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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Merry Christmas to you and yours!



I just want to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas. May your blessings be too numerous to count.

May you feel the sheer delight of Christmas, as that of a child, blind to any imperfections in the day.
May the gifts you receive be those of friendship, love, kindness and joy.
May your table be full, with both food and guests, and
may your home be warmed with a loved one's embrace.
May you be surprised by someone lost, but not forgotten.
And may God light your path on Christmas and beyond.

I'm taking a few days off this week and next. I won't be posting again until the early hours of Jan. 3, 2013. I may make brief updates on my facebook page, but otherwise I'll look forward to our written exchanges here on creative savv, again, in the new year.

Merry Christmas,
Lili

Friday, December 21, 2012

Checking my list

 Here we are, down to the last weekend before Christmas. I don't know about you, but my days are so full, I don't have a moment to pause.  I made myself a cup of tea yesterday afternoon, set it on the table where I was working, and I totally forgot to drink it!

I've had a lot on my schedule to get done, and I've been working away, doggedly. Yesterday, I set out to get a head start on some meals, finish up semi-handcrafted gifts, begin the wrapping and attend a Christmas concert in the evening.



I baked a pizza for the freezer. This is the "what can we eat, we're still hungry" pizza, for later Christmas evening. We're having Christmas dinner at friends, so we won't have the piles of leftovers in our kitchen this year.



I baked and froze French rolls for Christmas Eve supper -- French dip sandwiches. I'll make the beef and au jus Saturday or Sunday.




I cooked two large pots of soup, for those meals that I just can't get to in the next couple of days. One, turkey noodle, the other pumpkin soup.





I finished up two semi-handcrafted gifts. One, the other hat and mitten set for other daughter. The other gift is a charm keeper. It's already wrapped, so I can't show it to you now. But I used jewelry making supplies to make this. A lobster claw clasp, a 1/2-inch decorative ring, and a couple of small jump rings to hold those two pieces together. This charm keeper clasps onto the zipper-pull of a jacket, that my daughter is getting for Christmas. I put 3 charms on it, personalized to her.



A rush to eat some dinner, and then we went to a Christmas concert in the evening. It was absolutely beautiful, and put the right frame onto the work of my days this month.

I'm nearing the end of the busy work. Today, I have to go out and buy one last gift, but I know exactly what it is and where to find it, so it shouldn't be too difficult. 

I'd like to now bake some cookies for my family. Most of our baking has been given away. 

And hopefully by the end of today, all gifts will be wrapped. 

I have something major to do and look forward to everyday until Dec. 26, Boxing Day. My big plans for Boxing Day? Reading, leisurely breakfast, walk through the neighborhood -- an easy day.

How about you? Do you feel like you're near the end of your hard work, and about to just enjoy the remaining days till Christmas? We're all really busy this week, aren't we? (Don't you dare tell me that you're all done!!)

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Instant hot cocoa mix


Nothing says "SNOW DAY!" like a mug of hot cocoa. Yes, we finally had some snow this year, here in the greater Seattle area. Not enough to cancel school, but a dusting of the white stuff is beautiful to see.

It's nice to have some cocoa mix ready for family to make a mug when they want. I make this without powdered milk added, as I like mine with a lactose-free milk, sometimes my kids like it not so rich and do half milk/half water, and sometimes they like it all milk.

So, basically, this mix is just cocoa powder and powdered sugar. It's super simple. I use Trader Joes cocoa powder and homemade powdered sugar. Very basic -- no artificial anything, something me likes a lot  : )

It will also work with caster sugar, superfine sugar or commercial powdered sugar (icing sugar). My homemade powdered sugar is more like a superfine sugar. It dissolves rapidly in liquid, and has no anti-caking additives. I posted about this long ago. Here's the link to making powdered sugar with a coffee grinder.

This recipe makes a very rich and chocolate-y cup of cocoa. 

for every cup of of hot cocoa, you'll need:

2 level tablespoons cocoa powder
2 level tablespoons powdered or superfine sugar

For several cups of cocoa (about 4), in a bowl, mix together:

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup homemade powdered sugar.

Stand a mesh sieve (strainer) over a second bowl, and with the back of a spoon, rub the mixture through the mesh. Sieving in this way blends the mix and breaks down lumps. Alternatively, you could sift the mix.






To make 1 mug of cocoa:

pour about 8-9 oz. of milk, or half water/half milk into a microwaveable mug. Microwave for 1 minute on HI. Stir in one level 1/4 cup measure of cocoa mix. Stir well. Microwave for 30 more seconds. Stir once more.

There will be a tiny amount of cocoa "sludge" at the bottom of the mug when done drinking, because it's baking cocoa and has not been processed in any way to allow complete dissolution of the powder. Our family is fine with this. For half the price of canister mix and about 1/4 the price of those little packets, we'll gladly accept a little "sludge".

If you want to premeasure this into snack size baggies, you'll have your very own individual packets of cocoa mix. (I love that turning this cocoa mix into single-serve packets doesn't cost anything extra, 'cept the baggies, but those can be used over and over.) 

If you're taking this camping, or for whatever reason you will want the milk powder mixed in, you can add enough instant milk powder to reconstitute to 1 cup, to each baggie.

One other option with making your own cocoa mix is that you can use artificial sweeteners, if desired. You can blend sugar and Splenda or stevia, or use straight splenda/stevia. You just want to make sure that for each cup you use the amount of sweetening as 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (about 1 T, 2 t. granulated sugar).

You'll need to do a single-cup batch and measure after cocoa is mixed in, to find your own recipe measure for making a mug of cocoa. Then simply multiply your recipe by however many servings you wish to make up.


