My Life of Inconvenience

I took advantage of yesterday's sunshine and scorching heat, and dried my laundry on the line.  While TBG doesn't like his clothes stiff from the line, I do.  As a result, I did a load of my clothes and then hung them out.  When I do loads with his clothes, I give them a quick tumble to soften them up.  However, I prefer saving energy by using the power of the sun.  It's a lot more effort than just throwing the washed clothes into the dryer, but it's economical and environmentally friendly so I am up for the extra work.

Free Food!

Jimmy Jam gave us this pound of ground venison quite some time ago and I'd never gotten around to using it.  Since it's been in the freezer a long time, I decided I wasn't going to make anything for us with it, but it would be just the thing to make a batch of dog food out of.  The large yam has been taking up counter space for a while too.  Even if food is free or it doesn't cost much, I am still loath to let it go to waste.

Summer Spaghetti

A large tray of boneless skinless thighs was a little over five bucks; $1.99 per pound, six thighs.  They were slowly cooked in the Sous Vide -- 150 degrees (f) for an hour.  I put them in a freezer zippy with oil, fresh lemon, and a "Renaissance" rub.  Three were set aside for dinner tonight and three were set aside for tomorrow.  We only actually needed two and a half.

Basil in the Kitchen

Neighbor Dave gave me a fist-full of basil this afternoon when I went over the let him know I was putting the sprinkler on.  He suggested I freeze what I couldn't use -- but I intended to use it all.  Once I got it inside and cut the flowers away from the bunch, I decided they were too pretty to go to waste.  Now that I've done that, I have decided to do it more often.  I go out in the yard and cut the flowers off the basil all summer just to help keep the plants as leafy as possible. Generally, I just let them drop to the ground.

Soup Indiscretions....

Tomorrow is "Souper Tuesday" at work, but my soup is taking a pass.  The boss takes everyone out to lunch the day before a holiday.  Since I started making things for the soup on Friday, I'm going to bring it all in and we will freeze it.  We can thaw it next Monday and it will be on site and ready to go next Tuesday.

I have a confession to make about my soup.  It is a Frankenstein monster of ingredients, based on what is either cheap or left from something else in our house.

Embracing Convenience

She who used to refuse to buy salad in a bag, has drastically changed her opinion of salad convenience.  Not only do I now buy salad in a bag, I am buying salad kits, which I thought was something I would never do.  I have embraced not only the convenience but the ability to make a healthy meal that tastes fresh and delivers nutrition and fiber.

Our Daily Bread

I planned our weekend menu around a package of bread.  This six pack of ciabatta sandwich rolls at Aldi set me back $2.99.  The rolls were used to create three meals.  One of my goals at camp is to keep the food bill for the weekend lower than one dinner out.  The challenge last Friday was that my neighbor gave me a beer before I set out to shop!

More Deals at the DT!

Cocktail/appetizer olives for a buck... what a deal!  This is an example of the type of thing I look for when I am surfing the aisles at the Dollar Tree.  I like to have these kinds of things on hand for guests or if we are asked to bring an appetizer platter to a gathering.

Flavored Water

Yes, I love my home-brewed iced tea, but I have another favorite beverage that I'm guzzling daily too.  Each morning, I cut up veggies and fruit,  cram that in a jar with one green tea bag in the bottom, then fill the jar up with water and ice.  Usually I throw in a slice or two of ginger and a chunk of lemon (minus the peel/rind).   I bring the infusion to work and stick it in the fridge.  Once I've had my coffee, I am ready to drink my infused water for the rest of the day.  When the jar is empty, I just fill it up again with more filtered water from the cooler.

Saturday Splurge

We had a nice dinner at home tonight.  A sirloin steak cooked to near-done by the sous-vide, then finished on the grill and topped with Gorgonzola cheese.  The sides were asparagus, roasted red potatoes and a salad with greens, red peppers, mushrooms, onions and blueberries.  For the wine, 19 Crimes -- whatever red blend it is that TBG gets.  I'm not particular!

Asian History

About ten to twelve years ago, when we had a substantially lower income and a much higher debt load (a mortgage that was at least double what we carry today), we had a bad restaurant habit.  Every Thursday night, we would meet another couple out for noodles.  Then we'd generally also go out either Friday or Saturday night.  At least one weekend morning saw us in a diner for breakfast.  We also partied a lot more and often went out for Saturday night.  Now, we get our Asian fix at home.

