That Nap Really Helped

My ambitious plans for yesterday were cut short by my desire/need to sleep. I got the flour put away, put my kindergartener on the bus, threw a log on the fire and sacked out on the couch with Mel, our dog. The events of the night before wore me out.

Afterwards, with a much clearer head, I was able to make dinner (split pea soup and eggplant-check out Sept 1st post, Super Easy Eggplant), dessert (apple crisp) and breakfast (apple butter pull aparts). The fridge full of veggies still await me.

Here's the recipe for Apple Butter Pull Aparts it's originally from The Vegan Handbook from the Vegetarian Resource Group but naturally I've played around with it a bit.

Stir together:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs dry sweetener

Cut in with pastry cutter or fork:
1/3-1/2 cup canola oil (I use 1/3 cup or it seems to oily but you decide)

Add:
2/3 cup water
Stir until well mixed. You should have a pliable dough. Roll out on floured surface to about a 16"x18" rectangle.

Spread:
1/2 cup apple butter onto dough (you can use a little more if you like, just keep it about an inch away from one of the long sides.)

Sprinkle top of apple butter with:
1/2 cup raisins

Begin rolling up dough from one of the long sides (not the one you kept an inch away from.) I use a rubber scraper to help the dough roll up without leaving any behind. Wet the edge to seal shut and keep the apple butter inside. Place seam side down on a greased cookie sheet. I use two pancake turners to move the roll.

Spread:
1/4 cup apple butter on top of roll

Sprinkle with:
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Using one of the pancake turners, slice into 1 inch pieces (but do not seperate them) before placing into preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. As the name suggests, once baked, they just pull apart.

Bats in my Belfry?

Actually, the bat was in my basement and then in my bedroom. I could have done without the bat hunting at the end of my long day but sometimes life just throws you a curve. I'm not certain of the proper way to trap a bat but after much lunancy and running about with heads covered, Jim threw our quilt over the little bugger and finally managed to get him out the door at about 11:30pm. Aside from a small piece of my sanity that is gone forever, no creatures (human or bat) were harmed. Needless to say, I had a little trouble settling down to sleep last night.

Due to a blatant lack of time and imagination, I ended up making soup for dinner last night. I filled my 6qt pot about half full with cooked chick peas. Then, I combined 1/2 cup tamari, 1 Tbs. nutritional yeast, 1Tbs maple syrup and 2 tsp. garlic powder and pured this mixture over the chick peas. I added enough water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. I chopped up some carrots that were hiding in the fridge as well as some of the greens. Finally I added 1 cup of bulgur, stirred it all up and hoped for the best. I brought it up to a boil, lowered the heat and let it simmer for about an hour. We served it with whole wheat toast.

I had to teach a continuing ed class last night so I grabbed a quick bowl before anyone else. I thought it tasted pretty good but I wasn't prepared for how much everyone else liked it. They were all raving about it when I got home, even while we were bat hunting. Everyone took it for lunch today! I think I may have stumbled on a really tasty way to deal with all these greens!

On today's agenda: put away the 50 pound bag of whole wheat pastry flour I've been ignoring, steam/freeze some greens and other veggies, possibly can the last of the apples (although I think I'll do this tomorrow), and make some muffins or other breakfast food. I may also take a nap, I didn't sleep very well last night!

Overnight Apple Butter

Apple butter made overnight in the crock pot was delicious! I used Barbara's recipe as a model and simplified it a bit to suit our needs. Since there are six of us, I cored and chopped enough apples to fill the crock pot. I didn't peel them. I used a mix of apples; Cortlands, Macouns, and Yellow Delicious because these are what I had on hand. I added a cup of water (because I didn't have any apple juice), 2 tsp cinammon and 1 tsp nutmeg (because I didnt have allspice or cloves).

I cooked on low overnight. In the morning I used a potato masher to mix it all around. I turned the crock pot to high and left it uncovered while I hit the shower. By the time I had the pancakes made, the apple butter had thickened to a great consistency, slightly chunky and not watery at all.

I chickened out and didn't make the cornbread but I'll be giving Ruthie's recipe a try later this week. Thanks Ruthie! Last night I put chick peas in the crock pot for tonights dinner. I still have a fair amount of greens in the fridge, 3 eggplant, some broccoli and a bunch of radishes. I'm leaning toward soup with the eggplant cooked as "steaks" on the side but I'll be perusing my cookbooks for a more creative way to combine these ingredients.

Closing Things Down for Winter

The rain let up today and we were able to enjoy a parade and fireworks. In between, we cleaned out the garage, put away all the outdoor furniture and made a plan for insulating the attic over our bedroom. It turns out the insulating job is a much bigger deal than it originally looked to be because there was no moisture barrier put down initially. We don't have the time or manpower to accomplish insulating this weekend it will wait a week or two.

Our visit to the thrift store yesterday was a thrill. I found a seemingly unused ceramic countertop compost container and paid $3.00 for it. It sells on gaiam.com for $42. I'm tickled because the container I had been using, one of those fundraising tins, was falling apart.

On the food front, yesterday I did get the applesauce canned as planned and dinner went off without a hitch. Today we went with rice and beans, another meal that requires very little tending while cooking. Topped with salsa and served with collards it was yummy. We snacked on pumkin and squash seeds afterwards.

I'm going to give the apple butter that Barbara posted on her blog a try for tomorrow (check out http://frugal-pdx-living.blogspot.com/). I may try cooking it overnight and then making crepes to go with it for breakfast. The leftover beans, rice and collards along with some other veggies will be combined into a soup for tomorrow's dinner. I'm leaning towards cornbread to go with it, although my success rate with cornbread is less than stellar. (I only stink at making two things, cornbread and brownies, but I keep trying every now and then.)

On tonight's agenda, an old movie with the kids and hopefully finishing the covers for the fans.

A Rainy Weekend

This weekend is the local fall festival, hopefully the rain will hold back a bit so we can enjoy some of the activities that are planned around town. At the very least, we'll hit the local thrift store and antique shop. Don't tell my kids, but secretly I'm a little tickled that there's rain in the forecast. This will give us a chance to catch up on things indoors.

I've got about 14 quarts of applesauce to can tomorrow. I already cut, cooked and pureed them so all that's left to do is bring them up to a boil and process. It shouldn't be too time consuming since all the hard work is already done. This is probably one of the final canning sessions of the season, which is a good thing because I'm starting to run low on canning jars.

I'm hoping Jim will insulate the attic over our bedroom this weekend. I've been exploring the house in search of drafts and discovered two that I had never thought about before. We have through the wall exhaust fans in our bathroom and kitchen. While the heat loss through them is probably minimal, its definitely cooler right next to them. I'm working on making a cover for each of them that will attach with heavy duty magnets (for easy removal) at the four corners and the center. I'm using the leftover fleece blanket from the curtain project in the boys' room. I'm thinking of backing it with something wind resistant, perhaps an old windbreaker or raincoat? I'll let you know what I decide on.

And the menu for the day? Lunch will be a choice of leftover pasta or peanut butter and jelly. For dinner, I have leftover gravy and cooked yellow split peas from earlier in the week. I'll be using these to make a loaf type dish very similar to the Red Lentil Loaf (see September post). I'm thinking about cooking some root veggies in the oven with the loaf. A meal like this can be popped in the oven and cooked with minimal attention which is definitely a plus when you're trying to accomplish other things.

How We Survived the Hectic Week

This has been one of those long weeks with far too many demands on my time. Its been the type of week where the temptation to get take out is almost overwhelming. Here's how we avoided it.

I really took advantage of the window of free time I had on Tuesday. When I made the baked mac & "cheese", I made a double batch. That got us through lunches on Wednesday without using bread. Also on Tuesday, when I made the carrot lentil burgers to freeze, some of the mixture was placed into a loaf pan to use for dinner Wednesday night. I topped it with a simple gravy which makes it more fun, according to my kids. We had gotten delicata squash from the CSA which rounded out Wednesday night's dinner.

Thursday was so busy, Jim actually took the day off from work to help me out. After scanning the fridge to see what we had an excess of we decided on lentil soup for dinner. Together we chopped up celery, leeks, a few tomatoes, a ton of carrots, and several cloves of garlic to use in the soup. This cleared out some much needed fridge space. It also covered Friday's lunches and left us with a ton to freeze to ease the pressure of future hectic weeks. We served the soup with the eggplant puree that we'd made earlier in the week, on toast.

Was it glamorous? Not really, but it all tasted good and everyone had plenty to eat. Perhaps this is a larger lesson of frugal living, sometimes it isn't glamorous. Sometimes its just about getting from point A to Point B with your wallet and good health intact. Now that the hectic week is over, my meals will reflect the extra bit of time I have.

On the menu for tonight, pasta with tomato & white bean chunky sauce, mixed green salad, focaccio with eggplant puree and apple pie.

Muffin Rx

Yesterday I ran a little short on hours in the day. To make up for this, I was up by 5:45am baking muffins for a preschool nutrition/fitness program that I teach every month. In a spectacular moment of brain death, I forgot to add sugar to the batter. I was pulling the first 24 muffins out of the oven when I discovered this. They tasted awful. Fortunately, I had enough batter for another 24. I added the sugar, popped them in the oven and pondered what to do with the first 24 muffins.

I couldn't use them on the preschoolers, they'd never trust me again. I couldn't use them as is on my kids, they'd throw them in the woods on the way to the bus stop. Right then my older son wandered out and asked for a muffin. Then it hit me, sprinkle of sugar on top! Sugar on the surface of food gives the illusion that the food is sweeter than it really is. Clearly this was what I needed. I opted for powdered sugar because it clings to food better than granulated sugar.

