Becoming a Domestic God(dess), Part One

It occurred to me today that I've been cooking all week and only spent $5 at the grocery store on Monday. I haven't made the big grocery run in going on three weeks, which is really unusual. I will have to go in the next few days to replenish the pantry, but I've been very pleased with saving money, utilizing what I have, and not having to leave the house.

A friend of mine is embarking on cooking to save both money and calories. My biggest struggle when I started cooking for myself was doing it cheaply and healthfully. I could pull off one but not the other. At one point, I was spending over $75 a week on food, not finishing it, and not having room in my freezer for leftovers. Then I got smart about it. And now, I'm smart about it, have access to a real kitchen, and have someone to help me eat these dinners and contribute to the budget for these dinners. Now, this happy occurrence doesn't... uh... occur for everyone so nicely and conveniently. Yet, the cooking can be done, cheaply, healthfully, and in a hurry after work when you are worn out. The key is smart stocking. This friend mentioned what he was trying to do and I thought I would post this to help him.

First, you need the basics. Now, basics are different for everyone. My basics are as follow:

Cabinet/pantry
Canned tomatoes
Canned crushed tomatoes (I use in lieu of tomato sauce)
Canned beans (black, white, kidney -- mostly black)
Canned vegetables you will eat (for me, this is green beans and corn, because Mr. B will eat both with no prodding)
Orzo
Rice
Some variety of macaroni
Some variety of long pasta
Broth or base (I now swear by Better than Boullion -- you get 38 cups' worth of base in a tiny jar... imagine how much room 16 cans of broth take up, and how much you will waste because no one ever calls for 2 cups of broth -- always 1 or 3 -- and the stupid cans only come in 2 c. sizes. Uh... I digress...)
Tomato soup
Dried beans (black, white, red)
Fresh garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Canned fruit

Fridge
Buttah!(can also be bought in bulk and frozen)
Carrots
Natural vanilla low-fat yogurt
Cottage cheese
Fresh fruit (apples, pears etc. can hang on the counter)
Eggs
Milk or soymilk (or canned evaporated milk -- some of us can't use up milk quickly enough)
8 oz. cheese bricks (Buy on sale -- they keep for ages and can be frozen. They melt better than pre-shredded so you get more flavor, better texture and can use less. The anti-caking agent on pre-shredded makes it all dry. Just trust me on this; you won't be sorry.)
Corn tortillas (yes, you can make your own, but if you're just starting out, don't bother. The pack of eight zillion keep for ages in the fridge.)

Freezer
Frozen veggies (spinach is completely necessary)

Powdery things
Flour
Sugar
Dark brown sugar (I never ever use light. I just love dark and don't see why they bother with the light.)
Cornmeal
Corn starch
Cocoa
Baking powder
Baking soda

Near the stove/spice rack
Olive oil
Vegetable oil
Red wine vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Red wine
White wine
Basil
Oregano
Cumin
Nutmeg
Tabasco sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Vanilla
Salt and pepper

Now, this is not comprehensive, and I'm sure there are many things on here you might not need. And, you can build on this. Clearly, the first month you cook, you won't need all the spices I listed. Pick them up on an on-sale or as needed basis. (And, buy them in the international section or at another store -- spices are a racket as described at Casual Kitchen. Much of the items can be picked up on sale, in bulk, at warehouse stores (they have killer deals on giant cans of tomato puree), and even at the dollar store.

You'll note something missing -- meat. I buy that weekly, and I stretch it. If I buy a package of sausage, it will likely go in a lasagne, a bean soup, and maybe a quiche. Same for bacon, beef, chicken, etc. I'll go ahead and cook the whole pack, then divide and freeze some for the next recipe. It saves money, and it keeps me and Mr. B from eating so much meat. (Well, he has been known to go forage after dinner, but baby steps, people, baby steps.) Also, if you're like me and lack self-control, go ahead and put some of the dinner in storage containers to cool and go into the freezer. Leave some out for lunch or the next night in the fridge, put some away for the next week or two when you're busy, and leave out a max of two servings in case you're starving. Instantly, your meal has staying power. Also, keep a list on the fridge/freezer of what meals/perishables you have so you can eat what is already there. I'm a notorious food forgetter.

