Me encanta el arroz con leche. Es delicioso.
I love arroz con leche. My husband and I have an ongoing "discussion" about it. He likes it soupy. I like it more like a pudding consistency. When I was in Spain I had it frequently -- it was cold and it was delicious -- and it was pudding-like, as arroz con leche should be (I think).
Actually, I prefer it warm, but that doesn't matter.
I made arroz con leche for the first time as a treat for my Spanish class. Here's the recipe:
(I googled it, but made some changes.)
4 c. milk (whole milk is optimal, but if it scares you, use the highest fat milk you are comfortable with... the recipe will still work)
1-1/4 c. water
1 c. rice (it's true ... you don't use much rice at all)
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 teas. salt
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. raisins, soaked in water to plump 'em up
2 teas. vanilla
Bring milk and water to a light boil. Stir in rice, add cinnamon sticks and cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes. Then, remove the sticks and add all other ingredients. Continue cooking on low heat for about 10 minutes.
As the arroz con leche cools, it will become more solid. We had it last night and it was a soupy consistency. By morning, it was solid and I had to add more milk.
It's delicious as a dessert or for breakfast. Raisins are optional but delicious. Some recipes say to add butter or a spoonful of brandy before serving. No need -- it's wonderful as is.
The best thing? Another cheapo magnifico food. I made a double recipe for about 5 dollars. If you don't have cinnamon sticks it doesn't matter -- just put a little cinnamon in. Even nutmeg will work in a pinch - I looked at many different recipes. The classic presentation uses cinnamon sticks, however.
Then, you sing:
"Arroz con leche
me quiero casar
con una viudita de la capital.
Que sepa coser
que sepa bordar
que ponga la mesa en su santo lugar."
And you are glad that we have moved on in priorities :)
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Make Something New -- Onion Tart
A few weeks ago I made an amazing discovery -- onion tart. Wow! It's delicious and it's super cheap to make. A friend of mine brought some over and I liked it so much that I kept trying to save it for a time that I could really appreciate it. Because of all my waiting around for the perfect moment, C got to a good portion of the tart before I could.
This month, my goal is to make something new at least once a week. Something I've NEVER made before. I want to 1) get out of my food rut and 2) try to expand my horizons.
Although I am a major proponent of scratch baking, I don't make pie crust. I buy pie crust. It comes in a package, wrapped in plastic and it's pretty darn convenient.
But, what exactly is IN that packaged pie crust? And it's kind of expensive considering what I discoverd when I decided to make my own.
Tonight I made pie crust for my onion tart. All by myself. And I found out something amazing.
Pie crust has 3 ingredients:
-butter
-flour
-some spoonfuls of water
How can that be?
I whipped up the crust very easily. I'm not saying it was the best crust in the world, but I made it myself, and I am proud :)
I filled it with 3 large carmelized onions cooked in a few tablespoons of butter -- all of that mixed with 2 beaten eggs. The recipe I found did not call for cheese, but I had some fancy cheese and sprinkled it over the top.
Yum!
So, if you want to make onion tart, you only need a few ingredients that you probably already have. That is what is so genius about this recipe. All you need is:
onions
eggs
flour
butter
cheese (optional)
bacon (optional)
salt -- the recipe did not call for salt, but I put a little in.
This month, my goal is to make something new at least once a week. Something I've NEVER made before. I want to 1) get out of my food rut and 2) try to expand my horizons.
Although I am a major proponent of scratch baking, I don't make pie crust. I buy pie crust. It comes in a package, wrapped in plastic and it's pretty darn convenient.
But, what exactly is IN that packaged pie crust? And it's kind of expensive considering what I discoverd when I decided to make my own.
Tonight I made pie crust for my onion tart. All by myself. And I found out something amazing.
Pie crust has 3 ingredients:
-butter
-flour
-some spoonfuls of water
How can that be?
I whipped up the crust very easily. I'm not saying it was the best crust in the world, but I made it myself, and I am proud :)
I filled it with 3 large carmelized onions cooked in a few tablespoons of butter -- all of that mixed with 2 beaten eggs. The recipe I found did not call for cheese, but I had some fancy cheese and sprinkled it over the top.
Yum!
So, if you want to make onion tart, you only need a few ingredients that you probably already have. That is what is so genius about this recipe. All you need is:
onions
eggs
flour
butter
cheese (optional)
bacon (optional)
salt -- the recipe did not call for salt, but I put a little in.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Annoying Deer & Hunting Questions
My neighborhood is full of deer. I don't live in the country -- I live in a residential area of Austin -- and I am SURROUNDED by deer.
I like deer. I think they're cute, beautiful, fun to watch, etc. But right now, I am very annoyed by them. I planted a tree -- they ate it. I planted a deer-resistant tree, and before I had a chance to put up a fence around it (ugly) -- they ate half of it. Freaking deer!
Many neighbors feed the deer, which is now illegal in Austin. Herds of deer roam the neighborhood, chomping at will. Can I plant a garden? Not without significant fencing infrastructure. Plus, the deer are starting to freak me out -- the bucks are fighting -- apparently this is the time to look for a lady deer -- and they have lost ALL fear.
I have to go into the front yard to make phone calls because I have terrible phone reception in the house -- frequently I have to run away from a deer that is scaring me -- they walk straight up to me -- looking at me with glazed eyes -- I shout at them and they DON'T MOVE. Ack!
My son likes to chase them -- I've told him that it's too dangerous. Deer can charge, and some of these deer have serious antlers.
So, I wonder.....
Can you hunt the deer? (I'm not a hunter, I'm just wondering.)
No. Illegal in the city limits.
What if you didn't care if it was illegal? (Again, I'm not a hunter, just wondering.)
After some research on the Texas Parks and Wildlife page and some deer processors, it seems that you might be able to tag the deer with your hunting license and bring it to a processor. Or, you could just process it in the backyard and no one would be the wiser. Apparently, you have to field dress a deer anyway, so you might as well finish the job.
But if you get caught, big trouble!
What about the deer that get hit by cars? Can you eat them?
Again, legally -- no. You should call Texas Parks and Wildlife and they will send someone out to pick it up. A few days later. There's currently a large trashbag on the side of our street labeled "Do not touch -- dead deer" Yuck. This varies from state to state.
But if the deer broke its neck and wasn't hit in the abdomen or something like that, again, you could sneak the deer home and butcher it. Totally illegal.
And finally, after googling "Deer hunting Texas" "Austin deer feeding" "Hit deer with car" and other such cheery phrases, I started to wonder -- can you save any money by hunting?
Well, it depends.
There's a post on that very topic at Free Money Finance. The consensus seems to be that it costs a lot of money to hunt -- you need a license, a gun, access to a truck (to transport the deer), and may need to pay to hunt on a hunting lease. Also, you have to pay to have the deer processed (unless you do it yourself). One site I looked at charged $70 to process a deer. That did not include making sausage, etc., which was over $2 a pound -- that's from your own meat! I found that sort of surprising.
But, I guess you could buy a license, go to a hunt on public land and borrow a friend's truck & gun and process the meat yourself. That would be a huge money saver. If you live on land with deer (again, not in my neighborhood, but out in the country), you could hunt for free there too.
Cost: Resident hunting license $25
Archery stamp endorsement $7 (interesting)
Hunter education (required) $15 or you can defer for one year for $10
Rifle/ammunition: borrow rifle; ammunition is surprisingly expensive -- maybe buy a couple of shells (is that the word?) from a hunting friend - $5
OR hunt with bow & arrow -- $0 (borrowed of course)
Annual Public Hunt Permit: $48
Total cost:
for hunting with borrowed rifle & deferred hunter education: $88 if you don't have land
For hunting with borrowed bow & arrow: $90 if you don't have land
This assumes you do the field dressing (which you already have to do) and process the deer yourself. I would assume that needs some equipment & perhaps additional freezer space. All in all, I don't think that hunting is a big money saver over buying meat at the store on sale. Of course, I guess you know where the meat is coming from....
So, how much meat do you get from a deer?
According to this site, if a hunter kills a 165 pound buck (field-dressed weight), he should expect 58.15 pounds of meat. So, let's assume that with borrowing all the needed hunting equipment and buying your friend dinner in exchange (or giving him/her some of your meat), it works out to about $2/pound. If you add in all the time you spend hunting/learning/borrowing/butchering, I hope you really like hunting. And that's assuming that you get a big buck.
But wait! C reminded me that you don't necessarily just go hunting once a year. In Texas you can kill 5 white-tail deer/year (3 max. with antlers). That certainly brings down the price per pound. Again -- you need a big freezer! I don't think you could eat enough deer meat to keep up with 5 deer killed just during deer season.
Now, is hunting a green option?
It doesn't seem to fit in with what many urban greenies do -- go vegetarian. But, since one of the big reasons to go veg is to reduce your impact on the earth (meat requires more resources, water, oil, etc. per pound than plants do to produce), hunting deer, particularly in an area that has overpopulated deer (due to the absence of natural predators) seems preferable to buying meat at the store. That is provided that you don't drive hundreds of miles to hunt deer that are fed deer pellets.
