Trading Early in the Week Evening Relaxing Time for Easier Supper Prep Later in the Week

Do you have a day of the week where you have more energy than the other days? I seem to have more energy on Mondays than any other day of the week. My energy quickly goes downhill as the work week progresses. Last week, instead of telling myself that I didn't have energy to cook on a Thursday or a Friday, I harnessed my Monday energy and prepared a couple of meals for the freezer, after everyone was done with dinner. When Thursday and Friday rolled around, I got the night off from cooking. Then this week, I continued with this program of late-evening cooking, and it looks like I will have another easy end of the week. The bonus was that I was able to use up more perishable ingredients before they expired.

I was thinking about what I would have done with my Monday evening. I likely would have read stuff online, played solitaire, or watched a show. I'll have other chances to do those kinds of activities later in the week. For now, I'm really glad that I spent my Monday evening cooking ahead. Curious what I made? I made a cheese, green pepper, and mushroom pizza and a rice, mushroom, and beef casserole.

Going Old-School with the Garage Door

My upper arms could use a work-out anyway. Our house was built in the late-1970s and has the original electric garage door opener. One problem, the handheld remotes are both broken. We bought a soldering gun several years ago, and I have been soldering a key wire into place, repeatedly. It breaks off, I solder it back on, etc. That worked for years. Not so, this past spring. It broke off and even after soldering it back on, the remote doesn't work. It looks like the contact pad is plain worn out.

For several months, I used the interior switch for the door openers, opening the garage door from inside the garage, backing the car out, getting out of the car, closing the garage door from the inside of the garage, going out a back door of the garage, around the house, and to the driveway. That works, but it was far from convenient.

The remotes are no longer available for our very old model, and now is not the time to buy a new garage door opener and have it installed. So, what to do. My daughter had some time this summer to do some jobs for me. So, she and I picked out some heavy-duty handles from Home Depot's website (for about $7.50 each), she went to the store, then came home and installed handles on both doors. Afterward, she unhooked the brace which attaches the electric opener to the door. We now open and close the garage door just as my parents did when I was a girl, with our muscles. It's actually a good stretch for me everyday. And I think it was a valuable lesson for my daughter to work with me on a workable solution to our problem that would not cost us a bunch of money, and didn't require any expertise to achieve.

So, is this any less inconvenient than using the interior switch inside the garage? I would have to say that the old-school way is slightly better. Obviously, having a working electric garage door would be preferable. But for now, we have a solution with which we're satisfied.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for October

Friday

• frozen corn dogs
• sweet potato fries
• cinnamon applesauce

Saturday

• scrambled eggs
• *roasted potatoes
• *tomatoes, *zucchini, and Brussels sprouts sauteed together

Sunday

• *vegetable and bean soup
• crackers
• plums 
• lettuce, cucumber, and *tomato salad

Monday

• peanut butter and *strawberry jam sandwiches
• *apple wedges
• lettuce, cucumber, and *tomato salad

Tuesday

• ramen, vegetable, and egg soup
• crackers
• applesauce

Wednesday

• sausage, pumpkin, mushroom, sage sauce over pasta
• *tomato and cucumber salad

Thursday

• homemade hamburgers on buns, with *tomato slices
• coleslaw
• *winter squash

*indicates item is from our garden

Late at night, when I couldn't sleep, I calculated the cost of our homemade burgers. (I know, some folks count sheep. I count dollars and cents.) Anyway, I used 1 pound of ground beef, at $2.24/lb, 4 buns, on markdown for 35 cents/4, tomatoes from our garden, some seasonings, dried onions, and garlic powder, at about 10 cents. So, for 4 quarter-pounders we spent $2.69, or 67 cents each. That's a super deal!

Do you ever calculate the cost of your meals? If so, what do you think is an especially high-value meal to make at home?