Jazzing up that cup of cocoa. There are many wonderful flavorings you can add to make that mug of cocoa special.

My favorite this time of year is peppermint. My kids like to stir their cocoa with a mini candy cane. You can also use a few drops of peppermint extract.

Orange and chocolate seem to be a natural combination. A 2-inch by 1/2-inch piece of orange zest (use a vegetable peeler to strip a large piece from the skin of an orange), placed in the cup of cocoa just before the final 30 second microwaving, will impart a delicate orange flavor. Give it a hint of spice by studding the orange peel with 2 or 3 whole cloves.

A few drops of vanilla or almond extract are also delicious, as is a spoonful of instant coffee.

And of course, no cup of cocoa would be complete without either whip cream or marshmallows. My mom always put a large marshmallow into our mugs. So I'd say I'm partial to the one large marshmallow. How about you? Are you a whip cream topper or marshmallow topper?






Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Semi-handcrafted Christmas gift


What do you do when Christmas is just a week away, you're running short in the time department, and you want to give a gift with a personal touch? 

Me, I start with something already made, then add my own creativity to it.

In the background is a teal and black scarf that I picked up on sale for one of my daughters, on Black Friday. The hat and mittens are dollar store items. They were plain black. I bought some gold and teal sequins, and embellished the hat and mittens. They are just glittery enough for this daughter's taste.

To sequin, I worked about 2 inches at a time, knotting then cutting off the thread, so that the stretch of these items would not be compromised.

Other possibilities for embellishing mittens and hats include, jingle bells, ribbon bows, fabric flowers and inexpensive costume jewelry pins. 

My little project took me about 1  1/2 hours total. Jingle bells and some grosgrain ribbon bows might just take 20 minutes to complete. And a piece of costume jewelry would take seconds to add. (Thrift stores usually have a box under the glass counter, filled with vintage brooches. Many years ago, I put one such brooch on a hat of my own, and the brooch remains the sole ornament for that hat.)

Total cost for my hat and mittens -- $1 for the hat, $1 for the pair of mittens, $3 for the sequins, total $5. (The scarf was $5 on sale, as well, so the total cost for this gift is about $10.)

Monday, December 17, 2012

A day of this and that: frugal highlights

The other day was a busy one for us. My 3 kids and I spent the entire day shopping for gifts. We left the house around 10 AM and returned around 5 PM. I was helping them find that perfect gift for several people on their lists. Also, I squeezed in a few errands of my own. At the end of the day, I thought to myself that there was quite a bit that I'd like to share with you.

First, I had a return to make. I had bought something as a gift for someone last month, then changed my mind on it. In going to make the return, I read the back of the receipt. Returns with a receipt made within 14 days, only. What?! I thought most retailers give you 30 days. But not Barnes and Noble. Unless. . . . you ask for a gift receipt, the sort of receipt that doesn't give dollar spent information. I had asked for a gift receipt, so the rules were different. At Barnes and Noble, with a gift receipt, you have 60 days to make a return. So I presented the gift receipt, and not the regular receipt. I made the return and was issued a gift card in it's place. No problem. I'll use that sometime.

So, lesson learned, read the details on the return policy, and ask for gift receipts on all gifts.



Second, we made a stop at Trader Joe's for dried fruit, nuts, and bananas. I've said this before, many months ago, but at Trader Joe's bananas are priced per piece. A small banana cost 19c and a large banana cost 19c. So, why choose small bananas, when I can buy the larger ones for the same amount of money. On a bunch of bananas, the outside bananas are generally smaller than the inside ones. I remove the inside bananas from a couple of bunches, and buy just the large ones. There are actually quite a few people who prefer the smaller ones -- those with smaller appetites, on a restricted calorie diet, or with small kids. So I don't feel bad taking only large bananas.

When I got my bananas home I weighed them individually. The smallest of them weighed about 9 3/8 oz. and the largest about 9 3/4 oz. I averaged about 32c per pound with my banana purchase. In the store, I was sizing up the small bananas, and my guess is they weighed about 5 oz each. Big difference.

This per piece pricing method is often found in drug stores that sell a basket of fruit, per piece, near the cash register. Walgreen's has a basket of apples, oranges and bananas for 25c each. If I have my choice between large fruit or small, for the same price, I'm going to choose the large.  

In bottled goods, when the bottle is transparent, I can easily see which container is most full. I'm going to take a minute to look at the stock on the shelf and choose the most full one. They are all sold for the same price.

So, my message here is whenever items are sold per piece and the size or fullness can be determined by sight, look for the largest/fullest. An an FYI, I paid about 32c per pound for bananas, while my local grocery store charges 79c per pound!



After a long day driving around town (and it was long), I came home to the need to put together a quick dinner. This is where I really appreciate having leftover turkey frozen in some stock, and rolled-out pie pastry in the freezer. In just 20 minutes of my time I put together a homemade turkey pot pie. In a large saucepan, I cooked an onion (chopped) in a little oil, a potato (diced), the turkey in stock, seasonings and flour for the gravy part, and mixed vegetables. Topped all this with a crust and popped a turkey pot pie in the oven, to bake up the crust.



And for dessert, I made something that is really, really easy to make. And would be a great last-minute gift idea or a treat to add to a dessert tray. They're chocolate-dipped dried apricots.

Melt about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in a microwaveable dish or cup for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir. Melt another 30 seconds, stir again. If needed, melt in 20 second-increments. Stir in about 1/2 teaspoon vegetable shortening (like Crisco, what you use for pie pastry, not butter or margarine which contain trace amounts of water and will ruin your melted chocolate). Stir well, and dip dried apricots about 2/3 of each into the melted chocolate.