I can make about 85% of my regular recipes from what's listed up there plus meat. (Casual kitchen also has an article about that -- CK calls it the 80/20 rule. Seriously, you need to read the whole site anyway. Just go look. It's lovely. CK and CHG are very much my favorite sites about cooking. They are well-written, informative, and it sounds creepy, but they seem like people I'd like to have over for cake and coffee and to tell about any hysterical kitchen tragedy/triumph.

So, that's my first musing on the topic. Read up, buddy. Next post -- how to feed yourself in 30 minutes or less or the soup's free. Oh, wait.

Holidays on the Cheap

Wow. It's December. I pretty much missed Halloween, which totally threw off my holiday barometer. Then Thanksgiving came late, and here I am still with pumpkins strung about my apartment, no tree, and no shopping done. Oh, and like EVERYONE ELSE in the country except for the tools that wrote that article in the Times about throwing a "budget" party (to the tune of $30 a head), I am freaking worried about my finances. With academia, I get what I like to call mandatory unpaid vacation for almost a month, and employment is shaky for summer. While I could toss some cash around this holiday, I need to sit on it for hard(er) times and keep paying down the unholy amount of debt I've amassed over the five years. Hey, I'm working on it quite well. Just sayin'.

So how to handle this situation? Well, most of my nearest and dearest are getting various combinations of delicious Cinnamon Bread (I can make two loaves for about a dollar -- recipe to follow), other assorted baked goods, and bargain-basement knickknacks I've picked up over the last few months at ridiculous discounts. The parents and Mr. B. get a little more.

So how do I make bread for a dollar? Easily. Granted, I'm blessed with two things many people are not -- a Costco membership and a Kitchenaid stand mixer. (Both results of Mr. B.) 25 pounds of flour at costco is about seven dollars. Two pounds of yeast is between three and four dollars. A giant container of Saigon cinnamon? Three dollars. I don't even know what I paid for the ten pound bag of sugar. I do know that I fell over laughing when I saw it contained over 1500 servings. Anyway, the bread recipe I use, which I will post soon, calls for about five cups of flour, a little butter, 2 packs of yeast (I need to refresh myself on the conversion -- five spoonfuls or something), a little water, and a little sugar. The dough hook does the work, I let it rise, divide it, roll it, melt more butter, brush it, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over it. Then, roll, rise, and bake, and you have two loaves of ridiculously delicious bread at less than a dollar. One of the bakeries in town sells it for $6 a pop. I really need to open a shop.

Anyway, more on holiday frugality to come.

Pasta PrimaSquasha for Two One

I came in ravenous on Friday afternoon. I don't know what it is about cooking lunch on Fridays (see Trash(y) Pasta Salad), but it's been happening of late. It is probably just the knowledge that after next week, I work real jobs and can't do it anymore. Anyhow, I wanted something filling and tasty, and did not want to go out in public. I scanned the kitchen... 2 tomatoes on the verge of squish, a squash on the verge of squish, an onion, and some whole wheat fettucine. Perfect!

Twelve Minute Pasta PrimaSquasha



-A little olive oil
-One large summer squash (or zucchini)
-About a cup of sliced onion (I used half of a gigantic vidalia)
-Two fresh tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes
-Two cloves garlic (I sliced... I still can't remember to bring the mincer back to Mr. B.'s)
-Herbs and spices
-A little white wine for deglazing
-A little sugar
-Freshly ground salt and pepper
-Whole wheat pasta

Put pasta water on to boil. Wash and cut squash lengthwise and scrape out some of the seeds with a spoon. Slice squash and saute in a little olive oil while you cut onion. Add onion to pan and cook with squash until both veggies are getting soft while you cut the tomatoes. (I bet you can put your pasta on now). Add tomatoes to pan, stir, add garlic. Let that cook and get happy. Add herbs and spices. After things have been cooking a bit and are starting to smell and look delightful, remove pan from heat and add a little white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir and scrape and put the pan back on the heat. Things a little dry? Not too saucy? Add a dash of sugar (less than a tablespoon) to the veggies. This will bring out the flavor of the tomatoes and draw out a little juice. Turn heat to low and stir while you wait for pasta to cook. Season to taste, and serve a giant helping of veggies over some pasta, perhaps with a little fresh parm.

