Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Prep for No More Grocery Shopping - Part 1 - Cleaning Out the Fridge

I know I said next time I'd talk about the master menu, but I had to share today's preparations instead. I paid two 11 year old girls $5 each to clean out my fridge today. I don't know if i was violating any child labor laws, but one of them is mine and has previously been trained on this task, so I knew she could do it. Her friend is also a good worker, so they were a dynamic duo and well worth the $10.

I always forget the before picture, so here they are mid-process spraying out all of the gross stuff in the fridge. I also got a great photo of them washing shelves and drawers in the sink, but since one of them isn't mine I figured I better not publish it till I talk to her mom.

This is the pile of food, minus the stuff they threw away. They wipe down the sticky stuff, consolidated the butters and condiments, decided on new homes for old items and got it all back in a very organized way. they even made a game out of tossing the oldy, moldy stuff in the trash. It was good fun in the kitchen this morning.

Here's the stuff they threw away. We're all ashamed of the wasted leftovers. I'll have a post coming soon to show how to minimize this problem .

This is their stack of clean shelves and drawers. It's precariously perched, but it was clean and dry when they returned it all to it's home.

This is a photo of our sandwich supply drawer and our leftovers tote. I used to keep sandwich stuff in the tote and leftovers scattered throughout the fridge, but then we forgot what we had and couldn't find it half the time even if we remembered where it was, so I'm hoping this new system will cut down on waste.

Here's the finished product. Fridge and freezer clean and reorganized; full but with room for things to come. The inventory was a cinch once everything found its new home. Now I know what I have and what I need for another month of No More Grocery Shopping. As you can see we are doing pretty well and I won't have to stock up too much more with the perishable foods.

You're Gonna Love This

Actually, it's nothing great, but I am getting ready for a new year of No More Grocery Shopping and there is some preparation I'm doing that I thought worth documenting. So, here's what I'm doing summarized in a couple'a cool google docs that you can use and print as needed.


This is how I'm preparing my kitchen for No More Grocery Shopping. The storage room, shopping lists, menus and inventories will follow.

To see my kitchen prep plan click here for the document in its entirety.

Remember my universal disclaimer. There is nothing new here, just ideas I've come across, tried and decided to share. they aren't perfect. I'm sure there are many better and more efficient ways to organize your kitchen and life for No More Grocery Shopping, this is just my way. As with anything I share, take what works, toss the rest.

A teaser for next time:

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

It's been a grand holiday in our home. Lots of love and home made fun, recycled and re-gifted presents, abundant meals and messes, little fighting, no sleep (in the night, but I did catch two hours today as a nap). There is so much to be grateful for in the peace and plenty of the season.

Next week I'll be blogging about my preparations for a New Year of No More Grocery Shopping. As I've said previously, I'm planning to spend a year with limited trips to the supermarket and I've got a lot to do to get ready. But I can't wait.

How was Christmas different in your homes this year? I have a few things to say about that next time, but I'd love to hear your experiences.

I hope your homes are full of comfort and joy.

Love,
Mariah

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

An Unlikely Hanukkah Story - The Oil That Never Failed

My family observes Hanukkah every year. We aren't Jewish, but we light the menorah and share the miraculous story of the oil that lasted eight days in the temple when there was only enough for one night. Some would say that the miracle isn't just that the oil lasted, but that those rededicating the temple in Jerusalem had the faith to light it in the first place, knowing it had to keep burning until they could find more. I believe those faithful people drew from a deep well of hope, strengthened by stories of previous miracles. What follows is my own retelling of another miracle of oil, I won't moralize about this story, but this time of year, especially when things are stressful and there never seems to be enough time, money, resources, I think of all the stories of oil I know and let their wisdom fill me like a vessel. I've also included a recipe for the best latkes we've ever made.
The Widow's Oil

The widow’s oil never failed during the drought. She planned to use the last drops to make a meal for her self and her son. Months before, she stripped her home of the things she once cherished, sold all she had and rationed the little food she acquired, knowing she lacked the means to obtain any more. Storing up her strength, she, against all hope, believed; watching and waiting for an answer she felt sure would arrive. Care-worn and expectant she considered her young son as the days turned his round, rosy face pallid and gaunt.

Finally, her grain was nearly gone, her cruse of oil all but empty. Exhausted by her need, overwhelmed by her lack, she surrendered her will and prepared to make her final meal. While she gathered sticks for a fire a holy man appeared and asked her for a drink. She regarded him curiously. She had not seen him in her village before. She wondered if he was the sign she waited for. As she drew the water he implored her, “And with it, bring me a little bread, that I may eat.”
Bewildered by his request, she gravely answered, “As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

To this the holy man replied, “Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

Sometimes, to surrender is to trust, so she did as the holy man asked: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord.
Hanukkah Latkes
10 small-medium red potatoes
3 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
2 Tbsp. flour
2 eggs
season salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup oil (about 1/2 inch in the bottom of a large fry pan)
Sauce
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Par bake the potatoes until they are cooked firm, but not crisp. I did this in the microwave for about half the time I'd normally keep them in. Grate the potatoes and add the other ingredients. Heat the oil on a medium-high heat. Shape the potato mixture into pancake size round (like you're making a hamburger) and fry in the oil once it's hot. Fry on one side until golden brown and then flip. When both sides are browned put onto a plate with paper towels. This recipe makes about 10 latkes total in two batches. I serve them with the sauce above or straight sour cream.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Homemade for the Holidays - 3 Sister Gifts

Okay, things are crazy here this weeks, so this is going to be quick. Here are three of my sister gifts for this year.

