Rolling in dough

Once every couple of weeks, I use a stand-mixer for making the dough for our sandwich and toast bread. The hook and bowl have to be washed by hand. So, while it's out and in use, I like to get it good and dirty with lots of dough.

Last Friday, I used the mixer to make whole wheat dough for 4 loaves of sandwich bread.

Then when that bread dough was out of the mixer, I started a batch of multi-purpose French bread dough, which can also be used for pizza crust and focaccia, in addition to laves of French bread. I make enough of this dough at one time for 4 loaves/uses of dough. I ball these up and place on a sheet of oiled plastic wrap, and freeze in a large zippered plastic bag.

And finally, I used the mixer for a batch of refrigerator, rich roll dough. This dough stays "good" for about 4 days in the fridge. Saturday morning, I used a portion for homemade donuts. Saturday evening I made crescent rolls to go with our dinner. Then on Monday, I took out the last of the refrigerator dough and made rhubarb sticky buns to have with breakfast on Tuesday (and yes, also for a snack for myself on Monday afternoon!)

Thirst-quenchers

We had a mini-heat wave, here, over the weekend, with temperatures soaring into the high 70s! Okay, not exactly blistering, but warm enough to want plenty of chilled beverages.

Saturday morning, I made 3 pitchers of cold drinks for our family. One, a fruity punch, made with the last of the blackberry pancake syrup, some red currant drink syrup, water and about 1 cup of flat lemon-lime soda, leftover from the March birthday of my two daughters.

The second beverage was a black tea and lemon iced tea, made from Dollar Tree black tea and bottled lemon juice. I didn't sweeten it, but left that up to each drinker, which was a good choice, as neither of my daughters wanted it sweetened.

And the third beverage was the one which surprised me with it's popularity in our family. I made a tomato juice, using canned tomato paste, onion powder, crushed celery seed, lemon juice, water, sugar and salt. I made a little over a quart and by mid-afternoon we were down to 1 cup of that juice. As it turns out, all three of my kids (and myself) loved it. So, this is definitely a beverage to continue making this season. A good way to get a veggie serving in each day, with minimal added sugar. And it only costs me about 30 cents per quart to make (with the price I paid for my ingredients), not too bad.

Gone are the days of those vibrantly-colored pitchers of Kool-aid in our fridge!

What are your family's favorite warm-weather beverages? Have you found that as your kids grew up they preferred less sugary drinks, and/or opted for more nutrient-dense beverages?

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Does it look like something's missing, here?

Maybe not to you, but I can see that there are no paper baking cups on this batch of muffins. This is not earth-shaking, frugal living, by any means. But over the last 15 years, I had become accustomed to using paper baking cups with muffins and cupcakes. I thought I was saving a whole lot of time by using them.

Well, I ran out of plain white, everyday baking cups a month ago, and don't want to use up my "special" holiday baking cups. Until I can bring myself to buy some more "everyday" baking cups, I'll be buttering the muffin tins.

But do you know what I was thinking about? There's a generation of young people who don't know that a muffin tin can simply be buttered. Kids and young adults who have mostly seen muffins in grocery stores and bakeries, always wrapped in a paper baking cup. Isn't that funny to think? Meanwhile, many of our mothers always buttered muffin tins. So many things have changed in just our lifespans.

So, you know I wouldn't just leave this post as is, don't you? That I would simply HAVE TO figure if there was any significant cost savings to buttering my muffin tins. LOL!

Okay, so a dozen paper baking cups are around 13 cents (Dollar Tree, 100 ct., $1.10 including tax). I use less than 1/2 tablespoon of butter to grease a 12-cup muffin tin. 1/2 tablespoon of butter costs me about 2 & 1/2 cents cents (at the price per pound I most recently bought butter, $1.69/lb). So I do save 11 cents per 12-cup muffin pan, by buttering the tin.

Now all of this, whether or not it's cheaper to butter your tin or use paper baking cups, is highly dependent on 2 things -- the price of butter and the price of paper baking cups. If the price of paper came way down, but the price of butter skyrocketed, the outcome of my calculations would change.


But wait . . .  here's another possibility. I can buy baking cups in a super duper large quantity (about 10,000 which would be a 20-year supply even for me), for just over $50. Of all of my searching for cheap paper baking cups, this is the absolute cheapest that I found. A dozen of these bulk-purchased baking cups would cost about 6 cents. Even at this price, I still save almost 4 cents per dozen, by buttering my muffin tins.

But how about the work saved by using baking cups? It took me under 5 minutes to butter the entire tin. I was waiting for the oven to preheat in this time, anyway. So, not really an issue. How about sticking to the pan? My muffins don't generally stick to the pan. Higher sugar recipes will leave a sticky crumb residue, but the muffins still pull out of the pan.

So, will I continue buttering the tins? Well, despite all of this, there is this thing I call "mental time". It's not real time, but perceived time. My mind wants to believe that paper baking cups are SO much more convenient. I can read the facts that I just typed, but it's hard to convince my mind. I know myself. At some point, I will buy more baking cups. But I'll be looking for a great deal on them.

In the meantime, at 2 dozen muffins per week, I am saving at least 12 cents, maybe 22 cents per week. Okay, not a grand savings, but over a year, that does add up to a whopping $6.24 to $11.44 by buttering my muffin pans. I won't be getting rich by buttering my muffin tins, but I could go out to lunch on those savings. What I have figured is this -- my "stock-up wildly" price on baking cups is about 25 cents per 100 count. Could happen.

Do you do anything to save money that only saves pennies, but you do it anyway?

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One of the things we've missed . . .

has been juice.

We're not terribly picky about which kind of juice. I love orange, pineapple and tomato, myself.

One of my daughters, in particular, loves tomato juice.

Well, remember all of those canned whole tomatoes that I've been oven roasting? There's all of that liquid from the cans leftover.

My tomato juice-loving daughter has been enjoying this "juice", as juice. And she's right! It is delicious. A pinch of onion powder and a bit of salt, and it's unbelievably good! If I had some celery salt in the house, I imagine a bit of that plus onion powder would be very tasty.

While this tomato juice is not exactly free, it is a by-product of making oven-roasted tomatoes. And even at the price of the large can of whole tomatoes, our juice is still a bargain compared to the 46 ounce cans of canned tomato juice selling for around $2.50 or so per can at the supermarket.

"Ship to store" shopping

In addition to checking the brick-and-mortar versions on our local stores, I also check each store's websites, for specific items for which I'm looking for a deal.

Sometimes, a web version of a store carries inventory not found in the brick-and-mortar. And sometimes, the website offers the exact same merchandise, but at a lower price.

My local Dollar Tree is the spot where I've been getting my baking soda for the last couple of years. It has been 59 cents for a 16 oz. box. The next best price I have found in our area is Walmart, in a large bag, for 62 cents per pound.

A little over a week ago, I was in Dollar Tree, and horrors!! the baking soda had been marked up to 79 cents per box.

I slid on home, went online to the Dollar Tree website, and found it had not been marked up online, yet. It was still listed at 59 cents per box. So, I ordered a case of 24 boxes., for 59 cents per box.


