White Chocolate and Blueberry Macarons

There is no need to pay upwards of $3 each for these delicious treats, when you can make them for a fraction of the price. They sky is the limit when thinking of new flavours to create!

Macaron Filling

Beerenberg Blue Berry Jam

250g of White cooking chocolate

125g of thickened cream

Put chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl, heat in microwave for 30 seconds at a time mixing in between until all combined.

Make the ganache up to a day in advance, take the ganache out of the fridge when you take the shells out of the oven, mix it up with a flat blade so it is soft enough to pipe.

Ingredients – Makes about 25 filled Macarons

150g almond meal

150g pure icing sugar

55g egg whites
 (fresh)

Put dry ingredients into a food processor until mixed and fine, put into a large bowl and combine with the egg whites. Cover with cling wrap and set aside

 

Ingredients for Italian Meringue

150g caster sugar

37g water

55g egg whites (age egg whites for 24 hours in a bowl on the bench)

Food colouring (to get vibrant colours you will need up to a teaspoon of food colouring, don’t add more food colouring once the sugar has been combined with the egg whites)

Pour your aged egg whites into a bench mixer bowl and use the whisk attachment.  Whisk the eggs until firm peaks form.  

Bring the caster sugar, water and food colouring to the boil in a small saucepan.  Bring sugar syrup reaches up to 115°C ( if you do not have a thermometer, you can test the sugar mixture by dipping a spoon into the sugar and putting it into water, if the sugar forms a firm ball it is ready and remove from the heat immediately. It should take about 4 mins but check every 30 seconds from 2 mins)

When the sugar syrup is ready, turn the mixer back on to a slow speed, slowly pour the syrup into the beaten egg whites in a thin stream. Once the sugar is added put the mixer on a medium – high speed. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches room temperature, will take about 10mins.

Using a spatula, fold one-third of the meringue into the almond meal and icing sugar mixture and knock out some of the air in the batter. At this stage of the process you can be quite rough when handling.

Gently fold in the rest of the meringue until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter here or it will get too runny and your shells may crack in the oven.

Fill a piping bag with the macaron batter and pipe 3.5 - 4cm diameter circles onto the parchment paper, tap the tray on the bench to remove air bubbles and leave to dry for about 15-20 minutes to form a crust and are dry to touch. There are Macaron templates available if you find it difficult to make similar sizes.

Cook the macarons for 15 mins at 135°C (fan forced oven). Cooking times can vary, so check after 12mins, if you can gently lift a macaron off the paper intact they are cooked, it if starts to come apart put them back in and keep cooking.  Once cooked, remove from the baking tray and leave to cool on the parchment paper over a wire rack.

Remove the shells from the parchment paper and put a small amount of Blueberry Jam in the center of 1 shell (about the size of a 5 or 10cent coin in the middle) pipe the white chocolate ganache around the jam then place another shell on top, giving it a bit of a twist to distribute the ganache evenly.

Macarons improve over night in the fridge in a container, allow the macarons to return to room temperature before serving.

Costing

Almond Meal = $4.03

Pure Icing Sugar = 0.53c

Eggs = $1.50

Caster Sugar =  0.32c

Chocolate = $2.33

Cream = 0.63c

Jam = 0.80c

Total cost for Approx 24 filled Macaron is $10.14 or 0.42cents each! Saving $2.58 for each Macaron.

If you are keen on making lots of Macarons you can also save more money by sourcing almond meal and chocolate in bulk.

21 ways to cut your electricity bill this winter

Winter has well and truly hit now, and with news yesterday that from July 1 here in South Australia we will have the highest electricity prices in the world, we need to find ways to reduce our electricity bills.  Here are 21 ways to start reducing your electricity usage today.