I held my breath while my son took a bite. He never noticed, he was too impressed with the powdered sugar on top! A drizzle of maple syrup right before serving would probably work well also.

What's Left In the Fridge This Week

The Carrot Lentil Burgers were quite good yesterday. I didn't have any tomato paste on hand so I substituted ketchup which seemed to work really well. The batch I make today to freeze should get the carrot overpopulation into check (I hope!) Last night I began the pre-CSA pickup fridge cleaning out event. So along with the burgers we had coleslaw (that used a head of cabbage plus a few carrots) and okra sauteed with more carrots, onions and sundried tomatoes.

There's still a huge bag of kale, a head of mystery greens (I can't remember what it is), two bags of carrots, 2 beets, some onions, a few halves of acorn squash and 3 eggplants cooked but still in their skin.

I'll be making baked mac and "cheese" and use the kale in that. The original recipe called for broccoli but my kids actually like it better with kale, as long as its cut into small pieces.

Since the oven will be on already, I'll cut some carrots, beets and onions into chunks and spray with just a bit of olive oil (tossing with a little olive oil would work well too) and roast them in the oven. I cover the pan I have them in with a cookie sheet initially to help soften them up a bit and then take it off for the last 15 minutes or so to brown them.

The mystery greens and the squash may become soup if the greens aren't bitter. If they are bitter, they will be steamed and into the freezer they will go to be used in a spicy winter soup.

As for the eggplants they will be peeled, chopped and tossed in the food processor with a little minced garlic, a little olive oil and a little salt. This is really yummy and will be used as a spread for Wednesday's lunches.

Too Much of a Good Thing

This time of year we always find ourselves with an abundance of winter squash. Since they can be used just like pumpkin in recipes, I find myself making a lot of breads, muffins, pancakes and, most recently, biscuits with them. I have to be careful not to fall into what I call "too much of a good thing syndrome."

You've fallen into this syndrome when a particular food item or recipe appears on your menu just a little too often. Busy parents don't often notice but there are clues from the family. This is the big clue, foods or recipes that brought raves on the first few appearances now garner sighs. So what's a frugal cook to do?

In the case of winter squashes, this is where a freezer comes in handy (canning pumpkin is not recommended.) I just keep the squash with no visible blemishes in a dark cabinet by my potatoes. Check these every few days to make sure they are not getting soft. The remaining squash are halved, seeded and cooked face down on a lightly greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for about an hour. Cooking time depends on size of sqash halves. Make sure whatever you bake the squash on has a raised side because they leach out quite a bit of juice while cooking. The seeds can be baked on a lightly greased cookie sheet at the same time. Once cooled, the squash are scraped out and stored in the freezer so I can use them over time.

In my house, I know that a once a week appearance of pumpkin bread or muffins is acceptable so, no matter how tempted I am, I try to stick to that. I try to alternate in other seasonal foods, like apples. Using foods in season whenever possible minimizes your costs while maximizing your nutrition.

When it comes to recipes appearing too often, I'm guilty of falling into this trap, especially this time of year. My two standard quickie dinners are Peanut Noodles and Mac & "Cheese" and I've begun to overuse them as we rush to meetings and school functions. I just realized this weekend that I need to thumb through the cookbooks for a new recipe or two. Adding 1 or 2 new recipes can revitalize your repertoire.

I scan cookbooks based on the ingredients I have on hand. I'm going to give the Lentil Carrot Burger from The Compassionate Cook a try tonight because I have a plethora of carrots. If it goes well, I'll make a big batch to freeze. Never make a big batch of anything the first time because if it stinks you're stuck with it!

The Curtain is Hung

I'm always apprehensive when I hang a curtain for the first time. Friday night I got the curtain rod and mounting hardware for the tv room curtain. As I mentioned before, it had to be strong enough to hold a heavy curtain without bending in the middle. We went with a wood rod with balls on the end and the decorative mounting bracket. It cost about $34 which seemed like a lot to me until I realized that was the cost of the whole window covering project for that room.

Now that the curtain is in place it gives the room a warm finished look. It also seemed to hold the heat in as the evening cooled down. I'm glad that I waited to make the tie back until the curtain was in place. I was able to play around with different positions until I found the best one and now I know exactly how long I need to make it.

My sister-in-law was visiting and didn't realize the curtain was originally a bedspread which was a relief (you jump in with your two cents any time Audrey!)

Mel's Haircut

Mel is our bichon, he's a furry little family member who needs very expensive haircuts about every two months. Two years ago we stopped taking him to the groomer, at $50/haircut it was getting too expensive. For the last two years, he's had a variety of hideous hair trims by one of us using a scissor. We keep planning to buy a clipper but a good one is over $100 and bichon hair is coarse enough to need a good trimmer.

Jim mentioned Mel's hideous haircuts and my search for a high quality clipper on ebay to his carpool buddy, Joe. Joe immediately offered Jim a Flowbee that was collecting dust as his house. Joe said it worked great but they no longer used it.

For anyone who doesn't remember the commercials, a Flowbee hooks to the vacuum cleaner and sucks the hair up while it shaves it off. I always thought it looked ridiculous but I'm a changed woman. That little gizmo gave Mel the first decent haircut he's had in 2 years and there was no mess on my floor. I have no plans to use it on anyone's head yet but it was wonderful for the dog and the price was certainly right. Jim was able to reciprocate with some spare golf clubs that were taking up space in his trunk, which was nice.

Second Time's the Charm

Canning apples the second time was much quicker and easier. I was able to can 14 quarts of applesauce yesterday, which is double what I barely got done the day before. I'm feeling pretty good about it. Although we still have a big laundry basket full of apples, I don't think I'll be doing any canning today. We're heading up to the Adirondacks tonight for the Townwide Garage Sale in Warrensburg and a little winterizing. I need to switch frugal gears.

My focus today will be on finishing the curtain project I was working on for the tv room. It's part of our "seal the house up tight for winter" project. I'm chief in charge of putting plastic on windows and heavy window coverings to seal out drafts, while Jim is head of crawling around in the attic and laying down insulation over our freezing cold bedroom. Clearly I have the better position, I can do half of my job while sitting on my tush watching old movies and I won't get itchy! ;)

Actually, making curtains has been a real learning experience for me. If you've been around for a while, you'll remember the curtain project started with my sons' room. (If you're new check out the archives, Saturday, August 13th My Curtain Project for the background on the story.) Since the boys get up at the first glimmer of daylight, I used dark fleece as the backing and beige fabric for the front. This works great for keeping the room dark but during the day but, even with the curtains open, it makes the room seem darker and smaller.

When I was thinking about a heavy curtain for the tv room, I knew I didn't want to block out light, I just wanted something to insulate the room a bit. My fabric of choice is uncoventional to say the least. I had aquired an old cotton knit bedspread from freecycle a while back, it reminds me of the ones my grandmother used. It was oddly sized and had a fringe that went around two sides but the other two were plain. Interestingly enough it was the perfect size for the window in question and it was nice and heavy.

We hung it over a window here just to see how much light it blocked but since it was white and woven, it really didn't block much at all. So with heavy duty thread in hand, I'm in the process of making a rod pocket and a little ruffle for the top. I'm also making a tie back to pull the curtain open. (I'm hoping to have some pictures to share over the next few weeks.) The only expense will be the rod and hardware which will have to be heavy duty to hold this up. An added bonus is this material washes like a dream, no need for expensive or chemically scary dry cleaning.

I have one more set of curtains to make and I'm toying with making the fleece lining detachable so the curtains would be useable in summer. I'm not sure how practical it would be but I'll be doing some measuring this weekend to try to figure it all out.

A close family member comments constantly on how hard we make our lives, especially me, with canning and sewing etc. I don't feel that way at all. Yes there are times when I am busier than she, but then I reap the rewards at a later date, as I eat my wholesome preserved foods or enjoy a lower heating bill. I also enjoy the challenge and the creative experience that my lifestyle allows.

Everything Takes Longer the First Time

I should tattoo this on my forehead and the backs of both my hands as a reminder. I did can applesauce for the first time yesterday and it did go well. However, I started peeling apples at 10:00am and didn't finish peeling or get them on the stove until 12:30. I misjudged how long it would take to soften the apples, blend them and bring them back to a boil.

In between canning activities (there's a lot of down time in canning where you need to be nearby but aren't really doing anything) I made a huge pot (16 quarts) of split pea soup. That used 1/2 of a drawerful of carrots and both heads of celery, freeing up some much needed fridge space. I just left that simmering on a back burner. I also made an apple crisp (although I didn't peel the apples for it.)

I finally took the jars out of the canner at 3:00pm. I was cranky, tired and a little frazzled because last night was the first night of an 8 week nutrition course that I'm teaching for our local adult ed program. I had figured that I would be done canning by 1:00pm at the latest.

Jim got home at 5:00 and he helped roll out some defrosted pizza dough. I whirled the leftover soups from the last two days in the blender and called it sauce (since both had tomatoes it was rather sauce like.) My sons spread the sauce around. I made a nutritional yeast "cheese" to top the pizza and drizzled it over the top. We popped them in the oven and I even got to eat two slices before running out the door.

So what's the lesson? When I think back to my first attempts at this lifestyle, I suspect my reaction was; never again followed quickly by; let's get takeout! But really the lesson is, everything takes longer the first time so plan accordingly. Have someone there as an extra set of hands. Its helpful both mentally and physically. Don't start an unfamiliar or really ambitious project with a deadline hanging over your head like I did. Recognize that you will get quicker at tasks the more times you do them. Finally, some tasks are done best apart from the work week. This wasn't an option for me this week as we're going away for the weekend.

