Gifts on a small budget: throwaway containers become gift containers

Thinking ahead to Christmas . . .

These containers still have life in them before being tossed into recycling. The coffee cans will be overwrapped in Christmas paper and filled with flavored popcorn for hubby -- 1 cheese and 1 nutty-caramel popcorn.

And the sparkling cider bottles will be filled with dry, fizzy bath salts -- 1 each, for my two daughters' Christmas stockings. I'll tie on a measuring scoop, and make my own label, and voila -- large, stocking-filling gifts for very little cost. (Dry, fizzy bath salts are just a mixture of epsom salts, baking soda, citric acid, color and essential oils/fragrance. They're even easier than making bath bombs, as you don't have to worry about them not solidifying.)

Making pumpkin-spice doughnuts at home

pudgy mini donuts 

Does any flavor define autumn better than pumpkin? Okay, perhaps apple. A mug of hot apple cider, with a freshly made pumpkin donut just makes me smile!

if using home-cooked pumpkin, strain for 30 minutes,
to reduce and thicken
the strained liquid can be added to soups or stews

Here's my own personal recipe for pumpkin donuts.
You can make them as puffs (balls), o-shaped, or twists. My favorite, with these donuts, are the pudgy little o-shaped ones.

Makes 32 mini-donuts, or puffs, or 16 twists.

You'll need:

1 & 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon butter (or margarine)
6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) canned pumpkin (if using home-cooked pumpkin, strain off liquid in a mesh strainer for 30 minutes)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 & 1/4 cups flour, white or a blend of white and whole wheat (adding more as needed)

To get started:

Soften yeast, in a medium bowl with warm water.
Stir in sugar and salt.

In another bowl or microwaveable container, heat milk until warm, and add butter (or margarine).
When butter is melted, stir in pumpkin puree. Allow to cool to room temp.

Combine milk, butter and pumpkin mixture with softened yeast, sugar and salt.

Stir in spices. Begin mixing in flour, 1 cup at a time. Add extra flour as needed for a dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Knead for 7 to 8 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with a cloth, and allow to rise at room temp for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until doubled).

To shape and fry the donuts:

Punch dough down. Divide dough into 2 portions.

For each portion, if making puffs (or balls), or mini-donuts, roll on the counter to make a rope about 1 & 1/2 inches thick. Cut into 16 pieces. If making twists, with each portion, divide into 8 pieces.

For puffs *or* mini-donuts, form each piece into a ball, by pinching the edges to the back of the ball, and set to rise on a floured surface, seam side down, about an inch or two apart, and cover with a cloth for 30-40 minutes. Repeat with other half of dough.

In the last 10 minutes of rising, begin heating your oil, to 375-385 degrees. (A cube of bread should brown in 1 minute in the right temp oil.) When oil is hot --

Puffs
for puffs, drop the balls of dough, a couple at a time, into oil. Only fry a couple at a time. Too many will cool your oil too quickly, and donuts will be heavy and dense. Turn as needed, cooking until browned.

Mini-donuts
For mini-donuts, use your two thumbs to pull a hole into the center of each ball, stretching and pulling as needed. Only form a few at a time. Drop these mini-donuts into the hot oil, again just a couple at a time. Turn over when underside is browned, and fry until both sides are well-browned.

Twists
For twists, on a large floured surface (the extra space will allow you to roll and twist more easily) roll each piece into a snake about 12 inches long.

Place the snake in the center of your floured surface. Now, place your right hand on the right end of the snake and left hand on the left end of the snake.

Roll your right hand away from you, about 8-9 inches, simultaneously rolling your left hand towards you, about 8-9 inches.

Your snake should look like it has diagonal twists all up and down the length. I cheated and added extra rolls by lifting my hands from time to time. But who cares about that.

Now lift the snake up by the ends and hold them together. Your dough should begin to twist itself. Give it a little help with the twisting.

Pinch the ends together, and set on a floured surface to rise. If your first one doesn't look fab, keep at it. It gets easier with practice. Repeat with other half of dough. Once all are formed, cover and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes.
(Thanks to frugal spinster, a professional baker and cake decorator, for the twisting instructions!)

Begin heating oil in last 10 minutes of rise time. When oil is hot, drop a couple of twists at a time into oil. Turn over when underside has browned. Remove from oil when twists are well-browned.

For all shapes of donuts:

Drain on paper, or paper toweling, placed on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, or glaze with a thin icing. These are lightly sweet, and delicious without anything extra. When I make these to go with soup or chili, I serve them plain.


This dough also bakes very nicely, for occasions when I don't want all the artery-clogging, deep-frying.

Increase the butter in the recipe to 3 tablespoons, for a more tender dough. For baking, after the first rise in the bowl, punch dough down, and shape for dinner rolls (crescents, Parker House, pan rolls), place on a buttered baking sheet, cover, and allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees, for about 18-25 minutes (until browned).

Pumpkin donuts -- one of our autumn traditions that can't be skipped!

When you roast a turkey, do you have a hard time using all the leftovers?

I roasted my last turkey from autumn 2012, just a few weeks ago. We ate the traditional turkey dinner on night one, then moved to more creative recipes that use turkey, but mask the flavor with seasonings.

Turkey is by far the least expensive meat in our area, if bought on sale in the fall. The problem is, we're not terribly keen on turkey flavor, at least not dozens of meals worth of turkey per year.

Up until a few years ago, my problem was using all the leftover meat.  I would enthusiastically buy up several turkeys. I would, then, happily roast them, one every couple of months. But, the leftovers would linger in the freezer, until I managed, rather reluctantly, to prepare those turkey leftovers for family suppers. Being a reluctant cook is no fun, in my book.

I needed to come up with a better method for dealing with turkey leftovers. This is what works for me, and may work for you, as well.

I season and flavor the leftover meat before freezing, for ready-to-go meals from my freezer, using these turkey leftovers.

Preparing the cooked turkey for the freezer: getting a variety of flavors from one bird

I've discovered that I am more inclined to use the turkey leftovers, if I season the meat before freezing. The meat takes on the flavors of the spices and seasonings, while it freezes, often completely camouflaging the turkey-ness completely.

To give you an idea of how well this works for my family, with teriyaki turkey, my husband never fails to ask if it's beef. And with the Mexi-turkey, used in burritos last week, my son asked if it was chicken or beef, used in dinner. He has a good sense of smell and taste, so to "fool" him, I took as a victory.

Turkey in gravy

The day after roasting, I slice and freeze much of the breast meat, in the leftover gravy. I can usually get 2 turkey-in-gravy freezer meals for 5 people, with the remaining gravy. This is the obvious way to have  heat and eat turkey meals in the freezer.


A day or two later, I pull the remaining meat off the bones, chop, and divide into family meal portions. I season each meal portion right in the freezer container, as I work.

Teriyaki turkey

Some of the meat, I cover with homemade teriyaki sauce and freeze. The turkey will marinate in the teriyaki sauce during freezing and thawing. My usual teriyaki sauce is simply vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic and water to taste. This last batch, I used chive blossom vinegar, for a mild onion flavor.

Cooking this up, I saute some onions and vegetables in a little oil, then add the turkey using a slotted spoon, reserving the teriyaki sauce. I stir a spoonful of corn starch into the reserved teriyaki sauce, and cook until thick, in the skillet with the veggies and meat.

