The power of nail polish and nail pens.

This post is brought to you by my jittery, jittery attempt to cut down on smoking. Cutting down means I have to do something with my hands to keep my 'HOLY FUCK I NEED TO SMOKE RIGHT NOW', rage in check, and painting my nails is often one of those things. I predict that by the end of this week my nails will be falling of (just like leprosy!) from all the painting/nail polish removal. Anyway, it's not all bad, I was inspired to write this post.

One of my 2010 Christmas presents from my boyfriend was a set of nail art pens. I absolutely adore them, and they're great for making leopard print nails. They remained only for nail use... until winter last year. My friends Mark and Nate had a "Neo Noir" themed party, and I wanted to go as something dark and space-like. I decided on the Horsehead Nebula without too much thought, and soon realised that costume-wise, I was fucked. Digital print galaxy clothes cost a lot (I couldn't find anything for less than $200), and scouring op shops wasn't helping. Frustrated, I started scouring my room for ideas on what I could use to paint/stain/dye a t-shirt with. I came across the nail pens, which I hadn't used in a month or so, and a black satin dress that was admittedly pretty plain and hadn't been worn in a year. I did a test patch, and it seemed to work. I sat down with some Bowie and made my costume for exactly $0. It's amazing what you can do with things you have lying around the house and a little time.

 

Another DRAB TO FAB!!111 moment came in the form of this Valleygirl faux leather jacket. It was on sale for $20, and the cut/style was exactly what I'd been looking for forever... but it had these fucking dreadful dingy gold studs on it. They looked boring and ugly and made me want to cry. I bought the jacket regardless, because I knew that I had some lovely light purple/silver shimmer nail polish at home that would fix it good and proper. I even painted the zippers and zipper teeth very very carefully.

I've also painted bobby pins to match my hair at times (try finding ones that match light pink, lilac or platinum blonde. WHATEVER chemists, I refuse to believe that those dark brownish gold bobby pins are for blonde hair).

Keep thinking outside the box! Your problem solving skills can improve so much when you're on a tight budget. You'll be a regular MacGyver in no time. With better hair.

xx
Joanna.

In fact, if you play 'Maybe I'm Amazed' backwards, you'll hear a recipe for a really ripping lentil soup.

It's soup week at my house. Translation: money is especially tight due to the aftermath of Christmas/New Years' celebrations. Soup week is actually quite nice. I have fun experimenting with different textures and colours (brightly coloured soups are the best, it's just like drinking a healthy/non-toxic paint).

The two recipes that follow were passed on from my grandma to my mum, and my mum to me. Sounds like a canned goods company trying to divert your attention from their questionable ethics, right?

Anyway, join me in soup week solidarity!

A REALLY RIPPING LENTIL SOUP (Serves 6-8, or more depending on portion size)
This is actually delicious when cold. Like, cold breakfast pizza delicious. You can eat some when it's hot, too, because there will be leftovers. Yay! Bachelor chow secret: bake some potatoes and use this as a topping. Or have it on toast. Use your noggin and be creative.

You will need:
2 cups of red lentils
6-7 cups of prepared vegetable or chicken or beef stock (I find the amount of stock varies depending on the emotional state of the lentils, man).
2 onions, finely chopped.
2 tins of tomatoes. They can be whole or diced, it really doesn't matter. If they're whole, just chop them up before you add them.
Pinch of chilli OR paprika
Pinch o'salt, if you're into salty things.
Vegetable oil or butter for frying

Step 1. Fry the finely chopped onion in a frying pan until it's that clear sort of colour, just starting to brown a little.
Step 2. Switch the onions to a saucepan, because you're going to need a bigger boat. Add the lentils and tomatoes.
Step 3. Add two cups of the stock. Bring to the boil. Wait until the stock has been absorbed, then add another two cups. Bring the heat down to simmer.
Step 4. Upon adding the last two cups of stock, put the chilli or paprika and salt in. Simmer and stir until you have a consistency that you like.

Voila! You now have a delicious lentil soup. Don't put it in a blender or food processor, unless you have special dental requirements, because it's much better chunky.