When I teach YogaBall, I tell my students that yoga is a practice and there is something to be learned each and every time we practice, both from our successes and from the things we would have liked to do better. This is very true in the kitchen as well.

Having learned my lesson, I will be canning today but Jim gave me a head start last night. While I was out teaching my nutrition class, he cut and peeled 8 quarts of apples.

Overnight Crock Pot Soup

Last night's dinner went very well. I did end up adding a little Bragg's for flavor. There was enough of the squash to make extra biscuits for breakfast, which was a big help. Whatever I make for breakfast tends to double as an afternoon snack. I don't mind because its all healthy food but with a hungry hubby and four hungry kids, things just don't last around our house.

Lately, we keep running out of bread. We can easily use a loaf a day once everyone makes their lunches. I need to pack the freezer with frozen bread dough again but I just haven't had the time. So far, I've been getting around this problem with a little creativity. We had Peanut Noodles one night which we used for lunch the following day. I made breadsticks from leftover pizza dough that the kids took with a bean dip.

Last night I was stumped. The CSA pickup was HUGE. We were running out of room in the fridge and I was just too tired to start steaming veggies for the freezer or prepping them for canning. There was no way in the world I was going to start baking bread. By about 8:15pm I knew we were in trouble and needed to come up with a solution fast. We were on the verge of an emergency run for bread for lunches, when it occured to me that we could ease the fridge overcrowing a bit and solve the lunch problem at the same time.

I put a little olive oil in the bottom of my crock pot and turned it on high. Then I chopped an onion and tossed it in, stirring it around a bit. We had enough carrots to fill both of the lower drawers in the fridge (which is huge) so I grabbed a few of them, chopped them up and threw them in on top of the onions. It takes about a half hour for the crock pot to start softening up the onions on high but it saves you from having to clean another pot. Besides, I wasn't moving fast enough to fill the crock pot before the half hour was up.

I chopped up some slightly scary looking end of season tomatoes and rinsed some cooked white beans (from the same batch I had cooked earlier.) I put the white beans in the crock first and then put the tomatoes on top. I added water until it was about an inch below where the beans came to. This is because the veggies would all leach out some water and I'm notorious for using too much water. There were some leaves that had fallen of some the greens from the CSA, so I rinsed them and threw them in too. I popped the cover on the crock and hoped for the best. Fortunately by then, Jim had finished putting away the rest of the produce.

This morning, I added a little bit of Bragg's (I'm starting to really like that stuff) and filled a thermos for everyone. There were enough biscuits to give everyone one to have with the soup too. The bonus is its a really chilly morning here in the Hudson Valley, perfect soup weather! I love it when a plan comes together!

I realize it was a soup very similar to the one the night before but some days necessity and good nutrition outweigh the need for variety. Today, I'll be steaming a lot of the greens for winter soups, making bread and hopefully canning some applesauce.

BTW, for anyone with herb gardens in areas with threat of frost. You can pick the herbs and just freeze them right from the garden to use in winter recipes. They lose texture but not flavor.

Organizing the Pantry & Cleaning out the Fridge

About once a year I seem to lose track of everything and I have to totally empty and reorganize my cabinets and my freezer. I hate doing it but you get a much clearer picture of what needs to be on your shopping list and you avoid running out of staples. I don't think anything wasted more time, money and mental energy than running out of something half way through a recipe.

I don't have a big pantry, my dry goods are kind of spread out. I have some stolen shelves in the linen closet, the coat closet and the regular kitchen cabinets. It makes it harder to keep track of things. After moving things around and grouping like items together, I discovered that I have an inordinant amount of white beans. They'll definitely be on the menu more over the next few weeks.

For tonight's dinner I'll be cleaning the fridge out so the CSA pickup will fit. A quick glance inside the fridge revealed some lettuce, an onion, leftover beets, 2 zucchini and a small container of acorn squash. There are two bulbs of garlic on the counter. If you read that list and it meant nothing to you, don't panic. The more you cook, the better you are at recognizing the possibilities in your fridge.

Here's how I do it. First, think about what foods you would find in recipes together. For example, would it be uncommon to see onion, garlic and zucchini in the same dish? Not really but when it comes to the beets and squash, you need to make a decision. Those are two great tastes that may not taste great together. What kind of shape is the lettuce in? Can it still be a salad or would it be better cooked and served more like other greens?

I already know I need to use some of the white beans so I've had them soaking overnight. How can I incorporate the beans into a recipe involving the fridge ingredients? Is there anything in the freezer that can help me tie these ingredients together?

The other big piece of the puzzle is, how much time to I have to devote to this meal? Am I running out to work tonight, do I have a meeting, is Jim working late? Do I need a meal that can stand up to being in the pot a little longer without losing quality and flavor in case someone is running late?

The final verdict is I'll be making a vegetable and white bean soup with squash biscuits and a salad. For the soup I'll sautee the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. When the onions are softened, I'll toss in the zucchini and beets. I'll add about 4 cups of tomato sauce I had defrosted earlier in the day. Crushed tomatoes would be fine as well but I'm using what I have. I'll add the white beans in after they have cooked (tomato products prevent dried beans from cooking completely.) I'll probably add a dash of Bragg's Aminos or tamari depending on what it tasted like. Cajun seasoning and Italian seasoning are other flavoring options.

While that's simmering, I'll use the leftover squash to make squash biscuits. This recipe is from Grandma's Wartime Kitchen by Joanne Lamb Hayes. It's really just a basic biscuit recipe that adds 3 Tbs brown sugar and uses pureed squash for half of the liquid in the recipe. The lettuce will be chopped up for salad, although it could easily be added to the soup if you prefer.

Success!!

I just had to share a little cyber victory with everyone. I have finally figured out how to bring the entries up on the page. Now you will see them as soon as you click on the blog. It just looks so much better.

As with many things, the solution was really simple. Thanks to everyone for their tolerance of the old format.

Comfort Foods

It's starting to feel like fall. There's a coolness to the days and a slight chill to the nights. This is the time when we start to crave the hearty comfort foods of childhood. Meatloaf was one of those old standby, stretch the grocery bill meals that both my husband and I remember. I've been experimenting with different "loaf" type meals for a long time but this weekend I think I finally have one worth sharing.
It's quick, hearty and this recipe made enough for two meals for ou family of six.

Red Lentil Roast
In a medium pot place:
2 large potatoes, chopped
enough water to just cover the potatoes (the exact measurement depends on the size of your potatoes)

Add:
3 cups uncooked red lentils
4 cups water
Simmer until soft and water is absorbed, about 25 minutes

In a seperate pan saute:
2 large chopped onions
2 cloves garlic
You can sautee in oil or water, your choice.

Combine:
2 cups nutritional yeast
2 Tbs flax seed meal
2 Tbs tamari
1 cup oatmeal
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried thyme
In a large bowl mix together potato lentil mixture, onion garlic mixture, and remaining ingredients. The mixture should be fairly thick. If it seems too soupy add a little more oatmeal. Spoon into greased 9x12 pan. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until crispy on top.

Serve with your favorite gravy and a green vegetable.

Using All You Can

Here's a quiz:

1. You've purchased beets at your local farmers market with the greens still on. What do you do with the greens?

2. You're preparing fresh broccoli. You've cut off the florets and only the stalk is left. What do you do with the stalk?

3. You're having acorn squash with dinner tonight. You've cut them in half and scooped out the seeds. What do you do with the seeds?

I'm sure you have an idea where this is going but your answers to these questions seperate the truly frugal from the frugal newbies. Don't worry, we were all frugal newbies once!

Here's how I answer the questions:

1. I chop the greens, lightly steam them and freeze them for use in recipes over the winter. I don't use them now because I have plenty of fresh vegies available from the CSA and the greens freeze well.

2. The answer to this questions depends on how woody the stalk is. If its very woody and has a hole in the center, it may be worthless. If not try peeling the outer skin off and using the center as a crunchy addition to salads (similar to water chestnut in texture.) Depending on how thick the skin is, you may steam and freeze it for use in soup (if you're unsure if it will soften up enough, a whirl in the blender may be an idea.)

3. Squash seeds can be baked like pumpkin seeds. I think they even taste a little better.

So how does a person learn what's usuable and what's compost? My two favorite resources for this are Carla Emory's Encyclopedia of Country Living and that old standard, The Joy of Cooking. The strength of the Joy of Cooking is not its recipes, it is the basic food prep information and the variety of foods mentioned. (Its not a cookbook I would go out and buy but, since everyone seems to get it as a wedding present, I thought I'd mention it. I see it all the time at used book sales.) Other places to learn more about using it all are depression era and other old cookbooks. Talk to your grandmother or anyone else who was affected by the depression. They know all the tricks for letting nothing go to waste.

My grandmother has been gone for many years but I have wonderful memories of being in her kitchen and in her garden. I've often been told by my mother and my aunts that things I do remind them of her (composting, gardening, canning, bread baking.) She would have been an awesome resource!

What Do You Do With One Cookie?

Whenever you have only a tiny bit of something you wonder if its worth saving. One cookie is the perfect example, you're more likely to pop it in your mouth than go through the trouble of storing it. We've got a container in our freezer labeled "for ice cream" and this is where lonely cookies go. When we make or buy soy ice cream, the contents of the container are broken up and sprinkled over the ice cream. Voila, instant Sunday with zero added expense, and no fighting among the kids!

Apple Picking With the Family

My mother must have been reading my mind. Just as I was thinking about going apple picking, she called to ask if we wanted to go apple picking. We're meeting Saturday morning at the orchard. My sisters, brother and his wife and my niece will join us as well. We're packing a picnic lunch to save some money at the concession stand.

