Spinach and tomatoes

I made a tomato-florentine soup last night for dinner. And in doing so, I was reminded of the importance of eating a little Vitamin C rich food, along with leafy green veggies.

Leafy greens, like spinach, are a fair source of iron. However, the iron in spinach is non-heme (as opposed to heme iron in meat). And non-heme iron is difficult to absorb on it's own. However, if you consume a little Vitamin C along with the non-heme iron food (in this case spinach), your body can more readily absorb the iron in the spinach.

There are many recipes which combine a Vitamin C food with spinach.

In many Mediterranean countries, cooked spinach is served dressed with olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The lemon juice provides enough Vitamin C to help with the non-heme iron absorption.

There's a popular spinach salad, currently, that uses a dressing of olive oil, vinegar and pureed fresh strawberries. The strawberries are a good source of Vitamin C and aid in iron-absorption from the spinach in the salad.

I recently tasted a pasta salad that had fresh baby spinach and fresh cherry tomatoes in with the pasta and dressing. The cherry tomatoes (and all tomatoes) are a source of Vitamin C.

Italian cooking often times includes some spinach along with a tomato-based sauce. Florentine, or a la Florentine, is often synonymous with spinach-added (although not always, as in florentine cookies -- spinach in those would just be gross). Fresh or cooked tomatoes are often served in, or along side, Florentine dishes, such as whole tomatoes, stuffed with a mixture of spinach, bread crumbs, onions and cheese, known as Florentine Tomatoes.

The soup I made last night, Tomato-Florentine soup combined some leaves of fresh baby spinach, with the tomato puree from canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes hold on to  a good amount of their Vitamin C, even after the canning process. 1 cup of canned, stewed, red tomatoes contains 34% of the US RDA of Vitamin C.

If you're interested in making a pot of Tomato-Florentine Soup, here's what I use:

• canned or fresh tomato puree, the liquid from canned tomatoes, tomato paste along with water or stock, or chunks of tomatoes blended in the soup with an immersion blender, or any combination of these tomato products to make a soup consistency
• chicken or vegetable stock (or just water if that's all I've got)
• onions or onion powder
• minced celery or celery seed
• a bit of garlic powder or minced fresh garlic
• dried oregano
• olive oil
• fresh or frozen spinach
• salt and pepper to taste
• *optional* at the last minute, I add some cooked garbanzo beans for added protein, and cooked penne pasta, and top with grated Parmesan

If the soup tastes "flat" try adding a bit more onion powder, garlic powder, oregano and a pinch of salt.

While fresh tomatoes are still months away, in my garden. From mid-May through June, I usually have a lot of baby spinach. Fortunately, canned tomato products are very affordable, even on a tight budget.


When I was little, Popeye cartoons were very popular. My mom would cajole us into eating our spinach by singing the "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" song. She'd remind us of how Popeye would squeeze open a can of spinach and gulp it down. Of course, with what I know now, Popeye really should have been chasing his cans of spinach with a glass of tomato juice.

Shopping my own home for fabric to make summer pj shorts

One of my daughters's summer pajama shorts are ripped to shreds, literally. The holes appear to be taking up more of the shorts than the actual fabric.

With summer just around the corner, she is desperately needing new pj shorts. Pajama shorts are even quicker to sew than pj pants (yes, Cap't Obvious). They require a little over a yard of fabric and 2 feet of elastic for a women's size small. Even so, when I need some materials for a project, I shop what I have at home, before even setting foot in a store.

Here's a question for you -- what has literally yards of elastic and oodles of soft cottony fabric? I'll give you a hint, it used to be on my bed, and was patched many times.

Yes, that fitted, California King, white cotton sheet is the perfect item for a pair of pajama shorts. (I blogged about patching it here.) Although the body of that sheet was too thin to use, there was more than enough good fabric on the sheet to cut out the fronts and backs of the shorts. The part of the fitted sheet that hugs the sides of the mattress was in excellent condition. And the elastic on that sheet was the kind inside of a casing (not sewn to the edge). A bonus! No need to buy elastic for this project, either! And I have plenty of thread on hand.

I used the pattern that I use for my daughters' and my own pajama pants, only I folded under the legs of the pattern, to make one for shorts. (I had previously made a reduced-size pattern to use for my daughters, who are more petite than me.)

I wanted to add something pretty along the hem. After a thorough search of my trimming's box, I came up with nothing suitable. So, I used a machine edging stitch in lavender thread, making a sweet little scalloped edge to the shorts. Added a little lavender bow at the waistline to mark the front. These shorts were knocked out in about 2 and 1/2 hours on Sunday afternoon. They were free. And they put some fabric with life still in it, to good use.


Shopping my own home for materials and supplies saves me money, of course, but I really love that it gives a purpose to something I might have otherwise discarded.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for May

Tostados on Friday

Friday

Tostados -- home-fried corn tortillas, medley of pinto beans, brown rice and olives in spicy sauce, topped with cheddar, lettuce, shredded carrot and dressing of mayo and homemade salsa
Canned green beans sauteed with oil and salsa
Choice of brownie or pumpkin bread for dessert

Saturday

Scrambled eggs and cheese
Spaghetti noodles in leftover sauce from meatballs last week
Vegetable medley of diced carrots, frozen peas, 1 small potato chopped, butter and onion powder
Brownies/pumpkin bread

Sunday

Pigs in blankets, using marked-down Lil Smokies (99 cents/package) and scratch biscuit dough
Carrot sticks
Dried cranberries
Fresh, steamed asparagus (saved the butt ends for soup)
Brownies

Monday

Meatball-vegetable soup, using lots of scraps from the fridge
Toasted Cheddar cheese sandwiches
Pumpkin bread slices with cream cheese

Tuesday

Leftover soup (minus the meatballs), pureed with the immersion blender, really tasty
Yorkshire pudding
Blackberry-rhubarb-vanilla crisp

Wednesday

Black bean and cheese tacos
Green salad
Roasted carrot sticks
Dried cranberries

Thursday

Easy rice bake
Oven-roasted canned tomatoes
Pumpkin bread
Rhubarb custard pie


It was another hodge-podge week. It seemed like every night I was just throwing stuff together, without any real menu idea. I'm in a bit of a slump with meals, and more into the home decorating thing this week. I suppose that is good in itself. I took care of some challenging, to me, things this week.