Update on Remanufactured Ink Cartridges for Home Printers

It was just about this time, last year, that I posted on buying remanufactured ink jet cartridges for our old, but-still-running-well, printer. I bought a 3-pack for about $10 dollars per cartridge. (This post.) We have had a very good experience with these cartridges. They lasted about as long as full-priced ones from Office Depot (currently selling for $53.99 each at OD), and the problems have been minor and may have been the fault of the printer and not the cartridge. The issue we had was an ink smear on a couple of pages, and like I said, this may have been the fault of the very old printer (from c. late 1990s). Otherwise, the remanufactured cartridges worked as well for us as the HP brand.

In the comments of that initial post, it was mentioned that HP printers have had a "dynamic security feature" for the last 10 years or so. This "feature" renders no-name brand cartridges ineffective in more recent HP printers. However, older HP printers are some of the most durable printers made, continuing to work for decades (ours is a prime example -- about 20 years old, and going strong). I occasionally see HP printers at thrift stores. So, if someone is needing a printer for basic home use and only wants to spend a few dollars, buying a used HP at Goodwill or the like could be very affordable, especially when combined with remanufactured ink cartridges. It would be advantageous to check HP's website for info on a model sold second-hand, to see if that model had the "dynamic security feature." Here's a link to HP's site which indicates the models with the feature that prevents the use of remanufactured cartridges. At the bottom of that page, there is information on removing the security feature for printers which are listed.

I bring this all us because this week I had to order another batch of cartridges. Amazon was out of the 3-pack, so I bought a 2-pack for $18.74, including tax. That's less than $10 per cartridge. They're due to arrive in a week, so I'll let you know of any issues. If this batch works as well as the last, then the savings will be over $40 per cartridge. I think that's pretty good.

Don't You Just Love Free Piles?

One evening this past summer, I was driving out to pick up my daughter from her bus when I spied a nice-looking, very large basket on the ground. This corner of our neighborhood is known as the "free pile corner." It sits adjacent to the little library box (which is also awesome) and is known to have some good free stuff. The large basket caught my eye. I could tell there were more items; however, it was dark, and I didn't have time to stop.

After collecting my daughter, we decided to grab that basket, then check the rest of the pile. Oh, the free pile was awesome! In addition to this great big basket, there was a large flashlight (with functioning battery), a Sony portable radio, a pair of glass candlesticks, multiple candles (pillar and taper), a bunch of cleaning supplies, and some other stuff that we didn't need. We took all of the above-described items with us. When we got home, I discovered that amongst the cleaning supplies, that there was an almost full bottle of Mrs. Meyer's Lemon Verbena spray, toilet cleaner, and window cleaner.

I am most thrilled by the Mrs. Meyer's spray as it makes the bathroom or kitchen smell so nice when I'm using it. The candles had all been previously burned, somewhat. But, you know, who cares about that, really. It's not like we're going to be eating them. Previously-used candles for free is great. (One daughter has been using the pillar candles when she takes luxurious baths.) The radio, flashlight, and glass candlesticks will be nice to have. And the basket has become the catchall kitchen basket. We actually have room for a large basket on the floor near the kitchen table. So, when I'm clearing the table of clutter (usually the junk mail that I still need to sort), I can pop it all into the basket. Our kitchen table is reclaimed for dining.

I am saddened that with the rainy weather comes an end to the free piles. Until next summer. . .

Weekend Morning at the Pumpkin Farm

Thank goodness I wore my retired sneakers, because the mud was a bit squishy in the pumpkin field.

The four of us made last-minute plans to visit the pumpkin farm, as everyone had the morning free. (It's rare when that happens for us. You probably have a similar situation), and the weather for Saturday looked promising, after a rainy Friday. The plan was to walk out the door by 9:00, and we did pretty well, leaving about 9:15. We've been to this farm before and remembered that their prices on treats were kind of high -- a buttered ear of corn on a stick for $3.50 and a cake donut for $1.00. So, en route, we stopped at Fred Meyer and bought a six-pack of Pumpkin-Spice donuts for $2.29 (or 38 cents each), less than half the price of the pumpkin farm donuts. And really, could you get any more appropriate with the donut flavor, than pumpkin for a trip to the pumpkin patch? On top of the donuts, we were each responsible for our own snacks and beverages (cheese, bananas, coffee, milk, or juice).