With Dollar Tree, there's a handling fee if you split up a case. But if you buy the whole case, there's no handling charge. In addition, you have your choice on shipping. You can have it shipped to your home, for a shipping charge. Or, you can have it shipped to your local store, for you to pick up, with no shipping charge.

So, I obtained the pre-mark up price, and saved on shipping charges.

I saved $4.80 by making my purchase this way. That's like buying 18 boxes, at the new price and getting 6 boxes for free. If 24 boxes of baking soda sounds like a whole lot to you, keep in mind that I use baking soda/vinegar in place of all of my baking powder in recipes, and I use baking soda as my scouring powder in sinks, tubs and showers. I'll also be experimenting with making my own dishwasher detergent this year, so that will use more baking soda.

When ordering food products, you do want to keep general expiration dates in mind. I looked up, in advance of my order, the approximate shelf life of baking soda. I suspected that I would have 2 or more years on the case. And I was correct. The case is stamped "best by 04  06  2018". And from what I've read about storage of baking soda, it can maintain its potency long past the best-by date, if stored properly. So, I'm in the clear with regards to shelf life.

I completely understand that ordering large cases of products is not for everyone. I get that.

Not all "ship to store" purchases need to be in large quantities. Sometimes a store carries a specific item that you want, online, only. For instance, my daughter was needing a special pencil for an art class. It was available online, through an office supply website, but not in their brick-and-mortar store. We've ordered food items through Cash & Carry that weren't part of their regular inventory, but they could have it delivered to their storefront.

The procedure is usually as follows:

• you place your order online and prepay
• the item is usually non-returnable, unless damaged or not delivered in the time-frame you were quoted
• there's a time-frame for delivery to your designated store (you choose the store location)
• you receive several emails, so check spam and junk folders
• you print out an emailed order receipt and bring it with ID to the store's customer service department 
• you sign for your purchase, but are not charged at this time (you have prepaid this order)
• they give you a pick-up window of about a week. If you miss your "window" the order may be canceled.

It's that simple! Just another shopping option for finding the best prices on your needed items.

**I'll be making another "ship to store" purchase in the next month. I've found bath tissue at a great price through a website for an office supply store. I'll give you more details when I make that purchase. (I want to make sure everything goes smoothly with that transaction before recommending this store/website).

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Did you do anything special for Cinco de Mayo?

Our Cinco de Mayo dinner on a budget

The dinner menu was chips and salsa, shredded turkey tacos, refried black beans, and carrot sticks. Nothing fancy, I'll freely admit, but festive nonetheless.

I used store-purchased corn tortillas to make both the tortilla chips and the taco shells. Corn tortillas keep for a long time in the fridge, so I buy the most economical package at the Cash & Carry (72-ct, for $2.18, that works out to 36 cents per dozen tortillas).

To make the chips:
I oil-fried wedges of the tortillas in a shallow skillet, until crisp, turning once, then drained on a paper bag. A pinch of salt is optional, and that's about it!

A word about frying oil and corn tortillas. The oil picks up the corn tortilla taste and this flavor goes very well in the rest of the Mexican dinner. I fry the tortilla chips first, then use some of that oil in the refried beans and the turkey taco filling. It's quite delicious.

To make the salsa:
This is budget, food processor salsa. I used canned, whole tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped fresh onions, garlic powder, lemon juice, lime juice and/or vinegar, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, dried oregano, salt and frozen hot peppers. I run all of this through the food processor till desired texture. I allow the salsa to sit for an hour, for the flavor to develop.

The taco filling was made from frozen, cooked white-meat turkey (from our most recent roasted, whole turkey), simmered with onions, chili powder, salt, and garlic powder. (I also add some of the tomato liquid from the canned tomatoes to the taco filling -- mentioning this now, as I don't add the tomato juice to the refried beans.) I fill the corn tortilla, fold over and oil-fry in the same pan in which I previously made the chips. Top with cheese and salsa and we're good to go! (*tip* corn tortillas can be a bit dry and crack when folding. I zap them in the microwave for 7 seconds each, to make them pliable, just before filling with meat, and folding into tacos.)

Refried beans are well, refried beans. I had some cooked black beans in the freezer (pinto beans would seem more authentic). I simmered these beans similarly to the turkey taco filling, in onions, oil, spices and water. I also add some of the black olive juice from the can, for a bit of flavor. When the onions and beans were quite soft, I used a potato masher on all. Top with shredded cheddar-jack cheese and some sliced olives. Yum!


Yesterday was another one of those super busy days. So, I didn't have time to put much together. No banners, decor or other festive atmosphere. The best I could do was Youtube some Mariachi music on autoplay, and get out my colorful Portuguese pottery.

How about you? How do you throw together a festive dinner on little time and on even littler budget?

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April 2015 Grocery Spending Journal

For the month of April, I have $155.23 for groceries. I'll continue to work extra hard at controlling my spending.

April 1. Eggs, lots of eggs. A comment was left anonymously on one of my posts that eggs were on sale for 99 cents/dozen at Target. One daughter was needing mascara, and I buy ELF cosmetics for some items (a deal -- $1 for mascara, and $1 for under-eye concealer for myself). So, off to Target (and Kohl's next door to use my $10 off coupon for new socks for daughters, another real deal, 6 pairs of Gold Toe socks regularly $14, on sale for $12, used my $10 off coupon and spent $2.19 including tax, that's less than 40 cents/ pair).

Okay back to groceries, I bought 17 dozen eggs, to go with my 3 dozen eggs from last week. I now have 20 dozen eggs in the house! I'll start the freezing process later today. I plan on freezing at least 8 dozen. Total spent on eggs, $16.83

April 1. Walgreen's to use my coupon for cream cheese (99cents -- 8-oz, limit 3), also buy 1 bag of jelly beans for 67 cents. spent $3.64

April 2. Walgreen's for cream cheese, 99 cents each, limit 3 with coupon. Bought 3. Also found 7 packages of marked down ham luncheon meat to add to the freezer, at 99 cents for 9-oz packages. Total spent $9.90

April 3. Once more by Walgreen's. Buy 3 packages cream cheese, 99 cents each, 2 dozen eggs, 99 cents each, and 3 more bags of jelly beans (to use later in the year), 3/$2. spent $6.95

April 3. Country Farms produce stand. 1 10-lb bag of small oranges (great size for lunches), $3.99 (40cents/lb),  1 bag of marked down bell peppers (2 green, 3 yellow) for $1.29, 1 bundle of celery (about 2 lbs, 89 cents), 5 red delicious apples (50 cents/lb), 3 small avocados, 25 cents each, and just over a lb of asparagus at $1.99/lb.  Most of what I bought fell under the 50 cents/lb price limit I've got going right now, with exception to the asparagus (for a holiday meal), and the avocados and peppers, I'm not sure, as they're usually sold per piece, anyway, but got good deals, nonetheless. Spent $10.24

April 3. Cash & Carry wholesaler, for 50-lbs white flour ($13.38), 50-lbs granulated sugar ($21.37), 29 oz cans of coffee ($5.98) and decaf ($7.95), 1-gallon jar of mayonnaise ($4.95), will be decanted a pint at a time, 5-lb bag of shredded cheddar-jack cheese (this was mostly cheddar, by looking at the bag, will be good for mac and cheese and cheese sauces -- $9.98), and 5-lb bag of carrots ($2.09). Spent $65.70

Spent to date -- $113.26

We are well-stocked right now. The only items that I'm REALLY wanting to buy are dried lentils and/or dried pinto beans. I'm going to have to resist spending, unless I find fabulous deals.