Ready-to-use turkey in onion, sage and celery gravy, for pot pie *or* turkey and dumplings

I use stock that I make from the carcass to cook a thin gravy, season with a lot of chopped onions, celery and crumbled sage. To this gravy, I add some of the chopped turkey meat, in portions large enough to use in turkey pot pie or turkey and dumplings, for the 5 of us.

To make a pot pie or turkey and dumplings, I add chopped carrots, green veggies and diced potatoes, to the container of turkey in gravy. I either heat in the stockpot (for turkey and dumplings), or cook briefly in a saucepan, before pouring into a pie plate (for turkey pot pie). Then, I top with biscuit dough or pie pastry, and finish up the cooking.

Mexi-turkey

To flavor cooked turkey for Mexican-inspired meals, I toss the chopped meat with salsa, chili powder, cumin, a bit of vinegar, tomato paste and some stock, before freezing in 2 to 3 cup containers.

To prepare for burritos or tacos, I heat, adding some chopped green or red pepper, and salt to taste.

BBQ turkey

This is simply chopped turkey in a container with some thin, homemade BBQ sauce. To reheat, I add chopped peppers, and serve on buns or over noodles.


The end result -- by seasoning the turkey before freezing, I actually have to pace myself with using the leftovers, so that they will last a month or more. Now that's a switch!


Why would I buy so many turkeys? You must be wondering.

Each November, I purchase an extra couple of whole turkeys, using the Thanksgiving sales to get a rock-bottom price per pound. Last year, I spent about 30 cents per pound for whole, frozen turkeys. That's a phenomenal price per pound for meat, in our area.

I keep the extra turkeys in one of the freezers, to roast in months to come. It should be noted that frozen foods of any kind keep longest and best in stand-alone freezers. Freezers that are attached to refrigerators have more frequent temperature fluctuations. This affects the flavor and texture of the food, but not necessarily the safety.

In a stand-alone freezer, expect a whole turkey to retain its desirable texture and flavor for up to one year (according to Jennie-O). For frozen storage of a whole turkey in your kitchen freezer (combination fridge/freezer, set to 0 degrees F), quality will begin to degrade around 8 or 9 months. However, it may still be totally safe to consume. Cooked turkey, kept frozen, has a freezer life of 4 to 6 months.

With that knowledge, I make sure that we roast our last turkey of the year in late September or early October. After roasting these extra turkeys, we'll have one or two Thanksgiving-like meals, and I'll package up the leftovers for the freezer. According to foodsafety.gov, cooked turkey will keep refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. So, I try to get my cooked turkey packaged up for the freezer in that time-frame.

I'm always looking for new ways to use leftover turkey. Do you have any favorite recipes?

I got a good deal on 175 spring-flowering bulbs -- woo hoo!

Winter is hard on anyone with Seasonal Affective Disorder. And symptoms began early for many folks in the greater Seattle area, this year. We're in the midst of Fog-tober. It's been quite dark and dreary for about 10 days now.

One of the ways that I combat the winter blues is to plan ahead for cheer in early spring, by planting spring-flowering bulbs. My long-term plan is to blanket both the front and back yards with bulbs. I just completed a small area in the backyard, and have already picked out my spot to work on, in the front yard. (I've been pulling ivy in this area, in prep for landscaping next spring, summer and fall.)

This is the area of the back yard, that I began work on this past spring.

This is about what it looked like at the beginning. It lies along the side edge of the property, just along the gravel path to the wood lot. As it's an area in view from the house, and alongside a pleasant walk, I wanted to spruce it up, but keep it cohesive with more native plantings.

I was at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago, and I found King Alfred daffodils and Darwin hybrid tulips for a decent price. The daffodils were about $15 for 45 (about 33 cents per bulb), and the tulips were about $4 for 10 bulbs (about 40 cents per bulb). Home Depot didn't have the mix I was looking for in crocus bulbs (I only wanted purple and white bulbs, no yellows, for this area). But, at a nearby garden center, I found bulbs marked down for end of season. I paid about $20 for 120 crocus bulbs (about 17 cents per bulb).

This last week, I've been spending some of my time in the garden, cleaning up the ornamental beds and planting these bulbs, 175 in total.

The yellow daffodils are planted under the river rock "stream". And the crocus bulbs are planted in the bare earth between the river rock and the stepping stones. The crocus will be overplanted with hostas, as I divide my existing hostas over the years. (In my yard, crocus are done blooming by the time the hostas begin poking through the soil.) In addition, I have begun moving grape hyacinth to the sliver of soil right along the walkway, where I have a couple of hydrangeas for summer blooms.

my tulip spot

For the tulips, I have a spot in view of the master bedroom, where I plant about 10 or 20 tulips each year. I use only Darwin hybrids, as they tend to naturalize very well in my yard. This year I found these red and cream tulips. I think they're quite cheery!

Making plans for late winter and early spring color helps get me over the hump with my SAD. I know that in just a few short months, my yard will be beckoning me to come take a look at it's cheer.

Teaching friends and a crafting exchange

a fun afternoon -- making English toffee with friends 

A couple of friends and I get together about once per month or 6 weeks, as both a social get-together, and as a teaching moment, sharing, with one another, something fun that we know how to do. We are just an informal, small group of women, who enjoy cooking and crafts.

To give you an idea of what we do: in July, we met at one friend's house where she showed us other two how she makes her delightful green pepper jelly. In September, they came to my house and we made rosemary vinegar together. This past Saturday, we met at the third friend's house and she showed us how she makes her fantastic English Toffee. Yummy, yummy stuff!

In November, I am hoping we can gather at my house, again, this time to craft/prepare gifts for the holidays. The plan is for each of us to come up with one craft/recipe that we've made as gifts before, and arrange for the supplies for all three of us to produce that gift item. By the end of the afternoon/evening, we should each have produced 3 different gifts, suitable for gifting in the holiday season.

For my own gift-craft, I'm thinking of bath fizzies, packaged in home-sewn sheer fabric bags. And as just a quick and fun item, to add on, I have some rubber stamps and ink pads, for us to make to/from gift tags.

With this crafting exchange, we'll share our knowledge, have some fun creating and chatting, and get a few more small gifts taken care of for the holidays.


If you'd like to put together your own crafting exchange, the plan for one is quite simple. Find 2 friends who would enjoy such an afternoon. Have each person:  come up with a home-made gift idea, make one sample (to show each other how it will turn out), and put together the supplies for each person in the group. Our group also brings snack-y foods for some time to just sit and chat a while.

Orange-spice tea for a penny per teacup

 

I still have a nice supply of good tea, from my husband's generous gift last Christmas. However, I've been fancying a cup of orange and spice flavored black tea, reminiscent of Constant Comment, if you're familiar with that tea. Here in the Seattle area, there's also the well-known Market Spice tea, I believe named for the Pike Place Market. Anyway, it's a nice orange, spice and black tea blend, perfect for a chilly autumn afternoon.

In the Northern Hemisphere, we are about to enter the fresh orange season. Oranges may be available year round, but in late fall and early winter I often find them at rock bottom prices. If you remember, I use my orange peels extensively. I infuse vinegar with the peels. I make candied orange peel in sugar syrup. And I zest the oranges (using a veg peeler and my food processor), to save in the freezer for baking and tea.

