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Monday, May 19, 2014

The complete guide to essentials in my baking cabinet (and other storage areas in my kitchen)


(Just an FYI -- there's still the vanilla bean giveaway here. This giveaway closes at 12 midnight PDT, Tuesday, May 20, 2014. Now back to today's blog post.)

Don't we all like to "see" what's in someone else's cupboard or closet or shopping cart? I think that's a universal curiosity. It gives us insight into a person's daily life. It's what anthropologist's study. So, here's my guide to essential for my baking cabinet.

Baking and cooking from scratch has been a large part of what has kept our grocery spending so low over the last 27 years. I get that not everyone wants to spend as much time in the kitchen as I do. But learning to scratch-cook and bake has allowed me to be the one who kept the home fires burning. Put plainly, our grocery savings was the monetary difference between having me work outside or inside the home.

To bake so much from scratch, I need to keep a very well-stocked cupboard of baking and dessert-making essentials. My goal here is to have what I need to make just about any baked good or dessert that we could want. I fall short on a couple of ingredients, but overall I'm keeping my baking cabinet well stocked.


There are a few items that I find essential to my baking and dessert preparations. These are the basics for my baking.



sweeteners

molasses -- I buy molasses in 1-gallon jugs at the restaurant supply. 1 gallon lasts us about a year to a year and a half. I use it in making pancake syrup, brown sugar, whole wheat sandwich bread, and specific recipes which call for molasses, like gingerbread cake or cookies.

granulated sugar -- I buy white granulated sugar in 50-lb sacks at the restaurant supply. My last bag was $18.75, or 37.5 cents per pound. It's a lot of sugar, yes, but I'm doing a lot of baking!

confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) -- I buy confectioners sugar during holiday baking sales (Christmas and Easter), for $1.99/2-lbs or less. I typically buy 4 or 5 bags per year, and use in some cookies, to top items like waffles or brownies, and in butter cream frosting and glazes.

corn syrup -- I don't use corn syrup for much, primarily for candy-making at the holidays. I buy corn syrup in the 32-oz container, which will keep for years and years. I also use a small amount of corn syrup in homemade bubble solution for the kiddies I babysit.

Sometime this year, I'd like to add honey to my baking supplies. Perhaps this summer from the farmer's market. One of my daughters bought and used honey in homemade nougat this past Christmas.




flavorings

cocoa powder -- Trader Joe's has the best price per pound on cocoa powder in my area, even beating the large institutional bags (5 lbs) sold at the restaurant supply. The flavor of different brands of cocoa powder does vary, so some people might prefer a different brand (Hershey's is actually quite good, even though it's just a supermarket brand). But, before we get all snooty about which brand tastes best, I remind myself that the cocoa powder will be mixed with a half-dozen other ingredients, making the flavor or individual cocoa powders mostly indistinguishable from each other.

vanilla extract -- I make my own once per year.

maple flavoring -- I buy this in 16-ounce bottles at the restaurant supply. 16 ounces lasts for about 3 to 4 years in our house. I use maple flavoring in our pancake syrup as well as baking that includes pumpkin and/or apples (muffins, quick breads, granola, cakes, cookies).

almond extract -- I buy almond extract in 16 ounce bottles at the restaurant supply. One bottle lasts a decade or so in our house.

spices -- I keep cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, mace, allspice, both as ground spices and as whole. I've found whole spices, freshly ground, to be far superior in baking than packaged ground, and will use the fresh ground for special recipes/occasions.

assorted jams, jellies and preserves -- I spend some time every summer putting up preserves, from cherry preserves, to blackberry jam, plum jam, crabapple jelly, and red currant jelly. These can be used to fill cookies, make homemade pop-tarts, add a layer of flavor to cakes, and spooned on top of tapioca pudding.

bottled lemon juice -- I buy lemon juice in 1 gallon jugs, at the restaurant supply. I keep this in the fridge, to use in beverages, to flavor glazes for pound cake and bundt cakes, make lemon flavored desserts (lemon bars and lemon meringue pie), and to make lemon curd for scones and toast. Lemon juice can also be used as the acid to stabilize egg whites for whipping.



leavenings

baking powder -- I keep a small container of homemade baking powder (baking soda, cream of tartar and corn starch or arrowroot) for recipes which won't have liquids added (some cookie recipes, mostly). I use a combination of baking soda and vinegar as a substitute for baking powder in all other recipes. Both of these homemade concoctions are completely aluminum-free and easily made from very basic ingredients.

baking soda -- the large boxes of baking soda are no more economical at our restaurant supply than the small boxes, when found on sale or at the dollar store. So, I buy small boxes as I need. In addition to baking, I use baking soda to neutralize acids in fruit desserts/sauces and as a scrub for the kitchen and bathroom sinks. And, I use a combination of baking soda and vinegar as a substitute for baking powder.

vinegar -- I buy 1-gallon jugs of vinegar to use in cooking and as part of my substitution for baking powder (such as souring the milk portion in a recipe). Vinegar is also my go-to cleaning solution (infused with orange peels and whole cloves) for bathrooms, the kitchen floor, inside of appliances, etc. It should be noted that vinegar should not be used on real stone (such as the very-popular granite countertops).

cream of tartar -- I keep a small amount of cream of tartar in the cupboard for homemade baking powder. I only use this "baking powder" for recipes which I don't want to add any liquids (the vinegar), such as a couple of cookie recipes.

yeast -- I buy yeast in 2-lb bags at the restaurant supply. I transfer yeast from these bags to a small jar (keep in fridge), and store the rest in a large ziploc bag in the fridge.

sour dough starter -- sour dough starter replaces yeast in bread-making. I keep a 12-ounce jar of sourdough starter in the fridge. I made this starter from flour, yeast and water, about 2 years ago. I use it about once per week to keep it fresh and active. I can make a large loaf of bread with nothing more than some of this starter, 4 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons salt and water. About the cheapest bread I know.

eggs for baking -- when I find a great sale on eggs (99 cents to $1.29 per dozen), I buy a few extra dozen eggs to freeze, to use in baking later. I can pour beaten eggs into muffin pans, freeze, then pop out to store in freezer bags. I currently have 4 dozen eggs in the freezer, for baking late this spring and in early summer.




thickeners

cornstarch -- mostly used as a thickener for puddings and sauces. I buy cornstarch in standard-sized boxes at the restaurant supply, for under a $1. It keeps for years. I don't seal it up in a plastic container, but just leave it in the cardboard box. I have yet to have a problem with it kept this way. I also keep a small amount of tapioca flour and arrowroot, which I also use as thickeners, for when I need to switch off from cornstarch.