Is deer meat organic?
Well, in the case of my neighborhood, definitely not! (But that's illegal!)
In the wild? Hmmm... hard to say, but it is free range (unless fed pellets) and free of antibiotics.
Disclaimer: I'm not a hunter. I've only had deer sausage a couple of times. I think the deer are nice, but I am very mad about my dead dead trees. The deer population is insane in my neighborhood. Four deer in my front yard last night. Crazy.
I was just curious so I decided to do some research.
I like deer. I think they're cute, beautiful, fun to watch, etc. But right now, I am very annoyed by them. I planted a tree -- they ate it. I planted a deer-resistant tree, and before I had a chance to put up a fence around it (ugly) -- they ate half of it. Freaking deer!
Many neighbors feed the deer, which is now illegal in Austin. Herds of deer roam the neighborhood, chomping at will. Can I plant a garden? Not without significant fencing infrastructure. Plus, the deer are starting to freak me out -- the bucks are fighting -- apparently this is the time to look for a lady deer -- and they have lost ALL fear.
I have to go into the front yard to make phone calls because I have terrible phone reception in the house -- frequently I have to run away from a deer that is scaring me -- they walk straight up to me -- looking at me with glazed eyes -- I shout at them and they DON'T MOVE. Ack!
My son likes to chase them -- I've told him that it's too dangerous. Deer can charge, and some of these deer have serious antlers.
So, I wonder.....
Can you hunt the deer? (I'm not a hunter, I'm just wondering.)
No. Illegal in the city limits.
What if you didn't care if it was illegal? (Again, I'm not a hunter, just wondering.)
After some research on the Texas Parks and Wildlife page and some deer processors, it seems that you might be able to tag the deer with your hunting license and bring it to a processor. Or, you could just process it in the backyard and no one would be the wiser. Apparently, you have to field dress a deer anyway, so you might as well finish the job.
But if you get caught, big trouble!
What about the deer that get hit by cars? Can you eat them?
Again, legally -- no. You should call Texas Parks and Wildlife and they will send someone out to pick it up. A few days later. There's currently a large trashbag on the side of our street labeled "Do not touch -- dead deer" Yuck. This varies from state to state.
But if the deer broke its neck and wasn't hit in the abdomen or something like that, again, you could sneak the deer home and butcher it. Totally illegal.
And finally, after googling "Deer hunting Texas" "Austin deer feeding" "Hit deer with car" and other such cheery phrases, I started to wonder -- can you save any money by hunting?
Well, it depends.
There's a post on that very topic at Free Money Finance. The consensus seems to be that it costs a lot of money to hunt -- you need a license, a gun, access to a truck (to transport the deer), and may need to pay to hunt on a hunting lease. Also, you have to pay to have the deer processed (unless you do it yourself). One site I looked at charged $70 to process a deer. That did not include making sausage, etc., which was over $2 a pound -- that's from your own meat! I found that sort of surprising.
But, I guess you could buy a license, go to a hunt on public land and borrow a friend's truck & gun and process the meat yourself. That would be a huge money saver. If you live on land with deer (again, not in my neighborhood, but out in the country), you could hunt for free there too.
Cost: Resident hunting license $25
Archery stamp endorsement $7 (interesting)
Hunter education (required) $15 or you can defer for one year for $10
Rifle/ammunition: borrow rifle; ammunition is surprisingly expensive -- maybe buy a couple of shells (is that the word?) from a hunting friend - $5
OR hunt with bow & arrow -- $0 (borrowed of course)
Annual Public Hunt Permit: $48
Total cost:
for hunting with borrowed rifle & deferred hunter education: $88 if you don't have land
For hunting with borrowed bow & arrow: $90 if you don't have land
This assumes you do the field dressing (which you already have to do) and process the deer yourself. I would assume that needs some equipment & perhaps additional freezer space. All in all, I don't think that hunting is a big money saver over buying meat at the store on sale. Of course, I guess you know where the meat is coming from....
So, how much meat do you get from a deer?
According to this site, if a hunter kills a 165 pound buck (field-dressed weight), he should expect 58.15 pounds of meat. So, let's assume that with borrowing all the needed hunting equipment and buying your friend dinner in exchange (or giving him/her some of your meat), it works out to about $2/pound. If you add in all the time you spend hunting/learning/borrowing/butchering, I hope you really like hunting. And that's assuming that you get a big buck.
But wait! C reminded me that you don't necessarily just go hunting once a year. In Texas you can kill 5 white-tail deer/year (3 max. with antlers). That certainly brings down the price per pound. Again -- you need a big freezer! I don't think you could eat enough deer meat to keep up with 5 deer killed just during deer season.
Now, is hunting a green option?
It doesn't seem to fit in with what many urban greenies do -- go vegetarian. But, since one of the big reasons to go veg is to reduce your impact on the earth (meat requires more resources, water, oil, etc. per pound than plants do to produce), hunting deer, particularly in an area that has overpopulated deer (due to the absence of natural predators) seems preferable to buying meat at the store. That is provided that you don't drive hundreds of miles to hunt deer that are fed deer pellets.
Is deer meat organic?
Well, in the case of my neighborhood, definitely not! (But that's illegal!)
In the wild? Hmmm... hard to say, but it is free range (unless fed pellets) and free of antibiotics.
Disclaimer: I'm not a hunter. I've only had deer sausage a couple of times. I think the deer are nice, but I am very mad about my dead dead trees. The deer population is insane in my neighborhood. Four deer in my front yard last night. Crazy.
I was just curious so I decided to do some research.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Stay out of the store! -- Cooking with what's on hand...
So.... the gradgreen family is trying to save some money. That basically means 2 things:
1. Stop buying stuff
2. Cut down on grocery shopping
#2 seems kind of harsh. C's usual response is "but we have to eat!" I agree. I LOVE to eat, but I think that we can cut some of the expenses. We looked over our bills (don't worry, we pay the card off every month) and found that we had 23 separate trips to the grocery store last month. Holy Canoli. That's not how I want to spend my time.
So we agreed to work with what we have on hand... to the greatest extent possible. We have made a couple of trips to the store to re-stock milk, bread, peanut butter... you know... the staples. But the trips have been far less expensive than normal.
Here are some of the meals we've had:
1. Chicken pot pie. Thanks to S for the inspiration. We had frozen chicken and peas and some funky carrot sticks and broccoli. Chop chop chop with some onion. Make a delicious gravy. I'm not up to a pastry crust, but I made some homemade biscuit dough and baked it on top. Yummalicious.
I was really proud of myself for the biscuit dough, because I was SOO close to calling C on his way home and asking him to pick up a popping package of frozen biscuits. But that would have been lame. Homemade biscuits, especially the drop biscuit kind, are very easy to make.
2. Baked potatoes. This was an emergency dinner, so we microwaved the potatoes. They were organic russets, so a little smaller than the norm, which is perfect for the microwave. We had steamed broccoli on the side as well as a couple of veggie chicken patties that I cut into triangles. This dinner was a big hit and it was made out of true desperation.
3. Chicken soup. This is best made with chicken thighs because they have the most flavor, but I had a couple of chicken breasts. Add some onion, carrots, peas, rice.... wait a second... this is remarkable similar to chicken pot pie! Yet different, somehow.
4. Spaghetti and meatballs. I had spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, some leftover sauteed peppers and onions from a cookout and a couple of leftover hamburgers. Cut up the hamburgers -- cook in the sauce. Voila! Nobody even mentioned the fact that the meatballs used to be hamburgers.
Those of you who have kids have probably noticed that so much of what kids like depends on packaging. They don't like Kix, but if it has Shrek on the front, they do like Shrek cereal, etc. The same is true for leftovers. I fix the plates in the kitchen and nobody has to see all the parts coming together. Sometimes the result is even tastier than the first thing I made.
1. Stop buying stuff
2. Cut down on grocery shopping
#2 seems kind of harsh. C's usual response is "but we have to eat!" I agree. I LOVE to eat, but I think that we can cut some of the expenses. We looked over our bills (don't worry, we pay the card off every month) and found that we had 23 separate trips to the grocery store last month. Holy Canoli. That's not how I want to spend my time.
So we agreed to work with what we have on hand... to the greatest extent possible. We have made a couple of trips to the store to re-stock milk, bread, peanut butter... you know... the staples. But the trips have been far less expensive than normal.
Here are some of the meals we've had:
1. Chicken pot pie. Thanks to S for the inspiration. We had frozen chicken and peas and some funky carrot sticks and broccoli. Chop chop chop with some onion. Make a delicious gravy. I'm not up to a pastry crust, but I made some homemade biscuit dough and baked it on top. Yummalicious.
I was really proud of myself for the biscuit dough, because I was SOO close to calling C on his way home and asking him to pick up a popping package of frozen biscuits. But that would have been lame. Homemade biscuits, especially the drop biscuit kind, are very easy to make.