Admission to the farm was free, but there are a whole slew of activities for a price. You know me, we skipped any activity that had a charge, but we enjoyed the baby animals, looked through the gift shop, ate the free samples, and walked through the pumpkin field (yes, it was muddy), for free. We stopped by the fresh produce stand where my daughters each picked out a mini pumpkin for fall decor for their rooms (75 cents each), and then headed home.

A fun family outing that wasn't too expensive. We kept our costs down by bringing our snacks and beverages from home and buying a box of seasonal donuts from the grocery store. While I could have spent less on the mini pumpkins by buying them at the grocery store, this was an expense that I thought would create a nicer memory-impact, by actually choosing their little pumpkins at the farm. Of course, the cashier asked if we were waiting till later in the month to buy our jack-o-lanterns, and I replied that we grew pumpkins this summer and have them from our own garden. (The farm wanted between $2 and $25, depending on size, for pumpkins!) In past years, I've bought winter squash at this farm, inexpensively. Not so, this year. I'll just wait for a good deal at the grocery store, later in the month.

Morning was definitely the right time to go, as there was plenty of parking and little traffic. And at the far end of the pumpkin field, it felt like we were the only ones there. For someone who dislikes crowds, this was a perfect time to make family memories.

Will you do anything special to create autumn memories with your loved ones this year?

Shopping the Ethnic Food Aisle

I know I mentioned this before, concerning buying spices in the Hispanic section, you can often get great deals in the Ethnic section of the grocery store. Well, this past week I tried some cookies from the Hispanic section. I have to say, these are delicious. They are a lightly sweet tea cookie. For 65 cents a package, they are a steal. I had been buying a similar cookie in the Kosher section. But the price on that brand has gradually inched up to 85 cents a package (about same size as the Hispanic ones). These are a bargain and I will definitely be buying more.

I bought these at Fred Meyer. I didn't think to check the same section at WinCo, but my guess is they are even a few cents less there.

Do you shop the ethnic food aisles? If so, what products or types of products are a good deal for you?

Cheap and Cheerful Suppers for the First Week of October

pan-roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes.

It was a delicious week of autumnal foods. The weather turned chilly on Tuesday. I was eating dinner with one daughter and we were talking about the tomatoes in the garden, thinking they should be picked right away. So, we took a break from eating and went out to the garden to pick the rest of the large tomatoes. I'm so glad that we did, because the weather did not grow warmer, only wetter. The Brussels sprouts were on markdown -- such a treat to have! Oh and so were the mushrooms. I bought 3  1/2 pounds of marked down mushrooms. Now I'm getting hungry!

Here's what we ate this past week. Anything autumnal on your menu?

Saturday

• Kielbasa
• *Hashbrowns
• Corn tortillas topped with cheese and *tomato slices
• *Plums
• *Kale

Sunday

• Bean soup with *veggies
• *Apple wedges and *plum halves
• Crackers

Monday

• *Vegetable, egg and tofu fried rice
• leftover cake

Tuesday

• Beef, sausage, mushroom stew, with assorted *vegetables
• Bread
• *Apple wedges

Wednesday

• Chicken thighs in mushroom gravy (made double of the chicken and veggies, and froze a dinner for 4) -- I used a mushroom gravy mix, fresh mushrooms, celery, and green onions for the sauce. The gravy mix was 69 cents, a bargain considering it made for a simple meal.
• Roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes
• *Tossed salad
• Homemade Rice-a-roni

Thursday

• Beef and bean chili, using garden *tomatoes (made double, freezing leftovers for another dinner for 4)
• Crackers
• Applesauce

Friday (easy supper night, fast food without the drive-thru or expense)