Our limited grocery budget now means that my afternoon tea has to either come from my current supply, or be cheap, cheap, cheap! Here's my version of orange-spice tea, using dollar store black tea, orange zest, ground cloves and cinnamon and a bit of sugar.


In a small teapot (about 10 oz.), I infuse about 1/2 teaspoon of frozen orange zest in a full pot (10 oz) of water. I do this by microwaving the water and orange zest for about 1 minute 20 seconds. The orange zest is slower to infuse than tea, so I give it this first infusion.

Next, I add 1 cheapo black tea bag and a tiny pinch of ground cloves, plus 1 slightly larger, but still tiny, pinch of ground cinnamon. I microwave this infusion for about 40 seconds, and allow to steep for a minute or two.

I add a bit of sweetening (sugar, stevia or honey), and reheat my infusion, as needed. I have 2 lovely teacups of orange-spice black tea, for the cost of a cheap bag of black tea, a penny's worth of sugar and spices, and the zest of an orange that I might otherwise consider as garbage.


You can bet that this year, of all years, I'll be making the most of every last orange peel that comes my way. I still have a small amount of zest and candied orange peel in the freezer from last year, but that supply is going fast. I used some of the orange zest in a batch of cookies this past weekend, along with chopped dried cherries, pecan pieces, nutmeg and chocolate chips. Oooh yum! I'm glad that it's cookie baking season again!

Early autumn menus on $170/month for a family of 5

So far, so good, with keeping the grocery budget around $170 per month. Time will tell when the garden is put to bed for the winter, as to whether or not we can continue spending this amount on groceries.

Early autumn for us is late September through mid October. I've listed our dinner menus for this time period.

Upon returning from our vacation, I jumped right into my busy season. So, you will find repetition in some of the meals (I made double and triple batches of many main dishes, for easy cooking on busy nights).

As with August meals, we continued in September with many vegetarian dinners. In early October I roasted our last turkey, purchased last November for about 30 cents per pound. The leftover turkey was frozen in ready to use family-size portions, to be used throughout October and into early November.

The autumn garden is producing kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, mustard greens, sugar snap peas, beets, potatoes, pumpkins and carrots. Our cranberries, late pears and apples are now harvested. The crabapples will be harvested this coming weekend. Homegrown produce is now supplemented with some canned tomatoes and produce stand deals. I have been stopping by the produce stand about once a week, finding bell peppers, hot peppers, cantaloupe and corn on the cob, for very good prices.

Here's what we've been eating:

Monday

lentil curry (make double to freeze) with brown rice
sliced pears from our trees

Tuesday

black bean, tomato, bell pepper salad
corn on the cob (fantastic deal at the produce stand 7/$1)
French bread

Wednesday

veggie chili (make super large batch for later in week)
corn on the cob
garden salad
French bread (leftover)

Thursday (babysitting day -- easy dinner)

leftover lentil curry with brown rice
sauteed garden kale and onions

Friday

roast turkey (last one from the freezer), gravy
roasted garden potatoes and onions
mashed garden pumpkin
bread and butter

Saturday

leftover turkey in gravy on homemade buns (make double batch of buns)
grilled onions
cantaloupe
garden zucchini pickles

Sunday

turkey in homemade BBQ sauce on buns
cantaloupe
garden tomato and basil salad

Monday

turkey teriyaki with garden kale and broccoli
brown rice

Tuesday

Italian lentil-vegetable-sausage soup (make large batch)
sourdough biscuits
cookies and pears

Wednesday

leftover lentil soup
mashed winter squash
pizza (make an extra pizza for freezer)

Thursday (babysitting day -- easy dinner)

baked beans
Yorkshire pudding wedges
sauteed garden kale and onions
sliced pears (from our trees), smothered with almond custard and topped with cherry preserves (I finally got my appetite back on this day -- can you tell?)

Friday

night out with daughters for the girls, leftover soup and garlic bread for the guys

Saturday

homemade pasta (fettuccini), with sauteed garden tomatoes (the last), garden zucchini, onions, and some of big batch pasta sauce (made several containers for the freezer), topped with cheese
cantaloupe (twice this month I found a deal on cantaloupe -- 50 cents each)

Sunday

turkey pot pie (leftover turkey in gravy, onions, sage, parsley, chard, carrots, potatoes, green beans, topped with pastry crust)
mashed garden pumpkin
cranberry sauce (with homegrown cranberries, picked this day)

Monday

clean-out-the-freezer casserole (rice, tomatoes, cooked lentils, turkey stock, chives, chopped onions, tomato paste, pizza sauce, combined, then topped with bread crumbs mixed with herbs and grated cheese)
cantaloupe

Tuesday

split pea soup
sourdough biscuits
cantaloupe
cookies

Wednesday

teriyaki turkey (from freezer) with garden broccoli and kale
brown rice
apple salad (apples, chopped dried fruit, nuts in a fruity dressing)

Thursday (babysitting day -- easy dinner)

homemade pizza from the freezer
tomato-basil soup (made with canned tomato paste, fresh basil, onions, lemon juice, salt, water)
cantaloupe

Friday

leftover turkey in gravy from the freezer, with leftover cranberry sauce
stovetop stuffing (made with bread bits and pieces in freezer, turkey stock, onions, butter and sage)
sauteed garden Swiss chard and garlic
pumpkin pie

Saturday

homemade pasta (it was so good the other Saturday that we want it again, and the kids help a lot with it) with sauce and turkey Italian sausage from freezer
garden veggie medley (whatever is left in the garden) with onions and garlic
leftover pumpkin pie

Sunday (quick and easy dinner)

scrambled eggs
pancakes
sliced pears


Breakfasts have consisted of protein shakes (for the daughter trying to gain weight), toast, pancakes, muffins, cinnamon buns, oatmeal, granola, and yogurt. To-go lunches have had a combination of a sandwich (peanut butter and jam or vegetarian bean spread), a container of soup, a piece of fruit, a container of rhubarb sauce, applesauce or pear sauce, a muffin, bag of popped corn, and/or cookies. Weekend lunches have often been leftover soup, fried rice, or toasted cheese sandwiches. I am working on planning my own weekday lunches. Without a plan, I tend towards a series of snacks, and no real lunch. But I'm working on that.

With cooler weather, we are eating more soups and chili, and fewer salads. I like keeping a large container of homemade tomato soup in the fridge. It makes a delicious and warming quick bite to eat for anyone who is hungry, and also can be packed into microwaveable containers for to-go lunches.

You can see, we eat a lot of basic, humble meals. I really haven't the time or energy to do gourmet-ish meals. And that suits us just fine.

Humble cooking -- that's what's for dinner.

Making room in a tight budget for a little bit of fun

I double-checked my schedule, and getting sick repeatedly was definitely not in my plans. While I haven't been feeling very well, I have been pushing on in things. The worst of feeling bad, for me, was that I just didn't have brain energy to write anything.

There have been some moments of fun this past week, however. A girlfriend came over, one morning, with a big sack of apples from her neighbor's tree. The neighbor didn't want the apples, I think because they were basically flavorless. My friend and I turned those bland apples into some very delicious applesauce, adding lemon juice, cinnamon and a bit of sugar.