Later today, I'll be perusing the recipes in Ball Blue Book of Canning to help me decide how many apples to pick. This will be my first time canning apples. The best part is for the kids, its just a lot of fun.

Hints for Easier Food Storage

Last night's CSA pickup (check the archives for the Thursday, May 26th entry for more info on CSA) was HUGE!! My kitchen table is covered in veggies. The down side is I have a lot of work to do today, some freezing and some canning. I'm making a huge batch of White Beans and Tomatoes for dinner, almost half will go in the freezer for a quick fall/winter meal.

When freezing foods, think about the amounts you need to use in recipes. For example, my pumpkin bread recipe calls for one cup of pumpkin puree. I usually make four at a time, so I either freeze my pumpkin (winter squash can be used in place of pumpkin in most recipes) in 4 cup or 2 cup containers. Doing the measuring now saves me time and waste later.

The same idea applies to canning. For our family of 6, a pint jar doesn't go very far. For us, it makes more sense to can in quarts.

Sunflower Seeds

Monday went pretty well, all things considered. I made 4 loaves of banana bread and 24 cocoa banana muffins. They've already been a huge help. The muffins only lasted through lunch but I knew that would happen.

I like to add nuts to whatever muffins or quick bread I make to give it a little more nutrition and holding power (the fat content in the nuts helps you stay full longer.) Unfortunately nuts can be pretty expensive, and organic nuts are almost double the price of non-organic ones. I've been experimenting with using sunflower seeds in place of walnuts in these recipes and so far I've really liked the results. In fact, no one in the house has noticed the difference.

The trick with all nuts is to make sure they don't get rancid. I try to store mine in the fridge or freezer. When I run out of room, I opt for the basement where the temperature is fairly constant. Not sure if your nuts are rancid? Rancid nuts stink and have an aftertaste. If you use them in recipes they will taint the flavor of the whole product. (Yes, you guessed correctly, I know this because I tried to use them once.) If you're not sure, then the nuts are probably okay. There's really no mistaking the smell if they have turned.

This afternoon is CSA pickup (for an explanantion of what a CSA is and where to find more info, check out the comments on yesterday's post), doctor's appointment for my son, I have to teach a class, and its meet the teacher night for my youngest.

Since yesterday was my oldest daughter's birthday, tonight we'll be having Chinese food. We always let the kids choose their birthday dinner. Its part of our keeping it frugal and fun philosophy.

The Week Ahead

I'm strongly considering just going back to bed. This week is just chock full of things to do. I've got three meet the teacher events to attend, a doctor's appointment for my youngest, my inlaws are visiting and that's before the regular events that fill our week. As an added bonus, Jim's working late the next three nights. There's not enough coffee in the world to get me through this...or is there?

Fighting the urge to hide is the first step to winning the battle. As with most aspects of frugal living, you need a plan. Dinners are my first priority, thanfully, we had company yesterday and I have a fridge full of leftovers. For tonight at least, dinner is covered. As for the rest of the week, the crock pot will be a huge help. Today I'll plan the meals so I know if beans need to soak from the night before.

Breakfast is the next challenge. There's a two hour window between when my kindergartener gets on the bus and my oldest gets home and needs help with homework. I'll use the overripe bananas to make enough muffins to get us through the end of the week. Half will go in the glass server on the table, the other half will go in the freezer so they stay fresh for the end of the week. There is nothing more aggravating than hard work destroyed by mold.

Snack for the week may be pumpkin cookies since we've cooked our first pumpkins of the season from our CSA last week. Time will tell, if not there is always sunflower seeds and raisins or popcorn.

I'll also need to budget some time for freezing the last of the CSA pickup from last week. I've still got beets (I'll make these into French fry like sticks, bake a bit and then freeze) and carrots (I'll cut these into coins for quick additions into winter meals). I know root cellar type storage would work well for these veggies but my house isn't ideal for it and everything will rot. Its definitely something I plan to explore more down the road.

Saturday and the Frugal Fridge

Saturday is the day we try to get all the things done that we should have done during the week. Its also a great day to make use of all the leftovers in your fridge. Instead of having a particular thing for lunch, we drag out all the leftovers and have a buffet lunch. This is a fun and painless way to clean out the fridge.

Here are some examples from today's lunch:
Red Beans and rice with the last of the tortilla chips crumbled over the top
Dahl with Rice
Carrot muffins
scones

Peanut butter and jelly or other simple sandwiches are a great way to fill in the gaps of a meal like this.

A Frugal Confession

About 20 years ago I stole my Dad's Atra razor. I didn't really steal it, I just kept using it on my legs which in turn tore up his face. I think he finally just gave up and got another one. When I moved out I took the razor with me. I still have that razor and guess what? Blades for it are just about the cheapest out there.

Okay, its not pink or fancy, it only has two blades (although I remember being thrilled by that) but it is completely functional and since its all metal its not likely to break. After trying to find a reasonably priced razor that wasn't disposable for my daughters, I've turned to ebay to find a couple of old Atras like my own.

I'm looking for time tested quality not a pretty pink, curvy handle. I mean honestly, who sees your razor? So thanks to my Dad for letting me keep the razor all those years ago!

Making It Fun

Being frugal and having your whole household griping and feeling deprived is a drag. I'm usually succesful at avoiding this by including some "fun" foods in our menus. For example, tonight we are having Black Beans and Rice, a simple but yummy meal. I usually serve it with a dollop of salsa and steamed greens on the side(kale, collards, etc.) To make it more fun, everyone gets a handful of tortilla chips to use as edible spoons. The kids love this and at $1.61 for the 1 pound bag of tortilla chips, I haven't broken the bank either.

Plaintains are also a treat to serve with beans, my kids love them. Just make sure you let them ripen until they're really mottled looking or they'll be too starchy. I peel them and fry them in a cast iron skillet with a little spray of olive oil. (BTW, if you use cooking spray invest in one of those refillable containers. It's so much cheaper and better for the environment than buying the disposable aerosol cans from the grocery store. I got mine on ebay for under $10.)

Another fun addition to meals that I recently tried is breadsticks. I had some leftover pizza dough from the birthday party this past weekend. I rolled it into sticks, sprinkled with garlic powder and sesame seeds and baked at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes (I kept peeking so I'm not totally sure on the time.) I served it along with pasta and the kids loved it. They kept dipping them in their sauce.

A Hectic Night

Our CSA pickup is a lot bigger since we added the third share for fall. I also teach a Pilates class on the same night as pickup. It makes Tuesday nights a little hectic at our house as we try to get the food stored away, eat dinner and get the kids to bed on time. As an added bonus, we finished the last loaf of bread making yesterday's lunches and all the muffins got eaten for breakfast. Frankly, I'm pooped just thinking about it.

Here's how we dealt with it all and came out ok. First, dinner had to be quick and it had to be tolerable as a lunch for my kids (remember the no "weird foods" clause that my daughters' invoke.) Peanut noodles (reipe is in Peta cooks) were the perfect solution, everyone loves them. I also threw together a veggie soup with any remaining veggies from last weeks CSA pick up. Start by sauteeing the long cooking veggies (onions, carrots, beets, celery etc). After these are softened add quick cooking veggies (greens, green beans, corn, etc) Add some leftover tomato sauce and a squirt of Bragg's and you'll have a pretty good soup. Throw in leftovers if you have them. Use your imagination just be sure not to combine spices that don't blend well. For example, the leftover Indian dish wouldn't have gone well in this soup.

Scones are the quickest thing I can throw together for breakfast, so I did. To make things a little different, I mixed them in the bowl that had held the peanut noodles and topped them with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. It gave them just a hint of peanutty sweet taste, which everyone here likes. It reminds me of a coffee cake. With luch and breakfast taken care of, I could turn my attention to stowing away the veggies.

Today, there's some canning on the agenda (more sauce) and some baking (bread).

Lentils & Split Peas, Let Me Count the Ways I Love Thee

We're all still adjusting to the kids being back in school. This year everyone has homework and with two kids in the elementary school, one in middle school and one in high school, I'm feeling a little fragmented. I've been so busy making sure everyone else is up to speed that some of my things have fallen behind, namely dinner preparation.

Several times since school started I've gotten to 5pm and discovered that I haven't soaked any beans or given any thought to dinner at all! Because of this, I've developed a new love of the quick cooking legumes, lentils and split peas. In just about an hour I can have a meal on the table using these. If I use my pressure cooker, I can have them done even quicker. Soups, Indian dishes and legume loaves (think meatloaf) are just a few ways to use these quick versatile legumes.

Having quick cooking legumes and grains on hand helps stave off fast food runs that blow the food budget.

I'm off tomorrow so I'm hoping to get a little more organized.

The Frugal Teen Birthday Party *Part 2*

The movie watching went on until 5 am, thankfully they were quiet and I was able to sleep through it. The only thing worse than tired, cranky teens is a tired, cranky mommy!

Breakfast finally occured at almost 11 am. We had pancakes, home fries, strawberry banana smoothie and, of course, some left over cookie cake. A few weeks back I had put the maple syrup in a ketchup bottle to avoid huge amounts being used. I dicovered this works with small kids and teenagers too!

Repacking the car and cleaning up filled up the rest of our time, although the girls did sneak in a quick game of spud. As for the car ride home, everyone fell asleep while I sang my heart out to oldies (it was good that they were all asleep!)

While the gas use wasn't particularly frugal, the party was. The tab came in at just under $50, including food. As for the gas bill, I used the trip to do a little more closing up of the house for the winter so I don''t mind too much.