1. Turn off appliances at the wall - it is often debated whether this will actually save you money, but they say appliances on stand-by still use electricity, so its worth a shot in my opinion.  An added bonus in our house is that it stops our toddler from turning appliances on, particularly her newest fascination, the microwave.
2. Turn off lights when not in the room - this one is obvious, no point having all the lights on in the house when the family are only in one room.  Another I often see if porch lights left on all night, a massive drain on your electricity bill.
3. Switch to LED light globes - LED light globes are the newest energy saving technology.  They are more expensive than traditional energy saving light globes, but will last around $25 years.  My tip is to replace your light globes with the LED style as they blow, that way you are not outlaying too much money at once.
4. Turn the thermostat on your heater down - Even turning your heater down one degree will help.  There is no point having your heater up so high that you end up dressed for summer when at home.
5. Avoid using old appliances - Older appliances do not have the energy efficiency functions of today's appliances, and as they get older they will begin to work less efficiently.  
6. Choose energy efficient appliances - Always check the energy efficiency rating when searching for new appliances, a slight more expensive with a higher rating could save you hundreds over the years.
7. Add an extra item of clothing before turning on the heater
8. Have shorter showers - If your hot water system is electric, you could save hundreds a year by simply reducing the length of your showers, although this is easier said than done in the middle of winter.
9. Install an efficient water head - This will not only reduce your electricity bill, but as your will be using less water it will reduce your water bill too!
10. Open curtains during the day and close them before it gets dark  - This way you let the winter sun in to help warm up your house, and stop it escaping before the temperature drops outside in the evening.
11. Close doors to areas of the home that don't need to be heated - There is no point heating unused areas of your house.
12. Use an extra blanket on your bed rather than an electric blanket  - It's safer and saves electricity.
13. If you are in the market fora new washing machine, consider a front loader - A front loader will generally be more efficient than a top loader.  It is also important to choose the right size washing machine for your households needs.
14. Only run the washing machine when full - The benefit of this is that you do the washing less often!
15. Banish the drier - We don't even own a drier, and have never had the need for one.  The sun is free, and if it's raining outside you can always use a clothes airer, or put the clothes in front of the heater (but not too close).
16. Wash with cold water - Not only will this save electricity (or gas) bit not using your hot water system, but it is actually recommended by most laundry powder manufacturers (and clothing manufacturers).
17. Only run the dishwasher when full - This is the same concept as only running your washing machine when full.  If you find the need to run small loads, consider a dishwasher with a half load option, or a dish drawer style dishwasher, when next upgrading.
18. If your dishwasher can heat it's own water, use this function - Most dishwashers have the ability to heat their own water, and will do so far more efficiently than your hot water system.
19. Plan your meals ahead to avoid defrosting in the microwave - I'm guilty of this one.  If you plan your meals at least a day in advance, you can defrost food in the fridge rather than relying on the microwave.
20. Set your fridge and freezer to their  optimum temperatures - Set your fridge to between 2 degrees and 5 degrees, and your freezer to -18 degrees.  Keeping your fridge and freezer full but not overloaded will keep it running efficiently
21. Don't open the oven door too often - The temperature in your oven drops by up to 15 degrees each time time you open the oven door.  Only open the door when necessary.

Weekend Bargain Hunting

I wanted to share with you the previous weekends bargain hunting.  Every so often I like to visit Harbourtown here in Adelaide, and like every outlet shopping centre the bargains can be very hit and miss.  I feel like this time I struck gold!  Thanks to Jeans West and Just Jeans, I managed to score $270 worth of clothes for only $30.

The $30 got me 1 dress, 5 tops and a pair of shorts.  Sure, they are summer clothes, but it won't be long until the weather warms up again, and these will be perfect for our upcoming early summer holiday to the in the South Pacific.  It's always best to think a season ahead anyway, when the shops tend to clear out the previous seasons stock.

How to make buttermilk

Ever wanted to try a new recipe that requires buttermilk, but realised you don't have any buttermilk on hand?  Or you don't want to pay for expensive and sometimes hard to find supermarket bought buttermilk?  Here are two alternatives, buttermilk substitute and traditional buttermilk.

Buttermilk Substitute
This can be altered for any quantity of milk, just remember the ration is 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk.

You will need
- Just under 1 cup of milk
- 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice

What to do
- Place the vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring jug
- Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the 1 cup line
- Let it stand for 5 minutes, then use

Real (traditional) Buttermilk
Takes 10 mins

You will need
- Heavy Cream

What to do
- Fill a jar halfway with the cream and screw on the lid.
- Shake the jar back and forth.  After several minutes the cream will thicken and turn into whipped cream.  Continue shaking until the cream separates into butter and buttermilk.
-Pour the buttermilk out of the jar and use

To use the butter - Knead the butter under cold water for a few minutes to remove and remaining buttermilk, as this will make the butter go off quite quickly.  Salt if desired and store in the fridge.

Rounding-Up Riches

by Kirsty Lamont, Mozo.com.au

Australians can easily save thousands of dollars by "rounding up" their purchases to the nearest dollar, and saving the excess money.

