There is nothing wrong with Ironing...

My husband has new chef uniforms for work and the uniforms do not look professional if they are not well pressed. Tonight, one of them was ironed while getting clothes ready for travel to Tallahassee next week. The white chef's jacket now looks nice and crisp with sharp creases on the sleeves. Don't misunderstand me, my husband does know how to iron and does not expect me to do the ironing simply because I happen to be female. Since the iron was already hot and he needed it to be done for work next week the uniform was ironed.

There are many tasks and jobs that I choose to do that others sometimes classify as "old fashioned", "women's work", or in one case even one was labeled as "bizarre." (See the sewing machine story below). Ironing is a case in point. Friends, coworkers and even family have said they don't even own an iron.To me that lack of an iron in their lives is perfectly o.k. What do I care if they have an iron? Many times the statement of a lack of an iron is accompanied by the statements; "Why even bother?",  "I don't iron." or "Everything is taken to the cleaners." Once in a great while the statement comes along with a faint tone of scorn for my simple choice to iron some of the clothing we own.

It happens with gardening as well. "Why garden when you can go to the store and buy fresh fruits and vegetables?". Sewing; "That is too much work." Canning; " How long does that take?" and on and on.
A coworker once pulled me aside after I had excitedly shared about the purchase of a new sewing machine to tell me not to "....say things like that too loudly people might take it the wrong way...." Unfortunately, I did not have the self confidence back then to ask her what the hell that statement meant. My job was as a Food and Beverage Manager in an upscale private club, but seriously what would they think....that maybe I could make my own curtains?  Or, hells bells, spread my wings and...GASP... make a pot holder or goodness gracious maybe, just maybe, a skirt? 

Today you can call me amazingly unapologetic for my hobbies and abilities. Ironing happens not because I love to iron but because I would rather do it myself than look wrinkled or pay someone to iron the clothes needed for meetings. Paying someone to press my clothing is not on my agenda unless something else comes up that is MUCH more important, like a trip with my husband or a day with the grand kids. Hell, when retirement hits I may not even have an iron! Even if I somehow happen to become iron less there sure as heck will not be anything but praise for someone who works to save money or for someone who simply likes to iron.

These things that I do in my free time are done mainly for my own personal enjoyment or because it doesn't hurt me in any way to do the task and I have the ability necessary. There is enjoyment for some of us in simply seeing the fruits of our labors- regardless of if it is in a freshly ironed shirt, an overflowing garden or rows of gleaming jars of jam on a shelf. These same tasks not only, remind me of my grandparents who did almost everything themselves but also provide a sense of shared history and a link to the family that is no longer here with me. This simple manual work, performed by my hands is full of meaning and value. If one person finds value in an item or a task it does not necessarily mean others will feel the same. However, if a task, like ironing, has value to me that is enough.




        

Living Within Your Means

MONEY
It is one of the things that makes the world go round. For many people it is all that makes their world go round. Earlier in my life with idea of how to handle money there was little doubt or concern about how much spending built up on my credit cards. At one point in college I was forced to rely on my credit cards to pay for groceries as my income as a student barely covered my rent let alone extended to food.

My early thirties brought with it the recognition that my credit was shot and the realization something had to be done - and fast. Out I went to purchase every book on money saving that could be found. (Anyone else see the irony in this?) Books like: Die Broke by Steven Pollan, Live Well on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock, The Best of the Cheapskate Monthly by Mary Hunt, Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin and The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczn. Everybook was read and in some cases re-read. They are still on the bookshelf in the back room and get referred to fairly often.

The spending came to a grinding halt. Payment plans were set up for all debt and a rapid repayment schedule was implemented. In the beginning the process was agonizingly painful. No Starbucks Lattes, no expensive treats at Whole Foods, no trendy new clothing, no hour long calls to friends out of state, no extras period.

Sure, I slipped. Then the guilt would set in and I would refocus and move ahead with renewed vigor. Cable TV did not exist in my apartment, no cell phone (they were just getting trendy), no haircuts (I actually cut my own for a while- that is not recommended), the library was my friend and my only splurge was a gym membership. It was the one time in my life I religiously used the gym. The "no cable" might have had something to do with it. I was broke but my body was smokin' hot.

Having tried a variety of things to save money, cooking from scratch, using coupons, making my own laundry soap, freezing my credit cards in ice (that will slow you down!) as well as building up to a full pantry, I can say it all helps. Every penny saved helps to move away from debilitating debt.

Living within your income can be challenging but it is much easier than sleepless nights over the amount of debt that as been accumulated. It involves sacrifice and a great deal of perseverance.

After the holidays is a great time to sit down and reassess where we stand financially. This weekend will bring a review of credit cards, a reorganization and inventory of the pantry as well as an assessment of financial goals for the upcoming year.

How do you live within your means?    

                 

Gratitude and Thanksgiving in the Garden

My garden in my place of refuge. When life is tough and the days seem to become a never ending relentless grind the garden is my quiet place and peaceful haven. My refuge from both the real and imagined tragedies of life.

It is in the garden that my mind can release my demons from the day or week. Those petty hurts, those mistakes made in haste and the painful frustrations of expectations not met. Those things that can   relentlessly eat at you all begin to dissolve into the warmth of the rich brown soil we have worked years to build. As the dirt runs through my hands a new beginning flowers and takes shape in my soul. For here I can have absolution and move forward into forgiveness of self and others and eventually into gratitude and grace.

The garden clears my head and puts the priorities of life into perspective. When issues seem tho have become intractable or so cloudy that there is no end in sight, no resolution to be sought, the garden offers clarity. The scents of earth and flowers or fresh dew and clean air can clear away the haziness of uncertainty. Answers slowly rise to the surface as if magically born on the tender leaves of the vibrant green plants.

