It's Hot Enough to Cook Chickpeas Outside, Literally

The forecast called for searing heat in NY today. There was no way in the world I was turning on a stove. I set up a pot of dried chickpeas and a pot of dried kidney beans in my solar oven. Neither type of bean was presoaked and I filled the pots with cold water. I figured the kidney beans would cook and the chickpeas could finish cooking tomorrow.

Imagine my surprise when the chickpeas were fully cooked after 6 hours in the solar cooker! I really was flabbergasted, chickpeas take forever to cook!

I also wanted to make a quick breakfast food. Using the scone recipe from The Tightwad Gazette as my base, I divided the batter into a cast iron muffin tin and topped with cinnamon sugar. Since there was no room to be had in the solar cooker, I put these in a black covered roating pan. Baked goods always come out a little on the gooey side in the solar cooker, its a lot like the slow cooker, but they were clearly cooked. A quick go round in the toaster oven tomorrow morning and I think they'll be pretty good.

So what to do with these freshly cooked chickpeas? I mixed up a batch of Sesame Miso Vinagrette from La Dolce Vegan (of course I was out of rice vinegar and substituted plain white vinegar...), shredded some spinach, finely diced a very small onion and tossed in a few of the cooked kidney beans for color. I mixed this well and served it over lettuce and whole wheat couscous. Everyone devoured it, and the kitchen stayed cool.

I'll bet you noticed the lettuce and spinach. All I can say is horray for the CSA! Now, I'd better start planning for tomorrow's dinner right now since its supposed to be hotter than hell again!

Lima Bean Bake

Ruthie asked for the Lima Bean Bake recipe that I mentioned here. This recipe was inspired by a recipe in Miserly Mom's by Jonni McCoy (Terry's Lentil Rice Casserole to be precise). I like it because it doesn't use tomato. Don't get me wrong, I love tomato in all its many forms. It's just that you can't have it in every meal and maintain any kind of a pantry.

When I make this, I triple or quadruple the recipe because we love leftovers and there are so many of us.

Katie's Lima Bean Bake

Combine in a greased casserole dish that has a cover:
about 2 cups cooked lima beans (you can use a bit more or a bit less)
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
2 onions chopped
1 Tbs dried basil
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt, optional
2 Tbs nutritional yeast
2 tsp dried dill
1 Tbs dried parsley
uncooked chopped veggies, your choice (I've used beets, carrots, celery, kale, collards or anything else I have on hand.)

Stir all the ingredients and add enough water or vegetable broth to cover the mixture. Cover and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half. I serve this with biscuits and the Mighty Miso gravy recipe from How it All Vegan. If I don't have mushrooms on hand, I skip them and it comes out great anyway.

Although I haven't tried it, I would imagine this would work well in the slow cooker or solar oven as well.

Keeping Cool in the Kitchen

Its been hot and muggy here so I thought I'd share some tips for keeping cool in the kitchen.

1. The most obvious tip, cook as little as possible. Go with fresh, raw fruits and veggies whenever possible.

2. Choose foods that cook quickly. (Lentils, couscous, and bulgur immediately come to mind)

3. Choose the cooking method that generates the least heat. Can you microwave it or cook it stove top? Would the toaster oven work just as well as the oven but generate less heat? Could you use a solar cooker?

4. If you do turn on the oven to make dinner, make it worthwhile. Cook extra for another day or make some muffins, bread or cookies at the same time.

5. Take your cooking outdoors. I'm not just talking about using the grill. Put your slow cooker out on your deck to prevent the kitchen from heating up. Use your pressure cooker on a single burner outside as well.

6. Plan your menus for the week around leftovers. If you make a big batch of beans and rice one day, dress it up differently and get a few different meals out of it.

Here's what we did last night. I made whole wheat couscous in one pot and cooked lentils with one large bay leaf in the pressure cooker. I served a scoop of couscous topped with a scoop of lentils and a salad of mixed greens over the top. Each person topped this with their favorite dressing, mine is maple mustard (this is really just vegan honey mustard dressing). The result was a nice contrast in textures and temperatures and the kitchen didn't get heated up.

