Tonight I baked the last butternut squash I had in storage. The few remaining shriveled potatoes have begun to feel the pull of spring, threading explorative tendrils through the mesh of their onion bag. The big upright freezer now mostly houses bread I picked up on "Manager's Special" ($1/loaf) at the discount store. The garden produce is just about finished.
So, driven to the last ditch, I am now faced with the one product I put up that I really don't like - canned green beans. Whether produced commercially or at home, these are invariably flat-tasting, mushy and completely unpalatable. I asked among my friends if any knew of a way to make them at least tolerable and got a few tips, one of which I tried tonight.
Step One
Chop lots of garlic (say, 1/2 a head) and saute in olive oil in your cast iron skillet. Drain and add your canned green beans and cook down until they dry out a bit.
Step Two
Add a couple of pinches of oregano, salt and pepper, and a handful of sliced almonds and continue to stir and cook on low for a couple more minutes.
Step Three
Remove from heat and toss in a little parmesan cheese.
This pungent, aromatic effort to eliminate any evidence of the vile base vegetable worked pretty well. Next time I think I will couple this with a little rice, to add some texture (irony here), and make it a better vehicle for the flavoring.
Tasted OK, but gave me heartburn.
Better luck next time, maybe.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Cookin' Day
Did you ever notice that we seldom want what is on hand and available for our use?
Food is a classic example. This Saturday morning I find myself staring at sack of dried green split peas and think "do I have to go through this again?" The packet of Fleischman's yeast on the refrigerator shelf and bags of flour in the freezer prod my guilt. A lonely wrinkled butternut squash in the pantry cries out, "Peel me before I go bad!" The Mason jar of cubed beets teases, "Forget how I look - red flannel hash will be great."
"But I just don't want you," I wail. "I want to dive into a great curry down at the Indian restaurant. I want a bean burrito with slathers of salsa and sour cream at Parker's, and a pile of chips. PLUS a pint of Bass on tap. I want a spinach quesadilla from Dorothy's with a side of those delectable greens. I would die for an aromatic bowl of potato leek soup made somewhere else by someone else." "Where have all the crackers gone...." Nothing to snack on - no peanut butter, no cheese. The crumbs of a peach cobbler are all that remain.
"Sorry!" echo all the stores in my house, "No easy pickin's here! Get to work or go hungry!"
Ah well - the aroma of bay leaves now fills the house. The squash is steamed and ready to be mashed with sage. The hash is prepped, awaiting the red flannel. I still have time to set a bread sponge and get it baked before bedtime.
On the heels of the last loaf I spread a dollop of homemade jam. Aha! A quick lunch - and I defy you, fates!
Food is a classic example. This Saturday morning I find myself staring at sack of dried green split peas and think "do I have to go through this again?" The packet of Fleischman's yeast on the refrigerator shelf and bags of flour in the freezer prod my guilt. A lonely wrinkled butternut squash in the pantry cries out, "Peel me before I go bad!" The Mason jar of cubed beets teases, "Forget how I look - red flannel hash will be great."
"But I just don't want you," I wail. "I want to dive into a great curry down at the Indian restaurant. I want a bean burrito with slathers of salsa and sour cream at Parker's, and a pile of chips. PLUS a pint of Bass on tap. I want a spinach quesadilla from Dorothy's with a side of those delectable greens. I would die for an aromatic bowl of potato leek soup made somewhere else by someone else." "Where have all the crackers gone...." Nothing to snack on - no peanut butter, no cheese. The crumbs of a peach cobbler are all that remain.
"Sorry!" echo all the stores in my house, "No easy pickin's here! Get to work or go hungry!"
Ah well - the aroma of bay leaves now fills the house. The squash is steamed and ready to be mashed with sage. The hash is prepped, awaiting the red flannel. I still have time to set a bread sponge and get it baked before bedtime.
On the heels of the last loaf I spread a dollop of homemade jam. Aha! A quick lunch - and I defy you, fates!
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
"Musicians don't eat!"
Remember the movie Shakespeare In Love? Though most of the details of the film have evaporated from my memory, one fragment of a scene has stuck with me. It was the dance sequence where Shakespeare encounters his love interest - I think he was crashing the event. Food and wine are flowing liberally among the company, but as a servant brushes by the performers' stand with a tray, he sternly admonishes the lutenists, "Musicians don't eat!"