Place on a sheet of waxed paper. Sprinkle them with chopped or sliced almonds, if desired. I do this, for texture and flavor, but also, if the chocolate develops gray streaks after a week or two, it will be concealed by the nuts. Just my way of hiding any mistakes ; )

Allow to firm up on the counter overnight, or in the fridge for 1 hour.

This amount of chocolate will cover about 20 dried apricots. They look nice packaged up in a candy box, such as you'd find at Michaels or other craft stores in their baking sections, or a small box that you have repurposed, and covered with gift wrap. (I used to overwrap the lids of gift certificate boxes with pretty Christmas wrap, but since every store moved to gift cards, I haven't seen gift certificate boxes recently.)

Anyways, these were the frugal highlights of my day. What have been the frugal highlights of your days, recently?

Sunday, December 16, 2012

December grocery money journal -- mid-month

(November's journal is here)

Dec. 4. It always makes me just a little bit happy when I don't have to rush out on the first of the month to buy groceries. I made it to day 4 this month. We were very low on coffee and decaf. Stopped in at a drug store with coffee advertised for $6.99/large can. Bought the coffee and 1 bag of good decaf (I love dark roast coffee, and they had French roast decaf, so I'm a happy elf today!) Total spent, $12.98.

I've been cooking up those pumpkins from last month. We're about done. Just need to run them through my food processor and freeze. I lost one to mold : (  but I am looking at it like this, nine free pumpkins and a handful of compost for the garden. I also cooked up the last of the yams, as they get soft spots quickly in my kitchen. I pureed those and froze to make into a casserole for the New Year's feast.

Dec. 5. Bought one thing at the store today, a quart of eggnog. Expensive stuff, so we dilute it with milk, and add a bit of vanilla and nutmeg. Spent $2.50. Ouch! Total spent for the month -- $15.48.

I'm waiting to do some batch cooking for the freezer, for when it's a bit more empty. Perhaps next week I'll be able to put together some casseroles and freeze.

Dec. 6. Picked up a gallon of milk on the way home from work. Weird thing happened. I had a $2 rebate check from the drug store, which on the check says it can either be cashed at the bank or used for a purchase in their store. So I was planning on using it towards a gallon of milk, retailing for $2.69. Handed my rebate check to the cashier. Her register was refusing to take it for several tries. Then finally, she managed to push the buttons that the check wanted (she wasn't even sure what she'd done). The register accepted the check, but said my milk was paid in full. I told the cashier that I still had to pay 69c, that her drawer would come up short at the end of her shift. She refused the 69c, saying that the register wouldn't accept it, as it thinks it's been paid in full. Anyways, I tried a couple of times to just leave the 69c that I feel I owe, but she wouldn't accept it. So, my 1 gallon of milk cost $2. Not bad! Spent for the month -- $17.48.

Meals around here. Last night made pumpkin soup, eggnog scones and blackberry cobbler. Turns out no one was all that hungry, so the cobbler was left for tonight. Tonight we had a kale and ham quiche from the freezer, baked squash, oven fries and that cobbler.

Breakfast this morning, choice of leftover eggnog scones or gingerbread oatmeal. We're in the holiday spirit with our meals these days.

Dec. 7. Last day of school for daughters. They were having a party at their school, and suggested my son and I do something special for lunch, too. Okay, so Jack in the Box is not exactly special. But we enjoyed it. Two burgers and split an order of onion rings.  $5.22

Dec. 7. The Cash and Carry is down by daughters' school. I thought this would be the last chance for several weeks to pick up things there, so made a stop. Spent $64.50, and got a 6 pack of green peppers, brown rice-25 lb, sugar-50 lb., oats-25 lb. popcorn-12 lb, a large bag (about 3 lb) raw mixed veggies.

Also, down in that area is Trader Joes. Mostly picked up baking supplies -- dried fruit, nuts, cocoa powder, soy milk, plus cherry tomatoes for  $23.42 total for month spent $110.62.

For meals this week -- hot dogs and roasted veggies, leftover turkey in gravy with leftover cornbread stuffing, fried rice with egg, ham, carrots, peppers and kale, veggie lasagna with kale, broccoli, carrots and eggplant, turkey-pizza sandwiches, sourdough pancakes with rhubarb coulis, tex-mex turkey over rice, lentil-veggie soup.

Lunches have been a bit of a challenge this week, with kids home from school. I feel like I need to go to more effort at lunchtime. During school term, I pack sandwiches. And when it's just me at home, I often don't make lunch at all for myself. I'm not a lunch person, I guess.

Still using up apples and pears that were harvested this fall, and harvesting kale and broccoli from the garden. My indoor lettuce is growing well since I gave it some plant food. I'll harvest some of that in another week or so.

Being super busy, getting things done for the holidays has put a cramp in my dinner prep routine. So many of our dinners have been slap-it-together-at-the-last-minute sort of meals. I've been grateful for the leftover turkey in the freezer. And bread baking on a large scale (5 loaves at a time) has fallen by the wayside. I'll get back to that in a couple of weeks.