• Corn dogs (WinCo -- 25 cents each)
• Sweet potato fries (Dollar Tree -- small bag, but enough for a family of four, $1)
• Tossed salad of *cucumber and *tomato from the garden and lettuce from WinCo, dressing made with mix from WinCo's bulk bins (about 50 cents for the salad and dressing)
• update on price of supper -- I decided to add 4 strips of turkey bacon to the salad, extra protein and flavor. That extra adds about 39 cents to the cost of dinner, and 2 grams of protein for each person. For dessert, we also added 4 chocolates from some Dollar Tree boxed chocolates (yes, you can sometimes buy boxed chocolates at Dollar Tree!), adding about 29 cents, total. The cost per person for dinner, then, is about 79 cents, plus beverages (2 members of the family may have a glass of milk each, the others stick to water; add 10 cents per glass of milk). Under $1 per person for a quick, easy, and fast food-ish meal.

*indicates item is from our garden or fruit trees

chicken thighs in mushroom gravy

Proud of Myself for Not Buying More Holiday Decorations

When it comes to holiday decorations I am not nearly as disciplined as I am with buying groceries. I like to pick up a new thing or two for the various holidays, even if its just at the dollar store. But this year, I resisted the impulse to buy any more fall holiday decorations, and just reused all of the decor that I've bought in previous years. I mixed it up a bit to make it look fresh for this year, putting decor pieces in different places. In the early years of making a home this is how I kept our space looking fresh, by moving things around.

For me, for right now, this is not as much about not spending money, but more about not accumulating more stuff. So, my rule for fall decorating is "don't unnecessarily add to the accumulation of stuff." The non-spoken part of that rule is that I "can" buy consumable items to use as holiday decor, such as pretty squashes. Besides, I think that natural items, such as squash and pumpkins, make some of the loveliest of fall decorations. They just have an upside, and that is that you get to eat them as fall turns over into winter.

Here's my kitchen door. Nothing fancy, but it makes coming and going through the kitchen (which, let's face it, our kitchen door is used by family and guests more than our front door) so pleasant. The faux leaf garland was from Dollar Tree the year before last, and used to wrap around the front "Welcome" sign. The bow at the top, also from DollarTree, graced an outdoor light fixture the past two years. The faux pumpkin is a must for outdoor pumpkins in our neighborhood (squirrels like to nibble on pumpkins left outside), and is from three years ago. And the window clings I already mentioned (you can't see them in the big photo, but they're on the upper portion of the glass inset). It's homey, did not cost me a penny this year, and won't add to the stuff in storage after fall is over.

P.S. I am so proud of myself for not buying more stuff. I have a bit of a "stuff addiction."

An October Afternoon

(These are the window clings that I bought last year at Dollar Tree. I saved them on their original plastic sheet, tucked in a drawer. Took me all of 5 minutes to put them up for the season. Second year using them -- if I use them for ten years, the cost will amortize to 10 cents per year. Not bad!))

Hi friends!
I'm back, that is, back in the best capacity that I can be for now.

One of my thoughts has been centered around how I can continue blogging when I'm down, tired, busy, or sick. I'm just going to try a few simpler things. For today, I'll catch you up on my start for October.

Okay, only the 3rd of October, and I am 3/4 done with October's grocery shopping. I have 4 stores at which I shop, and I've been to 3 so far. I hit Dollar Tree and bought all of the snacky stuff, plus a bunch of breakfast items, and bread, loads of bread. I hit the jackpot with their bread rack. They hd just put out a bunch of Oroweat -- English muffins, bread, bagels -- and I really stocked up. I think we may have enough bread in the freezer for 2 months. At $1 per loaf, it was a steal. They even had one of my all-time favorites, Honey Wheatberry.

Following Dollar Tree, I hit up WinCo for their great deals. WinCo has a fabulous bulk bin section. Some of the items in the bulk bins are as inexpensive as buying the institutional sized package at Cash and Carry. I keep a mental price book for the various staples. With this, I can quickly determine if something is a great buy or not. So, at WinCo this month I picked up various bulk bin staples, like whole wheat flour, ranch style dressing mix, chicken soup base, dried veggie soup mix (good for quick lunches or snacks for one), TVP, and some candy for Halloween treats. I also bought bagged cereal, frozen juice concentrate, breakfast sausage and turkey bacon, kielbasa, corn tortillas, produce, and a few other pantry items.

