The Art & Joy of Taking the Time

Making home cooking a priority in your life takes some work. It takes some getting used to. And once you get to this point you'll feel good about thinking ahead and taking the time to be prepared.
You'll be prepared to cook and to eat.

Yesterday, I took the time to cook my lunch meals for the week.

I made spaghetti squash, hamburgers, sauteed mushrooms and onions. I took three containers and divided each item and topped it with a handful of mozzarella cheese. Ready to grab and go for three days. For Thursday, I have frozen chili. Friday is our lunch day at work for the weekly meeting.

I got out my plastic containers, washed the grapes and filled some containers. Ready to eat or take with me.

Fresh sliced watermelon...

Prepped and ready to go.

I'm a big fan of my lettuce spinner. Of any kitchen gadget to have, this is one of my all time favorites. It's worth it to have a good one that will not only spin the greens, but comes with a cover to keep the greens fresh and ready in the frig.

No more bagged greens! Fresh, clean, crisp and ready to eat! You can create a mixture of greens and spinach - ready when you are!

By taking this time, maybe a half an hour to an hour a week, to prep ahead of time, you'll make your life easier. You'll eat better, you'll be thankful for your own forethought - you're going to be hungry, that's a given - that you took the time to take care of yourself and your family.
I keep a container of chopped onions and peeled garlic cloves in the frig. I use these ingredients often, so, when I cut one onion, I cut two or three at the same time. When I buy garlic bulbs, I peel a whole one and put it in the frig,sometimes covered in vegetable oil, in a jar.
The feeling of doing these things is a good one. Rely on yourself and know you can make it work for you. Habits like these are small, yet very powerful lifestyle changers. It's that simple.

Baking and Breaking Bread!

Baking bread today! It's one of my favorite things to do - love the smell and love, love love fresh baked bread. This recipe is a new one; it's close to the one I normally use, so I decided to give it a try. Talk about easy!! No excuses for anyone anymore -

From the package of Fleishmann's Rapid Rise Yeast  - Highly Active Yeast, I found this very simple recipe. For those of you who think homemade bread is too much work - No kneading involved!

Whole Wheat Batter Bread

4 cups Whole Wheat flour
2 envelopes Fleishmann's Rapid Rise Yeast
2 t. salt
1 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
3 T. butter or margerine
1/2 cup wheat bran

Combine 2 cups wheat flour, undissolved yeast and salt in a large bowl. Heat water, milk, honey and butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer. Add 1/2 cup flour and wheat bran, beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in remaining flour to make a stiff batter.

Place in greased loaf pan. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 45 minutes or until done (tap the top of loaf for a hollow sound). Cool on a wire rack. If you can.

This is an easy, healthy loaf of bread. You may know by now, I love my Irish soda bread, it's an easy bread and tastes delicious. So, I'm adding my this to my list of fast and easy breads. I cannot live without good bread!!

The above recipe is exactly as it appears on the package. However, I cut the recipe in half for myself and did not have honey, so I used about a teaspoon of brown sugar. Delicious!!!!

I try very hard to make myself walk away, out of the kitchen while bread cools, so I don't ruin it by trying to slice it. This bread cooled well enough, well enough to cut into about half of it, so far. And, I can tell you, it's pretty certain, that I will be making this bread again in a couple of days. Can't seem to keep my grubby hands off...

Week 22

Week 22
6/17/12

I made it back to the co-op!
Cucumber, large 1
Mushrooms, 8oz.
Green leaf lettuce 1
Potatoes 5# bag
Spaghetti squash medium size 2
Watermelon small 1
Bananas 6
Apricots & Plums mixture 4 lbs
Grapes 2lbs
Total 15.00 (plus 1.50 fee)

A nice mixture this week. I've been eating grapes all day - sweet and crunchy!

It's a good thing I love apricots and plums! Sweet and juicy plums, yum!

Market Shopping
Week 22
6/17/12

Pinto beans 1.89
Yogurt, plain 32 oz 2.59
Mozzarella cheese 1.79
Ground beef 3.91
Milk 1.99
Half and half 1.29
Chocolate Almond milk 1.99
Total 15.45
Coconut water 2.59
Revised total 18.04

Just basics, nothing too exciting. I had some errands to run after work, it was verrry hot and I got a coconut water, as I was feeling dehydrated. I know there was a mistake on that one, there were others and I chose this particular one because it was on sale. for 1.89 - another mistake, but not caught on time. The chocolate almond milk used to be something I got regularly, but haven't for a few years. To me, it's decadent and it's my treat this week.

Week 21

Week 21
6/10/12

Lettuce, red leaf .99
Zucchini .94
Oat bran 1.15
Milk 1.99
Stew meat 3.63
Half and half 1.29
Zoom, Krusteaz 2.39
Malt o'Meal, chocolate 4.99
Total 17.37

In order to not forget...I will be signing up for Saturday's food co-op tomorrow! The window of opportunity, to sign-up, is from Monday at noon to Tuesday at 10PM. Waiting till the last minute never works for me, something always seems to come up and get in my way! Monday night after work is going to be my designated time, from now on.

I had a few tomatoes left and peppers frozen. I do really feel the need to clean out my refrigerator. You'll notice the only time I call my frig a refrigerator is when it's gone awry and needs some TLC. Some organizing and using up what's left is going to be taking place this afternoon.

Right now, I have in the crockpot, the stew meat with tomatoes, zucchini, onions and garlic, to be poured over some brown rice for dinner tonight and a few lunches. At least four meals.

I have kicked my cold cereal habit, a few years back. Raisin bran is my cereal of choice - store brand - and I eat it quite often. When Chris was growing up, Jerry Seinfeld had nothing on me; I had the collection going on, sometimes 6 or 7 cereals at a time. Always a gallon of fat-free milk. It was breakfast (or a portion of it), it was dinner, on occasion - I always knew I was a cereal junkie. Now, however, I don't buy it like I used to. Raisin bran and the occasional box of Life will be the only ones you'll see in my cupboard.