April 5. Stopped by Albertson's to buy a container of vanilla bean ice cream for Easter dinner (because what would pie be without a scoop of ice cream on top?!) spent $3.49. Month-to-date spent
$116.75

April 9. Cash & Carry wholesaler for 50-lbs whole wheat flour ($12.99), 5-lb bag shredded cheddar ($9.98) and 50-lb bag of potatoes (grade #2, $5.95). Spent $28.92 for a total of $145.67

April 9. Fred Meyer, found 1% milk on markdown for $1.49/gallon (bought 4, enough to get through the month), also 24 oz containers of cottage cheese for 99 cents (bought 3). I can use the cottage cheese in the filling for lasagna. I use about 16 oz per pan of lasagna, so each pan will cost 66 cents for the cottage cheese part of the lasagna. Enough cottage cheese for 4 pans of lasagna. What I don't use in the next few weeks will freeze for future cooking. Spent $8.93, for a month to date total of $154.60.

So, it's April 13, and I'm checking in here. I'm down to enough soy milk for one more cup of tea. I like milk in some flavors of tea but not all, and never in coffee. So, I'm drinking the fruitier flavors of tea this week, as I take these black with a bit of sugar. Sometimes, I use a plain dollar store tea bag with a spoonful of cherry preserves or a tablespoon or two of red currant drink syrup. Either one makes a good cup of tea for me. Otherwise, we're doing okay for the week without going grocery shopping. I still have greens in the garden, a 3-lb block of frozen spinach, some cabbage, carrots, onions, shallots, potatoes, oranges and an avocado. Plus the canned veggies (pumpkin, and various tomato products), and lots of frozen fruits from last summer. I'll need produce next week, which will put me over our limit. But not by a whole lot.

There's nothing on sale this week that I can't live without. That's a good feeling. I should be able to get this budget back in line by the end of next month. No holiday meal to plan for. No major sales expected. And we're fairly well stocked with the basics.

April 14. Dollar Tree. buy 1 quart of soy milk. spent $1

April 14. Fred Meyer, find 16 oz boxes of whole, small mushrooms, marked down to $1.89 each. I buy 2. Spend $3.78.

April 19, find 1 gallon skim milk marked down to $1.50. spent $1.50

Total spent for the month, $160.88

April 23. My step-mom is visiting and I wanted to make lasagna for one night. I'd actually thought about making the pasta by hand. I've made fettuccine on many occasions, so thought lasagna would be pretty simple. But I just ran out of time. So Dollar Tree for 1 box of lasagna noodles, spent $1. Will have to make homemade lasagna another time.

Total spent for the month, $161.88

April 24. Cash & Carry has some spices on sale through the weekend. I don't want to miss the opportunity to pick these up. Large canister ground mustard powder ($2.37), Large canister chili powder ($3.25), large canister cinnamon sticks ($1.88), large canister whole cloves ($4.12), large canister ground cumin ($3.46). spent $15.08

April 30. Cinco de Mayo sales on spices at Cash and Carry, cellophane bags of dried peppers (99 cents), ground paprika ($2.78), and garlic granules ($2.48). Spent $6.25


Done for the month of April. Total spent for the month -- $183.21, over my allotted amount by $27.98. That amount will be deducted from May's grocery budget, giving me $147.02 for May.

Cinco de Mayo: saving money by buying spices in ethnic markets or sections of your grocery store

We all know about shopping the bulk spice department of local markets, right? You can buy your spices for a fraction of the price of those small vials in the baking section of your local supermarket, if you scoop out what you need from bulk containers. You can also buy large canisters from warehouse clubs and restaurant supplies. These are a tremendous deal, as well.

I have another favorite place to buy some of my spices. And this is very time applicable, right now, with Cinco de Mayo just around the corner.

Cellophane pouches of herbs and spices are about $1 or $2 cheaper than even the large-size, (10-14 ounce) commercial canisters sold at warehouse clubs.

Some of my favorite spices are available, sold in pouches, not containers, in the Hispanic section of stores (wholesalers as well as grocery stores), AND in local Hispanic markets, AND online at sites like Amazon.com.

When we're driving around our own towns, we often don't notice the variety of ethnic markets lining the sides of highways and major streets. But take a look. You don't need to live in an "ethnic" section of town to have ethnic markets nearby. In our area, we have Hispanic and Korean markets. These stores are much smaller than traditional grocery stores, so often just go unnoticed.

But also, your own grocery store has a section with foods and ingredients from other cuisines. In the Hispanic section, you'll often find these pouches of certain spices. Dried peppers, cayenne pepper, garlic granules, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, etc.

Can I tell you a little secret? One of these brands, El Guapo, is owned by McCormick. That's right, McCormick & Co stands behind the El Guapo brand.

El Guapo has an extensive line of individual herbs and spices as well as spice blends, from spearmint leaves, oregano, cumin and cinnamon sticks to curry powder, chili powder, and Menudo spice mix (Menudo is a soup, but this mix is also excellent for making carne asada). All of these are sold in cellophane pouches, for a dollar or two cheaper per pound, than even the warehouse store 10 to 16 ounce canisters (which are a great deal in themselves).

Storing these spices at home for maximum freshness

You need your own canister, once you get these home. But a canning jar works, so does an olive jar (those tall slim jars). In a pinch, I've transferred contents to freezer bags.

When I've thought the pouches looked too big to use in about a year, I simply repackaged some, to store in the freezer. I've found that herbs and spices don't often go "bad" in a year or two, as much as they lose their potency. I buy spices in 16-oz containers and bags from our wholesaler. I repackage 2/3 for the freezer, and pour the other 1/3 into a canister for the kitchen. My spices have kept their potency for a few years at a time, this way.

But local Hispanic markets, your grocery store and Amazon also carry El Guapo (and other ethnic brands) in smaller household sizes that you may be accustomed to, like just a couple of ounces per item.

What do I buy in El Guapo packets? Well, this week, Cash & Carry has their selection of El Guapo on sale, for Cinco de Mayo. Yesterday, I picked up paprika, garlic granules and dried peppers (my enchilada sauce recipe starts with dried peppers). My price for these items, on sale, was about half the price of the commercial-size canisters of the same ingredients, also sold at Cash & Carry.

Anyway, if you happen to be in the area of an Hispanic market, stop in and take a look at their spice offerings. Or, when at your local grocery store, wander down the ethnic cuisine aisle, and see what herbs and spices they carry in cellophane pouches. (Know your price per pound on various herbs and spices, and compare.)