On the up-side with regards to cooking, I have a small dinner party coming up in June, and I got that menu planned. My son's girlfriend's parents are coming to dinner (ACK!!). We've never met them, so I'm a bit nervous. Outside of cooking holiday meals, like turkey and ham dinners, I'm not terribly proficient at dinner party cooking. But I came up with a menu, that uses a lot of what we have on hand already, and will hopefully be very delicious. Just curious, if you had to come up with a dinner party menu, using mostly what you have in stock right now, what would you prepare?

I hope you all had a great week. What was on your menu this past week?

You know this, right? the tough ends of asparagus

Asparagus is a rather pricey vegetable. So I like to make sure that I use as close to every last bit that I can.

But those tough ends can be a problem, just as they are. I do the thing I think we all do, snap the stems to break off the tough ends, then steam or roast the tender parts.

I hang on to the tough ends to use in soups and casseroles. I use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough skin on the those ends. Without the skin, the asparagus ends are tender enough for chopping and adding to casseroles or soup. And the amount of waste is reduced to a small amount of skin from the bottom ends of the stalks.

And I even save the liquid from steaming the long stalks. I pour it into my fridge jar of veggie liquids to add to the next pot of soup. (The liquid in this jar, above, is a combination of asparagus steaming liquid and the liquid from a can of green beans. It was added to a soup that I made on Monday.)

Anyways, I splurged a bit on Sunday, and bought 2/3 pound of fresh asparagus at $1.88/lb, to have with dinner, and I was reminded of peeling the tough ends.

Sometimes organization isn't as "organized" as you'd think

the "chicken scratching" at the top of each receipt indicates when I recently
completed a survey, and when my next survey opportunity will open up

My "method" for tracking fuel reward questionnaire opportunities my seem somewhat haphazard. But it's been working for me for a couple of years, now.

One grocery chain encourages its customers to fill out online surveys concerning their shopping experience. As a reward, you earn 50 bonus fuel reward points. The drawback is you can only partake in one survey for points every 7 days, and each receipt's survey offer is only good for 7 days past the shopping. 

If I shopped on a very regular basis, this wouldn't be such a problem. Filling out the surveys might become a regular task for a particular day of the week. But I shop at this store when I happen to be in that area. Sometimes I shop just 4 or 5 days after the last visit. And I can't fill out a survey just yet, when I might be thinking of it, as 7 days has not elapsed since my last shopping trip.

I've come up with a system, of sorts. I keep the current receipts on the table right next to where I store my laptop. Organization experts would probably recommend keeping these receipts on a desk, right? I don't happen to use a desk daily. And if I'm not carefully tracking when the next opportunity to fill out a survey opens up, I could miss it altogether.

As this is an online survey, I need to use my laptop. By keeping the current receipt right next to the laptop, I see it daily and am reminded of the survey, every morning.

when I fill out the survey for this receipt, I will note that date, at the top

To track the survey window, I make some briefs notes at the top of each receipt. I first consult the previous receipt to see when I took the last survey. I then date the current receipt with the "do" date. After I complete the survey, I record the date I completed the survey, and whether it was in the AM or the PM. The previous receipt is filed in my folder of receipts, and this current one becomes the one sitting next to the laptop, to tell me when another survey opportunity will open up.

(I make the two notations --when to do, and when did-- because sometimes life just gets in the way, and I don't fill out the survey as promptly as I'd like.)

I suppose many organization experts would tell me to write this information down on a calendar or in an appointment reminder. I suppose I could. But that would make extra work for me, and may just be enough "extra" work to prevent me from doing any of this. If I've learned anything about myself it's this, make something more complicated than it needs to be and I'll surely drop all of it.

My solution is as simple as I can make it, yet still be effective. It works for me, and has for quite a while now. It's what I think of as haphazard organization.

The refrigerator salad bar

I love salad bars. They were my favorite type of restaurant when I was younger. I loved having so many items to choose from, to fill my plate. And now, my two daughters also love salad bars.

We do something, here at our house, to replicate that restaurant salad bar. I've created a constantly changing salad bar in my fridge.

There's the basis for most salads, the leafy greens. I'm trying to keep the salad spinner filled with leafy greens from our garden, all washed, torn and ready to eat. This week, is a combination of green leaf lettuce and baby spinach. If the greens are ever all taken for the day, everyone in the family knows they can simply go out to the garden and pick a few leaves.

Then there's all of the toppings. It changes from week to week. Sometimes it incorporates leftovers that need using. That last little bit of cooked veggies, stale bread made into croutons, an open jar of pickles or some olives. I try to keep a couple of protein sources in there, too, like cooked garbanzo beans, peeled boiled eggs, shredded cheese, or toasted nuts or seeds. And lots of raw veggies, like shredded carrots, tomatoes, sliced cucumber or celery, shredded cabbage, or radish slices. And sometimes, I add some chicken salad, turkey salad, potato salad, pasta salad, 3 bean salad, or egg salad.

For a long time, the salad bar ingredients were rather haphazardly kept in various parts of the fridge. This year, I finally got smart and corralled them all in a plastic, easy to wash, lightweight to lift, but sturdy to support and hold, shoebox. Family members can simply grab the salad bar box, the salad spinner of greens and the dressing. I keep most of the ingredients in glass or plastic jars (see-through is the key to get those items eaten), and items like the croutons and nuts/seeds in ziploc baggies, resting on top.

I keep at least one bottle of homemade dressing next to the salad bar in the fridge.

Having all of the ingredients washed, peeled, chopped, sliced or mixed, and ready to use, makes for very easy to throw together snacks and lunches. It's a great way to make sure we're grabbing healthy stuff, using what's in the garden, and taking care of leftovers. And then, towards the end of each week, I can use up those stragglers, the last odds and ends, in a pot of soup, or a large salad for the family.

This week's salad bar has leafy greens, shredded carrot, sliced celery, sliced olives, cooked garbanzo beans, an open jar of mild pepper rings, peeled boiled eggs (they're more likely to get used if I peel them), shredded cabbage, whole wheat croutons and sunflower seeds, with a dressing of homemade vinaigrette.

Mid-month means it's time for me to start making out next month's grocery list

So, yes, we're only 2 weeks into the month, and I'm already planning next month's shopping.

