I have started collecting prices on my list of kitchen essentials and have realized that it's a lot more effective to buy a set of pots and pans than individual pieces. I have only priced the list at one store so far, but hope to keep adding another one every day or two. The Black Friday madness and the rest of the weekend were not a good time to try to locate all the items within a store.
A few people have sent me some interesting links that I may share. Some were more keywords than useful information, though.
This government web page lists several other lists:
http://snap.nal.usda.gov/resource-library/eat-right-when-moneys-tight
These are a few from there:
A few tips here on shopping, but nothing specific. A lot of info on how to sign up for benefits.
http://snap.nal.usda.gov/snap/EatRightWhenMoneysTight.pdf
This is a good basis for what I plan to write about next - what to keep on hand!
http://food.unl.edu/web/fnh/basic-list
Remember to save any plastic containers with lids, such as the ones that lunch meat comes in! These will allow you to freeze portions and store leftovers, as well as to store foods in a bug-proof fashion!
More later - thanks for following me!
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Turkey Week - Check the sale ads for super bargains!
It's a really busy week here on too many levels.
I'd like to point out that this week is full of BIG bargains at the stores, though! Turkey for 59 cents a pound. You can't beat that for a deal on protein!!! I hope to be able to discuss what to do with the leftovers! Turkey sammies of course, but then casseroles or stews or tetrazinni. I boiled last year's carcass after we'd picked all the meat off and I put up 4 quarts of stock from that. I will be using some of that stock that I froze to start this year's feast.
.59/lb is way way less that we have been paying for chicken - about 1/3 the price! If you waited until the last minute to shop, instead of a 12 lb bird you may be looking at a much much larger bird.
Don't need 20 lbs? I bet your neighbor does not need one that big either. Join forces for dinner - neighbors don't have all that baggage that relatives do! And then you can split the leftovers.
A few other super deals I saw this week:
Publix house brand butter BOGO at $2.99 and you only have to buy ONE!
Sugar 1.99 for 5 lbs.
I need to double check, but look at the offers from the stores. Kroger has changed their entire strategy for pricing and they have stopped doubling coupons!!!
Eat well, chill the leftovers promptly, invite your friends to bring sides and share the wealth!
I plan to come back with a list of "staples" that everyone needs to keep on hand at all times in order to cook well at home. Granted, buying all of these at once is going to totally whack your budget, but I am going to assume for purposes of the SNAP challenge that I am gearing up for that you did not arrive at a point in time with a rented room and no staples. I know that this happens to some people now and then - out on the street with no household goods and no staples! Perhaps this will help some of the agencies that help people get re-established have a resource for a "gift box" and perhaps I can encourage you to ask your church or other agency that you support to also set up "staple boxes" as a starter kit.
I do realize that recent immigrants need their own usual tastes and produce, and I am not attempting to provide advice on these, but rather the "Southern US" typical foods that I have grown up with as a perhaps 8th or 10th even generation American.
Hey, in S. GA we eat RICE and NOT potatoes for Thanksgiving!!! It's because we grew rice here and not potatoes. We also had Tea plantations....
I'd like to point out that this week is full of BIG bargains at the stores, though! Turkey for 59 cents a pound. You can't beat that for a deal on protein!!! I hope to be able to discuss what to do with the leftovers! Turkey sammies of course, but then casseroles or stews or tetrazinni. I boiled last year's carcass after we'd picked all the meat off and I put up 4 quarts of stock from that. I will be using some of that stock that I froze to start this year's feast.
.59/lb is way way less that we have been paying for chicken - about 1/3 the price! If you waited until the last minute to shop, instead of a 12 lb bird you may be looking at a much much larger bird.
Don't need 20 lbs? I bet your neighbor does not need one that big either. Join forces for dinner - neighbors don't have all that baggage that relatives do! And then you can split the leftovers.
A few other super deals I saw this week:
Publix house brand butter BOGO at $2.99 and you only have to buy ONE!
Sugar 1.99 for 5 lbs.
I need to double check, but look at the offers from the stores. Kroger has changed their entire strategy for pricing and they have stopped doubling coupons!!!
Eat well, chill the leftovers promptly, invite your friends to bring sides and share the wealth!
I plan to come back with a list of "staples" that everyone needs to keep on hand at all times in order to cook well at home. Granted, buying all of these at once is going to totally whack your budget, but I am going to assume for purposes of the SNAP challenge that I am gearing up for that you did not arrive at a point in time with a rented room and no staples. I know that this happens to some people now and then - out on the street with no household goods and no staples! Perhaps this will help some of the agencies that help people get re-established have a resource for a "gift box" and perhaps I can encourage you to ask your church or other agency that you support to also set up "staple boxes" as a starter kit.