2. Baked potatoes. This was an emergency dinner, so we microwaved the potatoes. They were organic russets, so a little smaller than the norm, which is perfect for the microwave. We had steamed broccoli on the side as well as a couple of veggie chicken patties that I cut into triangles. This dinner was a big hit and it was made out of true desperation.
3. Chicken soup. This is best made with chicken thighs because they have the most flavor, but I had a couple of chicken breasts. Add some onion, carrots, peas, rice.... wait a second... this is remarkable similar to chicken pot pie! Yet different, somehow.
4. Spaghetti and meatballs. I had spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, some leftover sauteed peppers and onions from a cookout and a couple of leftover hamburgers. Cut up the hamburgers -- cook in the sauce. Voila! Nobody even mentioned the fact that the meatballs used to be hamburgers.
Those of you who have kids have probably noticed that so much of what kids like depends on packaging. They don't like Kix, but if it has Shrek on the front, they do like Shrek cereal, etc. The same is true for leftovers. I fix the plates in the kitchen and nobody has to see all the parts coming together. Sometimes the result is even tastier than the first thing I made.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Too Tired to Cook
So, a new school year is upon us, and once again, I'm wiped out in the evening. Monday evening, in particular, is brutal. I work two jobs, the kids go to school, I help with homework, help my daughter with her reading, miraculously find the right outfits, and then send kids off to ballet and gymnastics. God help me.
At least all the activities happen on Monday, but sheesh! The last thing that I want to do is cook.
So, I looked into a number of companies that offer sort of homemade prepared meals. There is one nearby me, Dream Dinners, in which you go in and assemble the meals. It seemed sort of pricey and it was a big up-front financial commitment for meals I wasn't sure my family would eat.
Why not just another night of quesadillas? Well, to be honest.... I'm sick of quesadillas... and pretty much everything else I cooked all summer long. I wanted something a little fancy from time to time without dragging all the people out to a restaurant.
Then I got an e-mail at work. It seems there is a group of people who get food delivered from the Soup Peddler. This is an extremely cool concept. It all started with this guy in Austin who started selling soup and delivering it (in reusable containers) on his bike.
Now it's bigger, but still not too big. It's a little hole in the wall store. With incredible customer service. And the best soup ever.
The soup tastes homemade because it is. Only problem is -- the containers aren't the greatest. The soup comes in a plastic bag. Boo. The salads and quiches come in a recyclable plastic pie container. Recyclable, but plastic. Boo.
But I am a soupie. I can't help myself. And it's not just the soup. I just had the strawberry rhubarb crisp and it's so good that it makes me want to cry.
Does it help that I recycle the recyclables and it keeps me from running to the store at lunch time?
At least all the activities happen on Monday, but sheesh! The last thing that I want to do is cook.
So, I looked into a number of companies that offer sort of homemade prepared meals. There is one nearby me, Dream Dinners, in which you go in and assemble the meals. It seemed sort of pricey and it was a big up-front financial commitment for meals I wasn't sure my family would eat.
Why not just another night of quesadillas? Well, to be honest.... I'm sick of quesadillas... and pretty much everything else I cooked all summer long. I wanted something a little fancy from time to time without dragging all the people out to a restaurant.
Then I got an e-mail at work. It seems there is a group of people who get food delivered from the Soup Peddler. This is an extremely cool concept. It all started with this guy in Austin who started selling soup and delivering it (in reusable containers) on his bike.
Now it's bigger, but still not too big. It's a little hole in the wall store. With incredible customer service. And the best soup ever.
The soup tastes homemade because it is. Only problem is -- the containers aren't the greatest. The soup comes in a plastic bag. Boo. The salads and quiches come in a recyclable plastic pie container. Recyclable, but plastic. Boo.
But I am a soupie. I can't help myself. And it's not just the soup. I just had the strawberry rhubarb crisp and it's so good that it makes me want to cry.
Does it help that I recycle the recyclables and it keeps me from running to the store at lunch time?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
What to do when your kids keep eating
I'm back. I'm rested. (Relatively). I've been researching sea lions and squid -- interesting animals, both of them. But the mission of this short back-to-blogging blog is....
What do you do when your kids (or boyfriend, or yourself, or whatever) keep eating?
My kids (7, 5 and 3) are eating me out of house and home. We finish dinner and the first words out of their mouths are "Can I eat something?"
I have decided that they need to be a little more self-sufficient because I am sick of fixing snacks. So, they can fix themselves:
yogurt
cereal with milk
fruit
egg cup (microwave an egg for a minute with a little salt -- they love it)
popcorn
PB & J
trail mix
raisins or other dry fruit
None of the above require much cooking. It's all relatively healthy. I have succumbed to the siren song of the frozen Gogurt. It's strange that I buy the big container of organic yogurt, but for snacking and lunches, a frozen tube of yogurt is so much more appealing. I tell myself that at least it's better than the mini container of yogurt, which seems to have more plastic. But that plastic is at least recyclable..... ARGH.
Anyway, sometimes my kids are going for the 8th snack in a row (it seems) and I am cringing at the price of the food that they are inhaling. 50 cent apple (at least) -- gone! 60 cent pear -- adios! Sometimes I try to get them to eat bananas and cereal because at least those things are less expensive.
I do have to admit that my kids are pretty good about not wasting food -- and have even reported shocking instances of other kids wasting food, as in "X threw half an apple away -- he/she's a waster!"
What do you do when your kids (or boyfriend, or yourself, or whatever) keep eating?
My kids (7, 5 and 3) are eating me out of house and home. We finish dinner and the first words out of their mouths are "Can I eat something?"
I have decided that they need to be a little more self-sufficient because I am sick of fixing snacks. So, they can fix themselves:
yogurt
cereal with milk
fruit
egg cup (microwave an egg for a minute with a little salt -- they love it)
popcorn
PB & J
trail mix
raisins or other dry fruit
None of the above require much cooking. It's all relatively healthy. I have succumbed to the siren song of the frozen Gogurt. It's strange that I buy the big container of organic yogurt, but for snacking and lunches, a frozen tube of yogurt is so much more appealing. I tell myself that at least it's better than the mini container of yogurt, which seems to have more plastic. But that plastic is at least recyclable..... ARGH.
Anyway, sometimes my kids are going for the 8th snack in a row (it seems) and I am cringing at the price of the food that they are inhaling. 50 cent apple (at least) -- gone! 60 cent pear -- adios! Sometimes I try to get them to eat bananas and cereal because at least those things are less expensive.
I do have to admit that my kids are pretty good about not wasting food -- and have even reported shocking instances of other kids wasting food, as in "X threw half an apple away -- he/she's a waster!"
Friday, October 3, 2008
Too Tired to Cook
Another in my line of overwork blogs... (I decided to at least blog about my woes, because I miss blogging even though I've been tired and haven't been blogging. But I miss it, so here I go!)
We all know how important it is to plan what to eat, to eat at home as much as possible... for health, financial, and environmental reasons.
I'm a big fan of the book Your Money or Your Life. In that book, you are asked to calculate how much working costs you. Yep -- that's right -- how much money do you lose by going to work. For example, do you need different clothes? Do you spend money commuting? Do you buy/do things to relieve the stress you have from working? Do you buy convenience food because you're too tired to cook?
Of course we have to make adjustments in our lifestyles so that we can work. That can be a good thing. I'd probably not be a better person if I spent all day in my pajamas, comfy though that might be.
What's killing me this semester is food. And that's a shame, because I really like to cook.
Here's how it works:
I teach a night class two nights a week. The night in between, I spend a lot of time preparing my classes, and don't get to chill out. The night following my second night class, I spend a lot of time lying on the couch because I'm exhausted. Friday night I usually do some quick cooking or we go out because I've had a hard week and feel that I deserve it. Saturday and Sunday I cook.
Uh oh... what's my family eating? Um... I'm not totally sure. There's a lot of pasta and leftovers and fruit. It's not that bad, really, but there's not much left for lunch.
So, for lunch I've been eating cinnamon rolls and take-out. What the heck!? That's a recipe for disaster. Oh, and sometimes I eat nothing.
All work and no play makes grad green a grumpy girl.
What do you think your work expenses are? Do you eat differently on the days that you work? Better? Worse? How do you handle dinner?
We all know how important it is to plan what to eat, to eat at home as much as possible... for health, financial, and environmental reasons.
I'm a big fan of the book Your Money or Your Life. In that book, you are asked to calculate how much working costs you. Yep -- that's right -- how much money do you lose by going to work. For example, do you need different clothes? Do you spend money commuting? Do you buy/do things to relieve the stress you have from working? Do you buy convenience food because you're too tired to cook?
Of course we have to make adjustments in our lifestyles so that we can work. That can be a good thing. I'd probably not be a better person if I spent all day in my pajamas, comfy though that might be.
What's killing me this semester is food. And that's a shame, because I really like to cook.