The talks I have with the women who shaped me, my grandmothers, while digging and planting remind me of a loving childhood. I tell them of my day, how everyone is doing, ask them for help and then imagine the advice they would have given. A sense of oneness with those who have given their love to support me in the past envelopes me while working under the warming rays of the sun. Gardening for my grandmothers was part of life and survival and it makes me wonder if the garden gave them the same respite that it has afforded me through the years.

Gratitude. The garden allows gratitude to flow. The soil and sun give me an abundance of food and a place of comfort. It allows me a place to give thanks for beauty and to contemplate my life and the things in it that are cherished beyond all measure. My list changes as do the seasons and the weather. Yet my gratitude allways includes the love and forgiveness of my wonderful husband, the beauty of my grandchildren and children, the ability to see the grace that surrounds me every day and most of all the love of extended family and those that have left this earth and watch over me in the setting sun.

May everyone have a "gardening" place in their lives and enjoy Thanksgiving with those whom they love.

    
         

  

On Farmer's Markets

After having surgery in December, then the holidays rolling in I was a bit stretched to blog often. Last week I swore I would post something and did I ...nope. I spent a large portion of my week end listening to "Mamaw Jo Jo!" from two very precocious two year old's who garnered a great bit of my time. Needless to say one whole day was needed for recovery.

Today I worked inspecting a farmers market. It was the usual conglomeration of non local produce vendors  mixed in with the legit produce vendors trying to sell non local produce to unsuspecting buyers. I don't inspect them but I know where they get the products that they sell to the seasonal residents who are none the wiser. If you are at a farmers market ask where the food comes from. Ask if it is organic and ask if it is in season. Chances are you may be surprised with the answers you get.

I can't post about the places I inspect due to a conflict of interest but you should ask if foods are made in a permitted facility or if they are produced under the Cottage Foods Laws. Cottage foods are foods that can be produced in a persons home. Usually non hazardous foods with little water content cakes, cookies, brownies, and breads - provided there are no cream fillings or butter-cream icing.  Honey, jams and jellies also fall into this category due to the high sugar content. Pickles, relishes and jarred salsas are not cottage foods as they do not meet the ph requirements set out in Florida's laws. You can look up your states information online by simply typing cottage foods and the name of your state. DO NOT BELIEVE information that is not from a state source. Misinformation abounds. I have seen really scary interpretations of our laws on Facebook. Anyone can post on Facebook. For that matter anyone can blog so take what I say at face value and do your own research as well.  

Unscrupulous vendors aside Farmers Markets are great places to get local produce, baked goods and even homemade soaps and crafts. One may simply walk through a market and enjoy the sights, aromas and sounds of the market without the annoyance of muzak or the beeping of a cash register. You are outdoors under the sun mingling with people who support local businesses.  All in all not a bad day!

Science Experiments in the Kitchen

Barbados Cherry Jam Accented with Orange Liqueur 

Lately I have been in an experimental mode in the kitchen. By experimental I mean trying new recipes and methods of producing my own food. The garden is great but I really wanted to try my hand at making other items that we consume.

Yogurt was my starting point. I wanted to make a thick , rich yogurt without any additional fillers. In the past I had tried using plain Dannon yogurt as my starter paying close attention to temperature as the recipe suggested. It came out runny and somewhat sour. Not to my liking.  A few weeks ago while looking for seeds for Helda Beans I found a yogurt starter at Nichols Garden Nursery and decided to order.
Here is the address: https://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/cmspage.php?page_id=about

The amazing starter and final product!

I did not get a chance to make it until last Sunday. By using the directions on the package I made a thick, creamy, and mild yogurt. It is really good. It is not a thickened by gelatin fake yogurt with tons of sugar and a slimy fruit puree at the bottom. My homemade yogurt is amazing with agave nectar and blueberries. YUM!
I used 1 small packet of starter and 1 quart of milk made with non fat dried milk. Extra dried milk was added to the mix to make sure it would be nice and thick. And thick it is! Even better I still have 4 packets of dehydrated starter and can use the yogurt I just made as a starter as well. We can have yogurt indefinitely if I am willing to keep the starter growing. We shall see how that goes as sometimes follow through is not my strong suit!

Strawberry Jam

My other experiment was using Pomona's Pectin. I have always used Sure-Jell to set my jams and jellies. Anyone who has used Sure- Jell knows that it can be touchy stuff. There is no playing with quantities or amounts of sugar in the recipes or you jam just will not set.  Yes, I know you can make jam without pectin but it requires a great deal more time than I am willing to spend making jam.  In the past I have made my own pectin using citrus peels and green apples. This again it is touchy stuff and with a slight mis-calculation on sugar or fruit and you get what my husband describes as "strawberry slime." Lovely..... Sigh.

After doing a bit of research I found Pomona's Pectin online. Let me say...It is GREAT! The directions seemed a bit daunting at first but everything worked out well on the first batch. You use a calcium water to help set the pure citrus pectin . You have a bit more leeway with this than you do with the other brands and there is even a no sugar option. Should you have any problems you can call the 800 number on the package. Do not let the cost throw you. It only takes 2 tsp of pectin to make 4 pints of jam. Thus you are using much less per batch and making the cost lower than that of the other brands. I am not being paid by Pomona's I just really like their product. 

Hmmm....I bet strawberry jam would be good with yogurt . Sour cream is next. Happy experimenting!!!  

Saving $$$ with a Garden

Last fall I started questioning if I was really saving money by having a garden. It seemed like I was always putting money into the beds and not getting as big of a return as I would have liked. To figure out if it is worth it I started logging just how much produce was coming from the garden and yard. Let me add here that many of the trees and plants we have in the yard have taken a while to produce appreciable amounts of fruits.