Hot cereal was another story, altogether. I have always liked chocolate Malt o'Meal, since I was a child. Plain Malt o'Meal, Cream of Wheat, Cream of Rice, Bob's Red Mill 7 or 10 grain, Wheatena, and good old corn meal mush, which I think I make really decadently with a splash of evaporated milk. I have never tried Zoom by Krusteaz, and I have to say I really like it. Its one ingredient is what caught my eye: Whole Wheat. This cereal cooks to a soft texture, unlike some others that remain grainy after cooking, which, I like sometimes, too. Zoom was a nice surprise and this morning, I cooked up enough to last a couple of days at work. Just a quick reheat and it's ready.

Also, there are eggs for dinner during the week, with a tossed salad. Simple food, easy to prepare and satisfying. If I do feel the need for something else, I have enough in my budget to pop into the market this week!

Setting A Food Budget

How much should a person spend on food each month?

Good question. Finding a budget that is workable for you and your family is strictly up to you and your habits and considers these factors, as well:
Where you live.
Where you shop.
How much you make.
What you want to spend.
What you want to eat.
What are your savings goals.

A major factor is how much do want to cook? How much time can you realistically spend cooking? Would you like to set yourself up better for home cooking? You simply can set your budget to whatever you want realistically, but you have to learn to think ahead. You have to learn how to buy food differently to your past habits.

1. The first thing you should do is look at your habits, now.
What are you eating? How much of your meals are cooked from scratch, of at all?

2. You want to eat well; This is an obvious choice and benefit of good, solid food budgeting. If so, how are you going to adjust for the meals you might normally eat that are not healthy and will not fall into your budget now? Plan and look ahead to your meals for the week. Make sure you make some exceptions to things you really like and cannot do without. If you like chocolate, make sure to have what you like. In order to balance this cost, figure a way to save with other items. Buy more when something you like is on sale - as often as you can.

3. Make a pact with yourself to not waste food. This is such a good, frugal habit to get into that it will end up having a major impact on your food budget. If you think you have to use up something or eat it before it goes bad - you set yourself up for success with a budget. Use up what you have as for fresh produce, dairy and fresh meats - before you restock. Use up rotational items in your freezer - don't allow good food to go to waste! Rotate and restock as you cook and freeze food. If something may take a while to eat or you know you won't use all of it - freeze a portion. Your freezer should be your best friend for not letting food go to waste.

4. Find a budget and stick to it. Plan ahead. Look for sales. Know your kitchen - know what's in your cupboards, your frig and your freezer. What are you thinking of cooking? Make a list. When you come home from the market - Put it all together. Fine tune a process for yourself that works for you; for your kitchen and your household. Be as strict as you can be. But if you find a sale on something that would be able to go in the freezer or be canned, think about the impact on your present budget and how that might be good for you in the long term.

My budget is really low at $30 A Week. I've been reviewing this over and over in my head. Annually, it's $1560 a year. A single woman should have a range of $1700 to $2700. I, actually, think I'm doing well this budget. I would not increase it by very much when it's over. For myself, I could do very well on $2000 - $2400 a year. To not waste food at all, but enjoy some freedom, I would set my budget at $42 a week - $2184/yr - not much of an increase but allowing freedom to buy different items or specialty items. I don't say quality, because, I don't believe I'm buying low quality food; not at all.

Exploring your own habits of eating and spending and creating a budget is one of the most useful things you can do to get a handle on waste and buying food with very low nutritional value, i.e., junk. Which, I think, ultimately, leads to a healthier more conscious approach to buying, cooking and eating wisely.

http://lifehacker.com/5887545/how-do-i-figure-out-my-monthly-food-budget

Kitchen Scraps

I just read a great article on the Huffington Post. Kitchen scraps are a big deal. We do spend a lot of our money on food, so these ideas make perfect sense. Ways to make use of every single scrap is utterly a talent. Here are some I learned and some I know and some I just thought of - this was really inspiring for me!

Using a sliced lemon to clean the stove top or the counter and then toss into the disposal for a lemony-clean smelling disposal is well-known and very useful.

One that really caught my eye was potato peels: fry them up and toss with salt and paprika. Wow, I love this idea and cannot wait to try it - homemade chips! I wonder if you can do the same thing with carrots...hmmm. Sweet potatoes. This could be one of my new favorite things.

Lemon peel to whiten teeth is another good one: cut a piece of lemon rind into a wedge, place on teeth and for about 15 minutes and rinse well.

Dry orange peel and allow to dry on the counter or in a very low oven, about 200 degrees, until the peel feels dry. Add to black tea, or iced tea for flavor.

Also, add the orange peels to ice water, along with some cucumber peels for a perfect 'spa water,' one of my favorites. This is soooo refreshing! No sugar, just the peels - perfectly delicious!

Save coffee grounds for your compost heap! I have heard roses grow well with coffee grounds mixed into their soil.

Apple cores make apple jelly - this one I love, also. Apples have plenty of natural pectin, see my post from Apple Butter Day! Crafster.com  has the recipe and I'll be doing that one, soon.

Feed birds leftover, cooked rice - nice, but, I freeze mine.

Apple peels, done with a peeler, dried in the oven, make great apple chips.

I've heard of people drinking potato water, after potatoes have boiled, supposedly it's really good for you. Could be so with other vegetable water, like artichoke water, possibly to make a broth or to add to beans.