tapioca pearls -- I buy small bags of tapioca pearls at the Asian market for about $1 per bag, about 1/3 the price of instant tapioca. Yes, whole tapioca pearls take a lot longer to cook, but they're much more economical. Tapioca is not a grain, but a root, and so can be used on a grain-free diet (Paleo, for example).

arrowroot -- I buy small amounts of arrowroot at the natural foods and grains store. They sell in bulk bins, so I can buy just what I need. As a thickener, arrowroot tends to make dairy sauces and puddings a bit slimy. But I do like arrowroot as a thickener for a natural, no-sugar added, fruit pudding (just dried fruit, re-hydrated in water or juice, then thickened with arrowroot).



oils and fats  

vegetable oil -- I buy vegetable oil in 35-lb containers and decant into smaller jugs. I vary which oil I buy. I also buy small bottles of very good olive oil, but use this for fresh green salads.

butter -- Butter stores well in the freezer, extending the freshness by several months. I stock up on butter twice a year when on sale, once around the fall/winter holidays and the second time, around Easter.

solid shortening -- I buy solid shortening (Crisco) for pie pastry, in 6 lb cans, at the restaurant supply. It's just under $10 for this size, and will last about 1 year for my pie-mongers, here.  


fruits

dried fruit -- I buy raisins in 2-lb bags at the restaurant supply. This is the lowest price on raisins in my area. I also buy dried apricots, prunes and cherries in mid-summer, when the local drugstore puts them on sale. I squirrel them away until fall and winter, when the fresh fruit is less plentiful. For banana chips, the dollar store has the best price on those. I also dry homegrown cherries in the dehydrator. I've found it's less expensive to just buy dried fruit when on sale, than to buy fresh fruit for drying at home. The exception to this is bananas when on a fabulous sale, for banana chips, and drying homegrown fruit.

candied fruit -- I buy fruitcake fruit mixes after Christmas on clearance, when about 50 cents per package. It keeps unopened for a year or more. Once opened, I store the rest in the fridge. My current package is about 1  1/2 years old, and still perfectly fine. I used 1/2 cup in our traditional Easter bread last month. I also make candied orange peel, which I chop and freeze to use in baking, and to extend the fruitcake mix, and add something a bit more natural-looking than the green and red citron in those packaged candied fruit mixes.

citrus zest -- when we have whole citrus, I do something to salvage the peel, either make citrus-vinegar cleaner, candied orange peel, or zest and freeze the citrus to use as flavoring in baking.

canned fruit -- I don't buy much canned fruit, but a few cans of pineapple are nice to have around for pineapple upside down cake, to add to carrot cake, or to top homemade tapioca pudding.

frozen fruit -- I put away fruit from our garden each summer, whole cranberries, blackberries, chopped rhubarb, plums, sweet cherries, raspberries and blueberries. I use these fruit in coffee cakes, muffins, pies, cobblers and crisps, and fruit sauces, throughout the winter months.



flours and grains 

flour -- I buy whole wheat and all-purpose flour in 50-lb sacks at the restaurant supply. This amount lasts us about 3-4 months. The restaurant supply near us has a rapid turnover on the stone ground whole wheat flour, much faster than a supermarket. So I feel confident that this grain is fairly recently milled, which is key for retaining nutrients in whole grains.

other grains -- I buy cornmeal and oats in 25 lb. sacks, also at the restaurant supply. In a pinch, I use my blender or food processor to make oat flour for recipes. This can substitute for some of the all-purpose flour in quick bread and cookie recipes.  I buy brown rice in 50 lb sacks. Mostly this rice is used as a side dish for meals, but also I grind brown rice in my coffee grinder to make my own brown rice flour for GF baking.

I have 2 very large plastic food storage containers for the oats and cornmeal. It's my hope to purchase 2 more very large containers for storing the wheat flours, perhaps next year. 

I also have small amounts of white rice flour, tapioca flour, corn flour (for the rare occasion I make corn tortillas) and buckwheat. I buy these alternative flours at a local health food store in their bulk section. It's a great place to buy just a small amount of any flour or starch, for making your own non-wheat flour blends or homemade baking powder, or just trying something out to see if you like it.



odds and ends

salt -- I keep Kosher salt for topping homemade pretzels and some breads, as well as pickling and making salsas. Kosher salt is iodine-free, resulting in better flavor for home canning. I also have a supply of iodized table salt, of which I buy several containers when I find a good sale. In addition to general cooking/baking, I use table salt as a scrub for my stainless pots. It works faster than baking soda in scrubbing out my stainless yogurt-making stock pot.

nuts -- I usually have some sort of nuts in the house that I buy when I find a good deal, primarily at our local drugstores in late-November, but also I just keep my eyes open for deals on nuts. Otherwise, I buy whole or sliced almonds and pecan halves at Trader Joe's, and unroasted sunflower seeds at a local grocery store, in the bulk section. I've found the unroasted sunflower seeds to be less expensive than the roasted. I can roast my own and save 50 cents or more per pound. I also keep a lot of peanut butter on hand, mostly for my peanut butter fiends, but also yummy in cookies.

cake and cookie decors -- this includes sprinkles (bought on clearance after holidays), colored sugar (we make this ourselves), small candies like red hots (clearance purchase) and cut-rock/ribbon candy (after Christmas clearance) used for decorating gingerbread houses, and jelly beans (after Easter clearance, used the next Easter to make chocolate and candy "nests", as well as decorating gingerbread houses.

baking chips -- I rarely buy chocolate, white chocolate or butterscotch baking chips. But when I do buy and open a bag, I keep the rest of the opened bag in the freezer. Not for freshness purposes, but to keep us from snacking on them. Frozen chocolate chips are not so appealing. I only buy these when I find a great sale ($1.79/12 oz bag or less). Right now, I have a couple bags of peppermint/white chocolate chips (clearance after Christmas), 1 bag butterscotch chips and 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips. For most of our chocolate-y desserts, I use cocoa powder, saving the baking chips for very specific recipes (Dream Bars, Haystacks, Peppermint Bark and dipping homemade candies, dried fruit, nuts or pretzels). I've found that I can make a very satisfying fudge sauce or fudge candy with cocoa powder, for a fraction of the price of chocolate pieces. While chocolate chips in brownies are always popular, I've also found that a cocoa powder frosting topping a pan of brownies will also make them very decadent.

To make shaved chocolate, using baking chips, I melt semi-sweet chocolate chips, spread on a baking sheet with a rubber spatula, pop in the freezer, then use a metal spatula to "scrape" curls. Just as pretty as shaved bar chocolate, but a lot less expensive.