Now to make ice cream cake I used 2 quarts of Soy Delicious ice cream (we used chocolate velvet and chocolate peanut butter) and 1 bag of Midel chocolate snaps. Soften the ice cream in the fridge, it needs to be spreadable but not liquid. Grind up the chocolate snaps in a food processor. Decide what to "make" the cake in. I've used a bundt pan, a plain plastic container and I'm thinking about stealing my mom's unused jello mold for my next try.

Whatever you choose, either oil it or line it with plastic wrap to help you remove the cake for serving. Spread one quart of the ice cream along the bottom of your container. Place in freezer and let harden a bit. This prevents the cookie crumbs from getting soggy. Pour in cookie crumbs and place in freezer a few minutes, again this prevents the cookie crumbs from getting soggy. Top with other quart of ice cream, cover and freeze. It helps to let it sit on the counter a few minutes before serving. For those of you who haven't made the leap to vegan, it works with regular ice cream as well. In fact, I got the idea from a very non vegan neighbor.

The Frugal Teen Birthday Party *Part 1*

Today at 10:00am my daughters' birthday party began. Since they are a year and two weeks apart it makes a lot of sense to combine birthday activities. Last year we gave them a choice, have a traditional birthday party with lots of people or pick two close friends each and invite them for a sleepover at the cabin in the Adirondacks. They both jumped at the chance to have two friends spend the night in our little utopia. It went so well that we're in the process of doing it again this year.

The two and a half hour car ride up was filled with first days of school gossip and a few car games. Once we got here, the bathing suits were donned, the inner tubes and inflatable boats were pumped up and we hit the lake for some chilly fun (summer has definitely ended in the Adirondacks!)

For dinner the girls made their own vegan pizzas. I had the dough already made, they shaped the dough, grated their own cheese and put on their own sauce. In retrospect this went better last year when the dough was room temperature and easier to work with but it still was an overall hit.

Afterwards the kids did some crafts. We chose to decorate canvas bags that we had left over from a project a few years ago (they were from Oriental Trading). The girls used fabric markers and paint that we already had, although we did pick up a few new tubes just in case.

Our second project was to make record bowls. We took record that were rejects from my hubby's collection (either scratched or wrong genre) and put them in a 200 degree oven on a metal bowl on top of a cookie sheet for 2 to 5 minutes (it depends on the thickness of the record, older ones seem to be thicker). Then remove the cookie sheet from and oven and shape your bowl. The bowl on top of the cookie sheet can be placed right side up and you can push the softened record into it to create a bowl. Or put the bowl upside down and let the record begin to droop over it then use your hands to create your own shape. If you mess up return the record to the oven and try again.

Then it was time for cake and presents. One daughter wanted an ice cream cake, the other a cookie cake. These were put together in advance and were a big hit. Making your own ice cream cake is super easy, I'll post how tomorrow night. Right now I'm pooped and need to get to bed. The girls are winding up their night by watching a movie.

Tomorrow, breakfast, a little fun, lunch and the drive home...

The First Day of School

I wasn't wrong, the peaceful tranquility of the Adirondack Mountains have given way to the hustle bustle of the Hudson Valley. I feel like I've been moving at the speed of light since Monday afternoon. I'm not sure if there is enough organic fair trade coffee on the planet to keep me going until Friday.

We made it through our first day of school. Lunches and snacks were made the night before which worked out really well. Everyone's sandwich and snack containers are labeled so if one goes missing I at least know which school or locker to send the search party to.

The muffins I made for breakfast were a hit, which is good because I made enough for two days! I used the basic muffin recipe that Amy Dacyzyn included in the Complete Tightwad Gazette for the first time, mainly because I had a lot of little bits of leftover cereal, juice, oatmeal, etc. and that's what the recipe is aimed at. I know that list sounds hideous but they were quite tasty. The trick is making sure not to include flavors that will clash horribly. The downside is I'll never be able to recreate these muffins again.

I have to confess, I didn't bake my own bread this week. I went to the bakery outlet store instead.

Bye Bye, So Long, Farewell...

I can't believe that summer vacation is finally coming to an end. We've spent the evening packing the car and cleaning. Tomorrow we go home to start our "real life" again. Our experiment with simple summer living in the mountains has been wonderful, I'm addicted. We'll leave tomorrow morning with a car load of memories to warm us through the winter.

Real life starts with a bang Monday as we have our food cooperative pickup. In an effort to conserve a bit of gas, we'll be picking up on our way home from the mountains. Tomorrow night I'll be putting away 25 pound bags of lentils and 50 pounds of rolled oats.

Tuesday at the CSA we increase our number of shares from 2 to 3. They'll be a lot of canning and freezing in my future. Tuesday I also go back to work.

Wednesday is the first day of school. By the time I'm sending kids off on the school bus, this pristine mountain paradise will just be a happy memory to savor over my morning coffee.

Ordering For Next Year's Planting

We've taken the plunge and put together our order of currant bushes. We're starting with red (Red Lake) and white (White Imperial) currants. I'm so nervous, but the decision had to made as the fall deadline for orders is the end of September.

Check out www.hort.cornell.edu/nursery to find a list of nurseries that sell currants, or any other fruit for that matter.

Canning & Curtain Update

I finished my tomato canning for until the next CSA pickup. To help get the tomato sauce boiled down to half of the original volume (most canning recipes for tomato sauce require this) I tried a different technique than I have in the past. I prepped the sauce up to the point where it just needs to cook down and then put in the fridge for the night. I set my alarm for 5:15 am and stumbled out of bed long enough to put the pot on the stove, uncovered to begin the simmering. By having it all ready to go and getting it started that early I was able to get the actual canning done by 2:30pm. This worked much better for me than when my canning ends at 9:30pm.

We also got the first four panels of curtains hung this afternoon. I'm really pleased with the way they came out. I just have one and one half more to go and I'll be done with them all.

Super Easy Eggplant

My husband is not an eggplant lover. It all goes back to a diasterous attempt I made to pickle it about 14 years ago. (He says I tried to poison him with an excess of vinegar. I say stop being such a baby, just because your eyes watered for a week!) Needless to say, the appearance of three large eggplants in this weeks CSA pickup displeased him. I had to make it good or eggplants would bear the label "gross" forever in our home.

Tonight I peeled them, cut them into thick slices, sprinkled them with a little salt and left them sitting in a colander in the sink for a half hour. This draws the bitterness out and is a must in my experience. I then rinsed them under cold water and placed them on a greased cookie sheet. I sprinkled them with garlic powder, parsley, thyme, oregano, fresh chopped basil and a bit of onion powder (an Italian seasoning mix would probably work well bt I didn't have any on hand.) I sprayed a bit of olive oil over the top and popped them in a 375 degree oven. I cooked them until they were tender throughout (this varies based on how thick you cut them but mine took about a half hour) and served them with pasta and sauce.

My husband loved them (WHEW!) and declared that the leftovers would be good in sandwiches tomorrow.

Still Getting Ready for School

My sons' room has been decluttered, vacuumed and generally readied for school to begin. I've begun to check through their clothes and will finish weeding out the things they've outgrown.

My technique for dealing with outgrown clothes has changed over time. If it no longer fit anyone in the house, I used to just put it in a bag and toss it in my car to take to a Goodwill type bin the next time I passed one. In the last year I've begun really looking at each piece of clothing and reviewing my current craft/household projects. Could I use the fabric from this in something else? In the case of my fickle teenage daughters, could I alter this to make it more fashionable? You'd be amazed at how much you can reuse. A fair amount still goes to those bins but at least I've thought about it first.

My teenage daughters' room is a far more tedious go. They are about half way done and the closet is part of the not yet looked at half. We've hung stuffed animals on the side of their milk crate shelves to give more floor/bed space. We're developing a "no junk on the desk" policy to keep it clear for future homework. Hopefully things will be clear by this evening.

This will be the first time in three years that I haven't had to drive a child to preschool. Its good timing considering gas prices but it also gives me more time for food prep in the morning. As in the past, I will begin making muffins for easy breakfasts. Since I can get bananas at a discount grocery for $.29/pound, I think the first week of school will include banana muffins. I'll also freeze a bunch for down the road. Apple picking is going to help expand the breakfast menu in a frugal and fun way.

You can keep your muffin costs down by using cooking water from pasta or potatoes in place of all or part of the soymilk in recipes. I do it all the time and it works really well and helps to stretch our soymilk budget. I've also made the ricemilk recipe from How It All Vegan for use in baked goods. I don't care for the taste to drink, but it works very well in recipes.

The Countdown to School Begins

I'm back home for the first time in 27 days so my daughter can attend her high school orientation. I feel positively jet lagged even though I've only traveled 2 1/2 hours. Things are moving so much faster here than I've grown accustomed to! I have to use a car to do anything. This summer I've only used my minivan once a week at most. It doesn't help that school starts in 10 days and we're going away for one last end of summer fling in 3. When we get back this time, I go back to work and school starts the next day. We've got a lot to do. Time for a plan of action!

The first thing I noticed upon entering my house is the amazing amount of clutter. I thought I'd gotten that in check a long time ago but living in much closer quarters for the summer and having it seem more spacious has proven this thought wrong. We need to go through each room and we need to determine what's useful and what's not. I suspect there will be much freecycling in our future.

On the clothing front, we need to pull out the boxes of fall/winter clothes and sort through the summer clothes. This I've gotten pretty good at but its where my daughters need the most help. There are parts of their closet that hold clothes they have never worn and never intend to wear. I'd like to help them get that under control.

