Crab frittersOctober 9, 2001 The Spouse asked me if a family could keep its grocery bills down by shopping only for specials. Unfortunately the specials don't always coincide with the pantry basics one needs to replenish. And people on a tight budget can't always take advantage of specials that represent a bargain, but which they can't include on their shopping list for that week because they have essentials to buy. I have a favourite fruit and vegetable market I like to visit. The quality of the produce is generally fairly high, and the prices are usually quite a bit below those in my regular supermarket. This past weekend, for example, I paid $2.99 a kilo for asparagus compared with the $2.99 for about 8 stalks at the local supermarket. Avocados were 99 cents, compared with $1.59. Mandarins were $2.45 a kilo compared with $3.99. Tomatoes were a dollar cheaper, spring onions 50 cents. Overall I was saving 50 cents to $1 per item. My supermarket is 1km from home, the vegetable market about 6kms. So I guess the price of petrol has to be factored in. But when it comes to quality and freshness versus proximity and convenience, it's worth my while taking a Saturday jaunt to the market. Back to supermarket specials - usually, if you're not a brand freak, there's wisdom in looking for specials if you can be flexible. There's usually one brand of fruit juice on special, a couple of varieties of cereal, cheese, pasta, toilet rolls, soap, shampoo, cleaning materials, and so on through the shopping list.. Various meats are specialled. A freezer makes it easier to take advantage of meat specials. Occasionally, though, if you run out of something that MUST be replaced, and there's no corresponding reduced product, you have to bite the bullet. If you're prepared to do your homework, shop for specials, make out a menu for the week and stick to it, then there's money to be saved. Sometimes, of course, there's the day of reckoning. Last weekend I was forced to clean out the freezer, partly because I needed to, partly because I had lost track of what was in there. At times like these The Spouse takes a keen interest - how much of the content has to be jettisoned? Since I left my large upright freezer behind in our Wellington house, and am currently reduced to a fairly small cavity in which to squirrel away my bargains, I can't be too frivolous. The latest cast-offs were items beyond the use-by date - a few sausages and patties that never reached last summer's barbecue, a couple of things I couldn't identify and some solitary odds of bread. No guilt pangs, anyway. Nothing like the big clean-outs I had to do in my last freezer. There's nothing quite like shifting house‚Ķ Anyway, back to shopping for specials. The supermarket had cans of crabmeat at a very reasonable price last week, so I grabbed two. As I unpacked them, I realised I had somehow managed to gather up the sister special - shrimps. However, I bought the crabmeat next journey and so today's recipe was born. This recipe will make about 15 or 16 fritters for a meal. Or make them smaller and have them as an entr�©e or finger food. Crab Fritters 2 cans crabmeat Place the drained crabmeat, breadcrumbs, herbs and chilli in a bowl and mix together thoroughly. Mix the remaining ingredients together with a whisk and let stand for 30 minutes. If the batter is too thick, thin with a little more milk. Combine the two mixtures. Heat a shallow frying pan and add some olive oil. Spoon in about five quantities of batter. Let the fritters brown on one side then flip over and cook a further 3-4 minutes. Place on a dish in a heated oven and continue until the mixture is used up. Serve with a salad and a fresh salsa made of tomatoes, mangoes or rock melon combined with lemon juice, spring onions, fresh coriander and salt and pepper.
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