BEAN HOTPOT 8 lessons from the Depression
TRY OUT THESE FRUGAL COOKING TIPS FROM A TOUGH TIME IN AUSTRALIA’S HISTORY
If you asked ‘what’s for tea, Mum?’ during the 1930s, the answer would have been “bread – and nothing else.” The Great Depression had begun and, although it originated in the United States, it affected almost every country around the globe. The effects were felt so far away that here, on Aussie soil, demand for our exports dried up and jobs disappeared in the blink of an eye. By 1932, almost 30 per cent of Australians were unemployed.
As a result, everyday supplies such as sugar, milk, butter and petrol were rationed to prevent hoarding. Australians fled to shantytowns or to the country to work in exchange for a piece of land to grow food.
This was a time of harsh adversity and complete uncertainty, unlike anything experienced since. Families joined long queues for bread and drippings from soup kitchens, children were placed in orphanages, babies were fed condensed milk and arrowroot biscuits and “underground mutton” (rabbits) appeared on the dinner table.
It was a time of fear and a time of panic. But, it was also a time of potential.
Suppose you’ve sat down and chatted to someone who remembers the Great Depression. You’ll soon notice their innate ability to solve problems. The Depression-era bore a generation of
people who had no other choice but to use creativity, ingenuity and frugality to live.
Your grandparents might remember their own parents scrimping and saving, using up every last penny to create thrifty meals. They probably recall the enormous energy their folks expelled to use up every part of an ingredient and ensure they avoided wasting food. As a result, many of us have adopted frugal behaviours and subconsciously carried them through to the kitchens of today.
Aussies aren’t in a Great Depression but many are in a bind. Job losses have left many families feeling uncertain about their next meal. So, what do we do when looking for ways to tighten our belts while still providing families with hearty, nutritious meals?
Just like Nan did, we turn to our pantries and use these frugal ideas to help see us through.
SERVES 4. PREP 15 MINS. COOK 1 HR 10 MINS
INGREDIENTS
• 1 ½ tbs olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 leaves fresh sage, finely chopped, plus 12 extra leaves, for frying
• 2 x 400g canned borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
• 400g canned diced tomato
• 1 ¼ litres chicken stock
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup polenta
• 80g gorgonzola, finely chopped
METHOD
1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, carrot, garlic and chopped sage, stirring, for 10 minutes or until softened. Add beans, tomatoes and 1 cup chicken stock. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat to mediumlow and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook sage leaves for 1-2 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on paper towel.
3. Place remaining stock in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil over high heat. Slowly stir in polenta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, for 10 minutes or until tender. Stir through gorgonzola until smooth.
4. Serve with polenta and top with crispy sage leaves.
Freeze this for up to 3 months.
AN AUSTRALIA-based global video-editing platform has notched up more than 14 million registered users and laid the groundwork to take advantage of a surge in demand sparked by the COVID-19 lockdown.
Clipchamp grew substantially during 2020, with more than 160 per cent plus growth in new users.
Co-founder and chief executive Alex Dreiling said that with up to 15,000 new users every day, the company would build on its 14 million registered users this year through its growing customer base of small and mediumsized enterprises, Fortune 500 companies, creators and influencers.
He said he believed that the pandemic had a “permanent” impact on the use of video platforms, with businesses needing to stay in contact with clients during lockdown.
“It’s a case of us being in the right place at the right time and COVID really accelerated the use of video,” he said. “The way people want to get messages out now is tipping towards video.
“Also, there is a push towards DIY where in the past businesses would talk to an agency and pay $2000 for a professional video. A lot of companies and people now want to do it themselves.”
Clipchamp is an in-browser platform that gives users access to video-editing tools and features, from simple cropping and resizing to special effects such as transitions, motion titles and Green Screen.
It has an 800,000-asset stock library and hundreds of editable video templates are also available to users.
Clipchamp recently partnered with Dropbox and Box to enable customers to import and export content with ease.
The platform had a 600 per cent increase in overall template usage since the start of 2020, while its TikTok-related video creation on the platform has grown 5000 per cent since January last year.
Staff grew from about 30 to more than 80 in 2020, with Clipchamp securing new employees from Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Red Hat.
However, Mr Dreiling said there would not be the same growth in staff numbers this year.
“It really depends on what the next few months are like whether we go into full hiring mode, but we won’t be tripling this year,” he said.
Clipchamp, which launched in 2014, has a variety of backers including high-profile Queensland entrepreneur Steve Baxter.
Clipchamp has its headquarters in Brisbane and has established an office in Seattle in the US, as well as in the Philippines. It also has a presence in Europe.
Mr Dreiling, who arrived in Australia from Germany 15 years ago, said the company planned to move some functions to the US but would remain based in Brisbane.
“Most of product development will stay in Brisbane and Australia, and it works very well,” he said.