Oh, for the love of a baby. We missed strawberry jam season, peach picking season, applesauce canning season, and all the other stuff that goes into preserving the summer’s bounty.
So, when I have a hankering for some fresh pickles, I “harvest” my cucs out of those plastic shrink wrap packages from Costco. *sigh* And then because it is late in the day that was filled with, two trips to the doctor’s office, plenty of sitting in traffic, tons of temper tantrums (some of my own included) and moments of complete idiocy trying to figure out my new iPhone, I dumped in WAY TOO MUCH red pepper. I then spent the next thirty minutes trying to salvage this recipe.
Sorry no finished pictures. I was finished with the day by that point. But here is the the recipe I’ve developed for Kwick Korean Pickles…
1C rice vinegar
1/2 C white vinegar
1/2 C water
1C sugar (I used organic sugar, which gives the brine a bit of a brown hue…if you don’t like that, use white granulated sugar.)
1 t salt
1 large English cucumber (cleaned and sliced 1/8″)
1 T red pepper (you can use less if you are timid about all things spicy, and I use Korean red pepper flakes, but you can use the good old stuff from McCormick too.)
2 whole cloves of garlic
1/4 small onion sliced very thinly
1 Mason Jar (this isn’t real canning. I just like to keep my acidic mixture in glass.)
A. Bring vinegars, water, sugar and salt to a simmer over medium heat in a non-reactive saucepan to dissolve all granulated particles. Then remove from heat and add red pepper and onion slices. Let cool slightly.
B. Place all cucumber slices in mason jar. Leave a 1″ space at the top of the jar.
C. With tongs, place onion slices and garlic on top of cucumber slices. Pour the brine over the cucs. Cap with jar top and when cooled to room temp, place in the fridge.
D. Enjoy with grilled meats, rice, and grilled veggies. This will keep well in the fridge for up to two weeks.
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you’re inspired to do the same, head on over to Soulemama and leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
I have a love hate relationship with one of those huge warehouse stores. I love that you can get a 105 oz can of tomato sauce that costs half as much as tomato sauce on SALE at the regular grocery store, that is, per ounce. I hate that the yummy chips in the ginormous bag go stale before they are all consumed. I love that larger bags of lettuce remind us to eat more salads during the week and I hate that there seems to be more wasteful packaging. But, if you buy right, with a little thought there is money to be saved by buying in bulk.
The first question I ask is:
Can you use it all? Our motto is only take what you need. What is the use of saving money on a 10 pound bag of artichoke hearts if you throw half of them away? So wasteful. We do use chocolate chips in banana bread at least a couple times a month. And we’ve been consuming ketchup in the form of slow-cooker bbq like it is going out of style this summer. These items I know we will use up in quantity.
My second question is:
Can it be saved/preserved/frozen, or does it simply have a limitless shelf-life, like laundry detergent? This is where the “brain power” comes in. Think about what is going into the cart, and this is hard for a list panner, but also an-impulse purchaser, like me. Think, “how will I use all of what I buy?”
Nuts, dried fruits, cheese, butter, milk, chocolate, flours, breads and baked goods can all be frozen. We have a chest freezer in the basement for just these times.
Meats can be decanted into meal-sized portions and frozen in ziplocs. I label them in a Sharpie, and note what I’ve got on a Master Freezer List. When we have friends over for dinner, I just pull out two meal portions.
Tomato sauce, stocks, and juices can all be decanted and frozen as well.
Make something with your purchase and freeze that. I purchased a quart of heavy cream the other week. From it I can make four loaves of gluten-free chocolate chip banana and freeze these for a sweet treat or a pot-luck dinner later on.
I am currently processing 10lbs of carrots. That is A LOT of carrots. This many carrots means: carrot soup, carrot cake, carrot muffins, carrot juice, and roasted carrots, all of which are yummm!
I freeze whole berries, or make jam or preserves, when the produce is in season. (Freezer jam is easier than water bath canning.) Make sauce out of apples or pears. My kids also love apple/pear/sweet potato juice fresh from our juicer. Juicing veggies can be a great way to get some vitamins into the picky eaters in your family.
Other pantry staples don’t need refigeration: maple syrup, agave nectar, sugar (make sure this is sealed up well, you don’t want friends in your pantry), soy sauce, oils (if kept cool and away from light) and ketchup.