"What are sister gifts?" you may ask? Well, they are gifts made for my kindred spirits. I have a lot of them. I do have brothers, too, but they don't care so much about pretty, sweet smelling, calming sort of gifts. So, I've termed my favorite things to share with the many women in my circle "Sister Gifts."

Sister Gift #1 - Hand Rolled Bees Wax Candles
Sorry this is such a tiny image. I've been doing a ton of holiday photos, but not taking a ton of pics for my blog. Anyway, this pic came from betterbee.com, which is where I got my beeswax and wick from. Look at your local craft store for candle making supplies. Home crafted candles always make a great gift.

Sister Gift # 2 - Bamboo Reed Essential Oil Diffuser

Okay, I had this image in a previous post. It comes from thesage.com, a place where I order lots of great natural bath and body stuff. I mentioned in that post that this particular gift is meant for my husband, but I plan to make a few for sisters as well, so it still counts as a sister gift.

There's good news and bad news tied to this one. First, the good news. I got all of my stuff early, so I'm set on this gift. Also good news, if you buy soon, thesage.com (I have no affiliation with them other than being a loyal customer) is very good about shipping the day you order and getting your order to you quick. So, you may have time if you live anywhere close to me.

The bad news could be good news for some of you. Here it is, the bad news is that I saw all the makings for this gift in Wal-mart today at a price of somewhere around $6 for everything you need. "Why is that bad," you ask. Because, I hate Wal-mart. Especially after my No More Grocery Shopping Experience. I HATE Wal-mart. Did I say it strongly enough. So, why did I go in? Dumb stuff like crafty pipe cleaner for a kids art project and an in-car tool kit for my husbands car pool budies. Where else could I get such varied items. Anyway, maybe it's good news, you can get lots of cheap stuff to make cool gifts, even from Wal-mart.


Sister Gift #3 - Homemade Spice Jars Again, I'm lacking original photos of my creative ideas. That's because I have none. (Read that however you think is most appropriate given my poor use of the English language.) These cute spice jars are from IKEA and I plan to fill them with spice blends of my making or purchasing in bulk. Here are a few good ideas of how you could duplicate this process.
  1. Go to your local health food store and buy herb/spices in bulk. Make a blend or keep them as single spices.
  2. Visit this site for ideas on awesome blends you can make in your kitchen. It seems to be a great site for other things as well, spend some time there when you have a minute.
  3. Go to sfherb.com. This is the San Fransisco Herb Company I mentioned in a comment earlier. It's sister company is the Atlantic Spice Co. on the east coast. I love everything I've ever ordered from them and their spices stay good for years.

That's it for now. What are your favorite cheap and easy sister gifts?

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Homemade For the Holidays - Ornamental Ideas

Applesauce ornament from allrecipes.com

Our tree is a patchwork of homemade ornaments. Needless to say, it isn’t elegant or beautiful and there is not a theme or color scheme. There are several homemade ornaments contributed from my childhood (my husband would love to retire them, but I‘m not ready for that). Some were made by extended family members, some by my siblings. The few store bought items came from distant lands or were found as a deeply discounted collection - imagine olive-wood angels next to stuffed-fabric Santas.

Each December at our house we sit down and makes new trimmings for the tree. My memories of Christmas ornament making go back to the year I turned 6. We lived on a farm in Missouri and everything we did to celebrate the season was homemade. That was the year I learned to:
1. Respect a needle while stringing popcorn
2. Coordinate my hands and eyes to make a Christmas count down chain with glue and alternating colored strips of paper
3. Consider services I could give as gifts for each member of my family. This was the year I learned about “Good Fors.”
This Christmas, our ornaments were made from a simple recipe of spiced applesauce. Last year we made origami ornaments, the year before that it was Christmas shapes in tin with a hammer and nails. Further back we used play dough, felt, and craft foam for our festive decorating ideas. You can imagine.

Click here for a tutorial on tin ornaments.
Click to get wrapped up in a fast and festive oragami lesson.

Above are pics of projects we've done in years past. Click the link for the site reference on the photo and step-by-step instructions. Below are photos and instructions for the applesauce ornaments we made this year. My advice:

Choose one good idea and make a bunch. Save the other ideas for another year.

Our tradition is to make our ornaments and send them to our extended family as well as use them for our own decorations. Over the years we’ve ended up with a mixed bag of interesting test projects - these are the ones my husband would love to find a new home for, and treasured homemade memories - the kids refer to them as “ornaments with history.”

Applesauce Ornaments
2 cups applesauce
2 cups cinnamon

Mix applesauce and cinnamon together until it is thick enough to hold a form when cut into cookie cutter shapes. Flatten the mixture on a flat surface and cut into cookie cutter shapes. Make hole with a straw before drying.
Place cookie shapes on a cookie sheet to dry for a few days depending on the size and thickness of the cookies. I sped this process up by drying for 24 hours and baking at 200F for one hour. Bulk cinnamon comes in handy. Add cinnamon, rather than flour to your rolling surface. Dough is stiff but workable. This recipe made 36 ornaments. Use a straw for the hanger hole. Dry for a day, bake for an hour.
Bulk cinnamon comes in handy.

Add cinnamon, rather than flour to your rolling surface. Dough is stiff but workable.

This recipe made 36 ornaments. Use a straw for the hanger hole.

Dry for a day, bake for an hour.
What are your great homemade ornament ideas?