I begin the planning early, not because I'll be making menu plans 2 weeks ahead of the coming month, but because:

• by really planning my shopping, down to the last detail, I save money, lot's of money
• I add items to my list, as I cook and notice we're running low, this gives me 2 weeks to plan where to get the best deal on many items
• it gives me time to take inventory of some of the frequently used items, but might be overlooked as needing replacements -- shampoo, toothpaste, lightbulbs, vitamins, toothbrushes
• I have several stores I only hit once per month, and I don't want to backtrack later in the month, saving both time and gas
• each store has it's own "deal" items, priced lower than the other stores in the area and I want to take advantage of that
• one store is my bulk-buying store as they sell 50-lb sacks of some of my basics -- Cash & Carry. I limit going to Cash & Carry to just one or two times per month.
• one store I only go to once per month, even though it's super close -- Dollar Tree. I find DT to be a spending trap for me, too many hard-to-resist things there.
• one store gives me a 10% discount for being over 55, but only one day per month
• another store is now my go-to store for bulk bin purchases, but due to distance from my house, I only go there once per month

Every month, around the 15th, I get out a new sheet of paper, put a few headings (names of stores) on it, and clip to the fridge door. This is my shopping list. Items needed go under the appropriate store-heading.

Everyone in the family knows to write down items specific to their needs (like razors and hairbrushes). And when I notice we're running low on something, I write that down.

By beginning 2 weeks before the new month, I know I will take the time needed to seek out, and plan for, purchases at close to their lowest price in my town. I have time to identify "best" regular prices as well as check for coupons and sale/discount prices. I don't always get the very lowest price, but I do well enough that our budget and spending remains pretty low.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it's not. In fact, I believe I save time, by not forgetting items, which I always did when hastily making out my shopping lists.

Companies, large and small, have at least one person designated as the one to order supplies for the operation. It's efficient, with both money and time. I guess you could say that in addition to all of my other titles, I'm also the Supply Manager for our household.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for mid-spring

Friday

Swiss chard and radish green quiche
Brown rice
French bread
Oven-roasted carrots
Brownies

Saturday

Hummus on fry bread
Carrots and celery sticks
Dried cranberries
Brownies

Sunday

Roasted hotdogs and homemade buns
Green salad
Rhubarb-blackberry gelatin
Leftover pasta salad from lunch
S'mores

Monday

Grilled ham and cheddar on rye sandwiches
Cole slaw
Leftover rhubarb-blackberry gelatin
Cheesecake "bites" (one of two slices of cheesecake given to me, divided 5 ways)

Tuesday

Ham and egg fried rice, with cabbage and radishes
Rhubarb-blackberry sauce

Wednesday

Radish green and ham quiche
Pumpkin bread
Garden salad
Leftover brown rice

Thursday

Spaghetti and meatballs
Garden salad
Toasted garlic rye bread
more Cheesecake "bites"

Such a busy week. Making meals was not high on my priority list. But I got it done, nonetheless.

The garden is beginning to look really amazing. The lettuce is larger than I've ever grown. So we've been eating a lot of garden salads. The nights that we don't have a green salad are not because there isn't lettuce to pick, but because I just don't have time to pick, wash and dry the lettuce. On Thursday, I picked lettuce, twice. Once for lunch for two of us, and a second time for dinner. I'm on the second round of radishes now. When these are all pulled out, I'll need that space for another vegetable, so these are our last radishes. Any that didn't form roots were still used for their greens. Next week, we should begin to use the fresh spinach.

I didn't have a favorite meal this week, for what was eaten. But I did have one favorite dinner for where it was eaten. One of my daughters had a performance on Wednesday evening. So I met up with the other daughter, on campus beforehand, and we had a picnic on the grass for our dinner. It was a sunny late afternoon, and such a pleasant spot for a picnic. The company, the location and the entertainment to follow were what made that meal special.

How about you? Were there any special suppers this past week at your place?

This is the week I get all of those remaining "Easter eggs" into the freezer

These are the eggs that I bought the week before Easter, for 99 cents per dozen, at Target. there was no limit, so I bought 20 dozen. Yes, you read that correctly, 20 dozen. I have this teensy problem of when I see a bargain, I get a little bit carried away, and really stock up. So long as I can do something to preserve the item I've stocked up on, it won't go to waste, and will save money in the long haul.

But, I've got to get all of the eggs that I bought into the freezer in the next couple of days. They're a bit passed the sell-by date. So . . .

I've been freezing eggs, one at a time. In a muffin tin, lined with squares of plastic wrap, I've frozen some of them. There's one egg on the far right that got a little messy, when the plastic slipped into the tin before I filled it completely with egg. I straightened the plastic, as best I could and continued filling. It'll be a bit harder to remove from the tin than the others, but should be okay.

I've also frozen bunches of eggs in containers, 3, 4 and 5 at a time. This is the simplest, and will be just right for many recipes. I mark the tops of the containers, so I know if there's salt or sugar added, how many eggs, and when I froze them. And if what I need is 3 eggs, but all I have is 4-egg quantities, I can thaw a 4-egg container, measure out 3 eggs (3 tablespoons per egg), and keep the last egg in the fridge for a couple of days, until needed. Thawed eggs remain "safe" for cooking, about 2 to 3 days in the fridge.

I've frozen eggs as pre-made, individual slices of frittata -- great for breakfasts or quick lunches. I use parchment paper to separate each portion. (They do tend to glom together, when frozen, due to the moisture.)

I've frozen eggs as loaves of pumpkin bread. A 2-loaf batch uses 4 eggs. Pumpkin bread freezes nicely. I'll be making several loaves of pumpkin bread this week, both to use the eggs, and use some of the pumpkin.

And I've frozen eggs as ready-made dinners, in the form of quiche.

My daily goal is to freeze about 1  1/2 dozen eggs, in some form or other. If I stick to this goal, I'll have gone through all of the eggs that I bought the week before Easter, giving me a nice supply of usable eggs for cooking and baking, as well as some ready-made items in the freezer.

Anyone else out there still using up eggs from the pre-Easter stock-up? According to the USDA, eggs remain safe to use in cooking for 3 to 5 weeks post the sell-by date. For more information on freezing eggs, here's a post I wrote a couple of years ago.

I have no idea how the Kohl's in my area is staying in business, and other topics

Because they're certainly not making anything from my shopping. Yes, another $10 off coupon. I took it to Kohl's last week, shopped around for a bit, and settled on a pair of new slippers for myself.

Regularly $24. On sale for $12. With coupon, just $2 and tax.

Some oatmeal that languished in the refrigerator all last week was put through the food processor with milk, egg and oil, and became . . .

a batch of waffles for the freezer. It seems no one wanted oatmeal, but are now very pleased to have waffles.

And, one last thing. Can you guess which upcoming holiday I'm thinking about? Give you a hint -- the star will only make sense for an American summer holiday.