To make dipping chocolate, using baking chips, I microwave melt semi-sweet chocolate chips with a teaspoon of Crisco solid shortening. A favorite is to dip candied orange peel strips. I've given boxes of chocolate dipped candied orange peel strips at Christmas, with great success.

food coloring -- I use gel food coloring, the kind sold for cake decorating. I buy this at Jo-Ann Fabrics, using a 40 or 50% off coupon, one small jar at a time. I keep the vials in a repurposed egg carton. The egg holders are just the right size for each. In addition to coloring for icings, I use them for egg dye at Easter, and occasionally "correcting" the color on a sauce or pudding that's supposed to be pale yellow, but looks gray.

pie crusts -- my pie pastry recipe makes enough for 4 to 5 crusts. I make and freeze pie pastry in pie tins, making pie-making very easy. A two-crust pie is easily made by upturning the second crust out of the tin, onto the filled crust.

unflavored gelatin -- I buy the large 32-packet boxes at the restaurant supply. Each packets cost about 30 cents, setting 2 cups of liquid. And the unopened packets keep forever.

whipped heavy cream --  when I find a stellar deal on heavy whipping cream, I buy several pints. I whip and sweeten most of it, then freeze in mounds on waxed paper. These mounds of whipped cream make a lovely topping for desserts, with no last-minute work for me. I simply place one whipped mound onto a serving of dessert, and allow to stand at room temp for about 15 minutes, to thaw.



what I wish I had in stock -- flaked coconut (love coconut in meringues and to make Easter candy "nests"), mini-marshmallows (however, I don't think I could keep them in stock very long here. they'd get gobbled up too quickly), honey (this is a possibility this summer)


With a baking cabinet filled with these items, I can bake just about anything we could want. I really enjoy baking, so in a typical week I may bake a batch or two of cookies or wafers, a pie, 1 or 2 fruit cobblers/crisps, several loaves of bread, some muffins, pancakes or waffles, and a batch of cupcakes. That sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Keep in mind, I'm feeding 5 adults, 3 meals per day, 7 days per week. It surprises me too, to see how quickly it all disappears! I don't know what I will do when we're empty nesters! Who will come eat my baking?


Thursday, May 15, 2014

The vanilla bean birthday club (and a giveaway)


I get my vanilla beans every year, on my birthday, for free. Yep! That's right, 6 Madagascar vanilla beans, absolutely free. That's enough vanilla beans to make about a pint of vanilla extract (using the recipe in this post), which lasts me about 1 year.

Getting free vanilla beans -- retail birthday/rewards clubs

How do I get free Madagascar vanilla beans (and how can you get some too)? I sign up for a variety of birthday freebies from restaurants and retail stores. One of the retail birthday clubs that I've signed up for is Cost Plus World Market. A week or so before my birthday, they email me a coupon good for $10 off any purchase. This coupon is good for the entire month of my birthday.

World Market happens to have the best local prices on vanilla beans, $2.99 for a packet of 2 vanilla beans. They fly off the store's racks. (As soon as I get my birthday coupon in the email, I give our local World Market a phone call and ask about their supply of vanilla beans. I don't want to make the trip there to find they are temporarily out of stock.)

Price comparison -- grocery stores sell single vanilla beans in a plastic tube for about $10 each! So, for my $10 coupon, I get 3 packets of vanilla beans, or 6 vanilla beans.

For coupons, birthday surprises (I've been receiving $10 coupons on my birthday for a few years) and alerts to special sales, you can sign up for Cost Plus World Market Market Explorers Reward program.

World Market has been around for several decades (since the 1950s). I remember when they were primarily a west coast store. I shopped at one of their locations in southern California back in the 70s and 80s. They now have over 250 stores across the US. By the way, I don't get anything for telling you about them. They don't know that I exist. I just think this $10 birthday coupon is a great deal, and want to share with you.

If you don't have a World Market near you, you can use your $10 birthday coupon online. They do ship, although shipping can be pricey ($4.95 for orders under $15). Still, if you used your $10 coupon and ordered 3 or 4 packets of vanilla beans (6 to 8 beans), you'd only be out-of-pocket $6.95 tops (if ordering 4 packets @ $2.99 each, less $10 coupon, plus shipping charge of $4.95).

Other sources for buying vanilla beans at a reasonable price point -- online might be the next best thing

If World Market's rewards program isn't your thing, ordering vanilla beans online through other sources, like beanilla.com, ebay or Amazon is a good option. Beanilla.com offers free shipping from time to time, and their prices are very reasonable for vanilla beans. Also, many people use ebay and Amazon for buying vanilla beans. Check a couple of sources and price it out before buying.

note: as of yesterday, May 14, 2014, Beanilla.com had a click-through ad in the right hand side bar, on my page here, indicating a price on Madagascar vanilla beans of $8.95 USD, free shipping for 10 vanilla beans. I don't know if that ad is still on my page. But it does indicate that they currently have some sort of free shipping promotion going on.


Now for the giveaway part of this post

If you'd like a couple of packets of vanilla beans, enough to make 4 ounces of vanilla extract, I'm giving away 2 packets (4 beans) to 1 winner. If you've never made your own vanilla extract, this could give you the opportunity to see if you like it. And if you already make your own, you know just how expensive vanilla beans can be -- here are a few for free!

Just leave a comment in the comment section below. This giveaway is open for the next 6 days, closing at midnight PDT, Tuesday May 20th. This is open to the USA, only. The winner will be drawn randomly. I'll announce the winner on Thursday May 22nd in my regular blog post.

Good luck!



Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Are you making common mistakes in storing vanilla extract (commercial and homemade)?

Just a quickie post today. Tomorrow's post (Thursday's) has the info on getting free vanilla beans, buying them inexpensively and a giveaway.


So, in the comments on Monday's post, there was a question and small discussion on how to store vanilla extract, to ensure it maintains maximum strength. We often just keep our baking supplies in a cabinet that's convenient to our work, without regard to suitability to the product. And once we put that product away in the cupboard, it's easy to forget that we paid for that!

With extracts, I think this is important information, to ensure we are really getting value from what we purchase. If our vanilla extract loses strength, we're more inclined to double up on measure, which means our vanilla extract, whether we made it ourselves or bought it at the store, is actually costing us twice what we thought we paid for it. Ouch!

Getting maximum value from your vanilla extract

First of all, if you're purchasing pure vanilla extract, make sure you are purchasing from a store with a fast turnover of stock. The last thing you want is a product that was manufactured several years ago. This sounds obvious, right? I've been in stores where there was a thin layer of dust on top of some packages and cartons. Not a good omen for the manufacture date of the product.

The enemies of extracts are light, air and heat. Exposure to these three cause vanilla extract to age prematurely, experience flavor changes, evaporate and lose potency.