Or, instead of saving it, use more of it…
I’ve found that my kids don’t mind repetitive menus. They seem to be fine with peanut butter and honey sandwich lunches five days a week.
Slow-cooker recipes generally are more frugal friendly. Tomato sauce, less expensive cuts of meat, and beans are frequent low-cost ingredients I use all the time now.
Other stuff you might be better off not buying unless you use a lot of it:
spices (they loose their potent flavor) and vanilla (the alcohol evaporates)
cerals (these go stale quickly)
produce (leave some in your fridge drawer more than a week and you’ll get my drift.)
coffee and teas (can lose flavor fast)
Anything in a large package that cannot be resealed and would go stale (like chips) or rancid (like oil) before you consume all of it.
And finally, it pays to know your prices. That is, regular AND sale prices.
Tomato sauce is $1.00 for 14.5 oz on sale. These containers of sauce came from a 105 ounce can that cost $2.50. That is a 50% savings for our chili, soups, and stews.
Shredded mozzarella cheese only saved us a few dollars per pound on a 5lb package. And soda is cheaper per can if you buy it in the regular grocery store on sale.
# # #
I began looking at how much we are consuming and how much we are wasting when I realized we needed to pay down so much debt. I used to think that buying huge quantities at warehouse stores was expensive and wasteful. And then I realized that I needed to adapt our lifestyle to accomodate the more frugal. Consume less. Consume for less. And consume wisely. Maybe we will just get to that debt-free life someday.
P/S
Two years ago I created this…a printable of my Save $$ In Your Freezer series…might help you save some of those purchases for later!
We’ve been doing a little gingerbread thinking here at home and at pre-school.
Graham cracker gingerbread houses stuck with candies of all kinds came home this week.
Foam gingerbread men with googley eyes and buttons pasted on are proudly displayed. We’ve been reading the gingerbread man story over and over and over. And we’ve been eating these gluten-free gingerbread cookie men.
I didn’t think that it would be possible in this universe to actually create a tasty gingerbread man cookie that could hold up to the rigors of toddler icing and sprinkling. But possible it is! Here’s how we did it.
1. I used King Arthur Flour’s Gluten-Free Cookie Mix. (It says it is a brown-sugar based mix which means it will produce a softer cookie.) I prepared the dough as indicated on the box, except I substituted 1T of blackstrap molasses for 1T of molasses, and added 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t ground ginger, and 1/8 t ground cloves in the first mix-around.
2. MOST IMPORTANT, CHILL THE DOUGH. It must, must, must be cold. Other wise you’ll get a very sticky debacle. Turn out dough onto plastic wrap and form into a flat disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. The butter will harden quite a bit and the dough should be a bit difficult to roll out.
3. Use a gluten-free flour for dusting your cold work-surface and cold rolling pin. (I used sweet white sorghum flour.) Dust everything liberally. Place dough disk on a piece of parchment paper and roll out to a 1/4″ thickness turning dough frequently to keep it all from sticking. (Keep the dough thicker than you might think to here. The end result is a pretty soft cookie so a thicker cookie will provide a more sturdy base for decorating.)
4. Re-roll scraps using additional flour to keep everything from sticking. Chill the dough as needed in a flat disk shape.
5. Use your favorite cookie cutters and cut away. (I’ve found that the larger cutters work best. Cutters with lots of delicate edges don’t work as well with this soft dough.) Place cookies about 2″ apart on a silpad lined baking sheet and bake at 350° F for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
6. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes and then carefully remove cookies to a cooling rack with a spatula. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating. Makes about 3 dozen medium gingerbread men.
  
A note of toddler-caution: This dough is very delicate and can become sticky quickly and tear easily. Toddlers will place that cookie cutter smack in the middle of the dough circle and you’ll be able to get exactly ONE cookie before you need to chill the dough once more and re-roll everything. It took 20 minutes to produce 2 toddler cookies. And 30 minutes to produce 3 dozen adult cookies.
Little kitchen helpers love, love, love cookie cutters and are so very eager to help. So, if you have the time and patience and let them help. Otherwise, break out the playdough that doesn’t require any chilling, and let them have at it while you turn out those gingerbread men. THEN, let them in on the decorating fun.
The Result…a soft, chewy, very yummy gingerbread man cookie. The extra flour to roll everything out didn’t adversely affect the taste or texture. And your baking time might vary, as my oven runs a bit hot. This is what the kiddos decided would be for dinner last night and then proceeded to run around exclaiming, “you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man!”