Getting 3-year old spots out of white carpeting for pennies

These unsightly spots were partially hidden beneath the edge of a sofa.

I'm unsure what they were originally. They appeared shortly after having some guests over, for a holiday dinner (kids all went to the living room to play Monopoly while adults lingered at the table). It could be sparkling apple cider, but I'm not at all certain. Anyways, I had tried liquid dish detergent to no avail. My intent had always been to buy a commercial carpet spot and stain remover.

One day, last week, I thought to try some ordinary, drugstore 3% solution, hydrogen peroxide. I dribbled tiny amounts from the cap of the bottle, onto each spot. I very gently rubbed with a cotton t-shirt rag. And then reapplied the hydrogen peroxide a couple more times. I only used about 2 tablespoons of the hydrogen peroxide, in total.

When it appeared that the spots were sufficiently removed, I blotted the area with a paper napkin.

Spots are gone. Carpet looks great, again. It's hard to believe that this carpeting is now 21 years old.

We've very recently rearranged some furniture in the living room, and this area of the carpet was in full view. Taking care of those spots is one more item to check off of my list.

Happy Monday!

It was a whirlwind weekend, for me. A lot packed into just 2 days. But it all worked out. I had one daughter to pick up late in the evening on Friday, and another daughter to send off for an Astronomy overnighter, the next afternoon. I always feel at loose ends when my children are coming/going/missing from family meal times, on the weekend. But by Sunday, mid-morning, all 3 were back together, to help me celebrate Mother's Day.

Saturday morning was my Mother's Day time with just my daughters. The 3 of us had a breakfast pastry freebie on our Panera cards, each, to use soon. As well, we each had Starbuck's cards to use, it was a beautiful morning, and our local mall has a lovely outdoor area. You can guess where we spent our morning on Saturday. A lovely all-girls outing, for virtually no-cost, but the gas. And even with the gas used, we combined this outing with an errand to get a gift card for my brother's birthday and fill-up the car with gas for the month, not far from the mall. And alas, all of the birthday freebies are now used up for the year.

Sunday was an equally lovely day (although the weather turned inclement), in that my son's girlfriend came home from church with us for a nice lunch, made and provided by my daughters. I was able to just sit in the living room talking with my son and GF, while someone else made lunch. The daughter gone on the overnighter made a stop by the grocery store on her way home the next day, and picked up deli salads, some blueberries, crackers and sausage. I had made a pitcher of lemonade for the fridge, and had 1 box of Girl Scout cookies in the pantry, to add to the mix. It was a leisurely sit-down repast in the dining room for the 6 of us.

Then by evening, the weather cleared up just long enough to roast hotdogs and make s'mores around the fire in the fire ring. My son and I were able to spend some time just chatting, late into the evening, as the fire died down and the sprinkles picked up.

Time with all of my kids is what I wanted most for Mother's Day. And that is what they gave me.

My posting will be back on track tomorrow morning. Have a wonderful Monday!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for early May

shoestring sweet potato fries, my new obsession

Friday

Bean and chicken burritos, using leftover refried beans, cheddar cheese and chicken enchilada filling from freezer
Leftover brown rice, topped with enchilada sauce from freezer
Carrot and celery sticks
Rhubarb-blackberry sauce


Saturday

Clean-out-the-fridge-and-freezer soup (using liquid from thawed frozen spinach, olive juice, mushrooms past their prime, bottom of celery bunch, 1 cup of Mexican chicken soup found in the freezer, rinsings from the skillet that I fried hamburgers in, (after I drained the fat I rinse the skillet with water and froze that flavored water), last 2 carrots, 1 potato, tomato paste, herbs, some Swiss chard from garden)
Sweet potato shoestring fries (oh my, homemade and fresh out of the hot oil, these are soooo good)
Apple wedges


Sunday

Little smokies in homemade barbeque sauce
Rye bread and butter
Green salad
Pumpkin chiffon pie

Monday

Teriyaki chicken and vegetables (Swiss chard, celery cores, frozen peas and chive blossoms)
Brown rice
Green salad
Leftover pumpkin pie

Tuesday

Homemade chicken soup, using simmered chicken bones from night before, radish leaves, pumpkin, barley, onion powder, garlic granules, garden sage, canned green beans and broken spaghetti noodles
Garlic toast
Garden salad of lettuce, radish and chive blossoms

Wednesday

Leftover soup form night before
Three bean salad (I had canned green beans, pinto beans and garbanzo beans ready)
Cheese toast

Thursday

Swiss chard and cheddar quiche (Swiss chard in the garden will bolt soon, so that's on my list to use, plus I added the leaves of the radishes from the salad)
Garden salad of lettuce and radishes
French bread (need bread for Friday's lunches, so baking French bread, Thursday afternoon killed two birds)
Scratch brownies (we needed a treat around here, and I'd just bought more sugar. Yep, we were completely and totally out of sugar until Thursday)



Nothing fancy this past week (like there's ever anything fancy around here, ha ha). Just a lot of basic, humble meals.

Cinco de Mayo's dinner was anything but Mexican. Oh well. Did anyone here do anything especially festive for Cinco e Mayo?

And speaking of holiday feasts, etc -- what are everyone's Mother's Day plans? We're planning a cook-out for dinner, with hotdogs (bought cheap with Senior Discount this week), buns that I have in the freezer, a fruited gelatin salad, a garden salad, and s'mores for dessert. I told the kids I just wanted a casual afternoon, maybe get out the croquet set, and hang out in the backyard, weather permitting.

I hope you enjoy Mother's Day. Have a great weekend!

Sourdough Rye Bread

This recipe makes two large, oblong loaves of rye. It's a multi-step recipe, first creating a rye sourdough starter, and then extending the starter to a sponge, and finally to the dough. I find it best to begin early on day one, in order to bake by late afternoon on day two. The sourdough starter is for flavor more than leaven. Yeast is still used, which insures a good rise to the loaves. If you're buying rye four by the pound, this recipe requires about 1  1/4 to 1  1/2 lbs. (I bought rye flour at WinCo in the bulk bins.)

Day One

In a large glass or ceramic bowl, stir together:
1/2 cup rye flour
1/4 cup room temp water
1  1/4 teaspoons yeast

Cover tightly. (I use a sheet of plastic wrap, top with a plate.) Place in a warm location, about 80 degrees F, for 24 hours. In my house, that warm location is the oven, with the door closed, and light on.

Day Two

Early the next morning, stir in:
1 cup of warm water
1 cup of rye flour

Cover tightly, set in warm place for about 4 hours.