Dec. 12. Crazy morning shopping for gifts and leotards for my daughters' dance recital this weekend. Happened to be at Fred Meyer (large discount dept store like Target, but has a full grocery section), always cruise by the dairy dept to check for milk. Gallons of 2% on sale for $2.49. Not a super great price, but better than $2.69 I find at my cheapest regular-priced spot in town (Rite Aid, 1% and skim milk). Picked up 4 gallons. Also, chocolate chips were on sale for $1.39/12 oz (got 6), and white chocolate chips for $1.89 (got 1, for our traditional January cookies). Spent $20.19, bringing month to date spending to $130.81

We are still well-stocked on fruit in the fridge and freezer, but are down to kale, broccoli, mustard and turnip greens and beets in the garden for veggies. I'll need to buy more at this point, for variety. We have yet to see a hard frost in the garden. This is unusual for our area. But I'm not complaining!

Dec. 14. A day out shopping and running errands. Stopped by Trader Joes for dried fruit (apricots, cherries, dates), almonds, and bananas. Spent $16.79.

next stop, the Cash and Carry wholesaler. Bought whipped topping, a 5 lb. bag of frozen mixed vegetables, a 5 lb. bag of carrots, and a half gallon of eggnog. Spent $12.03. My month-to-date total then comes to $159.63

You may have noticed that I bought a lot of dried fruit these past couple of weeks. Dried fruit is one of those treats that our family enjoys around the holidays. For me, personally, the dried fruit keeps me from gobbling too many cookies, cakes and pies. Probably the same amount of calories in a handful of dried fruit vs. a handful of cookies, but my body feels so much better with the fruit.  A yummy treat, and only slightly decadent, is dried fruit in chocolate. I microwave some chocolate chips, stir and add some dried cherries and almonds. Allow to harden on waxed paper. If I'm choosing between a candy bar and dried fruit in chocolate, the latter wins, hands down.

In the second half of the month, I'll be spending a fair amount of $$ on supplies for a party, and buying a few extras for New Year's Eve. But I still have a surplus from previous months that I can play with.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

My totally awesome, fabulous firestarters


I really wanted to put together some very pretty firestarters to put in a basket next to the fireplace for this winter. But that just didn't happen. Yet, here we are, the season of home and hearth, and I need easy to light fires (oooh, maybe that sounds like we need an intervention or something, but really just lighting fires for the purpose of heating the family room).

Here's my quick and easy firestarter . . .

a cardboard egg carton filled with cotton-based dryer lint (from laundry not exposed to fabric softeners -- bad chemicals to burn). Not terribly pretty. Not something I'd fill a basket with and place by the hearth. Not something I'd brag about. But it gets the job done.

I've been saving a container of cotton dryer lint and a stack of egg cartons all fall. And now they're getting some use. A one match fire is something my husband and I compete to achieve. We will boast about our fire-making abilities in terms of how many matches we needed to use.

What's more, I save my breath. No more sitting at the hearth huffing and puffing, trying to give oxygen to the tiny, trembling flames.

So, to make a totally awesome and fabulous (tongue in cheek here) firestarter of your own, fill one cardboard egg carton with all-cotton dryer lint, leaving bits poking out of a couple of the egg carton holes. Light match, apply to dryer lint, and there you have it, one-match fires. I quickly pile on some kindling of sticks and twigs. Once those are ignited, I add the seasoned firewood. 

The egg carton is a step above crumpled paper, in that it burns longer, giving the rest of my material more time to catch fire.

Perhaps the very pretty firestarters will make an appearance later this winter, when I have more time. I'd wanted to make some stick/raffia/lint and wax bundles to sit in a basket by the hearth. We'll see how much time I have in January. 

Beyond the starter: Burning responsibly

First of all, it's always the homeowner's responsibility to check if there is a burn ban in their area. We keep the phone number for the hot-line for our area right by the phone.

Damp material leads to more air pollutants than dry materials. Burn seasoned wood that's been kept under cover, like a tarp.

The fireplace or stove should not be used as a dispose-all. When burning paper/cardboard, Irestrict it to small amounts used in starting the fire. I like to switch over to dry twigs and sticks as soon as the fire starter is lit.

Modern wood stoves are preferable to fireplace inserts, and fireplace inserts are preferable to open fireplaces, in regards to both heat and emissions.

What's okay to burn? This is a question which merits attention. With regards to dryer lint, it burns well (rapidly), good for starters. But for your own respiratory health, it's best to burn only cotton, linen or wool lint, that has not gone through a recent wash cycle with fabric softener.

In a search of about 25 sites, egg cartons came up on one don't burn list, but multiple okay to burn lists. So, I can't conclusively say they are fine to burn. I could not find a reason not to burn them (most items on the don't burn list also had an explanation of what could be released into the air if burned). It could be concern over the inks used on the surface. But almost all food manufacturers have now switched over to non-metal inks in favor of soy-based ones. Or it could be because egg cartons are made from recycled paper. There's no way to know what could be in the recycled paper. But this is speculation, nothing conclusive. 

Bleached paper products, including cardboard boxes that are white on the inside, will release carbon compounds containing fluorine and chlorine when burned.

Glossy papers, such as magazines should not be burned (but can be composted). 

Don't burn anything synthetic, like styrofoam, plastics, synthetic fibers, rubber, and the like. We all know this, right? 

Also, don't burn treated wood products, plywood (glues between layers), particle board, painted or varnished wood. Pallets are okay if they are not made with treated wood.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Vegetarian gravy for the holiday meal

Growing up, everyone I knew ate meat. Now, so many people I know now are vegetarians. At many holiday gatherings, it's a mixed bag, some partake of the meat and others skip it. And that seems to be fine. There are enough options on the holiday table which satisfy the vegetarian. But what about the gravy? Just about everyone likes gravy on their mashed potatoes, right? 

I had the TV on the other night, watching Steven and Chris, and they were talking about this very thing. How the vegetarians, at the holiday feast, miss out on the gravy. Well, here's a really great recipe for a vegetarian gravy that's rich and flavorful.