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Of Treats and Toys - Batteries Not Included

Today I have two posts. I was told the info I present here can be overwhelming, so I broke it up a bit for you. Look below for great stuff on fun and games. If that's too much for you, or not what you need, scroll down to find the recipe and how-to on my new favorite holiday treat/neighbor gift.

Homemade for the Holidays - 1 of 2 for Today - Toys

Since I was six years old I have been chasing the feeling of the Christmas my family spent on a farm in Missouri in 1980. Economics then were not a whole lot different than they are now and that year every gift we gave and received was handmade with tender care. This year we have decided to make gifts for each other. I wanted to share some of what I've found with you.

Here is my grand salute to the games people play, well, kids specifically. I’ll break it up into age groups for you and try to provide links for further instructions. As with most of my posts, there’s not an original idea to be found here, and I am much indebted to the original thinkers in this whose links I share with each item mentioned.

This list of home made toys for kids that goes beyond the classic rag-dolls for girls and wooden trains for boys. Because certain toys are classic, they may not be here. These are just the things I would enjoy making or playing with. If a toy falls into a certain category, it will probably work for older kids, too. One final note on the links here, if a particular site is encouraging you to purchase something, don’t do it. Just look at their idea and make it yourself.



This image came from etsy.com a great place for everything homemade



Image from discountschoolsupply.com

Toddlers -
Playdough

A familyfun.com matching game


This checkers game is from littlebirds.typepad.com


This image came from orientaltrading.com
Older Kids -
Weaving loom
Marshmallow Guns

Home made puzzle
Ultra Bouncy Ball

Here is a great site for lots of old-fashioned toys. Mother Earth News also did the extensive Egg study I sited a while back. These guys are a favorite for simple living.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1974-11-01/Homemade-Toys.aspx

Let me know what you think of this completely unexhaustive list. Please share your ideas with us. What are you making for the kids in your life this year?

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Surviving In Deep Water - Hope Floats

So, earlier this month when I wrote a post about the virtues of poor people food, I made a reference likening turning your clothes into a flotation device in deep water with making it through the current economic torrent. Whether you’ve lost your job, your retirement or your house, or the financial bail-outs haven‘t succeeded in bailing you out yet, these five steps can make all the difference in your ability to survive and thrive. While these tips could be applied to many money matters, I’m really not qualified to give you financial advice. My goal is to help you keep your head above water with more of your food money staying with you and less of it going to the grocery store.

As promised, here are the steps to surviving in deep water by creating a life-saving device from what you already have. Remember, this is a metaphor.

1. Don’t Panic - Tread water.
This is where you asses your current situation. In the case of groceries, figure out where you are with the food you currently have in you cupboards, pantry, fridge and freezer. Do you have a month’s worth of food, a week, a few days? Make an inventory and the beginnings of a menu from what you find. Remember, calm. Panic will drown you at this point.

The food in my pantry when I started my experiment. This lasted a month and fed 6+ people all month long.

2. Kick off your shoes, they are a impediment to floating and movement.
Where do your weaknesses lie? What is keeping you from achieving your financial goals? For me, it’s waste. Wasted time, wasted money, wasted opportunity. The USDA reports that American consumers waste 26% of the food they buy from grocery stores and restaurants. Are you wasting 26% of your food budget? At this juncture all non-essentials are considered waste, they’ll just drag you down and keep you from moving in the direction you need to go. Be careful in deciding what is imperative (Read on because though you drop the shoes, the laces can still come in handy.) Kicking off your shoes also reminds you to relax. Metaphorically speaking , what are the shoes on your list of grocery items?

3. Take your pants off and modify them to float.
Now that you’ve considered your weaknesses, ponder on your strengths. Before I started my No More Grocery Shopping experiment, I knew my greatest strength in the grocery department was my well stocked pantry combined with my ability to cook cheap and easy food. This is how I stay afloat during hard times. What is one thing you can do right now to prepare for the challenges of the coming meals?

This is the produce I had for a month of No More Grocery Shopping

4. Determine if you have any other items that will help you float such as a shirt, dress, tote or anything else that will hold air.
These are supplements to your strengths. It’s the difference between keeping your head above the water and being able to comfortably float until help arrives. Learn to make everything you can; bread, convenience food, snacks and treats, even toys and gifts. In my case, along with a bunch of staple foods, I make sure I have plenty of chocolate, spices, condiments and dressings. What are do you know how to make from scratch? What do you need to learn?

Fridge and freezer food that kept us going for the better part of five weeks+.

5. Keep socks, bras, belts and shoe laces, these can help tether your flotation device to you. Lose the jewelry and the wallet and anything else that will weigh you down.
As with any new endeavor, there will always be practical ideas to keep in mind. Use the best of what you find, let the rest go. Pick a few things and work on them. Don’t get weighed down by the enormity of things to do and learn. You can survive and thrive if you learn this important principle: Keep what’s useful to you, mostly keep it simple, and let go of the rest.

End Note - After all is said and done, don't forget, despair will sink you quicker than a stone, but hope floats. And, chocolate is an essential part of any survival plan.

Check back Thursday for Homemade Holiday fare including gifts, toys, ornaments and of course cheap and easy holiday recipes.

Monday, December 8, 2008

How Surviving The Current Economic Wave Is Like Learning To Make A Flotation Device With Only The Clothes You're Wearing

Come back for tomorrow's step-by-step guide. You never know when what you already have will keep you from drowning.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

New Posting Plan - Another Longing for Walden

Okay, if you didn’t already know this, blogs can be pretty consuming. When I began the No More Grocery Shopping Experiment two months ago, I anticipated having lots more free time on my hands. I feel like I do have more time, but filling it with blogging wasn't at the top of my list of what to do with all that time. I wish I could say it’s easy to stay on track with this lifestysle. It's not, and I'm constantly side-tracked.