School supplies for my middle school and high schooler remain a great mystery. I'll hold out for the first day of school and the specific list rather than guess, although looseleaf paper, pens, pencils and folders will already be in the house. For my sons I already have the lists. Today I will go through my stashes of school supplies and tomorrow I will get the missing items. Thankfully, all the back packs from last year held up well. Here's a tip that helped the back packs last, line the lower half of the packs with a heavy material (I used the legs of worn out jeans) to prevent the weight of the school books from wearing through at the bottom corners.

Lunch bags need to be decorated or at least labeled. We got a dozen of the canvas lunch bags from Oriental Trading last year and they worked out well. At the end of the week they go in with the laundry and the food funk is cleaned away. My kids all dislike the bulkiness of insulated bags and since this mimics a paper lunch bag it seems to be a good compromise. They never kept those insulated bags clean anyway. I can still put a freezer pack in the bags which gives us some flexibility. We're still short on sandwich containers but I'll be hitting the thrift store circuit one more time before school starts.

For lunch the kids have asked for peanut butter and jelly with pretzels on it and hummus. When I pressed them for more options they all announced that this was what they liked so, for now, this is what it will be. Snacks will include popcorn, pretzels, sesame sticks and fresh fruit(I'm hoping to squeeze in a fun frugal trip to the orchard for some apples this weekend.)

Now its time to refil my coffee and get started!

Let the Canning Begin!

I haven't had much time to blog lately. We're trying to hang on the the last days of summer while trying to prepare for the fall. I put up 6 pints of tomato sauce yesterday and have another 7 quarts about to go into the canner tonight. Its a great feeling. We're planning a major trip to the apple orchard in the next few weeks with lots of canning action to follow.

Canning for the first time is scary but once you do it a few times its not stressful at all. Its just empowering.

Its Tomato Canning Time!

There's a nip in the night air. The temperature will be dipping into the low 50's in the Adirondacks tonight. Tomorrow's weather is only heading up to the mid 70's. What perfect weather for canning the massive amount of tomatoes we got from the CSA today!

I know many think of canning as a forgotten chore from long ago, but I believe it is really a chore worth learning. There is a sense of empowerment, knowing that your pantry is full. The August/September issue of Mother Earth News has a great article on how to get canning. Check it out at your local library or online at www.MotherEarthNews.com

My Neighbor & Her Surplus Zucchini

Everyday a neighbor down the street puts her surplus zucchini on a table by her mailbox with a sign that says free and bags to carry the load home. My kids have gotten in the habit of strolling by just before dinner time as they walk the dogs. By that time of day most people have already taken what they want so my kids pick up a bunch and leave a thank you note.

The extra produce has been great. Just the other day we used some of that zucchini to make zucchini bread. We sent some across the street to our elderly neighbor who watches our house whenever we're not around. The ultimate frugal thank you!

Inspiring Frugality in Our Kids

I'm nearly done sewing the third panel of the curtains I've been working on. I just three more to go. My daughter has embarked on a sewing project of her own. She's making a skirt from a pair of jeans that no longer fit by cutting out the inseam and adding in a fabric panel in the front and back. She got the idea from a book called Do It Yourself Girl.

I have to wonder if her project is inspired by one of our many frugal, recycled item projects. I hope so!

The $3.00 bag Sale

Our local church thrift store was having a $3.00/bag sale on clothing this week. I almost skipped it. The store is tiny, crowded and tends to be pricier than the Salvation Army thrift store I favor. Its also not as nicely organized.

When my husband had to make an emergency run to the hardware store for wood putty, I hopped in the car on a whim and asked him to drop me off at the thrift store which was on the way. Five minutes after he pulled away I was in bargain heaven!

When he came to pick me up 25 minutes later, I was filling my second bag. I pushed him in the direction of the mens clothing and urged him to look quick as we only had five minutes left before closing. It was like that crazy shopping show where you had a limited time to fill the shopping cart with the groceries.

When we left the store with our two bulging bags (hey, she said we could stuff them) we felt we had gotten our $6.00 worth. Here's a peek at what we brought home:

9 pairs of jeans in beautiful condition (brands included Gap, LEI, Levis, Lee)
9 shirts in like new condition (brands included Old Navy, Gap)
1 pair of like new hiking boots
1 skirt
1 bathing suit cover up

The moral of the story? I will not be a thrift store snob and I will keep my eye out for the next $3.00/bag sale (which will be at the end of the winter.)

My Review of Miserly Moms

I just finished reading Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy. She's got some fascinating information on the cost of utilities, some decent sounding vegetarian recipes and a very extensive list of resources in the back of the book.

It's not a book that I'd purchase but its definitely worth a read. I think of books like The Complete Tightwad Gazette and The Encyclopedia of Country Living as books worth buying because there is always something new to learn or reference in them. This book made great points but once you write the recipes you like down, make note of ways to cut your utility bills and grocery costs you're pretty much done with it. Check it out at your local library.

Finding the Discount Grocery Store

It pays to listen to your elders! Just yesterday I met up with an older neighbor at the library. She gave me a heads up on two discount grocery stores in our area and suggested I give them a try. I didn't know about either one of them. Since they were across the street from each other and less than a mile from the store I had intended to go to, I decided to check them out.

My first stop was Sav A Lot, http://www.save-a-lot.com/ Bananas were $.29/pound, a gallon of white vinegar was $.99, toilet paper $.49/1000 sheet roll. (Bananas are the one fruit I compromise on and buy non-organic sometimes.) There were some other good prices but all on stuff I don't buy. I do remember a time when I would have been tempted by the cheap cereal.

My next stop was Price Rite, I couldn't find a website when I did a google search. I'd check the phone book if I were you because they had half gallons of Silk for $2.49! That made the trip worthwhile!

Both these stores, as well as Aldi's charge for bags. All have box bottoms that you can use for free stacked in front of the store. I just throw my canvas bags in the car and transfer from shopping cart into them.

What I'm Reading

I just checked out a copy of Jonni McCoy's book Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy. I've seen her name pop up in various other frugal publications so I'm curious to see what she has to say.

The Low Flow Toilet Solution

Low flow toilets (and RV toilets as well) are great for saving water but they aren't always so great for getting all the residue off the sides of the bowl. An old ketchup bottle, cleaned of course, filled with water and kept in the bathroom is a great solution. You just point and spray at the offending stain and away it goes. We keep one in the cabinet above the toilet.

My Curtain Project

Looking ahead to the fall and winter the heating bills promise to be high. In an effort to decrease heat loss, which is really money loss, I'm working on a set of insulated curtains for my sons' room.

I got the idea from the book Quick and Easy Quilting by Bonnie Leman. Its from 1972 but its got some really good basic info which is what I was looking for. It mentioned window quilts which were commonly used to keep rooms warmer in the winter. I like the idea and changed it to suit my needs and the supplies I had on hand or could get cheaply.

I'm using a set of heavy cotton king size sheets that I got for $3 at the thrift store. (I had specifically bought these to use for curtains.) The sheet fabric will be the front of the curtain that you see from the room. For the backing and to provide the insulation, I'm using old fleece blankets.

I've already cut and pinned the first one. The most important thing now is to make sure that all the other panels match, especially in length.

The Lunch List

No matter how vigorously I deny it, summer is more than half over. Talk around the table has turned to school lunches. With one child in high school, one in middle school and two in elementary school we need a plan. In general, the kids aren't fond of taking leftovers because they might "look wierd" or worse, "smell wierd."

Tonight I gave the kids an assignment, come up with a list of acceptable lunches and we'll see what we can do. The murmurs I've heard so far aren't at all outrageous, peanut butter and jelly, hummus, "cheese" spread. We'll see what they present me with over the next few days.

Meanwhile, I'm hitting the thrift stores and tag sales to make sure everyone has a water bottle and sandwich container. Last year we lost several sandwich containers to the mold monster that grows in middle school children's lockers. To combat this, everyones lunch containers will be labeled. If one is missing, at least I'll be able to figure out who's book bag to check in.

For carrying the lunches, we're using canvas lunch bags from Oriental Trading Company. I bought them last year and they held up well. Once a week I tossed them in with the regular laundry to keep them from getting scary. I've offered insulated bags but no one wants to carry them and they get funky in the corners if they aren't cleaned out well each time.

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.

The New Kitchen Towel Rack

Oh the problems of a frugal veggie mama! Some well meaning person threw away the empty roll of paper towel that I've been using as a kitchen towel drying rack. What's a girl to do? I do still keep a roll of paper towel in the house for emergencies but I'm certainly not going to make it an easy grab by hanging it where it belongs. (The last roll of paper towel we had lasted several months because, in our house, most spills can be handled by the dish cloth, mop or kitchen towel.)

Anyway, I've been searching for that perfect towel bar, rack or hook without any luck. I did come across a black metal fish with several hooks that would work for the dish towels but I just didn't like it. Besides, towels get funky smelling when they stay wet and I didn't think they would dry too well hung close together on the fish. I needed something black, metal and small to fit in with the kitschy, country, wrought iron decor.

This morning I had a brainstorm. In the garage I had several grates from barbeque grills that I had scavenged (the why of it all is a long story that I'll save for another time.) With hacksaw in hand, I cut off the first three rows of the grate. This created what looked like a miniature ladder, which I painted with the leftover black rustoleum that I always seem to be using. Because the grate was pitted from use, it gave the whole thing a wrought iron look which was nice. I then unscrewed the paper towel rack and predrilled holes under the cabinet for the hooks that the new rack would hang from. Once the hooks were screwed in, I painted them as well.
It really looks great.

I think the best part of it all is the lessons my kids learn from watching a project go from idea to execution. For my girls, its the notion that you don't have to wait for Dad to do something, you can do it yourself. For my boys, its the excitement of helping with tools and watching seemingly useless things be transformed into functional items.

