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.

My Favorite Cheap Eats

One gets tired of beans and greens after awhile.  There are actually a lot of tastier ways to stretch a $30/week Food Stamp budget, and I'd like to share some of my favorites.  This is just a sampling of ideas.

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.

More anon.

Gold vs. Gums

My daughter's best friend in high school, a talented performer and gifted singer, was denied a solo and a chance in the spotlight by the choral director because of her bad teeth. Her older sister, the courageous bread-winner for the family, could secure nothing better than substitute teaching work because of the gaps in the front of her mouth. The face of poverty was not to be seen.

A friend of mine volunteers once a week at the local community lunch program and afterward will drop off a bag of bread at my house – bread that those served that day did not want. Ironically, this is invariably a loaf of Normal Bread, donated to the program by the best artisanal bakery in town – delectable, organic whole grain, seedy, nutty, flavorful (and retailing at $4+ per loaf). I can't afford to buy it, yet every week I get it for free! “I don't know why this is always left over,” my friend commented. “They probably can't chew it.” I replied.

So many issues under this deceptively simple heading. The whys and hows of circumstance that keep people down and out, regardless of talent, grit, and determination; people trained by our culture to expect little and get less. Individuals born into a life whose only success is working the system to glean a few scraps from the public assistance table. “I went to the Medicaid dentist once,” the sister above told me, “but there were roaches in the waiting room. After they pulled my teeth, I didn't go back.”