A lot goes on in my rural kitchen. This section is where I share the practical know-how, and everyday tips and tricks that help me make the most of what I have.
These are not recipes, but resourceful methods and simple techniques — from how to dehydrate fruits and vegetables, to tips on freezing eggs, free-flowing excess produce, and making the most of every part of a vegetable from root to tip. You’ll also find guides on things like sterilising jars and other useful things.
Much of what’s here comes from a desire to reduce waste, honour the full life of each ingredient, and be as self-sufficient as possible in the kitchen. Many of these tips have become habits in my daily routine, and I hope they’ll become tools in yours too.
Posts are listed in date order, latest first. If you’re after something specific, use the TAG menu on the right to filter by topic or ingredient.
Whether you’re looking to stretch a harvest or simplify your routine, I hope you find something here to support your kitchen journey.
My Love Affair with Agee Special Jars
August 31, 2025
Years ago, while renovating our charming but weathered 1920s bungalow (who am I kidding, it was falling apart), I stumbled ...
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How to Preserve Lemon or Lime Juice
July 14, 2025
Homemade shelf-stable lemon and lime juice? Yes-siree. If you’ve ever found yourself with a glut of lemons or limes, whether ...
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10 Ways to use Preserved Lemons
June 17, 2024
Preserved Lemons: the pantry staple you didn’t know you needed Bright, tangy, complex, and deeply aromatic, preserved lemons are a ...
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Dehydrated Lemon Zest Powder
August 28, 2023
After a lemon dilemma, I’ve turned my hand to the process of dehydrating lemon zest and turning it to Lemon ...
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Dehydrating Leafy Greens – Powdered Greens
December 22, 2022
With an over abundant harvest of kale, silverbeet, chard and spinach in my garden I’ve turned to dehydrating and powdering ...
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How to use Kaffir Limes
June 3, 2022
I love limes. I absolutely adore them. In fact, all citrus gets a big tick from me. Here’s how to ...
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Super Celery – All for the Eating
April 9, 2022
This blog is to honour the humble celery – all of it, from top to tail. Celery takes a while ...
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Frozen Mystery Mix
April 9, 2022
I am so into this at the moment! Frozen Mystery Mix bags, conveniently frozen and ready for a stir-fry, slow ...
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Restoring Painted Door Knobs to former Glory
March 10, 2022
In old villas especially, original knob knobs can be hiding under multiple layers of paint applied over decades. Here are ...
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Free-flow Freezing Steps for Excess Veggies
January 25, 2022
Free-flow freezing is a must when you have fresh vegetables in excess. Here’s how! Whether you are looking for points ...
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Easy Refrigerator Pickles
December 31, 2021
Save those fresh veggie leftovers and make a delicious refrigerator pickle. Unlike most of my preserves which are intended to ...
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How to remove sticky labels from glass jars
October 19, 2020
Removing labels from glass jars and bottles can be tricky, so here are a few tips and tricks to make ...
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Homemade Yoghurt without buying endless Sachets
October 18, 2020
Love love love homemade yoghurt…and oh those delicious supermarket bought sachets, creamy and perfect every time. But you only need ...
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Freezing Eggs and other everyday food items
September 28, 2020
Can you freeze egg whites and yolks? Yes you can! How about avocado, milk and coffee? Save money and get ...
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25 delicious ways to use leftover Jam in Recipes
August 12, 2020
Love your leftovers! Thankfully, there are many delicious ways to use jam and those last few spoonfuls can go a ...
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Anzac-Inspired Lockdown Slice (with DIY oat flour)
April 16, 2020
I know I’m not the only one: flour is in short supply at the moment. It seems New Zealand has ...
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How to fix Putty: Guide for Beginners
April 5, 2020
I’m a give-it-a-go DIYer and recently got stuck into puttying – a first for me. We have a 100 year ...
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Being Resourceful: Menu Planning
March 24, 2020
Being resourceful in the kitchen in a time of uncertainty helps to manage stress levels, your budget and your supplies ...
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25 Delicious Ways to Use Leftover Relish
May 22, 2019
Other than grilled cheese toasties, dagwood sandwiches and adorning your cheese platter, just how do you use relishes and chutneys ...