First Sponge

Stir in:
3/4 teaspoon yeast

Mix well with:
1  3/4 cups rye flour

Cover tightly, set in warm place for about 2 hours, to ferment.

Second Sponge

Stir into first sponge:
1 cup warm water, then,
1/2 teaspoon yeast, then,
1  3/4 cup rye flour
1  3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cover with a damp towel, set in warm place for another 2 hours.

Dough

To the sponge, stir in:
3/4 cup warm water
3 teaspoons salt
1 to  1  1/2 tablespoons caraway seed
1  3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Allow to rest, covered with a damp towel for about 15 minutes.

Turn dough onto a well-floured surface (or into a stand mixer with dough hook). Knead in:
between 1 to 2 cups of all-purpose flour, until you have a stiff dough.

Shape into 2 long loaves and place on a buttered baking sheet. Allow to rise for about an hour, until not quite double in bulk. Don't allow it to rise too much, as it can cause the loaves to flatten.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (non-convection). Bake loaves for 1 hour.

After removing from oven, spread with butter while still warm. Cool on a rack.

Comments:

Because of the time needed to bake sourdough rye, I prefer to make 2 loaves at a time, and freeze the second loaf. But this recipe can also be halved, and does well.

If you don't like so heavy of a rye flavor, you can also substitute about 1 cup of all-purpose flour for 1 cup of the rye flour called for in the second sponge, and still have a respectable rye loaf.

If you prefer, a salt glaze is more traditional than the buttered top. To salt-glaze the loaves,  combine 1 teaspoon salt with 1/2 cup of water and brush over loaves, after baking, while still warm from the oven.

Depending on how early I get started on Day Two,  I can have this ready for the dinner table (beginning around 6 or 7 AM).


I'll type up the recipe for Sweet Swedish Rye Bread in a couple of days. It calls for fennel seed, anise seed (although I usually just use anise), orange zest and molasses, which go well with the rye flavor.

Just a couple of things

These are the two loaves of sourdough rye bread I baked over the weekend. Kris, I'm working on typing up the recipe, and will hopefully get it up later this week. The bread is very yummy, and has no added sugar or fat (except what I rub on the tops of the loaves after baking). I didn't buy enough rye flour, so my loaves came out a little heavier on the all-purpose flour. This recipe really needs about 1  1/4 lbs of rye flour (I only had about 3/4 lb).

First radishes from the garden this season. I've had trouble growing radishes before. This year I took extra efforts with them. I worked a bit of veggie fertilizer into the soil before planting the seeds. Then as soon as the seedlings were big enough to survive being moved, I thinned them, and put the displaced seedlings into bare spots. I think doing both things helped. Radishes don't usually size-up for me. Maybe our soil had been depleted?

I sliced the roots to add to the garden salad for dinner last night. And then with the green tops, I shredded them and added to the soup. A soup, salad and bread supper.

Soup was made from the chicken bones leftover from the night before, with the radish greens, tops of celery, pumpkin, canned green beans, barley and garden sage added to the broth and meat. The salad was a toss of lettuce from the garden, radishes and chive blossoms, dressed in homemade creamy vinaigrette. The creamy vinaigrette was simply chive blossom vinegar, oil, mayo, garlic granules, salt and pepper. And the bread, well that was this week's freebie at Fred Meyer. It was a white bread, which I don't care for. But I turned it into garlic toast.

So, all in all, a pretty frugal dinner, and no one left the table hungry, as there was plenty of everything.

Have you ever bought a bunch of celery and find that the bottom couple of inches is more "core" than stem?

This happened every so often, when I buy a bundle of celery. The first few stalks peel off nicely. Then the stalks grow shorter and shorter, as this core in the bottom of the bundle develops. That core may not be useful for celery sticks, but it can be used in soups and stews.

I simply chop off the core, cut off the very bottom, wash and chop fine.

It gives flavor and texture to my soups and stews.

April 2016 Grocery Spending Journal

April 5. Senior Discount day at Fred Meyer. I bought a lot today, but not much in the food section. I bought 1 box of vegetable garden fertilizer for $3.93 using the senior discount, 4 half-gallons of whole milk and 2 half-gallons of orange juice for 89 cents each, using an in-ad coupon, plus the senior discount, 6 15-oz jars of natural-style peanut butter for $1.35 each, on sale and using the senior discount, 11.5 oz can of decaf coffee, for $3.23, using a coupon plus the senior discount, and a freebie of  3-oz package of Doritos chips snack mix. I spent $20.60. Not many food items I needed this month, there.

April 6. Had to go to Home Depot, so stopped at Imran's ethnic market just down the street. I bought 24 Pink Lady apples at 49 cents/lb, 9 bananas at 49 cents/lb, 5 green bell peppers at 5/$1, 1 bunch of celery at 99 cents. Spent $7.39

April 11. Dollar Tree for my once per month visit. I buy 2 quarts of soy milk, 1 box of graham crackers (for making s'mores) and 1 package of Ritz-style crackers. Spent $4

April 12. World Market for Olive Oil. I'm not picky about many brands. However, olive oil is another story. I have a favorite brand California Olive Ranch. WM has some of the best prices in town on olive oil, especially when on sale. I bought the 750 mL bottle (about 25 oz) for $6.74. It's reg. price at WM is $8.99, still a great deal. spent $6.74

April 13 Trader Joe's for bananas and cocoa powder. I buy 15 bananas at 19 cents each, and 1 9-oz container of cocoa powder at $2.49. I spent $5.34

April 13 Just down the road from Trader Joe's is WinCo. While there I check the cocoa powder in the bulk bins. It's $3.08/lb, $1.35/lb less than Trader Joe's. I've just found my new place to buy cocoa powder! Even though I just bought 1 container of cocoa powder at TJ, I went ahead and bought just over 1/2 lb of bulk cocoa powder. It's dutched, so I thought I'd do a comparison with Trader Joe's, which isn't dutched. I also buy about 1/3 lb gluten, at $2.61/lb (for improving my homemade bread), 3/4 lbs of rye flour, at $1.13/lb,  1 1/2 lbs of raisins at $1.79/lb, and a 5-lb bag of carrots at $2.28. I spent $8.61 (I also bought a supply of bathroom tissue here, the 20 roll Scott's 1000 sheet. These were bonus rolls, so each 20-roll package was the same amount of tissue as 22 rolls. I bought the last 2 bonus packages. Price was $12.97 per package.)

Total spent for the month, so far -- $52.68.