Happy Holidays all! Meet you back here after the holidays!
P/S How did the link between gingerbread and Christmas come about? The gingerbread man doesn’t mention anything about Christ’s Mass in his little runaway tale…
This year I decided to make a homemade gift for the pre-school teachers and teacher’s aids who work tirelessly for our kids. We attend a cooperative preschool where parents take a big part in the classroom activities. A few times each semester, each family is required to co-op in the classroom and serve as a teacher’s aid for the day. It is a bit of chaotic stress added, but it is a wonderful look into the world as your child sees it. I love to see how the children are learning, how they are interacting, or not interacting, with their peers and with their teachers. And I love to see which activities they love and which they feel they really could do without.
Little Miss loves painting, the hamsters, playing with the doll house, and a little pink bear nicknamed “Mrs. B’s Bear” Mini Mister loves correcting his teacher, “No, it isn’t Yes-vember, it is NO-vember!” He is quick to count and volunteer which letter says what sound. He particularly likes this one very cute little girl, who only likes him back a little bit. It is all so very cute.
Being a teacher’s aid isn’t a simple task. I feel the job is so physical! And keeping your wits about you to prevent that collision or that toy dispute is sometimes mind boggling. Some days after I drop off my pre-schoolers, I feel eternally indebted to these wonderful teachers who take care of my children in the mornings. So, I decided it was chocolate peppermint bark that would be our homemade “thank-you” this holiday season.
This recipe is divine. It is almost painful to let it go. From Orangette, and thanks to Soulemama, for pointing me there.
 I stepped off and I did it. I finally got a juicer.
Usually this is one of those counter top appliances that is welcomed into the home with great anticipation and grand notions of healthful living. And then is eventually relegated to the far reaches of the under-cabinet world, or even storage. But I decided to take the gulp, and get one for me, and for the kids.
My kids don’t eat vegetables. As a vegetable-lover myself, I am kind of ashamed to admit this. I also must admit they don’t eat the same dinner my husband and I do each night. And yes, I am ashamed to admit this too. Some I think is picky eating that will pass, and some I think is a deeper issue that is for another post entirely. BUT they do love juice. It is a constant daily mantra, “juice mama!” And they do drink mixed juices, those juices that also contain veggie juices. So, I though that instead of gagging on a carrot, that I’d try to get them to drink their carrots. It’s a start, and if any makes it into their bodies, it will also be added vitamins in their diet.
There are some caveats to my genius plan. This juicer brilliantly extracts the essence of the veggies and fruits I shove into it. But the veggies and fruits are raw. And so is the juice. The juice we get from the store tastes entirely different because it was pasteurized, sealed in a container, and sat around for a couple of months before it reached our humble glasses. This raw juice tastes bright. It tastes earthy. I can almost taste and smell the vibrant nutrition it offers. And I think so will the kids who abhor anything that might seem healthy. So I don’t know if they will even try the stuff.
Also, this new trend will require daily maintenance. The juice oxidizes quickly and turns a browner color. I don’t mind, but I am sure those preschoolers who reside at this residence will mind greatly. Additionally, my little instruction manual indicates that the vitamins and nutrients start to deteriorate immediately after juicing, so I can’t really stock-pile this stuff. Too bad, since I’d love to be able to break out the frozen watermelon juice in the dead of winter!
Nevertheless, it is one more mama try at the healthy diet thing. We’ll see how it all goes.
P/S
I really love this juicer. It is a Breville Juice Fountain Plus JE98XL. I prep my veggies and fruits a bit more than the instructions say you need to. Really they recommend you can juice an entire 3″ diameter apple whole. My apples are larger so I quarter them and remove the stems and the seeds. It works wonderfully on harder fruits and veggies like beets, carrots and apples. The pulp is very dry so I am confident that all the juicy goodness is down in my pitcher. It does an okay job on soft items like grapefruit. Even after a firm up overnight in the fridge, the grapefruit pulp wasn’t nearly dry. The whole thing is very easy and quick to clean up. It isn’t as loud as I thought it might be. And overall, I think this thing and I are going to have a very healthy, happy relationship in the future.
Today I woke with a bit more energy and in a better mood. Lately I’ve been as lazy as the weather outside. Grey, cool, and rainy but not really. Just plain not really wanting to do anything but sit. Yucky. Not me.