The Rounding Up method allows even hardened spenders to effortlessly save money. It's ideal for commuters who often make several small purchases a day and end up with a handful of loose change.

We tried Rounding Up for a week.  Monday's breakfast of a tuna sandwich and a skim latte totalled $10.50.  This got rounded up to $11.00, with $10.50 going to the friendly barista and 50c going into the savings jar.

Another 80c from a $4.20 train ticket also went in the jar.  Plus 5c from a $1.95 bottle of water.  And finally the 70c change from a $3.30 orange juice brought the day's total to $2.05.

A week later, with heavier spending on the weekend, there was $30.60 worth of coins in the jar.  This might not sound like a lot, but over a year it will add up to $1621.80. That’s more than enough for an annual holiday, or a big Christmas shopping spree!

Once Rounding Up becomes second nature, you can put the money into a high interest savings account, and really see your savings skyrocket.  You won’t even miss 50 cents here and there, and in ten years time you'll have around $22,000 - enough for a new car.

For really hardcore savers, you can round up to the five dollar mark or even ten dollars, though you may feel like you're burning through your cash!  However if we managed that level of commitment with our experiment, the weekly savings would have been $106.60 or $5,543.20 a year for a $5 round-up, and a spectacular $206.60 or $10,743.20.  In ten years time in a good savings account, that's over $75,000 or $150,000 respectively.

It's also a great time to get saving at the moment as banks are actively competing for savers with higher interest rates on offer.  Even with home loan rates getting cut, savings rates have stayed quite competitive.

You can also use comparison sites like Mozo to pick the best savings account for you, or even compare different term deposits from all the banks.  With interest rates starting to see a bit more volatility, it's a good idea to lock in a favourable rate now.

So make a new financial resolution, and watch that spare change quickly grow into a savings stash!


WEBSITE LINK:
Compare savings accounts:  http://mozo.com.au/savings-accounts

Budgeting for Baby

Tips for parents to be

Congratulations! You have just found out that you are pregnant. Sorting your finances for the next few months is just as important as booking in to a hospital for the big event.

MoneySmart is the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) personal finance website aimed at helping Australians gain a better understanding of money and finances so they can make more confident and informed decisions.  The website provides every day Australians with tips and tools to help them with the ups and downs of financial life.

Here are MoneySmart’s new tips for parents to be:

1.       Reduce credit debt before the baby arrives

Use MoneySmart’s credit card calculator to see how much extra you need to repay each month to pay off your card faster. It is also a useful way to see how much interest you will save by paying off your card faster.

2.       Start saving

While you are still on a dual income, start saving 10% of you and your partner’s salaries for initial short term costs such as the pram, nursery furniture, car seat, clothes and health care costs. Use MoneySmart’s savings goals calculator to plan in advance and estimate how long it will take you to save the money.

3.       Budget for life with baby

Use MoneySmart’s budget planner to create two budgets, one for now and one for when your baby comes. This will enable you to plan for expenses before and after the baby.

4.       Work out your maternity leave

People take varying degrees of time away from work on maternity leave .Research shows the majority of new mums return to work between 12-18months after having a baby.[1] Since most maternity leave is unpaid, it is important to factor in to your budget how you will pay your rent or mortgage and other living costs such as utilities during the 12-18months.  Especially if you have been used to paying these on a dual income. See MoneySmart’s tips on maternity leave on our ‘Having a baby’ page.

5.       Planning childcare

If you’re going to need childcare, ask your local family and friends about childcare options in your neighbourhood. To find a childcare centre near you, visit mychild.gov.au. You can also work out your childcare costs with the government’s childcare estimator.

Planning financially for this huge change in your life can give you the confidence to embrace this new life stage.  The MoneySmart Team wishes you all the best in this new and exciting chapter.

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[1] “Paid Parental Leave: Support for Parents with Newborn Children”, Australian Productivity Commission, February 2009, p 131 sourced from http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/86232/parental-support.pdf. The report shows unpaid maternity leave makes up the majority of leave taken (average 34 weeks). Of mothers in paid work prior to childbirth, 11% return to paid work within first 3 months of childbirth, 26% within six months, 57% within 12 months and 74% within 18months.

Modern warfare: Which supermarket loyalty program outguns the rest?

Coles’ newest piece of marketing ammunition, the revamped My5 Flybuys loyalty card, has been mailed to eight million Australian households in the largest direct mail-out of its kind. But how does Coles’ latest weapon stack up against other loyalty programs offered by its competitors: Woolworths, Franklins and IGA?