Another fun moment came about when my daughter announced that as a theater student at the university, she was obligated to usher some performances on campus. Universities put on a wide variety of productions, many of which are absolutely free to anyone willing to come. Some of the free offerings are recitals put on by faculty or students. This past Friday, there was a piano concert performed by a well-known faculty member.

The one hitch, we discovered with these obligations, is transportation for my daughter. These ushering requirements are fulfilled after hours that commuter buses operate. So, it meant that I'd have to drive downtown to pick her up, after the concert. It's not a huge deal, but the roundtrip drive takes about 1  & 1/2 hours, in the dark (when I can't see to read the signs in unfamiliar neighborhoods).

So, what to do, what to do? We decided to just make the best of the situation. If I'm going to have to drive down to get my daughter, I might as well go down early and enjoy the concert myself.

That's what I did. I met up with both of my daughters in the late afternoon. We had a bite to eat, then went and enjoyed a lovely piano concert.

About that bite to eat  --  we had origainally planned for it to just be a very small bite, then we'd eat something more substantial once home. But when we went over to the student union building, to check out the quick service places, we discovered that all perishable foods were 50% off after 5 PM. Well, lucky us! It was probably 5:02 when we walked in. If my drive to the campus had gone any faster, we'd have paid the full price! For $11, I had a large chipotle chicken salad, one daughter had a fruit salad, and the other daughter had a very large ham club sandwich. Not a bad deal at all!


In our budget, I leave a small amount of money for fun outings. Right now, that amount is $10 per month. (In the past, that amount has been as low as $4.) With our budget feeling so squeezed these days, it really helps morale to keep just a small amount for something out of our ordinary frugal pattern. We can look back and say to ourselves, "wasn't that fun the evening we went to the piano concert and had dinner in the SUB?" or, "getting ice cream cones at the $1 cone place really made that day feel special".

I know, $10 per month adds up to $120 per year, which does sound like a lot to us right now. If our budget begins to feel any tighter, then I could see us reducing that amount again. For now, we're willing to make concessions in other areas of the budget, to afford a very inexpensive outing or two per month.

What do you think? Do you think leaving a small amount like $10 per month, for fun, is reasonable, given our reduced income? What would you do? Do you budget for fun outings for your family?

I'm back

For the last 10 days I've felt really crummy. I've had 3 colds and 1 sinus infection, so far this fall. I know that it's all due to putting in really long work days, and shortchanging myself on sleep. Right now, there's just a lot ot take care of. But I think I'm nearing the end of the super long work days. Just a lot to do, and fewer hands to do the work this year. Combine that with a computer that is having some age issues. I may be able to borrow a computer, so that I can keep up with online stuff.

Anyways, I'll take some time later today, to begin writing up some of the highlights of the past couple of weeks. Have a great day!

Beautiful Everyday Living: cozy October evenings by the fireside

In an effort to put aside a bit more money for our winter heat bill, we're not turning on the furnace just yet, even though the daytime high temps are hovering around the 55 degree F mark, and overnights are in the upper 40s to 50 F. Yes, it is a bit chilly in the far corners of the house. But we're keeping the core of the house (the kitchen, the family room and the dining room) warm enough with a fire in the heatilator fireplace. (We're using the fan in the corner of the photo, to blow the hot air off the bricks and into some of the other living areas of the house, in case you're wondering.)

My husband starts a fire when he gets up (around 5 AM). I keep it going all day, gathering wood in the afternoons and bringing it into the garage, for easy access throughout the evening.

In the late afternoon, as the sun is waning and the chill begins to set in outside, I stoke up the fire, turn on the ambient lighting in the room, and make the family room the coziest place in the house for the returning family.

Most evenings, we eat dinner, in the glow of the firelight. More wood is added to the fire, for a cozy October evening with the family. This fireside living has turned a home-finance need into a desirable family gathering. I got lemons -- but I made lemonade!

Have I shown you this?

My garden club made these a couple of years ago. This is one of my favorite autumn decor pieces. I pull it out of the closet every October and place it in a new spot for the season. This year, it has become part of the ambient lighting in the family room.

It's simply an empty wine bottle, with a string of mini white Christmas lights stuffed inside. I, then, decorated the outside of the bottle with some faux grapes, grapevine and a bit of raffia. A gilded ribbon is tied onto the neck of the bottle as a crowning touch.

I have my lighted bottle on the side table (AKA a small filing cabinet covered in an autumn throw) next to the sofa. Two of our electrical outlets, in this room, are connected to a wall switch. I have the bottle plugged into one of these outlets, using an extension cord, so that I can easily switch this light on and off each evening.

A simple touch that adds so much to our cozy evening enjoyment.

Do you have any favorite autumn decorations for your home?

September grocery money journal

It's the end of September, already! We did okay with grocery spending this month. Our pantry had some large gaps, at the end of August. So, it was time for a restock of some basics. But with a smaller grocery budget, I would have to be smart about this.

I did two things differently from my usual monthly shopping. One, I limited myself to basic ingredients. I wanted some bananas, popcorn and chocolate chips. But we have plenty of fruit right now (there will be a time for bananas this winter). Popcorn prices (at the cash and carry) are still reflecting the poor corn harvest from 2012 (79 cents/pound is too high for my budget for a grain). And chocolate chips are too snackable. I went with cocoa powder instead. At least with cocoa powder, you have to actually "do" something with it, to turn it into a snack. (I later found popcorn on sale at a price within my range for grains :-) )

As I posted earlier in the month, the other change I made was to think of grocery shopping as if I were stocking an institutional kitchen. For example, a case of canned tomato paste gave me a savings of 50 cents on each #10 can, over buying one or two of the large cans. So I bought the case.

I barely went over my $170 budget this month, spending a total of $176.30. I think that is pretty good. So, here's what I bought.

Sept. 1. Made a trip to the cash and carry, bought a case (6 #10 cans) of tomato paste, a case (4 gallons) of white vinegar, 50 lbs of whole wheat flour, 50 lbs of white sugar, 50 lbs of brown rice, 25 lb bag of lentils, 1 gallon of lemon juice, 35 lb container of vegetable oil, and 50 lb sack of onions. I spent $152.95

Sept. 1 Trader Joe's is just down the street from the cash and carry. I stopped in for a 9 oz container of cocoa powder. Spent $2.49

Sept. 1 Buying a turkey roasting pan at Wal-Mart, checked their price on salt, 48 cents a canister. I bought 2. Spent 96 cents.

Sept 4. Dollar Tree for kosher salt (good for pickling). Spent $1

Sept 4. Fred Meyer for bulk spices (ground cloves, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, cream of tartar). Also found popcorn on sale for $1.09/2 lb bag (that's 55 cents/pound). I bought 4 bags of popcorn (8 lbs) Spent $8.44.

Sept. 5. Albertson's for milk, whole milk at $1.79/gallon (limit 2 w/ coupon). Spent $3.58

Sept. 24. Albertson's for whole milk, 2 gallons at $1.99/gal, and salt for 25 cents a canister (really great price for salt, here). I bought 12 canisters of salt. Salt keeps indefinitely. This supply will last 1&1/2 to 2 years.

Total spent for the month, $176.30, $6.30 over budget, which will be deducted from October's budget.