Lastly, if you have a garden and want to make your own compost, you can mix in just about anything edible - all kitchen scraps, egg shells and coffee. I know, I know...I'm just not there yet as far as gardening goes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/01/orange-peel-makes-tea_n_1560048.html?ref=kitchendaily#s1040724&title=Apple_Peels_To

Week 20

Week 20
6/3/12
Bread flour 4.99
Milk 1.99
Chocolate marzipan 3.59
Truffles, Lindt, 3 1.17
Butter 2.00
Sesame seeds 1.69
Paprika 1.69
English muffins 3.19
Total 20.31

I missed the boat this week - Since I was a day off from Memorial Day, I forgot to sign-up for the food co-op. I have a lot leftover, and I froze peppers (diced). Still have 4 tomatoes, 4 bananas and onions and potatoes. My shopping this week looks fattening and junky with all the chocolate. But, I'm pretty sure I have enough healthy food to keep a well balanced diet. I just made a frittata and baked some potatoes for my lunches this week. The English muffins are actually Australian toaster biscuits, they taste just like fluffier English muffins. I got bread flour so I can get back on track with my bread baking and it makes a great pizza crust - crispy and chewy! Still have plenty of whole wheat tortillas and cheese - plus beans for some killer burritos!

Felt a bit overly tired this weekend - had a good long walk yesterday and have been reading today. Just getting some needed r & r - all fresh and ready for tomorrow!?

Mindless Eating vs. Mindful Eating

Habits can change, once we have the desire to do it. And once we see what we've been doing. Retrospection is the key to gaining perspective and doing something differently.

Some days I find myself eating and picking or piece-mealing after I've cooked something like a loaf of bread or cookies or a pasta dish. If it's out on the counter one bite will lead to another an hour later or so. Not good. But, I love food and eating makes me, I think, very happy. This includes work days when something brought in as a treat is mindlessly picked on throughout the day. Not good. Food at work makes the day go by faster, so it seems and generally puts people in a happier mood. Not altogether true.

How do I put this into perspective? How do I change back to my good habits that so easily get changed when broken just a few times?

At work, I have limited myself to just Fridays. Friday is lunch meeting day and if available, a special treat, at work.

At home, to break my habit of nabbing a bite of something before my meal and a couple of hours later, after my meal, I try to just eat at certain times and only those times. Hard, yes. And to eliminate my worst habit of eating late, I try not to eat after 7:30PM. After that I can have a glass of milk or tea to help me sleep. If I really want something in particular, I include that with my meal or right after. 

Meal times really help me eliminate mindless eating. Keeping snacks at bay - most of the time - unless I'm urgently hungry, is a key note to stopping mindless eating altogether.

To sit and have a plate of food, or exactly what I'm about to eat, right in front of me, carves out mealtime in its entirety. This is it. This is its' time. At that time it's all about the food and the meal, nothing else. Mindfully eating, well.

Simple as it sounds? Simplicity causes it to be overlooked - and looking to diets is the most common way out. You think you're going to try something else to get back on track while not eliminating the habits that got you to the mindlessness in the first place. It's a vicious circle.

Being aware of what you do and what you want will bring you back to the right place. Set the table, put the food in front of you and eat, and that's it. Until meal time rolls around the next time. And it will. Know that every time a bite tries to make its way to your mouth, between meals.

Celebrating 300 Blog Posts!!

Notice the new face of Inspired Home Cooking. Less complicated and streamlined so the page is easier to read.

I figured with two years under my belt, 300 blog posts (I can't believe it, either), and a book to boot I needed to refresh the face of my blog. But, I'm not done yet - a new banner logo is yet to come!

Hopefully, with time it'll be bigger and better. We've got roots now, firmly planted in the ground so there's only room to grow.

I hope you're enjoying Inspired Home Cooking as much as I am!

Stay tuned - there's more to come!

Slow Cooking is Hot Right Now

Although, the weather is still a bit unpredictable, I'm pretty sure the heat's coming. As far as cooking goes, that can mean a different take on how you cook your meals. Using a barbecue is a sure bet in the summertime. Using a microwave or toaster oven are, also, great alternatives. Eating salads and stove-top cooked meals are a good alternative to keeping an oven "off" during the hot months.

A meal isn't something you should just pop in the microwave and get over with - anytime, whether it's hot outside or you're busy. Using a crockpot is something to do to alleviate the stress of being tired and having to cook and, also, when it's hot to not have to heat up the house.  Plus, you get to smell the aroma of food cooking to awaken the senses and get your digestive juices flowing, without having to do too much. Fill it and go, is basically all you need to do.

So, you've got meat for the grill. Salad stuff in the frig. And you're craving a baked potato. Did you know you can cook baked potatoes in your Crockpot?

Wash and dry the amount of potatoes you want.
Prick them with a fork.
Wrap them individually in foil.
Place potatoes in Crockpot on high for 6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.

That's right, no water, just put potatoes into a dry Crockpot.

This might come in handy if you're working all day and have some meat marinading for the grill and want to have everything ready when you get home. Voila!!

Stuffed Spuds are a great quick meal. Easy to take to work - bake them in the Crockpot, then divide and make individual servings for lunches with toppings. Keep in the frig ready to grab and go on your way out the door for work.

Lots of kids around and in and out of the house? Keep a crockpot filled with hot dogs. Fill with just a half a cup of hot water or beer (the alcohol cooks off), a package or two of hot dogs and turn on high. Ready in about 1 hour. Just keep warm for the stragglers. Condiments in the frig and you're all set. Coleslaw ready to top them, if you're one of those...

Sometimes a day with the family on the beach or on the water somewhere deserves a Crockpot feast. Just put a roast in the Crockpot before you leave - very simple with salt and pepper and some garlic. Pour a can of diced tomatoes on top. When you come home, all you have to do is shred the meat, mix with the juices from the tomatoes. Have ready buns and prepared barbecue sauce and you're good to go. After a day of sun, coming home to a hot shower and a house smelling this good is one of life's simple pleasures.