Especially this weekend, with Cinco de Mayo on Tuesday, this is a good time to check your local grocery store (could be running a sale on Mexi ingredients).

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Oven-roasted canned tomatoes

We are nowhere near fresh tomato season, here. My plants in the garden have only recently been set out. But, oven-roasted tomatoes are still a possibility, at this time of year.

Remember all of those canned tomatoes that I bought in the fall? Okay, so you don't remember. But I do. They stare me in the face every time I step into the pantry.

Here is a delicious way to use those canned, whole tomatoes. Yes, I did say CANNED tomatoes!

Oven-roasted Canned Tomatoes

4 to 5 cups of canned, whole, peeled tomatoes
2 to 3 tablespoons of oil (olive or vegetable, but olive will taste even better)
pinch of black pepper
pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 F

Fill a sieve or strainer with canned tomatoes, over a dish (I use a glass pie plate).

Cut tomatoes in half, lengthwise. Gently squeeze out juice and seeds over the bowl or plate. Save those juices!

Place tomato halves, cut side up, single layer, in a jelly roll pan (baking sheet with rim) or shallow roasting pan. Place the largest tomato halves in the corners and around the edges of the pan (for more even roasting).

Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with pepper and salt.

Roast for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Turn tomatoes over.
Remove any very caramelized tomatoes from the baking sheet.

Reduce oven temp to 325 F. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove very caramelized tomatoes.

Bake another 15 minutes. Adjust time, as needed, for your oven and pan. If your oven has a "hot spot", or if your pan is warped, you may need to turn pan around, and/or redistribute the juices by tilting pan for a few seconds.

Scoop tomatoes and juices into a glass bowl. Sprinkle with herbs, as desired (minced basil, parsley, fresh thyme, oregano, fresh rosemary, garlic powder).

Serve immediately as a warm side dish. Or cool, to serve at room temperature.



I love these, sliced and added to sandwiches. Really delish! Feast your mind on this -- pocket bread, filled with avocado, roasted canned tomatoes, sprouts, grated mozzarella. Or, turkey breast, on wheat bread smeared with roasted garlic, roasted canned tomatoes and fresh baby spinach. I'm getting hungry for lunch already!

These roasted tomatoes also make a wonderful, rich addition to pasta dishes and salads, and cooked rice dishes, chopped and tossed in.

Puree with an immersion blender, for a rich sauce for pasta (add back some of the reserved straining liquid), or, to make roasted tomato soup (add some chicken or veggie stock).

Chilled and sliced into long strips, these oven-roasted tomatoes are a family favorite for topping Italian salads. Some Romaine lettuce, olives, garbanzo beans, crusty homemade croutons, mozzarella/provolone cheese and these tomatoes.

Save the liquid from straining and juicing the tomatoes to add to marinara sauce, soup or for part of the liquid in cooking rice.

Do not discard the oil from the roasted tomatoes! It is infused with tomato-ey goodness. Use as the oil in dressing cold or hot pasta, or for drizzling over toasted French bread, before adding any other toppings.

If you have any left, store the roasted tomatoes in a glass bowl in the fridge, for up to 5 days.

Buon appetito!

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A very odds and ends sort of dinner last night

We had Crazy Soup, multi-fruity pie, and another scavenged salad (this time -- watercress and kale florets, with leftover rhubarb dressing).

Crazy Soup is leftover bits of savories from our dinners. Some onions browned in bacon fat, bits of ground beef and onion from forming hamburgers, liquid and trimmings from "juicing" canned tomatoes, canned vegetable liquid, liquid from thawed spinach, broken pieces of dried-out tortilla, a spoonful or two of different cooked veggies, and an extra container of some sort of "meat" gravy.

After each night's dinner, if there's not really enough of anything leftover for a portion, I scoop whatever remains of dinner into a quart-sized container that I keep in the freezer. When I have 2 of these containers, I thaw them, dump into a stock-pot and add some cooked beans. Sometimes I need to amend the seasonings. This time, it was flavorful enough to simmer it until thickened, and add a pinch of salt. And that's our Crazy Soup!

The multi-fruity pie began as a plum pie, with frozen plums. I found some over-candied orange peel, the liquid from thawed, frozen strawberries (from last weekends brunch), and about a cup of leftover rhubarb sauce that no one seemed interested in. I added all of these found ingredients to the plums. Then sprinkled with a mixture of sugar, flour and pinch of baking soda, and tossed it all together right in the pie shell. The pie was absolutely delicious -- however kinda soupy. It could have used more flour in the mixture.


Much of what went into last night's dinner were scraps that might have otherwise been tossed. So, it feels like the dinner was almost "free". (And I could tell the dinner impressed my family. One member had a smile on his face when talking about what might have just been tossed, but was turned into a full meal for our family.)

I was very tired from a busy weekend, and this was just the sort of dinner I felt up to pulling together. True, not gourmet, but still good enough. And sometimes, good enough, is "good enough".

Maybe tonight I'll have more energy to make a "real" meal.

(The bonus with a dinner like last night's -- I was able to empty a bunch of containers from the fridge and freezer!)

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The birthday Ice Cream Bar

For a recent family birthday, we chose to forgo the traditional birthday cake and do an Ice Cream Bar, instead.

I had vanilla ice cream in the freezer, leftover from Easter (see tip below for keeping your ice cream from developing ice crystals after opening). So, that was the initiator of the Ice Cream Bar idea.

I made caramel syrup and hot fudge sauce. I brought out the mint syrup and cherry preserves (both made last summer). I chopped some peanuts. And one daughter contributed some Oreo cookies that were given to her for her birthday (she could never in her life eat a whole package of Oreos by herself!). And that was the Ice Cream Bar.

• Vanilla Bean Ice cream
• Hot Fudge Topping
• Caramel Sauce,
• Cherry Preserves
• Mint Syrup
• Chopped Nuts
• Oreo Cookies

We all made our own sundaes, customizing to our individual preference. I think mine was more hot fudge than anything else! But I always find it interesting how each of us will customize our items so uniquely.

*to keep your ice cream from developing ice crystals, after opening the carton -- place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the ice cream, inside the container. Press out any air pockets under the wrap. Put the lid on, as usual. The ice cream will keep for many months without change to the surface texture or flavor.

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I'd love to have a "real" greenhouse . . .

. . . but for now, I work with what I've got.

We still have a few more weeks of cool, overnight temperatures, here in the PNW. Too cool for plants like tomato to be out in the garden without a cover.

On the deck and in the garden, I use gallon milk jugs, with the bottoms cut out, over single tomato plants.

For my basil starts, I use plastic clamshells that lettuce came in this past winter.

And in the garden, I use these row covers over a long stretch of small plants.

I planted out my tomato seedlings on the deck, around the first of April, which is about a month earlier than is recommended for our area. They're doing well, under their covers. And I hope to be slicing into a fresh tomato in July this year, which would be about 6 weeks earlier than planting into the bare ground in the garden, around the 6th of May.