Now, I made that giant pan up there with the intent of feeding Mr. B. too. He foolishly decided to go fishing, and I ate the entire pan of veggies all by my ownself. I didn't even have pasta with the second serving, and I did not feel bad about cleaning out that pan one bit. It was freaking wonderful. You know what else? One tomato was a delicious farmers market tomato. The other was a pinkish grocery store tomato Mr. B. put in the fridge -- but cooking it made it better. So, don't give up on the eehhhh-about-to-squish produce all the time. I mean, don't eat moldy carrots, but some stuff you can salvage.

The cost? The tomatoes were about .50, the squash was about .50, the onion, .50, and the pasta, mmm... about .50. Let's call it a 2.50 lunch that should have served two. Alas, je suis un piggy.

Magical 17 Cent Low Fat Low Cal Brownies of Wonder

Hi again! It's been awhile. I've been busy not posting, but I have been busy cooking and taking pictures, and reading cookbooks, and doing lots of things that I'll get around to here. :) So... today's project... magic brownies!

Awhile back (like, say, ten years ago), mom and I found a great lowfat brownie recipe that we made ad nauseum. Well, not really, cause I don't so much tire of brownies. Anyhow, it had interesting ingredients, but nothing really strange. It called for cocoa and lowfat sour cream, and I can't remember the rest. I've been looking all over for it, and can't find it. But, the search led me to something really neat. As I googled, all-reciped and cooks.commed around, I discovered a completely odd recipe for healthier brownies. People have been talking about it all over the internet. It's just brownie mix and one secret ingredient. You just have to keep the secret ingredient a secret until you get someone to eat it.

So, I went to the grocery store the other night and Ghiradelli double chocolate brownie mix was on sale for 1.89 and the secret ingredient was .79. I figured this would be a fair investment for something that could be a culinary disaster.

And here we go. Try it before you judge.


Magic brownies
Makes 16 2-inch brownies. I call this 4-8 servings.


-1 box brownie mix
-1 can black beans (I swear to Paula Deen, it's true)

Preheat oven according to package directions. (I did 325, using a glass 8x8 pan -- I like thick fudginess.) Make sure your significant other will not come into the kitchen for the next two minutes. Dump beans into a colander, saving the can. Rinse them well. Rinse out the can. Return the beans to the can and put enough water in the can to just cover the beans. Dump beans and water into blender and blend the bejaysus out of them. If you don't blend them well, you'll get bits of bean skin in the brownies. While blender is on forever, go make small talk with significant other and tell him you're doing a science experiment in the blender. Run back and make sure you hid the bean can. Dump brownie mix into a bowl. Add the blended beans. Stir well. Pour in greased brownie pan/dish. Bake according to package directions. Cool. Cut. Serve. Make s.o. or small children eat one and then tell them what's in it. Smile as they gawk.

The nutritional stats are pretty awesome. Per brownie using Ghiradelli:
Calories:164
Fat: Less than 4 grams
Saturated fat: 1.5 grams
Fiber: 2.5 grams
Sodium: 200 mg.
9% RDA for iron
No cholesterol!

Go ahead and double that, cause I already ate 2. Oh, and by the way? The cost is 17 cents per brownie. Seriously, you can't not try this. And if you like frosted brownies, what better way to feel good about indulging?

I served one up to Mr. B. He ate it and said, "That was good."

I said, "Come on! I need more than that. I know the texture was weird, but tell me what you think of them."