I started seeds the middle of September and have been continuously planting every week to ensure a steady supply of produce throughout the growing season. The sweet potatoes I dug in September were volunteers in the spring. I did not need the bed so they simply took over.

Since mid September I have harvested:
7.5 lbs sweet potatoes
9 lbs Barbados cherries
5 lbs limes ( my neighbor picks them as well)
2 large avocados
7 bunches arugula
1 bunch lettuce
2 bunches green onions
1 bunch Maruba Santoh (Chinese Greens)
1 ginormous radish
Countless Herbs- Basil, Zataar Oregano, Mint, Lemon Basil, Purple Basil, Cilantro.....

That is roughly 27 lbs of produce from the garden in a little over a month and a half. That is around $100.00 in groceries we do not have to purchase and that is estimating with Sweetbay prices not Whole Foods prices.
The best part is the garden is not really producing a lot yet.

We added 3 new beds this year. One was a gift and the other two cost $60.00. We also had to purchase soil and amendments as my composter, though great, can not keep up with the volume necessary for 3 new beds. I also purchased a rain barrel to help save on water usage. Total cost for everything (seeds and soil pots included) $195.00.  Another good month and we have paid off all expenses for production. I am not counting the $$$ spent on the landscaping as that is a separate issue. If I did another month of production will offset the cost.

The beautiful part of all of this is those cherries will become jam thus increasing their value and saving even more money. Tomatoes will become sauce and the herbs dried for cooking and teas. Fresh herbs will be chopped and mixed with oil then frozen to be enjoyed year round.  That means I am saving even more money than the $100 plus dollars on groceries.  

Putting Food By- Canning Peppers

10 1/2 quarts of pickled peppers

Yesterday my mom and dad came over and mom and I spent a couple of hours canning peppers. My husband and I really like  hot peppers that have been pickled in a bread and butter pickling liquid. I use my grandparents pickle recipe and substitute peppers for cucumbers.  Yum!!!

We washed a case of peppers I got from a local produce stand and cut off the stem end and took out most of the seeds. Then I pulled out the the 15 year old Cuisinart and sliced them thin. I also peeled and sliced 4 large white onions  We had a dish pan full as well as a large enamel coated pot full of sliced peppers. I used roughly a total of a 1/2 cup pickling salt and mixed it into the sliced pepper and onion mixture.  These we let sit while we got all of the canning equipment together and made the brine.

Ingredients

To make the pickling liquid you will need :

1 Qt. Vinegar

5 Cups Sugar

2 tbsp. Mustard Seed

1 tbsp. Celery Seed

1 tsp. Turmeric

1 tbsp. Dried Ginger or about 1/2 inch Grated Fresh Ginger 

Combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. 

Pack sliced peppers and onions into cleaned and sterilized jars. Remember to leave a 1 inch head space. Cover sliced peppers with pickling liquid and use a knife to release the air bubbles on the side of the jars. Top with sterilized canning flats and secure rings onto jars until they are hand tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from water and set out to cool. Do not move jars for 24 hours so they may seal tightly. Check your jars to make sure all of the lids have sealed. If they have not either reprocess or place in the fridge to be used immediately.  

A word of caution- If you decide to can  hot peppers, please, wear gloves throughout the process as the oils from the peppers can burn hours after the fact.       

These peppers are great on salads, sandwiches, pizza and they make a great crock pot Italian beef.

Enjoy!!!!!

  

Voting With My Food Dollars

Currently, I am sitting outside listening to the birds play in the palm tree above me as a gentle fall breeze smelling of cut grass and cooler weather wafts gently around me. The garden is doing ok after the torrential rains that saturated our neighborhood and most of the area  this last week. Watering the raised beds will not be an issue as the ground is waterlogged in the low lying areas of our yard.  The plants need some sunshine to perk them up and dry things out a bit more.

Why you ask are there logos for the major grocery chains in our area prominently displayed at the top of the blog today? The answer is complex. It is all about where my food dollars go and why I spend them where I do. Let me preface this by saying my views have been slowly changing over the course of the last 2 years in my current job and with the changes that have been happening in my life in general.

We are not rich. We are comfortable and we are safe. Most of all we try to be frugal not only to save for the future but to cause less of an impact on the planet. We recycle not just paper and plastic but things as well. Old clothes become cleaning rags, almost all of our furniture is thrifted, or Craig's List find and, yes, we have been known to pull a great item from the curb a time or two. We re-purpose things with paint and elbow grease and do much of our own repairs. We are not alone in these activities. Countless other people do these things but just don't talk about it much.  

Anyone who knows me knows I use coupons. However, rarely are there coupons for organic or gluten free items. Many times when I shop I do not have coupons for anything or the coupon items are no less expensive than the store brand. (No double coupons here). Thus all purchases need to be thought through and a calculator is a must while shopping. So if I am going to all this effort to get the best buys on my food why am I spending my money in large corporate chain stores like Publix and Sweetbay? I know they are clean, I  inspect them but are they concerned with the environment? Do they have ethical practices? Do they care about me and the food I am purchasing or the bottom line? Am I just going there for convenience? The answers are no, not really, the bottom line and definitely for the convenience.

Today, I made arrangements to purchase a case of peppers to pickle and can to build our non existent supply back up. I am getting them from a small produce stand that has been around for years. I am paying a lot less than at a grocer and will do the work myself . He gets my business and I get a fresh product. He is very clear that he does not grow these thus I know they are conventionally grown. I am ok with that as I am keeping my voting dollars in the area.