I do realize that recent immigrants need their own usual tastes and produce, and I am not attempting to provide advice on these, but rather the "Southern US" typical foods that I have grown up with as a perhaps 8th or 10th even generation American.
Hey, in S. GA we eat RICE and NOT potatoes for Thanksgiving!!! It's because we grew rice here and not potatoes. We also had Tea plantations....
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Basic Kitchen Equipment
These are the items you must have in your kitchen at a bare minimum in order to cook. I have no substitutes for these. Many other things can be improvised, such as using folded dry towels as a trivet for a hot pot, but actual pot holders are safer than dishtowels for the average cook! You can use a coffee cup as a ladle, and a dinner fork works to whisk and to cut butter into flour. If you don’t have lids, you can make some out of aluminum foil that will work just fine. While a set of dry measuring cups is nice to have, I have been able to use the glass ones just as well.
Appliances - You
need a surface burner, an oven, and a refrigerator with a freezer. A typical
American kitchen has a cook top with one or two large burners and two or three
smaller ones, and an oven with a broiler. It is possible to “get by” with a single burner such
as a hotplate and a toaster oven but that will require a good bit more juggling
of pots and pans. If you are not living on an iceberg, you need a refrigerator to
keep food cold at a safe temperature. While not absolutely necessary, a freezer
compartment will allow you to stock up on meat when it is on sale, and to store
extra meal portions for another time. The freezer must keep things frozen solid - 0 degrees F -
and the refrigerator must maintain a temperature below 40 degrees F and above 34
degrees F so that food stays very cold but does not start to develop ice
crystals.
TIP – make sure that nothing in the freezer
blocks the flow of air into the refrigerator, as this could keep the
refrigerated section from getting as cold as it should be.
Essential Kitchen
Tools - I have consulted several cookbooks written over the past 100 years,
and I found that I can cook without most of the “essentials” that these authors
insist are necessary. Here is a list of the items that I found myself
purchasing immediately for my first apartment.
3” paring knife
8” slicing knife with a flat edge that can also be used
to cut vegetables
Serrated bread knife
Large spoon for stirring – long enough to stick out of
the Dutch oven or stockpot
Large slotted spoon for straining
Metal spatula
Flexible scraper or "spoonula"
Measuring spoon set (1/8 teaspoon through 1 tablespoon)
2 2-cup measuring cups for liquids, glass or plastic
Wire mesh colander or strainer, about 10”
10” frying pan
2 sauce pans, 1 quart and 2 quarts, with lids
Dutch oven or stock pot that holds at least 5 quarts –
with lid
Jelly roll pan, which is a cookie sheet with sides
Oven safe 8” square pan
Oven safe casserole dish 13” x 9”
At least one extra dinner fork
Large (gallon or larger) mixing bowl
Small (quart) mixing bowl
Tongs
2 potholders
Potato masher
Washable cutting board
Can opener - manual
"Church key" - bottle opener, punch type on one end with beer bottle cap remover on the other
Whisk or eggbeater
Monday, November 18, 2013
SNAP to it! Why the blog?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan, or SNAP, has replaced the traditional "food stamps" and I think much of the WIC vouchers as well. Way back in the Dark Ages, when I was a starving Hippie, one received Government Surplus Foods that were not necessarily anything that you wanted, but you sure could trade a gallon can of butter for a lot of other things!
I will have to go back and research all the correct terms and allocations of these earlier programs and report back as to how things have changed. If at any time you feel that I have misstated facts, please point me in the direction of the correct information, as I am doing this - at least initially - without personal experience or official documentation.
The SNAP allocations have recently been cut, causing a great outcry about the unfairness of the cuts, and how they will leave millions hungry. I looked at some of the figures, and I have had friends who have received SNAP and shared their experiences. I have decided to explore what can be done with the SNAP allocations in order to receive the most nutrition for the funds available.
As I prepare to write about this, I will be making many lists. I will start with a list of kitchen tools that are the most basic and necessary, and I will try to find prices for them, both new at mass merchandisers, and used, at thrift stores. I then plan to make a list of staple items that all kitchens should have, including flour, sugar, butter, seasonings, oils, and other items that are used to prepare foods.
From the basic kitchen pantry and tools, I will plan menus and shopping lists for a single person, two persons, and more. I need to research the typical dollar amounts that are available, and I realize they differ from area to area. I would appreciate any pointers about where to find this information.
My goal is to help educate people about how to shop wisely and cook effectively. I did not spend much of my life in poverty, but there were a few years that I ate so many PB&J sandwiches that I will not eat another! Along the way, I learned to branch out and cook "real food" with a few very basic pots & pans.
