Sunday 15 February 2009

Leftovers

I had some milk+egg+vanilla mixture leftover from the bread pudding and felt it would be a waste to throw it away (9 eggs and 1 vanilla bean). I decided to make a very simple egg tart using store brought puff pastry. Didn't use a recipe and wasn't sure how long I was supposed to leave it in. It sunk a little when I took it out but the custard was so yum. I should've made creme brulee or creme caramel with it instead of the tarts.

The cat loved it too. I was cleaning my room and that sneaky bastard ate all the custard in the 6 mini tarts I made!!!

The puff pastry is sold in packs of 10. I had 4 left which I used to make sardine puffs. When I was younger, Mum used to prepare sardine sandwiches for me. I haven't had it in years but I saw a tin of sardines at the supermarket last week and bought one to take home. I fried it with some chillis and red onions.

I also have a new plan. I am a student now which means that we have significantly less to spend. Besides that, my parents will be visiting us in July and I would like to take them on holiday and frankly, even food for 4, train tickets (30 euro per person to Amsterdam and so on!) , entrance tickets and so forth will blow my budget out of the window. Our grocery bill is on the high side at 500 euro a month (The average Dutch family spends about 400 euro and that means 2 parents+2 kids. There's only 2 of us here..) so we have a new rule now. Dinners are to cost less than 5 euro or 35 euro per week. The grocery bill must not exceed 75 euro/week.

MUST start saving.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoa, that's quite high for two people. We spent about CHF190 (max) (128 euros) for two weeks worth of groceries and the bulk goes to the meats (meat is the most expensive item here).

Urm, I don't know if it's applicable where you are but one thing that helped us a lot was 1) budget alternatives instead of the branded items (the taste is almost always the same, 2) buying meat or items when it's on sale, and 3) buying in bulk (like fruits, potatoes, garlic and onions).

Shopping with a list helps and while you're at it, why don't you make some lunch for hubby as well? I usually do that when we have extras for dinner (which is always the case) so hubby had home cooked food for lunch and saves about CHF17 to 20. That way we get to stretch every cent as far as we can. :)

Good luck!!!!

(And oh, it's normal for your tarts to sink. Just like egg tarts and all. ^^ )

Anonymous said...

Hi Ms. Nyonya, stumbled into your blog from the expat site and glad that I found it :) Love your food and especially those Asian dish that you cook! I miss Malaysian food so much too!

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Mei: We do buy store-brands instead of well-known ones but vegetables and meat (and spices) are so expensive. Lagipun, the Dutchman does not like rice, noodles, couscous or other grains much. Lists and planning in advance do help. Before this, it was very much about what we feel like eating that day and sometimes if we're too lazy, we'll eat out or get a takeaway (also expensive). He has always brought sandwiches from home (typically Dutch;) ) but now, I try to take some sandwiches to school instead of buying from the canteen.

Hi HN! Thanks for visiting!Do you live in NL too?

Alisa: Will check it out;)

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, I live in Den Haag, Netherlands :) Nice knowing another friend through blogsphere!