With vanilla extract in particular:
  • if the vanilla is in a large bottle (more than you will use within a 3 month period, transfer some of the contents to a small bottle, for kitchen use, and refill as needed. This prevents the constant re-opening of the bottle. According the joyofbaking.com, the flavor of extracts does evaporate. Keep the bottle tightly sealed shut.
  • if the bottle is clear, transfer the contents to a dark bottle (I re-use an old, dark-colored vanilla extract bottle), to reduce exposure to damaging light. However, if you have to choose between a dark bottle with poor fitting cap and a clear bottle that can be well-sealed after each use, go for the clear bottle. Exposure to light isn't nearly as harmful as exposure to air. Keeping the cupboard door shut most of the time can give the extract a lot of the darkness it needs.
  • store vanilla extract in a cool and dark cupboard, but NOT in the fridge. And remember, the main-supply bottle doesn't "have" to be stored in the kitchen. I actually store my main supply on a shelf, in a closet in one of the coolest bedrooms, and use this to refill my tiny kitchen-use bottle.
  • if storing in the cupboard above the counter, make sure this is not over a light system (I have under-cabinet lighting, which really heats up the enclosed space above the lights).
Even stored under ideal circumstances, vanilla extract will lose potency after a couple of years. It would be better to split a large bottle with a friend, and make or buy it more often, than keep a 5-year old bottle of vanilla on your shelves.

Happy baking!


Just an unrelated FYI -- there are feed delivery issues, regarding my posts. Since I changed from a .blogspot.com to simply a .com, my posts have not been showing up in feeds/blogrolls, or showing up hours to a day late. The email subscription appears to be working fine, however. (I have an email subscription to my own blog, so I can see if it is in fact being delivered.)

My resident tech geek is busy for the week, and I'm working all day on Saturday, so I may not be able to try anything to remedy this feed problem for a while. I'm sorry about that. In the meantime, if it matters to you to receive every post of mine, you could always sign up for email delivery. Or just check back often. I do have a post planned for tomorrow, then again on Monday, and my usual posting time is 4 AM PDT, if knowing part of my schedule helps.

I hope your week is going splendidly!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Vanilla and how to make (what I think is) the very best extract


Where does vanilla come from? Why is it soooo expensive? And what is artificial vanilla made of?

Did you know that vanilla comes from a species of orchid? Vanilla beans or seed pods are the resulting fruit from pollination of this species of orchid.

Originally vanilla production was limited to the Americas, as this orchid had just one natural pollinator, a specific bee. Methods of hand pollination were implemented as a way to grow vanilla outside of the Americas.

Today, with hand pollination, the majority of the world's vanilla beans come from the islands of the Indian Ocean, Bourbon vanilla (from Bourbon Island, not made with bourbon), or Madagascar vanilla (from Madagascar and neighboring islands). Other sources of modern day vanilla still include Mexico, as well as the Tahitian Islands, and the West Indies.

Vanilla is a costly spice/flavoring, second only to saffron, due to the labor-intensive process of artificially pollinating the blossoms.

Because of this high cost, artificial vanilla flavors are commonly found in many commercially baked goods.

The most common consumer artificial vanilla flavoring contains a form of vanillin, synthesized from a natural polymer found in wood. It's a synthetic flavor. In addition, artificial vanilla flavoring often contains coloring, for which the label does not need to specify this coloring's origin (often simply called "caramel coloring"), and sugars.


When the label says "natural" flavoring on a vanilla product, does this mean natural vanilla? Or something else?

So, there's this rumor/myth circulating that a natural, vanilla-like flavoring comes from beaver glands and is used in "natural" vanilla flavoring. The castor sacs of beavers produces a secretion that does have a vanilla-like essence. And it has been approved by the FDA to be safe for use in food. However, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group (who thoroughly investigated this), no major vanilla manufacturer in the USA uses this as a source of vanilla flavoring. In years past, it may have been used, but not in today's manufacturing process.

So, what is "natural" vanilla flavoring?

The FDA is very specific about what can be called vanilla extract, and what has to be called vanilla flavoring. Only products made with vanilla beans, alcohol and water can be called vanilla extract. The alcohol-free substitute, made with glycerine and/or propylene glycol, must be called vanilla flavoring. It's still made from natural vanilla, but it's flavor is slightly different from pure vanilla extract.

Vanilla extract is also allowed to contain sugar, dextrose, corn syrup, caramel color and stabilizers. It's these extra ingredients that makes me inclined to favor homemade vanilla extract.

If you are traveling outside the US, all bets are off as to what is in that cheap bottle of "vanilla extract". Other countries do not need to abide by the FDA's regulations, if they are selling their product outside the US. I remember my mom buying "vanilla extract" in Mexico, when we'd go down to Tijuana (I grew up in So. Calif.). She raved over how cheap it was. But who really knows what was in those bottles?

Just to simplify all of this, I prefer to just make my own. That way, I know exactly what it contains. And if I'm not satisfied with it's strength, then I can adjust that myself, at home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To make vanilla extract


If I'm gonna go to the trouble of making my own vanilla extract, I want it to be goooooood! Here's how I do it.

To make your own high-quality, pure vanilla extract, you'll need:

a 1-quart glass jar, with plastic lid
12 ounces of vodka (I use bottom-shelf vodka, whatever is cheapest -- and you can fudge a bit on the amount of vodka and use up to 14 ounces per 8 or 9 beans, but it will be of lesser strength)
8 to 10 whole vanilla beans
a sharp knife and cutting board
and, eventually a small, dark glass bottle to decant your finished product

A lot of homemade vanilla isn't much more than vanilla booze. Many online recipes say to pop a vanilla bean into a fifth of vodka and let it sit a month or two. You just can't get enough flavor out of that one vanilla bean. The FDA actually has set standards on what can be called vanilla extract. It's a ratio of about 9 beans for every 12 ounces of vodka. (The amount of beans is set by weight and not count, hence the "about".)

I say, go for the beans! I use 8 beans in 10 to 12 ounces of vodka (however much I have at the time). And I really love the resulting flavor.

If your vanilla does not taste as strong as you like, that's easy to remedy. Simply add another split bean or two, and wait a few weeks. If your vanilla is too strong, then either add less to recipes, or add a bit more vodka to the jar.

And time. You've got to let it infuse for several months. IMO, the best flavor emerges around the 8-month marker. The flavor of the extract is complex and rich at this point. So, if you want vanilla for holiday baking or gifting, now is the time to start.

The process:

You will get the most flavor by exposing a lot of surface area of the pod to the infusing liquid (vodka is my alcohol of choice for making vanilla).



So, using the point of a sharp knife, I first split the pods lengthwise.




Then I scrape out the seeds with the back of the knife blade, and put these scrapings in a quart-size glass jar along with the vodka.


I cut each split pod into 2-inch lengths. Every time you add a cut surface to the vanilla bean, you add the ability to draw out more flavor. (I could chop the beans finely, but I want to be able to fish out the pieces after 2 years.)