Here's how it works:
I teach a night class two nights a week. The night in between, I spend a lot of time preparing my classes, and don't get to chill out. The night following my second night class, I spend a lot of time lying on the couch because I'm exhausted. Friday night I usually do some quick cooking or we go out because I've had a hard week and feel that I deserve it. Saturday and Sunday I cook.
Uh oh... what's my family eating? Um... I'm not totally sure. There's a lot of pasta and leftovers and fruit. It's not that bad, really, but there's not much left for lunch.
So, for lunch I've been eating cinnamon rolls and take-out. What the heck!? That's a recipe for disaster. Oh, and sometimes I eat nothing.
All work and no play makes grad green a grumpy girl.
What do you think your work expenses are? Do you eat differently on the days that you work? Better? Worse? How do you handle dinner?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
A bathtub full of water...
Over the weekend, I blogged about filling the bathtub with water in preparation for a hurricane. I talked with a friend, and she agreed that she used to do the same thing and we both wondered why nobody seemed to do that anymore.
I figure it's germaphobia. If people are going around drinking bottled water when there's no problem, they're not going to want to drink water out of the bathtub. If they are constantly using antibacterial soap, bathtub water is a big stretch. I checked the web.
NOAA's hurricane flyer advises filling the bathtub. BUT it says that you should not drink the water. Ready.gov also advises filling the tub (for sanitary purposes). So... what about drinking water? Okay, I admit that drinking water from the bathtub is not particularly appealing. I would definitely be sure to clean the tub first. But several sites advise filling large containers of water, presumably for drinking. NOAA recommends a gallon of water per day.
With all the government emphasis lately on disaster planning, it doesn't seem like many people are prepared for disaster. Why are people in non-devestated areas running out of food after just a few days? How long could you eat out of your pantry? (Granted... without being able to cook because the electricity and maybe the gas are out).
Austin is hosting almost 2000 evacuees from the hurricane, so we hear about the problems all the time. Many people have lost their homes and have nothing to go back to. But I don't understand some of the problems in the western areas of Houston. Losing electricity shouldn't cause total chaos. We shouldn't have to pass out MREs after just a few days (Again, I am NOT talking about the people who lost their homes.)
Before the hurricane, my dad went to the store and bought some bread and peanut butter and gatorade to tide him over. He came to stay with me during the storm, but he went back the day after to check on the house and was without electricity for 3 days. He ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, but he had food.
This whole situation shows that people are not taking disaster planning seriously. Everybody should have some sort of stockpile of food. Maybe not enough for a year (I'm not that hardcore), but at least enough for a week. And some way to cook it, if it needs cooking. We should think about water, too. If a hurricane is coming, fill large containers with water. Fill the bathtub. It could take FEMA a while to arrive. It could be useful to know how to purify water or how to build a fire, or to own a camp stove. We shouldn't have to be out in the streets begging for stuff.
Finally, another note on the water....
My husband is from Central America. The area in which his family lives is notorious for water shortages. When I say shortage, I mean that at certain times of the year, they can be without running water for a week or more. When the water comes down the pipe, people fill up large (clean) trashcans, water bottles, and a giant sink that is used for washing. With careful use, this will last until the water comes again. When I visited his family, I used a bowl dipped in a trash can full of water to "shower". Babies were bathed in small bathtubs filled from the giant sink. Dishes are washed carefully -- rinse them all first, soap them, rinse again. There is no water wasted. His family is a normal family. They do not live in poverty, but they have learned how to deal with an almost constant "disaster". We could learn from some of these techniques.
I figure it's germaphobia. If people are going around drinking bottled water when there's no problem, they're not going to want to drink water out of the bathtub. If they are constantly using antibacterial soap, bathtub water is a big stretch. I checked the web.
NOAA's hurricane flyer advises filling the bathtub. BUT it says that you should not drink the water. Ready.gov also advises filling the tub (for sanitary purposes). So... what about drinking water? Okay, I admit that drinking water from the bathtub is not particularly appealing. I would definitely be sure to clean the tub first. But several sites advise filling large containers of water, presumably for drinking. NOAA recommends a gallon of water per day.
With all the government emphasis lately on disaster planning, it doesn't seem like many people are prepared for disaster. Why are people in non-devestated areas running out of food after just a few days? How long could you eat out of your pantry? (Granted... without being able to cook because the electricity and maybe the gas are out).
Austin is hosting almost 2000 evacuees from the hurricane, so we hear about the problems all the time. Many people have lost their homes and have nothing to go back to. But I don't understand some of the problems in the western areas of Houston. Losing electricity shouldn't cause total chaos. We shouldn't have to pass out MREs after just a few days (Again, I am NOT talking about the people who lost their homes.)
Before the hurricane, my dad went to the store and bought some bread and peanut butter and gatorade to tide him over. He came to stay with me during the storm, but he went back the day after to check on the house and was without electricity for 3 days. He ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, but he had food.
This whole situation shows that people are not taking disaster planning seriously. Everybody should have some sort of stockpile of food. Maybe not enough for a year (I'm not that hardcore), but at least enough for a week. And some way to cook it, if it needs cooking. We should think about water, too. If a hurricane is coming, fill large containers with water. Fill the bathtub. It could take FEMA a while to arrive. It could be useful to know how to purify water or how to build a fire, or to own a camp stove. We shouldn't have to be out in the streets begging for stuff.
Finally, another note on the water....
My husband is from Central America. The area in which his family lives is notorious for water shortages. When I say shortage, I mean that at certain times of the year, they can be without running water for a week or more. When the water comes down the pipe, people fill up large (clean) trashcans, water bottles, and a giant sink that is used for washing. With careful use, this will last until the water comes again. When I visited his family, I used a bowl dipped in a trash can full of water to "shower". Babies were bathed in small bathtubs filled from the giant sink. Dishes are washed carefully -- rinse them all first, soap them, rinse again. There is no water wasted. His family is a normal family. They do not live in poverty, but they have learned how to deal with an almost constant "disaster". We could learn from some of these techniques.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Cashews -- What the Heck are They?
My husband tells me that when he was growing up he used to love to eat cashew fruit.
Huh.... I had never heard of a cashew fruit before.
Yep, he tells me. Each cashew fruit has one nut.
Wow... that explains why they're so expensive. I imagine a mountain of fruits thrown aside to make one can of cashews.
So what IS a cashew?
The cashew comes from a tree that is native to Brazil. The nut is not actually a nut, but a seed that dangles from the bottom of the cashew fruit, known as the cashew apple (or marañon). The fruit is sweet, but very delicate. It is commonly used to flavor aguas frescas (a refreshing fruit drink). In Brazil, the cashew fruit juice (caju) is very popular.
The nut (sorry, seed) is contained inside a hard double shell, which contains a resin with an irritant related to poison ivy. That would explain why my husband grew up eating the fruit more than the seed. He tells me that the shells are roasted so that the nuts will come out of the outer shell and so that the resin can be removed.
According to several sources, the nuts are cracked manually. Then they are graded, according to how white they are and as to how broken they are. After grading, they are roasted.
So... what brought all this on? I noticed that they started selling caju juice (from the cashew fruit!) at HEB. It's also a great example of how many of us don't know where our food comes from. It's amazing how labor-intensive cashew harvesting is, yet I can go to the store and buy a can of hundreds (!) of cashews for around 4.00.
picture from gigglemoose.com
Friday, July 4, 2008
Independence from Box Cake!
Happy Fourth of July!
I discovered an amazing recipe for chocolate cake. Although it's not my #1 chocolate cake, it's pretty darn good, and you can't beat it for speed. With my 5 year old assistant, I was able to put this cake in the oven 7 minutes after getting out the recipe. It's crazy fast. It's also a beautiful thing because you don't need to use a bowl (and it's vegan).
Crazy Fast Chocolate Cake
Grease a 9x13 pan. Add the following dry ingredients, spreading them around:
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar (or a little less)
6 T. cocoa
1 teas. salt
2 teas. baking soda
Make 3 wells in the dry ingredients. (I don't know if this is necessary, but that's what the directions say). Add the following wet ingredients (one in each well):
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 T. red wine vinegar (I used white wine vinegar, and it was fine)
2 teas. vanilla
Over the top of everything, pour:
2 c. water
Stir it up until just mixed. Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes. Frost with frosting that's not from a can!
I discovered an amazing recipe for chocolate cake. Although it's not my #1 chocolate cake, it's pretty darn good, and you can't beat it for speed. With my 5 year old assistant, I was able to put this cake in the oven 7 minutes after getting out the recipe. It's crazy fast. It's also a beautiful thing because you don't need to use a bowl (and it's vegan).