Did you know that a cast iron Dutch oven is the original slow cooker. A hot Dutch oven that's been on top of the fire can be filled with meat, beans and spices a potatoes. A hole is dug. Hot coals are placed on the bottom of the hole, the Dutch oven is placed on top. Hot coals are placed around and on top of the oven as snuggly as possible. A board is placed over the top of the hole with a marker of some kind identifying it's hot. A long day hunting, fishing or exploring country - and back to camp and Voila! Dinner is served, folks! Very cool, just thought I'd share.

Of all the kitchen appliances out there, the Crockpot is the Rock Star!

Here are some inspiring resources for recipes:

http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/bltopcp.htm

http://busycooks.about.com/od/favoritecrockpotrecipes/a/favoritecrockpo.htm

http://www.recipe4living.com/articles/the_25_best_crockpot_recipes_countdown.htm

http://www.food.com/recipes/crock-pot-slow-cooker

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/slow-cooker/

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/main-dish/slow-cooker/top.aspx

Week 19

 Week 19
5/27/12

Eggs, 2 dozen 2.50
Walnuts, bulk 1.80
Tortillas, wheat, 24 3.99
Cottage cheese 1.79
Milk 1.99
Half and half 1.29
Sour cream .89
Cheddar cheese, 2 lb 5.99
Total 20.24

I went over by 5.24. Most of these items will last over a week - the eggs, walnuts, tortillas, sour cream and cheddar will last 2 weeks or longer. No meat this week. Not a big deal, I have some frozen beef and chili, and then I have eggs, cheese and cottage cheese. Plus, in my pantry, I have beans and rice to complete meals with fresh produce.

Look at this weeks co-op bounty!

 Orange Peppers

 Artichokes       

 Apple Butter!  

5 small peaches

6 bananas

5 Valencia oranges

3 orange peppers

14 small apples

3 artichokes

1 cantaloupe

1 Romaine lettuce

6 corn

4 tomatoes

4 carrots

Total 15.00

Fee 1.50

Wow! With the apples I had from last week and this week - it was Apple Butter Time! I absolutely love canning, the old fashioned way using a big pot of boiling water for a hot water bath. I love to open a cupboard and see jars of different sizes with homemade jams, sauces, whole beans and lots of other good stuff. These jars of apple butter, also, make great gifts - as will many other jars of homemade stuff. Special gifts for special people.

I got so excited about the apple butter, I didn't realize I didn't have anything to go with it...for me...right then and there. So at the end of it all, I made a quick Irish soda bread and had that with my dinner...slathered with you know what. Heaven...on...earth.

The picture above with the jars on the blue and white checked cloth looks a little quaint and homey...all in a days work. Turn the jars upside down to cool, a trick I learned from my step-mom, to get a better seal on the lid.

The recipe I used was from Ball. Their book on canning recipes - also, available online. I had 3.4 pounds apples, so I reduced the sugar to 3 cups and added a bit more cinnamon and cloves. The long part is peeling and coring, of course. But, worth every minute! And the house smelled AMAZING!

Here is the recipe I got from Ball's Blue Book of Preserving. I was going to just post the link, however, the on-line recipe is much different from the one in the book.

4 pounds apples, about 16 medium

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Core, peel and quarter apples. Combine apples with 2 cups water in large saucepot. Simmer until apples are soft. Puree using a food mill or food processor (I used a blender, works just fine). Measure the apple pulp.

Combine apple pulp, sugar and spices in a large saucepot. Cook slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir to prevent sticking. Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Their online recipe adds brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg, along with lemon juice and pectin.

I would have used the brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg but not the lemon juice or pectin. Apples have plenty of their own pectin and I feel this is just a newly added selling point as I have never seen pectin added to apples. Apple butter certainly does not need a costly ingredient like pectin.

My own special ingredient that I really like to add to cinnamon and spice flavors is Angostura bitters. I don't cook it with the apple butter in the pot. I like to add it afterward, a few dashes per jar, mixed in to get the air bubbles out. If you're ever making Apple Pie, be sure to add a teaspoon - your apple pie will never be the same again!

Kitchen Habits

Knowing your way around a kitchen and making it work for you is something money can't buy. Skills and habits and knowing what flows in and what can be made into something to be eaten now and later. What's fresh today and what's going to be fresh tomorrow or the next day. Movement in the kitchen should be a constant flow. And it's a good feeling knowing that you're the one making it work.
Good kitchen habits extend to out to shopping and buying and then come home to the kitchen. A kitchen is a place of creativity and nourishment. Of every shape and size, it's a healthy place for cups of tea for encouragement to long simmering soups to soothe the soul. A working place, it's the most giving that a place in our home can be. It's a place; not a station; not a reheating zone. It's a place to linger and smell and taste and eat.
What we do there defines our lives. Simple? Yes. Powerful. Yes.
Cooking can be overwhelming. Just the thought of cooking can be daunting. Keeping your kitchen a kitchen will help. Space may be minimal, but try, when you're cooking to keep the counters clear and clean. Use the space for food you're preparing and nothing else. Keep your bills in a separate place while you cook. It helps to have an inspiration board in the kitchen or near the kitchen with pictures and recipes of foods you'd like to make. Tables and presentations of meals and food that you want to try.

An organized space with a place for what you need, there for you when you reach for it. If you have a small space. Keep what you need out and useful. I lived on boats for 7 years, I can tell you a lot about how to work with small galley kitchens. You don't need a lot of gadgets and special appliances for everything you cook. Keep it very simple and it will work for you. And storage space can always be made in places away from the working area of the kitchen.

Allow it to get messy; that's what happens when you cook. Just clean it up. That's another thing people can be afraid of - cleaning up a messy kitchen, the pots and pans and stuck on messes from cooking. It's supposed to be that way - get yourself prepared for it. Clean as much as you can as you go. Keep a sink full of hot soapy water. Dishrags to wipe down counters. Just know that this is a part of what makes it such nourishing place.