At month's end, I am completely out of all-purpose flour, and will need canned tomatoes, too, this month. I'll be making a trip to the cash and carry this week. The new store special flyer is posted on Monday for each week. So, I'll be checking online to see what my store has on offer right now. (BTW, I believe that there are 52 Cash and Carry's on the west coast, most of which are in Washington state and Oregon, but a handful in California, Idaho and Nevada.) I'll also go by the produce stand to pick up jalepenos and garlic for making salsa. Even with buying most of the ingredients for salsa, it's still far more economical for me to make my own, than to buy salsa pre-made.

That's about it for now. I hope you've been finding deals at the grocery store this month, too!

Meals on a budget for the family vacation

I realize that family vacation time is on hiatus for the fall school-term for most families. But if I don't post this now, I'll forget all about it later. So . . .

Last week we were on our pre-university family vacation. Much of the vacation had been pre-booked and paid in advance. But the one area still open for changes, to help ease the budget, was meals.

Our usual frugal way with meals on vacation -- book a hotel/motel with free breakfast, find a local grocery store to pick up sandwich fixings and snacks, and eat out several dinners (but at somewhat budget-friendly restaurants and sharing meals).

This vacation -- we did much of the above, booked a place with complimentary breakfast, complimentary fresh fruit in the lobby of the hotel daily, fridge and microwave in room, and in-room coffee/tea, and we budgeted enough $$ for 3 lunches out and 1 dinner out (all sharing meals at counter-service restaurants).

However, instead of shopping at a grocery store at our destination, we packed all of our groceries with us on the drive.

I "shopped" my pantry, fridge, freezer and garden for most of our food.

I baked and cooked at home, freezing as I went. Then I packed this all into a large cooler and two insulated bags, where it stayed cold enough for the drive down. Once there, we popped it all in the in-room fridge, to continue thawing, and used through the first half of the week.

I also shopped the dollar store at home, for treats like chips, pretzels, and candy, for "fun" snacky stuff, to keep us from buying much more expensive snacks and goodies on vacation. This saved us a bundle!

I made up a menu plan, on paper, for each day's meals we would be gone, and included our dinner once we returned home at the end of the trip. We planned for 4 meals out, over the course of 9 days. The rest, we put together in our hotel room. I brought a copy of this menu plan, and for the most part stuck to it. We did switch around two meals in the hotel room, as one entree thawed faster than anticipated, and the other thawed slower.

I cooked the week before leaving, and froze enough for the 5 of us to have on the trip. I made mostly vegan entrees, to reduce the risk of food spoilage/illness for us. And I froze everything *solid* before packing in the cooler. These items stayed partially frozen, at the least, for the entire two-day drive. At the hotel on the first night, I brought the cooler into the room and put everything in the in-room fridge for the night, where it continued to thaw at a very slow pace.

The home-cooked items were consumed early in the week. For later in the week meals, we had canned refried bean and packaged flour tortilla burritos, and pbj sandwiches. I even baked enough bread for all of our sandwiches (I baked, sliced and froze the loaves, then kept in the hotel room fridge, and amazingly none of it developed mold!).


Items that I baked or cooked, and froze, for the trip:

2 jars of pinto and black bean sandwich spread
2 loaves of sandwich bread, sliced then frozen
1 loaf of French bread, frozen
1 batch of home made hot dog buns
1 vegan lasagna casserole
1 rice and black bean casserole
1 container of bean and vegetable soup
2 batches of cookies
1 batch of apple muffins for breakfast on the road on day one, and mini muffins for snacking later
5 gallon ziplocs of popped popcorn for the drive down, to snack on (these lasted all week, and we even had one bag left for the drive home)

Items I had in the pantry, fridge or garden, that we brought for the trip:

hot dogs, frozen solid
2 jars of peanut butter (only needed 1)
2 large packages of dried fruit (prunes and apricots)
Kool-aid (we decided to forgo any soda pop for this trip)
tea bags
hot cocoa mix
carton of soymilk
pineapple juice
carrot sticks
tomatoes, cherry and slicing for sandwiches (these came out of the garden the day before we left, and lasted the entire week)

Items that I bought, for the trip:

from Dollar Tree--
candy corn, mellow-creme pumpkins, Tootsie Roll Midgies
potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels

from regular grocery store--
tortillas
canned refried beans
Fig Newtons (I had a craving, and they're healthier than many cookie types)

In all, I spent about $15 on purchased items, which came out of the vacation budget.

The menu--

Saturday

breakfast: apple muffins, milk and coffee in the car
lunch: egg salad sandwiches, popcorn, pineapple juice, carrot sticks, cookies
dinner: half-way to destination, in-room microwaved hot dogs, cherry tomatoes, cookies, (this hotel had fresh-baked cookies in the lobby)

Sunday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: in car, bean spread sandwiches, dried fruit, carrot sticks, cookies, popcorn
dinner: counter service -- split 2 entrees, candy/cookies from home

Monday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: fast food -- split 3 entrees, brought carrot sticks and dried fruit with us
dinner: in-room -- rice and bean casserole brought from home, with fresh tomatoes on the side, Kool-aid

Tuesday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: bean spread sandwiches, pretels, fruit (from hotel lobby), bought  onion rings to share
dinner: in-room -- lasgana brought from home, with carrot sticks

Wednesday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: bean spread sandwiches, fruit, chips, cookies, carrot sticks
dinner: in room -- bean-veggie soup from home, French bread, last of apple muffins

Thursday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: bean spread sandwiches, dried fruit, pretzels, bought sweet potato fries to share
dinner: split 3 fast food dinners, fresh fruit/candy/cookies for dessert

Friday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: pbj sandwiches, dried fruit, chips, cookies
dinner: Mexican counter-service, split 2 large entrees, ate outdoors, also had bag of tortilla chips from home

Saturday (on the road)

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: in car -- mix of sandwiches, dried fruit, Kool-aid, microwave popcorn, fresh fruit, cookies
dinner: in room (half-way point home) -- bean burritos with packaged tortillas and canned beans, fresh tomatoes, cookies (complimentary fresh-baked in hotel lobby)

Sunday (last day)

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: in car -- mix of sandwiches, mix of leftover chips and dried fruit, Kool-aid, cookies
dinner: at home -- homemade pizza, made before trip and kept in freezer, reheated once home

I've bold-printed the meals/side items that we actually bought on the trip. In addition, we bought a caramel apple to share, a piece of pumpkin fudge to share, and a package of honeycomb candy. Our budget was $100 for purchased food. We spent $117 -- a bit over budget, but we made up for it with spending less on gas for our trip. Based on previous vacations, I estimated that we saved about $70 on eating out on this trip. For a 9-day vacation, I think we did pretty well on the cost of meals.

I've been away for a week

We drove in late last night, through pouring rain and, at points, zero visibility. It was exhausting! But we made it home, safe and sound. I had a homemade pizza waiting for us in the freezer, to quickly heat for a late dinner. I'll give more details on our trip in another post. Today I have to catch up on absolutely everything!! Including reading other blogs, your always helpful comments, a ton of laundry, baking bread and getting my 2 daughters set for Welcome Week at their university. I may be a tad busy this week.

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Gift giving when the budget is small: part 2, how I purchase gifts with a modest budget

In my post earlier this week, I outlined gifts that I could craft for fall birthdays and Christmas, this year. But not every gift on my list can be crafted. And even when I handcraft a gift or two, for a particular person, there's always a little something that I'd like to purchase, in addition. 

