crunchy. I like the contrasting texture of the pasta and the crunchy bacon.
3. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and then pour the bacon bits with all the grease to the pasta. Make sure you do it straight away, you need to do all this step when the pasta and the bacon are still hot.
4. Add in the beaten eggs and stir well for a few second, and sprinkle the parmesan cheese, and stir thoroughly.
5. Add chopped parsley to garnish.

You would see how you actually don't need any cream for this dish. The combination of the egg and cheese and the heat of the pasta makes the creamy sauce. It's so simple and of course, cheap. I normally have this dish on saturday night when I don't feel like going out. I'd just stay in, cook this (preferably home alone and not having to share with anyone),  have it with a glass of red, while watching tv. And don't even worry about the carbs :) Yes, that would be the best guilty pleasure food, trust me.

Sick Again, Soup Again.

I'm sick again! F*ck. So soup again. This time is a little bit too lazy, and less homey than what I would prefer. But still turned out alright for a sick food. It's just chicken soup with carrots and potatoes and leeks.

I went to Victoria Market for grocery shopping, and bought;
- 2 carrots
- 3 potatoes
- 3 chicken thigh fillets
- 1 leek

And I've got some at home:
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste (or crushed garlic, I'm sick I can't be bothered)
- salt, pepper, sugar to taste.
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste.

And (cough) this is how I cooked it (cough);
1. Cut all ingredients into chunky pieces, brown the chicken fillets, and add 1.5 liter of water, and wait until it boils.
2. Add all ingredients, and cook for as long as you like. I cooked it for 1 hour on low heat, covered.

That's all... I need to rest. I'm posting my favourite guilty pleasure Spaghettini Carbonara that I cooked yesterday, when I get better. So hopefully I'll get better soon.

So Far...

Just to let everyone know, I've saved $400 in the past 2 weeks from eating cheap hahaha. And I've still managed to pay my rent and bills and go out too! Honestly I'd like to save $500 every fortnight, so I gotta try a little harder next time. Wish me luck.