As my larder dwindles and my food choices begin to become monotonous, I find myself having a very short fuse and blowing up at circumstances that I used to dismiss easily. For example, I made a point of cancelling my 3-month Match.com (definitely a frivolous purchase) subscription on-line early this month to interrupt their auto-renew payment scheduled to kick in last week, but they charged me anyway! Yesterday I had to run a torturous maze of "Press 1 if you have a billing problem, press 2 if you want to discontinue service, have your account number and password ready, enter your credit card number here (repeat) (repeat), all the while listening to a continuous fugue of a sales pitch for all the benefits of the service that will be lost, lost, if you depart. "It may be 7 - 10 days before you see a return in your bank account." It took them less than a breath to bill me against my wishes in the first place!
The Combined Life insurance rep. called me yesterday - I cancelled that accident insurance plan years ago but they're still after me, oblivious to reality.
And today I stood in line for over an hour to convert my Verizon phone to a Straight Talk track plan. My Verizon contract expired over a month ago, I removed my adult son's phone from the plan at that time (would have done so earlier, but there was a penalty). I told the rep. at the time that I would be discontinuing the service for cost reasons - they immediately offered a nominally reduced rate, which I turned down. I coasted on Verizon until this week - when I saw they planned to jack my bill up an additional $20/month. With that bill (and necessary account numbers) in hand, I went to Wal Mart and waited behind an elderly couple for a full 45 minutes while they went through the 40 steps necessary to do the same thing I wanted to do, convert to a $30/month track plan. They kept glancing back at me, offering apologies for the delay, and I smiled and replied, "I am going to drop dead standing in this line before giving up getting this phone today!" And Verizon can whistle for their $92.
It's the anonymity of the whole thing that burns me now. You have to fight not to be charged for things that you can no longer afford. And the companies involved, while going through the motions of offering more affordable options remain oblivious to the fact that there are none! Cut the crap! Your stupid overcharges mean I have to live on lentils, rice, and my pantry garden produce for an additional month.
As my larder dwindles and my food choices begin to become monotonous, I find myself having a very short fuse and blowing up at circumstances that I used to dismiss easily. For example, I made a point of cancelling my 3-month Match.com (definitely a frivolous purchase) subscription on-line early this month to interrupt their auto-renew payment scheduled to kick in last week, but they charged me anyway! Yesterday I had to run a torturous maze of "Press 1 if you have a billing problem, press 2 if you want to discontinue service, have your account number and password ready, enter your credit card number here (repeat) (repeat), all the while listening to a continuous fugue of a sales pitch for all the benefits of the service that will be lost, lost, if you depart. "It may be 7 - 10 days before you see a return in your bank account." It took them less than a breath to bill me against my wishes in the first place!
The Combined Life insurance rep. called me yesterday - I cancelled that accident insurance plan years ago but they're still after me, oblivious to reality.
And today I stood in line for over an hour to convert my Verizon phone to a Straight Talk track plan. My Verizon contract expired over a month ago, I removed my adult son's phone from the plan at that time (would have done so earlier, but there was a penalty). I told the rep. at the time that I would be discontinuing the service for cost reasons - they immediately offered a nominally reduced rate, which I turned down. I coasted on Verizon until this week - when I saw they planned to jack my bill up an additional $20/month. With that bill (and necessary account numbers) in hand, I went to Wal Mart and waited behind an elderly couple for a full 45 minutes while they went through the 40 steps necessary to do the same thing I wanted to do, convert to a $30/month track plan. They kept glancing back at me, offering apologies for the delay, and I smiled and replied, "I am going to drop dead standing in this line before giving up getting this phone today!" And Verizon can whistle for their $92.
It's the anonymity of the whole thing that burns me now. You have to fight not to be charged for things that you can no longer afford. And the companies involved, while going through the motions of offering more affordable options remain oblivious to the fact that there are none! Cut the crap! Your stupid overcharges mean I have to live on lentils, rice, and my pantry garden produce for an additional month.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Poverty Mindset
Is there a poverty mindset? The media proclaim that those born into a low-income lifestyle are largely destined to remain there. The implication then is that not much can be done about it, so don't waste your time trying to promote beneficial programs. Low expectations breed low outcomes. And on and on....