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How to stop lettuce from spoiling
January 12, 2019
Have you bought lettuce only to find it weeks later in the back of the fridge in a limp mess? ...
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Orange Vinegar DIY Household Cleaner
August 3, 2017
Keep those orange peels! After enjoying fresh juice and baking ’til your heart’s content, don’t be in a hurry to ...
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Homemade Cultured Buttermilk
July 17, 2017
Buttermilk is not a common recipe ingredient but, from time to time, you’ll stumble on a recipe that requires it ...
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Winter and the woodshed
June 11, 2017
Fire it up! It’s sure getting chilly! Frosts are an every day occurrence and at times, while the sun pushes through ...
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Preserving using the Water Bathing Method
February 25, 2017
I go back to basics and rediscover the water-bath method of preserving, just like grandma used to. While I have ...
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How to Sterilise Preserving Jars & Bottles
January 22, 2017
Good hygiene and trusted preserving methods are essential for long-life, shelf-stable preserves that will last for months in your pantry ...
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A bucketful of plums: how to freeze them
January 19, 2017
Just how do you make the most of an abundant plum harvest? My plum tree is rather special. It has ...
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1939 Cooking Lessons: being resourceful
September 25, 2016
I’ve had more than a passing interesting the concept of ‘waste not, want not’, which was a saying my grandmother ...
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Preserving Fresh Herbs: Rosemary & Parsley
August 7, 2016
A slight ‘segway’ from my current project, my very own veggie garden makeover, today saw me (a) trimming my rosemary ...
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Love Food Hate Waste: the campaign begins
July 5, 2016
The statement couldn’t be any clearer. There’s a campaign in New Zealand to help raise awareness of the amount of ...
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Foraging for edibles in our forests
June 2, 2016
Bush walking will never be the same. Foraging through the damp undergrowth of the Pirongia Forest Park has opened my ...
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Homemade Vegetable Stock
May 28, 2016
Making your own vegetable stock makes perfect sense, as it has been for generations. I love old New Zealand cookbooks ...
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Leftovers are just the beginning
May 6, 2016
Leftovers make up 8% of 122,547 tonnes of avoidable food waste each year in New Zealand. Where is the disconnect ...
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Surviving Junk Free June
May 3, 2016
Put yourself up for the challenge! #junkfreejune is upon us, designed to raise awareness of healthy eating and to raise ...
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Salvage Bread: Make your own breadcrumbs
April 28, 2016
Bread goes stale. Fact. Breadcrumbs bought from a supermarket could set you back $1.80-$6.00 depending how fancy. Fact. You get ...
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Love Food Hate Waste: NZ’s Top 10 food wastes
April 26, 2016
This isn’t the first time I’ve spoken about food waste and certainly won’t be the last. Per annum, 79kg of ...
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Make your own Mozzarella
April 23, 2016
I’ve spotted whole milk (full cream milk) before and wondered who would buy it given our fat conscious society – ...
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Shelling Beans
February 21, 2016
Looking like magic beans you’d expect to read about in Jack and the Beanstalk, I’ve had fun this season growing ...
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Jellies fit for a vegetarian: Agar Powder
January 16, 2016
Not all jellies need to be made with gelatine (an animal byproduct for the uninitiated). I’ve had fun making my ...
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Infused Rose Petal Sugar
December 14, 2015
Rose petals are deliciously fragrant, carry delicate flavours and have been used in cooking for hundreds of years. Dried and ...
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Food rescue starts at home
December 7, 2015
Food wastage is unnecessary. There is utterly no need to add to the already gloomy statistics that every New Zealand ...
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Know your dates: Best Before and Use By
November 24, 2015
Many years ago when I was working in England and living on a tight budget, I fed my family of ...
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Leeks: Preparing, cleaning and freezing
January 3, 2015
When it comes to harvesting leeks, there is a fine line between leek envy and greed! Best you smile and ...
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Three cups of sugar – how to make caster sugar & icing sugar
June 8, 2014
It took a minor catastrophe in the making to work this one out! I needed caster sugar for a batch ...
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