He's Good to Have Around....

Nobody in our house is particularly handy, but I am lucky that TBG is "in the trades."  Somehow, the condensing unit got knocked off our furnace last week and all the condensation was draining on to the floor.  Not to worry, he sells these things through his job, so he brought one home and had a contractor install it.  We feel it's better to leave that stuff up to the professionals -- and they generally give him a price break on the labor as a courtesy.  It was an easy fix and we got the part at cost.  I like that I don't have to worry about that kind of thing.

You Had me at Half Price

I went out gathering the elements for dinner last night and decided I would shop Aldi.  My goal was to see what was there in either meat, poultry or fish, and then build a meal around it.  It was a surprise to find Icelandic  Halibut with a half-off sticker.  These days I try to shop every couple of days so I can avoid the weekend crowds.  My goal is to buy fresh and what we need.  Actually, my goal is to buy cheap -- so if I find anything like this marked half price, I know what I am going to build the meal around!

Beer Bread

I made more beer bread this weekend.  TBG did not finish the entire growler from a few weeks back and I am loath to let good beer go to waste.  This time I made two loaves.  I will bring some into work -- maybe on Wednesday.  The dough was 80% white whole wheat and the rest was all purpose white.  I added in some extra wheat gluten.  I love baking bread in my convection oven because the outside is crispy while the inside stays moist.

Before Brine...

 Long before I brined my first bird, I practiced the act of "Koshering."  It's been a while since I koshered a chicken and decided it was time I prepared one that way.  Koshering is a practice used to draw all blood out of a piece of meat.  The first step is submerge the meat for at least a half hour in water.  Next you remove the meat and dry it.  It is then set out to drain for at least a half hour.  Once it is drained and patted dry again, a liberal coating of Kosher salt is applied to all surfaces.  The meat sits like this for at least a half hour.  Finally, the salt is washed off and the meat is patted dry again.

Super Market Wars

Tops Markets, a local grocery chain has filed for bankruptcy.  That is no surprise to me or anyone who lives in Western NY.  The service is horrible, the prices are high, the produce spoils too quickly and they don't take good care of their stores.  Competition is stiff here -- they have to compete with Wegmans, where I would prefer to shop --  but it's just not convenient.  The nearest Wegmans is three miles away, while there are two Tops under a mile.  That might not seem like much, but when you make small shopping trips, close wins out. In our old house, I shopped at Weggie's a lot!

Eating the Rainbow

I consider myself very fortunate to be able to afford quality, healthy food.  I remember mostly eating canned and frozen veggies as a kid.  We ate fish sometimes -- always frozen, never salmon and rarely shellfish.  It's hard for me to recall if it was an issue that supermarkets didn't carry the same range of products as they do today, or if it was because of our economic situation (we were low income in a single parent household).  Maybe that is why I take food so seriously now -- but I am also undeniably frugal.  It would have been beyond me in my youth to even consider a regular weekday meal would consist of salmon, orange and yellow peppers, broccoli, fresh grated lemon, etc.  There was just no way our family would have managed that.

Carrot Crazy

 

I think of carrots as one of the best frugal food bargains.   They are cheap, healthy and versatile.  I use them in soups, stocks, salads, sauces and roast them as a side dish.  The LTSL refrigerator always has at least one carrot in the crisper drawer.  For 79 cents a pound, I am getting vitamins, fiber and a low calorie ingredient that tastes good.

My Salad Hack

We've been eating a lot more salad.  The problem is that making a salad can be time-intensive.  I admit that I use bagged/container mixes as my base.  When you want mixed greens, it doesn't seem worth it to try to hunt down individual heads of arugula, mescal, spinach leaves, etc.  I buy and organic mix in a plastic tub from Aldi.  As for topping, tomatoes are a no-go in winter -- plus I don't like them over greens.  I prefer a "toothier" and more fruit-like topping.  Last night, it was a mix of red and yellow peppers with strawberries, walnuts, mushrooms, and onions. I probably threw in a few dried cranberries.

Supermarket Dinner

 

Wegmans now sells pre-made entrees in a plastic bag that is safe to cook in.  This was developed as a team effort between the supermarket chain and the Rochester Institute of Technology and was a convenience food I wanted to sample -- it didn't hurt that they had a $4 coupon as enticement.  I was interested to see if this was something worth buying for camp.