In part 2, I thought I'd share with you the gifts that I purchase, while keeping to my modest budget. And as my spending money is limited, I've had to get creative in just how I make these purchases. Here are my plans, so far.

Gift cards that I've been given, can be used to purchase new gifts

--I have craft store, book store, coffee shop, and outdoor recreation store gift cards. When I have a person on my list that I need to actually buy a gift for, I'll turn to stores where I have gift cards, first.

Coupons

--I receive Kohl's $10 coupons every couple of months. These are good for $10 off any purchase. Last month I was able to birthday shop for someone, using one of these coupons and found a couple of nice gifts.

--I received a coupon for Lands' End last month, for a percentage off, free shipping, and they sent me the clearance catalog. I was able to purchase 2 of my son's birthday gifts, and 1 Christmas gift for about half the retail price. And all three of these items were generically on my list for him (meaning I wasn't particular about color or pattern, but had a type of shirt, slacks and belt in mind). I had intended to shop Lands' End for him anyways, as that's a preferred brand with him.

Second hand stores

--there's a type of second-hand gift that is generally acceptable to almost all gift recipients, that's the collectible gift. When I'm in a second-hand shop I always check areas like housewares, for potential gifts. Last December, I found a Christmas serving dish (new condition), in a pattern that someone I know collects, for about 1/10 of the retail price. I had already sent a gift to this person, so this has been saved for this Christmas. It's a small Christmas serving tray. I'll make up a batch of homemade candies (like toffee), and some white chocolate-covered pretzels, sprinkled with candy cane pieces. Then I'll bag these goodies up, and include with the tray. 

Dollar stores

--I buy mittens every year as stocking stuffers at the dollar store. Sometimes there are two pairs tagged together, making the gift 50 cents per pair

--picture frames, for the framed photo you plan on sending to Grandma and Grandpa. In addition to finished frames, they have unfinished wood frames, which can be painted or gilded to customize them to the recipient's decor. We have two "someones" on our list, to whom we'll be sending family photos. I'll customize the frames to each recipient, and add a picture or two, from this past year.

--candles and candle holders. I like to start with a pillar candle, then add decor, like greenery, moss, beads, etc. These make nice hostess gifts or teacher thank you gifts, and several can be made at a time, kept in a closet, then wrapped up for presentation when needed.

--confection-making supplies, like pretzels, for chocolate covered pretzels, and nuts, for peanut brittle, toffee and fudge.

It may only be September, but by beginning early, I should have the holidays wrapped and under the tree in time for me to enjoy the season. And not receive the Grinch's hefty credit card bill in the mail come January!

Have you begun your Christmas gift planning for this year? What are your best tips for gift-shopping with a small budget? Some of you are fabulous "clearance shoppers". Do you have any tips on finding those great bargains?

Gift giving when the budget is small: part 1, organizing my supplies

I made these tea bags, from loose tea, coffee filters, cotton thread
 and scrapbook papers

Giving gifts is one area that is really important to me. I like taking the time to find just the right gift for each person on my list. So, reducing this part of the budget was hard for me.

My gift-giving budget was cut in half this summer, at least for the next 12 months. Our annual gift-giving budget is drawn up in August of every year. We save, year 'round, for birthdays, holidays, weddings, new babies, and any other gift-occasion that should arise. Each recipient, for each occasion has an allotted amount budgeted for a gift. We try very hard to stay within that amount. In addition, I have a category for those events that can't be foreseen a year in advance, such as new babies, weddings, housewarmings, and hostess gift-giving.

The biggest (and easiest) cut in gift-giving, was for my husband and I to severely cut back our spending on each other. We've also reduced (but not as drastically) the amount we'll be spending on our children. But that doesn't mean that the grinch has stolen our Christmas, birthdays, Easter or Valentine's. I just need to get creative, and brainstorm how to find gifts for a fraction of what I have spent in prior years. And I'm off to a good start -- several gifts made (or bought at a deep discount) and waiting.

So here's my Gift-giving on a small budget plan, part one, organizing my supplies:

I approach gift-giving much in the same manner as I approach menu-planning. I don't open up the cookbooks, and see what looks good. Instead I survey my pantry, freezer, fridge and garden and see what I have to work with.

My approach to gifts this year, follows the same approach. I look into my cupboards, closets, pantry and sewing room to see what I can work with. Then, I brainstorm how to use these materials.


Brainstorm

Open cupboards, closets, trunks and drawers in search of potential raw material/supplies for making gifts, and actual gift items.

Everything is laid out on the dining room table, to see what I have to work with. It's an impressive selection of supplies, and some purchased gift items.

From the kitchen:
nuts, dried fruit, candy pieces, popcorn, white chocolate, dark chocolate, loose tea, special canning jars, recycled tall jars with lids, special bottles, coffee filters, empty coffee cans and large food storage containers

From the craft cupboard:
all types of glues/adhesives, beads, citric acid, rubber stamps and stamp pads, note card blanks, scrapbook paper, ribbons, shells, magnets, styrofoam shapes, fake greenery and moss, acrylic paints, gold spray paint, wax, soap-making supplies, pine cones, brown papier mache boxes, pot pourri, essential oils, large wooden letters, epsom salt

From the sewing closet:
large variety of fabric, including some Christmas fabrics, polar fleece, small bells, ribbons, lace, trims, yarns, knitting needles, and patterns for: pj pants, men's boxer shorts, aprons, vests, hats, mittens, padded hangers

From the gift closet (this is where I keep items that I pick up that I think would make wonderful gifts):
ready-to-go gifts -- an assortment of holiday items, holiday tins, a couple of clothing items, a spa basket, and a couple of gifts that I bought intending to give to my daughters on their birthday last year, but completely forgot

From my purse:
gift cards and coupons (for purchasing gifts for those who may be difficult to craft/bake for, and for those items that I am really wanting to give to specific persons on my list -- as hard as I try, I don't think I could craft and sew waterproof winter parkas for my daughters, or nice work slacks for my son)

From my gardening supplies/plants:
seeds, plants that are easy to propagate, pots, potting soil

From my bank of skills:
While I have some yarn, I'm really not a terribly good knitter. Knitting is not one of my primo skills. It would be an exasperating waste of time for me to try to knit gifts. (In fact, a couple of years ago, I attempted to do just that. I've vowed -- never again!) I do sew well-enough, however. I enjoy baking and other kitchen endeavors. I have a knack for yeast bread. And I make a good loaf of sourdough bread. I love the packaging end of making gifts.


Now that it's all laid before me, I can begin to see potential gifts. Just off the top of my head I can think of several gifts -- home-crafted tea bags, blackberry pancake syrup (using NW wild blackberries), sourdough bread, homemade granola in a jar, jams, holiday aprons, hand-crafted candles and soap, bath bombs, bath salt, small jewelry boxes for keeping earrings, sachets and shoe/boot stuffers, wall-mounted necklace hanger/display, fleece mittens and hats, men's boxers, tins of flavored popcorn, potted plants, beaded bracelets, beaded hair combs, a lace or velvet vest, a corduroy or wool vest, and a denim log carrier. I have absolutely everything I could need to make all of those items.