Perhaps my better mood today, and more productive manner today, was bolstered a bit by accomplishments made FINALLY, yesterday.
Those pesky mittens. The pink ones are done. FINALLY.
That craving for soft, chewy molasses cookies, was satisfied yesterday. FINALLY!
 
It seems so counter to be so lazy during the most hectic time of the year! Aren’t I supposed to be running around crazed with sales fliers pouring out of my fists? Aren’t we all supposed to be gaining weight from eating too much bad food? And isn’t my house supposed to be a flurry of wrapping paper, bows, and blinky lights? (I take that last part back. I don’t like “blinky”.) Nay, not I. Not this year.
This holiday season we are picking through the parts of Advent that have meaning to us, that inspire us to act, and fill us with the warmth we need to get moving. Picking and choosing isn’t such a bad plan if I might say so.
P/S
The molasses cookies are gluten free, and we basically followed the directions on the back of the King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Cookie Mix box. Instead of 1T of water, we used 1T of blackstrap molasses. And we also added 1/8 t of cloves, 1/8 t of ground ginger, and 1/4 t of cinnamon. One final tip, the more you smoosh the dough flat before baking, the crispier the cookies will become.
In my week of bed-rest, and weekend of “getting-back-into-it” I watched plenty of Food Network, Travel Channel foodie shows, and Cooking Channel. Why? Why, when I cannot even venture to the kitchen but to select a glass and turn on the tap before settling back down onto the sofa, do I watch such culinary inspiration that rings longing in my nose and makes my belly rumble? Because I am not one for “keeping up with the Kardashians” or being interested in short busty TV reality celebs from anywhere near the Jersey Shore. So, I watch food.
This time of year, Martha, Giada, Bobby, Jamie Oliver, Nigella, Ina, and Tyler Florence are simply oozing turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Gluten-full of course. But on the web, a few of my favorite bloggers, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and The Gluten Free Girl and the Chef, are resurrecting and reinvigorating my Thanksgiving dreams.
As a slight gravy snob, how can it be Thanksgiving without a gravy made from a rich roux and the tastiest of pan drippings…and of course those giblets? (That is, if I don’t gobble those down before they can even aspire to be gravy.) But oh, what a rue? How to make one without flour? With gluten-free flours of course. (Check out this great video that tells all!)
And the only dish that truly makes it Thanksgiving in my mother’s home is stuffing. Sage. Thyme, marjoram, celery, salt and pepper, and a bit of egg. And whole wheat bread. Rediscovered after hours of cooking tucked inside that bird, only to emerge soft and fragrant. But alas, would that whole wheat bread dash my thanksgiving dreams forever more?! Would that highly-perishable, super starchy, gluten-free bread even beg to be a substitute?
Well, yes. Gluten-free bread stuffing is doable. This video will instruct you how to make your own gluten-free bread stuffing, but gives little in the way of what kind of bread to use. So, I found this stuffing bread by accident at the grocery store and decided to give it a whirl. Tastes not bad. And the kitchen smelled exactly how it should Thanksgiving afternoon after the Macy’s day parade floats have swept by. I bought the plain mix and added my own herbs. Fresh rosemary. Lots of dried sage, and a bit of dried thyme. No binder eggs, but 6 tablespoons of butter! The package says that the 12 oz bag serves 24. I’d say it serves more like 6-8. My tummy is always a bit carb sensitive, so this whopping 48 gram serving is borderline over the top for me. But hey, it IS the holidays.
So, this Thanksgiving will be one of modification, since I will not be cooking and we will be going somewhere else. A few things out of a box. Another few things out of a can. And bunches of gluten-full things I can’t eat. But I do hope to manage an abridged meal at home. A bird with gravy. Rosemary sage stuffing. Butternut squash with brown sugar and cinnamon. Wilted kale greens with bacon. And perhaps an apple pie. All prepared over the course of a few days, with plenty of husband-help, I think I can manage that.
Happy Thanksgiving all!
It’s autumn. A time of preparation. A time for storing away your nuts for winter and getting your nest winterized. And that is kind of what I am doing. With the help of the Internet…and the grocery store. As I love to share here on the blog, here are a couple of my most useful gluten-free finds as of late.