This recipe originally aired a year ago. And I just thought I'd share it today, just in case you deal with this, too -- accommodating the vegetarian at the holiday feast. We're getting close enough to Christmas that many of us are menu planning for our holiday dinner. 

For our family, this would solve one other problem we encounter with the gravy -- there's never enough gravy for all the leftovers! I don't know what they're doing with that gravy boat at the other end of the table. But we use up most of our gravy on that first dinner. Hardly any left over for our leftover meals. This will give us some extra gravy for all the leftover turkey and ham that fills our freezer. And I love that it can be made the day before, and simply reheated. 

There are onions, carrots, celery, garlic, tomato paste, herbs, red wine, vegetable stock and dried mushrooms in this gravy. The recipe calls for dried porcini mushrooms, but the chef who designed this recipe said that any dried mushrooms would work. If you do give this recipe a go, I'd say to use whatever dried mushrooms are inexpensive for you. Here's the link -- Ultimate Vegetarian Gravy.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

I'm liking Martha more and more

Martha Stewart popped up in two spots this week, making comments that I found appealing.

First in this month's AARP magazine, in talking about decorating for the holidays, she recommends keeping it simple. One of her recommendations is using swags of wide ribbon about the house. We've done evergreen garlands in our house in the past. But using wide ribbon instead would be simpler, cheaper and take less room to store. 

I can imagine a large wall mirror festooned with a large bow at the top, then cascading ribbon down the sides. Far simpler than the typical Southern Living look of boxwood, magnolia, berry branches and pine cone garlands that I've seen in their magazines. Or how about draping a wide band of ribbon across the front edge of the fireplace mantel, in place of the typical evergreen garland. Even on the Christmas tree, I find large bows to be beautiful accents amongst the green branches and ornaments. So, I'm liking the idea to use ribbon to decorate for the holidays.

Martha also suggests decorating with masses of candles. I love groupings of candles. In our house, I go one of two ways. Either, I try to find similar candle holders, and use matching candles. Or, I use same colored, but different-sized pillar candles, grouped together. In our living room right now, I currently have 2 pairs of crystal candle holders, with dollar store, tall, off-white taper candles. The 2 pairs are different heights, which I think actually makes the grouping that much more interesting. In the family room I've done the same with various brass candle holders. 

Also on Martha's simple but elegant list, is using boughs of evergreens. This works especially well on the flat surfaces of furniture in your home. Simply go outside with your clippers and a large bag and cut whatever evergreens suit your fancy. Then arrange them on a large platter or tray and set on the counter, a table or desk. I recommend the platter, tray or plate to prevent sap from ruining any finishes. 

This idea can be done on a large or small scale. So, for my desk, I have used a small bread and butter plate (about 5 inches in diameter), piled with some cedar sprigs. But for a large surface, like my dining room table, I may use a large oval platter, piled with cedar, rhododendron leaves, pine cones and some fresh fruit like lemons or pomegranates. This is decorating at it's simplest, IMO.

The other opportunity I had to see Martha this week was on the Today Show, yesterday morning. Martha Stewart was a guest on the show. Before her particular segment, the cast was gathered around discussing getting that last bit out of containers of products. The NBC hosts put it that in this recent recession, a lot of folks have been making the effort to get every last bit out of a container. 

Well, it appears that Martha has some frugal blood. She said it was not just a recessionary thing, but should be an any-kind-of-economy thing. Quoting Martha, "everything costs several dollars, you might as well be thrifty".  She has little implements, as she calls them, tiny spatulas designed for getting the last little bit out of makeup bottles. Things like serums can cost $60 or more, so in her words, "you might as well be thrifty". Really, that's what she said. 

Of course, at this point in my life, I'm not likely to spend $60 or so for a bottle of some anti-aging serum. But the same principle holds true. Things cost money, and we shouldn't be wasteful, whether we buy our "supplies" from the dollar store or from some pricey department store counter. 

This week, I found that I have a lot more in common with Martha Stewart than I ever imagined.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Gingerbread oatmeal


Oatmeal has the totally unfair popular opinion as being "poor people's food". With names like "mush" and "porridge", visions of a Victorian-era poor house come to mind. But the truth is, oatmeal is delicious. 

The plain oat grain has a slightly sweet taste to it. Add some flavorings and you have a bowl that is positively delicious. It is warming and filling on cold winter mornings, to boot. 

Yes, I'd eat oatmeal even if I won the lottery (not like that will happen as I don't buy lottery tickets. But if you happen to win the lottery and wish to share your winnings with me, I'd happily accept 😋  and still be eating my morning oatmeal.)


The first bite says it all. When I have that very first bite of this oatmeal, it's like biting the head off of a gingerbread man fresh from the oven.

Walnut-Gingerbread Oatmeal

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the following:

3 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon molasses
1  1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Bring all to a boil. Add:

1  2/3 cups regular rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Reduce to lowest heat, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes. Give a stir and serve.

I really like this with chopped pears on top, either fresh or canned.

If you are not as wild about spices as I am, add the molasses and salt to the water, and then spices just a bit at a time, tasting the water as you go, and halting the addition of spices when you feel there's enough.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Managing the kitchen supplies yields holiday breakfast casseroles


Managing what I have stored in the pantry, fridge and freezer can seem like a full-time job, at times. I'm diligently trying not to waste, as well as provide interesting meals for the family.

Over the weekend, I noticed that I had a surplus of eggs, green peppers, sprouting potatoes, onions and cheese in stock. I considered the different possibilities for using these up quickly, and decided on breakfast casseroles for upcoming holidays.