April 16. Stopping in at Albertson's to pick up eggs (99 cents/dozen w/coupon, limit 2), and 1 lb of strawberries for my cake. $2. Total spent $3.98

Total spent month to date -- $56.66   This is pretty awesome for mid-month. And it covered a birthday dinner! We'll see how much I need to spend in the next 2 weeks.

April 19. Stop at Safeway for 99cent/dozen eggs, limit 2. Spent $1.98

Also go to Fred Meyer, for 99 cent half-gallons of milk, limit 6. I also pick up a gift card (with 4X fuel reward) for Mother's Day, and my 2 freebies from the last couple of weeks, a flavored water, and a dip for chips. these freebies will be added to my other freebies to give to my husband, as a treat on his birthday. Call me big spender! On groceries, I spent $5.94.

April 21. At Home Depot picking up garden supplies, so I stopped in Imran's (next door) and bought 13 Pink Lady apples (at 49 cents/lb), 5 small yams (at 79 cents/lb), 3 avocados (59 cents each) and 1 bundle of celery (99 cents). I spent $6.37

April 22. Cash & Carry, for laundry detergent (on sale, in the huge buckets. Last tome I bought this it lasted 6 months. This time I bought 2 buckets, hoping to not think about laundry detergent for a year. If these last 6 months each, the cost will be around $2.61 per month, more than melting bar soap for laundry use, but less than buying Dollar Tree's Sun laundry powder, almost 1/2 price of Dollar Tree's Sun powder.) Also wanted the sharp cheddar cheese on sale in 5-lb bags for $9.48 (I bought 3 bags), and 3 bunches of bananas at 44 cents/lb. On food, I spent $31.60.

Went by the mall and got my free bagel at Panera, to give to my husband. No charge. My daughter was with me. She also had Panera's free bagel, every day in April, on her card. So, she got one, had it split and toasted, and the two of us shared her free bagel, with free butter and free glasses of water. After, we walked over to See's to buy a small bag of 4 chocolates for my husband's birthday. We each got a free chocolate, as samples. The birthday chocolates are part of my husband's gift, so don't come out of the grocery budget. I managed to get 4 bagels at Panera, for free, over the course of the month.

On to Fred Meyer. I've been using my Home Depot gift card purchased there earlier in the month, to pay for pavers for the yard. Fred Meyer has had a 4X fuel reward on gift cards the last couple of weeks. This offer is only good fro another day, so I wanted to take advantage of it one more time. I also get my Friday freebie (a bag of gummy worms, to go with other freebies to give to my husband), and bought 5 half-gallons of milk and 1 half-gallon of orange juice, each 99 cents w/ coupon, limit total of 6, and a 1 lb container of fresh mushrooms on markdown for $1.79. Total spent on food, $7.73.

For the month, so far, I've spent $110.28

And that's where the spending for April ends. I had a surplus of $123.48 going into April. Add to that my $190 budgeted amount, for a total $$ available of $313.48, for April. I underspent by $203.20. Going into May, I'll have $393.20 for the month.

Last year, in May, I spent about $176. Some prices were higher, last year than they've been this year, like with beef. I was paying about 50 cents more per pound for ground beef last spring, compared to about a month ago. Egg prices seem to be coming back down a bit, from their high last fall. But many other foods are either at the same level in price, or increased, in our area. It's getting harder to find great deals on produce. And coffee prices have steadily risen over the past couple of years.

I'm having to shop around a lot more than I used to. But that's all part of the challenge. I'll do my very best.

We were fortunate, this month, that there were so many freebies available. Many of these items were "treat" items, things I'd never buy. So feelings of deprivation never arose. But also, having a couple of birthdays in the month meant more homemade cake and pie. Having home-baked treats around, although not good for my waistline, really offsets any feelings of doing "without". I'll have to remind myself of this in future months.


What I bought:

Meat

no meat -- I can't believe I went the whole month and didn't buy any meat at all!

Produce

3 half-gallons orange juice
37 Pink Lady apples
42 bananas
5 green bell peppers
2 bundles celery
1  1/2 lbs raisins
5 lbs of carrots
5 yams
3 avocados
1 lb fresh mushrooms

Dairy

15 half-gallons milk
2 quarts soy milk
4 dozen eggs
15 lbs sharp cheddar cheese

Pantry

6 15-oz jars of natural-style peanut butter
11.5 oz can of decaf coffee
3-oz package of Doritos snack mix (free)
1 box of graham crackers
1 box of Ritz-style crackers
750 mL olive oil
a little over 1 pound of cocoa powder
1/3 pound of gluten for bread-baking
3/4 pound of rye flour
individual bottle of flavored water (free)
package of spinach-artichoke dip for chips/crackers/bread (free)
4 bagels (free)
2 See's chocolates (free)
4 oz. package of gummy worms (free)

Garden

1 box of veggie fertilizer

Saving *is* earning for April

floral centerpiece for kitchen table, using wisteria, salal, big root geranium and ivy

A penny saved is a penny earned.

This spring, it feels like we're hemorrhaging "green". Every time I turn around, there's another repair, or, medical/dental need, or, replacement which has to be paid for. And, oh yeah, we've been spending some money on fun stuff, too (like the trip to SF, and some new French doors and work on our living room). So, to keep me motivated and stay on track with my frugal vigilance, I began a list of all the ways that I was saving money for the month of April.

Even if it has been an expensive season for us, at least it wasn't made worse by neglecting many of my frugal endeavors.

I know that some of you, also, make these lists or keep track of savings for the month, as a way to maintain your frugal motivation. I think they're fun to read. So I thought I'd post mine. Feel free to share yours in the comments.

Here's the bulk of my "saving is earning" for April.