Crazy Fast Chocolate Cake
Grease a 9x13 pan. Add the following dry ingredients, spreading them around:
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar (or a little less)
6 T. cocoa
1 teas. salt
2 teas. baking soda
Make 3 wells in the dry ingredients. (I don't know if this is necessary, but that's what the directions say). Add the following wet ingredients (one in each well):
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 T. red wine vinegar (I used white wine vinegar, and it was fine)
2 teas. vanilla
Over the top of everything, pour:
2 c. water
Stir it up until just mixed. Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes. Frost with frosting that's not from a can!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Mac and Cheese
A couple of years ago I was vegging out watching Alton Brown do a whole episode on how to make macaroni and cheese. I didn't write down the recipe, and I'm certainly not going to buy the expensive cheese he used, but I did learn how to make a mean mac and cheese.
I'm home with the little one today, and we wanted a quick lunch. Sliced fruit and mac and cheese. I grew up on Kraft, but it seems to be getting more and more expensive (around .80 a box.... seems extreme, considering what it is). I bought 3 boxes of the store brand on sale -- 3 for a dollar. Let me just say... BLECH!! (In case you're wondering, the store brand is from HEB. Their Hill Country Fare macaroni and cheese is punishment food).
Not wanting to toss the box or, God forbid, punish someone even less well-off than me, I decided to doctor up the Mac and cheese. Use the mac. Toss the gross "cheese sauce mix". Enter Alton with a simple bechamel sauce.
Usually this is the part of cooking shows where I start to laugh. Right... a "simple bechamel sauce". Has a French name -- can't be simple. Ah, but it is. And delicious.
Start with some butter and a little bit of flour. Melt the butter and stir in the flour, making a roux ( I think this is the correct spelling.)
Add some milk, stirring in between little pours. It will thicken as you stir. If it gets too thin, just stop adding milk, or sprinkle a LITTLE flour in. (Not too much, or it will get clumpy).
Add your favorite cheese, grated, or sliced thinly.
Alton and I like to put in some pepper and a little nutmeg. The nutmeg really makes the dish.
Pour this scrumdidilyicious cheese sauce over some macaroni. If you're feeling fancy, you can sprinkle additional cheese on top and pop it under the broiler for a minute or so. I don't usually (ever) feel fancy. This mac and cheese is delish on its own. The other beautiful thing about it is that I almost always have all the ingredients.
Bechamel sauce is one of those classic sauces that works for a lot of recipes. Want alfredo? Put in parmesan instead of cheddar. Use cream instead of milk if you want it to be creamier.
image from inmagine.com
Sunday, June 22, 2008
June Food Challenge Update
Here's the short version:
I suck at this challenge and can NOT stop going to the grocery store.
I am having trouble keeping track of how much we spend because my husband has to keep running out for stuff (like milk, bread, emergency pizza, etc..) and we haven't always kept the receipt. I plan to do a monthly total using my credit card bill (don't worry! I pay it off every month).
But is it so bad to go to the grocery store ALL the time? Maybe not. The ExpensiveMart is down the street. Sure, it's expensive, but I don't buy very much there. The occasional gallon of milk or something small. WF is on the way home from work. I tend to drop by there frequently. Need some more gluten flour for the bread maker? WF. Need some lettuce? WF. Milk? WF. Yogurt? WF. The beauty of these stops is that for the things I buy, WF does not really cost that much. About the same and sometimes less than ExpensiveMart. And I get free samples as I walk around :) Because the things I don't need to buy are so expensive at WF, impulse purchases are kept to a minimum. $4 box of granola bars? Nope! $4/lb tomatoes? Nope! 9.99/lb olives? Yumm... nope!
Saturday I did a giant shopping trip and drove myself crazy. First, in a desperate attempt to give the farmer's market another shot, I hopped on my bike and rode downtown. I was there about 10 minutes before it opened. There were plenty of people. Some people were filming one of the stands. It seems like that is happening every time I go. I got some peaches ($5 for a small bag), lettuce ($5), squash, a red onion and supplementary tomatoes ($8 -- ouch!), and a bunch of chard ($2). Peaches were the only fruit available, and they were only being sold by one farmer, and they were selling out quickly. I now understand why I hadn't seen peaches at the farmer's market before.
Supposedly, our farmer's market is "award winning". I don't understand that. I am not really "wowed" by the selection, and certainly not by the prices. With the exception of the chard, the prices are the same at WF, and I do not have to get up early in the morning.
After the farmer's market, I stopped at WF for some bulk oil and gluten flour (love the bulk section). Then I came home, got the car, and went to HEB for a gigantic shopping trip with my daughter. We had to buy food for her birthday party, so we spent a LOT of money. I also felt ridiculous spending $4 for organic strawberries (the cheapest they have been all summer, and they were hard. Grrrr...) and then buying Oreos.
Maybe I'm a food hypocrite. Okay. I am. But I can NOT go on torturing myself in the grocery store. I am just going to buy what I can afford, avoid the dirty dozen when possible, eat very little meat, cook beans, make my own bread, and try to stick with actual food, rather than food products, the majority of the time. Saturday night we went on a picnic. We had homemade bread with tuna salad that I made at home, using green peppers from our garden, the freakin' expensive onion and lettuce from the farmer's market, and Hellmann's mayonnaise. I read the label and found out that Hellmann's has HFCS. What can I do? Am I going to make my own? No way. We had plums, chips and Oreos. It was delicious.
I suck at this challenge and can NOT stop going to the grocery store.
I am having trouble keeping track of how much we spend because my husband has to keep running out for stuff (like milk, bread, emergency pizza, etc..) and we haven't always kept the receipt. I plan to do a monthly total using my credit card bill (don't worry! I pay it off every month).
But is it so bad to go to the grocery store ALL the time? Maybe not. The ExpensiveMart is down the street. Sure, it's expensive, but I don't buy very much there. The occasional gallon of milk or something small. WF is on the way home from work. I tend to drop by there frequently. Need some more gluten flour for the bread maker? WF. Need some lettuce? WF. Milk? WF. Yogurt? WF. The beauty of these stops is that for the things I buy, WF does not really cost that much. About the same and sometimes less than ExpensiveMart. And I get free samples as I walk around :) Because the things I don't need to buy are so expensive at WF, impulse purchases are kept to a minimum. $4 box of granola bars? Nope! $4/lb tomatoes? Nope! 9.99/lb olives? Yumm... nope!
Saturday I did a giant shopping trip and drove myself crazy. First, in a desperate attempt to give the farmer's market another shot, I hopped on my bike and rode downtown. I was there about 10 minutes before it opened. There were plenty of people. Some people were filming one of the stands. It seems like that is happening every time I go. I got some peaches ($5 for a small bag), lettuce ($5), squash, a red onion and supplementary tomatoes ($8 -- ouch!), and a bunch of chard ($2). Peaches were the only fruit available, and they were only being sold by one farmer, and they were selling out quickly. I now understand why I hadn't seen peaches at the farmer's market before.
Supposedly, our farmer's market is "award winning". I don't understand that. I am not really "wowed" by the selection, and certainly not by the prices. With the exception of the chard, the prices are the same at WF, and I do not have to get up early in the morning.
After the farmer's market, I stopped at WF for some bulk oil and gluten flour (love the bulk section). Then I came home, got the car, and went to HEB for a gigantic shopping trip with my daughter. We had to buy food for her birthday party, so we spent a LOT of money. I also felt ridiculous spending $4 for organic strawberries (the cheapest they have been all summer, and they were hard. Grrrr...) and then buying Oreos.
Maybe I'm a food hypocrite. Okay. I am. But I can NOT go on torturing myself in the grocery store. I am just going to buy what I can afford, avoid the dirty dozen when possible, eat very little meat, cook beans, make my own bread, and try to stick with actual food, rather than food products, the majority of the time. Saturday night we went on a picnic. We had homemade bread with tuna salad that I made at home, using green peppers from our garden, the freakin' expensive onion and lettuce from the farmer's market, and Hellmann's mayonnaise. I read the label and found out that Hellmann's has HFCS. What can I do? Am I going to make my own? No way. We had plums, chips and Oreos. It was delicious.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Inherited Food
Three of my neighbors have moved away or left town on extended trips. They have brought over the food left in their refrigerators. Among other things, I have "inherited":
I like inheriting food. It's nice to get some extra, unexpected things. I don't complain that they're not organic -- after all, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's much better than throwing the food in the trash, and it has injected a little variety into our diet. The other day, we made milanesa for the first time (it's a breaded meat cutlet -- these were frozen, and you are supposed to fry them in a little oil).
So, don't be shy. If you can't drink up all your milk before you leave town, give it to your neighbor. He/she will probably be happy to take it, and might have been on the way to the store to get milk anyway.
- apples
- frozen fish
- 2 lbs. frozen baby shrimp
- a jar of green olives
- iceberg lettuce
- a bag of rolls
I like inheriting food. It's nice to get some extra, unexpected things. I don't complain that they're not organic -- after all, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's much better than throwing the food in the trash, and it has injected a little variety into our diet. The other day, we made milanesa for the first time (it's a breaded meat cutlet -- these were frozen, and you are supposed to fry them in a little oil).