I was born into a pretty strange lifestyle, come to think of it. My parents, four older brothers and myself lived on a farm, raised dairy cows for awhile, and farmed or rented out our land, and went to the local schools until high school. But my mother (circa 1920's) was raised in an urban environment of music lessons, private schools, governess for the children, cook in the kitchen, upstairs maid, downstairs maid and a seamstress who stopped by once a week to help grandmother with the mending. Because my grandfather was a medical doctor and worked for a living, they considered themselves "middle class." Money issues were never discussed in front of children - a hold-over she carried into my generation that left me woefully ignorant of practical financial planning when I reached adulthood.
On the farm we lived frugally within my father's Kodak income (his day job - between milking cows morning and evening). "The big yellow mother" always provided health insurance and it never occurred to us children that our medical and dental needs would not always be met. The only cost outside this umbrella was my braces, for which payment mother gamely returned to work in a local factory for something like $75 a week (mid-1960's).
Though our income was modest, mother raised us upon the "nobless oblige" principles of her own upbringing, seasoned with the enlightened socialism of my working class father. In her later years she worked in the inner city, making life-long friends with people with backgrounds very different from her own. She was equally at home at elegant dinner parties or hobnobbing with the rich and famous. Her example awed us. My father was always somewhat irked by my mother's ease (which he did not share) in moving among people of all walks of life. "You think you're as good as anybody," he once remarked, to her amusement.
I am technically poor but don't have a poverty mindset. I wasn't raised that way. I'm where I want to be, doing what I want to do, with as much as I need, and more to give away. My expectations are high, but not where money is concerned. It's a beautiful life. Thank you, mother.
I was born into a pretty strange lifestyle, come to think of it. My parents, four older brothers and myself lived on a farm, raised dairy cows for awhile, and farmed or rented out our land, and went to the local schools until high school. But my mother (circa 1920's) was raised in an urban environment of music lessons, private schools, governess for the children, cook in the kitchen, upstairs maid, downstairs maid and a seamstress who stopped by once a week to help grandmother with the mending. Because my grandfather was a medical doctor and worked for a living, they considered themselves "middle class." Money issues were never discussed in front of children - a hold-over she carried into my generation that left me woefully ignorant of practical financial planning when I reached adulthood.
On the farm we lived frugally within my father's Kodak income (his day job - between milking cows morning and evening). "The big yellow mother" always provided health insurance and it never occurred to us children that our medical and dental needs would not always be met. The only cost outside this umbrella was my braces, for which payment mother gamely returned to work in a local factory for something like $75 a week (mid-1960's).
Though our income was modest, mother raised us upon the "nobless oblige" principles of her own upbringing, seasoned with the enlightened socialism of my working class father. In her later years she worked in the inner city, making life-long friends with people with backgrounds very different from her own. She was equally at home at elegant dinner parties or hobnobbing with the rich and famous. Her example awed us. My father was always somewhat irked by my mother's ease (which he did not share) in moving among people of all walks of life. "You think you're as good as anybody," he once remarked, to her amusement.
I am technically poor but don't have a poverty mindset. I wasn't raised that way. I'm where I want to be, doing what I want to do, with as much as I need, and more to give away. My expectations are high, but not where money is concerned. It's a beautiful life. Thank you, mother.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Counting the Groats
Counting the Groats
At this time of the winter season I
really start appreciating the richness of last summer's garden bounty.
Since I 'graduated' out of Food Stamps at the end of November, I now
have to pay my household bills plus groceries
with a half-time $10/hr. job, selling books on the Internet, and what
I can pull together out of my musician's bag of tricks.
Since New Year's Day I spent about $30
for groceries, the majority to feed my cats,
the rest being apportioned among very necessary coffee, milk,
eggs, and a tub of hummus. I am doing without cheese, peanut butter,
processed veggie proteins, salad greens, and other quick fixes. The
refrigerator is a yawning void, yet I eat sumptuously from
pantry and freezer.
A supply of dried green split peas,
navy beans, lentils and quinoa are adequate and flavorful proteins in
winter casseroles and soups. My dried cherry tomatoes add just the
right tang to a rice and lentil bean loaf. The freezer is about
1/3 full of green beans, green peppers, mixed veggies for stir fries,
corn, chard, and pesto. 20 lbs. of potatoes and 10 lbs. of onions
remain in the cold corner of the cellar pantry. Home-canned,
well-seasoned tomato sauce (15 quarts on hand) can be heated up right
out of the jar, to go over rice or pasta or be the base of a
minestrone soup. There are about 25 quarts left of canned applesauce
and peaches as well as half a shelf full of strawberry and peach jam.