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Last week's lunch round-up: my grab-and-go lunch fixings

left: garbanzo, celery, barley salad    right: chunky tomato soup

I haven't done one of these lunch posts in several weeks. For one thing, I was struggling just to keep a few things made each week. Life flows in spurts. Some months, there seems to be a spring melt and runoff of activity. Other months, just a trickle of activity to add to daily living.

And then there's my quest to get this grocery spending back in line with the budget. I've had a lot of things to talk about.

Anyways, I did keep track of what I made for last week's lunches. Here is/was last week's lunch round-up. Between Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, I prepared these grab-and-go items for our lunches:

• leftover hummus and fry bread (I intentionally made a huge batch of hummus, some for lunches and some for a meal later next week)
• garbanzo bean, celery, barley salad -- all marinated in a dressing of oil, rosemary-thyme vinegar and garlic (when I use celery in a salad, I use the entire rib, leaves and all, hence the "leafy" look, plus I think the leaves have a brighter flavor)
• homemade chunky tomato soup (I had to make 2 batches of this soup, as it was devoured quickly)
• another batch of pickle juice muffins. I added a bit more cinnamon this time. I kept thinking I was eating apple-cinnamon muffins. Just trying to use up the pickle juice before the next pickle-making season begins!
• and then later in the week some pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins. I actually made these for a little boy that I babysit on Thursdays. He loves pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins. So, sometimes I bake a batch to bring one to him. And my lucky family gets to eat the leftovers!
• home-dried prunes
• carrot sticks (I prepared a large container of carrot sticks on Monday and they were gone by Thursday)
• oranges
• pbj sandwiches
• hard boiled eggs

We are going through more food than usual, with our packed lunches. So, I did make extra for grab-and-go this past week.


I know a few of you work at home, and some of you work in education and so have summers at home. What sort of items do those of you who eat at home, prepare for your lunches? I'm looking for new ideas for things to fix, using fairly basic ingredients.

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So, you know I use tablecloths . . .

Organizing my linen closet

I inherited a large box of tablecloths when my parents passed away. These are cloths from my great grandparents, both sides of my family, as well as some of my grandmother's and mother's table linens.

There's everything from cloths large enough for a table set for 10 (our table only seats 8 at the max), down to tiny cocktail/beverage napkins (from the days of cocktail parties and bridge nights, I presume). There are doilies, lace placemats, and card-table toppers.

The other day I found myself motivated to organize the closet where all of these are stored. I pulled everything out and set myself to the task.

I sorted the linens according to size and item. Then I bagged them up, using those zippered, plastic bags that sheet sets and blankets come packaged in. I have just one shelf in a closet under the stairs to dedicate to linens. So, if I do this right, it all fits.

The extra large table cloths now have their own bag, and sit on the bottom of the stack, rarely used. The napkins are sorted into 3 smaller bags, the white monogrammed ones (both sides of the family had last names beginning with "M",  lucky me), the ecru machine-embroidered ones (wedding gifts when my husband and I got married), and the assorted patterned and odd ones.  Then there's the bag of medium sized table cloths, the bag of placemats, the bag of kitchen table cloths, and the bag of table toppers, squares, runners and dinner roll basket liners.

On the end of each bag is a list of the bag's contents. I include the number of the various types of napkins on these lists. As the trend seems to be to mix and match linens, I can quickly see if I have enough of any given color, pattern or design on the napkins for whatever holiday or event, to go with whatever cloth, runner, table topper combo that works on the table.

I didn't bother precisely measuring each table cloth, but simply stated on the label how many people could be accommodated at the table with that table cloth. For example, "seats 10", or "seats 6". In my own head, I know how many leaves/additions to make to the table for each cloth, with that notation.

I try to use these linens throughout the year, in place of buying any new linens, or paper napkins. When we've hosted large soup/bread gatherings, I've been able to dig into this stash of napkins for our guests, instead of buying paper napkins. I even have enough of those smaller beverage napkins to fill my small square napkin container, in place of buying paper beverage napkins for when a few friends are over. They don't all match, but that can be some of the charm of using heirloom linens.

I try to be careful with the oldest of these linens. But I've been known to take them outside for dinner al fresco. It's just such a nice touch, with no extra cost, to spread a tablecloth on the patio table and add a vase of flowers, for a dinner in the glow of the setting sun.

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A scavenged salad

Working in the garden the other day, I came across a patch of watercress coming up in the cracks of the walkway. I also found several wayward violets in bloom. Some people I know would have declared these "weeds". But my thought was, "oooh, salad!"

There was enough for all five of us. I drizzled individual plates with this rhubarb salad dressing.

Yum!

Do you forage? In our area, fiddlehead ferns are somewhat popular for scavenging. And I know of one lady who eats the dandelion greens from her yard. 

It wasn't all that long ago in history, that people foraged for food on a regular basis. While we need to be careful not to ingest anything poisonous, I do think it's silly to think that all of our food has to come from a store.

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Microwaving bars of soap, part 2: making liquid soaps for laundry and hand soap

(For part 1 on how to microwave a bar of soap, see yesterday's post )

For liquid soap

Liquid is my preferred form of soap for laundry and hand soap. It rapidly dissolves in cold water, hopefully getting down to the business of cleaning, faster. Plus there's no chance of any undissolved soap bits remaining on clothing, ever, even in cold water washes.

To make liquid soap:

After the inflated soap lump has cooled for 5 minutes, I break it apart by hand into small pieces, about the size of shooter marbles, into a stainless steel saucepan.

I cover with hot tap water, and bring to a boil on the stove. I stir constantly, breaking up any soap lumps as it comes to a boil. Once boiling, I reduce heat, and continue to stir until melted.

This takes about 5 minutes, total, compared to hours of stove-time to melt whole bars.

Once all is melted, I partially fill a 1-gallon, wide-mouthed container with cold water, about half full. I then pour the hot, melted soap into this cold water. Wide-mouthed container is key, as this is a scoopable, not pourable, soap.

I stir, and add more water to fill to the top, and stir again. Adding this extra water makes the soap more manageable for scooping into the washing machine. As the liquid soap cools, it will thicken substantially.

Using liquid laundry soap:
I use about 2 cups (or about 1/8th of the 1-gallon container) of this liquid soap per load. It's pretty gelatinous, so a sturdy scoop works well for me. After I add the laundry to the washing machine, I scoop this soap just under where the wash water comes into the machine. It dissolves in the first minute of agitation.

**slight derail -- Some folks don't like the gloppiness of this soap. You can microwave your soap before each load. It becomes pourable with heating. But that's too much work for me. I've got better things to do with my time, so I tolerate the gloppiness. I have read of some people using a mixer to "whip" the liquid soap. I haven't tried this, but reportedly, whipped, cooled liquid soap is easier to handle/measure for laundry. Again, I just don't have that much time. Maybe some day I'll give it a try.