Next stop, Fred Meyer for Senior discount day. I as able to get out early for my shopping at Fred Meyer. I have found that this is key for getting the marked down deals and regular sale items, especially now that our Fred Meyer has switched their sale-cycle to Wednesday through Tuesday. FM sale-cycle used to run Sunday through Saturday. So, on Senior day, there would still be plenty of the sale items available. Now with the sale cycle completing on Tuesday, (the day for senior discount), they are often out of the sale item. They will give me a raincheck, but when I come back to buy the raincheck item, it's no longer senior day, so I don't get the senior discount. Anyway, something peeving me about FM these days. So, I did get out early -- ran a brush through my hair, no shower, no make-up, grabbed my shoes and jacket and left. I bout enough milk, eggs and butter to get through the month, as well as coffee (decaf for me), more produce, hot dogs, applesauce, apple juice, and lots of meat. I found Italian and breakfast sausage on clearance, plus got a great deal on ground beef and chicken thighs. Yesterday afternoon, I spent some time dividing up the ground beef. This afternoon, I've been diving up the chicken thighs while cooking a couple of chicken and mushroom casseroles (one for tonight and leftovers for tomorrow, and the other for the freezer).

My last shopping stop will be Cash and Carry. But that will have to wait until we have room in the fridge and freezer. We're topped out right now. In recent months, I have limited my shopping to one stop per month at each of the 4 stores. I make these stops at the very beginning of the month, and I believe that this is working out pretty well for us. I buy a wide variety of produce, and we eat the short-keepers first, like berries, leafy greens, bananas, and any marked down produce I found on the rack. By the end of the month, we're eating cabbage, celery, carrots, onions, squash, apples, and oranges, as well as frozen and dried produce.

Among my chores this afternoon, I also washed a bunch of salad greens to keep in the fridge. I break leaves off of a head of Romaine, wash, then wrap in a tea towel and keep in the fridge in a plastic bag. I was tempted to buy the bagged lettuce for quick lunch salads, but I knew that if I spent 5-10 minutes washing my own lettuce, I would save a couple of dollars on salad greens.

I did buy lots of fun foods. For example, I bought a box of frozen corndogs from WinCo and some bags of sweet potato fries from Dollar Tree. You see where I'm heading with this, right? Friday night, a night when everyone wants a restaurant dinner (fast food or other), I have corndogs and fries planned. add in some apple wedges and a salad and my total cost for the family is under $3 ( with free apples and tomatoes from our garden). And I still have an easy dinner night.

Well, dinner is in the oven and on the stove. I need to clean up the kitchen before serving, so I'll wrap this up. I hope that you are having a wonderful October. Another time, I'll post some fun things that we're doing this month. Have a lovely evening!

An August sentiment: Where did these gigantic zucchini come from?

For those of you who keep vegetable gardens, you'll be able to appreciate this August sentiment -- each mammoth zucchini seems to be larger than the last. Wednesday, I thought I had "caught up" on all of the zucchini. Then Thursday afternoon I was picking tomatoes for dinner and found yet another mammoth zucchini hiding under the leaves. So, what's a cook to do?

Besides zucchini bread, relish, and veggie medleys, here's something really delicious that will use one very large zucchini in one blow -- baked, stuffed zucchini.

Here's the size of one from a couple of weeks ago. I put a banana next to it to give you an indication of size.

To stuff:
I used a melon baller to scoop out the center of each half. (Those scoops of zucchini flesh were then later chopped and added to vegetable soup.)
I stuffed mine with a mixture of cooked, chopped chicken breast, bread crumbs, herbs, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. After filling, I topped with additional Parmesan.
On an oiled baking sheet, I baked the stuffed halves for about 35 minutes, at about 350 degrees, until the cheese was browned on top. The zucchini part was crisp-tender.