Groceries

• kept spending below budget amount for the month
• went to WinCo again this month and saved several dollars over shopping at other stores for same items
• drank more tap water and less coffee/tea
• rationed out the one small can of decaf coffee to get through entire month (decaf is more expensive than regular). Once per week, I scooped 1/4 of the can into the decaf jar, and made this small can last the whole month.
• shopped at the ethnic store for produce, and found a second ethnic store close to us
• made vanilla sugar with spent vanilla beans, for use in coffee and tea
• made rosemary-garlic infused olive oil for dipping bread
• baked one birthday cake and one birthday pie, both scratch-made, instead of buying a bakery item or using mixes 
• ate more bean-based meals to conserve the supply of meat in the freezers
• was able to skip buying whipping cream to add to daughter's milk (woo-hoo! This is great for several reasons!)
• used up the last 6 pounds of very wrinkled potatoes, as mashed potatoes, enough for 2 dinners and a couple of servings at lunch
• cooked simple meals from scratch
• baked all breads, muffins, flour tortillas, and desserts from scratch (including this past Friday, when I didn't want to make tortillas, and knew I could pick up a package for a dollar, but I did make them, anyway, as I knew it would help the bottom line)
• used my crockpot to make overnight steel cut oats and regular oatmeal for quick breakfasts in the mornings a couple of times per week, used crockpot to have soup ready after church on Sundays, used crockpot to cook beans from dried for easy vegetarian meals
• made another batch of pie pastry for the freezer (enough for 5 crusts)
• I was bored with my homemade whole wheat and homemade French bread, so I asked a friend for ideas, and branched out a bit. I made wheat and oat bread a week ago. I picked up rye flour at WinCo earlier this month, and now have also made some rye bread to spice things up in the bread box. I had been seriously tempted to buy some bread at the store. Making some different types of bread, myself, saved a couple of dollars per loaf.

Restaurant dining

• skipped restaurants for 2 birthdays this month and made dinners at home, using what we had on hand (plus 1 purchased basket of strawberries for my cake)
• resisted the urge to pick up quick meals or Starbucks for myself when out running errands, and came home to prepare yummy and quick meals, and brewed my own coffee
• daughter and I split her 1 free bagel at Panera while out running errands together. They split and toasted that bagel for us, plus gave us free butter to spread on it, and free water to drink. We sat by the fire to eat our free snack. We saved my free bagel to take home, wrap in plastic wrap and give to husband as part of his birthday freebies bag
• enjoyed my free ice cream cone and free dish of frozen yogurt, as birthday freebies, for my lunch on two occasions
• ate every meal of the month at home or packed from home (with exception to the freebies for the month)

Gasoline

• bought a few gift cards at Fred Meyer during 2-week 4X fuel rewards promotion. I saved 90 cents a gallon as a result, netting over $9 in savings on gas from those gift card purchases alone
• kept track of survey opportunities to earn bonus fuel points, 3 times this month (150 points total), saving an extra 15 cents per gallon

Clothing/grooming/health/personal

• didn't buy any new clothing/shoes/accessories this month
• made 1 apron out of an old dress I had
• cut my own hair for free
• colored my hair from a box, bought in a 3-pack online, at a discount
• bought some face and neck cream from Marshall's at a discount
• made fragranced bath oil with vegetable oil and essential oils, used an old essential oil vial to dispense
• used $5 off coupon (came in mail as a result of signing up for savings program) to buy vitamin supplement that I would have bought anyway. The sale on this supplement plus the $5 off coupon, rendered it cheaper than the cheapest online source by a couple of dollars
• bought myself the cheapest, bare-bones prepaid cell phone, for $4.99; I won't activate the phone until I need it, maybe in early June

Freebies

• make-up freebies from Sephora (birthday)
• 4 free bagels, for me, from Panera (April promotion, one daughter had to take her computer into Apple -- under warranty, phew -- a couple of times this month; a couple of those times I picked her up afterwards, with Panera in the same complex, so no extra gas spent to get those bagels)
• 6 or 7 free bagels from Panera for my daughter -- I lost track of how many she tried there this month
• scoop of ice cream from Baskin & Robbins (birthday)
• cup of frozen yogurt from Menchie's (birthday)
• 2 travel-size containers of shower gel to use in daughters's stockings at Christmas (coupons from Bath & Body Works in mail, no purchase necessary)
• Friday Freebies at Fred Meyer -- small bag of snack mix, individual bottle flavored water, container of chip dip, gummy worms
• 2 free chocolates from See's when we went to buy 4 chocolates for a birthday gift

last year's geraniums, overwintered indoors until last week

Home/garden

• bought 2 gift cards to Home Depot, at Fred Meyer, to take advantage of 4X fuel rewards, then used that HD gift card for purchases for yard work, as needed
• used some of the surplus electricity budget $$ to buy more LEDs for the house
• bought primroses on clearance, to plant in garden, will come back year after year
• moved my geraniums and mums, which I overwintered indoors, out to deck, all survived
• replanted 2 rosemary bushes, which I dug up in fall, and overwintered indoors
• moved my lavender cuttings which have rooted (cuttings taken at end of last summer), out to the deck
• made a bottle of lavender linen spray from lavender oil, rubbing alcohol and water
• made a bottle of spray starch for ironing, from liquid starch and water in a recycled fine-mist bottle, used this spray starch to refresh my "new" apron
• found bar soap on clearance at Fred Meyer and made several batches of laundry soap
• bought year's supply (two 33-lb buckets) of laundry detergent when on sale at Cash & Carry, at almost half-price of buying Dollar Tree's laundry powder
• I made my own potting soil mix for the planters on the deck and to top-dress the cranberry bed, using composted manure, bagged topsoil and some packaged veggie-tomato fertilizer (about 1 to 2 parts manure to 3 parts bagged top soil, and just a sprinkling of fertilizer). This works for me in large pots and planters on the deck, but is not good for starting seeds. I buy seed-starting soil that is used only in flats of seedlings. My homemade potting soil mix is about half-price the cost of buying potting soil.
• composted all food and garden waste, moved finished compost to area of the flower garden
• started seeds for annual flowers for the garden, instead of buying seedlings, saved about $4, "rescued" pansy and viola babies that free-seeded in pots on deck, and moved to new spots to fill other pots
• started seeds for 2 kinds of thyme for pots, using seeds I had at home
• made bouquets for the kitchen table, from garden blooms and greenery, once a week
• transplanted spinach, cabbage, kale, parsley to garden, started from seeds indoors; direct-seeded carrots, radish, beets, chard, peas, spinach, dill, cilantro. When I thinned the radishes and beets, I did so with a screwdriver, to gently remove extra seedlings, and replant in bare places.