Alternatively, a large pump dispenser (like what hair salons use for the large containers of conditioner and shampoo, or what a restaurant uses for condiments -- we're talking 1-gallon pump dispensers) would also make adding/measuring the liquid soap more manageable. A pump dispenser works well for my liquid hand soap.--  end derail**

I buy 3-packs of Dial "Basics" at Dollar Tree for $1, or often find it on sale at the supermarket for 88 cents/3-pack. So, my cost per load is about 4 cents, for just plain soap.

Adding vinegar makes a great rinse aid in laundry

With sensitive skin, in the process of healing from eczema, I find adding vinegar to the rinse compartment to be very helpful in removing any final traces of soap from laundry. Vinegar also keeps colors brighter, softens towels and reduces mildew smell (a bonus with bath towels). I use 3 to 4 tablespoons of vinegar per load, put in the rinse dispenser, to be released during the rinse cycle. 3 tablespoons of vinegar costs me about 3-4 cents per load.

Sensitive skin laundry products vs. my homemade soap/vinegar rinse

My total cost for sensitive skin laundry care is about 7 to 8 cents per load. Compare that to Dreft Baby Liquid detergent at over 30 cents per load, or Ivory Snow Gentle Care Laundry Detergent at about 50 cents per load.

Making hand soap for pump dispensers

I use the liquid form of this soap to make my own hand soap. I add enough water to give the liquid the right viscosity to pump from the dispenser. This is a trial and error process.

After the water has be mixed in, I add about 1 part of liquid dishwashing detergent (the kind for hand washing dishes) for 6 parts of liquid soap. This added detergent helps with cutting grease and oils, especially helpful in the kitchen.

Coloring and fragrance

I add liquid soap colorant (or food coloring) until the desired color, and essential oils for fragrance. This particular batch is lemon-mint leaf, starting with lemon dish detergent, and adding lemon essential oil and spearmint essential oil. It's a fresh fragrance that just smells clean.

Including the extra ingredients, 16 ounces of my own hand soap costs about 30 cents (compared to $1 for 7.5 ounces of commercial product). There's no additional plastic waste. And even with the dish detergent added, it's better for my skin than liquid hand soaps sold in stores. I can feel the difference.


The bonus to making my own liquid laundry soap is any time I run out of hand soap for the pumps, I have the soap in liquid form already, and can make up a batch of hand soap for refills, in just 3 minutes.

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Microwaving bar soap -- what in the world?

Microwaving a bar of soap for making laundry soap in minutes, with no grating 

Do you make your own laundry soap? If you do, do you grate bar soap for this?

"Why would anyone make laundry soap?" you wonder.

For me, making my own hypo-allergenic laundry soap has drastically reduced my eczema flare-ups. But the primary motivation for most folks is saving money.

For years, I'd grated my hypo-allergenic bar soap on a small handheld grater. The fear of losing the skin on my knuckles caused me to change from grating bars of soap to melting whole bars of soap in a large pot of water.

Well . . .

I tried something fun and new a couple of weeks ago. Yes, this part was the fun part. How do you feel about kitchen experiments?

From bar to puffy blob: you gotta try this!!

Use your microwave for an easy way to get your bars of soap ready for pulverizing or melting. 
Then, you can use, as is, or blended with other ingredients, for making powdered or liquid soap for laundry and/or filling all of those hand soap dispensers, for pennies.

How I go about this

(Just an FYI -- This isn't about a particular recipe for laundry detergent. There are loads of recipes online. This is about how I get the bar soap into a form that is very user-friendly, without hand-grating.)

What I use

• 1 very fresh (new) bar of soap, 3 ounces or thereabouts, Ivory or Dial "Basics" (Ivory is the soap that is well-known for working the best in this experiment/transformation, but Dial "Basics" also works for me.)
• waxed paper
• microwave
• blender, food processor
• storage container for powdered soap
• 1-gallon, wide-mouth container to store liquid soap 

I microwave 3-oz bars of soap, one at a time. (I use Dial "Basics", but Ivory also works. I'm not sure about other brands of soap.)

The soap should be new. A new bar fluffs the best. And Ivory soap is reported to fluff up the most. But the Dial "Basics" gets enough fluffing to make it easy to pulverize in the blender.

On a large sheet of waxed paper, I place 1 unwrapped bar of soap, in the microwave. Yes, I said in the microwave, just dry, unwrapped, as is.

I set the timer for 1 minute. In 1 minute, the bar of soap will look something like this

You can see some hard edges remaining. I continue to "cook" the bar of soap for 15 second intervals.

It takes my 3-oz bar of soap 1 minute and 30 seconds. Your microwave may vary.

You want to watch these 15 second intervals, as leaving the soap in the microwave too long will result in scorched soap. When the hard edges of the bar are gone, it's done. Like this

Open the microwave, and allow to sit for a minute. Peel the lump of inflated soap off of the waxed paper. The lump will still have hot spots, especially in the center, for another 6 or 7 minutes.

Allow it to cool!

With microwaving, the hard bar becomes pliable, breaks apart easily with your hands and is airy, like foam. Now that is something to see.

For powdered soap

Pull the lump into marshmallow-sized pieces and one by one put them in your food processor or blender. I use my blender for this, doing about 1/3 of the large lump at a time. Turn the appliance on for short bursts, until the lump is pulverized. This only takes a few seconds. With a blender, you'll want to empty the soap powder from time to time, into your storage container. 

The entire time spent pulverizing is about 2 minutes. And does not stress my blender in the least. You will have pulverized soap like this

Be careful about breathing in the soap dust.

One 3-oz bar yields 1 cup of soap flakes.

Powders work well for combining with other ingredients, like washing soda, borax or OxyClean. 

Using the powdered soap:
when I do use this in powdered form, I use about 2 to 3 tablespoons of soap flakes per load. This gives me about 6 to 8 loads of soap per bar.

Most folks find there's better cleaning power if soap flakes are blended with borax, washing soda and/or OxyClean. There are many recipes for these homemade laundry soaps online, all very similar.

Some people prefer to use homemade soap flakes to extend their favorite commercial laundry products, like Tide and Gain, mixing a commercial product with the homemade product in up to a 50/50 mix. You would use less of this blend, due to the density of the soap flakes.

I began making my own laundry soap to reduce eczema flare-ups. But the money-saving aspect also appeals to me.

My husband's laundry seems to require a 50/50 blend, like mentioned above. Soap, alone, does not handle the man-smell. I blend a powdered detergent from Dollar Tree with homemade soap flakes, for his own detergent (and for when I'm washing other clothing/linens that won't include my own). When using just the Dollar Tree detergent, our cost is about 11 cents per load. When I extend the DT detergent with pulverized hand soap, (using 3 bars of Dial Basics to one small box of DT powdered detergent), our cost per load is about 6 cents. Good, right?



Playing in the kitchen is a lot of fun. Even my grown kids think microwaving soap is entertaining. But the real value for me is how easily this makes creating my own laundry soap. Grating bars of soap on a hand grater was tedious. This is just simple.

Who knew I could use my microwave for making laundry soap? Funny thing, there isn't a listing in my microwave cookbook for microwaving bars of soap.

(I have broken this post into 2 parts. It was verging on too long for the blog. More tomorrow on how I make liquid soaps, using microwaved bar soap.)

