It's growing and not too full of weeds. Rabbits got all the beets, but I've already had a few baby peppers to eat. Close ups are of the Mimosa tree, mullen plant, red cabbage and cantaloupe blossoms.
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June 2009
June 24, 2009
New Toy!
My light tent came in the mail today. It is a pop up tent that is 5 feet square and diffuses light. It came with 2 photography lights and 4 backdrop choices. I'm really impressed with how sturdy it is and how well constructed. I played with it today photographing the kids. It has a lot of potential. The first picture is Heidi and Heather age 9 and 5. Then Dub age 3. And Heather and Dub. Light tents help bounce light to take shadowless pictures. (Mine still have a few shadows--user error). Light tents are perfect for product pictures for ebay or etsy. You can make your own table top size tent using trash around the house by following the instructions here: http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent
June 23, 2009
Homemade Wheat Thins
I love Wheat Thin crackers. I've tried lots of recipes on the web, but never found one quite like the store bought kind. Last night, in the wee moments before falling asleep, I realized the box has the recipe practically on it! I took the ingredients off the box, which are in order of amount, and then typed them into the nutrition calculator at www.sparkrecipe.com. By multiplying the nutrition amount by 10, I was able to build a recipe for serving 10 people. I made a few changes in the recipe, substituting sugar for high fructose corn syrup and malt syrup. I also decreased the amount of all purpose flour and increased the amount of whole wheat flour. I left out the corn starch and increased the amount of wheat germ, using raw wheat germ for the defatted germ on the label. We baked them today and they tasted very close to the original, only healthier. Next time I'll roll the dough thinner and they'll be perfect!
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 plus 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon soy lecithin (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
Combine the first & ingredients (saving 1/4 teaspoon of salt). In a separate bowl, combine the oil and water. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the oil mixture. Lightly mix until a dough forms. Divide into 2 balls, wrap each ball in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
Roll one ball 1/8" thick. Cut with cracker cutters or a knife. Poke holes with a toothpick or kabob skewer. Sprinkle with the reserved salt. Bake on a silicone baking sheet (or greased cookie sheet) at 375 for 12 minutes. Cool completely. Bake again at 375 for 7 minutes or until crackers are crisp.
June 19, 2009
Pink Rolls
Sometimes it's hard for me to throw stuff away. We had beets for dinner and the leftover cooking liquid was beautiful. I just couldn't throw it away. So I used it for the liquid in a roll recipe. The rolls were beautiful and just as tasty as they were pretty.
With frosting the next morning, they made a lovely breakfast.
June 18, 2009
Frugal Father's Day Ideas
June 21st is Father's Day! Men can be difficult to buy for frugally. Their favorite toys are electronic and powerful in nature, which usually translates to expensive. On the other hand, most men value one thing over all else, and it is free to give -- Respect! To compile this list for you, I asked a variety of father's what would make them feel really honored and valued. Not one of them mentioned a tie, lol! Here's what they did mention:
- Boys Night Out--set the date, invite his friends, center it around viewing sports (or whatever his interest is), make fabulous snacks, and then leave the house to the guys.
- If you are handy sew a laptop case in manly fabrics with this great free tutorial: http://tipnut.com/laptop-sleeves-cases/ (Okay... the boys didn't mention this, but my DH could really use one.)
- Make him a bucket of homemade cookie dough in his favorite flavor to cook at his leisure. Or if he'd prefer, make him a plate of his favorite cookies.
- Massages were mentioned several times as a welcomed gesture. A foot massage or back massage is quite a treat for a hardworking man. Use peppermint lotion to help his muscles relax (a great choice is here: http://www.marykay.com/angelacoffman/spabody/bodycare/10014096/10014096/default.aspx ) or olive oil with essential oils (sandalwood, lavander, orange, or peppermint are nice manly choices)
- Breakfast in bed: To be honest, I rarely cook a hot breakfast in time for my husband to eat it before he has to go to work. It is one of the things about my homemaking skills that bothers me a lot. But once a year, I think I could get it done--wink. Here are a couple of fabulous recipes tp make your early morning surprise easy. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Toast-Casserole/Detail.aspx ,
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amish-Breakfast-Casserole/Detail.aspx
- Make a Homemade Card with your own version of the top ten list: Top 10 reasons why you are a great dad
- Take snacks to his work for all the staff with a sign to honor the BEST DAD!