Place a lid tightly on the jar and allow to infuse in a dark place. From what I've read, you want to store your vanilla in a dark cupboard to protect the fragile oils from exposure to light (could weaken the strength over time).

Start testing your vanilla around the 4th or 5th month. I think the flavor really matures around month 8.

When ready, decant the vanilla, a couple of ounces at a time, into a small dark bottle. (I reuse an old commercial vanilla bottle.)

To make more vanilla:

I leave the beans in the same jar of vodka for 2 years. I add new beans and vodka each year.

To determine which beans are the two-year old ones, I alternate years with my cutting technique.

  • On year one, I split the beans, then cut into 2-inch lengths. 
  • On year two, I split and scrape the beans, but leave them whole
  • On year three, I remove the old 2-inch lengths before adding new 2-inch ones. 

I figure that a vanilla pod that is a year old should still have a bit of flavoring left in it, so I leave it to infuse with the new pods.

Don't throw those used pods away! Dry them, and add to a container of granulated sugar. You'll have a mild vanilla-flavored sugar to add to coffee or tea, or to sprinkle over shortbread and other cookies.

Just how high quality of vanilla beans do you need for making extract?

Do you need premium vanilla beans? Nope! (Finally a do-it-yourself project that doesn't require premium anything!) Vanilla beans are graded based on appearance and moisture content. Highest grade vanilla beans don't necessarily have more flavoring potential than lower grade. So, those $10 glass vials at the supermarket, containing one lone vanilla bean may be significantly overpriced for making extract. Go for less expensive beans.

I've been very happy making vanilla extract with less expensive vanilla beans and bottom-shelf vodka for several years.

In my next post, I'll tell you where I get most of my vanilla beans for free, and how you can too (plus a giveaway). And I'll give you a couple of sources for buying quality vanilla beans at a good price. So, stay tuned.



sources for this post include: the website from FDA.govwikipedia,The Vegetarian Resource Group


What are your thoughts on home-made vanilla? Do you make your own? Buy pure vanilla extract? Buy artificial vanilla flavoring? Does it matter to you whether vanilla is real or artificial? It is only a teaspoon or so added to recipes. Maybe real or artificial doesn't matter to you. Just wondering what your thoughts are.



Friday, May 9, 2014

Don't buy cream puffs and eclairs (they are crazy-cheap to make!)

(It was a rainy Thursday afternoon. I was stuck inside all afternoon, so guess what? You get me this morning, as I had time to type up what I was doing -- baking. Now aren't you lucky?! Haha!)



This week, the grocery ads for Mother's Day are featuring cream puffs and eclairs for $6 for a 7 to 9-count package.


They are so easy to make (really!!), and crazy-cheap.

I baked 15 medium-size cream puffs the other day, for under $1. Here's the breakdown in cost:

  • 1/2 cup butter -- 50 cents
  • 4 eggs -- 36 cents
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour -- 8 cents
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt -- 1 cent
total to make my own cream puffs -- 95 cents. Even if your grocery costs are double mine, it would still be under $2 to make a batch of 12 to 15 cream puffs. My filling (whipped cream and fruit -- remember the whipped cream I bought on markdown, whipped, then froze back in February?) will cost about 50 cents for the whole batch. So for me, my price per cream puff will be about 10 cents per filled puff. The grocery store cream puffs work out to almost $1 per cream puff!

So you're thinking, "what do I need 15 cream puffs for?" Well, unfilled cream puffs freeze beautifully. You can use however many at a time that you need. And since the batter to make them is not at all sweet, you can use them to hold savory as well as sweet fillings. I sometimes make tiny cream puffs (referred to as cocktail-size) to fill with chicken salad, to take to potlucks.

Cream puffs are egg-risen. Once they puff up, they have a hollowed out spot inside, just right for a dollop of filling.

For a dessert, I pull frozen, unfilled cream puffs out from the freezer, allow to come to room temperature for 20 minutes, on the counter, then fill with either sweetened whipped cream, ice cream, or homemade vanilla pudding. You can frost the tops, sprinkle with powdered (confectioner's) sugar, or drizzle with a chocolate glaze or syrup.

What's the best, though, is if these are for guests, they look so spectacular everyone thinks I'm some sort of master baker!

I bake the cream puffs, in advance, so I'm not rushed at the last minute. (I baked the Mother's Day brunch ones on the Thursday before Mother's Day, then froze unfilled.) If more than a day in advance, I pop them into a ziploc and freeze them.

Here's the recipe I've been using for the last 30 years, and that my mother used for 20 years before that.

For 12 to 15 3-inch diameter cream puffs:

ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

equipment:
heavy-bottomed medium saucepan
large spoon
small bowl and fork
rubber spatula
large baking sheet

Prep:
Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (non-convection). Grease the baking sheet.

Cook:


In the saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add butter, and stir until butter is melted. Stir in salt.


Add the flour, all at once, and stir vigorously until throughly mixed in, and a large mass develops. Remove pan from heat.


In small bowl, beat 1 egg with fork. Add to this slightly cooled flour/butter/water mixture, and beat vigorously. When thoroughly combined, break 2nd egg into small bowl, beat with fork, then beat into the flour/butter/water mixture. 


By now, the mixture is cool enough, that you can add the last 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well in between, whole, and not need to beat the eggs in a bowl first So, add the last 2 eggs, one at a time, and beat vigorously until thoroughly combined. You'll have to beat hard for about a minute or so.


With the large spoon and a rubber spatula, spoon the batter onto greased baking sheet. The dollops will be about the size of a ping pong ball, before they naturally flatten. If desired, you can flatten the "points" with the back of a spoon, dipped in water. It's not necessary, but does make them more professional-looking.


Bake:

Bake the cream puffs at 450 F, for 14 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F, and bake for about 20-22 additional minutes, until golden.

Allow to sit on baking sheet for about 1 minute, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool throughly.


Filling cream puffs:

Just before serving, use a serrated knife to cut 1/3 off of the top, leaving a large hollow inside. Fill with sweetened, whipped cream, ice cream, cornstarch pudding or meat/egg-based salad. For the dessert cream puffs, you can also add a few slices of strawberries or a few blueberries, after the whipped cream. Replace the tops.

(Fill just prior to serving, as the pastry will become soggy if they sit too long already-filled.)

Once filled, sprinkle with powdered (confectioner's) sugar, drizzle with chocolate glaze or syrup, or ice with a thin frosting.

These freeze beautifully. Once cooled, slide into a large ziploc, whole and uncut, and store in freezer up to 4 months.