So, don't be shy. If you can't drink up all your milk before you leave town, give it to your neighbor. He/she will probably be happy to take it, and might have been on the way to the store to get milk anyway.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Why I Buy What I Buy -- Part II -- Syrup
So, with the newfound awareness of the June Food Challenge, I have been looking over my grocery receipts and marking things that are not actual foods but food products. My goal is to really think about what I am buying and why I am buying it. I may not always be able to make the best choice because of financial constraints or other reasons, but I might be able to make some healthy and green changes.
Today's post is about syrup. Maple syrup. Actually, not maple syrup, but the product that I grew up believing was maple syrup. You know, Aunt Jemima. Or the Eggo butter flavored microwaveable syrup in the handy squeeze bottle. Or the Hill Country Fare Light Butter Flavored Syrup. Obviously, these products are not really maple syrup. Maple syrup comes from trees ... I've seen it on TV. I even had maple ice cream in Canada. It was served in a log cabin kind of store to remind us of.... trees.
The Hill country Fare brand (a cool 1.29 for the bottle) is a combination of sugar, sucrose, HFCS and various flavorings. You get light syrup by adding some water. Hmmmm.... We all know that HFCS is the devil (or at least a product made by the devil). What's the alternative?
Maple syrup. You know, the kind from trees. Why have I NEVER bought it before? I don't know. I'm not even sure how it will taste. I do know that it's expensive. The least expensive syrup I could find was 4.49 for a bottle that's about 1/2 the size of the HCF bottle I usually buy. It'd better be good. My friend tells me that it's wonderful and that I don't need nearly as much. I hope that's the case.
I think this is a good example of how we buy things out of habit, or because it's what our mothers always bought, or because it's the cheapest... or whatever. Every time we buy something we are voting with our wallets. I have been voting for artificially flavored high fructose corn syrup masquerading as syrup. I'm not even sure what the real thing tastes like. That is a little disturbing.
Green Weight Loss Update
I have kept real sugar in my coffee, but curtailed my pastry schnarfing. I have been weighing in once a week and tracking the food that I eat and I am happy to report that I have lost 8 pounds!! I am thrilled that I have been able to do this so far without resorting to any diet foods or Splenda. Instead, I have been eating lots and lots of vegetables :)
Today's post is about syrup. Maple syrup. Actually, not maple syrup, but the product that I grew up believing was maple syrup. You know, Aunt Jemima. Or the Eggo butter flavored microwaveable syrup in the handy squeeze bottle. Or the Hill Country Fare Light Butter Flavored Syrup. Obviously, these products are not really maple syrup. Maple syrup comes from trees ... I've seen it on TV. I even had maple ice cream in Canada. It was served in a log cabin kind of store to remind us of.... trees.
The Hill country Fare brand (a cool 1.29 for the bottle) is a combination of sugar, sucrose, HFCS and various flavorings. You get light syrup by adding some water. Hmmmm.... We all know that HFCS is the devil (or at least a product made by the devil). What's the alternative?
Maple syrup. You know, the kind from trees. Why have I NEVER bought it before? I don't know. I'm not even sure how it will taste. I do know that it's expensive. The least expensive syrup I could find was 4.49 for a bottle that's about 1/2 the size of the HCF bottle I usually buy. It'd better be good. My friend tells me that it's wonderful and that I don't need nearly as much. I hope that's the case.
I think this is a good example of how we buy things out of habit, or because it's what our mothers always bought, or because it's the cheapest... or whatever. Every time we buy something we are voting with our wallets. I have been voting for artificially flavored high fructose corn syrup masquerading as syrup. I'm not even sure what the real thing tastes like. That is a little disturbing.
Green Weight Loss Update
I have kept real sugar in my coffee, but curtailed my pastry schnarfing. I have been weighing in once a week and tracking the food that I eat and I am happy to report that I have lost 8 pounds!! I am thrilled that I have been able to do this so far without resorting to any diet foods or Splenda. Instead, I have been eating lots and lots of vegetables :)
Thursday, June 5, 2008
June Food challenge update
Let's call the first week of the June Food Challenge an observation week. Just like any study, it's important to observe what the natural state of things is before you make any radical changes.
I obviously have a grocery store obsession. I (or C) keep going to the grocery store! Last night, we had to get milk and more peaches. Today, a cantaloupe. I need to quit joking around and either:
a. accept that I go to the store frequently for fresh food, or
b. buy a LOT of fruit at HEB during my weekly shop.
This has been a kind of weird week because I did not go to HEB for a big grocery shop. My pantry was already pretty full of stuff, so I didn't want to make the trek. Then again, if I buy a lot of fresh fruit at the beginning of the week, it might start to go bad. Hmmmmmm
I obviously have a grocery store obsession. I (or C) keep going to the grocery store! Last night, we had to get milk and more peaches. Today, a cantaloupe. I need to quit joking around and either:
a. accept that I go to the store frequently for fresh food, or
b. buy a LOT of fruit at HEB during my weekly shop.
This has been a kind of weird week because I did not go to HEB for a big grocery shop. My pantry was already pretty full of stuff, so I didn't want to make the trek. Then again, if I buy a lot of fresh fruit at the beginning of the week, it might start to go bad. Hmmmmmm
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Milk and Muffins
Already back to the store. I had to buy some milk for the little ones. I did hold off on buying muffin mix, though. I'll make my own instead. (My daughter has a summer birthday, so they will celebrate with muffins on the last day of school. So cute.)
I usually make my own baked goods. My mother always made cakes from scratch, and box cakes just taste fake to me. My only exception really is brownies -- maybe that can be an experiment soon -- they just taste so good from the box, that it's hard for me to believe that they'll be as good from scratch. Why do I have this idea about brownies? I don't know. I guess I'm just following what my mom did. Cakes from scratch, brownies from a box.
On one of the blogs I read recently, a tip to reduce grocery spending was to make something every day. I thought this was a great tip. You don't have to make every meal from scratch every day. Combine some leftovers, toss a salad, whatever. But the key is to make something. Yesterday, for example, I made bread (2 loaves, because the first loaf was so delicious that we decided we'd better get the bread machine cranking again). With the bread machine, this doesn't even really feel like making anything. It's more like pouring. Pour in water, flour, honey, oil, salt, yeast. Press button. 3 hours later..... voila!
Making something -- it seems so obvious -- but I like the fact that the tip is not "make everything", but just one thing. On Sunday I made beans. We'll have beans to eat all week (or maybe not, as my husband can eat beans 3 meals a day).
Anyway....I'm a cake snob. I'm a muffin snob too, to tell the truth, but I almost succumbed to total laziness. Almost. I don't understand why people will go to the trouble to buy a cake mix and mix in a few ingredients, but they just can't skip the box and mix in a couple more ingredients. I've timed myself. I can get a cake in the oven in about 8 minutes, from "Hmmm..... I think I'll make a cake" to cake in oven. Being a cake snob can be a little antisocial, especially if your friends know about your snobbery, and especially if you have kids. What do most kid birthdays have? Cupcakes from a box. People know that my favorite food is cake (bad, but SO SO good), so they must notice that I don't eat the box cupcakes. But! My friends are also quick to point out (and share) homemade cake because they know that I will appreciate it.
I shouldn't be such a snob about the cake, perhaps. The same behavior that I don't understand with cake is exactly what I do with brownies. Why can't I get over the box? Must .... get... over ... the box.
I also don't understand frosting in a can. Blech! My mother taught me how to make the best buttercream frosting ever; it's also ridiculously easy. Once you go scratch, you never go back.
Mom's buttercream frosting:
1 stick butter (can use vegan version for vegan frosting)
1/2 bag confectioner's sugar (or so...)
a little milk
a little vanilla
cocoa (for chocolate frosting)
Soften the butter, mix in as much confectioner's sugar as you can. Pour a LITTLE (like a tablespoon) of milk. Taste it. It's probably pretty buttery. Mix in more sugar, adding drops of milk as needed. Put in about a capful of vanilla (1/2 teas?). Mix in cocoa if you're making chocolate frosting.
This makes enough to frost a whole cake, but if it makes too much, it stores in the refrigerator for quite a while.
I usually make my own baked goods. My mother always made cakes from scratch, and box cakes just taste fake to me. My only exception really is brownies -- maybe that can be an experiment soon -- they just taste so good from the box, that it's hard for me to believe that they'll be as good from scratch. Why do I have this idea about brownies? I don't know. I guess I'm just following what my mom did. Cakes from scratch, brownies from a box.
On one of the blogs I read recently, a tip to reduce grocery spending was to make something every day. I thought this was a great tip. You don't have to make every meal from scratch every day. Combine some leftovers, toss a salad, whatever. But the key is to make something. Yesterday, for example, I made bread (2 loaves, because the first loaf was so delicious that we decided we'd better get the bread machine cranking again). With the bread machine, this doesn't even really feel like making anything. It's more like pouring. Pour in water, flour, honey, oil, salt, yeast. Press button. 3 hours later..... voila!