- Make a huge honey-do list and give it to him the night before to be accomplished the following day. Then arrange for his friends to kidnap him early in the morning for a fishing trip (or any other activity that he would really enjoy). Pack a picnic lunch for the group and tuck in a note telling him why you honor him and encourage him to enjoy his day.
- Give dad permission to avoid household tasks guilt free for one day!
- Take him "Window" shopping at a sporting goods store. Don't complain that he is taking too long or make him look at girly stuff. If you have children, make arrangements to leave them with a family member so you can put all your attention on him.
- Men value an audience. Just having a woman near that they care about gives them a boost of energy. Unfortunately most women get frustrated when their man asks them to "help" with some task and they end up just standing there. For one day, be willing to hang out with him, not requiring conversation or activity, but just be there.
- Fathers like having photos of their family to brag about. Make him a tasteful display of snap shots for his office.
- Does your father live far away? If you can't visit this year, borrow a camcorder and make a DVD of your family giving greetings, kids singing or playing instruments, maybe even a family skit to send him.
- Does your husband like golf? Use some plastic cups and household items to turn your backyard into a temporary mini-putting range. Here are some websites with ideas to help you: http://www.wikihow.com/Build-Your-Own-Putt-Putt-Course-in-Your-Backyard , http://boyslife.org/hobbies-projects/projects/718/fore/ , http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/make-your-own-mini-golf!-craft/ , http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=homemade+mini+golf+course&aq=1&oq=homemade+mini+go
- If your father is too far to visit, use Skype's free services to talk via the internet. If he is not technically savvy, arrange for a neighbor to help him set it up.
- Plan a family game night. Give him permission to unwind and then invite him to join the family for snacks and some fun board games.
- Clean his room! It seems that I can get the rest of my house clean, but my own bedroom takes the leftovers. I know it bother's my husband though he rarely complains. What a grand surprise it would be to have a beautiful clean and romantic bedroom with fresh sheets, rose petals from the garden sprinkled about, a hot bath, chocolate, and an attractively dressed spouse. Happy Father's Day!
Frugal Wedding Gifts
This is an excerpt from my weekly newsletter with a few extra ideas. If you are popping over from the newsletter for more ideas, skip down to #4 and start reading there.
Wedding season comes right after graduation season and in the midst of Mother’s Day and Father’s day. If you also have family birthdays on your calendar, this time of year can feel a bit like a hot Christmas. With a little creativity and planning, you can still show your love and give help to the bride and groom without breaking your bank.
Give Away! No More Bricks Breadbaking Book
Up for Giving Away this week is Lori Viet's Book, No More Bricks. Lori is a talented baker and mom who is dedicated to feeding her family wholesome food. In No More Bricks she teaches you how to make 100% whole grain bread that is light and fluffy and holds together beautifully for sandwiches. Here's the description from her website: www.breadclass.com
"Part One contains all the how-to's and why-to's of whole grains and breadmaking - from milling your own flour (or not) to the best way to slice your bread. It even includes a Quick Start Guide so you can start making bread right away, before you read the book. Part Two contains detailed instructions of how to make bread with ANY type of mixer or machine, or by hand. Each recipe is scaled in four different batch sizes (1,2,3, or 6 loaves), so you can fit the capacity of your machine, without the guess work! Once you've mastered the basics, you can follow my suggestions for creating your own unique bread recipes on the reproducible blank recipe chart. 148 pages with 75 photos."
This book is a must read for anyone who would like to include more whole foods in their diet. To enter for your free copy, simply add a comment below. In your comment tell me your favorite kind of bread or one childhood memory with bread. If you are unable to add your comment, let me know at angela@groceryshrink.com and I'll enter you. The winner will be selected June 25th.
June 16, 2009
Chock full of Veggies Bread
I'm still thinking of ways to use up zucchini. I made up this bread recipe today and it was delicious!
