It's budget week for Misterchef

This is the week, around the 20th, when our bank account gets drained to pay off mortgage, power, phone, and just about every other bill of significance. We've scheduled them to coincide because it felt less irritating to have one bad week out of 4 as opposed to a steady stream of annoyance. Over the last 10 years we've managed to organise our budget to handle this tough week so we're no longer digging around the couch for loose change. But it can still be tight. As part of keeping my squandering ways in check I've started thinking a little harder about how to stretch our budget even further. The obvious place to start being our groceries which accounts for the biggest chunk of our weekly expenditure. Aside from planning our meals and trying to shop to a list only once a week. I am also trying to expand my culinary repertoire to focus on fruit & vege which is in season. By this stage though my kids are sick to death of corn on the cob and I have given myself hives eating vast amounts of feijoa's but we struck a winner last weekend with the hubby's version of a Cauliflower & Potato Soup ('stolen' from my weightwatchers cookbook!). It was a winner all round, and (surprisingly) especially with 8mth old George.

Matt's Cauliflower & Potato soup

1 med onion

4 med potatoes
1/2 head of cauliflower
1 teaspoon tried ground cumin
chicken stock (as much as needed for desired consistency)

method:
fry onion in some olive oil until soft - add ground cumin
add potatoes and cauliflower and stock 
simmer until veges just cooked i.e 15 min and cauliflower not too mushy!
taste and season with salt and pepper as needed
blend to desired consistency, i.e. chunky, runny or somewhere in between
serve with crusty bread and butter

(Matt says..don't over cook the cauliflower cause the soup has better flavour and texture if you don't)

Rumour has it my brother Jono is slow cooking some mean lamb shanks in Sydney and I am pretty sure sister in law Antonia the guru behind Kai Culture in Queenstown has a few nifty tricks too. So stay tuned for more recipes and feel free to send in your own family budget friendly favourites

Suburban mum turned fashion voyeur

An enjoyable part of my treatment for reigning in my squandering of cash has been finding simple pleasures on the internet. No not those sorts of sites, rather I have found my eye candy fix on sites devoted to street fashion. I happily wander through my favourite www.thesartorialist.com every day, sometimes a couple of times if I need to. Scott Schuman the man behind the site is a bit of a guru in the world of fashion photography I gather, but more from the perspective of recognising exceptional style in everyday people. I don't recognise many of the people in his pics, they're not celebs etc - he doesn't list what labels they are wearing, he just takes their picture because they are interesting to look at. His photos remind me that being 'fashionable' is not nearly as fun or expressive as being 'stylish' and to achieve style its not what you spend on the clothes its about investing time and personality into how you present yourself.

The reason I'm posting all this though is because I have found our very own NZ site doing the same type of street style fashion pics www.streetandcityphotos.blogspot.co.nz . Its put together by Wallace Chapman and its pretty cool to see the array of interesting people on our own doorstep. There is also a fab competition giveaway for May - prize being a very cool swandri bag....visit the blog above to enter.

Am I the only squanderer out there?

Actually to be precise it appears to just be me (my husband) and one other unlucky soul who have come to terms with our wastrel ways. I am thinking this because there have only been 3 votes on my first poll (see top box to your right >>> ).....oh the shame!!.....but yet I've had page views??.....hopefully over the next 5 days I'll get a few more votes and some more definitive results will emerge. I still don't know whether the new (genius) revlon lip butters, vintage snake skin handbags, dinner vouchers or theatre passes will appeal more as future prizes.....I do know which one my husband would prefer though. 

Hoping you can help me out (its completely anonymous just like the comments section too)!