Get to know a Farmer's Market...

This post is for those of you that live in Atlanta and only think of "farmers markets" as being those high-end open air stalls in the parks.  This is not that kind of market.  This is where I go to get low-cost fresh produce, spices, and nicely prepared meats, dairy, and bakery items.


If you live within a 20 mile radius of this market, you've probably heard about it but maybe never visited.  Please go.  Just check it out.  It will change the way you grocery shop from here on out.

http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/

Reckoning Week 3

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	6 Leibniz biscuits, an apple, a string cheese, and coffee	Grandma's 15-Minute Soup (peas/carrots/grapes, tea)	Baked Brie, (serve w/chocolate, an apple, crackers, & some wine)*
Tuesday	Slice of Poppyseed Cake, Coffee**	Avocado w/S&P, peas, carrots, grapes (6 biscuits w/tea)	Edamame and Pad Thai**
Wednesday	Scone and Coffee	Treated by a friend!	Sweet/Savory Squash (dessert: a slice of fudge)
Thursday	Hot Rice Cereal and Coffee	15-min. soup, crackers (6 biscuits + tea)	carrots, peas, grapes (not eaten at lunch) + the last of the Leibniz
Friday	I'm stuck in New York this weekend, so today was kind of off...Hot Rice Cereal and Coffee	Plane food + half a turkey/avocado sandwich split w/a friend.	Dinner out in Midtown: Sushiya, not bad.

*This was pretty awesome.  My neighbor, who reads the blog, made the baked brie recipe posted earlier last week.  This became (a rather unhealthy if frugal...read: free!) dinner.  I'm kind of touched...and one step closer to an early death via heart disease.  Yum.

**Drove through a Caribou Coffee while taking care of DMV stuff with my car. :(  Should have woken up earlier...and then went out to dinner w/a friend before going to a (free!) author reading/signing. :(( this was not the most food-budget conscious of days.

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

This is what it should look like

My neighbor is super awesome.  She went shopping with me last week and when I bought those chicken breasts on sale, she jumped right in and bought some of her own...without realizing they were bone-in and included skin.  This is not something that she has ever dealt with before but rather than panic, she did what I suggested earlier we should all do more of...she used the Internet as her menu-planning friend.  I've included my own summary and a copy of the recipe below the fold...

How to Boil Water

This is one of those topics that started out as a joke, and then became kind of helpful in a weird way, and then turned into a delightful romp through Internetland.

"Boiling Water" seems like a task you can't screw up...I mean, really, look at the video from howcast:

Sorry if it started automatically; I think it depends on your browser? 

Back to boiling water...when you think about it, it should be easy, but there are a few things you should know depending on your recipe.  Tips after the jump...

Grocery Shopping #1

So, here were the deals/rip-offs from this week...I typically shop for ~ 2 weeks worth of food. Particularly surprising deal -- $0.99/lb chicken breast! I blew my budget for this trip on that, but now I won't need to buy chicken for a month!

Reckoning Week 2

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	2 slices of Friendship Bread and Coffee	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, 2 string cheese (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Pelmeni w/ sour cream, sauteed kale, cream cheese stuffed sweet peppers
Tuesday	Scone and Coffee	Sauteed kale, black beans and rice, carrots (string cheese, tea)	Chicken Picadillo, black beans and rice
Wednesday	Apple and Coffee	Chicken and Barley Soup / Sugar Cookie *	Chicken Picadillo, black beans and rice
Thursday	Mango slices, baby bell cheese and Coffee	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sliced red and yellow bell pepper, baby carrots (3 string cheese w/tea)	Vegetable Stuffed Crepes
Friday	Scone and Coffee	Pizza Party at work! Freebie meal!	Heavy hor d'oeuvres and wine at a church function! Freebie meal!

* I admit, I didn't leave time to pack lunch that day.  I had to rely on the coffee shop downstairs.  Fail.  And crazy expensive.  Seriously, $4 for a cup of soup and a cookie.  Gah!