Making something -- it seems so obvious -- but I like the fact that the tip is not "make everything", but just one thing. On Sunday I made beans. We'll have beans to eat all week (or maybe not, as my husband can eat beans 3 meals a day).
Anyway....I'm a cake snob. I'm a muffin snob too, to tell the truth, but I almost succumbed to total laziness. Almost. I don't understand why people will go to the trouble to buy a cake mix and mix in a few ingredients, but they just can't skip the box and mix in a couple more ingredients. I've timed myself. I can get a cake in the oven in about 8 minutes, from "Hmmm..... I think I'll make a cake" to cake in oven. Being a cake snob can be a little antisocial, especially if your friends know about your snobbery, and especially if you have kids. What do most kid birthdays have? Cupcakes from a box. People know that my favorite food is cake (bad, but SO SO good), so they must notice that I don't eat the box cupcakes. But! My friends are also quick to point out (and share) homemade cake because they know that I will appreciate it.
I shouldn't be such a snob about the cake, perhaps. The same behavior that I don't understand with cake is exactly what I do with brownies. Why can't I get over the box? Must .... get... over ... the box.
I also don't understand frosting in a can. Blech! My mother taught me how to make the best buttercream frosting ever; it's also ridiculously easy. Once you go scratch, you never go back.
Mom's buttercream frosting:1 stick butter (can use vegan version for vegan frosting)
1/2 bag confectioner's sugar (or so...)
a little milk
a little vanilla
cocoa (for chocolate frosting)
Soften the butter, mix in as much confectioner's sugar as you can. Pour a LITTLE (like a tablespoon) of milk. Taste it. It's probably pretty buttery. Mix in more sugar, adding drops of milk as needed. Put in about a capful of vanilla (1/2 teas?). Mix in cocoa if you're making chocolate frosting.
This makes enough to frost a whole cake, but if it makes too much, it stores in the refrigerator for quite a while.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Let the Challenge Begin!
Even though it's June 2nd, I'm starting the June Food Challenge today, since it's Monday. What's the point of the challenge?
Step 2: Make a plan.
I usually plan 5 dinners because we eat lots of leftovers. I also have to think about who will be home for lunch and plan plenty of things for snacks (ie. tons of fruit). I actually have a lot of food on hand, so I made the following plan:
Dinner:
Homemade pizza, salad
Chicken & barley soup, homemade bread
spaghetti, salad, bread
bean & veggie crumble tacos
curry couscous
salmon, rice, vegetables
Lunch:
veggie burger
salad
PB & J
curried lentils
breakfast:
cereal, yogurt with fruit, toast, eggs
snacks:
applesauce, graham crackers & PB, carrots & hummus, smoothie, banana bread, chocolate pudding
Step 3:
Make a list and shop from the list. Buy enough for the whole week, planning only to buy fresh fruit/milk in one other trip.
Here I ran into trouble. My list only had 10 items on it (amazing, huh? We really needed to shop the pantry), so I didn't want to go all the way to HEB. I decided I would check out the farmer's market. My daughter and I went, but all I ended up buying was summer squash (2 dollars a pound). They had blackberries at $4 a pint, but for some reason that seemed too much. I wanted lettuce, broccoli, and carrots, but they weren't there (out of season, I guess). Funny, peaches are IN season, but were not at the farmer's market. So, we went down the street to WF. There, I was able to buy organic carrots, organic lettuce, broccoli and local peaches. They also had local grass-fed ground beef on sale, so even though it wasn't on my list (already breaking the rules!), I bought 3 pounds, wrapped in 3 different packages. We don't often eat meat, but I like to have some on hand and it was a great deal.
Later in the day, my son complained about a lack of "juicy" snacks, so I went on my bike to Expensive Mart and bought apple sauce, bananas, a cucumber (there were none at WF), cherries and blueberries.
Observations so far?
Food expenses so far this June: 53.43
Miles driven: 5
- save money
- eat healthier, choosing organic when feasible, and buying less processed food
- save time, by planning ahead and limiting number of trips to the grocery store
- drive fewer miles (by limiting trips to store)
Step 2: Make a plan.
I usually plan 5 dinners because we eat lots of leftovers. I also have to think about who will be home for lunch and plan plenty of things for snacks (ie. tons of fruit). I actually have a lot of food on hand, so I made the following plan:
Dinner:
Homemade pizza, salad
Chicken & barley soup, homemade bread
spaghetti, salad, bread
bean & veggie crumble tacos
curry couscous
salmon, rice, vegetables
Lunch:
veggie burger
salad
PB & J
curried lentils
breakfast:
cereal, yogurt with fruit, toast, eggs
snacks:
applesauce, graham crackers & PB, carrots & hummus, smoothie, banana bread, chocolate pudding
Step 3:
Make a list and shop from the list. Buy enough for the whole week, planning only to buy fresh fruit/milk in one other trip.
Here I ran into trouble. My list only had 10 items on it (amazing, huh? We really needed to shop the pantry), so I didn't want to go all the way to HEB. I decided I would check out the farmer's market. My daughter and I went, but all I ended up buying was summer squash (2 dollars a pound). They had blackberries at $4 a pint, but for some reason that seemed too much. I wanted lettuce, broccoli, and carrots, but they weren't there (out of season, I guess). Funny, peaches are IN season, but were not at the farmer's market. So, we went down the street to WF. There, I was able to buy organic carrots, organic lettuce, broccoli and local peaches. They also had local grass-fed ground beef on sale, so even though it wasn't on my list (already breaking the rules!), I bought 3 pounds, wrapped in 3 different packages. We don't often eat meat, but I like to have some on hand and it was a great deal.
Later in the day, my son complained about a lack of "juicy" snacks, so I went on my bike to Expensive Mart and bought apple sauce, bananas, a cucumber (there were none at WF), cherries and blueberries.
Observations so far?
- Obviously, I have trouble sticking to a list.
- I am a sucker for a good deal if it is something I can freeze. That is why my freezer is full of stuff.
- Why did I refuse to buy organic blackberries at the farmer's market for $4 but bought conventional blueberries at Expensive Mart for $3.88? Because of the "sale" sign? I am more of a sucker than I thought. The cherries, also conventional, were also on sale.
- There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to my organic buying. I am consistent with lettuce, and that's about it. I looked back at the Environmental Working Guide's rankings of the pesticides in foods and found that blueberries rank #32, so that's not too bad. Broccoli is #35, so choosing conventional doesn't seem like a big deal (44 fruits and veggies were rated). Peaches, however, were #1 -- and although my peaches were local, I don't think they were organic.
- Going to 3 stores in one day, even if they are nearby, is not what I want to do.
- Salad as I know it is not seasonal in the summer time. I should know this. I have tomatoes in my garden, but the lettuce has bolted and is bitter and disgusting. Cucumbers? I'm not growing them, but they are starting to grow in a neighbor's plot. Carrots -- out of season.
Food expenses so far this June: 53.43
Miles driven: 5
Friday, May 30, 2008
June Food Challenge
The last time I filled up my car, it cost over $50. Ouch! Gas prices have been all over the news, and it seems that people are finally starting to change the way/how much they drive. Unfortunately, with the heat, house hunting, and 2 out-of-town vacations over the last couple of weeks, we have been driving more than ever... so much, in fact, that I have not been keeping track.
I went to an elementary school picnic today and many of the parents were talking about the high price of gas and food. One person mentioned that food had gotten so expensive that she had given up on organics. I think that many other people are probably making the same kind of calculations at the grocery store. Organic or conventional? Local or who cares? Meat or veggie? How much veggie? Packaged foods or make your own? So many times, there's a trade-off in taste, time involved, healthiness, price.... it's hard to get everything that we want. For example, I'd love local organic strawberries at a reasonable price, but that just doesn't seem to be happening (4 dollars for a small basket is not what I consider reasonable). My kids want to schnarf down corn dogs, which are certainly convenient, but lacking in the healthy/decent price area (even though I buy veggie corn dogs).
The grocery store price problem and gas prices coincide when I start making too many trips to the store, or when I decide that gas actually costs so much that I might as well go to Expensive Mart, since I can walk.
With a quick look back at recent food bills, I've noticed they've gone up... way up. I actually spent 150 at the store a couple of weeks ago, which has never happened before. Some of this is due to higher prices, but I know that some of it is avoidable. It is very hard for me to cut back spending in the area of food, but I do think that we could be wiser in the way that we purchase food, so I am going to have a special June Food Challenge. Here are the rules:
1. Make a weekly menu and a grocery list.
2. Stick to the grocery list.
3. Limit grocery shopping to one weekly trip plus one smaller trip for fresh foods (such as milk and lettuce) only.
4. Eat as much food from the garden as possible (so, pretty much... tomatoes)
5. Choose organic when possible and financially feasible. Blog when it is not.
6. Record weekly cost of groceries.
7. At end of June, compare to May cost.
Join me in the challenge! Make a comment if you'd like to join.
