Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday!  This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which have changed as we've proceeded. (As things have settled down to a nice steady conversational pace, for example, I've deleted the rules about only one tip per person per week and about limiting the length of comments; I was worried early on about people flooding the forum with too much too fast, but I think we're past that risk.)

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!

Comments

Re: Leftovers: Tacu tacu

[methylethyl]

Pretty much every culture with a cooked-grain product as a staple dish, also has a standard breakfast dish for using up the leftovers the next morning. Fried rice for breakfast is how you don't waste that last bit of half-dessicated rice from yesterday.

In Peru, that dish is Tacu-tacu.

If you're ok with Spanish, here's a recipe:
https://comidasperuanas.net/tacu-tacu-peruano/

Outside Peru, it can be hard to source Aji Amarillo in a budget-friendly way-- the flavor is pretty unique, but you can use other hot peppers and it'll be a local variant ;)

The basic concept is, you take yesterday's leftover rice and beans, fry them up with onions, tomatoes, chopped parsley/cilantro, dried oregano, garlic, peppers, salt and pepper-- form them into a loaf on a plate, and serve with a fried egg on top, or cilantro, or a banana, or chicken, or carne asada, or whatever strikes your fancy.

The recipe above recommends you dunk your tomatoes in hot water for a minute or two, and then scooch the skins off, cut and remove the seeds, and dice them. I find this a lot of work and just chop them up.

In English, approximately:
1. mash leftover beans in a bowl, with a fork and set aside
2. sautee onions and garlic in oil until onions are transparent, then add tomato, chile, and oregano.
3. Brown the stuff in the frying pan for a couple more minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Add the beans and then rice, combining thoroughly, season with salt and pepper, add the parsley (or cilantro) and then put a lid on it and let it rest for an hour before serving.
5. When ready to serve, heat oil in a pan, make an oval-shaped serving and fry it until golden brown on both sides.

It advises to include a bit of the liquid from the leftover beans, for a more crisp exterior.