I assembled 3 casseroles (each will serve 4-6 people), one for Christmas breakfast, another for New Year's breakfast, and a third to use for supper some evening this month.

There are numerous freezer breakfast casserole recipes online. I'll tell you how I did mine, and maybe it will spark some ideas to use up your surpluses.

I buttered three 8 X 8 inch square aluminum pans. I peeled about 11 small potatoes, and grated them in the food processor. In a non-stick skillet, I par-cooked the grated potatoes in some oil, stirring constantly. I'd say the potatoes are about halfway cooked. I recall a couple of recipes that call for frozen hash browns, so I was attempting to duplicate these with the par-cooking in oil. I spread the potatoes in the 3 pans. 

I had 2 green peppers and 1 onion, which I chopped and cooked in a little butter, till the onions were translucent. Then combined these with the potatoes. I added some grated cheddar, and tossed all together in the pans.

In a large bowl, I beat 10 eggs, 2 cups milk, some salt (I think about 1  1/2 teaspoons), and black pepper. Poured this over the potato/vegetable/cheese mixture. Then topped with a bit more cheese. In total, I think I used about 1/3 pound cheese for these 3 casseroles.

I considered adding ham. But decided we'd have grilled ham, on the side, with these casseroles. Breakfast casseroles would also be delicious with cooked sausage added, chopped tomatoes, and bread cubes or cooked rice substituted for the potatoes.

I covered all three casseroles with foil and froze. I've got them separated for now, until frozen solid. Once totally solid, I'll stack them and put in a large plastic bag.

When it comes time to bake these, I'll thaw overnight in the fridge. Then, bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F, for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

I have some other items in the fridge that I'd like to use up. Later this week, I'll assemble a couple of lasagnas for the freezer with those items. Like I said, managing the supplies sometimes feels like a job in itself, don't you think?

Monday, December 10, 2012

I'm a sentimental fool: My crazy quilt Christmas tree skirt

When my kids outgrow a piece of clothing that I have memories attached to, I have a difficult time parting with it. I set it aside and try to think of something that I can make with it. Enter my idea for a crazy quilt Christmas tree skirt.



I began this about 8 years ago. I work on it a bit every year. It's to the point that it is usable under the tree. I'd still like to do the characteristic embroidery over the seams that you find in crazy quilts. And after I finish that, I'll sew the backing on.

There's a method for crazy quilting called flip and sew. Basically, you have a backing piece, turn your quilt patch right side down, stitch one edge, then flip over. Now, take another quilt patch, place it on top of the first sewn patch, with right sides together (and so the new patch is right side down), and stitch through both the new and old patches and the backing fabric, along one edge. Now flip this one over as well.


the backing -- you can see that I machine stitched
some of the pieces and hand stitched others,
whatever seemed to be the easiest in the moment

Not all crazy quilters use a backing piece. I found it helpful to use one to help guide my shaped skirt and give strength to the whole piece.

I used sectioned backing pieces for my tree skirt, 4 wedge-shaped sections. I did the flip and sew technique on each of 4 sections. Then sewed the sections together, covering each seam with more patching.

For fabric, I used some old clothing items (a couple of Christmas dresses from my girls, what can I say, I am a sentimental fool), a dress bought at Value Village on 50% off day (spent about $3.50 for about 2 yards of usable velvet), some upholstery fabric (more difficult to sew with as it has a heavy backing to it), and a couple of purchased remnant pieces. The backing pieces, to which I sewed the quilt patches, are from a set of curtains I made 25 years ago. I did buy new thread, however, so that any thread showing would be the right color.

This has been my first attempt at crazy quilting. I'll definitely do other pieces. It was that easy, forgiving and fun.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

My afternoon of holiday baking: part 1 -- not exactly picture perfect

I had the most delightful afternoon, yesterday, baking holiday goodies and packaging them so beautifully for gifting. I just wanted to share with you how wonderful it was to feel so cheery and have such a grand time mixing and scooping and baking. It was just such a very lovely afternoon!


Not! Don't you just want to scream when you read something like that!

This is how it really went. All I needed to do was make a batch of spiced nuts and a batch of my mom's recipe for Swedish rosettes. That's all I had to do. Should be manageable, right?

The problem I encounter with recipes that I prepare just once a year for the holidays, is that I prepare them just once a year. I forget all the little tricks and how-tos that aren't written in the recipe. A year is a long time to go between making a batch of spiced nuts or rosettes.

I mixed up the spice, sugar and egg white mix, only to have gobs of the stuff leftover. I added all the nuts from the one can. Oh well, I'll come up with something to do with the leftover spice goo.

The nuts were baking nicely as we ate lunch. Right after lunch I had the brilliant idea to start in on the rosettes immediately. I was in the midst of frying rosettes, when the timer for the nuts went off. I quickly turned the oven off, leaving the door ajar, so they wouldn't overcook. My plan was to return to the nuts after the rosettes were all done, and scoop them into a bowl.

Meanwhile I was having trouble with my new rosette iron. I'd lost one part to my mom's iron, so replaced the whole thing with a new set this summer. This new set has a couple of problems, but I was finding a way to work around them. I'll be checking second hand stores for used iron parts for the future. I suspect that the slick nature of the new metal prevents the batter from adhering long enough to get it from the batter bowl to the frying oil. The old irons were a brushed aluminum and "grabbed" the batter better. I burned myself numerous times on both the hot oil and the hot iron. And about half of the cookies just flaked off the iron, not in pretty little cookies, but in crumbly chunks.