I do not purchase eggs or milk locally as it is illegal for it to be sold in the State of Florida and it is my job to close them down if I find them. It is better for me not to know about that part of the economy.  It is there I am sure, but I am not part of it.

We do have a health food store locally. The prices are high and a couple of the staff a bit militant. Also I inspect them so I usually just go there when I really need something that I can't find online or am running out of gluten free items. The man who runs it is anti -vaccine and anti modern meds and much of his information is grossly outdated and highly misguided.

What does that leave me. Not much. The local ethnic place can be a bit sketchy and let's not even discuss food safety standards. So my dollars, for now, are going to Whole Food's. The store brands are no more expensive than Publix and the quality s very good. The politics of business is always questionable be it Publix or Whole Food's but at least I know my dollars are going to slightly more sustainable practices.  I am voting with my dollars by growing my own, buying locally when possible and if that is not available then it is Whole Food's. If Whole Food's is not an option there is the local health food store and lastly Target, Publix or Sweetbay.  

So how are you voting with your dollars? I would love to know.  

Check out www.foodday.org for National Food Day on October 24!

The Garden is Done!!!!

The view from the patio. 

Rob has been working all day hauling stone to get the garden area finished this week end. His hard work has more than paid off and really dressed up my raised bed garden. I know it wasn't necessary to make it pleasing to the eye but this looks amazing. And it is less grass to water and mow. One more energy and time saver here on the home front.

Every year the garden expands a bit and every year Rob steps up to the plate and helps haul dirt and mulch, build new beds and generally do those things for me that I can't do without hurting myself or taking 8 times as long to accomplish. Doing all this without him would not be possible thus he is my hero for always helping me to make things better.

The view looking toward the house.

A little walk way off to the side. This is what got the whole project started!

Looking toward the patio.

So there it is! The "New and Improved" raised bed garden! Hope everyone has a great day!

Fruits of the Garden!!!

Today the barbadoes cherry tree was awash in red and after a brief rainfall I went out and picked all that I could reach. Now I have a couple of pounds of fresh cherries.

Soon to be cherry jam! YUM!

Limes are a gift from the gods great for marinades, a slice in a beer or a base for a margarita.

Avocado's to be ripened and made into a buttery chunky guacamole laced with the aforementioned limes and some cilantro. Heavenly.

Between that and the 20 or so small plants I transplanted into larger pots we are set for a while.

Have a lovely day!

A New Kitchen... Almost

My apologies for not posting sooner. I was out of town for work for all of the last week. I did not think the State would approve of me blogging on their time with their computer so I simply waited til I got home.

As I type my amazing hubby is installing the garbage disposal and new sink (new to us) in our "new" kitchen.
He has been working very hard this week to finish up the project that we had begun a little over a year ago. Why so long you ask? Well, we decided that when we did the kitchen it would be best to do it in bits and pieces as we could afford it in both money and time.

Phase one: Cabinets still in place

Unused dead space.

Unused dead space

The countertops we got for free off of Craig's list a couple of years ago. Large sheets of granite that had been pulled out of someones home because they did not like them.  Go figure, thousands of dollars of free granite. Rob had to figure out how to cut it and fit it but it is lovely! The cabinets we purchased pre-made and Rob installed them. One set of our old cabinets were salvageable and we painted them white. The other cabinets were too far gone to be salvaged. They had actually rotted out at the bottom from water damage somewhere down the line.  The sink is a cast iron Kohler with a Moen sprayer faucet and that came from Craig's List for $150.00.

Added Cabinets in dead space.

Cabinets over sink removed. Old lighting still in place and cabinets still "pink".

We tried out different configurations through an online software program and decided that with our skills it would be best to simply stay with the current layout. We did eliminate 1 bank of cabinets over the sink area and we added counter space and cabinets on the end of the kitchen in an area that had been dead space.
Lighting was purchased on clearance and we used the good ole military discount at Lowe's (when we remembered to take it along) on other items along the way. Thus far we have spent  just over $1,000.00.

We have not purchased new appliances but have been looking online and at Lowe's today to get some ideas. Our old appliances were a gift from my parents when they replaced theirs a few years ago. We were glad to get them as ours were in bad shape.  I would like something a little more energy efficient thus would like to get a new fridge ASAP. Rob would like a new stove and microwave first.  Either way they are a great expense and we can be patient and wait until we can afford them. Maybe even buy them one at a time - as long as they are the same color I do not care about the brand....o.k. I do want the Maytag energy efficient fridge :).

Next week or later this week  I'll post pictures of the completed kitchen. There is just too much crap all over right now. It would not do justice to all of Robs hard work.

Until then have a lovely week!!!
Jo

Settling In after Vacation

Having just come back from vacation there is so much that seems to need to be done around the house. I couldn't get the garden in before we left due to weather and there is always more to be finished as well.

Vacation was absolutely beautiful! We stayed at Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky after my hubby finished the Ironman in Louisville. Yes- I said Ironman- 2 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run. In that order. It scared the living beejesus out of me but he finished and lived to tell about it. Hopefully, I will not be such a freakin' mess if he does another one. I was  really ready for a vacation after that and so was Rob.

Luckily it was quiet at our cabin compared to the day to day noise surrounding us at home and the choas of the Ironman. An added bonus was that cell phone service was intermittent at best thus we had minimal interruptions during our semi-secluded week in the woods. The falls were stunningly beautiful with rainbows glimmering gently in the mist. We spent a good deal of time hiking near the falls. Each day we would pack a lunch and head out to spend the day on the trails.  At times it seemed like we had the entire park to ourselves as we walked through the woods hearing only the sounds of the wildlife with no human interruption. Lovely!