You can also stuff with loose Italian sausage, or bread crumbs, herbs and cheese. Since you want the zucchini part to cook well, keep your fillings dense. So, if just doing bread crumbs with cheese, add a bit of milk, beaten egg, or just water to the crumb mixture. This way the filling and the zucchini will cook to about the same doneness.

Bumps in the transition from one cook to many cooks

When there was just one person in the home procuring, managing, and cooking all of the food, staying on top of all of the supplies was fairly straightforward. I knew what I had prepared, what was leftover, and what needed using up. Now, we have multiple cooks in the house, but still one person doing the procuring and managing of supplies. It's not readily known by the rest of the crew what we have in abundance or what needs using ASAP. Asking me what they can use is a regular occurrence. Not that this is bad, but it does put me in the position of saying, "don't use that" or "I'm saving that." Those kinds of statements make me sound like an ogre, when in fact all I'm really doing is trying to manage our stock until the next month rolls around, so that we can all enjoy the foods in the house.

My solution has been to create a weekly list of what we have in abundance and should be used. It's a simple list, kept on the refrigerator. I preface the list with a statement reflecting that the first items in each category are ones that should be used first. I also indicate that not everything is in ready-to-use condition, and may need harvesting. This week, in produce we have apples that need using, and in protein sources, we have lots of eggs. I've also included items that are saved for specific recipes, so those won't be used indiscriminately. Hopefully, this makes me seem less like an ogre about food.

My list focuses on produce and protein sources, as those are the items most frequently asked about. The produce is significant because we have items that won't keep terribly long. And the protein is asked about because it is not self-evident. Meat/eggs may be stored in the freezer, the fridge, or even pantry (canned meat). To complicate matters more, we have 3 freezers, 2 refrigerators, and multiple cabinets in the kitchen, along with 2 pantries. Everyone seems to figure out the grains and dairy products on their own. The bonus to making this list is the act of reading the list, by the cook on duty, stimulates thoughts on what to make. Since sometimes food is just food, reading a list that says we need to use eggs, zucchini, and apples may make a cook whose feeling less-than-inspired to simply scramble some eggs, steam zucchini, chop apples, and serve with bread. Just food, but it gets the job done.

We're seeing the financial benefit, as well, and wasting less fresh produce, which is super important right now as the garden is in high production. Just thought I'd share what is working for us.

Taking a vacation when there is not enough time or money for a full-fledged one

This past year has been busy and expensive, leaving little time or money to get away. So, how do we do a summer vacation under those circumstances? We take a one-day vacation. We choose a nearby tourist location, about 1 hour away from us. Then we get up with the birds and drive to that destination, staying as long as we feel like it. By the time we leave to come home, we often do feel like we've been on a vacation.

Because we don't have a hotel or even a campground stay, and our vacation is just one long day, we can afford a few luxuries which we would otherwise forgo. For example, we bring coffee, milk, and fresh fruit with us, but make our first stop of the day at a local bakery or donut shop, where everyone makes their selection. Then, we take our breakfast to a public park, preferably one with a nice view. The day before our mini-trip, we make a stop at the grocery store to buy snacks. I may spend as much as $15 on snacks for one day. But that cost is less than what we'd spend for one stop at a restaurant for snacks for all of us, let alone multiple stops. We also pack a picnic cooler full of lunch items, ice water, and juice, then find a nice park in which to picnic. In the late afternoon, when we're hot and tired, we stop in an ice cream shop for a cone, each. As a result of keeping our costs so low, we also treat ourselves to a souvenir or two, or splurge on admission tickets to some sort of entertainment, or a nice dinner out.

Why am I telling you all of this? This is the week that we're taking our one-day vacation. We've been planning this all summer, and now the time has arrived. Yep, I'm pretty excited to go away for a day.

We're going to a small tourist town by the name of Poulsbo. It's a 30-minute ferry ride, plus 30 minutes or so in driving from our house. It's on a bay, has a large public park on the waterfront, second-hand shops, tourist-type shops, art galleries, an aquarium, an historical museum, a church tower with bells ringing every hour, a Scandinavian bakery, lots of restaurants, a walking trail along the water's edge of the bay, and sometimes live entertainment outdoors.