The challenge with this blog isn’t just writing it. It’s living the current experiment while simulteneously preparing for the next one; then I have to decide what to write, the thing I’m preparing for or the thing I’m in the middle of. This month, for instance, I’ve been trying too many things. I’m simplifying my holidays and recording that experience, and I’m gearing up for a year of No More Grocery Shopping (actually only entering the grocery store once a month for the year) beginning next month. I write a little about both (what I’m doing and what I’m planning to do), but I don’t feel satisfied that I’m giving either aspect adequate attention, never mind the rest of my life and commitments.

So, here’s the plan. I will have new posts every Tuesday and Thursday. If there is a random post in between, good for me, but I won’t plan on it. For those of you who actually read this blog, you’ll know when to expect something new and I’ll be free to do with my time the things I really wanted to do before I started the experiment, namely:
  • Read Les Misérables(I’m only on page 128 of 1400+)
  • Write the things I love (not about food storage and grocery shopping)
  • Nurture myself, my husband and children and other relationships
  • Further simplify my life and home
  • A bunch of other stuff I can't remember

Walden has been calling to me for some time now and I think it’s time I go. Like Thoreau, I seek the peace of simpler times, but I don’t want to be cut off completely, I just want to know that we can live a little more self-sufficiently than before. So, expect to hear from me a couple’a times a week. If you need better, wiser, more purposeful, user-friendly and organized ideas than mine, check out the blogs in my list on the side bar. They really are overflowing with good things.

I’ll be back on Tuesday. Peace and plenty to all of you.
Love,
Mariah

Friday, December 5, 2008

Lesson 3B - Simplify Your Lists - Look at your shopping list

For this No More Grocery Shopping experiment I decided I wanted to cut my time and money spent on acquiring and preparing food in half. That inspired me to look at other areas I would like to liberate myself from. For instance, I tossed my daily to do list months ago in favor of writing things on the calendar. I do forget things occasionally, but oh well, I’m not tethered to a list. Another list I simplified is in the area of gift giving. And, I made my menu easier to call to mind (hmm, Multi-cultural cuisine or Soup Night). But it all started with a master grocery shopping list and this lesson:

Make your grocery shopping list work for you.

As part of the simplification process, decide what you want your life and days to look like. Do you want to be bound or do want to be free? Does your list and the things on it hold you captive or offer you freedom?

2 Tips to Put You on the Path of No More Grocery Shopping
(or at least keep you out of the store 28 days of an average month)

1. Start with a master list. This is a list of all the things you buy and eat regularly. Go through your fridge, pantry and cupboards to see what those things might be.

Here is a really cool, highly commercialized interactive grocery shopping list creator.
http://www.scottcommonsense.com/Tools/GroceryList/Tool.aspx?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=7667343&iq_id=7667343

Here’s one that is not interactive and doesn’t require you to sign up.
http://www.heart4home.net/downloads/master_grocery_list.pdf

2. Make a list for non-food and non-perishable items and buy in bulk. This list could include:

Non-Food Items
Hygiene things - tooth paste, hair care, skin care, soap, deodorant, personal care stuff
Paper goods - toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, paper plates & cups, plastic utensils
Cleaning Supplies - household cleaning stuff, laundry soap, dish soap & dishwasher detergent
First Aid Supplies - alcohol, peroxide, bandaids & bandages, latex (or other) gloves, q-tips, cotton balls, etc.

Non-Perishable Foods
Flour
Sugar
Oil
Dressings/Condiments
Herbs/Spices
Grains
Beans and Sproutable seeds
Pasta
Canned produce

This list could go on and on and I could say a lot about each item. I‘ll spare you that for now, but click here for a list of good long term storage foods.

When you finish your list, print out as many copies as you need for the year of shopping. Then circle, check or otherwise note items you need before you head for the store. Because I’m going to do the No More Grocery Shopping Experiment next year I have some goals for what that will look like for me. If I typically shop for food every two weeks, and want to cut that time in half, I’ll plan to go only once a month all year. So, I’ll make 12 copies of my food lists. For my non-food/non-perishables list, I plan to go from buying those things every-other month 3 times a year in January, May and September. So, that’s 3 copies of that list.

When it’s time to figure out what to eat and shop for in the month, look at your master menu and your master shopping list. Decide what you have, what you need, and most importantly, what you could probably do with out or make from scratch. Check the items on your list you’ll need to purchase and go for it.

My challenge to you is to use the master menu and master shopping list to cut your food acquisition/preparation time in half. Do you think you can do it?

Two Amazing Blogs

Today I just need to share the links to two fabulous blogs.

The first belongs to Vashti, one of our frequent commenters here at No More Grocery Shopping, and is centered around her mission to help brides in South Africa. She is looking for donated wedding dresses to lend to poor South African brides. She's already gathered several, tough she just started a few days ago. Go see her project at Rich Bride Poor Bride.

The other belongs to my little sis and favorite tree-hugger, legal indoor grower up North, Katie. You can not believe the abundance of produce she has grown right in her cute and tiny little house in the last few weeks. Go visit her at Victory Gardens of Oregon.

