Top thrifty kitchen tips from the Yiayia Next Door

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• 'A bit more to this': How the story of the Yiayia next door came full circle

Yiayia's generation was reducing, reusing and recycling long before it was a thing. Here are her top tips for saving money and minimising waste in the kitchen, plus some general cooking know-how.

• Did you know you can reuse press-seal bags and aluminium foil? Yiayia washes her used foil and bags, then hangs them out on the clothesline to dry. This is always a sign that good food is coming our way.
• Save all those jars from the supermarket to use for your own homemade sauces and preserves. Sterilise them first by washing the jars and lids in hot, soapy water and rinsing well, or running them through a hot cycle in the dishwasher. Leave to air-dry on a clean tea towel, then you're good to go.
• Who needs Tupperware? Save ice-cream and butter containers to store leftovers in the fridge and freezer. The only downside is opening an ice-cream container from Yiayia's freezer on a hot summer's day to find frozen soup or stew.

• When preserving olives, Yiayia recommends putting the fruit in a bucket, filling it with cold water and adding a handful of salt. Leave it for two days, then replace the water (no need to add more salt) every two days for 10-14 days, depending on how bitter the olives are. When ready, give the olives a good rinse and place them in sterilised jars with salt, dried oregano and sliced garlic to taste.
• Yiayia cooks all day every day, so always has a (recycled) container in the kitchen to collect food scraps for composting. Not only does this improve the soil in Yiayia and Pappou's garden, it is the single best way to reduce household waste.
• Nothing is ever thrown away in Yiayia's household. All those rubber bands that come with fresh produce from the market are saved and reused in her pantry.
• If you're lucky enough to have a kitchen outside (typically in the garage) or a barbecue, Yiayia recommends cooking any fish dishes out there to prevent the house from smelling.
• When using a souvla rotisserie barbecue, always put a layer of sand underneath your coals to avoid burning a hole through the bottom.
• If you've grown more chillies than you know what to do with, simply sew the stems together and hang them in a cool, dry spot indoors for about a week. Then you'll always have dried chillies on hand for cooking.

This is an edited extract from Yiayia Next Door by Daniel & Luke Mancuso (with Yiayia), published by Plum, photography by Mark Roper, RRP $36.99. Buy now