Utilities

• around the 20th of April, turned the thermostat low enough that it effectively turned the furnace off until fall. On chilly days, we wear fleece and a couple of layers. The house has been around 64-65 degrees F on cool days, and up to about 75 on the warm ones.(had to be turned back on, on April 26th right around 60 degrees F inside, too cold -- oh well)
• installed 4 new LED bulbs, to replace 2 CFLs and 2 incandescent bulbs
• used gray water, from rinsing vegetables, to water pots on the deck
• used rain barrel water for watering the garden

Finances

• kept track of 2 sizable checks due in the mail, and deposited immediately into interest-bearing account
• finalized all of the paperwork on my end for charitable donation of stock shares to our church, saving us on next year's taxes
• had 1-hour meeting with financial consultant at our brokerage/investment firm (for free) to educate me on some investment strategies
• got all of our tax paperwork for husband and self, plus 2 of our kids, done, submitted and on-time, long-hand (skipped the paid, tax software)
• paid all bills electronically or over the phone, with exception to water bill (uses a service for e-payments, which charges a fee), saving a stamp for the utility bills
• paid bills in full, saving on auto-insurance and tuition by paying the full amount and skipping monthly payments

Gifts/holiday

• bought a gift card for step-mom for Mother's Day a few weeks early, to take advantage of 4X fuel rewards
• bought a bunch of greeting/birthday/wedding cards on clearance at Jo Ann Fabrics, 90% off, then 15% off total purchase with coupon - yielding about 92% off each card
• bought next year's Easter candy, double-bagged and stored in a trunk in a cool closet in house
• bought Easter-themed cupcake liners at 70% off, plus a 15% off coupon (after sale and coupon applied, works out to 25% of original price)
• with an expensive package to mail to a friend, I've been weighing the components to keep below the max weight limit for the lowest possible postal fee. I went online at USPS to find the information on mailing costs, package size and weight limits for each tier of the fees. My goal is to get the most into that package as possible, without having to pay for the next weight limit up, because I went over by a couple of ounces.
• reused gift wrap and tissue paper, ironing on low setting to smooth out wrinkles before wrapping. Saved ribbons/bows and wrapping still in good condition.

Fun stuff

• went to beach on a sunny day, parked up the hill in old town, free street parking, instead of paid parking lot at the beach
• set up the fire ring on patio and enjoyed a fire and roasting marshmallows one warm April evening
• downloaded lots of free music to my computer via Freegal (through library, 3 free songs per week), then onto my ipod
• enjoyed walks through neighborhood on pleasant days, bringing my camera to help me really see the beauty around me
• watched informational and fun videos on youtube
• read excerpts from books on Amazon, enough to glean some valuable information (this works better with non-fiction than fiction, obviously)
• writing this list -- yes, I had fun doing this!

Birthday freebies snack bag for husband's birthday present (all packed in a reused Happy Birthday gift bag)

• Tostitos Dipitizers Spinach and Artichoke dip -- 10 oz (I added 1 sleeve of Ritz-style crackers from Dollar Tree to go with this dip)
• Black Forest organic gummy worms -- 4 oz
• Doritos Snack Mix -- 3 oz
• Tum-E Yummies enhanced water -- 10 oz
• Panera chocolate chip bagel

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers-- another birthday in the week

rhubarb-blackberry gelatin (chilling in the shallow baker shortens it's set-time)

Wednesday, I woke up with the beginnings of a migraine. It only increased as the day wore on. Ugh. As a result, I got very little done that day and the next. No blogging for me. My apologies. But check back over the weekend, if you're online. I may have an extra post for you (that just wasn't ready to hit publish on Thursday morning). I hope you had a great week!

Here's our Cheap & Cheerful menu for this past week:

Friday (my husband's birthday with a family celebration at home)

Cod cakes (remember when I asked for ideas to use some frozen cod?)
Homemade sweet potato shoestring fries
Celery sticks
Lemon Meringue pie

Saturday

Homemade olive and mushroom pizza
Apple wedges
Carrot and celery sticks
Leftover pie

Sunday

Minestrone soup
Yorkshire pudding

Monday

Scratch macaroni and cheese
Leftover minestrone soup
Rhubarb-blackberry jello

Tuesday

Corn souffle (using this recipe) (with the last of the ham cracklings as the add-in)
Leftover rhubarb-blackberry jello
Frozen spinach-garlic-canned tomato-celery top gratin

Wednesday

Corn bread waffles
Turkey bacon
Spinach frittata topped with cheddar
Pumpkin souffle

Thursday

Tortilla chips (made from corn tortillas)
Guacamole (using those 59-cent avocados from the ethnic market)
Homemade salsa
Refried beans, brown rice and cheese
Apple wedges
Tossed green salad (yep! from the garden!)

My husband's birthday was one week ago. He does like fish. And I hardly ever cook fish, as I really don't relish eating it. But for his birthday and Father's Day, I do make fish as a special favor to him. (aren't I swell?!)

For the fishcakes, I found a recipe online that used potatoes with the flaked fish. I had a hunch I would enjoy those more than cakes that use bread crumbs. So, that's the recipe that I worked from. My fishcakes also had eggs, onion powder, minced chives, mustard, salt and pepper mixed in with poached cod fillets and mashed potatoes.

I didn't feel like it was a very imaginative week for meals. A lot of celery sticks and apple wedges for fruit/veggies. But it all worked out. Everyone had plenty to eat, and somewhat balanced meals. Bonus -- eating simply kept my grocery spending under budget, once again. I'll post my spending recap for April, on Monday. (The month's not over yet. I could go hog-wild and spend, spend, spend tomorrow!)

Did you make anything that wasn't something you regularly like to eat, this week? Is it ever difficult balancing some family members's favorite foods with your own dislike for them?

Have a great weekend!

The April garden

With everything coming up so early this year, you'd think our vegetable garden would be in overdrive right now. Not exactly. This is the time of year that everything slows down, in my garden.

The fall planted kale, which has been our garden mainstay this spring, is about done. But, there are a few edibles just barely ready or almost ready.

baby lettuce, to the right, radishes, getting there, to the left

garlic and shallots, whose greens I can cut for flavor

crimson-stemmed chard (these red stems have a phytonutrient
 called betalain, useful as an anti-oxidant against LDLs)

Fordhook Swiss chard

chives are abundant, and the blossoms are just now ready
 for making vinegar or tossing in soups and salads

perennial herbs, sage, oregano, thyme, sorrel

lots and lots of rhubarb (had some in gelatin the last two nights)

two gorgeous lemon balm plants
Nice for tea, or chopped and added to salads and cakes, but also make
 nice ornamentals in the garden, with their bushy habit. I've got a third 
plant getting its start from  a division in a pot on the deck right now. 
Once established, the thirdone will join it's siblings in the sunken garden.

a trio of mints, pineapple mint, peppermint and spearmint
I pulled this pot on the deck, up against the door to the kitchen.
The winter was so mild that I never had to bring it into the garage.

Not enough to make meals from. But there is something fresh to use each day, now. And that's better than nothing, right?