I have another lesson post coming soon. I just wanted to share these while they were fresh.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

An Obscenely Long Post - Lesson 3A - Simplify Your Lists - Start with Your Menu

Happy kids ready to eat. Leave it to the littlest to make faces over the food.
If you couldn’t tell by now, I am a rambling writer, meandering around wherever my last epiphany ended. For that reason, keep in mind that I’m not sharing these lessons I’m learning in order of importance. Instead, I’m sharing them in the order that they occur to me, and while I know this is not the most logical, orderly way to proceed, I can’t help but stop to note the concepts as they come, even if it means backtracking later. You guys are all along for the ride on this experiment. Occasionally, I clean house and put posts into labeled categories on the side bar. If you’re looking for something in particular, I hope you find it there. If not, email me at nomoregroceryshopping@gmail.com.

Now, after your long, patient wait through my sprawling scrawl, I’ll get on with it. In my month of minimizing holiday mayhem, here is lesson three -
Simplify Your Lists - Start with Your Menu
We already talked about the liberation that comes from limiting your expenditures, but what are your lists? Here’s a look at one of my more complicated lists, my menu, and how I‘ve simplified it.
My menu used to be a mess. It was a long list of all the stuff we’d eat in a month of dinners and I’d plug one meal in for each day of the month, maybe hitting some of them twice, but always feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the list and the inventory of food that accompanied it. A few years ago, I decided to simplify my process. To do this, I had to go back to that messy list and turn it into a master list. Then I assigned a category like Pasta Night or Bread & Salad Night to each evening of the week. Click here to see my big list of main meals and how I’ve categorized everything.
Now, rather than plugging meals in all over the calendar, each night of the week has it’s own theme. The order may be slightly different each week but the outcome is the same. We eat simpler meals that require very little fore-thought. Now, my week looks something like this.
Sunday - Pasta Night
I am Sicilian and we love our pasta. Almost every Sunday we make up a couple’a pounds of pasta, a couple’a types of sauces, a big loaf of bread or foccacia and a giant salad that never gets eaten all the way. Sometimes there’s meat, sometimes the whole meal is vegetarian. Always, we feed a small army, work up a hearty appetite, and share lots of good laughs in the process. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen,” you can imagine my house on Sunday’s.
Monday - Soup or Salad Night (depending on the season)
Here we choose the soup we have ingredients for or feel like having that night. Sometimes our choice is motivated by the leftovers in the fridge, or the cream that is going to expire in a few days. When we do salad as the main course we make a salad with lots of colors in it besides green. Sometimes we add bacon or chicken, other times we go vegan. Whether we have soup or salad, I always try to make some sort of bread, a nice wheat or corn bread, tortillas or scones, to go on the side and give us a little more substance.

Tuesday - Pasta Night Replayed
Sometimes it’s leftovers from Sunday’s meal, other times it’s a completely new concoction, but almost every week we have pasta more than once. Sometimes I serve bread on the side, sometimes a veggie like braised green beans, always there is a green salad to go with all our carbs.

Wednesday - Multi-Cultural Cuisine (other than Italian)
We love Thai, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese and European traditional foods we’ve Americanized. We choose from the list, depending on what we have and what we’d like and that’s that.

Thursday - Potato Bar or Sandwich Night (again, depending on the season)
Again, we always try to provide plenty of fresh color to counter the copious amounts of cheese, bacon, butter and sour cream we smother our potatoes in.

Friday - Fun Food and LeftoversUsually I’ve used leftovers in other meals, but occasionally we have a surplus and we’ll have those along side one of our favorite fun foods so we have our own sort of smorgasbord. Sometimes we have pizza (frozen or homemade) or buffalo wings, sometimes burgers and fries. Always quick and easy fun foods.

Saturday - Date Night
Kids eat kids food like ramen or mac & cheese. Mom and Dad eat out.
So, to reiterate the simplification process: Make a master menu and put individual items into categories. Now, give each night of the week an assigned category and go from there. Have at least one vegetarian meal and one soup or salad night. A well stocked pantry makes this process easier and more enjoyable.

Maybe you have an easier way of doing the whole meal planning process. How do you do it and what makes it work for you? According to the USDA we spend almost an hour preparing and cleaning up dinner each day. What if we could cut that time in half? What would you do with an extra 3+ hours in a week? Share your ideas with us we could all use a little more time.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Bargain Brags and Lesson 2 - Liberate Yourself, Limit Your Expenditures

I saved $45 at Bath and Body Works on Black Friday!

BargainBrags(.blogspot.com) is a blog my sister-in-law, Tiff, maintains. This little vignette belongs on her blog, but I wanted to share it here. It was KC’s birthday on Black Friday. Actually, she was born on Black Friday, but I had no idea that it even held that title until this year. Anyway, we got back from our trip late Friday evening, but not too late to hit the mall for my promised gift to KC. She got her ears pierced and it was a great adventure. She is such a cool girl, she was hardly even nervous. After we chose her first pair of earrings and they were forced through her little lobes, we decided to hike upstairs to Bath and Body Works. There they had several lovely items on sale; items I’ve had my eye on for a while and have waited for a sale on.

Wallflowers are little plug-in scented oil diffusers wit h delightful fragrances to choose from. They were on sale for $5.

After some deliberating, I chose 3 Wallflower starter sets and 3 refill packs at. Not too bad, $30. I made my selections, and went to stand in line. While I was there, I found the softest socks in the world. They were made with aloe and only cost $5, the same price of every other item in my stack of stuff, I wanted to give them as gifts and chose 3 from the shelf. While I waited in that tedious line (beginning to understand the term Black Friday) I began to consider each item in my arms. As I thought about the things I thought I wanted so much, I remembered the dozen or so scented candles waiting to be burned at home. Additionally, I have a closet full of essential oils waiting to be used in creative new ways to fill the same purpose the Wallflowers would. I thought about our financial goals, and while every item I held only cost $5, all together they added up to $45 and that was a modest sum. So, guess how I saved $45 dollars at Bath & Body Works. I left all of my stuff on the table next to me in line. That was it. So, there's your lesson #2:

Liberate yourself by limiting your expenditures.