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I love tablecloths

They are a cheap and super easy way to transform something that looks a bit

like this

to this

Our kitchen table is now 28 years old. It was a kit when we bought it. And has never been refinished. The kids did homework, painted, played with playdough, and colored at this table. The table top edges show years of wear.

Every summer, I vow to tackle refinishing this table. Maybe this summer will be the lucky one. But for now, a nice tablecloth conceals the rough edges and transforms the dining end of the kitchen to something civilized.

This tablecloth, by the way, is one that gets double duty. It goes on the table for the month of December, and then again in early spring. I made it, and the coordinating napkins, several years ago, from a piece of heavyweight fabric, the kind you would use for drapery.

It survives washing in the washing machine. And because of it's heavy weight, it comes out neat enough for family use, to not need the iron. (Okay, some might say a little ironing would be beneficial. But this is nice enough for us.)

Anyway, call me old fashioned. I just love the look of a tablecloth. It doesn't have the visual clutter of placemats/table top.

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When you have (and love) a thing long enough . . .

. . . something about it eventually gives out.

Repairing a plastic zipper coil which has come off of the fabric tape

This is my favorite jacket to wear around the house, most of the year. It's fleece, so it really holds in the warmth.

I've had it (and worn it almost daily) since 2004.

Some might say I should just toss it and buy a new jacket. But for me, it's just "perfect". Do you know how hard it is to find another "perfect" jacket?

The zipper pull attachment thingie came off a couple of years ago. No problem, I can still grasp the remaining part of the zipper pull, to get it zipped up snug as a bug.

But a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the teeth on the plastic coil zipper had come off of the fabric zipper tape. Bummer!! Never had this happen before. So I had no clue what to do to fix this one.

This isn't a "fix" often listed on sites like ehow. The usual zipper breakdowns are things like separating zipper teeth and missing pulls.

So I had to research the various zipper types, how they're made, and then half-guess what to do to fix my little zipping problem.

This particular zipper is a plastic coil variety. The zipper teeth are a part of a continuous, single coil of plastic, sewn to a fabric tape. (Who knew? I thought the teeth were all individually clamped onto the tape.)

Upon extremely close inspection, in the bright light next to a window, it appeared that the stitching had come undone in this 1-inch spot on the zipper coil/tape. I could see some small threads on the backside of the zipper.

So I got out a needle and black thread and carefully stitched the zipper coil back onto the tape, making sure to catch the zipper coil each time that I came up from the underside.

It was actually a pretty simple fix. And definitely one of those fixes that you want to do just as soon as you notice the zipper coil coming off of the tape. (Yeah, that's right, I kept wearing mine for a couple of weeks longer, and had to sew more than I would have if I had only listened to my own wisdom and fixed it right away!)

Anyways, my fave-of-all-time jacket is back in service!

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this past week's Cheap & Cheerful suppers

Potato-Spinach-Ham Casserole

Wednesday (about $1.60 for 5)
garbanzo bean soup, made with ham stock, garden parsley, carrots, ham, garbanzo beans, onions and celery
cornbread

Thursday (about $1.80 for 5)
Potage à L'oseille (sorrel and potato soup made with garden sorrel, potatoes, thyme, shallots, garlic, bay leaves, milk, stock, nutmeg, butter, dash of rosemary vinegar to replace white wine called for, salt/pepper) followed, but adapted, this recipe -- to suit my own ingredients
rhubarb crisp with a custard sauce (a thin almond blancmange)
French bread, slices of cheese, zucchini bread and butter pickles

Friday (about $2.15 for 5)
cheese, green pepper, onion pizza
carrot and celery sticks
deviled eggs (I looked at each plate and thought we needed one more item, so made some deviled eggs at the last minute)

Saturday (about $1.75 for 5)
bean, rice and cheese burritos with avocado, and food processor salsa
cabbage and herb slaw
brown rice with salsa topping

Sunday (about $2.75 for 5)
turkey in gravy
bread, onion, parsley and sorrel stuffing (garden sorrel and garden parsley)
brown rice (didn't make enough stuffing, so added some leftover brown rice to dinner)
cranberry-orange-celery gelatin salad (made with frozen, homegrown cranberries, 1 small orange and 2 large stalks of celery, along with a bit of sugar, lemon juice and plain gelatin -- pretty yummy, would've been awesome with the addition of chopped walnuts or pecans)
watermelon pickles

Monday (about $1.95 for 5)
hummus on fry bread
ginger-soy carrots
open-face plum pie (garden plums, frozen, 1/4 cup sugar, orange zest, 2 tablespoons flour)

Tuesday (about $3.50 for 5)
ham, potato, spinach, egg casserole (a modified version of a popular casserole, less cheese, no milk, one less egg)
cabbage slaw
watermelon pickles
prunes (from garden)
leftover plum pie for 2 people


Some nights, supper was much more expensive than other nights, about double the cost from least expensive to most expensive. However, we averaged about $2.20 per dinner for 5 people, not including beverages (milk for 3, water for 3). I think that's pretty good for our family. We do eat large lunches, probably equal in cost to our dinners.

On the odd night that I need to add something to one person's meal (usually my husband's), I add a slice of bread and butter, or a scoop of brown rice. We all eat about the same sized portion of protein and fruit/veggie. I adjust the carbs and desserts from one family member to the next.

What was on your menu this past week?

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Deconstructing a recipe for Sorrel Soup

I made a sorrel-potato soup last week that called for several ingredients that I didn't have on hand. I made reference to one ingredient, the white wine, in yesterday's post.

Here's the breakdown of the actual recipe's ingredients, and what I wound up using.

The recipe:

1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 bay leaves
1 cup shallot, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
5 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme, minced
4 cups heavy cream
3 cups fresh sorrel, chopped
1 pinch ground nutmeg
salt
white pepper


Here's what I used:

1 tablespoon butter, salted
parts of several bay leaves scrounged from a jar of pickling spice
1 cup of shallots, minced (I have shallots from the garden last summer. If I didn't have shallots I would have used minced onion, green onion, onion powder or dried onions)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup rosemary-thyme vinegar, cut with 1/4 cup water
2 cups of turkey stock
5 cups of russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 tablespoon fresh garden thyme (no lemon thyme, and only had 1/2 tablespoon this early in spring)
2  1/2 cups 1% milk, with 1/4 cup of extra butter, and 1  1/2 cups of water (being lactose intolerant, I didn't want to overdo it on the milk part, so used some water in this substitution. Otherwise, I would have used all milk, with extra butter, in place of heavy cream.)
3 cups fresh sorrel (It's spring in the garden with plenty of sorrel. But if I didn't have any sorrel, but had spinach, then I would have made this as a spinach-potato soup.)
1 pinch ground nutmeg (I did have to run a whole nutmeg over a rasper, but in the end had ground nutmeg)
salt
black pepper

(also added a pinch of onion powder and extra garlic powder at the end of cooking, to season)

*in bold type, these are the substitutions that I made to the original recipe ingredients.