So after a week of relaxation and bliss we came home to reality. The first reality was we needing groceries followed closely by laundry. Though I have to admit Rob did laundry one day while I napped. After all those tri clothes would have stunk by the time we got home. Today has become a day of cleaning and organizing.

I did get the seeds planted in pots for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and a wide variety of herbs. This year I am using a seed starting medium made from coconut fiber. It was discussed in depth on on Garden Web so I ordered 200 of the pellets to get me started. I figured they would last forever and at roughly two plantings a year I could burn through them pretty quickly. I ordered the incorrect size on the pellets and now have to use 2 of them to fill the pots I have on hand. Oh, well if I do it again I will order larger pellets. Until then I'll just use 2 per pot. I realize I can use the soil in my beds to start seeds, however, the issue in FL is that there are lots of harmful pathogens in the soil.  You have to bake it to get rid of all of them. I need to do a lot of little starts thus baking is not an option for me.

The freezer also got defrosted yesterday. Not fun but in this heat it sure did not take long. It also helped me to figure out what we really had in there. I had a stock pot going before the defrost excitement and added to it from the freezer. We ended up with 3 qts of stock and a fully cleaned out freezer. A little more organized but the pantry is still a wreck.

Today will be laundry, putting in lettuce and beans then babysitting one of the grands. Life is good. Tomorrow is back to work- sigh.

Hope everyone enjoys their labor day!!!!    


           

The Pantry - Finally!

We have a well stocked pantry. Actually, two of them. We do not have a stockpile. Simply put "stockpile" has a negative connotation to many people. When one thinks of "stockpile" I tend to think of a garage full of food and that is simply not who we are or what we have in our home. We have a healthy supply of items we use on a regular basis. Simple semantics I know.

I have actually been called a food hoarder. Mainly by people who have never been in my home. Sharon Astyk is a writer who focuses on climate change, peak oil and energy conservation. She addresses food hoarding in her book Independance Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage and Preservation. I am paraphrasing here so bear with me. Food hoarding is when food is a scarce resource and you purchase large amounts of it to stockpile and sell for personal gain.  Buying food in times of plenty ( at a lower cost) and storing it, even stockpiling it, in your home as a hedge against future hard times is not hoarding. It is a prudent use of your time and money. Let's not even address true hoarding as that is an illness and does not apply to most of the population. Her book is enlightening and she takes food preservation and storage even further than I have even considered. I have a couple months supply- she has 6 mos to a year. The book is witty, well written and has helped me  to modify what and how much I keep in the house.

A pantry is a great asset to your home when it is well stocked. Our pantry has items we eat and use on a regular basis. Most of the items are bought at the lowest price we can find and stored in either a small closet pantry or in a converted armoir - both in the kitchen. We store extra toilet paper, towels, cat food, toiletries and cleaning supplies in the garage. As an estimate we have at least a couple of months supply of food in our house at any given time. The downside is that we like fresh produce and don't care for frozen. Additionally, we both dislike canned vegetables with the exception of canned tomatoes and beans. A garden offsets some of the produce we consume annually.

Our pantry holds dry cereal ( bought on sale with coupons), assorted flours ( wheat, rice, potato, tapioca, corn, masa etc.) , sugars ( brown, white, powdered), sweeeteners ( honey, maple syrup, crystalized honey, agave nectar), rolled oats, dried milk ( regular and buttermilk), egg replacer ( We don't eat many eggs and it is great for baking), rice (white, brown, arborio and basmati), assorted other grains (millett, barley, quinoa),
assorted dried pasta, canned milk, condiments ( mustard, ketchup, steak sauce- all purchased with coupons), homemade jam and lime marmalade ( no one eats the maramalade..lol), home canned peppers, snacks (rice cakes, chips, nuts- coupons again) onions, canned tomato products, assorted oils and vinegars, leavening agents and a lot of oriental items like rice paper wraps. We have a large assortment of herbs and spices either purchased on sale, in ethnic stores or dried from the garden. Our freezer has a variety of meats and fish purchased on sale.

With all of this and fresh produce we can fix a meal at almost any time. It does require some planning as to what to purchase when. I purchase items when my levels get below a predetermined amount. Usually when there are two of the item left on the shelf or less than a weeks worth of other items.

But how does it save money you ask? The main way we save is through cooking our own meals. Yes- you will need to cook. A pantry full of prepared foods is a full pantry yet you most likely are not eating as healthy and will not save enough money.  Doing your own cooking and some of your baking can really drop the amount you spend. You are buying items on sale not just when you need them thus if there is an amazing buy on canned tomatoes purchase enough for several months and store in your pantry thus also increasing your savings. Don't just buy something when you are running out. Buy pantry items before they run out when they are on sale or if you have coupons for them.

It is possible for us to save even more money by purchasing larger amounts of foods. Splitting bags of grains with another person or coming up with more storage space are just a couple of options.  Normally, the larger amount of an item that you buy the lower the price. However, if you do not like rolled oats a 50 lb bag will haunt you no matter what the savings might have been.  I tend to buy a 3 to 6 month supply of most items we use a lot of like cornmeal, rice or rolled oats.

Once you have your pantry together you will need to maintain the products. Normally,  the purchases are brought home and they are repackaged into smaller amounts. A 10 lb bag of rice is first put in the freezer (to kill grain insects) for several days then taken out and repackaged into 1/2 gallon glass jars or quart jars. Flours that will go rancid quickly in the heat are stored in the freezer. We are in the subtropics and rancid flours and grains can happen fairly quickly.

Meats are repackaged into amounts we can consume at one meal, dated and frozen. A couple of times a year I will can peppers or make jam and these items go into the pantry as well. The peppers are from the garden or purchased in large amounts from a local grower. The jams are made from cherries from our tree, strawberries from a local U-pick or if all else fails from bags of frozen berries purchased at Sams Club.