This morning I went through my closet and found that I have the makings of some great gifts. My husband has been wanting a bamboo reed scented oil diffuser for his office. I could make several from what I have here at home. We are trying to make, or recycle, at least one gift for each member of our family. This can be my home made gift to him. More on that later. Now to the moral of the story.

The gift I'm giving my husband for his office. It will only cost me a couple of bucks to make it.

Sometimes all we need to do is hold the things we think we need and then consider the things we already have that could work just as well. Sometimes we need to think about the time and energy the purchase of that item will cost you in the end, how many hours would you or your spouse have to work to come up with that sum. Even if it’s only one hour, what you do with one free hour? Just a thought. I have done this exercise a few times. Never deliberately, but it always teaches me something.

So, that’s to do with holiday gifts or sale items. What about your grocery shopping list? What about all the parties and errands and people to see to this season? Is there a way to limit your expenditures in time and money to make room for the things that really fill you? What would you do with a liberated hour purchased by your ability to limit your list of stuff to do and things to buy?

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Lesson One - Make a List

A few of the crew on Thanksgiving at the homestead. We could call this one
Three Bald Guys and a Piece of Pie, but I don't think they'd laugh.

We did go away for Thanksgiving. We had a great trip and all was well when we got home. I did learn a few important principles on our journey, and since I said the purpose of this post would be to help minimize the mayhem of the holiday scene, I figured I’d share my discoveries with you. This exercise is meant to help keep you out of the grocery store, as much as possible, and cause you to consider what is really important to you this time of year. The theme is SIMPLIFY and learn from my mistakes, I made them for your benefit. So, here goes:

Do like Santa - Make a list and check it twice

Lists are great, they can act as a blueprint for your best laid plans. Whether your making a trip to the grocery store or to your in-laws for three days of family festivities, the list can save you time, money and grief. Once your list is made, you need to look it over critically and carefully. Contemplate the cost/benefit ratio of each item. Do you really get as much pleasure from your pumpkin-puffed-pastries as you do pain in purchasing the required supplies, unloading your purchases at home, putting all the items away, getting them all out again, assembling your recipe, waiting for it to come out of the oven, etc, etc, etc. If you can say the balance tips in favor of benefit for each item, keep it. Otherwise, ditch it.

Also, lists can provide a reality check to your pie-in-the-sky schemes - Here’s a list of food three families thought would be great for our Thanksgiving meal, followed by what really happened. Remember we were feeding 14 people the all-American meal symbolic of our prosperity and abundance, but also note, this was for one meal:
2 turkeys
1 ham
10 pounds mashed potatoes
8 streuseled sweet potatoes
4 dozen rolls
Stuffing
Gravy
Green bean casserole
Relish tray - carrots, tomatoes, celery, olives, pickles, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers
Cheese tray - cheese roll with 3 kinds of crackers
Green salad
4 pumpkin pies
2 banana cream pies
1 apple pie
1 pecan pie
1 pan of fudge
2 plates of cookies

Are you exhausted yet, because this is the scaled back version. We had to talk my mother-in-law down from the ledge when we discouraged her from including several additional items, including time-honored treats and stove-top specialties. So, making the list did help us before hand. The problem is, I didn’t put it all on one piece of paper. Our list was broken up into three, you bring this, I’ll bring that, she’ll do the other stuff. That was a mistake. Because our list wasn’t consolidated, we ended up way more than we needed. I’ll know better next time. I’m sure you’re laughing because you would have seen this coming. Just remember, there are all kinds of learners in this world, and sadly I often have to learn the hard way, but you don’t.

Here’s what happened with all of that food.
2 turkeys - we fully consumed one of them, but it took us Thanksgiving dinner and lunch the next day to do it. The other turkey was cooked, carved and sent back to the freezer, where it had begun it’s short life in grandma’s kitchen.
1 ham - I never even saw it, thank goodness.
10 pounds mashed potatoes - we actually peeled, boiled, mashed and ate all of these in one meal
6 streuseled sweet potatoes - delicious recipe contributed by my sis-in-law, sadly we only ate two of them (they were huge) and I don’t know what happened to the rest.
4 dozen rolls - these had a hard time in the high-altitude setting we were in. Still, we ate about half of them, the rest were left for other meals.
Stuffing - we made the perfect amount and had no leftovers or waste - 1 box of Mrs. Cubbisons along with croutons made from one small loaf of whole wheat bread.
Gravy - perfect amount, again
Green bean casserole - we ate about half of this
Relish tray - carrots, tomatoes, celery, olives, pickles, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers - we forgot half of the veggies for this back at home. Let’s just say that protein and starch were central to the meal.
Cheese tray - cheese roll with 3 kinds of crackers - this was a yummy before dinner snack, but we only had, and needed, one box of crackers, I brought half of the cheese roll home with me.
Green salad - I forgot the lettuce, so we didn’t have one.
4 pumpkin pies - between breakfast on Thanksgiving day (my tradition), dessert after dinner, and breakfast again the next day, we only ate two of these.
2 banana cream pies - we ate half of one.
1 apple pie - My Caleb ate about half of this pie by himself, and everyone else helped him with the rest.
1 pecan pie - I ate about ¼ of this pie, and a couple of others had a piece each. I left 2 pieces behind with longing backwards glances.
1 pan of fudge - two pieces were taken.
2 plates of cookies - who knows, I lost track of how much everyone was getting, but it did seem like there was at least one full plate of cookies left.