For more inspiration, I turn to Google. I enter "homemade" "gift" plus the name of a particular material/supply. And up pops dozens of items I could make with what I have on hand.


So, I've begun with the crafting, using what I have on hand. I am doing much of this assembly line style, making as many of an item as I have materials for. I'll "shop" my stash of creations, as I need gifts. And I'll look beyond Christmas and birthdays, and begin work on a baby item, to have on hand, and a hostess gift or two. By starting now, I won't be rushed into buying something at the last minute.

Here's how my crafting/making calendar is shaping up:


Day 1

Assembled raw materials/supplies and potential gifts

Also on Day 1

I assembled all the giftables that I already have. These could be items gifted to me the year before, or gifts that I bought with the thought that I'd give them to someone. Place all in a gift closet/box to shop from later.

Regifted gift baskets can be taken apart, and the individual items gifted separately. For example, let's say I was given a spa gift set. I could take this apart and use the individual items as stocking stuffers for my daughters.

Lastly on Day 1

I assembled coupons, gift cards, vouchers for use to purchase gifts for those on my list who are difficult to craft, sew or knit/crochet for.

Day 2 (not necessarily the day right after Day 1. A few days after Day 1. I typically work on crafting projects 2 to 3 days per week.)

Began brainstorming

I got out my list of recipients, and brainstormed ways to use my supplies for each. Having a written list keeps me focused and upbeat about this enormous undertaking of making and/or discount-buying so many gifts. I tried to also think of items I could make, that are light weight, so as to minimize postage costs.

I Googled specific materials and included words like "make", "homemade" "gift", bookmark specific projects and online patterns.

Day 3

I went back to the bookmarks and my own list, and chose a handful of simple projects to begin, sticking with items that require minimal additional materials (a spool of thread is all that I've bought so far). Shopped for those minimal items -- that spool of thread.

Day 4

I began my crafting days. I chose one of the projects and made as many of it as I had ingredients for.

Day 5

Following the crafting day, I had a packaging day. I took items made the day before and packaged nicely. They are placed in a box to "shop from" a few weeks before the holidays.

Day 6

New project -- repeat of day 4

Day 7

Repeat of day 5

My plan is to continue repeating days 4 and 5 until I have exhausted my supplies, or believe that I have enough crafted items for gifts.

Over the next several weeks, I'll highlight one or two items that I've made or are making that week. A few of the things, I've made before, and are on this blog.

an assortment of home-crafted tea bags in a pretty canning jar

This jar of hand-crafted tea bags, for example. The instructions for making tea bags can be found here. I sewed a bunch of bags, filled them, sewed closed, then added the strings and labels. I was able to make 2 gifts on the afternoon that I crafted these.

functional, yes, but will be appreciated -- boxer shorts, made using 

a plain sheet, some elastic and McCall's pattern M6104. I did have

 to figure how to leave the fly open, as the pattern has it sewn shut, 

but that was not very difficult

Men are the hardest to make gifts for, for me. So, for the men in my life:

• I've made a few pairs of boxer shorts (see photo above)
• I'm in the process of making a denim log carrier
• My husband uses cotton hankies in winter, and they are so easy to sew 
• Flavored popcorn in large coffee tins is always a hit with the men I know 
• Homemade candy is always appreciated by my "men"
• And of course, food gifts of any kind, are almost always well-received, by men and women. I made blackberry pancake syrup for a few on my list. I had a couple of those tall quilted canning jars in my cupboard, which I used to can some of this year's blackberry syrup. I will make up a bag of homemade pancake mix, to slide into a decorated muslin bag, to accompany the syrup. One man on my list enjoys his pancake breakfasts.

Any suggestions on gifts that could be made, using my list of supplies? I am totally open to ideas. What gifts have you made in the past, that have been well-received? Have you ever had someone on your list, who just didn't appreciate the hand-crafted gift? How did you handle that?

Later this week, part 2, how I plan to "purchase" some of the gifts, with little actual cash.

Making donuts at home

Going out for donuts is a fun Saturday morning event. If my family of 5 visits our local donut shop, and each orders 1 donut, at 90 cents per donut, that's $5, including tax.

Making donuts at home on a Saturday morning, is a fun activity, too. The atmosphere is festive, as we all anticipate their yummy crisp outsides, and warm, soft insides. I can make 10 donuts, 2 per person, with the following recipe, for a cost of about 5 cents a donut, or 50 cents total.

Yeast donuts are actually easy to make. The dough is forgiving, and doesn't require a lot of kneading. I don't even allow them to rise fully, on the counter, before frying. My French bread recipe has more yeast in proportion to flour, than my sandwich bread. This added yeast gives a good rise to French bread, pizza crust, and donuts, without a lengthy rise time.

When I use my French bread recipe for donuts, I up the sugar just a bit, to tenderize the dough and add a touch of sweetness. Here's how I make donut twists.

Donut Twists

for 10 twists:

3/4 cup warm (85 degrees or so, not hot) water
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
scant 1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1  3/4  to 1  7/8 cup flour (I use about 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white), adding extra flour, if needed, and to flour the counter
vegetable oil for frying.

In a large bowl, soften yeast in warm water. Allow to sit 3 minutes.

Stir in sugar, salt and oil. Begin mixing in flour, half at a time. After first addition of flour, beat well with a large spoon. Continue mixing in flour, until you have a soft dough. Add more flour, as needed. The dough will be only very slightly sticky. You should be able to coat the dough with a sprinkling of flour and have it stick just a little, or maybe not at all, to your hands. You don't want it so well-floured, that it is stiff and difficult to manipulate.

Knead gently in the bowl, for a minute. Sprinkle with a touch of flour and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Flour your counter. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces.

Roll/form each piece into a log about 5-6 inches long.

With a table knife, split this log, lengthwise, leaving 1/2-inch un-split.

Twist the 2 parts of the split log, to form a twisted rope. Pinch the ends together.

Set in a floured spot on your counter, to rise. Continue with the remaining pieces of dough. If you are not a perfectionist, the process goes very quickly!

Allow to rise for 15 minutes. Pour about 2 to 3 inches of oil, into your frying pot. Start heating your oil, over MED heat, in a heavy-bottom stock pot, or large saucepan, to 375 degrees. If you have a candy thermometer, use that to determine temperature. Without a thermometer, you can test-fry a 1-inch cube of white bread. It will brown in 60 seconds, if your oil is around 375 degrees F.

Your donut dough will not be completely risen, like as for a loaf of bread. It will puff up in the fryer. After 15 minutes of rise-time, carefully drop the twists into the hot oil. (I use my hands to lift the donut off the counter and drop into the oil, but then use a slotted spoon for turning or removing.) I fry in a stock pot, and like to fry 3 to 4 donuts at a time. Use a slotted spoon to turn the donuts after a couple of minutes. The underside should be medium golden brown. If your oil is deep enough, the twists will turn themselves, as they cook.

Remove from oil and drain on paper towels or brown paper bag. Allow to drain 2 to 3 minutes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, powdered sugar, or, drizzle with a glaze. In the top photo, I had some leftover maple icing, that I thinned with milk for a maple glaze, for glazed donuts.

In October, I'll be making my pumpkin-spice donuts. They are THE snack, paired with hot apple cider, after a day of raking leaves. I'll post that recipe soon.

