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.

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

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.

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?)

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.

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.

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.