About now my daughters walked in to me having a very difficult time and offered assistance. I asked them to take the nuts out of the oven and scoop them into a bowl. Guess what happens when you leave the sugar-coated nuts to cool on the baking sheet? It adheres to the baking sheet like dried glue. I should have removed them immediately after baking. Not  a huge deal, but just not what I needed in the moment. Fortunately, my daughters tended to the nuts, using a metal spatula to scrape them off. They taste delicious, at least. But the baking sheet needs a good long soak. 

Back to the rosettes. The longer I worked on them, the harder it got. I managed to make about 30 good-looking ones, at which point, I decided I was just too exhausted to do any more. The batter was refusing to stick to the iron. It was too hot, or too cold, or I don't know what. I just needed to lie down. I scraped all the remaining batter into the bowl with the spice goo and intend to use that in pancake batter.

Our kitchen feels like it is covered in cooking oil. It's all over the counters, the stove, and some on the floor, as the irons would unscrew themselves from the rod unexpectedly from time to time.



Stress wipes me out. I felt I too tired to move a muscle for the rest of the afternoon. It all turned out okay in the end. Here's a photo of some of the good-looking rosettes and the bowl of spiced nuts.

And I now understand why my mom only made her Swedish cookies once a year.

But hold on. The day improves in part two.

My afternoon of holiday baking: part 2 -- things improved

After an hour's rest, I got myself back up (with the help of a chocolate bar), headed into the kitchen to survey the disaster zone. Not too bad. My daughters had made efforts to clean up for me.  I tackled what remained, and started to plan our tree trimming dinner. There is something about singing along to the radio when there's Christmas music playing, that can't help but put me in a good mood and reboot my energy.

Our family has a tradition for our tree trimming. I make a bunch of snacky foods, we trim the tree at our leisure, and drink cola from small bottles. Now you are going to think this strange, but many years ago I bought a 6 pack of those tiny Coca Cola bottles. We drank from those bottles when we trimmed our tree that year. I washed them out, and saved them. We use and wash them every year. I fill them with generic cola. Everyone in the family knows that it's just generic cola, but there is something special about drinking it from those bottles.

Okay, back to the dinner planning. I put together a quick pizza dough, thawed some frozen sauce and cheese, and got a Hawaiian pizza into the oven. With this we had a fresh veggie and dip platter. (I bought the veggies, washed them myself, and filled a bowl with ranch dressing, all by my little ol' self, and for about 1/4 the cost of those premade veggie platters.) Plus the spiced nuts and Swedish cookies, and that was our tree trimming meal. Most years I do more for the menu, but this year I ran out of time. And I knew my family would rather keep on schedule with the tree trimming and forego the extra food goodies, than put off decorating the tree just so I could do more baking.


We've added 3 new ornaments to our tree this year. While on vacation to the Scandinavian town this summer, my kids each chose a straw ornament, as a souvenir. 

I love pulling the ornaments out of the trunk one by one, and remembering special people and times. I have some of my parents' ornaments. My kids have ornaments that they've chosen over the years, as well as ornaments that their grandparents gave to them after their travels. My favorite ornament of one of my kids, is a small wooden nativity carving, bought in Bethlehem by my Dad.


We have one decoration that goes on the tree before the rest of the ornaments. It's a bird's nest. According to lore, a bird's nest in your Christmas tree will bring a year of health and happiness. Here's to another year of good health and much happiness!


I realize with every year, we get closer to that time when our children will have their own homes and trim their own trees. So I cherish these times that we have as our little family.

Christmas music playing in the background. The lights on the tree shimmering. A good dinner. My family all together for the evening. It was a wonderful night.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Easy Tex-Mex Black Bean Sandwich Spread


I'm as busy as anybody I know, this time of year. I need some quick and easy lunches for the family, without breaking the bank.

This is black bean sandwich spread on a slice of whole wheat bread. It doesn't look like much here, but it's a tasty alternative sandwich filling, and just pennies per sandwich (under 5c per 2-tablespoon serving). 

Last Saturday, lunch was an every man for himself affair. I set out sliced bread and a tub of this sandwich spread. We all helped ourselves. Making our own, and using simple and pre-seasoned ingredients (like the salsa), is a real time saver for me.

When I have cooked beans, salsa and oil, plus a food processor, this is a cinch to make.

I dump some cooked beans (I like black for this spread) into the food processor. Add some salsa and a drizzle of oil (olive or vegetable, depends on how thrifty I'm feeling in the moment). Process, taste, add more salsa or beans, as desired. I sometimes add a pinch of salt (again depending on my mood, sometimes I want it lower sodium, other times I'm in the mood for something saltier).

If I'm making sandwiches for to-go lunches, I'll spread the bread with a thin layer of butter, to prevent the bread from absorbing too much water from the spread. In a pita pocket, bean spread is delicious with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, grated cheese and/or sour cream, chopped avocado and sliced olives.

This spread freezes well, so I make a large batch, divide into containers large enough to hold a week's worth of spread, and freeze until needed. Just thaw and use.

We do eat a lot of beans in our house. I'm always on the hunt for new ways to use beans. Do you have any favorite ways to prepare them?

Friday, December 7, 2012

Going artificial


Our Christmas tree is artificial and I'll tell you what went into our thought process when choosing to go artificial. And up front, I'd like to say, I have absolutely nothing against a fresh tree. We've used those many years as well. This is a post on the merits of an artificial tree, in case you've been feeling the "pressure" to go real, but you still like your artificial one.

