Pennies Matter

Quick Post:

One of the takeaways from The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn is pay attention to the pennies, they add up.

Inflation is happening all the time and everywhere.

As an example, these are recent changes in size and price of four rolls of toilet paper:

Date / Price / Number of Sheets:

10/2019 24.53 / 350
5/2019   24.50 / 400


Note: It is a common practice for manufacturers to change the size / volume of products and to keep the price the same or to increase price.

 

Hotplate / Microwave: Dressed Up Can of Portobello Mushroom Soup

You can take this dressed up Can of Cream of Portobello Mushroom soup anywhere.

Thanks to Jack Monroe (https://cookingonabootstrap.com/), I’ve made another great soup.

Sadly, I do not have a blender, so I used a can of Cream of Portobello mushroom soup instead of fresh mushrooms and also made other adjustments.

It turns out that Cream of Portobello mushroom soup is more of a broth whereas a different Cream of mushroom soup is creamy.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised, I had been saving a bit of leftover red wine in the frig for quite awhile. It was fine.


Hotplate/Microwave: Dressed Up Can of Portobello Mushroom Soup
(Adapted from A Girl Called Jack - Red Wine and Mushroom Soup p51)
 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups water
1 Vegetable Bouillon cube
1/2-1 TBspns Onion powder
1/2 TBspn Garlic powder
1 15oz (420g) Can of cream of Portobello mushroom soup
2 oz (50ml) Leftover Red wine
1 Tspn Thyme, dry, crushed
Garnish: Thyme, dry, crushed

Process:

Add bouillon cube to water.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Remove and stir until cube has dissolved.
Pour a small amount of the vegetable stock into a medium pan.
Add garlic and onion powders.
Stir.
With the liquid, the powders will become a paste.
Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Add mushroom soup.
Stir and mix ingredients.
Add the rest of the stock.
Stir.
Add wine.
Stir.
Add thyme, crush between palms over liquid.
Stir.
Bring to a boil.
Stir.
Simmer 3-5 minutes to get soup thoroughly hot.
Add garnish when serving.

#GERD-friendly

Hotplate: TWG Universal Pilaf

As time goes on, popular books are often forgotten. In the 1990s, Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette books were popular and the topic of tightwaddery was discussed about in various media.

While the focus of Amy's books is a change in perspective about saving money, it is also about a lifestyle and a philosophy. In addition, to Amy's ideas and illustrations, she tells stories about becoming and being a tightwad.

I enjoy reading about her adventures in yardsaling, dumpster diving and more, as well as some of the "ethical" conundrums she confronts like the Great Muffin Debate.

While Amy was staying as a hotel for a talk show appearance,  she kept an extra muffin from the buffet because she could not finish eating it. She had published in her newsletter her experiences about traveling while on her book tour. She included a story about the buffet. Later, in a letter, a reader chastises Amy for keeping the breakfast muffin. Amy agreed with the reader. Because in Amy's words:

 "The relationship between ethics and thrift can be summed up in one sentence. It is wrong to save money at the expense of others. Period."

As you read the Tightwad Gazette, you'll find little gems of advice. One of my favorite pieces of advice from Amy is "are you getting your bang for a buck?" meaning before you spend money evaluate whether it is truly worth it.

As I have said elsewhere, Amy saved my life, and I still try to follow her advice as best I can.

Often, in all 4 of Amy's books, she includes ideas from her readers.

This recipe is from two of her readers.

I made a few adjustments.


Hotplate: TWG Universal Pilaf
(Adapted from:  The Tightwad Gazette (The Complete edition)  P824-25)

From Andrea J. Albert and David E. Gurzynski, they note, this can be a meatless side dish or a meal when meat or a protein is added.


Ingredients:

Choose one in each category.

Fat: 2 TBspns: vegetable oil, olive oil, butter, or other oil

Base vegetable, diced: 1 onion, 3 shallots, 1 leek bulb, or 2 TBspns onion powder

Herbs: 2-3 Garlic cloves, diced or 1-2 TBspns garlic powder

Meat or protein: 1/2 to 2/3 Cup cooked chicken, diced; canned chicken, drained; canned tuna, drained; fresh tuna, diced; cooked or canned red beans, drained; white fish, diced;  cooked hamburger crumbled; or other protein

Grain: 1 Cup: Uncooked rice (white or brown), bulgur, couscous, or other grain

Liquid, 2 Cups: chicken bouillon cube and water, vegetable broth, chicken broth, vegetable water, or water

Vegetable(s), 1/2 Cup: frozen, fresh, or canned (rinsed) peas; frozen, fresh, or canned (rinsed) carrots, diced; frozen, fresh, or canned (rinsed) corn kernels; or frozen or canned (rinsed) peas, carrots and corn; frozen or fresh bell peppers, diced; frozen or fresh celery, diced; or other vegetable

Seasonings: S/P, hot sauce or herb of your choice, to taste

Garnish: Parsley, dry, crushed


Process:

In a skillet, add fat.
Add base vegetable.
Saute on medium heat until soft.
If using only onion powder, just mix powder with the fat and heat for a moment.
Add herbs.
Stir.
Add meat (except tuna, add that later).
Use medium heat to brown the meat.
Stir.
Add grain.
Saute for a minute or two.
Stir mixture.
Add liquid.
Stir.
Bring to a boil.
Add tuna if that was the protein choice.
Stir.
Add vegetables.
Stir.
Add seasonings.
Stir.
Return to boil.
Stir.
Reduce heat to simmer.
Add cover.
Check often and stir.
Cook 15-40 minutes, depends on ingredients chosen.
Stir.
Cook until liquid has been absorbed.
Stir.
Serve.
Add garnish.

Can be #GERD-friendly if you use onion, garlic and black pepper sparingly or use onion or garlic powder, and don't use hot sauce.

 

Stovetop/Hotplate: Bean, Potato, and Bacon-flavored Chowder

In this recipe, I have married recipe tactics from two of my favorite authors, Jack Monroe (The Tin Can Cook) and Amy Dacyczyn (The Tightwad Gazette).

Because I live in Mexico, I often do not have access to several ingredients called for in many recipes, so I make substitutions.

Also, in Mexico and in the United Kingdom, they use the metric system. So, I convert the grams, liters and milliliters into ounces etc. But, do not take the ounces literally, generally, just find a can of whatever in the general range of the ounces noted.


Stovetop/Hotplate:  Bean, Potato, and Bacon-flavored Chowder
(Adapted from TWG Bean-Bacon Chowder P160)

(Flour not pictured)

Ingredients:

3 cups Milk (I used 1/2 dry milk mixture and deslactosada milk (Lactose-free milk))
2 TBspns Flour
1 TBspn Imitation bacon bits
1 TBspn Onion powder
1 430g / 15.16 oz Can of potatoes, diced or sliced, rinsed in can
1/2 Tspn Thyme, dry, crushed
1-5 dashes of hot sauce (Optional)
S/P to taste
1 560g / 19.75 oz Can of Charro beans (contains pork bits), drained
Garnish: Parsley, dry, crushed


Process:

Add milk to medium sized pan.
Bring to a simmer.
Add flour slowly.
Stir and mash flour into milk.
Smash any lumps with a spoon or other utensil.
Stir thoroughly to mix flour into the milk.
Add bacon bits.
Add onion powder.
Simmer mixture.
Add potatoes.
Add thyme.
Add S/P to taste.
Stir thoroughly.
Cover and simmer 12-15 minutes to soften potatoes.
Add beans.
Stir mixture.
Simmer until mixture is warm throughout.
After making a serving, garish with a sprinkle of crushed parsley.

Recipe made four bowls of soup.

I am a great believer in freezing additional servings for future meals, I got that idea first from Peg Bracken in her, I Hate to Cook Cookbook.

Freeze individual servings you want to save for later.

Reference:

TWG: The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn

Toaster Oven/Stovetop: Fishy Snacks - Anchovy Savories and Deviled Eggs Stuffed with Sardine Mash

During the last few weeks of recipe frustration, I did make two recipes that came out well but only for people who like sour and salty snacks.

I like anchovies, so I had to try Jack’s recipe Anchovy Savories from Cooking on a Bootstrap (eBook version).

While it looks like a simple recipe, it is, but the whole melting butter mixed with flour thing intimidates me.


Toaster Oven / Hotplate: Anchovy Savories
(From Jack Monroe’s Cooking on a Bootstrap (eBook) )

Makes enough sauce for 2 slices of toast.


Ingredients:

1 tspn Butter
1 tspn Flour
A little Milk
A small lump of hard Cheese, grated
A few drops of hot sauce
2 pieces of multi-grain bread
Parsley (optional)
1 36g (1.25oz) Can of anchovies, drained


Process:

Make toast, first, either in a skillet or in a toaster oven.

In a small skillet, add butter.
On a low heat, melt butter.
Add flour and stir.
Keep stirring as you slowly add a bit of milk.
Keep stirring to avoid lumps.
Add grated cheese.
Keep stirring.
Add a bit more milk, if needed.
Add hot sauce.
Keep stirring, scraping the bottoms and sides of skillet.
Sauce should be slightly thick.
Spread a layer of sauce on toast.
Top with a few anchovies.
Add parsley (optional).
Eat immediately.

To my mind, this is a snack food.

Note: You may have heard about the controversy over the contents of some Parmesan Cheese containers. Some companies were selling cheese flavored sawdust. Well, the same problem exists in the spice industry. I had a jar of Parsley that was more like twigs than parsley leaves. So, that is why I did not use parsley in this recipe




I credit Alex Fergus for the inspiration for the following recipe. You can find him at https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/51-sardine-recipes-for-the-fussiest-of-fish-eaters.


Deviled Eggs Stuffed with Sardine Mash

Pre-preparation:

Make hard-boiled eggs via toaster oven. See recipe on this blog.