To find out, we took the average weekly grocery budget of $156 (based on Roy Morgan research) to see which loyalty program deserves to win over your wallet. Time for Mozo to wear the khaki and head straight into the supermarket battlefield...


Supermarket: Coles
Loyalty Program: Coles My5 Flybuys

The Coles My5 Flybuys loyalty scheme is a two-pronged assault against its supermarket rivals, teaming up its premier Flybuys program with the “world first” My5 offer. With its Flybuys program, you’ll earn one point for every dollar spent at Coles supermarkets, Kmart, Target and other participating stores.

The new My5 Rewards also gives Flybuys customers 10% off five products of their choice whenever they spend over $50. So not only will your everyday purchases go towards your next holiday, but you’ll also be able to trim your weekly grocery budget. Coles is spruiking this as a "world-first", but is it just another marketing stunt or a genuine cause for celebration for consumers?

To find out how much shoppers can really save with my5 rewards, Mozo combed through the 800 products eligible for a my5 discount, selected the most expensive items that the average family of four might buy at the supermarket on a weekly basis, and crunched the discounts. According to our calculations, the average Coles shopper can save around $6 a week - a decent chunk of change - if they load their My5 product list with the most expensive single items that they purchase on a weekly basis.



Supermarket: Woolworths
Loyalty Program: Everyday Rewards

If you’re a frequent traveller, you’ll be tempted to enlist with the “The Fresh Food people.” The Woolworths Everyday Rewards loyalty program differs from its rivals, by linking to the established Qantas Frequent Flyer rewards program. You’ll need to sign up as a Qantas Frequent Flyer member to start racking up points. Fortunately, signing up as an Everyday Rewards cardholders means you’ll be spared the standard $82.50 joining fee.

You’ll earn one point per dollar spent for transactions over $30 at Woolworths and Big W stores, plus you’ll also receive a 4c fuel voucher to be used at Caltex Woolworths and Safeway bowsers. You can choose to redeem your points as Woolworths vouchers, or spoil yourself by pouring over the extensive Qantas Frequent Flyer rewards catalogue. However, you’ll need to rack up 15000 points to earn $100 worth of credit.  We calculated that - if you include the fuel discounts - your total weekly savings will average around $3.


Supermarket: IGA
Loyalty Program: My IGA loyalty card

Playing also-ran to the major commercial supermarkets is tough, but the Independent Grocers of Australia continues to treat its customers with a decent loyalty program. With the My IGA loyalty card, you’ll earn one point for every dollar spent, plus you’ll also receive bonus in-store benefits.

Each IGA supermarket is independently managed so benefits will vary store to store. Some stores will offer My IGA specials prices on selected products while others will award extra loyalty points. Points expire after 180 days and you’ll redeem $5 of extra credit on the card for every 500 points. But remember, most IGA stores will donate a portion of your grocery bill to nominated local clubs and charities every time you whip out your loyalty card. You can’t put a price on this feel good factor.   According to Mozo's number crunching, you can save an average $1.56.


Supermarket: Franklins
Loyalty Program: Franklins Loyalty Card

The loyalty program offered by Australia’s original discount grocer is relatively straightforward. The Franklins Loyalty Card will earn one point for every dollar spent, with the chance to score bonus points during special promotions. Points can only be redeemed in bundles of 500 points, which equates to a $5 discount on your next grocery bill, or a $5 gift voucher.

Plus, your hard earned points will expire within 18 months and can only be redeemed at one nominated store, which makes the Franklins Loyalty card an extremely old-fashioned weapon of choice.  According to Mozo's number crunching, you can save an average $1.56 - the same as for IGA.


So who comes out on top?

If you simply want more bang for your buck in the form of supermarket vouchers and discounts, the loyalty points programs offered by IGA supermarkets and Franklins offer the fastest earning rate. It will take longer to redeem rewards with the Coles My5 Flybuys and the Woolworths Everyday program, but you’ll have a much greater choice of rewards. However, Coles’ newest marketing weapon in the form of the My5 offer means you can save a decent amount every time you check out, and for this, the revamped Coles My5 Flybuys program wins hands down.

Based on our calculations the new Coles loyalty scheme offers the average Australian household double the savings of its closest rival, the Woolworths Everyday Rewards program. However, shoppers need to carefully select their my5 discount list to maximise their weekly savings.







By Kirsty Lamont, Mozo.com.au