EQUALLY GREAT ZUCCHINI SOUP (serves 4)
This soup is best when hot. It's also ok for freezing to be enjoyed later.

You will need:
5 cups of prepared vegetable or chicken stock
3 cups of diced zucchini
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
2 tbsp brown or white rice
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger, or a little ginger powder (note: You don't need the ginger. It's ok if you don't have any. I substituted a little paprika, and you can definitely use chilli.)
1 cup milk

Note: This recipe normally needs a blender. I'm going to give you my steps for the blender and non-blender version of the recipe. I prefer the non-blender version, although it takes a little longer. Definitely worth it.

BLENDER VERSION:
Step 1. Take all of the ingredients (except the milk, that's for serving!) and cook in a saucepan for 20 minutes.
Step 2. Let cool, then put it in a blender and blend.
Step 3. Before serving, stir in the milk.

NON BLENDER VERSION:
Step 1. Cook the rice in the stock for about 5 minutes.
Step 2. Add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the milk. Cook for around 25 minutes, or until the zucchini is adequately broken down. If you get to 25 minutes and think "That looks watery", add a couple of teaspoons of flour (or cornflour) to absorb the excess liquid and thicken everything, and cook for a little longer. Stir frequently.
Step 3. When you get to the thick soup consistency, turn the heat down and add the milk.






The great thing about both of these recipes is that you probably have a lot of the ingredients lying around in your cupboard. If you don't, think about investing in some spices.

NOT THAT KIND, SILLY. HYUCK!

I hope you enjoy the recipes now or at a later date. Also, thanks to everyone who has read my blog in its baby stages... your positive feedback has been wonderful, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

x Joanna

Food stamps

Getting the right balance of healthy and cheap food can be really tricky. I've come a long way from the time when saving meant "Just eat Mi Goreng and Weet Bix for three weeks and you'll be ok". Vegetables and fruit are important, and I like them. Yum yum yum.

I will do a post with recipes soon, but I wanted to share some food shopping tips first.

1. Preparation will be a recurring theme throughout this blog. Food shopping preparation can take a while, but it can be fun. I start by looking for ingredients online that are very very cheap. If you have a supermarket nearby that has an online shop (for delivery purposes), take advantage of that and trawl through the pages. Don't go straight to the specials, they often contain junk food and things that won't go very far in cooking.

2. Look for versatile things that will give you a generous serving/will keep for a while. I like to look for cheap pasta, rice, lentils, potatoes, carrots, onions, and occasionally I'll get some meat to freeze. Tinned foods are also great - most of the time they're less than a dollar. You might not get the best quality, but you tend not to notice once it's cooked.

3. Don't be afraid to be pedantic and compare prices per serve.

4. Once you've found some cheap ingredients, you can go to a website like www.supercook.com. I stumbled across it when I was trying to figure out whether my life changing recipe database idea where you type in the ingredients and the things you can make with it pop up already existed. It did. My thinking is not revolutionary, but that's ok, because it meant someone had already done the hard work for me. It's a fantastic resource for anyone on a budget, just type in what you intend to buy at the supermarket and what you already have in your cupboard, and it will tell you what you can make and whether you need a couple of extra ingredients. If you're already a great cook and rock at improvisation, you probably won't need this, but it's helpful for cooking plebs like me.

5. Adjust recipes to suit what you have in your cupboard. Do you REALLY need to buy that soy sauce just for this recipe, or will you use it again? Do you have something else you can use as a binder? Be careful with this, it doesn't always work - again, it's something you'll get better at with time.

6. Sit down with a calculator and add up the prices of everything you need. Work out how long it will last you for. Are you cooking for two? Is it likely some friends will stop by for dinner? Is it PMS week, and will you eat every grain of salt and sugar in the house? These are all important things to consider in your plan.

7. Stick to the aisles you need to visit. I love the fun aisle too, chocolate and crappy snack foods are delicious, but sticking to your budget = more money for fun and going out with friends, and the ability to pay your bills. I try to get that "Just Don't Look" song from the Simpsons stuck in my head.