Almost everything is purchased at the lowest cost I can find for that item in my area then stored in the pantry until needed. It works for us because it is convenient, saves money and help us to eat healthier. So maybe it is a stockpile....but I am going to be old fashioned and call it a pantry. Happy Savings Everyone!  


         

Cooking .....

My coupon post and a suggestion from my husband got me thinking. Saving money can be tough. Right now the economy bites, food prices are rising and gas is still higher. In our area homes are continuing to fall into foreclosure and there does not seem to be any relief in sight. Today's paper said unemployment in Lee County is at 11.6%.  Personally, our retirement took a huge hit and we were both forced to change jobs when the company we both worked for filed for bankruptcy. Two jobs later and I am making less than I did when I graduated college in 1997. Luckily, the hubby has a good paying job and most of what we own is ours.  That is what living at the epicenter of the housing crisis in Florida will do to you.

Saving money is tough even in good times. How is one to make it when the savings have been depleted and there is little extra to go around? The answer is obvious but not one most people want to hear. Change the way you live. It can be through small changes or through drastic measures.  It can be done. It does require work on your part and the good thing is that the works gives one a feeling of success and accomplishment.

There are some truly great ways to save money and the web is filled with sites and blogs to lead you on your way. What has worked for me is to change my priorities. Where 20 years ago clothing and being in style were high priorities now spending time with family is much higher on the list. Family can be much less expensive than shopping. I must admit I do shop but normally there are no full price purchases for anything except bras.    

One of the easiest ways to cut costs is through savings on the food your family consumes. Coupons and bargain shopping are a jumping off point into food savings. That was a previous blog entry. Today the topic is cooking from scratch.

Another way to save is to cook at home instead of buying prepared foods and eating out. It is fine to eat out. In fact my husband and I both enjoy a nice dinner in a restaurant. Our wallets, however, tell a decidedly different story.  Luckily, we BOTH cook. Yes, my husband cooks too. Ok, ok, I admit he is a chef and he doesn't mind cooking and not everyone is that lucky.

Cooking from scratch allows you to make healthy meals for your family and express your creativity. So you hate to even touch the stove and you are definitely not buying the health or creativity pitches?  It is true you can make healthier food or you can make completely unhealthy food. Just look at what Paula Dean does with refrigerator biscuits, butter and brown sugar. Not healthy but a lot cheaper than a premade dessert.... I am wandering from the point here.

If you are cooking from scratch you are not eating in a restaurant thus you can save money. If you are cooking from scratch you are not buying processed foods and can potentially cook healthier and really save money. Cooking from scratch does require more thought and pre-planning than popping a frozen pizza into the oven as you rush in the door from work. You will need to find recipes for foods your family will eat and spend a little more time on planning and shopping until you get your system figured out. Menu planning is a tool many people use to determine grocery purchases and it does eliminate the need to figure out what to cook every evening. After all, there is nothing worse than standing in front of the fridge or pantry staring blindly in and thinking,"What in the heck can I make with that?" Google menu planning and a plethora of sites pop up.

We don't menu plan. We use a fully stocked pantry ( that is another blog entry) and pull a protein from the freezer each morning to be used for dinner that evening. Today it is flank steak to be marinated and grilled for fajitas tonight. Meats are purchase only on sale and vegetables tend to be whatever is seasonal and low cost. Except for cabbage - we don't do much cabbage.  It can be really low cost and not hit our grocery cart. Meals tend to be protein, vegetable and starch. Maybe a side of bread or home canned peppers.

Recipes that I personally use are from the web, a conglomeration of cookbooks and experience. There are three cookbooks I use more than any others: The Settlement Cookbook (1954), Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (1968), and Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook (1990). The first two are really good for simple recipes. And simple is where you need to begin if you are not an experienced cook. If you don't want to buy cookbooks try checking them out at the library or looking up recipes online.

With the older books you can make unbelievable brownies and killer cookies with just a few ingredients. These books were printed in an era before t.v. chefs and copious lists of exotic ingredients thus they work well with a basic pantry. The women who used these books did not always have the ability to run in to Publix and pick up a dozen eggs or a roasted chicken. They had to be able to substitute items and cook with what they had in the garden or preserved in the pantry.  Basic recipes could be adapted to what ever was at hand at any given time.  Simple recipes are also a great stepping stone to more exotic cuisines and fancier meals. Once you master a simple recipe the harder ones don't seem as daunting.

Good food does not have to take hours in a kitchen and 22 ingredients-three of which you can't pronounce and one you can only get at an ethnic market two towns away. Good food can be a salad of fresh greens with cut fresh tomatoes,  a seasoned grilled chicken breast sliced and placed on top of the greens and drizzled with homemade oil and vinegar dressing with bread and butter as an accompaniment.   I did NOT say homemade aged balsamic vinegar and fresh herb with extra virgin olive oil dressing.  I said oil and  vinegar as in salad oil and red wine vinegar. Much less expensive!  

Do not think you automatically have to start cooking everything from scratch. Start with a meal or two a week  then as you become more confident add another meal. Once you have perfected a series of meals that your family will eat you can then build your pantry around those items. After all it is no use buying and storing foods that may be shelf stable if your family will not eat them.

Feeding a family of 4 at McDonald's costs about $20.00 (Value Meals) and it is not healthy. This link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGtDPG4UfI shows you just how unhealthy McDonald's can be for a person. For the same $20.00 you spent on fast food you can get a whole chicken ($4.00 - .99 per lb at Publix this week ), a 10 lb bag of potatoes (around $3.00) for oven fries, fruit or vegetable on sale -squash (.99 per lb). If you have to have soda the cheapest possible is store brand at .99 per litre.  So for roughly $10.00 you have a healthy meal.