Basically, the only ingredients that I had, as stated in the recipe, were the shallots, the sorrel leaves, the nutmeg and the salt. For everything else I found the next best thing to substitute with.

Some notes on substitutions:

when needing cream, milk and extra butter can substitute. If the butter "floats" to the surface at the end of cooking, a binder of flour and water can be heated in the finished soup. But this is not always necessary, for a family meal. No one in my family objected to a little melted butter around the edge of the bowl.

when needing wine in soup, vinegar and water make a good substitution, especially if the amount of wine is less than 10-15% of the liquids called for.

different poultry stocks can be used interchangeably, when the amount of stock is small compared to other liquids and ingredients.

potatoes are potatoes, especially if the soup or sauce is to be blended at the end of cooking.

there are many members of the onion family. Shallots, chives, yellow onions can be used interchangeably, with exception to recipes like French onion soup. Somehow, French onion soup made with chives does not sound visually appealing to me. And onion powder or dried onions can stand in, in a pinch.

at the end of cooking a soup, sauce or gravy, if it tastes "flat" try adding a pinch of onion and/or garlic powder for a boost in flavor. Alternatively, try a tablespoon of soy sauce. (I add soy sauce to many gravies, for that boost of flavor.)


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Substitutes for wine in recipes

Don't we all make substitutions in recipes when we don't have the needed ingredients?

I made a soup the other night in which the recipe called for white wine. Not a drinker, here, so I didn't have wine on hand. I used some rosemary vinegar and water in a 50/50 mix, to substitute for white wine.


Here's a list of alcohol-free substitutes for various wine flavors/types to use in cooking. Some of these suggestions were passed on to me by a medical professional, while others I have picked up along the way.

With any of the vinegars used as substitutes, you can add a pinch of sugar, for the natural sweetening you'd find in wine. Or not. Taste and see if it needs just a hint of sweetening. This will depend on the nature of the recipe.

white wine

--herb vinegar, such as tarragon, rosemary or thyme, use full strength or in a 50/50 blend with water. These can be easily and cheaply homemade with fresh herbs left to steep in white vinegar. (As a substitute, I use a half and half mixture of vinegar and water as a substitute for white wine in soups, sauces and stews)
--apple juice or apple cider
--chicken stock, won't give a wine flavor but offers nice taste for savory dishes
--clam juice, especially nice in fish or other seafood dishes

red wine

--red wine vinegar in a half and half mixture vinegar and water (pinch of sugar can be added)
--berry vinegars (sweetened or unsweetened), also in a half and half mixture water to vinegar
--red grape juice, cranberry juice or pomegranate juice can be substituted (I like thinned down versions of these juices, to cut the sweetness)
--any of the above blended 50/50 with beef broth
--25/75 blend of red wine vinegar to grape juice (no sugar added variety). This is a good alternative to burgundy wine in a dish like Boeuf Bourguignon. It won't taste exactly like a traditional Bourguignon, but it will be an acceptable version. If possible, add in a bit of mushroom stock or sodium-free beef stock. (I do sometimes have mushroom pieces, ends of stems that sort of thing, that I cook up into stock.)

Port wine

--Concord grape juice with lime zest added
--cranberry juice with lemon juice added
--weak apple or orange juice can be substituted for lighter ports

Gewurztraminer

--white grape juice with lemon juice added

sweet white wine, like a dessert wine

--white grape juice with 1 tablespoon (per cup of grape juice) Karo syrup

Champagne

--the obvious choice --Champagne vinegar
--ginger ale mixed with soda water (for desserts that call for champagne)
--or a blend of either of the above with stock, in savory dishes
--sparkling apple cider

Grappa

--grape juice

for deglazing a pan

--red wine vinegar
--balsamic vinegar

for marinading a piece of meat, poultry or fish

--any of the vinegars mentioned for particular meats/seafood, using half the amount called for of wine, in vinegar, then make up the other half with water, and add a spoonful of sugar. So, if your marinade recipe calls for 1/2 cup of wine, use 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup water, and teaspoon of sugar.

My choice for most recipes is a vinegar and water blend, sometimes with a pinch of sugar added. I choose my vinegar flavor based on the dish and the overall flavor I want to impart. Right now, I have rosemary-thyme vinegar, which I use to replace white wine in recipes, and unsweetened blackberry vinegar, which I use to replace red wine in recipes. I always have flavored vinegars on hand. So this is sort of a no-brainer choice for me.

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watermelon pickles

I served these with Easter dinner.

None of our guests had even heard of watermelon pickles and were very eager to find out how I made them.

(Here's the post with how I made them, last summer.)

But I thought you might want to see what they actually look like, once made.

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Using the pickle juice

And one more watermelon-y pickle thing this week. As we've been going through the jars of these pickles, I've saved the liquid from each jar, not sure what I'd do with it all. But as it's flavored with just vinegar, sugar, cinnamon and cloves (no savory flavors), we all thought it would go well with baking.

So this week, I made a batch of whole wheat muffins, using watermelon pickle "juice" as most of the liquid. I also added some extra cinnamon to the batter. Not only could we not tell that there was pickle juice in the muffins, but they were gobbled up very quickly!

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Cheesy-potato casserole (from our Easter dinner)

When I brought the Cheesy-Potato casserole to the Easter table, my guest sitting to the left of me exclaimed, "oooh, what's in those?!" Big, big hit for Easter dinner. Even with a table full of other dishes, salads, and trays, we went through 2 quarts of this Cheesy-Potato Casserole.


If you'll remember, several weeks ago I wrote a post about using up some wrinkly potatoes and freezing them. I had made mashed potatoes, adding some of the last of the cream cheese and sour cream, plus plenty of butter, some salt and milk. I froze these mashed potatoes in quart-size containers.

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The day before Easter, I thawed two of those quart-size containers. I put them in my stand mixer and whipped them back together (the liquid separates out from the solids in mashed potatoes when freezing/thawing).

I stirred in 1 & 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar-jack cheese, and a very large handful of freshly cut chives, minced (about a cup of minced chives).

(I took about 1 & 1/2 cups out to test bake that day, adding a handful of cheese as topping. It was a bit soupy going in to the oven, but came out perfectly thick after baking.)

So, with the larger casserole, it too was a bit soupy when first assembled. I buttered a 2-quart, round casserole dish, scooped the potato mixture into this dish, covered and refrigerated overnight, until an hour and a half before Easter dinner. It had substantially thickened overnight.

I topped with another cup of grated cheddar-jack, and baked for about 45 to 50 minutes in a 350 F degree oven, until the cheese was just beginning to brown.

I don't have any photos to share, but it did look (and taste) delicious. Not a speck remained at the end of dinner.

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For your own information, you could easily duplicate my potato dish. Mash about 8 potatoes, with 2-4 ounces of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup butter and milk and salt to taste and texture.

Stir in 1 cup of minced chives and 1 cup or more of shredded cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese.

Spoon into a buttered casserole dish. Top with another 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350 F degree oven for 40-45 minutes, or until cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.



A real man-pleaser, that's for sure! I think these will become a "regular" on our Easter dinner table.

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