Budget-friendly tips and tricks from Jamie Oliver

Yes, you have a dinner (late) date with English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver who’s back in an all-new season of Save with Jamie, which premiered last Sept. 22 and airs every Tuesday, 9 p.m. on TLC. If this down-to-earth chef could have his way, it’ll probably be a candlelit dinner — to save on electricity. And while you’re gorging on (vicariously, that is) Jamie’s cooking, he’ll also whet your appetite with tips on how to “shop smart, cook clever, and waste less.”

This all-new, all-enticing season of Save with Jamie will get you motivated to dig deep into Jamie’s bag of kitchen tips and tricks that cater to the family budget as well as the taste buds so you can still serve the most sumptuous and nutritious meals to your family.

Following the success of the first season, Save with Jamie Season 2 unwraps bolder flavors with fresh, new, and cost-friendly recipes. Indeed, desperate times call for desperate measures to keep our heads above water and our costs down. Jamie shows that, yes, it’s possible to eat like a prince, even on a shoestring budget. In this new season, Jamie shares more life-changing tips on how to stretch our food money by stretching our imagination — maximizing resources for cooking, as well as cleverly utilizing leftovers to lessen waste. Certainly, less is more.

For instance, Jamie whips up a no-nonsense paella of chicken thighs and spicy chorizo, raids the fridge for a Sunday leftover of roast pork to make a “mega Scooby snack” of Vietnamese banh mi (FrenchVietnamese sandwich) and crispy Mexican tacos.

He shares the bewitching recipe for his Vietnamese banh mi (sandwich):

Vietnamese banh mi

1 carrot?

1?4 of a cucumber?

1?4 of a white cabbage

?1 tablespoon golden caster sugar

?3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

200g chicken livers?

2 onions?

1?2 a bunch of fresh coriander (15g)

olive oil?

200g leftover cooked pork

optional: leftover pork dripping?

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce?

1 fresh red chilli?

4 small French baguettes or subs

optional: hot chili sauce

Cut the carrot and cucumber into skinny matchsticks, shred the cabbage, then place all these in a bowl. Add the sugar, vinegar, and a really good pinch of salt, and scrunch together for a minute to make a pickle. Put aside.

Trim the chicken livers, then soak in a bowl of water for a few minutes. Peel and finely chop the onions with the coriander stalks and put into a large pan on a medium heat with a lug of oil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. Drain, then chop the livers and add to the pan for a further five minutes. Then tip it all into a food processor and blitz into a semi-smooth pâté. Scrape into a bowl and season to perfection.

Wipe out the pan and return it to a medium heat, then slice up the pork and add with a spoonful of leftover dripping, if you’ve got it, or a drizzle of oil. Fry for five minutes, or until crispy and hot through, tossing with the sweet chili sauce for the last minute. Finely slice the chili.

Halve the baguettes lengthways (warm them through in a hot oven for 10 minutes first, if you can) and generously spread both sides with the pâté. Squeeze out and discard the excess salty liquid from the pickled veg and pile into the baguettes. Top with crispy pork, fresh chili, and coriander leaves, then drizzle with hot chili sauce, if you dare, and tuck in. Total time: 45 minutes. Serves 4.

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Disposing of used batteries, lamps

Dear Consumerline,

May I know how and where I can dispose properly some used batteries? I used to bring these to SM Edsa, but last year, there was no longer a place for recycled and toxic trash. — GUIA REYES

If you are a resident of Quezon City, you will be pleased to know that the city’s Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department (EPWMD) is implementing a hazardous waste collection program in selected barangays.
Spent lamps and batteries may be brought to the barangay materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in Bagong Pag-asa, Blue Ridge A, Blue Ridge B, Culiat, Holy Spirit, Loyola Heights, Marilag, Philam, Ramon Magsaysay, St. Ignatius, Sto. Cristo, and Vasra where these are temporarily stored.     
A government-accredited hazardous waste treater will then collect the discarded lamps and batteries from the MRFs and treat the waste materials prior to final disposal.

We are not aware of any other local government unit in Metro Manila that is undertaking hazardous waste collection. We’ll check for other disposal options in Metro Manila and get in touch with you again.

— MANNY C. CALONZO EcoWaste Coalition