Alright, no more preaching, no more soap boxes. Just throw out the old adage "Make a list and stick to it." Replace it with the saying about Santa. There is wisdom in “making a list and checking it twice.” Learning to discern between what's naughty and nice for your time and money can make all the difference this holiday season.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving Break


If you saw my previous version of this post, you know we have big Thanksgiving festivities going on. Feeding 14 people again, this time for three days. So, I'm going to be off line for a few days. My next post will be on how to minimize Holiday mayhem. Look for it on Sunday, if not before. I'm thankful for so many things, including all of you who help me to keep my head above water in sometimes troubled times.

Peace and plenty to you and your families.

Mariah

Monday, November 24, 2008

A Promised Recipe with Powdered Parmesan

Don't try this at home.
Here’s what happened with that meal I mentioned in a previous post. After I committed to make a meal for 14 people, I realized I was out of some key ingredients. Since my No more Grocery Shopping experiment began a month and a half ago, I have gained a healthy disdain for the grocery store. So, I was determined not to run in to town for a few items when I knew I could make do with what we had.

Well, we did make due, but I have to admit, Bren’s Famous Alfredo was somewhat diminished in it’s deliciousness because we used canned milk. The powdered Parmesan wasn’t a problem, but evaporated milk did not create the greatest flavor. However, once we mixed the alfredo with a zesty marinara, the results were surprisingly good and the meal was a success, complete with compliments to the chefs from the entire family we shared with. We’re still in search of a fabulous alfredo recipe made entirely from food storage items, but until we find it, we’ll take what we got as good enough for now. Here are some photos of the fun, and recipes to go along with them.


Powdered Parmesan Alfredo
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
½ cup powdered parmesan
1 Tbsp. flour (I would omit this)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. kosher salt (this is my favorite salt)
Since we aren’t using fresh garlic or sautéing anything, you pretty much stir this all up in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until it reached it’s desired thickness. I thought we’d need the flour for thickness, but ours ended up being too thick, so don’t do it, it will probably improve the flavor if you leave it out. Also, I think it would have been great to add some pesto spices to it, a little basil and maybe oregano, but we were going for the perfect food storage alfredo, so we stayed with our purist intentions on that.
Zesty Marinara
1 26 oz can spaghetti sauce
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 Tbsp. dehydrated roasted garlic slices (my new favorite additive)
1 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning (not pictured)
1 tsp. kosher salt (not pictured)
½ tsp. red pepper flakes (not pictured)
Again, nothing to saute. I threw it all in a large sauce pan and brought to the splatter phase. Then I turned the heat down, covered it up and didn’t look at it again much until it was time to serve. I did taste it once or twice and was thrilled at how nicely the garlic softened and flavored the whole sauce with a lovely roasted flavor. Mmm. This is a simple and tasty food storage recipe.

Here are the two sauces side by side.

The final product garnished with fresh basil.

We stirred the alfredo into the pasta and then topped it with the marinara. It was a great combination. Even though the white sauce couldn't stand alone, my family was still happy with the results and would eat this meal again.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Do’s and Don’ts of Food Storage Sharing

Alright everyone. I know some of you read this in hopes of finding something useful, only to have those hopes dashed when you find my aimless ramblings instead. But, I have to say, this blog evolves as I go. It may seem pointless and meandering at times, but I think it is all working toward one great purpose and that is helping me get straight in my self and my shelves what I need to help my family, and others, thrive in hard times. So, this week was about using my food storage to help a friend, making sure produce was a part of my life and always remembering to wear protective eye gear when playing with pellet guns. I hope you found something useful here. Here is the promised list of do's and don'ts of food storage sharing:
  1. Do share what you have with friends in need.
  2. Don’t try something new when the need is great, unless you are ready with a Plan B.
  3. Do find creative ways to get around making one more trip to the store.
  4. Don’t insist on traditional recipes tasting exactly the same once you’ve given them a food storage modification.
  5. Do persist in getting it right, eventually it will be good enough.
  6. Don’t keep all of your great frugal food ideas to yourself. Share them, and help the rest of us avoid a possible food storage fiasco.
  7. Do borrow from other neighbors and give them a chance to help as well. (Bren would have used fresh cream for his alfredo, instead of canned milk, and it was offered, but I refused. Hmm. What did I say about those in need refusing help?)

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Pellet Guns, Chicken Pox and Pasta Sauce

For health and strength and daily food we praise thy name, O Lord.
One of my best friends, Liz, had a couple of slight catastrophes this week. First, her oldest boy’s right eye had a run in with an air soft gun pellet - which, contrary to its name was not soft, so it did some moderate and hopefully temporary damage. After spending hours in the urgent care, ER and ophthalmologist’s office, she was told to bring him home and have him lay low for a week. Yeah right, try to keep a 12 year-old-boy, who isn’t really sick, still for 7 days straight. After the optical incident, her oldest daughter, also 12, woke covered in spots, chicken pox actually, and the rest of the siblings were all carted off to the doctor to update vericella vaccinations. After she spent the better part of two days in doctors’ offices I told her I’d bring her dinner.
“No way.” she protested. “No way, Mariah. There are 8 of us.”

