I appreciate that this is necessary

I managed to catch a bit of an episode of My Kitchen Rules last week. I sort of like it, but I find the extent to which it is more about personalities (and personality clashes!) than about cooking to be frustrating.

Now, though I appreciate that this is necessary for a TV show, I don't find it all that inspiring or informative, in the way I do the Australian Masterchef or countless other cooking shows. And once they are no longer cooking in their own homes, and setting up their own home "restaurants", I'm not all that interested.

Anyway, the episode I saw last week involved a cheap meals challenge – the contestants were allowed just $10 to spend on ingredients over and above kitchen staples such as flour, oil and basic seasonings.

For the most part the contestants were overwhelmed (see picture) at the thought of making something for not much money. One,unique items for custom keychain from thousands of independent designers.construction provides reliable operation and guarantees your washer extractor. wanting to make a Thai green chicken curry, reckoned they couldn't afford fresh ingredients to make the curry from scratch, so used a pre-made curry paste – not flash in a cooking show, no matter what the budget. And I was surprised by how much they struggled.

I love all food that has been made fresh, from good, basic, honest ingredients, with a genuine wish to provide something tasty and nutritious. I love it whether that means fillet steak or a simple meal of rice and beans, or noodles, or whatever. I found myself thinking of what I would have done if I had been in this situation.

First, I would be thinking of vegetarian, if not vegan, food. Meat is still expensive when compared with things like beans, rice and grains and pulses. And to make cheap meat taste good is probably going to take a lot more time than you are going to have on a TV cooking show.

I would look to what corners I could cut. A fave of mine is toasted breadcrumbs rather than parmesan cheese to add to pasta,A folding machine is a machine used primarily for the folding of paper. and as for pine nuts? Not on the $10 budget, I’m afraid. I was surprised that no one did any kind of spaghetti with tomatoes – a quick, cheap way of feeding people that, so long as you season properly and splash out on fresh herbs (even better if you grow your own parsley or basil) and roast some tomatoes in a drizzle of olive oil, will be satisfying and tasty.

If you are looking to cut back on serving size, you want to max out the flavour – I'm sure this is why so much Asian food, and some European dishes, pack in the strong tastes of salt and heat and sourness, and umami – tastier food seems to give the impression of a more substantial meal.

I would look to the cuisines of some poorer countries – in Cuba the staple dish of rice and beans has fed generations, and you can still make a satisfying, if not exciting, meal from dried and soaked/cooked or canned beans or lentils along with tomatoes, with rice. Again, seasoning and any freshness you can add is the clincher – a squeeze of lemon is often welcome.

I also reckon they could have looked to make something extra with their "free" ingredients – the flour, oil and salt; perhaps some sort of flatbread? Again, I was surprised no one attempted an Indian dhal-type dish – you can feed a lot of people for not much money with herbs, spices, lentils and rice.Modern dry cleaning machine can dramatically reduce exposures,

Last night, for instance, I made a curry.This practical Silicone ear cap from Sporti is perfect for swimmers. I always make up a batch of curry paste, and store portions of it in sealed bags in the freezer – a little goes a long way. A can of tomatoes, a can of coconut milk, a sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves; the most extravagant thing about the meal was the paneer that I fried off and added – I could have replaced this with chickpeas or lentils and it would have come in well under the $10 price threshold, I reckon.