I get bursts of inspiration from time to time to bake or cook something a bit different, and often it will start with just 1 ingredient in my cupboard that I “want to use and not waste” so I end up buying a whole lot more ingredients just to get rid of one of them. Or I’ll find something on special at the supermarket and wonder what I could make with it and it will start from there.

Let me give you a few examples.

– I was known at College for cooking ANZAC bikkies. How did this come about? I had leftover rolled oats from making roo burgers.

– I started making my own tomato pasta sauce because one week while I was shopping for clothes on Sydney Rd, I stumbled in to Woolies and they had 2 bunches of basil for $2 and the fruit and vege shop around the corner had 1kg bags of tomatoes for $2. So I phoned Hubs and asked him to look up a recipe for me and I bought all the other ingredients. (Incidentally, $2 for a bag of tomatoes that you have to dice yourself is not worth is when you can buy a can of tomatoes for 79c). And so my pasta-sauce making began (and has continued.)

– We were visiting Hubs’ Aunt and Uncle just before we left Melbourne and 2 of Hubs’ cousins had made Macaroons and mentioned that they were filled with ganache. “Hmmmm” thought Wifey. “I have some leftover ganache from Hubs’ birthday cake. Maybe I should make some too!” So I did! But that’s another story.

– I made Gingerbread Men because I had bought myself a Gingerbread Man cookie cutter. So I actually had to buy all the ingredients for that one!

– Today I made banana muffins because Woolies had “fill a bag for $2” in the fruit and vege section (yes, I’m shopping at Woolies again – I’ll explain later) and there were ripe bananas there so I thought they would make great banana muffins (and I was right – yummmmmmmm)

– I bought 5 of the biggest lemons at the Swap Meet last weekend and I’m trying to decide what to do with them. Any ideas???