Some Websites to Check Out

One of my favorite websites is
http://freecycle.org/
Peek into my home and you will see I'm an avid freecycler. Just yesterday, for the price of two new ink cartridges, I have a printer that prints like brand new compliments of a freecycler who upgraded her printer.

I've just discovered this website
http://www.cheapskatemonthly.com/
In fact I'm printing out the sample issue on the above mentioned printer as I type. I can't really tell much until I read through it but the website and its founder were highly recommended to me.

I'm new to this group but if you aren't using your crockpot for veg cooking, it may be the place for you. With school starting in just a few weeks, now's the time to get your time saving strategies in place. My slow cooker is a blessing on those hectic school nights.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/HVCC/

Favorite Frugal Pastimes

My boss called the other day. She wanted to know if I wanted to come back to work before the summer was over. She asked what I did to keep busy. I sounded like an idiot when I tried to explain the simple things that we were doing to amuse ourselves. Perhaps my responses will be more relevant to you.

We go outside and enjoy the mountain air. We ride bikes, scooters and other wheeled things. We play basketball (not well) in my sons' Fisher Price grow to Pro basketball hoop. (You don't know what goofy looks like until you've seen adults play with a Fisher Price hoop.) We walk to the library for story time and to borrow books and movies. We walk to the beach and stay for hours. We walk to the free Tuesday night concert in the park-so far we've enjoyed concert band, oldies, and barbershop. We've borrowed kayaks and pedal boats to enjoy the lake even more.

What about rainy days, everyone wants to know about that. How does a family of six stay in a small space without getting under each other's skin? We keep busy with books, puzzles, games, an awesome 8 in 1 game table that has pool and air hockey (a gift of course!) movies, crafts, coloring and other very basic things. We don't have cable or video games here but no one misses them. Sometimes we all work on some larger household project.

The kids all seem happy so I guess we're doing something right.

Tomatillo Salsa

The tomatillo salsa recipe in The Ball Blue Book of Canning is so delicious! I had a great deal of company today and someone brought tortilla chips but no salsa. Since I had quite a few tomatillos from this weeks CSA pickup, I decided to make the salsa (without cooking it) to serve with the chips. It was quite a hit with everyone. I'll use the leftovers in tomorrows dinner, black beans and rice.

FYI, for anyone who is new to canning, it is imperative to follow the directions in a reputable canning recipe book to avoid illness/death. If I was planning to can this salsa I would have followed the directions to the letter. I often give recipes a try before canning, as I plan to do with those watermelon rind pickles.

My Thrift Store Coup

I've been on the lookout for a shelf to tuck behind a chair and put my printer on. I'd pretty much given up and decided to build one, mainly because the spot I needed it for was an odd size. Today, while poking around in the local thrift store, I discovered what I thought was some shelves that were perfect. When I went to pick them up, I made another discovery. They weren't shelves at all. They were very simple end tables stacked on top of each other! I got them for $2.00 apiece!

For me, the lesson of the whole experience is; remember to look at every possible way something can be used before dismissing it as unusable. I would never have thought to stack end tables to solve my shelving problem.

Watermelon Rind Pickles

In my latest efforts to let nothing useful go to waste, I am attempting to make watermelon rind pickles. I just discovered the recipe in the Ball Blue Book of Canning. Since this weeks CSA pickup included two watermelon (pesticide free!) I decided this was the perfect time to give this recipe a try.

Canning can be a bit labor intensive so I'm just making a small batch to try now without actually canning it. If this is a hit with the family, I'll be canning all future rinds. Remember, its not a bargain if no one will eat it!

Thinking About School Snacks

I just placed my August food cooperative order. I'm still having a hard time believing that I had to think about school snacks while deciding what to order. Where is the summer going?

My approach to school snacks is fairly simple, I started by asking my kids what they liked. My kids have a few favorites like muffins, pretzels, popcorn and the caramel popcorn recipe from The Complete Tightwad Gazette. Apples spread with peanut butter are a favorite fall snack.

Even at their young ages they've all figured out that fruit roll up type snacks, even when made of real fruit, don't have much bang for the snacking buck. They all know better than to ask for candy. In general, my kids want a substantial snack that satifies their hunger as well as there snacky craving needs.

In the interest of not overdosing on or running out of one snack or another, we're setting up a loose schedule to keep the snacks rotating. I can't stress enough how important planning is to maintaining a frugal lifestyle.

My Parent's Apple Tree

The apple tree in my parents yard is huge and loaded with perfect little green apples. My parents hate the tree and have promised to call me as soon as the apples start turning red. Even if the deer get all the apples on lower branches, there will still be a ton for us. We'll spend a day picking and another canning but it will be worth it in the money we save. I'm thrilled!

The moral of the story; it never hurts to ask!

Bras for the Cantelopes

A key part of frugality is the ability to be creative. Its the desire to look at a problem and come up with a solution other than a trip to the store. It can be inborn or cultivated over time. The more you do it, the more naturally it comes to you. Such is the case with the bras for the canteloupes.

I've mentioned before that the canteloupes I'm growing in a container are doing very well. Currently I've got two canteloups the size of raquetballs, four the the size of golf balls and quite a few pea size ones. Since I have the canteloupes growing on a trellis, common garden wisdom recommends that they be supported in some way. Pantyhose tied to the trellis are the preferable source of support. They stretch as the canteloupes grow and don't hold moisture. The only problem is I haven't worn pantyhose in years, I hate them! It was time to get creative.

While pondering my canteloupes' lack of support, I checked the laundry on the line for dryness and discovered a bra that had clearly seen better days. It met the criteria, it was still sort of stretchy and it dried quickly. A little twine and some creative cutting and the canteloupes are firmly nestled in their new bras. My eldest daughter is still a little concerned about the whole thing. (It was her old bra and she walked out just in time to see me cutting it apart and attaching it to the plant.) Honestly, you can't tell it was once a bra. If the plants had been in the back yard rather than the front, I would have just cut the cups off and used them as is.

Our Frugal Family Day

Just to give you some idea of how to have a fun day without spending any cash, here's how we spent our day. We took a family bike ride around the lake, stopping to skip stones and enjoy the scenery. We stopped at the library on our way home for some movies, books and music. Behind the library is a gorgeous view of the Hudson River, so we hiked down a bit to enjoy a better view. Afterwards, we headed home for some dinner.

After dinner we got in the car, for the first time since last Wednesday, and headed into Lake George. First we hit the local Hannaford for Tofutti Cuties, soymilk and bananas. We ate the Tofutti Cuties as a special treat as we headed to a free fireworks show over Lake George. (It turns out the ice cream parlor we can walk to now serves chocolate soy ice cream, which is great but a cone cost $2.99. For the same price everyone had a cutie and we had two to spare or share. Did you know that they make a mint chip cutie?? It's delicious!) We stowed the soymilk and bananas in a cooler in the car while we headed down to enjoy the fireworks.

The kids had a great time and so did we.

Home Economiser Newsletter

The latest issue of Budget Living Magazine has a really interesting article called, The First Family of Frugality. I've only had a chance to scan the article but I'm definitely intrigued. They have a newsletter that, from what I've read so far, is akin to The Tightwad Gazette. They also have a website homeeconomiser.com that looked interesting as well. It has a sample issue of the newsletter on it.

The Soymilk Debacle

I'm always in search of ways to whittle down the grocery bill. As it stands right now the two most expensive items in our grocery budget are tofu and soymilk. Tofu we use as a treat, a yummy addition to a meal. If things are tight, we skip it. Soymilk on the other hand is a staple in our house. We use it in cereal, smoothies, pancakes, homemade ice cream, pudding, its just in everything!

Recently, I read somewhere that you could substitute the water from cooking pasta for milk in baking. I was intrigued but we eat a ton of pasta so I gave it a try. Here's the verdict. Pasta water works beautifully in pancakes and other baked goods. It ruins, smoothies, ice cream and pudding by making them grainy and pasty tasting. (In a pinch you can substitute the pasta water for half of the soymilk in smoothies, etc but only in a pinch and definitely not for company!)

By the way, when something does turn out less than delectable I try to find a way to rehabilitate it rather than waste it. Just yesterday I experimented with adding a bit of coconut to our breakfast smoothie. It sounded like an exotic addition but in reality it was awful. That smoothie became the wet ingredient portion of the next morning's pancakes.

Stocking the Freezer One Week at a Time

Each week I try to freeze at least one container of vegetables from our CSA pickup. Some weeks I've put away as many as four big containers. Usually its the strong flavored greens. I find they are more palatable in the stronger flavored chilis and soups of the winter months rather than lighter summer meals. Our freezer has begun to fill up nicely. Its a good feeling. Every meal that I don't have to buy organic veggies for over the winter is money saved.

This morning we finally got around to picking those wild blueberries and raspberries we found on our property. They were delicious! We're keeping an eye out for more. Saturday we'll be checking out the status of the apple tree at my parent's house. They were planning to take it down but I'm hoping I've convinced them to let us harvest apples first! One person's nuisance is another person's applesauce.

Fruit for my Shady Yard

The latest issue of Mother Earth News has a very interesting article on growing currants and gooseberries. Personally, I've never tasted either one but I'm intrigued because both of these berries don't mind shade and cold. My yard has plenty of both of these conditions.

I'm planning to check out a local farmer's market this week to hopefully get a taste of them. I discovered from ads in the paper that both currants and gooseberries are grown locally. If they taste good they may be a better choice than the dwarf fruit trees I've been trying to figure out where to put. I'll let you know what I discover.

A Quickie Dessert

Have you ever noticed how much cake can be left behind after the cutting is done? There seems to always be a ton of crumbs. I finally figured out what to do with them.