Prior to buying this tree, we had been cutting down trees from our property. That was really great fun and I hope our kids always remember going out into the cold and helping to choose the "perfect" tree (which by the way doesn't exist on our property, every tree we picked had huge bald spots, were thin and spindly, and looked more like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree).

So, if we had these free trees, why buy an artificial one?

Well, we were running out of appropriate-sized trees from our own property. But also, ease of having one ready to go was a swaying factor. It's not as if either my husband or I are lumberjacks here. Chopping down a tree is hard work!

So, why not buy fresh cut trees every year? They're beautiful and they smell lovely.

Agreed!

Artificial trees are part plastic, and part metal. The manufacture of plastic is not exactly highly desirable. However, consider this. If every year we went out and bought a fresh tree, we'd be using fossil fuels to travel to make that purchase. Getting a Christmas tree is usually a family outing of it's own right. We don't just pick up a tree on the way home from work. 

And it's not just fossil fuel in our car, but the fuel in the trucks used to haul all those cut trees into town. This expended fuel multiplied by all the years of life we'll get out of an artificial tree, and the "green" equation of artificial vs. real begins to balance, in my mind.

You can get 20-30 years or more out of a quality artificial tree. If you choose a classic style/color, buy quality, and take good care of it, your artificial tree should last for many, many holiday seasons. We bought ours in 2000, and it is still looking great.

We're thrifty folks, here. We likely won't discard any part of this tree for decades. I'll do something crafty, like make wreaths or garlands from the branches, in another 15 years or so, whenever our tree begins to look too shabby to put up. But like I said, it's 12 years old already and not showing any signs of wear. In part, that is due to choosing a high quality tree, as well as following good care instructions.

Choosing for quality

When looking for quality, first, check the hinges on the branches. Are they machined well? 

Do the needle test, the same way you check a fresh cut tree. Gently grasp a branch with your thumb and forefinger and pull down the branch. If the needles remain on the tree in the store, they have a greater chance of remaining on the tree in your home. 

What kind of stand does the tree come set in? Does it look like quality construction to you? And keep in mind, a manufacturer's level of quality in tree construction is standard throughout their line. The expensive tree of a cheaply made line is likely priced high because of size and fullness, not quality of craftsmanship.

A high quality tree will cost more, that's true. But it is one of those "you get what you pay for" purchases. We paid about $200 for our tree, 12 years ago. So far, averaged out over 12 years, that's just $16 per year. If we continue to use it for just 8 more years, this tree will have cost us $10 per year. That's pretty crazy cheap, if you ask me. 

And we opted for an un-lit tree. We wire our own tree and so far, it's no problem. We felt a pre-lit tree may not be all it's cracked up to be. If part of the lights fail to work, then we'd be back to putting our own lights on anyways. And the price difference between an un-lit and pre-lit was far more than the cost of buying strings of lights.

What about the fragrance that we are missing?

I cut a bunch of branches to bring indoors every Advent season. The house smells lovely from those branches alone.

So, what do you need to do to care for an artificial tree to prolong it's usefulness?

Be gentle when moving it in and out of storage. Don't let it bump down the stairs, etc.

According to the manufacturer of our tree, where we store it matters. Extreme temperature fluctuations, such as in an attic, garage or unheated portion of a basement will age the tree prematurely. Discoloration of the needles, as well as needle drop will occur years sooner in an uncontrolled climate. We've got ours in a closet under the main stairs.

Don't store in an area subject to vermin and insect infestations. And if possible, keep pets from chewing on the lower branches. This can be a challenge with some pets. I know, I've had several cats over the years and they like to chew on things.

Gently fold the branches back up before wrapping in a sheet or bagging the parts. If you still have the original box, use it. The manufacturer suggests lining the box with a sheet, allowing the ends of the sheet to overhang the sides of the box. When the tree/parts are in the box, fold the sheet over the tree and seal the box shut.

If you no longer have the box, wrap it in a sheet or black plastic garbage bags. Tie this wrap securely with rope or twine. Having your tree bagged or wrapped will prevent a loose branch from accidentally being pulled on when moving it, as well as minimize dust accumulation.

Every year, you should vacuum the branches when they are bare, using the upholstery brush attachment, unless your tree is very old or fragile. In that case, it's better to use a whisk broom to gently dust the branches.

Every 5-7 years, the bare branches should also be gently wiped off with a damp rag. Use mild shampoo (like baby shampoo) and water, with a soft rag, well wrung out. Do this when there are no lights on the tree. Or if a pre-lit tree, make sure it is unplugged.

When the tree is totally ka-put, it still has value. You can use the branches for making wreaths and garlands. Remove the branches from the hinges and wire to a form, for a wreath, or wire to a length of rope, for a garland. So an old and worn artificial tree doesn't necessarily have to end in the landfill in just a few years. A thrifty person could probably get 30 years out of an artificial tree. 



I also wanted to show you our tree's stand's stand. Yes, that was how I intended to type this. Our tree stand has a stand. But in case you're faced with a similar situation, where your tree is just a tad short for what you want, here's what we did.

When shopping for a tree, we had our choice of one that was just a hair too tall for our ceilings, or one that was a hair too short. Well, short of chopping off the top of the too tall one, it looked like the too short one was our only option. But we still wanted it elevated. That's when my husband got busy in the garage with some plywood and 2 X 4's.



Hubby used a jigsaw to cut a large circle from the plywood. To this circle he attached two 2 X 4's to elevate the platform. When the tree is all set up, the tree skirt completely covers the platform and we get the added height we wanted.


If you are happy with your fresh cut, or even live Christmas tree, no worries. I'm not in the least trying to persuade you to do what we've done. I'm only explaining our choice.

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