"Ok. Yeah, the texture's different. The taste is good, just not as rich as regular brownies." Fair enough. They don't get the crusty top, but criminy they're fudgy. Then he looked at me again.
"What did you put in there?"

"Black beans."

"Damn good use of black beans."

So there! Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Trash(y) salad

Yesterday, I got into my housekeeping groove and didn't want to quit. I was doing laundry, washing dishes, throwing stuff away, and I didn't want to stop to go to the grocery store, but I was crazy hungry. It came to me that we hadn't been to the grocery store all week, and we used to go almost every day for something. Granted, we had dinner out with Mr. B.'s parentpeople one night, but other than that, we had leftovers and madeovers. I saw no reason to break the cycle for lunch on a Friday. After cleaning the kitchen, I looked around and saw a lot of odds and ends. Odds and ends are the perfect opportunity for...

Trash(y) Pasta Salad!


Serves as many people as you want. Just add more stuff. (I am SO technical!)

8 oz. dry rotini (or fusili, or for true trashy salad, the cheapest elbow mac you can find. I had wacky mac, so mine was a trace more garbage blanche than white trash--just like me!)
red wine vinegar
olive oil
herbs and spices
low-fat mayo (if you're doing better than I am, you've got yogurt in your fridge, and can mix it 50/50 with the mayo... I wasn't there on Friday)
sugar
delicious veggies you need to use

Boil water. While you wait for water to boil, mix about a tablespoon olive oil with about 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Add spices. I used Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Whisk in small bowl (I used a measuring cup). Add about 2 tablespoons mayo, or your mayo-yogurt mix. (Some people like to use reduced fat sour cream. I'd go easy on the vinegar if you're gonna do that.) Add a little sugar. Whisk some more (I say whisk... I did in fact whisk it with a fork... a whisk was entirely unneccesary for this operation) and let all that get comfy and intimate together while you dump pasta in the pot and chop veggies. I had an orange bell pepper we've had since... I don't know, but I'm surprised it's still good. I also have a ton of baby carrots, so I sliced them thinly and tossed them in the pot for the last 4 minutes or so of the pasta cooking so they could slightly soften. I also chopped a tomato.

When pasta is done, drain and rinse with cool water. Dump in bowl, add veggies. Pour some dressing over, stir, and add more dressing if necessary. Salt, pepper, and put in fridge. If you're starving like I was, you can stick it in the freezer for a cold minute and then put your face in it after you've grated some fresh parm on top.

This would also be fantastic with peas, ham, chicken, or any odds and ends things you have in the fridge. I mean, I wouldn't put fruit in it, but you get the idea.

Not the healthiest, but I made it entirely from staples (not the metal kind, ew) and leftovers.

Thrift Store Ninja I: How to get 'new' clothes for work, quell your shopping urge, and come home with money left over

After years of vintage, studenting, t-shirt hawking, tutoring, and housekeeping, I have a job in which I am the youngest employee and will be teaching students just a few years younger than me. In some cases, the students are older than my own personal mother. This means the funky has to be saved for the weekend and I've got to look professional. I mean, I'm not gonna start buying beige tweed, but I can't really rock the shabby chic to work so much anymore. And, I'll be working at the same place four days a week, so I can't play the "recycle my five pieces of nice stuff" game anymore.

So a couple weeks ago, Mr. B. called me up and told me he'd found a new thrift store and it was half-price day. I withdrew cash from the bank and was at his house ready to go before he could even get out of the shower. I took out $20 with the intention of spending just that, and getting a blue shirt and a khaki skirt for work. A couple months ago, I got a fantastic pair of blue and brown pants and an awesome plaid skirt (both on clearance for ridiculously tiny amounts of money) that match nothing in my closet, and my khaki skirt has a stain. Heading into month two of lame summer pay, I was dying to shop but had small money.

Mr. B. and I went to what I will call Tiny Thrift Store for the purposes of this blog. I did not find any clothes, and decided I'd spend some loot on other things, namely a set of curtains (Hello, Window Scarves!)



and cookbooks.