How'd We Do With Our Goals for 2005?

Here's a quote from my blog this time last year:

So what's in store for 2005? I'm hoping to get more earth friendly and decrease my global footprint even more. Solar ovens, compost tumblers, and rain barrels are all things I'll be exploring. Planning our retirement home and life is also on my mind even though I'm only 34 and my hubby is only 39. The choices we make now will forever impact how and when we are able to live our work free years. I'll also be reading and trying out new recipes, especially ones written about lean times. One of the most creative cookbooks I came across was Grandma's Wartime Kitchen. It certainly wasn't veg but there were some great veg recipes in there.

We did use solar cookers this summer with pretty good success. Using a solar cooker is very similar to using a slow cooker. We'll definitely be using solar cookers again this summer and perhaps even earlier in the season.

The compost tumbler plan was aborted in favor of the worm bin (check out the archives for Monday May 23rd). I couldn't bear to spend the money on the compost tumbler. I'm really pleased with the worm bin. Those little guys are still eating away in their winter domain (a huge old cooler in our basement). They were instrumental in the success of our container gardening this past summer.

I never got around to doing anything with the rain barrel but I'm still planning to give that a try.

Planning our retirement is still high on our list of priorities. We used this year to take a hard look at where we are and where we'd like to be. Aside from the obvious things like paying off debt, things like planting the currant bushes, making plumbing repairs and insulating the attic at the cabin all tie into this. We want to get the big expenses out of the way while we are still working. We still don't have an exact timeline on this but in 2006 we will continue to solidify our plans. Spending the summer here really helped us realize that we could live happily in a smaller, simpler house in a smaller, slower community.

As for reading and trying new recipes, for me this is a joy and there will be more of that in 2006 as well.

When I teach Yogaball, I end our meditation with this thought:

Remember that yoga is a practice and there is something to be learned each and every time we practice, both in our successes and the things that continue to challenge us.

I think this applies to frugal living as well. Happy New Year to all!

Experimenting with Sprouting

Recently I've given sprouting a try in an attempt to decrease the amount of time it takes to cook dried beans. I came across this suggestion in one of the solar cooking cookbooks and it does seem to help. It also seems to give the beans a nutty flavor which is pleasant.

I follow the jar sprouting directions in Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living and they seem to be right on target. Best of all, you only need a canning jar, cheesecloth and a canning band.

What to Do With a Rainy Day

Today we headed to the library, since a storm was brewing, and took out a whole slew of movies and books. I confess I had a fine on my library card for a late DVD. That's the worst kind of fine, it costs a dollar. I hang my head in frugal shame. (In my defense, that fine was there since last summer.) Still, I don't want to make this a habit so to prevent future occurences, I'm hanging the slip with the due dates in a prominent place.

If you're wondering how I feel about letting my kids veg out in front of the tv on a rainy day, it doesn't bother me at all because it is such a rare occurence. We don't have cable here and the tv antenna is a joke. If its not on tape or DVD, my kids can't view it here. Plus, the tv is never on when the weather is good.

While the kids relaxed with movies, I flipped through my copy of the Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzyn. This is a book I definitely think is worth owning because each time I flip through it, I learn something new. Its a thrill to see what I've implemented since the last time I peeked at it. The variety of topics covered make it a great jumping off point for further research.

Todays meals started in the solar ovens but ended in the slow cooker once the clouds took over. I'm really enjoying learning to use the solar ovens. There's more rain in tomorrow's forecast so I think I'll give fireless cookery a try for tomorrow's dinner. As for the kids, we will include more games and crafty activities if tomorrow is unsuitable for being outdoors.

We got a break from rain this evening long enough to take a fairly long bike ride. This is the kind of exercise I enjoy most because it masquerades as innocent family fun. The kids all love to bike ride. We also got to enjoy the last two songs of a free outdoor concert. Every Tuesday in the summer there are free concerts at the local park. Maybe next week we'll get there in time to hear more than two songs!