If you are saying ..."What a roast chicken? Are you nuts? I have no time."  You can throw that same chicken into the crock pot in the morning. Set it on low and throw the oven fries together when  you get home. While the fries are cooking you can saute the squash.  Still too much? Buy one bag of frozen veg and substitute the 10 lb of potatoes for one bag of store brand fries. Roughly, the same cost. The scenario is now to put the chicken in the crock pot with seasonings in the morning. Throw the fries in the oven as soon as you get home, and microwave the frozen vegetables with a little butter. Voila! A meal on the table in minimal time that is healthier than fast food and costs less.

It takes planning and practice but with a little work you can save money and put a healthy delicious meal on the table for your family. Even better you are saving money in the process.

Happy Cooking!!!!  



  
 

Extreme Couponing

Since starting the blog a plethora of ideas have been popping into my head.  Then I think...Really? Does anyone want to read about that (insert H.A.C.C.P. for food safety or when to prune your fig tree in SW Florida here)? Then I come crashing down to earth and realize I could write about them but it might be better to write about a topic closer to everyone's hearts and/or checkbooks. Thus today's topic of coupons!

Yes, coupons. The t.v. is covered with Extreme Couponing shows and people are rolling in cart after cart of free groceries. It looks awesome! Makes you want to run out and clip every coupon you see. In fact I did and then I realized we don't use most of the products that had coupons available. Additionally, you need a coupon stockpile to be an effective coupon officianado. Where in the blazes am I going to find space for a food stockpile and a coupon stockpile? There is a boat in the garage - no room for a food stockpile let alone stacks of newspaper inserts.  And where am I going to get all of these inserts? I work 40 hours a a week. Staying up and going dumpster diving for coupons is not going to happen. And do I really want to spend hours cutting them out- NOPE! I would like to fit in some yoga classes and other projects like curtains for the kids house or a new doll for Maddy.      

 I wanted to title this "Why Coupons Suck." but I do use them and that would be false advertising. But they do suck. They suck you in to purchasing items that you really do not need or would not normally buy because it is perceived as a good deal. Have you looked at the carts on theses t.v. shows? Ramen noodles. Sorry, ate a lot of those in college, not going to happen again. Candy, yes, candy. Only going to happen over the holidays here in this house. Name brand highly processed foods. We don't eat a lot of highly processed foods..except for ice cream. Lots of ice cream and the husband eats cold cereal. Laundry detergent- allergic to most of it thus make my own HE soap at pennies per use.

How do I save money with coupons? I only use them to purchase items we will eat. If we don't eat it it may be a great deal but it is not going in the cart. Maybe I won't save as much money but why waste my time on items we hate or will not use. It will then sit on the shelf to taunt me for having purchased it and I don't need guilt on top of wasted time.  

Target has some great coupon deals online and one can combine them with insert coupons to save 25 to 30%  with minimal effort. Again only on items that are used on a regular basis. If you print Target coupons and the item does not have a matching coupon in the following Sunday insert wait a week or two and it will show up. When that happens and the item is on sale you can get bargains. If it is a clearance item then the bargain is greater.

Sadly, no stores in SW Florida double coupons. So what is a girl to do? Screw coupons. Yes- I said it. Screw coupons. Focus on fresh, wholesome foods and minimally processed items. It is hard to find coupons for those anyway.  Your best bets are produce, grains, dried or canned beans, meats when they are on sale and dairy. Produce can come from Kroger, Sweetbay, Harris Teeter or even your local farm stand or farmers market. Grains can be rolled oats, rice, millet, barley and even flours for breads and biscuits. Home made cornbread is fast and easy-after you have made it a couple of times. Canned beans make  a quick and flavorful white bean chili or black bean soup. Meats are the ones you like ON SALE and ONLY purchased on sale. You know your budget yet what we do is purchase a lot of tougher cuts of beef or the less desirable chicken thighs and throw them in the crockpot.  Google crock pot recipes and you will be good to go! We make crock pot Italian Beef and Southern Pork BBQ.  Yum!

Lastly, one can save at the store by shopping circular sales and looking at the price per ounce or price per unit on the shelf tag. Many times store brands are ounce for ounce half as much as name brands for the same item. Use the calculator on your phone if the math is not obvious. If you are uncertain if your family will like it purchase one of whatever it is and try it without telling them it is store brand. Most of the time there is little distinguishable difference. So if you can get the store brand on sale you may just have a bargain as good as a coupon deal. Without the hassle of clipping coupons.        

If you come across a truly great deal on say meat- buy a little more than normal and build a supply in your freezer or pantry. You don't need a great deal of space and you can actually shop less once the pantry is stocked.

In a nutshell.  Buy only what you will eat.  If you use coupons use them on sale items. Buy minimally processed foods and cook them yourself. Don't be brand loyal and watch price per unit. Build a pantry and I forgot to mention eat before shopping and use a list  
Remember coupons can suck you into more than you wanted under the guise of a good deal.
Happy Shopping!!!!  

The Lowly Tomato

Before I write about the lowly tomato I want to express my appreciation to Ilene over at "The Rock Whisperer" (see the Blogroll) for being a good friend when I needed one and now mentioning my blog on her blog. I would not be doing this if I had not started following her blog.  And another word of thanks needs to go to my old high school buddy and still another great friend Shelly for supporting my blog. Many thanks to both of you!! On to the tomato.....