Right now I have a peach cobbler in the
oven, which took me about 5 minutes to assemble (and 40 minutes to
bake) from a quart of peaches and baking ingredients on hand.
Lack of cash is actually improving my
life by forcing healthier choices. There is no more "grab and
go" eating or easy sweets. Planning and preparation are
necessary and enhance my appreciation. The variety and quality of my
meals are much higher now that I am "reduced" to living
mostly off my stored summer wealth.
Let's wake up and re-educate ourselves
to this reality. It is worth it.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Balancing Act - Affordable Health Care
Because of my recently-acquired half time job, I found my marginally increased income boosted me $50 over the Medicaid limit, and I have been informed that I will be removed from the rolls as of Dec. 1st. They told me that I still qualify for the family planning benefit - really useful as I approach retirement age, my reproductive apparatus removed 15 years ago, and my children grown and gone. My self-employment is variable and has recently dropped drastically (yard work over, no house sitting/cleaning jobs, fewer music gigs, and students feeling the need to their focus time and resources on the holidays). I have explained this situation to my DSS worker and challenged the ruling - results not yet back.
The lowest premium pay-as-you-go health insurance available to me is through my new employer. This is generously subsidized, but has an $1800 annual deductible, and would still cost half my paycheck . Once I lose half my pay, I am squarely back in Medicaid territory, but without the benefit of affordable health care. Not enough to live on and no funds to pay the medical costs up to the deductible limit.
Figure this one out for me, President Obama.
The lowest premium pay-as-you-go health insurance available to me is through my new employer. This is generously subsidized, but has an $1800 annual deductible, and would still cost half my paycheck . Once I lose half my pay, I am squarely back in Medicaid territory, but without the benefit of affordable health care. Not enough to live on and no funds to pay the medical costs up to the deductible limit.
Figure this one out for me, President Obama.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
My Favorite Cheap Eats
Note: If you buy these at your local Mennonite store (doesn't everyone have one of these?) you will get a huge lot of bang for your SNAP buck:
- Mushrooms - fresh mushrooms, primarily white but sometime portobello or shiitake, are available at amazingly cheap prices if you hit your Mennonite store on the right day. I wash, slice, and freeze these in saved bread bags. Then they are available to be sautéed up with your onions and peppers for omelets, vegie (or other) burgers, stroganoff, sandwiches....
- Cashews - raw, unsalted cashews are very versatile. They add character to chili and stir fries, and are great for snacking.
- Sliced almonds - I have found sliced almonds to cost less than the same weight of whole, raw, unsalted almonds. And they save you so much work! Toss them into your green salads, morning cereal, yogurt & fruit (of course, use plain, organic yogurt and your own canned fruit), and homemade banana bread and granola
- Raisins and sweetened dried cranberries - these are my personal favorites in the dried fruit line. You can get the large restaurant bags of bran, cornflakes or a generic version of Grape Nuts (in our Wegmans they call it "Wheat Crunch." Someone in marketing lacked imagination) and dress them up with a combination of dried fruit and nuts and have a much more flavorful and healthy breakfast.
- 5 lb. bag of quality pancake mix - ah...the joy of Sunday mornings with a big stack of homemade pancakes and the real article syrup (see below). I always make more than required for the meal and then use the leftovers for snack roll-ups for later with jam, peanut butter, bananas, etc.
- 5 lb. bag of quality shortcake mix - this is another Mennonite grocery special. Just spread a layer of home-canned fruit and a little sweetener and spice in a baking pan, blend some shortcake mix with water/milk and a little melted butter, spread it over the top and bake and, voila, you have fruit cobbler.
- Bread from your local discount outlet - the really good, whole grain, no high-fructose corn syrup varieties are frequently on "Manager's Special" for $1.00/loaf. If you say you want their discard lots for chicken feed, you can get it for even less. Just tell them you won't eat it yourself. Save the bags for food storage. After you re-use and wash them a couple of times, recycle.
- Fresh ginger root - grate this generously into your stir fry. The aroma and taste are heavenly.
- Red curry paste - when you want a real kick to your vegetable dish - a teaspoonful goes a long way.
- Club pack tilapia or other low-priced fish - wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap and freeze (in a used bread bag). Eating fish every third day, I stretch $15 worth of fish for two weeks, and even shared with company!
- 1/2 gallon of genuine maple syrup - dole it out sparingly and you'll feel rich.
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