“What on earth, Liz. It‘s not a big deal.” I said. I was surprised by her downright refusal, but determined to soften her resolve. People who need help often refuse a first offer. I know I do. I lived in Japan for a number of years, and there it’s customary to refuse any offer three times before accepting, this is not a custom I advise keeping when there is a true need.

“It is a big deal, and I don’t want you to worry about it,” she argued.

I decided to switch to Sicialian tactics, “Don’ worry about it? What’s a matter, you don’t like our cooking? You don’t believe in families helping families?” I laid on my heaviest Brooklyn accent and she laughed. I nearly had her and was wondering what might tip the scales besides my bullied insistence.

“But, there are just way too many of us here. It’s too much to cook for your family and mine.” Whatever. I think she forgot that we routinely feed at least a dozen people every Sunday in our home. I knew this was the point where I had to tell her what I was going to make that would be “no big deal.” I was thinking of my well stocked pantry and then the answer came.

“Pasta, Liz. I’m just going to make pasta. It’ll be great - quick and easy, feeds a lot of people.” My confidence was the clincher and I sealed the proposal with a promise of Bren’s famous alfredo and a mean marinara.

I’ll finish the story in my next posts. There is an important produce tie in, a couple’a frugal food recipes and a serious list of food storage do’s and don’ts. In the mean time, ponder this:
What do you have in your pantry right now that could feed 14 people on a moment’s notice?
Did I chicken out by picking pasta? Think about it and send me your comments. We’d all love the ideas.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A Plethora of Produce

I bought all of this at Sunflower Farmer's Market. It is mostly organic and mostly locally grown. I spent $21.28 cents on the whole lot. This was an excellent find and a great value. My second frugal food lifetyle tip for you is:

Learn to make produce a vital part of your daily diet.

Here are 5 No More Grocery Shopping tips for stretching your grocery budget, keeping you out of the grocery store, and placing produce in your Best Frugal Foods category:

  1. Buy produce that's in season, on sale and build your menu around that - Duh. This is a no brainer. All of this was on sale, that's why I got so much of it.
  2. Determine your most acceptable price per pound/item and never pay more than that - For instance, if the best price you've paid this year for apples is $0.77/pound, but a good deal is still to be had at $0.87/pound, then always look for the best deal price, but never pay more than $0.87/pound for apples. Most produce is much cheaper than meat, consider your pound for pound costs when designing your menu. This concept can be carried over to all grocery purchases and is key to stretching your grocery budget.
  3. When you find your best deal of the year buy a bunch and learn to preserve it - You can freeze or dry most produce items. I'll do a tutorial later on how to best do that, just know you can and stock up when the price is right.
  4. Learn to properly store your produce - Again, Ill follow up with a tutorial someday. Just know that repackaging certain produce when you get it home will preserve it's freshness longer. For instance, leafy veggies last longer when you put a paper towel in with them. This keeps the moisture off the leaves and they last longer. Some people swear by Lettuce Keeperslike the ones in this link.
  5. Plant a garden - "What?" you ask. Winter is coming on in the northern hemisphere, gardening season is over. Well take a look at what my favorite tree hugger up north is doing. She lives in Oregon, so the use of special (and not necessarily expensive) lights helps supplement their lack of sunshine, but where my climate is bright even in the cold, a sunny window will work just as well. Again, look for another tutorial to come.

Bonus Tip: Join a CSA - this is Community Supported Agriculture. It's good for your budget, it's in keeping with the No More Grocery Shopping Concept, it's usually organic, it supports the environment as well as your community and has many other benefits you might not be able to reap from your own little garden alone.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

And Now...The Whole Wheat Bread Recipe You've All Been Waiting For

Mike's Favorite Whole Wheat Bread Recipe - Modified
Click here to view this recipe without all the distracting photos I hate blogger's terrible formatting tools, add that to the fact that I am not a photographer and we've got ourselves a REALLY ugly post. Oh well, function over form I guess.
Here's the recipe:
2Tbs. dry, active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 c warm water
Mix together and set aside.

Use water the temperature of your skin.

Yeast mixture after 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix:
1/3 c oil & 1/3 c honey(measure the oil and honey together pouring the honey on top of the oil helps it come out of the measuring cup more easily)
1 Tbs. salt
2 1/2 Tbs. vinegar (I think this is the secret to this light, fluffy wheat bread)
2 c warm water
3 1/2 c whole wheat flour (I use white wheat another secret to light flavor and texture - also, this is only half of your flour you're going to need)

Add the dissolved yeast to the bread mixture and stir for 7min. to get the gluten working. Let rest for 10 minutes, then add:
3 ½ c whole wheat flour

Wet ingredients and salt
Add first cups of flour

Mix flour and wet ingredients.

Add yeast, mix another little bit to get gluten working.

This is what it looks like before you add the final cups of flour


Mix and/or knead for 10 minutes. Dough should still be tacky, this will make it lighter in texture. Cover and let rise in a warm place for at least 15 minutes. Roll out onto floured surface, shape into loaves. Put into greased bread pans, rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Risen dough, about an hour later.

Rolled out, getting ready to be made into loaves.

Ready to rise.

After 30 minutes.


Another 30 minutes later.
Wow! I think it was more work to document this labor of love than it was to actually make the bread. Don't be discouraged by the photos and the steps in the process. It all takes about 2 1/2 hours, but you can do lots of other things during mixing, rising and baking times. This is not a recipe that enslves, it liberates. Try it and let me know what you think. If you live near me, come over and we'll make this recipe together.
Do you have an easier recipe that still promises great results? We'd love for you to share.