If you had to choose one spot, about an hour-drive away from where you live, with lots to do to fill one day, where would you go?

Now this is summer to me -- fresh basil pesto

Another specialty food I like to make in summer is pesto. You can buy cheap pesto in the supermarket, the kind that comes in jars, priced around $3 for 6-8 ounces. But if you check the label, the ingredient list contains ingredients other than the basic basil leaves, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, salt and pepper that you find in a recipe for this condiment. And if you read the reviews you'll find that the flavor can be very "off" on some of the jarred brands. You can also buy "fresh" pesto, the kind that comes in a plastic tub and must be kept refrigerated. Those are good, and in checking the ingredient list, the manufacturers stick to the basic pesto recipe. But they cost about $5 for a 6-oz plastic tub.

Pesto is super easy to make, and if you grow your own basil, and shop carefully for the other ingredients you can make a batch for about half of the supermarket price, in about 5 minutes (including washing the basil leaves), using a food processor.

How I buy the ingredients economically:

pine nuts -- I use about half the recommended amount because I don't like a super strong pine nut flavor. I like to just barely detect the pine nuts. You can buy pine nuts in bulk bins at some stores, for around $20/lb. That sounds like highway robbery, I know. If you go light on the pine nuts (like I do), you can get by with about a dollar's worth to make a batch of pesto. The the price does not seem so terrible, for the authentic pine nut pesto.  (You can also buy pine nuts through Amazon in an 8-oz packet for about $10. Pine nuts freeze very well, and since their flavor is so distinct, in our house, at least, they're not likely to get snacked on.) For more frugal pesto, almonds and/or walnuts are also good a choice and about 1/3 of the price of pine nuts. In fact, almonds are my "usual" nut for pesto.

olive oil --most recipes call for extra virgin olive oil. I use a blend of 3 parts olive oil to 1 part regular vegetable oil. I do this so that the pesto remains spreadable when refrigerated. But it also holds the cost down a bit. In addition, I use about 2/3 the amount of oil in the recipe, for a less oily condiment, and that also brings my cost down. I've been buying olive oil in the bulk section of WinCo. They have dispensers for a few liquid items, such as honey, olive oil, and agave syrup. It's a good price and I can buy however much I need.

Parmesan cheese -- I wait until I find a good sale, buy from bulk bins at WinCo, or I buy a large bag at Cash & Carry. The bulk bin kind of Parmesan is the powdery kind and not as good, IMO, as the fresh shreds. Fred Meyer had a coupon last week for 50 cents off Kroger brand Parmesan. The coupon combined with my Senior discount made the price reasonable-enough. I have also subbed some mozzarella for about half of the Parmesan, before, and still had a very delicious result.

basil -- if I didn't grown my own basil, I wouldn't buy fresh basil for the purpose of making pesto. There are alternative greens which can be used, but the basil flavor will not be there. I know someone who makes pesto with a variety of greens, and they enjoy it immensely. I do have basil in large pots on my deck, and there are more leaves that we can eat, unless I make pesto.

garlic -- for ease and price, I use dried garlic granules, bought in a bag in the Hispanic section. It's good, and super easy to use.

So, all totaled, the batch of authentic pesto that I made the other day (loosely following Ina Garten's recipe) using about half of the pine nuts, and no walnuts (allergy), not the full amount of oil, and in a 3:1 olive oil (from WinCo)/ vegetable oil ratio, Parmesan shreds bought on sale, with coupon, and with discount, garden basil, garlic granules, and some salt, I figured my 6-oz batch cost about $2.50, or about half the price of commercial fresh pesto.

A tip for keeping fresh pesto -- basil leaves oxidize and turn a very un-pretty brownish green. After each use, shake the contents down to level the top surface, then drizzle with a bit of oil and tilt the jar around a bit to coat the entire top surface of the pesto. When you use it again, stir the oil into the pesto first. Then after use, top with a bit of oil, again, as before. Kept refrigerated, pesto will last about a week. It can be frozen for about four months.