Burger Rolls

Sometimes a frugal veggie mama has to compromise. Such is the case with my weekly purchase of veggie burgers and Silk at the local mom and pop grocery store in our town. Things like veggie burgers and other vegetarian fare don't stay on the shelves without demand, so we decided to purchase them locally this summer despite the slightly higher price.

On the positive side, we can walk to this grocery store and avoid using our car. There is certainly a savings there, both monetarily and environmentally. On the other hand there is no way that I'm going to pay for burger rolls as well. The time has come for me to master burger rolls.

For this evenings dinner I successfully cooked burger rolls in our solar oven using our usual bread recipe. I just defrosted one of the loaves from my batch of frozen bread, shaped the rolls and popped them in the oven, talk about convenient. I need a little work on my shaping but the texture and taste were really good.

Sometimes my best solutions are my simplest ones.

They're Here!

Summer has officially begun, all four kids are upstairs sleeping late. There was enough nervous laughter from my daughters' last night to fuel a small city. They need the sleep. Finals are behind them and the lazy days of summer lie ahead. Relax, you're on Adirondack Mountain time now (like the old coffee commercial.)

Today will be spent just organizing the remnants of this year's school experience and seeing where we stand for next year. Are the book bags still useable? What shape are you're sneakers in? What's your clothing situation for next year?

The girls are good. They have mastered the art of accumulating what others have grown weary of. They both got pairs of brand new looking sneakers this way. They always have their eyes open for a bargain.

Later tonight we will pack the car in anticipation of our summer in the mountains. The container gardens will reach their ultimate home tomorrow afternoon and, if all went well with the worm box, be treated to some fresh compost. Packing is work but no one really minds.

The best part about my kids is they participate, almost without question, in so many of my projects like the worm box, solar cooking, and the container gardens. Even when they can't clearly see what the end product will be, they are curious cheerleaders.

Last year I garbage picked an ancient looking lamp and shade. I sponge painted over the gunky gold finish with black rustoleum that we had lying around. I peeled the nasty old fabric off the lampshade and covered it with leftover wallpaper. (I did buy black cording to edge the lampshade and new wiring for the lamp itself.) The result was a lamp that fit right into our funky, country decor.

When I started the lamp project, they couldn't see how this lamp would ever be anything but ugly. As I worked on it, they asked questions and offered suggestions. After it was complete, my daughters were on the lookout for another lamp. They liked the first one so much they wanted me to make one for their room!

I love summer vacation!

Sticking Together

I had planned to blog about my container gardening experiment tonight but I have to share something else based on the events of the day.

I have four kids and have planned since January to take the summer off to be with them. We're planning on spending the summer living simply, experimenting with solar cooking, walking to our destinations and generally exploring a kinder gentler lifestyle. Tonight, at a staff meeting, my coverage for August fell through.

I left the meeting in shock. The odds on me getting coverage for certain classes is almost nil. I teach once a week at a psychiatric center and, aside from the coworker who bailed on me, none of my coworkers are willing to go there. I can't blame them. Who really wants to take a deep inhale and be assaulted with the aromas that accompany incontinence?

Before I had time for my shock to turn to rage (and believe me it would have!) my phone rang. My coworker Jay, who has always been there for me, volunteered to take over my shifts for August. I am so grateful to her for her generosity.

Jay and I trained together, got our fitness certifications together and often cover classes for each other. That's what friends are for!

So for tonight I'm going to revel in the warm fuzzy blanket of friendship. Tomorrow I'll tell you about my container garden.

What I'm Reading

My latest library search turned up an intriguing cookbook topic, fireless cookery. I assumed the books listed would be about solar cooking but I was mistaken. Fireless cookery involves bringing your dish to boiling for approximately 10 minutes, removing it from the heat and placing it into an insulated box of some sort to continue cooking on residual heat.

To learn more check out:

Cooking Without Fuel by Julia Older

Fireless Cookery by Heidi Kirschner