This was a performance week for me (meaning I had rehearsals or concerts every night except Friday).  Because of that, dinners had to be particularly quick and light.  Each recipe this week had to take under 30 min. to prep and cook..leftovers featured prominently.

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

How to Menu Plan...with flexibility

I'm the sort of person who starts to feel overwhelmed when too many things crowd my plate.  A lot of what I've read about meal planning resembles the sort of perfectionist organization that I just can't maintain.  Besides, if I plan too far in advance I end up spending more money than I would otherwise and here's why...

The Internet is your meal planning friend.  Not for the reason you may think.  Right now I'm in a place where when I go grocery shopping I only keep the vaguest plan in my head.  When I'm in the store, I look for the cheapest possible ingredients.  Often these are things I haven't had much experience with (a few months ago, for example, they had a major sale on pork neck bones).  BUT, the Internet often has good suggestions for what to do with ingredients you've never heard of. 

Don't be scared!  Start with the basics...

• Meals should be diverse -- get as many different colors (excluding Blues 1 and 2, Red 3, and Yellow 6), textures, and temperatures on your plate as often as possible.
• Glance through your pantry before you head out the door.  Get a feel for what you already have on hand.  I keep my pantry on shallow shelves so things can't be easily shoved to the back and lost.
• Be aware what generally is in season in your neck of the woods.  Yeah, yeah, it's greener to go local but also, things that are more abundant are usually cheaper.

Now go out and shop (eat a snack first so you aren't food shopping hungry)!  Find the best deals on the most obscure fresh foods or clearance areas of the store.  When you get home, look at what you bought and meal plan from there.  Be flexible and creative and it will pay off in the end!


Credits
Image: what's on the menu? a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from jenny downing's photostream

French Appetizer done American-style

Baked Brie
This is a recipe I inherited from an old family friend.  She was originally from Aix-en-Provence and pooh-poohed any compliments to her cooking.  Now that I make this, I know why.  It is one of the easiest appetizers to throw together and it is very difficult to screw up.  The trick that makes this better than other baked brie recipes is the chutney...savory with the sweet ends up being much better than just using jam (if slightly more expensive).



I call it "American-style" because that's what I call a dish made up of pre-made ingredients.  Sure, you could make puff pastry from scratch or throw together a chutney; but this is so much easier!  Ok, ok, it's not very healthy.  It's also not the most economical dish.  But darn if it isn't tasty.

Acorn Squash as a meal

Fall is here (finally!) and with the season I am reminded how much I like fall vegetables. One of my favorites is acorn squash.  So versatile!  Puree into a soup, cube and saute as a side, stuff, bake, and serve as a main dish...the sky is the limit.

One of my favorite ways of prepping this comes from the kitchn; a cooking blog that I always forget to check but often has good recipes. It is such a simple idea...cut a squash in half and prep one side sweet and one side savory.  Brilliant.  Also, the seeds can be roasted, just like a pumpkin's! This a great quick, cheap, and easy meal on a chilly Fall evening.


Sweet and Spicy Squash
How to roast seeds

Credits
Image: acorn squash a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from shaferlens's photostream

Reckoning Week 1

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	1/2 of a left-over turkey sandwich w/cup of coffee	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, 2 string cheese (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Pelmeni w/ sour cream
Tuesday	1 whole kiwi, a low-fat string cheese, and a cup of tea	Leftover pelmeni (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Lamb ragout
Wednesday	1 Avocado w/s&p and a cup of tea	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, 2 string cheese (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Roast Chicken and Gravy with Ratatouille
Thursday	2 slices of Friendship Bread and Coffee	Leftover Roast Chicken and Ratatouille	Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles
Friday	2 slices of Friendship Bread and Coffee	Leftover Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles (sugar snap peas, baby carrots, cup of tea)	Leftover Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

Household Tips

Tips are great.  But I find myself overwhelmed when I try to remember all those handy little tips people pass along.  Invariably, I only remember them when I see someone else doing something smart.  Thank goodness for the Internet.
Tipnut.com

This is one of my favorite go-to sites for tips.  I don't feel so bad when I can't remember everything my mother and grandmother taught me anymore, it's all archived on this site.  It's like Google for household help.  Take that 7th grade Home Ec!



