Nancy Birtwhistles's tips on saving money and living life

Do Do you eat bread bought in the shop?

I would choose it. I used to have learned about the health risks of ultra-processed food. When cut white bread came out in the 1950s, it all kept fantastic because it was kept for a long time. But it is full of preservatives and additives. When I grew up, so many people made their bread. We all had a carbon fire and I can remember the dough that proves the fire with an exaggerated tea towel. And there were bakeries for people who don't bake.

How did your grandmother influence you?

She had lived through two world wars. She learned to be very economical, reasonable and imaginative. She would never throw something away. When I grew up in Hull, I liked to spend time in your house. She baked, cooked, cooked, seams or knitted. And she taught me everything. How to make confectioners, pudding tarts, wood threads, jam cake, Christmas cake. We made a lot of jams. And my father grown fruit and vegetables in the garden. I learned by watching and doing. It was a fantastic childhood. It was not one in which I was entertained here and everywhere and everywhere. I was taught life skills.

You said you would never pay someone to do what you can manage yourself. Can you explain in more detail?

When I was much younger, I couldn't afford to decorate or wallpaper my house. So I learned that. I repair my own clothes. I did all my children's clothes. Instead of buying a cheap package with five pairs of socks and then throwing them away, I would rather buy a few socks for 10 pounds and damn them if they get holes. I don't have a cleaner, but my 17-year-old granddaughter is my trainee. She passes on Saturday morning and learns my way of doing things.

What food remains do you keep these other people away?

Orange peel. At the beginning I wash my fruits and vegetables in baking powder to get rid of everyone. After eating the orange, I let the shells to the fire until they crack. And then I flash it and you have a delicious orange crumb that you can sprinkle on yogurt, ice cream or when baking. I do the same with onion shells and garlic shells to make a spice.

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What is an extreme example of economy at home?

I am a child of the 1950s, so I will do something out of nowhere. I make hanging planters made of white plastic bottles. Only to upcycle instead of throwing away. I have read that less than 9 percent of the plastic ever produced are recycled.

In your new book you contain a very unusual hack for cleaning the oven without hard chemicals. Can you explain

One of my supporters on social media, a South African, told me that I should only put the oven shelves in the grass overnight [12 to 24 hours]. So I did it and they come out clean! I don't know why it works. Maybe it's the humidity. It is a natural, effortless hack.

Your new book has a recipe for pot meat. What is that?

Anyone who has probably bought my vintage small glasses with pot meat. Sometimes they have cooked meat at the end of the roast – ham, chicken, turkey, beef. You think: “There is not enough to feed a family. What do I do with it?” Instead of giving it to the dog, we make an experienced pot meat that will take weeks instead of days. And I just love it on crispy bread. It's easy to make, no cooking.

What is a light vegetable that always gives?

When one of your supermarket potatoes starts, he can deliver another 20 potatoes. While the sprouts are still short, put the potatoes in a light, frost -free place, stand upright in an egg box and let these potatoes go to the chit for about six weeks. By the end of March you can put this potato into a pot of floor or compost and then get potatoes.

Garden tomatoes are so productive. What do you do with your extras?

I never have to buy doses from tomatoes because I do my own passata. You can either freeze it or make the shelf stable. As soon as you have the Passata in your sterilized glasses with the lids, you stand your glasses in a pan so that you are covered with cold water, bring them to a boil and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Then cool them down naturally and the glasses of the tomatoes will be shelmstable.

What do you love about cooking on an AGA?

Critics would say that Agas are not very environmentally friendly. When I got my gas -aga almost 30 years ago, the fuel was not as precious as now. But mine is a work animal, more than just cooking. It dries the laundry (I have a rack over it). It ironed something – I can fold things on the hot plate. It heats the kitchen. And for immediate hot water I always have a pot of water in the floor oven.

What is your husband's favorite matter you bake?

He will often say: “Are you stiring something today? Will you make a coffee and walnut cake? “

If someone came to the afternoon tea at short notice, what would they do?

Scones. You can open the mixture in ten minutes, ten minutes in the oven and you have warm scones.

How can you refresh stale bread?

If I have a decent part of a loaf, I give my spray with water, put it in the microwave for a few seconds or in the upper oven of the AGA for five minutes, and it is fresh like a daisy.

What is your most valuable possession?

My grandfather. When my grandmother died in the 1990s, she gave me 2,000 pounds. I thought: “I could go out and blow it.” But I wanted something that would always be there. So I bought a grandfather clock that was manufactured in 1706. It is beautiful. I open it every Friday. It hits an hour. It fits the house so well. I also have my grandmother's old balancing scales. I switched to digital scales for BakeBut when the battery goes, the balancing scales come from – they do the job.

In your opinion, why is it important that we pass on traditional domestic skills to the next generation?

I despair when I see packs with pre -made potato puree in the supermarket, and I think: “You can buy a bag of potatoes for less than these costs.” I just think we have to return to schools that teach children how to do things. Life skills. Fifty years ago, many people knew how to do things. Very few people would have a decorator. I did clothes – not to be creative, it was just about money. Some of the things I did was horrific. But that's how we learn.

Nancy's green and simple cuisine (A boat £ 25) is now out. To order a copy to order timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK Standard P&P for orders over 25 GBP. Special discount for times+ members available

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