What to Make from Scratch?

Truthfully, I am a baker. Anything baked is a highlight for me. So, my thing is, I bake, anything I can. A few times a year, I do opt out and buy a loaf of bread. But, I, really like my own best.

Bread, cake, pizza crust - I bake a lot. I love the smell. I love, love, love that I can do it, easily and mine is better than what I could buy prepared. I'm a snob for my own baked goods. And I earned it.

Others take different routes; I hear of people making cheese and butter, growing amazing vegetable gardens (maybe, I'll get there one day), yogurt, smoked meats and fish (hey, Chris, don't forget about Mom).

I highly recommend canning. It doesn't have to be 20 pounds of one variety, although this is great if it happens to you. But, just an over-abundance of something. For instance, I got tired of the apricots from the co-op. I had some and then I had some more, which turned out to be about 4 cups of fruit, which made 3 jars of jam last Sunday. I am thinking, apple butter, next, since I have several apples and I love apple butter. That may make a few jars. There I'll have 5 or 6 jars and it's only the end of May. No huge effort, just a little time spent here and there and I always have homemade jam. Following me? Keeping up with the flow?

There are some things I'd like to try to do: pickled, spiced green beans, refrigerator pickles - oh, and salsa. Something like salsa, it seems like there are so many ingredients and it's time consuming to chop up - well, it's pretty easy when you have a blender! I think I can do it, just a few jars here and there. Although, it can be really cool to see a line-up on the counter of a couple dozen jars of something. Who knows? Just another thing I like to do.

So, I bake and I can and freeze. And I'm lucky enough to have a son who will hopefully, give me a few pounds of smoked fish and some elk meat.

Think about what you can do yourself. Think about what you eat a lot of on a daily basis. Do you have cereal or granola or yogurt everyday? How could you make that? What are you good at cooking? If you get an abundance of something, can you can or freeze some?

A helpful way to start is by keeping your grocery receipts. Look at what you buy. Then look at what you can make from scratch.

Week 18

Week 18
5/20/12

Produce from Bountifulbaskets.org
Pears, 4
Corn, 4 ears
Carrots, 6
Tomatoes, 5
Apricots, 11
Bananas, 6
Cauliflower, 1 large head
Honeydew melon, 1
Onions, 7 medium
Cucumber, 1 large
Green bell peppers, 3
Lemons, 3
Blackberries, 6oz.

Total 15.00
Fee 1.50
Amazing!!!


Regular market shopping, so far.
Nonfat vanilla yogurt, 32oz  3.99
Half and half, pint 1.29
Total 5.28

Wal-mart
Sugar, 5lb 2.88
Dark chocolate 1.97
Yeast, 1.18
Subtotal 6.03
Tax .36
Total 6.39

Total this week 28.17

Total re-cap of my budget

540.00 18 weeks budget
536.23 18 weeks spent
   3.77 Under budgets

I feel like with the food co-op I have an abundance of food. Something is always ripening, needing to be eaten or the question of how should I fix it? comes up. I have leftovers from last week: apricots, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes. I'm outta jam - so I'll make some with the apricots and will use it right away so I won't do the whole canning process. I have a lot of cookingand prepping to do today, so I'm going to get to it.

Week 17, For the Love of Bread and Chocolate

Week 17, Misc Items

I went to the store an additional 2nd and 3rd time.

2nd Trip - Craving
2qty Lindt truffles .78
Tiger's milk bar .79
Subtotal 1.57
Tax .09
Total 1.66

I am not a fan of protein bars for meal replacement. When I was in jr high and high school I ate a lot of Tiger's milk bars. And I ate them usually with a banana - and I ate them on a daily basis. I love the taste, though not something I would eat for real food, there's just something about them that's like chocolate but not chocolate - it did hit the spot. I guess, I had a sort of chocolate-craving-human moment that day. I ate the Tiger's milk bar right when I got home!

3rd Trip - Feeling a bit off
Demi-baguette 1.49
Tax .09
Total 1.58

I took a break from work to walk 2 blocks to the market. I don't know if I was just feeling the need for a carb, but when I walked by the bread I knew I needed it. Just simple bread to go with my salad that I brought for lunch.

Combined Total 3.24

Chocolate and Bread. Bread and Chocolate. What can I say? I didn't go off budget, I'm still below my total. This could have happened at any time of my life - it's just what happens sometimes.

Something to Chew On

I'm going above and beyond here. I just read this great article on the HuffingtonPost that Home Cooking increases longevity. Just tooting my own horn here, but this exactly what I've been writing about on this verrry blog for the last 2 years. Buying processed food, buying take-out, driving through the drive-thru's, and what is it that's missing besides nutritional value? All of the soul nourishing qualities that come from home cooking. Participating in putting meals together and shopping and cooking - this is also what's missing when we don't cook.

We have this tendency to think cooking is a chore. Why? Because it's been ingrained into our heads by the people who want us to buy their food products. And they are products, not real food. Also, telling us we need the time they can save us to do other things. While we just simply go from being hungry to eating. No bother with all the steps to get to eating. Thought and care are human things; they're actions that make us human. Simple human actions with soul nourishing qualities that increase our longevity.

I've written a lot about this. I've done my homework. I've driven through a drive-thru in my time, plenty of times. But, I don't anymore. I have good reason not to and am better off in so many ways. I know in my heart there are many others just like me. Paying bills before buying food. Single-parenting. Coupon cutting. Vicious life cycles of healthy eating and working out, to stress-eating-after-work-happy-hours with co-workers. Too much on the table? Yep, you got that right, except, not enough home cooked food on the table.