1/4 C warm water
2 T butter, melted
1/4 C honey
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1 t dried chives
1 t dried parsley
1 t salt
3 C whole wheat flour
1 T yeast
Place all ingredients in the bread machine on dough cycle. It will make a very soft dough. Then stir down dough and pour into a greased bread pan. Let rise about 30 minutes and bake at 325 for 4o minutes.
June 15, 2009
Chocolate (zucchini) Pancakes
A lady at our church has been out of work for quite awhile. She frequents the food pantries in town at the last minute, when they are getting ready to throw everything away, and takes it all home. Most of the food is at or past its sell date and is donated by grocery stores. There is some life left in it, if you don't mind cutting out some spots or freezing it and cooking it quickly.
Last Friday, she brought an entire car full of zucchini to church, and I was thrilled! She offered 2 big bags to me and I took it. Unfortunately I'm the only one in the family who gets super excited about the tasty green vegetable and I need to use it up fast! My solution is to hide it in everything. Yesterday for lunch we had crockpot zucchini casserole. And today for breakfast we had Chocolate Zucchini pancakes. Though if the kids ask, they are chocolate pancakes. They were delicious. Here's my recipe:
1 C shredded zucchini
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 cup flour (whole wheat pastry or all purpose)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 1/4 C yogurt and 1/4 cup milk)
Mix up and cook like pancakes. We had them with regular maple syrup, but I think they would have been great with real honey sweetened whipped cream.
June 13, 2009
Basic Drop Cookie Recipe
I rarely cook with recipes, but I always have a proportion or formula in my mind. Doing this allows me to make pancakes, gravy, yeast bread, cookies or quick bread wherever I might be visiting, no matter how many people there are to cook for. It's so fun to put the lady of the house to bed for a nap and tinker in the kitchen with my recipes in my brain! By having certain porportions in mind, you can switch ingredients around in any recipe to suit your health or taste preferences and still have a delicious end result. This also helps if you are cooking with what you have on hand and need to substitute ingredients. I'll be posting formulas for other foods too, but today I'm going to tell you all about the best drop cookies! Here's the basic recipe:
Basic Drop Cookies
1 C solid fat (butter, shortening, lard, coconut oil, or peanut butter--or any combination of them)
2 C granulated sweetner (sucanut, turbinado sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, equivalent of stevia, or splenda--or any combination of them) Note: Stevia is best used with real sugar. Substituting all of the sugar for stevia will mess up the chemistry of your recipe and give it a bitter aftertaste. One teaspoon of granulated pure (undiluted) stevia extract is equal to about 1 cup of sugar.
1 t salt
1 t baking soda (if using acid ingredients such as brown sugar or citrus, 4 t baking powder if not)
1 t flavoring (vanilla extract, almond extract, peppermint extract, orange extract or 2 T orange zest, dried lavendar etc.)
2 eggs (or 1 egg and 1/4 C orange juice or other fruit juice, sour cream or yogurt, or substitue 1 T soy flour and 1/4 C water for one egg.)
3 C flour (white, whole wheat, brown rice, corn, etc.A half a cup of this could be cocoa powder)
2 Cups chunky grain based mix-ins: (if adding chunky grain mix ins--leave out 1 C of flour) Rolled oats, crisp rice cereal, cereal dregs, wheat germ, bran, etc. or any combination of them
2 Cups non absorbant mix-ins: chips;(white chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, lemon chips etc); nuts (peanuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pistaccios, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans); crushed candy such as peppemint or butterscotch, raisins, craisins, currents, or other dried fruit. If your mix-in is super sweet like candy or chips you can leave out up to 1/2 cup of the sugar.
Directions: Cream fat and sugars. Mix in eggs and flavoring. Stir in salt and levening, flour and mix-ins. Place by spoonful onto greased cookies sheets and bake at 350 for 11 minutes.
The applications of this recipe are limitless. Here are some options
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Use 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/2 cup butter, rolled oats and milk chocolate chips!
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White chips and craisins with almond extract
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Orange zest, orange juice and dark chocolate chips
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Butterscotch chips and rolled oats
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1/2 c cocoa powder and peanut butter chips
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Crushed peppermints and chocolate chips
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Almonds and crushed Heath bar
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White chips and macadamia nuts
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coconut oil, lime zest, dried papaya and pineapple bits, and macadamia nuts