It turned out I'd been to the thrift store before, but not on the glorious wonder that is 50% off day. And I found out that here, the last Sunday of every month is 50% off day at most of the thrift stores in town. It makes sense--it's a good time to clear out the junk. How much did I spend at Tiny Thrift Store?

Window scarves 8.00 4.00
Williams Sonoma
Cookbook 2.00 1.00
Vegetarian
Entertaining 2.00 1.00
Joy of Home
Brew (for Mr. B) 2.00 1.00
----------------------------
7.00

Well, those were great finds! Just one problem--I had no shirts, and I still was itching for clothes and to make some purchases. So, we went to Larger Thrift Store. After sifting through the fun of the kitchen supplies and playing the WTF is That? game, Mr. B. and I parted ways and I destroyed the women's section. While there was nothing great in the skirt or pants department for me, I got four shirts for work that will carry me through the summer and into fall (and I know as hot-natured as I am, I'll wear them to work this winter).



For those of you who watch "The Office" (that's everyone in America under 40, right?), I call this my "Pam Shirt."



It has completely awesome buttons, but it's missing one! Oh no, what will I do?


Well, the missing button will still let me be modest, but even better... look what's hidden under the collar.



Booyah! Moral of the story... don't give up too easily if the thrift find is awesome. The black shirt above even had the original extra buttons stitched to the inside care tag. It pays to check this stuff over. I know all y'all can sew on a button. Even if you think you can't, you actually can. I promise. Try it, just don't stab yourself. And if you have a waterbed, don't use it to hold the needle while you find your thread. I haven't done it, but it's been done. All I'm saying.



This next one doesn't look like much, but the neckline is fabulous, the fit is wonderful and the fabric feels like your favorite blanket. It will be good for early fall and spring, and I now wear it for what I call "fake fall." Fake fall is when I get up early and it's cool outside, and I curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee and a blanket and think about Halloween. (Fall fever has set in superbly early this year.)



I came home, removed tags, and have worn all but the shirt I went out specifically to get, the first blue one. *head smack* However, they've all worn great and are in excellent condition, and they were purchased for about $10. So, for under $20, I quelled the shopping urge, revamped my wardrobe, and found the opportunity to use Mr. B.'s shower curtain as a backdrop. Wooh!

Some pointers for thrifting that you probably already know but I will talk about anyway:

1) Carry a measuring tape. (And if you're shopping for furniture, a tape measure.) Sizes vary hugely, especially if you run across vintage. Know your measurements or the measurements of clothes that fit you well, and shop accordingly.

In Thrift Score, Al Hoff notes that you can wear clothes while thrifting that will allow you to try on clothes right there in the aisle (leggings, tight pants, flowy skirts, etc.). Of course, some people will think you are shoplifting. A lot of stores have gotten better about dressing rooms, but if you're in a hurry, these are good ways to get around that. I'm a combination measurer/try on in the aisles/dressing room girl myself.

2) Look at seams. Make sure they aren't crooked. It may be a $4 dress, but if you don't like to sew, it will be a $4 dress that stays in the "sewing pile." (Don't even start on the sewing pile. It's a tragedy, especially if you have no free time, and spend the free time you have on a blog. Seriously.)

3) Wash everything that can be washed. I don't think I have to explain this one.

4) Find out what time or days the new old clothing is put out, and what days have what discounts. Almost every store has special discount days. Pick up a flyer, check the website, or ask!

5) If you have Talbot's taste on a Goodwill budget, hit the thrift stores in the froufrou part of town. Those ladies will get rid of some high end stuff that they are just tired of or out of closet space for. Personally, I prefer hideous aprons from the 70s and vintage waitress uniforms, but when I need work clothes, those are good places to hit up.

Do any of you have thrifting tips? Share! I mean, I don't expect you to tell me your secret spot, but what have you learned in the thrifting process?

(A note: all thrift stores I vist can not currently be named because one of them may be hiring me for side work. Woo.)