My mother was born in a small town in GA and grew up during the Great Depression. I spent a lot of time with her mother, my Grandma, as I was growing up, and I learned to cook by standing next to her. I captured her recipes when I was in my 20's by standing between her and the bowl as she added a "pinch" and a "dab" and a "piece of butter the size of an egg". Grandma did not believe in throwing anything out - "someone might need that" or "that will make a nice lunch" - and she raised 7 kids. She cooked from "scratch", every day, three meals a day, and there was never a garden at her house that I knew about. She sewed as well as cooked, but that's another blog!
I am not making any statements here about who should and should not receive assistance. It is a blessing for many who are down on their luck. I realize there are always those who will try for "money for nothing" and take advantage of any situation, but my goal is to assist those who are in need to make best use of their resources. Any comments that start criticizing the plan's recipients will be deleted. Even people with nice cars and iPhones lose their jobs and are stuck with a 2-year plan or a 7-year payment schedule and need the phone and the car to look for work! Sometimes you can't sell your car because you are "under water", and you can't get out of that phone plan that looked like such a deal last year when you were working. :(
I will try to credit any resources that I use but will not be citing them in a bibliography or research paper footnote format. If I skip credits now and then, I'm sorry! Please let me know and I will back up and give credit where credit is due. It takes a village to keep a village going.
And a final note - I do not affiliate with any political parties. I am an Independent, with views that resemble Republican on some issues, Democrat on others, Green and Tea as well. I refuse to support anyone who follows the "party lines" without considering their (gerrymandered) constituents. Sarcasm also will not be welcome here, as I am trying to make this a serious blog.
Thanks for reading, and please email me if you have some ideas or resources to share!
I will have to go back and research all the correct terms and allocations of these earlier programs and report back as to how things have changed. If at any time you feel that I have misstated facts, please point me in the direction of the correct information, as I am doing this - at least initially - without personal experience or official documentation.
The SNAP allocations have recently been cut, causing a great outcry about the unfairness of the cuts, and how they will leave millions hungry. I looked at some of the figures, and I have had friends who have received SNAP and shared their experiences. I have decided to explore what can be done with the SNAP allocations in order to receive the most nutrition for the funds available.
As I prepare to write about this, I will be making many lists. I will start with a list of kitchen tools that are the most basic and necessary, and I will try to find prices for them, both new at mass merchandisers, and used, at thrift stores. I then plan to make a list of staple items that all kitchens should have, including flour, sugar, butter, seasonings, oils, and other items that are used to prepare foods.
From the basic kitchen pantry and tools, I will plan menus and shopping lists for a single person, two persons, and more. I need to research the typical dollar amounts that are available, and I realize they differ from area to area. I would appreciate any pointers about where to find this information.
My goal is to help educate people about how to shop wisely and cook effectively. I did not spend much of my life in poverty, but there were a few years that I ate so many PB&J sandwiches that I will not eat another! Along the way, I learned to branch out and cook "real food" with a few very basic pots & pans.
My mother was born in a small town in GA and grew up during the Great Depression. I spent a lot of time with her mother, my Grandma, as I was growing up, and I learned to cook by standing next to her. I captured her recipes when I was in my 20's by standing between her and the bowl as she added a "pinch" and a "dab" and a "piece of butter the size of an egg". Grandma did not believe in throwing anything out - "someone might need that" or "that will make a nice lunch" - and she raised 7 kids. She cooked from "scratch", every day, three meals a day, and there was never a garden at her house that I knew about. She sewed as well as cooked, but that's another blog!
I am not making any statements here about who should and should not receive assistance. It is a blessing for many who are down on their luck. I realize there are always those who will try for "money for nothing" and take advantage of any situation, but my goal is to assist those who are in need to make best use of their resources. Any comments that start criticizing the plan's recipients will be deleted. Even people with nice cars and iPhones lose their jobs and are stuck with a 2-year plan or a 7-year payment schedule and need the phone and the car to look for work! Sometimes you can't sell your car because you are "under water", and you can't get out of that phone plan that looked like such a deal last year when you were working. :(
I will try to credit any resources that I use but will not be citing them in a bibliography or research paper footnote format. If I skip credits now and then, I'm sorry! Please let me know and I will back up and give credit where credit is due. It takes a village to keep a village going.
And a final note - I do not affiliate with any political parties. I am an Independent, with views that resemble Republican on some issues, Democrat on others, Green and Tea as well. I refuse to support anyone who follows the "party lines" without considering their (gerrymandered) constituents. Sarcasm also will not be welcome here, as I am trying to make this a serious blog.
Thanks for reading, and please email me if you have some ideas or resources to share!
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