One day driving somewhere, to or from home, I can't remember, I said to my son, 'Do you want to go to Jack in the Box?' and he said, 'No, I want real food.' He was in high school at the time. My eating habits didn't change overnight from that moment on, it started to happened as my thought process gradually changed. What did happen right away was an enormous satisfaction from my own cooking. A new found appreciation for what I could make.

I've shared a lot in my book - it's a small helpful book. I feel like there are recipe books galore and an abundance of resources on the internet. What I wanted to do was create a resource for people to use as a tool for using their kitchen. For people to look to for time saving and economical shopping and creating life in their own kitchen; To help you create life in your kitchen. That's what this blog and my little book are all about; to inspire you.

Connecting with Your Kitchen

A really good cook always has an intimate relationship with every corner of their kitchen.
There's an order with the food that comes and goes. A natural place of things needed; when and where they need to be used. Mugs next to the coffee pot. Glasses next to the frig. Utensils next to the stove. A flow of need and use. Fresh produce comes in and gets washed and placed to ripen on the counter or ready in the frig. Meats get cut, possibly put to marinade or rubbed. Maybe some gets divided and frozen. Flour poured into airtight containers. Beans and rice lined up in jars.

It takes effort and the effort should make you feel good about what's going on in your kitchen. The movement and flow make it work for you. Small tasks you do when you come home from the market - wash and prep foods and get things set for the food you just bought that you're going to be cooking, doing these things up front sets the tone. Setting out a bowl of fruit that's inviting, not only looks pretty but will be calling your name as it ripens.

Use this time, it's not a monotonous chore, but a natural act of connecting with what your kitchen is going to do, a huge part of the relationship we need to forge. Think about what you want to take place there and the food you want to make and beautiful aromas it will bring.

Can you picture this life happening in your kitchen? Wouldn't it be nice?

You set the tone.

Week 17

Week 17
5/13/12

I couldn't be more excited!

Sugar, 1lb 1.19
Chocolate chips, bulk 1.98
Yeast, 3pk 1.99
Flour, baker's choice bulk 1.38
Flour, whole wheat pastry, bulk .90
Half and half 1.39
Oatmeal, bulk .75
Raisins 1.03
Ground beef 3.23
Total 13.84

See my previous post which is included in this weeks' budget!

I love this week. I'm full of food - I have great fresh produce. I baked an awesome loaf of bread with this great bread flour, Baker's Choice, a bread flour. Bread flour is a high gluten flour best for breads and pizza crusts, and laminated doughs like for croissant. This brand, Baker's Choice made a high light bread with a light, delicate, crispy crust - I couldn't get enough of it. I just used my basic recipe, for flour, I used 1 cup of Baker's Choice and 2 cups whole wheat flour. I have this recipe posted on Recipes for my Son.

I, also, baked some peanut butter - oatmeal cookies. I got the recipe from my Cooking Matters book, and, although, I didn't go by the full recipe; I added nuts and coconut - they are nice and crunchy, very little sugar - so I can have them for breakfast with some fruit. There is, also, a banana in the recipe, which I find is a great low-fat/calorie binder and makes a great cookie. I was worried the flavor of the overripe banana would over-power the other ingredients, but it didn't. I think this cookie could actually be made with sweet potato or pumpkin - yummy alternative.

Prepping for the week, I'll make some brown rice. Yesterday, I boiled potatoes - since I have an abundant supply, and made potato salad and left some plain to fry or toss in salad. I still have 6 eggs. I've got ground beef and beans and my freezer has several meals of chili, beans and soup.

Last week, I'd written about items I would buy more of if I could afford it; I wrote that I would buy more mango and avocado and lo and behold, I got them yesterday at the co-op.

This is life - buying and eating on $30 a week. What do you think? For me, personally, I find it works just fine; it's efficient to buy on a budget; I cook a lot; I'm planning my meals; I'm enjoying my food and my meals. Just think these 3 things: Buy well, Plan well and Cook well. It's simply a pattern with food and cooking and it just takes a little while to get used to. The rewards are there for everyone to benefit from!

My New Favorite Thing

I joined the local food co-op and I am so excited!

Just look at all this amazing fresh STUFF!  



This weeks' bounty!

 All of this was just half of my weekly budget. All of this I was able to afford for myself on a limited budget. Fresh, healthy produce at a very reasonable price. Food co-ops are becoming so in demand they are popping up all over. I love, love, love this!

I've known about food co-ops for years. Although, the ones I've known have been more like a small market. This process was so streamlined, I just went on their site, signed up. Printed my confirmation and showed up at the designated time with my own bags. After standing in line for not very long, I checked in and was given my produce to bag myself. Done. Simple. Efficient. Affordable. By setting up this way it's become even more economical.

I had to take a picture of this - doesn't it all look beautiful with my bread sitting in front!

This is what got today:
Red potatoes, approx 3 2/3lb
Tomatoes, about 2 1/2lb (7)
Bananas, 2 1/2lb (5)
Apples, 2lb (5)
Blackberries 6oz
Lettuce, green leaf, 1 bunch
Spinach, 1 bunch
2 Mango
3 Avocado
11 Apricots
1 Honeydew melon
1 Pineapple

Total $15
Weekly charge 1.50
First time set-up 3.00

All I can say is, if you have a food co-op or CSA available to you in your area - JOIN. It is so, so worth it!

www.bountifulbaskets.org

The Process of Our Disconnection

This week in our Cooking Matters class we cut up whole chickens into pieces. Cutting up a whole chicken is not a nice job, but fairly easy once you get the hang of it. It is less expensive per pound to buy a whole chicken rather than buying the pieces already cut up. Makes perfect sense.