I saved the crumbs from the Peanut Butter cake and the Chocolate Peanut Butter cake placing them in bottom of dessert cups. I topped the crumbs with a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream and a sprinkle of vegan chocolate chips. The kids, including my neighbor's daughter, were all thrilled with their "fancy" dessert.

Container Garden is Bearing Fruit, Literally!

I was watering my container garden today when I discovered a multitude of teeny canteloupes and strawberries! I can't tell you how excited I am. I am very curious to see how they develop.

My kids were all very excited as well. I don't think any of us really thought this was going to work. I must say, its very motivating when a plan comes together.

While hanging the laundry, I discovered wild raspberries which we'll be picking in the morning. There aren't that many but they will be a lovely addition to our breakfast. I'm planning to read up on raspberries to maximize next year's crop.

Crowd Pleasers

Today Hillary heads back home. Last night we had a get together to wish her well. We feasted on Baked Macaroni and Cheese (using the recipe from Peta’s Veg Starter Kit) with collards and breadsticks. For dessert we had Peanut Butter Cake and Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake from the Simple Treats cookbook. Simple Treats is a must have cookbook for dessert lovers. The recipes look somewhat complicated, but they really aren’t and the results are consistently delicious.

As is often the case in frugal cooking, success in both taste and pocketbook comes down to your ability to recognize what ingredients can be substituted for each other. The Mac and Cheese recipe called for broccoli, which I was out of. I know from past experience that steamed collards work well in place of broccoli, especially in recipes with nutritional yeast based cheese sauce. The breadsticks were just defrosted bread dough shaped into sticks and sprinkled with Italian seasoning.

Substitutions in baked goods can be a tricky business. You always need to have an awareness of what the function of an ingredient is. Last night I ran out of maple syrup so I substituted a mix of sucanat and molasses. This is not my first choice but it works in a pinch. The cakes tasted great. My mother in law even took some home for my father in law. “He loves your cakes,” she said. That may be the highest compliment I’ve ever received from a staunch non-vegan!

Stretching It Until The Reinforcements Arrive

It was a shock to discover last night that we were getting low on food. At home I've got half the closets in the house set up as pantries. Here, what seemed like a ton of food during long weekends isn't really that much after all. A car full of food was to arrive with my hubby this evening. I had to make a decision. Do I give in and shop for today's food or do I get really creative and try to make it through the day? The challenge was too much for me to pass up, I decided to give it a try.

Surveying the cabinets, I came to a few conclusions. First there was plenty of homemade granola, raisins, and scones for breakfast but there was only a limited amount of soymilk to accompany it. To make things even, I did the serving. We had just enough for everyone. Whew!

There were plenty of yellow split peas in the cabinets but who wants soup in July? For lunch I ended up concocting a barbequed split pea over rice dish. It was actually quite tasty. The split pea mixture included an assortment of veggies that effectively cleaned out the vegetable bin in my fridge.

For dinner, I used the leftovers as part of a really creative dinner which I consider a supreme achievement, considering what I had to work with. I used the recipe for tortillas from the Complete Tightwad Gazette and filled it with the lunch leftovers. I topped each with some salsa and a cheese sauce recipe from the Uncheese Cookbook. I threw together a quick cornbread and peanut butter cookies for dessert. It looked quite impressive on the plates and I don't think anyone but I could tell how hard I worked to make almost bare cupboards yield food.

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!

Getting Ready for the Townwide Tag Sale

Saturday is our little towns unofficial townwide tag sale. There is a craft fair and book sale at the local park and many people choose to schedule their own tag sales this same day. It can be a savings bonanza if you handle it correctly.

My older kids, and my Fresh Air guest, are all given a few dollars to use (or not). They all know that it will be the only money they recieve from us and it is contigent on chores being done in the weeks before. This eliminates begging and whining which I really appreciate. It has taught my daughters to be choosy as well as the fine art of haggling, which I personally am not very good at. Last year my kids ended up with two free bikes on top of all their other purchases. I'm so proud!

For me, its an opportunity to fill a few bags at the book sale and peruse the crafts for ideas. Yes, I'm one of those annoying people who look but rarely buy at a craft sale. I usually go home and jot ideas down for the upcoming holidays. The tag sale is also an opportunity for me to get a jump on the holidays and school shopping. Shopping the thrift circuit is not the same as shopping at Walmart. You never know when you may find what you've been looking for. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and other times you can't find anything you need.

We try to go after we've eaten to avoid the temptation to purchase overpriced food while we're out. The fact that there aren't a lot of vegan offerings make it a little easier on us. We always bring water to fend off the thirsty whinies. In the past we've taken our red wagon to tow our tired younger ones in. I'm not sure if they'll still fit but we've discovered a playground nearby. We plan to hit it before heading home. Hopefully that little carrot will help keep the little ones in check.

I almost forgot to mention, my favorite part of this event is that it is all within waking distance of our house! That just satisfies me on so many levels.

I'm also looking forward to taking a walk the morning after the tag sale when everyone puts their stuff out for the garbage man. You'd be amazed how much usuable stuff is tossed after an event like this.

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.

A Winner of a Dinner

Tonight's dinner was one of those culinary marvels where everything goes exactly according to plan. The meal featured whole wheat pasta with a chunky sauce (onions, garlic scapes, yellow split peas, the last remnants of a salsa jar, chopped black olives and tomato sauce), focaccio bread with black olives and fresh basil, and steamed kale with fennel/basil vinagrette.

It was just the right mix of colors and flavors. It was also super simple. I started the sauce about an hour and fifteen minutes before the meal by sauteeing the onion and garlic, adding the yellow split peas and water, and simmering for about 45 minutes. When the peas were tender, I added the remaining ingredients and let simmer for another half hour.

The focaccio bread was made from a piece of the pizza dough that I was defrosting for tomorrow. I finely chopped black olives and fresh basil and just kneaded them into the dough. I sprnkled garlic powder on top and let rise for 15 minutes before baking.

The kale was just cut off the stalks into a microwave safe bowl, the vinagrette poured on top and microwaved for about 4 minutes.

This time of year I really try to make my meals revolve around the produce we get from our CSA. It helps me avoid waste. That's why I used garlic scapes rather than regular garlic. It was just what I had on hand. This is also why we used a fennel and basil vinagrette and kale. These were all things we had picked up earlier in the week. Over the years I've gotten much better at learning what can be substituted for what without destroying a recipe. It is one of the most useful frugal culinary skills to have.

Eye Appeal

My brother and his wife ate over last night and inadvertently offered me a peek into the mind of an omnivore. My brother looked into the pot and asked if we were having the same beans and rice we had earlier in the week. While the beans (French Lentils) and the rice (actually barley) was used in a dish I made earlier in the week (it also had sauteed fennel, broccoli and a basil/fennel vinagrette) last night's dinner bore little resemblance to that dish, in terms of taste. Last night I added sauteed onion, garlic scapes, green pepper and fresh cilantro. (I love fresh cilantro!) Dinner was served with tortilla chips and topped with salsa.


However, it did initially look mighty similar. I think, for my brother, it fed into the notion that vegetarians always eat the same thing. I've made a mental note to pay more attention to the eye appeal of my dished when entertaining. A simple garnish would go a long way on this.

I've always worked on the assumption that familar foods would go over better with non-veg people. To that end and because it is very economical, I've often stuck with variations on beans and rice recipes. I'm thinking that since I've been veg so long, and since I generally entertain the same people over and over again, perhaps its time to trot out some of my more adventerous dishes the next time I entertain. Perhaps a gluten "pot roast" or vegan sloppy joes on whole wheat buns will be on future menus. How shocking would it really be? No one blinks when I bring vegan mac and cheese anymore.

Welcoming Hillary

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity. My oldest daughter's braces came off, my son turned 5 and our Fresh Air Fund visitor, Hillary, arrived. Based on all the happenings of the day, we found ourselves with quite a bit of company at dinnertime. I suppose I could have cooked, but I opted for Chinese instead. It was a nice treat for everyone and considering how many people we fed, it was a pretty decent bargain.

We set everything up buffet style, which gave everyone (veg and non-veg) an opportunity to sample the veg offerings. I love when people are surprised by the variety of veg foods available from "mainstream" sources.

Happy Fourth of July

The company I was supposed to have today will be coming tomorrow instead. We took advantage of this and cleaned the garage. I hate cleaning but it makes it so much easier to be frugal if things are organized. Who hasn't been mid project and bought something only to find they had something that would have worked just as well?

We spent the afternoon on the beach with the kids. They just never get tired of playing in the water and on the sand. Dinner was a delicious, quick macaroni and vegan cheese, with potato salad and homemade veggie burgers. Who says being vegan can't be fun and yummy??

As I write this, there is a fireworks extravaganza going on just down the street. I don't think you can get more frugal than that!

Kids & the Containers

The canteloupe plants have a lot of flowers and the zucchini plants are not far behind. The worms are actually making compost. I harvested some of the compost and added it to all the containers. I swear the plants look perkier already but it may just be wishful thinking.

My sons are really impressed with all of this. They keep checking to see if anything is ready to eat. I let them pick some of the basil I have growing in one of the containers for tonight's dinner. They thought that was really neat.

People are amazed at how willing my kids all are to try new foods. I think part of that willingness stems from the hands on experiences they have with food whether at our CSA or in our home gardens. Its not magic, its just exposure and involvement. It's the magic of planting a seed and following it until it bears fruit (or vegetable.)

It sounds like we'll be having a whole bunch of company tomorrow. I'll share my frugal successes and failures tomorrow evening.