Make sardine mash. See recipe on this blog.

Ingredients:

Hard-boiled egg(s)
Sardine mash
1 TBspn Mayo and a little more
1/2 Capful of lime juice
Ground black pepper to taste
1 TBspn of parsley, dry


Process:

Peel egg(s) and cut in half lengthwise.
Carefully remove the yolk(s) and put into sardine mash container.
Add Mayo into container.

Add Lime juice to mixture.
Add ground black pepper.
Stir and mix sardine mash and yolk(s) well.
Stir mixture until it is creamy.
Add more mayo if needed.
Take a Tsp scoop or more of mixture and fill the hollow in the egg halves.
Sprinkle deviled egg(s) with crushed dry parsley.

#GERD-friendly if you do not add Black pepper.

Stovetop: Salmon and Corn Chowder

I have a smile on my face. I made chowder.

For the last few weeks, my attempts at making several recipes from various sources failed.

I battled with making peanut butter ice cream. My first attempt had came out good but when I tried to make it again, it became peanut butter ice or a thick peanut butter cream.

My little white beans, while cooked, lacked flavor.

But, things began to change when I made a wonderful sesame sauce for cucumber slices. Ahhh.


Stovetop: Salmon and Corn Chowder
(Adapted from: Tin Can Cook - Salmon and Corn Chowder p110)

I have made adjustments to Jack's recipe based on ingredients I had available and also in an attempt to make the recipe GERD-friendly.

Also, while I converted the grams into ounces, the amounts are not exact to the quantity you will find in cans in your grocery store.


Ingredients:

1 430g (15.16 oz) Can of potatoes, sliced or cubed, drained, and rinsed in can
 
1 and 1/2 Chicken bouillon cubes

10 oz Water

1 285g (10.5oz) Can corn, drained, and rinsed in can

4 oz Salmon paste see fish paste recipe below

2-3 TBspns Milk (I used powdered milk mix)

S/P to taste

2-3 TBspns thawed frozen spinach (Optional)


Fish Paste
(Adapted from: https://jackiem.com.au/2015/05/19/how-to-make-fish-paste/)


Ingredients:

 1 140g (4.93oz) Can of salmon, drained
3+ TBspns of flour
and a bit of water
S/P to taste


Fish Paste Process:

Basically, in a bowl, add salmon and flour, mix ingredients thoroughly by hand until it is a smooth thick paste. Add water if needed. Store the fish paste in the frig until ready for use. This recipe makes about 8oz of fish paste.


Salmon and Corn Chowder Process:

Add potatoes to medium sauce pan.
Add bouillon cubes to 10 oz of water.
Boil water and cubes in microwave for two minutes.
When ready, stir to blend bouillon with the water.
Add bouillon stock to pan.
Stir.
Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
Add corn.
Add fish paste.
Stir until mixture is smooth.
Simmer until vegetables are soft.
Stir.
Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add milk.
Stir.
After a minute or two, add s/p to taste.
Add spinach (optional)
Simmer for a minute or two until chowder is hot.
Serve.

Note: I did not add spinach.

 

 Great with saltine crackers.

#GERD-friendly

Family Visits and Food

Family Visits and Food

Boy, when they say, food is a big part of vacations, they aren't kidding. On a recent family visit, I cooked, family members cooked and we went out to eat, alot!!!

We had deli sandwiches. Top chef dishes at great restaurants. Great cookout food. Starbucks drinks and more. One of my favorite finds was a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream shop.

When we went grocery shopping, I enjoyed looking at how American and Mexican food choices differed. While Mexican chain groceries continue to offer a wider variety of choices, America seems to offer 10 flavors of just about everything.

One thing is amusing is when trying to adapt a Jack Monroe UK recipe using American or Mexican grocery choices. It is fun to look items like pease pudding or mushy peas and other things not typically found in America or Mexico, then wondering what to use as a substitute if you can't find an item.

 Then, I am amused by products that are new to me.

Gosh, you would think I knew how to cook. I was cooking up a storm. Some of the recipes were a success i.e. liked by others, and some were not.

Both my sister and my nephew have gardens. With my sister and her husband, we were overrun by tomatoes, at my nephew's we had loads of cucumbers.

My sister made BLTs with the fresh tomatoes.

At my nephews', I picked fresh cucumbers. I did not know cucumber had spikes.

My sister, my nephew and I made: pickled cucumbers; six-hand salad and other variations of a cucumber salad.

 

Fresh fruits and vegetables are wonderful!

I introduced my sister and nephew to Peanut Butter Mousse and dragonfruit.

Also, I made "Godzilla" Meatloaf. I used my meatloaf recipe and tried to double it. It came out a bit funny looking but still tasted good.

I also made two crockpot dishes, one with chicken from Mabel Hoffman's Crockery Cookery and Mushroom Sauce Pork Chops from The Big Book of Crock Pot Recipes. My nephew and his family liked them.