One remark from a young girl made me think, a lot. She said she had eaten chicken nuggets that day and eats chicken on a regular basis but cutting a chicken did not appeal to her. She would rather not know the process of having to cut a chicken. It is this disconnection that worried me. Her comments spoke how many people feel about it. Knowing something like this, she feared, may change her mind about eating it.

As consumers, in order to get us to buy, have had it made easier on us for exactly this reason. Keep certain things out of our sight, make it pleasant and easy to buy and prepare and we will buy more of it the way it's presented to us. Sounds logical in that perspective.

Home cooks looking to become more economical and buy whole foods to actually cook will learn some kitchen tasks are not always necessary but should be learned for just the know-how of being self-sufficient. Home cooking is not perfect nor is every task going to be pleasant. Just like life.

We have this beautifully processed nugget of chicken, frozen, ready to take home and pop in the oven or microwave and bam we have dinner. Of course, now we have access to the actual poultry houses and have visuals of these chickens grown in small cages, with their beaks cut off never seeing the light of day. A horrendous and horrifying thought - soon to be a processed chicken nugget! And the consumer is disconnected with the product in its real, whole, natural form. Did they think we'd never discover the process of processed foods? Because if we found out we would feel like the girl who was scared of knowing how to cut up a chicken. They hoped we'd take the easy way out and just keep buying food processed so we would not have to deal with an unpleasant task. And we did, for a while. But it doesn't sound logical anymore. Doesn't make me feel human and I like feeling human.

Out of necessity and self-determination people are looking for knowledge about their food - thank goodness. Where it comes from, how it's grown and it is now a joy to many people to see food in its natural beautiful form. Not only to see it naturally but experience it, as well. And to learn to cook food as a whole natural product is the process of reconnecting that many people want to do. It is now apparent to me that the younger people learn about food and cooking, the better. 

In the end, you may decide to buy your chicken cut up. But knowing what a chicken should look like is important. Knowing the pieces you can get from an actual chicken is important. It is having simple knowledge like this that helps us to reconnect.

My Thoughts on Living on a Budget

Buying just food, is no problem at all on $30 a week. This is my 16th week of living on $30 a week. Adjustments were made for my job and for certain things that may come up and some that definitely will. So far my concessions for work and coffee have been the main adjustments and it has all been very straightforward. I'm happy with the way I've been cooking and eating, not much has changed as far as my diet is concerned.

SNAP is supplemental and I have to remind myself that fact. I hope people with families are able to get food from other sources, if they need to. From my own standpoint and having actually gone through rough spots due to high bills at times and being jobless at other times, I have managed. There was never a time when I thought I couldn't get by with a child with what was available to me. People helped, too; family and friends with short loans to get from paycheck to paycheck. It's not an ideal way to live. A good job is an important part of your life: It gives life. The times I did struggle were of my own doing, I bit off more than I could chew with payments and I should've been much more careful with money. Instead of spending, I should've saved. But I learned. I learned the hard way. Even though, I do have to say that I was taught well - the few people I learned money skills from did teach me about not owing people money and to work efficiently and be reliable and trustworthy and honest. And then came social trends - cars and furniture and clothes, credit card bills adding up all the time. Once this happens you realize, it's time to look for a way out and you have reassess spending habits. Basic money skills go a long way. Rethinking how to do things, scaling back in a way that does not leave you feeling deprived, but leaves you feeling free. Living within your means, means a lot.

At this point in my budget project, I've done a lot of thinking about how much is spent on quality. I am going to have real life figures. I'm keeping tabs on my food budget, a separate tally of coffee, and my work meals, and anything food related that comes up. It's interesting now and the reflection on this year I hope will help others in learning to budget and live off of real food that is home cooked.

So far, quite honestly, there would be some things I know I would add to be included in my future budget. I'd cook more with alcohol, I love to cook with sherry and marsala - I have not used any at all. I'd buy different oils like walnut and good quality olive oil. I'd definitely buy more chocolate. Spices and flavors like extracts are pricey items but they last a long time - a once or twice a year expense. Nuts are a big issue with me, I love them like crazy, but, I've only been buying walnuts. I would buy more of a variety to keep on hand, I love to cook with them and just simply eat them. Cheese is another item that occasionally I'd buy something more expensive, a brie or swiss or smoked mozzarella. Produce like avocados and mangoes that are more expensive, I may buy more of when they are in season.

Looking at my spending habits this year and adding in these other things for my future budget, I think I'll be able to have a realistic view of how to live on a limited budget and how to live within my own means in the future. Adding in the above items, and in keeping with not only my means but a healthy diet of home cooking, my weekly budget will probably not change all that much - I'm thinking the increase would be about five to ten dollars. And that's do-able!

A Little Participation Goes A Long Way

I was just reading this article on the Huffington Post that I found really interesting and relates well to the message of Inspired Home Cooking. The topic of obesity and how it relates to our own personal economic state has been coming up in many online articles recently. A much debated and studied topic, obesity is the product of many different factors: fear of being without, ads for fast food and not understanding the relation of fat and calories to nutrition.

The author brings up the subject of instant gratification when our lives are faced with adversity and economic struggle. We sort of stock up on instant gratification when it's available to us - because we're living in a world of deprivation, so we think. Time, also, when we think we have plenty of time we tend to make healthier choices. If we have a feeling of urgency, we tend to need instant gratification.

At the end of the article, I found the best and most useful information: "While it's not clear just how these findings might translate into strategies to undo this unrelenting daily priming, these findings suggests that it may not be enough to simply inform people about the calories and nutrition in this or that food and expect them to make disciplined food choices."

I translate it like this: Information and assistance can only go so far. It's important to become more involved in a hands on way. Encouragement with participation becomes experience which become life habits.