It is tomato season in most of the country!!! I love tomatoes, my husband loves tomatoes.Red, full of juice, juice, tart and tangy-perfect for salads or plain with a bit of sea salt and cracked black pepper. So simple and yet so full of amazing flavor. Thus I try to grow some every year.  I say try as I live in SW Florida and tomatoes do not exactly thrive in our soil conditions. Our soil is a veritable hothouse of pathogens that can easily destroy a tomato plant. Everything from the dreaded tomatoes mosaic virus to several different kinds of blight.

My first year gardening, blissfully unaware I planted tomato and pepper seeds and watched eagerly as the plants grew larger and larger. Soon they were large, vibrant green and I was dreaming of salsa and canning my first crop of red deliciousness. Then the dark hand of fate stepped in and cruelly introduced me to blossom end rot and a whole slew of evil insects. I staunchly stuck to organic techniques and forbid the use of the dreaded pesticides and fungicides. Topped with my lack of knowledge on soil conditions, nematodes and fertilization my poor little plants were doomed.    

I have garnered a bit more knowledge and this year had a respectable crop of Amish Paste tomatoes and Thai Egg tomatoes. Both are heirloom and can handle tricky weather and soil. That and fertilizer, mulch and proper planting times have helped my crops tremendously.  I have had very little luck with the tomatoes bred for Florida. Many gardeners on Garden Web (a great resource no matter where you live) have had much better luck.

Now is the time for me to have seeds started for my next crop. In fact it is a little past time and I need to get on the stick. Luckily, I have a few volunteers in a pot on the patio so there are 2 tomato plants already.
Eventually, I will get them started and ready to go into the soil in September. Then I will be having tomatoes while the snow flies and the frost hardens the North. In fact I live about 30 minutes away from where most of the tomatoes are grown for the nation for winter sales.

Immokalee, FL grows much of the produce the rest of the country eats in the winter. Well, if that is the case then it should be easy to grow produce in S. Florida , you say? Nope! The growers use a host of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers to grow the tomatoes you eat. Not to mention they use migrant labor composed of mainly illegals, working 12 to 20 hours a day in poor conditions. I have seen this first hand in the packing houses. Workers there labor 12 hours a day in season with no A.C. in 80 to 90 degree weather, 2 -15 minute breaks and 1- 30 minute break. Did I mention water is no allowed on the packing line due to the possibility of contamination of the product? That in itself is ironic as the buildings are open to the exterior with lizards and critters carrying salmonella and all kinds of diseases able to run in and out at will.

Did I mention these tomatoes that they are slaving over don't really taste like anything?? They are bred for color and keeping qualities like a thick non bruise-able skin.

What can you do that is cost effective so you may have fresh luscious tomatoes to eat?
1) Grow your own. This can be a small container on a patio or a shared plot with a friend with more space. Cherry tomatoes pack a lot of flavor in a little plant.
2) Eat them only in season.
3) Preserve them yourself in season. This year I made freezer tomato sauce and dried some and preserved them in olive oil. Again of you don't have equipment to preserve them  maybe you can share with a friend.
4) Buy from local sources that you know and then either eat only in season or preserve them. This can be organic or not. At least if it is local a large amount of fossil fuels have not been expended on the shipping of the item.
5) Buy organic at a grocery store out of season - this is the most expensive option and I would not suggest preserving them as it is definitely cost prohibitive.
6) Buy canned tomatoes for cooking out of season.
7) Eat the crappy, mushy no taste store bought out of season tomato.  

Below is a link to a book review for "Tomatoland" and brief overview of the tomato on the NPR website. *****Notice the female on the sorting line is scratching her head in the accompanying photo . Another reason to wash your produce!
Also notice the tomatoes are green. They pick them green, gas them and the tomatoes ripen in the shipping process. These are not sun ripened on the vine. Just because the vine is attached also does not mean they were ripened on the vine. They just picked them that way as it is a great sales ploy.  


http://www.npr.org/2011/07/09/137623954/the-troubled-history-of-the-supermarket-tomato

If you don't want to read the article you can listen to it as they recorded in during the initial broadcast of the story.

Enjoy your tomatoes and relish the flavor whenever your season my be!




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Back from Training in Atlanta and A Dress for Maddy

Most of this last week was spent training with the U.S.D.A. in Atlanta and I got home Friday afternoon.
Sadly, the computer connection in Atlanta was not strong enough to even check my personal e-mail and blogging on a state computer is frowned upon. Thus my Kindle was used to check e-mail and the blogging put aside until now.

Future posts will include a short blurb on labeling requirements for the food you are purchasing in the store or I may even set up another blog in the future as Food Safety could be a blog in itself. We shall see how it works out.

Hubby was busy training for an Iron Man Triathlon yesterday morning and that left me with time on my hands.  Since it was raining garden work was out and housework was not in the cards, a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics was the perfect solution. If you go be sure to use your coupons from the Sunday paper and sign up to be on the mailing list for even better deals.

There was enough fabric on hand to make a toddler dress for Maddy but nothing suitable for trim and no bias tape. Bias tape was necessary for her sundress ties as well as for another project in the works.


Enough chatter! Here is the dress.

The sunny yellow ribbon really brightens the dress.

Another view. Tradtional Ric-Rac at the bottom hem. 

How was it made? 

I found a pattern for a pillow case dress at "Think Liz" at http://thinkliz.com/free-sewing-patterns/. It was too big for a toddler so I shortened and narrowed the width of the dress. Everything else was done exactly as listed on the pillowcase dress. Considering that all I have made as an adult is curtains I believe it came out quite well. 

It was about $3.00 for the bias tape and Ric Rac. The ribbon was $4.00 but I only used a third of the roll and the fabric was left from another project. The elastic came from old clothes here at home thus it was free. So for about $4.50 and and hour of sewing time Maddy has a new dress.