This short blog post inspired by last night's dinner guests who were shocked (shocked!) to see me using lemon and salt while washing the dishes.

• Basic Morton's salt is what I use when I need a quick and easy scouring powder when doing dishes.
• Lemon juice is what I use when I have deep stains that need to come out (like beet juice on a wooden chopping board)
• Salt and lemon juice together is what I use to clean copper cheaply.

You know what? Tipnut knows all that too and more:
25 Household Uses for Salt
15 Helpful Household Lemon Aids

You might want to bookmark them.

Credits
Image: lemon tree a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Darwin Bell's photostream

True Budgeting

So I was reading an article on CNN today which was absolute RUBBISH.  It purports to tell you how to save $500 by Christmas and then suggests things like "eat in at least once a week" ... ::cricket cricket:: what, that's not a mind-blowingly awesome suggestion? Oh, you mean you already do that and more? I think this comment speaks for pretty much everyone reading that article, "unkatharos: This was no help at all. *disappointed"




It's no secret, food is a big expense because you gotta eat.  How to save money?  One of the first sites I found that helped me learn menu planning and budgeting was:

Hillbilly Housewife

They are great.  Not only do they provide recipes and menu plans, they often provide step-by-step instructions for everything along the way....ex:

Sunday Night: Mix up the dough for Overnight Bread.  Set it aside to rise.  Mix up a gallon of milk and a gallon of Tea. Put both into the fridge to chill.  Clean the kitchen.  Go to bed.

It may seem silly, or a little outdated to some...but sometimes, when you are panicked and scared, straight-forward instructions like "clean the kitchen" "go to bed" are very handy.

If you are hungry and desperate, please check these links out:

$45 Emergency Menu (for 4-6)
$70 Low-Cost Menu (for 4-6)

They used to offer menus planned around the Angel Food Ministries Boxes.  Those menus are still archived there but are no longer updated (as of Feb. 2010) but please let me recommend them anyway as a great start to budget meal planning.

How to REALLY save for the holidays without increasing your revenue...
So, if you are currently spending more than $25/week for a singleton or $50/week for a couple or $100/week for a family of 4...use one of these menus for a few weeks and use the savings for Christmas (or a holiday of your choosing, or your looming debt).

Credits
Image: Empty Plate a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Conway L.'s photostream

Starting with a Chicken

Roast chicken is one of the best ways to get a lot of food for a little.  But the more I've shopped this idea around the more I've come to learn that few people really know how to roast one.

I make this for my friends all the time and they are blown away.  I have people come up to me in the grocery store (abashed) asking how one prepares a whole chicken.  Even more impressively, I had my mother over and while she can cook a chicken, she never learned to carve one.  I have a secret: this is one of those things that I learned from the Internet.

  
Here are some of the best links to get you started:

How to Roast a Chicken
This page from about.com is spectacular.  A no-fail basic roast chicken recipe complete with links to making no-fail basic gravy and no-fail basic chicken stock AND teaches you fancy French words for things you already knew how to do.  Adding chopped veggies to the roasting pan? You've made mirepoix.  Gravy? You've probably made a roux and bechamel or veloute sauce.  Aren't we fancy?

How to Carve a Chicken
This video is great.  I love watching chefs do things because they make it seem so easy (and not scary).  The first time I watched this I actually went to Target and bought a fresh new carving knife just to try it out.  It wasn't expensive (about $3).

What to Do with the Leftovers
Cheap Healthy Good is one of my favorite food blogs.  They have helped me out a lot when I'm in a pinch for fast recipes.  "1 Chicken 17 Meals" is one of my all-time favorite posts. All recipe links are included and they are easy to manipulate with whatever ingredients you have on hand. The sesame noodle/peanut sauce recipe might have redeemed my cooking skills in the eyes of my mother.  Powerful stuff.



Credits
Image: Roast Chicken a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from kirybabe's photostream