Just cook as much as possible. Teach your kids to cook. Get involved with the food you buy; the food you cook; the food you eat. Food is not entertainment with cartoon characters and music. It's time to get over that.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wray-herbert/let-us-eat-cake-the-parad_b_1471315.html?ref=food&ir=Food

Week 16

Week 16
5/6/12

Apples (3 golden delicious) 1.91
Kale (1 lg bunch) 2.29
Tomatoes (4 roma) .72
Sweet potatoes (2) 1.71
Bananas (4) 1.47
Cilantro (1 bunch) .50
Toblerone 2.29
Lindt truffle .39
Carrots (3 loose) .77
Mango (1 lg) 1.99
Avocado (1 lg) 1.99
Milk 1.99
Pinto beans, dry 1.89
Ground turkey 2.81
Mozzarella, 2lb 7.99
Total 30.72

Hmm. Could've sworn that cheese was on sale for 6.99. It took me a while to decide to buy it, because of the price. I love all the produce I got this week - I am so looking forward to the mango and the avocado is just perfect! I just ate a kale salad with tomato, avocado, little cheese tossed with rice vinegar and a little veg oil.

Yesterday, I made a huge batch of chili and froze some. I took a look at my freezer situation while I was in there and realized I have lunches for about 2 weeks, with all the soup I've frozen and some beef made in the crockpot just over a month ago. And some beans that need to be eaten soon --Stocked! That's a good feeling.

Got some carrot muffins in the oven - to satisfy my sweet tooth and a couple breakfasts, maybe with a hard-boiled egg. Smells good in here!

My gardening skills are pretty lousy, so tomorrow I'm looking into the local CSA. I am determined to get something out of it, charm and character, is my hope, but probably not much in the way of freezing and canning. I was so looking forward to my garden curbing some of my food budget -- I'll just have to see.

The chocolate is gone...that was to be expected.

All I Want is Chocolate

I went to the market last night after work. As I was standing in line, I gave in and got a Toblerone bar and one Lindt chocolate. I've bought chocolate before on this budget o'mine, but the problem is that today it's all I've wanted. And I have completely given into this craving. I love, love, love chocolate - as many people do, but to be on a budget and have a craving like this has made me think, I could only do this once in a blue moon - giving in to cravings is something I have not really thought about. So, I did.

A craving is not necessarily nutritious. You might have a taste for something or cook something that is particularly good and you may want more and more. A craving for chocolate or an iced mocha or a certain ice cream or whatever you can't seem to get off your mind, and a craving is as well mental as physical - can doom a budget. I did well (to be posted tomorrow), I didn't go over budget and had a great shopping experience, I bought lots of produce that I am truly looking forward to eating.

How did I get through this? Well, I made a big pot of chili, to eat now and freeze -- then, after breakfast and lunch...I've had some chocolate. Just some. After my walk with Duke, I had some chocolate. After planting in my garden, I had some chocolate. So, it'll be gone by tonight, but, well I have had an incredible chocolate filled day and no doubt will do it again as I am sure I've done in the past but never given a thought about it. My advice for a craving: have it. Once in a while I crave those maple bars - those big things at the gas station, and usually, a few times a year, I have to give in. It's not my daily routine, it's not something I would ever want to make a habit of, but it happens. If I just have one, it's done. My silly craving is satisfied and it is off my mind. For the time being, I'm on a strict budget. And through my own observation and eating habits, I don't think giving in to a craving once in a while ruins a budget or my health. What does become problematic is making a habit of eating a donut or two on a daily basis. Or eating candy bars daily. I want to eat well, eat chocolate and be human - and have the occasional craving! Moderation...yes, with sweet, sweet moderation to keep it all in perspective!

Why does Cooking Matter?

Just recently, I've been fortunate to get involved with Cooking Matters, a part of the national organization, Share Our Strength. Locally, here in Hailey, Idaho, Cooking Matters is part The Hunger Coalition. What it is is a series of classes that teach cooking healthy meals, nutrition and shopping well on a budget. All students learn hands on by preparing a meal together. At the end of class everyone eats!!

Students are encouraged to talk about cooking and food and the class is small so it's easy to talk and interact. It does not intimidate. It is not a showcase or a presentation. It is a place to encourage others to feel the empowerment gained from cooking by taking part. This is what makes it special and important.

Through my blog, you can tell I am a firm believer in the empowerment of home cooking. And as luck and timing may have it, I am actively participating by teaching and I couldn't be happier with this opportunity. The classes are sponsored by the organizations but the main person handling it is Hallie Reikowsy - putting it together, shopping and co-teaching - a lot goes into it! Planning ahead makes it go easier, just like with cooking.

Why does Cooking Matter? 
I can only speak from my heart. I don't believe we lost touch because we didn't have time; the last three generations of the women in my family have worked. There just seemed to be a decline in home cooking and a surplus of frozen food available. Entertainment became a priority via television. Working out after work became a priority instead of hand chopping vegetables or kneading dough. We've become more aware now that cooking connects us to identity, quality and it enriches our lives through nourishment and it's nurturing qualities. Finding ways to reconnect to cooking and get inspired to cook are a big priority now. It's personal to each of us.

Why is something so simple so important?
Adjusting time to get home cooking into daily life is the challenge lots of people face and are looking to get around. Cooking on weekends, using crockpots, filling up freezers, chopping and dicing ahead of time are all time savers. Knowing it is so important, we want to find ways to make it easier. By hands on learning it takes some of the struggle out of certain "chores" in the kitchen. Certain recipes or techniques that once intimidated us can now be easily accomplished. Cooking doesn't have to be so complicated.

Why do we need it?
Personally our reasons may be different - but we all want to reconnect and gain the benefits of eating well. Economical reasons are a big factor, as well. Where someone may never have given a thought to the price of food and suddenly takes a paycut. Buying food within a budget might be tricky to learn but it is a great thing to know!

And the most important reason of all: Having the empowerment of cooking in your own two hands makes a person feel secure.