8. If you're lucky enough to live near a market, shop for fruit and veg there (near the end of the day, preferably). It's so much cheaper. Huge bags of fruit = stews, pies and cakes, huge bags of vegetables = soups, salads, veggie lasagne. And a million other things. If they're looking a little limp, just cook them as soon as you get home. You'll have food for a week. You can apply #4 to this if you're unsure what to cook.

9. Spices. They'll make things more interesting. Maybe it's just because I'm a filthy smoker (I know, I'd save a bunch of money if I gave up, but it's only a $20 a week habit with rollies, and it REALLY keeps me sane. I'll quit soon. Promise) but I love love love spice, and food is fucking boring without it. If you're consistently buying the same ingredients, switch the spice - paprika instead of chilli in lentil burgers will change the flavour completely (oh god can you tell I like lentils they're the best everrrr).


These things REALLY help. I managed to do my Christmas grocery shopping for around $40 by sticking to this - it provided my friends and I with a decent Christmas feast, and we had leftovers and other ingredients that kept three of us going for another week.

x Joanna

Welcome!

I've been living the modest life of a student for about a year and a half now. If you've ever been a student, you're probably familiar with the consistent poverty, but over time you might have developed some tricks for coping with it. I want to share my tricks with you.

Before I decided to study psychology, I worked as a make up artist. Make up and clothes pretty much ate up 50% of my pay every fortnight. Cutting back on these was difficult for me. The first few months were pretty damn bleak, and I often pictured myself switching to burlap sacks for a cost effective dress (itchy... deliciously itchy!). However, humans adapt to new situations quickly. Before I knew it, I'd found ways around the money issue, and was able to buy 'luxury' items (read: things you don't eat, things that don't transport you places, and things you don't wipe with) on a regular basis.

For my first entry, I'd like to share some of my super fun budget happy times beauty/make up tips with you. I know there are a million "Beauty on a Budget" articles out there, but sometimes sacrificing Creme de la Mer for Clarins just doesn't cut it.

1. Olive oil. Olive oil olive oil olive oil for dry skin. I tried this before going out about a week ago, and it fixed my dry summer Adelaide skin (any other Adelaideans have that problem? It's so DRY here) in a jiffy. Mix a couple of drops with water, or mix with a cheap moisturiser to thicken it, then apply to face/legs/arms/hands. Because you only need a tiny amount, it's so damn cost effective, and you can use it to make delicious food. Great! Just a heads up: once or twice a week is enough for this ultra moisturising new best friend.

2. Discount Pharmacies are wonderful, and often stock good, cheap skincare products in bulk. Cetaphil cleanser is great for sensitive or acne prone skin, and costs about $15 for a bottle that will last you around three months. You can also use it as a bodywash. It has a semen-esque consistency, but don't let that stop you using it again.

3. If you're looking to buy some cheap make up, do your research! www.makeupalley.com has consumer reviews of nearly every product you can think of. I've found Natio blush and foundation for less than $12, and they're comparable to some of the more expensive cosmetics I used to use.

4. Here's one for people who have empty MAC containers lying around: bring six of those to a store and you'll get a free lipstick as part of their recycling program. Go to http://www.maccosmetics.com/giving_back/btm_return_packaging.tmpl for some more information.

5. Get every damn molecule you paid for out of the jar/bottle/tube. Cutting the end of a tube with scissors or a stanley knife lets you get all up in that container to scoop out the precious goo inside. Secure with a bulldog clip or glad wrap and a rubber band to stop it from drying out/other things getting in. It sounds like a little thing, but it can get you anywhere from a few days to a week of extra usage. This also works for toothpaste.

6. If you're clever, you can make most products multi-purpose. I frequently use blush for eyeshadow and vice versa. I find golden, peach, fawn or light pink tones work the best for me. White, shimmery eyeshadow is a great cheekbone highlight (used sparingly and blended with care).


I hope you enjoyed my first entry. I'll be posting cheap recipes, clothing tips and other odds and ends over the next couple of weeks.

xx

Joanna