As far as calories go (I really am trying to cut back on extra calories, I know, hard to believe when you see me posting about cream puffs), these are only as naughty as you make them. Unfilled, each one has 107 calories. If filled with sliced strawberries (13 calories for 1/4 cup sliced) and use a fat-free whipped topping (15 calories for 2 tablespoons fat-free Cool Whip), then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, you can make a "decadent" dessert for under 150 calories. Even if using real whipped cream (30 calories for 2 tablespoons whipped), instead of fat-free whipped topping, the calorie count only "jumps" to 150 calories.

To make eclairs:

For eclairs, the recipe is exactly the same, only instead of using a spoon to form the dough on baking sheets, fill a pastry/icing bag, without the tip, with the dough. Pipe in ribbons, directly onto greased baking sheet, 1-inch wide, 3-inches long. Bake as above, at 450 F to start, then 325 F to finish, until golden. Slice eclairs horizontally, and fill with ice cream, whipped cream or cornstarch pudding.


Thursday, May 8, 2014

April Grocery Money Journal (spent $43.52 per week)


If you think about all the ways you have saved big bucks over the years, you probably think of things like shopping around for a good used car, negotiating points on a mortgage, paying off your mortgage early, and shopping second hand. 

These are all money savers, that's for sure. But do you think about grocery savings in the same "big bucks" way? You should! You can save a whole lotta money on groceries. I know this from my own experience. 

I've been married about 27 and 1/2 years. Those first 12 months of marriage, I was careful with our spending. But I still managed to spend about $70 per week on groceries for the 3 of us. Then, I had a revelation about how much I was spending, and how much I could save over the course of a lifetime, if I just cut our grocery spending in half. No, make that more than half. My goal was to reduce our grocery spending to $30 per week. I did this basically overnight. So, for the last 26 years, I've been spending an average of $40 per week on groceries. Based on national "thrifty plan" averages of grocery spending around the $400-500 mark for a month for a family, I estimate that I have saved at least $230 per month, multiply that by 12 months, then 26 years, and I have saved our family a minimum of $71,760 !!!

If you add in that we have always, every single day, packed lunches for my husband and kids for work and school, we have saved an additional $60,000 over buying a quick-service meal in a school cafeteria or counter service restaurant. Those two figures, spending less on groceries combined with always packing (and not buying) lunches, comes to a total of over $130,000 !!!  That is a substantial amount of money, and will only keep growing over the coming years.

Careful attention to grocery spending has indeed paid off in big bucks for this family! 

Have you ever figured your savings on groceries, in total, over many years? I bet you've saved a bundled!

Now on to the grocery shopping for April.


April 1, 2014. Easter falls in April this year, so I will have a lot of opportunities to stock up on different items, at close to rock-bottom prices. Which means, I will be spending a lot of money this month.

I have my regular budget of $170, plus a carry forward surplus of $72.31, for a total available to spend on groceries of $242.31. In case you missed it, the carry forward surplus is the total of amounts not spent from the grocery budget, in previous months. I'm trying not to spend too much of that surplus, but hold on to it for future months. But we shall see.

April 3. QFC to check markdowns. I found 2 gallons of whole milk marked down to $2.29 each, and 4 containers of mushrooms for $1.19 each. The containers of mushrooms were marked as 8 ounces each. I took several over to the scales to weigh and found 4 containers right around 12 ounces each. That works out to $1.59 per pound (for a total of 3 pounds). A great price for fresh mushrooms. I used 2 of the containers fresh, in meals, and sliced and sauteed the other two to freeze for future meals. Total spent today $9.34.

April 4. Trader Joe's, hoping they have cocoa in stock again. They do! I buy ten 9-ounce containers, at $2.49 each. This is the best price on cocoa powder in my area, even beating the restaurant supply 5-lb bag price. Cocoa and chocolate products have increased in demand, worldwide in recent years. The prices just keep ticking upwards. Do you remember when you could buy a candy bar for 3/$1? Now the regular grocery store price on a single-serving candy bar is between 79 and 99 cents in my area. Market analysts expect the wholesale price on cacao to rise sharply in the next couple of years. My plan is to just keep us stocked. I'll buy additional containers of cocoa powder, as we use our supply, as my budget allows, and until the prices rise. In addition to cocoa powder, I picked up 3 bananas at 19 cents each. Total spent today -- $25.47

Fred Meyer as I had non-food items to pick up there. I also had a coupon for ground coffee, 33 ounce containers for $5.99 (limit 2). I bought 2, spending $11.98 Month to date spending -- $46.79

April 5. Dollar Tree for lasagna noodles. spent $1

Walgreen's has eggs for $1.29 per dozen. I'm not sure if eggs will be less just before Easter or not, so I buy 7 dozen. Spent $9.03

Cash and Carry restaurant supply for sugar in 50 lb sacks. They have an ad that can be viewed online. I check it most Mondays. Sugar is $18.75 for 50-lbs this week. While there, they have russet potatoes for $1.98 in a 15 lb sack, which works out to about 13 cents per pound. I just buy the 1 sack. Spent $20.73 for a month to date total of $77.55

April 11. Fred Meyer has in-store coupons each week. I find their ad online, then decide if I'll take family members with me. They have in-store coupons for butter ($2 for 1 pound), canned pineapple (88 cents for 20 ounces) and 8-oz bricks of cream cheese (88 cents). My 2 daughters came with me and picked up coupons, too. In total, we bought 6 pounds of butter (there was an additional coupon on 1 pound of butter!), 12 cans of pineapple and 8 bricks of cream cheese. Total spent -- $29.42.

Walgreen's has olives with in-store coupons this week, at 89 cents per can. I buy 10 cans of black olives and 2 jars of green olives, for a total spent of $10.68. Month to date spending -- $117.65

April 13. As it turns out, Walgreen's does put eggs on sale this week before Easter, at 99 cents per dozen. I pick up 10 dozen. I'll freeze about 5 to 6 dozen, and the sell-by date is mid-May on the rest of the eggs for fresh eating. Spent $9.90

Albertson's for cheese, 2 pounds for $4.99, limit 1 with coupon. I pick up 1. Spent $4.99

April 15. QFC has hams on sale for 99 cents per pound. Even though I still have a ham in the freezer, I pick up 2 more hams. Total spent -- $19.83. These don't have to be in the freezer until late May, giving me time to clear out spots for them. Month to date spent -- $152.37

April 18. Fred Meyer has butter on ad with coupon, again. I only need 4 more pounds to fill my stock, so one daughter comes with me. While there we find half gallons of skim milk for 75 cents each, that's $1.50/gallon! I figure I have room for 12 half gallons in my freezers, so I buy 12, and we get 4 pounds of butter at $2/lb. Total spent $17.00

Trader Joe's for bananas (19 cents each). 22 is my number. It seems to be the exact amount that we can go through without completely tiring ourselves of bananas. Spent $4.18

Country Farms produce stand. I'm there early enough in the day to find a full markdown bin. I buy 3 smallish heads of lettuce for $1 total, 6 green peppers for $1.98, 6 kiwi fruit for 99 cents, plus a small head of cabbage at 50 cents/lb and 1 large sweet potato at 79 cents/lb. Total spent -- $5.97 Month to date spending -- $179.52

April 19. The Easter bunny is doing a little last-minute shopping. While here I buy 1 box of green tea. spent $1.

