Thriftycoo

Thrift shopping lends its hand to fashion trends due the fashion cycles. The fashion style from the 90's is back in fashion some 20 years after. You can find similar styles as to the runway in your local thrift store. Keeping in mind, what styles have recently been shown on the runway. The local shops had a lot of the looks from the early 90's. Although classic closet staples are worth buying second hand. At times you can find luxury brand which are better quality The classic styles are worth it buying at the thrift store. Usually the fabric is thicker and the seems are tighter. When buying items you need to make sure that the fabric is thick. In the mall, we often see fabrics which are see thru, in turn they will break down or rip within a wearing it a few times. At times its worth it see whats available to buy. A classic pencil skirt in a wool tweed mix by a big name designer is worth every penny. Or a good quality leather bag is worth it also. Recently I came across a Donn

This recipe was inspired by my mother in laws recipe. During a long weekend, when we went to visit and I had asked her if she could prepare for us a fish dish. Since fish has yet to come on rotation on our menu she prepared us a planko parsley sole. With it being the two of us, buying frozen fish and frying it up makes it an affordable meal. You can serve it with green salad to make an easy meal. In this case with the heat which we had, I decided to accompany it with a warm corn salsa. For the fish filets' you'll need: 4 sole filets' (fresh or frozen) 1/4 cup of planko 1/2 tsp of fresh thyme 1/4 cup of fresh parsley zest of one lemon 1 french shallot (diced finely) 1/4 cup of planko 1 egg 1/2 cup of white flour Step 1: you add the thyme Step 2: Finely chop the parsley Step 3: Finely chop the french shallot, then add it to the bowl.  Step 4: Zest the lemon into the bowl with the parsley, thyme and the diced shallots. Step 5: 

With it being summertime and having a small air conditioner cooking it not an option. Unless its outside on the BBQ. Although when the hubs is at work its not an option. I tend to choose vegetarian options which require not much cooking such as having hummus and tzatziki with vegetables. I also added a couscous salad to it. I know, the myth is that you need to have meat as a source of protein though in this case its provided by vegetarian sources. Not only is it easier to digest but lighter on the tummy. To make the couscous salad, you'll need: half a lemon 1/4 cup of medium couscous 1/2 cup of water 1 large tomato 1 small cucumber or half an english cucumber 2 green onions 1 cup of parsley 1/4 cup of mint 2 tablespoons of olive oil salt and pepper Boil 1/2 cup of water remove it from the stove add in the 1/4 cup of couscous. Remove from burner and cover for 5 minutes. Finely chop the parsley and the fresh mint. Dice the cucumber and the two green onions.

Being a couple without kids (at least not yet!), buying in bulk sound counter intuitive. To my surprise it is not the case.There are many things worth buying in bulk, in the long term it is cheaper than buying at the supermarket. Recently, I discovered the discounts at Costco. For me, there are many household items worth buying in bulk such as dishwasher liquid, dish soap, laundry soap, cheese, flour, etc... I tend to find buying the items we use that have a long expiry date are worth buying in bulk. At times, when supermarkets offer discounts on meat, I buy large quantities and freeze it in smaller portions since were just the two of us. At first, I was apprehensive about it since the meat was not fresh it would have a different texture. I have to admit that buying steak and freezing it is not worth it for us. Although once the meat is cut up put in a sauce or marinated it makes no difference. Buying in larger quantities and freezing means lots of savings at the end of the month.

Being two people at times its not worth making a large pot of soup. Here is a simple recipe for a mushroom soup for two people. I know for us, having more than two portions we at times forget it in the fridge, which inspired me to reduce the proportions to make it significantly smaller. This helps reduce food waste. Although it can be doubled to accommodate 4 people. A cream soup has a base a bechamel sauce which consists of butter, flour and milk. Usually, equal portions of flour and butter with some milk to thicken it up. For this mushroom soup you'll need 1 1/4 cups of mushrooms 2 Tablespoons of flour 2 Tablespoons of butter 3/4 cup of Milk 3/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth half a yellow onion 1 clove of garlic In a sauce pan, you melt the butter then you add the sliced onions, garlic and mushrooms. Once the onions are translucent you add the butter and cook it until it coats the mushrooms. Then you add the broth and the milk and let it simmer until its thick

Growing up I used to love eating Macaroni and cheese. KD is something that kids will not refuse to eat. Although its full of chemicals and additives. I have an adult version which is sure to please young and old. Best of all it can be reheated in the microwave with a little bit of milk. For the recipe you'll need 125g of panchetta 1 yellow onion thinly sliced 8 sage leaves 1 1/2 cup of mushrooms (cremini or white or both) 2 Tablespoons of butter 1 Tablespoon of oil 1/4 cup of flour 1 1/2 cup of milk 1 cup of sharp cheddar 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese 1 1/4 cup of macaroni or any short pasta Step 1, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan once its hot you add the panchetta. Once the panchetta is cooked thoroughly, you remove it from the pan. Then you add the butter to pan to cook the onions. During the you boil the water to cook the pasta. Step 2: You cook the thinly sliced onion once its translucent you add the mushrooms and sage. Step 3:

Thrift shopping makes people think of peoples used clothes which are being sold over priced. I watched a segment on television that mentioned that at times you can find high end clothes at a fraction of the cost. I decided, I would go and see. To my surprise I did find some high end quality clothes for less than retail.  Below is an example of the items you can find thrifting, keep in mind that this is not at all the norm. The skirt was a Christopher Kane authentic skirt from his Spring Summer collection 2011. I know, its no longer "On trend" although seeing that its haute couture I'd say forget about trends. As you can see below the seams of the skirt are very tight and will not fray or rip apart. As well, in quality clothes you will often find the seams lining up. You do not need to buy haute couture to buy good quality, I'll explain that in another post.  Just keep in mind that stores such as Winners offer discount brands of actual brands. They're trademarked f

Having been Easter this past week, we had some leftover wine to pass. We also stocked up on some chicken thighs and I had to pass them. I opted to make a french classic of coq au vin but rather than making it with red wine I made it with Riesling. It's a wine that is sweeter and less dry than white wine. We had a wine from the Alsace region which was low in alcohol but high in flavor. We used the wine below which is a J.Baumer, although I'm sure any Riesling would work. Ingredients which are needed: 10 boneless skinless chicken thighs   227g of white mushrooms 1 leek cut into slices 2 French shallots cut into quarters 6 cloves of garlic 125g of Panchetta 2 cups of Riesling 1/3 cup of heavy cream (35% whipping cream) 1tbs of butter 1tbs of olive oil 3 bay leaves 1/3 of fresh thyme bunch (10 branches) Cut the chicken thighs into half and heat up the olive oil and butter to brown them over medium high heat. Cook them until they are just

Brussel Sprouts, are one the most disliked vegetable by many people. Often times they are not cooked well. People tend to over cook them and this makes them bitter and soggy. There is a way to make them taste good.  For this you must blanch them and roast them until they become caramelized. Here is my recipe 1 lbs of Brussel Sprouts 2 Cloves of Garlic 1 Tbs of Olive Oil Salt and Pepper First Step You need to remove the tips of the sprouts then cut them in half. Remove any bad leaves. Finely chop the garlic Fill frying pan with water halfway up the pan about 3 or 4 cups. Bring them to boil on high heat for about 10 minutes then strain them. Then you add olive oil to the pan along with the blanched sprouts. Once they start to caramelize you add the garlic. Just be careful not to brown your garlic, it'll become bitter if you do. Now enjoy the roasted brussel sprouts.