First, thank you Gina at MoneyWise Moms for pointing me to a terrific, terrific, slower cooker recipe resource. Though you probably have already discovered this one… Crockpot 365. For a slow-cooker novice, this was like the ultimate wonderland of information. TONS of recipes. Gluten-free to boot! Great tips, tons of reader input, and a great blog read. Here is to some tasty, low-effort, winter eats.
Second, I am always up for trying a new gluten free product. There are those times when I just want something from the freezer. Some are winners. And I’d say most are losers. But a few I’ve tried recently have been spot-on.
Amy’s macaroni and cheese – My son got a whif of this and demanded I share my lunch. I was actually sad that I had to share this one. Cheesy, rich, and just enough (if I hadn’t shared.) A bit heavy on the sodium. But it has a lot of calcium, some iron, and vitamin A and C. Go figure. And I thought that mac and cheese was just empty carbs.
Good Kitchen Sandwich Bread Mix. Pretty good! I think that the fresh milk, eggs and butter added to the mix makes the difference. Only one rise to this very easy mix makes it all worth it. Slightly sweet. Slightly eggy…think challah. A slightly spongey texture, that I don’t like. But a crust that is simply to-die for. Crusty, sweet, crumbly…wonderful. Fresh with butter only…gluten-free heaven. Problem, it’s tons of carbs. Somehow you are supposed to get 20 slices out of this loaf, and each slice has 26 grams of carbs. In regular bread, there is more like 15 grams per slice.
Waffles. I was scared after eating cardboard a couple times. And since I’ve given away my waffle maker, which was gluten-full, I’ve been on a waffle hiatus. But these, are crunchy and sweet. Good plain, or with syrup, or cinnamon sugar. Great when you are trying to hurry out the door in the morning.
Maybe with these go-tos-in-a-pinch, and a bit of cooking ahead, we’ll stay well fed this winter season. Now if I can only muster the impetus to finish those pink toddler mittens I messed up, someone could have a full tummy and warm hands.
So last Thursday I mentioned that I’d let on to the reason why I’ve been a bit remiss about writing regularly in this space. Well, the reason is that we are happily pregnant with our third. Almost through our first trimester, the baby is officially due in late May of next year.
This pregnancy has been nothing like the other two. You always hear that each one is different right? I think being gluten-free has made this time much more manageable. I’m vastly less sick. Almost no nauseousness at all. I am thinking optimistically that my chest may end up a couple sizes smaller than the EE size we experienced previously. NOT fun. I feel more alert. I can do light exercise and carry on most daily activities. Lately I’ve been feeling more tired. I’m my usual up-and-at-’em in the morning, but by mid-day I need a nap.
And I swear I eat 8 times a day. My cravings? The Jewish foods of my childhood. Bagels (gluten-free) with cream cheese, capers, tomatoes and lox dominated last week. And freshly fried, homemade crispy latkes joined late in the game. Those latkes were perfect. I am positive my grandmother would have been proud. My tummy sure liked them.
I didn’t think that I’d ever become pregnant again after having our little premie baby. I feel a bit tentative about this pregnancy. Unsure of where it will go, and how everything will turn out. I half expect us to start life in the NICU. Or maybe I am just mentally preparing for that possibility. I made a prayer early on that whatever happens is up to God, and that I am just going to have to go along.
So I am scaling back my responsibilities, the tasks I planned to take on to prepare for the holidays, and all expectations about outward productivity. Outward productivity…geesh! We are making a baby in here!
P/S
Since my daughter decided to arrive early, exactly 4 days before my husband’s birthday–forever trumping his celebrations, I fully expect this one to arrive 4 days before mine (which is May 19th), so that mama may forever experience the same.
P/P/S
I make no promises about my regular presence here in this space, other than that I plan to still be here as often as this one allows. And, I fully intend to continue being crafty, inventive in the kitchen, and fill this space with what I’ve come to love sharing with all of you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, a couple of potato latkes are calling my name from the fridge.
|
thank you for stopping by my blog  I am a 35 year old mom to a 4 year old son, a 3 year old daughter, a son born in May, and a wife to my life wonderful. I write in this space when my crafty inspiration strikes or when I get to pondering about how we can live more simply and better connect with the earth around us. We are a family surviving the suburbs, contending with commercialism, and getting to a greener lifestyle. Welcome! ~Abbie a few blogs I like in no particular order Permission © Organizing-Life 2009
All images and designs are property of Organizing-Life. Please do not copy any original designs or photography without written permission. Thank you!
|