April 23. After Easter, I stop by Dollar Tree for marked down Easter chocolate. This isn't great quality chocolate, but it works fine enough for s'mores during the summer. The candy is all 50 cents/bag. I buy 10 bags, plus 1 bag of marshmallows, for a total spent of $6. These bags of chocolate candy are 5 ounce bags. The standard size bag of chocolate chips that I buy is 12 ounces. The Easter chocolate works out to $1.20 per 12 ounces. The best price I ever find on chocolate baking chips is $1.79. If I compare the price of chocolate for s'mores to candy bars, the candy bars are even more expensive per unit, so after-Easter clearance chocolate candy is our best option, price-wise. And I have even used this clearance chocolate candy, all chopped up, and added to cookies, as a cheaper "chocolate chip".

Anyway, total month-to-date spent --  $186.52. Or, $43.52 per week. 

I did spend a little into our carry forward surplus. However, I still have $55.79 in surplus remaining *and* a very well-stocked kitchen. May looks like it will be a tasty month!

April was holiday month this year with Easter mid-month. I always spend more during holiday months, not because we buy extravagant foods, but because there are a lot of stock-up deals surrounding holidays. This April, that meant butter, ham, eggs, cream cheese and canned pineapple.

The next stock-up opportunities will be on bbq/picnic items, such as hot dogs, just before Memorial Day and 4th of July. Even the high quality hot dogs go on sale around these holidays. When given the choice, our family prefers Hebrew National beef hot dogs. Their regular price is around $5 for 7 hot dogs. They typically go on ad for about $3 to $3.50 a package.


Just curious, what is it that you find interesting about my grocery money journal? What would you have not bought, that found it's way into my cart?




Monday, May 5, 2014

A month of dinner menus for our house this May


There's simplistic beauty in a patch of lettuce in the garden.

For the home-cook, what could make the daily event of dinner prep as encouraging as a menu plan for the entire month? 

All of my ingredients and time constraints for the month of May have been taken into account. I'll be drawing mostly from our stock in the garden, pantry, fridge and freezer. For produce, May is still in pre-summer mode, here. Our garden will be producing spinach, watercress, mustard greens, lettuce, pea tendrils, chives and rhubarb in abundance, but not much else for now. So, I'll be relying on freezer produce from last summer, as well as canned pumpkin, canned pineapple, and canned tomatoes (in salads, chopped and drained).

I also have given myself 2 nights per week as easy nights, either as meals using primarily leftovers, or, having my kids cook, or, making a simple breakfast-for-dinner supper. Doing so allows me full afternoons to devote to various projects.

I don't strictly follow my menu plans. I almost always make the main dish, but the sides may change, depending on what I have. For example, on May 2, we had the marinated lentil and barley salad, French bread, fruit jello (rhubarb jello), but instead of garden greens, onions and garlic, I added watermelon (picked up at the produce stand) and a bed of watercress to the servings of lentil salad (for the "greens").

If you menu plan, do you deviate very much from your plan? Or do you stick to it pretty closely? Do you menu plan as a way to simplify your work? Or do you menu plan to save money? 


So here you go. A month of May menus, simple and frugal-style. 

week of May 1 through May 3

1   ham and green pepper pizza, garden salad (or cole slaw if garden lettuce not ready), rhubarb sauce (double batch for fruit jello)

2   marinated lentil salad (double batch for May 5), French bread (make/freeze 2 extra loaves 1 for garlic bread on May 18, 2 for crostini on May 12), sauteed garden greens, onions and garlic, fruit jello

3   turkey, cranberry and cream cheese sandwiches (turkey and cranberries from freezer), sweet potato fries, rhubarb squares (freeze half of the rhubarb squares for Wednesday)

week of May 4 through May 10

4   bean-vegetable soup (double batch for Thursday), rolls from freezer, rhubarb crisp

5   pocket sandwiches (pocket bread filled with leftover lentil salad and shredded lettuce), fresh fruit, brownies (double batch brownies and freeze half)   

6   meatloaf muffins topped with marinara, mashed kale, garlic and potatoes, green salad from garden 
   
7   leftover soup from Sunday, rolls, cole slaw, rhubarb squares (from freezer)

8   waffles with fruit topping   

9   pinto bean, rice, grilled peppers/onions, corn salsa, and cheese burritos (double batch rice for tomorrow), green salad, leftover brownies
   
10   grilled whole chicken (shred leftover chicken into 2 containers, freeze 1 container), oven-roasted potato casserole w/ chives/cheese (make extra large for leftovers), pumpkin souffle (canned pumpkin)

week of May 11 through May 17 (Mother's Day on Sunday)

11   Mother's Day (kids make dinner)  leftover chicken in BBQ sauce over buns, carrot sticks, leftover potato casserole, blackberry-rhubarb pie

12   chicken noodle soup, made with chicken carcass from Saturday and veggies from garden, crostini, leftover pie

13   spinach souffle, brown rice, fruit salad, tossed green salad

14   bean patties (double batch/freeze for May 20), corn bread, carrot sticks, cole slaw

15   French toast with fruit topping

16   frittata, brown rice, pumpkin muffins

17   hot dog cook-out -- dogs in buns and 2 salads-- pasta salad (w/ chopped, canned tomatoes, olives, garlic greens and any green vegetables from the garden), spinach salad with rhubarb dressing

week of May 18 through May 24 (Memorial Day weekend begins on 24th)

18   tofu garden lasagna, green salad, garlic bread

19   polenta squares (double batch) with marinara sauce/cheese, lentil-barley salad, steamed spinach

20   leftover bean patties, leftover polenta squares, green salad, roasted carrots

21   turkey and dumplings (turkey from freezer), spinach salad with rhubarb dressing

22   black beans and rice, garden salad, blueberry muffins (blueberries from freezer)

23   pancakes topped with rhubarb coulis

24   hamburgers, oven fries, sauteed spinach, cookies

week of May 25 through May 31 (Memorial Day weekend ends on 26th)

25   Asian chicken-noodle salad, (chicken from earlier in month, pea tendrils, green onions, garden vegetables and whole wheat spaghetti noodles), grilled pineapple

26   Memorial Day: hot dog cook-out -- dogs in buns with 2 salads --  potato salad, tossed green salad, rhubarb lemonade, s'mores

27   quiche, brown rice, fruit salad, sauteed greens and garlic

28   baked ham, sweet potato fries, green salad, plum kuchen (using frozen plums)

29   ham and baked beans, cornbread (double batch for tomorrow), creamed spinach, rhubarb sauce (double batch for tomorrow)

30   ham and eggs, leftover cornbread, leftover rhubarb sauce

31   vegetable pizza, pasta salad w/chopped canned tomatoes, olives, green veggies from garden and garlic greens, leftover kuchen

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Thursday, May 1, 2014

May looks to be promising in so many ways


Dear friends (and I do think of you as friends, you've been so kind and supportive, and offered so many valuable ideas),

Sometimes life just keeps on spinning and spinning, until you realize that it has spun out of control. You don't know how you got there, but your life is now too full, too complicated, and spread too thin.