I went to an elementary school picnic today and many of the parents were talking about the high price of gas and food. One person mentioned that food had gotten so expensive that she had given up on organics. I think that many other people are probably making the same kind of calculations at the grocery store. Organic or conventional? Local or who cares? Meat or veggie? How much veggie? Packaged foods or make your own? So many times, there's a trade-off in taste, time involved, healthiness, price.... it's hard to get everything that we want. For example, I'd love local organic strawberries at a reasonable price, but that just doesn't seem to be happening (4 dollars for a small basket is not what I consider reasonable). My kids want to schnarf down corn dogs, which are certainly convenient, but lacking in the healthy/decent price area (even though I buy veggie corn dogs).
The grocery store price problem and gas prices coincide when I start making too many trips to the store, or when I decide that gas actually costs so much that I might as well go to Expensive Mart, since I can walk.
With a quick look back at recent food bills, I've noticed they've gone up... way up. I actually spent 150 at the store a couple of weeks ago, which has never happened before. Some of this is due to higher prices, but I know that some of it is avoidable. It is very hard for me to cut back spending in the area of food, but I do think that we could be wiser in the way that we purchase food, so I am going to have a special June Food Challenge. Here are the rules:
1. Make a weekly menu and a grocery list.
2. Stick to the grocery list.
3. Limit grocery shopping to one weekly trip plus one smaller trip for fresh foods (such as milk and lettuce) only.
4. Eat as much food from the garden as possible (so, pretty much... tomatoes)
5. Choose organic when possible and financially feasible. Blog when it is not.
6. Record weekly cost of groceries.
7. At end of June, compare to May cost.
Join me in the challenge! Make a comment if you'd like to join.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Lean & Green
I promised to report on any weight gain after switching from Splenda to sugar. I'm sorry to report that I have been chubbing out, but I don't really blame it on the 1 teaspoon of sugar per morning in my coffee. Instead, I blame my recent habit of inhaling pastries and drinking beer. So sad....
In the past, I was a very successful member of Weight Watchers (I guess I could have a picture with "results not typical" written underneath). I think that WW has a really good program, and if you follow it, I don't see how you couldn't lose weight. If you follow it....
One thing that makes WW really work (I believe) is the meetings. Every week you have to go weigh in and attend a meeting that lasts an hour or less. It's not that bad, and it IS motivating. You don't want to go and find out that you've gained weight, and it's not very fun to have not lost weight. When you do lose weight, everybody claps and sometimes you get a little prize.
The problem with WW is that you have to go to the meetings. Ideally, you would walk/bus/ride bike. But I like to go first thing in the morning, before I've eaten anything, and there are no meetings close by at that time. Instead, I have decided to get on the scale every Monday morning and record my progress on the calendar.
How is weight loss green?
- You consume fewer resources. Less food. Don't have to buy new clothes. Are in better shape to walk/ride instead of drive.
- If you can motivate yourself to lose weight at home, you can save money from driving to meetings/buying funny diet foods.
- You save money (especially if you can do it at home) which you can use for other green activities (perhaps to buy all the organic veggies that you now crave)
- You will eat fewer packaged foods, thus reducing the amount of trash that you produce. (Of course, this is only true if you don't rely on packaged diet foods.)
Funny diet foods
WW can be kind of tough because all foods have points, and you only are allowed to eat a certain number of points per day. A way to reduce the points in sweet things is to eat things that are artificially sweetened (for example, you can eat 1/2 cup of ice cream for 4 points or a gigantic Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich for 2 points.... the problem is that the sandwich doesn't really taste like ice cream). I have always thought that it's better to just eat real food, so I'm trying to do that. After a few days of hard core pastry cravings, I've been able to feel (pretty) satisfied with toast with jam on it. Homemade bread with organic strawberry jam.... :) Yum.
Portion control
Portion control is a big deal in WW. Before I did WW, I thought that 3 chocolate chip cookies was a normal, controlled, portion. Hah! I would drink 16 oz. of orange juice at breakfast. No more. So, I could go out and buy portion-controlled food, such as the 100 calorie packages of crackers, tiny tubs of yogurt, etc. But that's not green, and besides, I'm an adult. I have an advanced degree. I can count. If the portion is 12 pretzels, I count to 12 and put the bag away. If I don't want to count, I eat carrots, which don't have points. I don't want to use a lot of extra packaging because I'm too lazy to count or measure. So, I dip a 1/2 cup measure into the yogurt or rice or beans, or whatever.
Those controlled portions are also very expensive.
Wasteful and expensive.... why, God, why?
Monday, May 12, 2008
How Expensive are Kids? -- Part III
Lately the price of food has been getting me down. It seems that every time that I go to the grocery store, the bill is higher. Meanwhile, we are eating much less meat than we used to, rarely buy canned beans, make our own bread and soy milk... What is going on?
The higher price of food is all over the news. Milk is higher, which has made all milk products more expensive. The price of wheat is higher, which has made pizza places and bakeries raise their prices. I have not really noticed a higher price on flour, but the high price of milk really hurts. I have 3 young children, and the youngest can really put away some milk. We decided to switch to organic milk, and the price of organic milk (not the happy stuff in glass bottles, mind you, but just regular factory organic milk) is from 4.99 to 5.49 a gallon, depending on where I buy it. That's at LEAST 40 dollars a month in milk. Then there's cheese. About $5 a pound, and lots more if I buy organic.
This week's Newsweek has an article about people changing back from organic because of the rising cost of food. There are certain things that I am consistent about with organic -- I like the organic milk, but can't bring myself to pay for the cheese. I buy organic yogurt (2.99 for a big container) but not ice cream (don't buy much of that because I would just eat it all). I can't afford organic green peppers, so I usually just leave them out. I'm waiting for them to grow in my garden. I only buy grass-fed beef, so I buy really small quantities. Depending on what I'm making, sometimes I mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with veggie crumbles.
I'd like to buy more organic produce, but I just can't afford it. The grocery bill keeps going up... not just because of higher prices, but because my children eat more as they grow. So I pick and choose. I experimented with CSA, but it just wasn't worth it for me. It cost $30 a week for vegetables that for the most part were not things that my family would normally eat, and that my kids generally didn't touch. The last week I had to toss a few things because they rotted before we could eat them. We NEVER throw away food, so that was the breaking point for me.
My kids eat lots of fruit, so I spend a good deal of money on that. Sometimes organic -- usually not. Who am I kidding? I can't spend $5 on a pound of strawberries that will be gone in 5 minutes. At the same time, I know that conventional berries are sprayed with a lot of pesticides, so I try to emphasize fruits with peels and/or fruits that are not on the "dirty dozen" list. So we eat lots of bananas, oranges, grapefruits, organic apples and mangoes. My kids also LOVE canned peaches and pineapple, which are quite affordable, but lately I've been wondering if I'm slowly poisoning them with the plastic can lining.
What about you? Have you noticed higher prices? Have they changed the decisions that you make at the grocery store?
The higher price of food is all over the news. Milk is higher, which has made all milk products more expensive. The price of wheat is higher, which has made pizza places and bakeries raise their prices. I have not really noticed a higher price on flour, but the high price of milk really hurts. I have 3 young children, and the youngest can really put away some milk. We decided to switch to organic milk, and the price of organic milk (not the happy stuff in glass bottles, mind you, but just regular factory organic milk) is from 4.99 to 5.49 a gallon, depending on where I buy it. That's at LEAST 40 dollars a month in milk. Then there's cheese. About $5 a pound, and lots more if I buy organic.
This week's Newsweek has an article about people changing back from organic because of the rising cost of food. There are certain things that I am consistent about with organic -- I like the organic milk, but can't bring myself to pay for the cheese. I buy organic yogurt (2.99 for a big container) but not ice cream (don't buy much of that because I would just eat it all). I can't afford organic green peppers, so I usually just leave them out. I'm waiting for them to grow in my garden. I only buy grass-fed beef, so I buy really small quantities. Depending on what I'm making, sometimes I mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with veggie crumbles.
I'd like to buy more organic produce, but I just can't afford it. The grocery bill keeps going up... not just because of higher prices, but because my children eat more as they grow. So I pick and choose. I experimented with CSA, but it just wasn't worth it for me. It cost $30 a week for vegetables that for the most part were not things that my family would normally eat, and that my kids generally didn't touch. The last week I had to toss a few things because they rotted before we could eat them. We NEVER throw away food, so that was the breaking point for me.
My kids eat lots of fruit, so I spend a good deal of money on that. Sometimes organic -- usually not. Who am I kidding? I can't spend $5 on a pound of strawberries that will be gone in 5 minutes. At the same time, I know that conventional berries are sprayed with a lot of pesticides, so I try to emphasize fruits with peels and/or fruits that are not on the "dirty dozen" list. So we eat lots of bananas, oranges, grapefruits, organic apples and mangoes. My kids also LOVE canned peaches and pineapple, which are quite affordable, but lately I've been wondering if I'm slowly poisoning them with the plastic can lining.
What about you? Have you noticed higher prices? Have they changed the decisions that you make at the grocery store?
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