Oh my goodness!

I have to share this!! I finally got my electricity bill. We're billed every 2 months. Last bill was for $132. This bill was $69! I had to do the rub-your-eyes-and-make-sure-you're-seeing-straight thing. I knew it would be this low, but seeing it in black and white really gave me a thrill.

Not many folks are checking their inboxes, daily, hoping to find bills, but that has become me. I am wanting confirmation that all our efforts are working. I can't wait to tell my husband when he gets home, as I'm not sure he's been believing me, regarding just how much we could save if we made some changes!

Even as our bill ticks up a bit, as winter approaches, this is money that we saved that can't be undone. It's money in our account, or as I've done with half of the savings, bought LED light bulbs, to save even more in the future.

There have been days when I just wanted to get the laundry done, and wanted to use the dryer. But I've resisted. And it has paid off!


I'm skipping off to do my housework. I hope your day is filled with pleasant surprises, too!

All out of baking powder? Here's the substitute I've been using

You'll find this post, and many others like it, just a click away on this page (click) -- a compilation of my recipes, shopping lists, and menu plans that illustrates how I feed my family of 4 adults on $175 to $200 per month.

Baking soda and vinegar

I am down to my last little bit of baking powder, and I have squirreled it away it for particular recipes.  

A few months ago, I was baking cornbread and discovered that I was about out of baking powder. I used my 4-step method to finding a solution (found in the post in this link), determining my end goal (leavening for baking), brainstorming possibilities (cream of tartar/baking soda and vinegar/baking soda came to mind), then tested out the least expensive (vinegar and baking soda). I was thrilled that the least expensive option worked in my baking.

Best frugal substitute for baking powder Finding substitutes for ingredients is a key component of frugal living. This substitute for baking powder uses only 2 ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now -- baking soda and vinegar.

As far as cost goes -- the leavening amount of baking soda and vinegar is about 1/3 to 1/5 the cost of the same leavening amount of baking powder! 

Use in any baking application

This combo works well in muffins, cakes, quick breads, pancakes, waffles and some soft cookies (the kind that have at least a small amount of water, juice or milk in them) -- basically cake-like bakery items.

tender, cake-like cornbread -- crispy crust,
but soft and cake-like inside.
No baking powder, just used baking soda and vinegar, instead.

Simply mix the baking soda into the dry ingredients and the vinegar into the liquids (any liquid, it doesn't have to be milk).

pancakes made with baking soda and vinegar

The leavening action will be short-lived and the dough or batter needs to be baked or cooked right away (within about 10 to 15 minutes).

muffins using baking soda and vinegar, instead of baking powder

I have been using the baking soda and vinegar combination as my primary baking powder substitute for a month now, and have been very pleased with the results.

scones using baking soda and vinegar

The only trouble I had was remembering the amounts. So, I wrote the following down and taped it to the inside of my baking cabinet.

to equal the leavening of:

1 teaspoon baking powder . . .  use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda *plus* 1 teaspoon vinegar

2 teaspoons baking powder . . . use 1/2 teaspoon baking soda *plus* 2 teaspoons vinegar

1 tablespoon baking powder. . . use 3/4 teaspoon baking soda *plus* 1 tablespoon vinegar


There is no acid taste from the vinegar and no soda-y taste from the baking soda. The two do a good job of neutralizing each other.

And remember, mix the baking soda separately with your dry ingredients, and the vinegar separately with the liquids in your recipe, then combine.

sugar cookies using baking soda/vinegar instead of baking powder

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

UPDATE  Just to let you know, it's now February 2014, and I've been using this baking soda/vinegar combination as my substitute for baking powder since August 2013. I've been very pleased with the results. And I found a plastic spoon in a drawer in my kitchen that measures exactly 3/4 teaspoon -- perfect for measuring the baking soda. I wrote a post on finding that spoon here. Gotta love those plastic fast food spoons.

ANOTHER UPDATE It's now February 2015, and I still haven't bought any baking powder, but continue using this substitution formula! And an FYI, any kind of vinegar will give you the rise you want, just be careful about delicate flavors. The plainer the vinegar (white, apple cider, rice, champagne, white wine, and palm vinegar would be your most mild vinegars, and as well, they wouldn't color the batter of any item too heavily), the better tasting your final product.

FURTHER UPDATE: It's now September of 2015, over two years since I began substituting baking soda and vinegar for baking powder in all of my recipes. I have not had a single baked good fail as a result of this substitution. I've made cakes, biscuits, cookies, scones, cornbread, quick breads (like banana bread and cranberry bread), pancakes, muffins, waffles, dumplings (the kind that is a dough that you drop into a pot of hot soup). I've baked in the microwave, in a conventional oven, on the stove-top, on the griddle, in the waffle iron, and still no fails, not a one. I've made our special celebration cakes, like birthday cakes, the chocolate mini-cakes that I make for New Year's Day, an Easter cake, an apple-nut cake for Thanksgiving -- all using this substitute, I have so much confidence in its ability to turn out a high-quality product, and reliably leaven anything I choose to bake. I've served these baked goods to my family, brought to church picnics and suppers, served to my good friends over tea, and served to dinner guests in our home. I can hardly describe just how pleased I am with the on-going results I'm having using baking soda and vinegar to substitute for baking powder.

It's just a matter of kitchen science. Commercial baking powder is a combination of carbonate or bicarbonate (baking soda) and one or more acid salts (such as sodium aluminum sulfate or monocalcium phosphate). Baked goods are leavened by an acid-base reaction which produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles, causing the dough or batter to expand or leaven.

Commercial baking powders use chemical acids. In our home kitchens, we can substitute a food acid. Vinegar is one such food acid, of reliable strength (commercial vinegars must meet specific standards in the US, with regards to their acidity percentage), it's inexpensive and already in many homes.

AND YET A FURTHER UPDATE: July 2016, and yes, I'm still using baking soda and vinegar in place of baking powder. It's a no-brainer at this point. It always works for me, saves me money, and I always have those 2 ingredients in the kitchen. Oh, someday, I'll get around to buying baking powder again, I'm sure. But for now, this works.

SEPTEMBER 2016. I can't believe that it's been 3 years since I originally posted this. I get emails every week about this one post. Thank you! I love hearing about your successes. And I'm glad that some of you have now passed this info on to others. What was once my "emergency" substitute for baking powder has simply become my everyday "baking powder".

Anyways, I continue to be pleased with this substitute. I hope you will be, too! Happy baking!

NOVEMBER 2017. I post an update on this formula every so often. I still use this as my baking powder. I keep telling myself that I should buy some "real" baking powder. (You know, just so I can feel normal.) But I never do, and continue on with this tried and true substitute. I've honestly never had anything fail with this vinegar/baking soda substitution. I even bake special occasion cakes using this formula. My two daughters are now lovely, grown young ladies, and love to bake. They've memorized the proportions, too, and this is just a normal adjustment they make with baking. 

I'm glad that you've now found this and can use this formula for baking for as long as you need. Happy baking!!

SEPTEMBER 2019. Yup, still using baking soda and vinegar. It's great stuff and super cheap.

NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE. Still using baking soda and vinegar for all of my baking powder needs. It's just easy. I always have both ingredients on hand and never have to worry that my baking powder may have expired.


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