This is where I found myself in early April. I had said "yes" so many times to so many people, that I couldn't do everything that I was committed to, and do it all well. This is key. If I do something, I want to do it well. So, I spent the second half of April attempting to take some of the "busy" out of my life.

There's a lot of common wisdom on how to unwind a too-tight life. For the last few weeks, I've been trying to implement many of these suggestions, such as:

  • spend some time choosing what will be your priorities. This is a no-brainer for me, most of the time. Serving God, my friends and family are what and who matter most.
  • begin saying "no" to people and things that don't reflect your new priority list. So, I've begun doing this more. I realized that I don't need a long, expanded reason why I can't contribute time to something. Just a simple, "oh, I'm so sorry, but I have something on my calendar that day". And that is true, I have ME on my calendar that day.
  • use a calendar and only fill it partially. This is really freeing. When I allow myself to have fewer appointments on my calendar, I actually achieve more concerning my list of priorities (see the first point). How much a person fills their own calendar will depend on how much activity they can not merely tolerate, but also find enjoyment from.
  • find the "good thing" about each of your commitments. Sometimes the "good thing" is time to do something you never find time to do at home. Sitting in the dentist's waiting room while kids have their appointments gives me time to read that book I've got sitting on my night stand. Other people might bring cross-stitch, knitting, quilt-piecing projects to fill the time. I also like to bring a pad of paper and pen, and detail the next day's activities, or plan the next month's dinner menus. In a grueling 1 1/2 hour wait during appointments this past month, I was able to plan the entire month of May's dinner menus. Had I not put that time to good use, I would have flipped through the waiting room's magazine selection for about 30 minutes, then grown restless, and watched the clock for the remaining hour.                                                                                 Another way to find that "good thing" for me, has been to bring an audio book, to listen to on long solo drives. I've had many late evening pick-ups from university for one of my daughters this quarter. The bus schedules don't suit late nights on campus. So, I find myself driving downtown to pick up one daughter, on a regular basis. Instead of bemoaning these long, long drives, I bring a book on CD with me, to listen to, not just while on the road, but while sitting in the parked car waiting for my daughter to finish up with ushering duties.
  • schedule "vacations" from your normal routine. Instead of a week of household chores, I've set aside entire weeks to tackle large chores, such as getting our outdoor area ready for summer cook-outs. I gave myself permission to let the mopping and dusting slide for the week. And, I recently just "gave" myself a two-week vacation from blogging (and other projects). I was able to accomplish quite a lot by not having my thoughts split between so many areas of daily life.
  • give yourself a needed day off from all work every once and again. I am trying harder with this one. My goal is once a fortnight to do something just for the joy of it. One day while cleaning out the junk drawer, I came upon a bottle of my kids' bubbles. It was a beautiful, sunny April day. So, I went outside and blew bubbles for about 30 minutes. This was sheer joy, and could in no way be construed as "work". So worth it. And I would suggest you try this some day when life feels to be nothing but drudge work. For joy on a larger scale this month, what day could be better for doing something just for oneself than Mother's Day? I have plans to visit a local botanical garden with my family on this Mother's Day. Have you planned anything special for your day this month?
  • in at-home work time, work at something enjoyable that still fills the bill of doing "work". This I am very good at. I love baking, and I often will bake and skip the other housework for the day (okay, so maybe that's a bit out of balance, the house could use at least a pick-up at some point in the day). When I combine fun with productivity, life feels good. A few days ago, I made the year's supply of vanilla extract, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. I have a particular method for getting maximum flavor from vanilla beans. I'll post that in later this month, as well as how I get vanilla beans for free (and you can too). I also took the time to make a huge batch of pie pastry which I rolled and put in tins for the freezer. In going through my selection of pie tins and plates, I counted 8 assorted pie tins. So I made a double batch of dough (enough for 10 single crusts), filled all 8 tins, then rolled up the remaining 2 portions onto empty waxed paper and foil cardboard tubes (I can use these 2 for top crusts). (Here's a pie pastry post from a couple of years ago. There's a link to the fool-proof recipe I use there as well.) Summer pie season is underway here, with the rhubarb harvest in full swing. Having the crusts all ready to go means I can throw together a pie in about 10 minutes. 
In late April, I made quite a bit of progress in the area of unwinding my too-tight life. I hope to carry this through May, as well. One change I am making with creative savv is I'll be posting fewer times per month, but still on a regular basis. As I'll be writing fewer blog posts, I'll be using facebook more often for some of my smaller frugal activities. Yes, it looks like May shall be a very good month, indeed!

Now get out those bubbles and start blowing!
Cheers, my dear friends,
Lili

Monday, April 21, 2014

Hi there!

Hi friends,
Just to let you know, I'm swamped with stuff right now, and I'm going to take this week and next week off from blogging, so I can catch up. I'll be back to blogging on May 5.
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
Be back soon,
Lili

Friday, April 18, 2014

Speaking of flowers, birthdays and beauty . . .

Last month, with last year's birthday money in hand, my daughters and I spent a day in the vintage district nearby. I have a couple of favorite shops there. Favorites, because of their displays, mostly. They take ordinary vintage items and show them off in new ways. I always come away with fresh ideas for my own home.

One of the shops, in particular, carries such a lovely assortment of items that I could easily move it all into my home and be all smiles. And their pricing is quite good, too.

I don't go into these shops with a laundry list of things I'm looking for. But instead, I go with an open mind, looking for beautiful things. I figure that if I find something that I really love, it will find the perfect place in my home.


At first, it was just one of these prints that caught my eye. Then I realized that it was one of a pair -- a pair of prints, both in excellent conditions, with frames still intact, is a find. I instantly loved them both, but went about the day shopping, and thinking on them.

While the price wasn't as low as a thrift shop find, it was far, far lower than buying items new. And it has that instant appeal of looking like it's always been here.

Now, to decide where to hang these.

Do you like to vintage shop? Is there an area nearby that has a selection of vintage stores? What's been your favorite "find" at second-hand shops?


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