simple-times

	This is message #3 of a set of 4
Date:	Mon, 14 Sep 1998 22:55:02 EDT
Author:	DSimple@aol.com
Subject:	Simple Times ~ Vol. 1, No. 8
Body:	From: DSimple@aol.com Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 22:53:53 EDT ************************************************* ************************************************* Simple Times A Free E-Mail Newsletter for Simple, Frugal Living Circulation: 5,058+ Vol. 1, No. 8 - September 15th, 1998 This twice-a-month newsletter is distributed in conjunction with: A Simple, Frugal Life http://members.aol.com/DSimple/index.html and Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month http://members.aol.com/dsimple/advance.html ****************************************** Copyright (C) 1998 Deborah Taylor-Hough. All rights reserved. email: DSimple@aol.com ************************************************* ************************************************* Information on subscribing to this free newsletter or canceling your subscription is provided at the end of this document. [Feel free to forward the Simple Times Email Newsletter in its entirety to others who might be interested in subscribing. Please don't cut-and-paste individual articles and/or recipes and send via email, post to web-pages or newsgroups, or send to email lists without prior permission from the copyright holder. Thank you.] **************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE: ~ "Dear Readers" ~ Frozen Assets ~ "Help! My Freezer's Too Small!" ~ Simplifying ideas from the liveaboard boating lifestyle ~ The Lazy Chef does pancakes ~ Creativity vs. Cash at the holidays ~ Further "Pets on a Budget" ideas **************************************************** Dear, Readers.... Hopefully we've gotten the bugs worked out with the Simple Times formatting. The last issue arrived in many email boxes with the formatting garbled and in some cases nearly unreadable. If your September 1st issue was garbled, feel free to drop me a note at <DSimple@aol.com> and I'll send you out a fresh copy. Sorry about the inconvenience. In this issue we're introducing two new semi-regular features to Simple Times. Ruth Payne Palmer will be joining us throughout the next few months with her ideas for Creativity vs. Cash at the holidays. Hopefully we can all get those creative juices flowing early enough so that the holidays this year won't derail our best laid frugal plans. Welcome, Ruthie! And Gloriamarie Amalfitano (also known as "The Lazy Chef") will be submitting occasional articles on simplified and easy tricks in the kitchen. In this issue the Lazy Chef shares a simple idea for preparing pancakes without all that "pourin' and a-flippin' and a-flippin' and a-pourin'." She also includes a healthy and inexpensive recipe for pancakes---but you can use the Lazy Chef technique with any favorite pancake recipe of your own. Simply and Frugally Yours, Debi (Deborah Taylor-Hough) Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter **************************************************** FROZEN ASSETS "Help! My Freezer's Too Small!" Copyright 1998 Deborah Taylor-Hough One of the most common concerns I hear about preparing meals for the freezer is this: "I only have the small freezer above my refrigerator---how can I still do a full month of cooking ahead?" For someone with only a fridge-top freezer, I usually recommend starting with twice-a-month cooking, or just doubling and tripling recipes as you go about your regular cooking during the week. As you get used to the method and learn ways to efficiently pack your freezer, you may eventually be able to store the entire month's worth of entrees in your fridge-top freezer. When I first began cooking ahead, we only had a small refrigerator freezer. It was at least a year before I finally had a second larger freezer to store my Frozen Assets---so it can be done. It just takes careful planning. Before you do a big day of freezer meal cooking, clear out all the various non- essentials from your freezer. Wait until the freezer empties later in the month before stocking up on frozen bread, ice cream, etc. To save freezer space, use heavy-duty freezer bags for storing most of your frozen meals rather than baking dishes or disposable foil pans. When using freezer bags, remove all excess air (suck the air out with a straw, or press the air gently out of the bag from the top of the food toward the opening of the bag); freeze the bags flat; and then pack them in the freezer carefully. To prevent a possible landslide of stacked freezer meals, store your frozen bags of food standing on edge---much as you'd stack old-fashioned record albums (I'm dating myself a bit, aren't I?). Another way to conserve freezer space is by preparing meals of sauces to pour over pasta or rice. Prepare the pasta or rice on serving day so it doesn't take up precious space in your freezer. If you're in the market for a separate freezer but can't afford to buy a new one, don't despair. Ask friends, relatives and neighbors to keep an eye out for people moving out of state or updating their kitchens. I've known many people who have found perfectly good freezers for free just by making a few phone calls. Check your local newspaper's classified ads under Appliances, and also look through Garage Sale listings for any that are selling appliances. Also, keep a look out at yard sales, tag sales, appliance repair stores and auctions of dented whitegoods. ------- Deborah Taylor-Hough is the author of "Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month." Frozen Assets will be available through local bookstores in December 1998, but can be ordered now directly from the publisher by sending $14.95 + shipping (shipping charge in the US is $2.95 for the first book and $1 for each additional book---call or write to Champion Press for standard shipping charges to addresses outside the US). Autographed copies available on request. Champion Press, Ltd., Northwest Office 3211 NE 116th St Vancouver, WA 98686 Or phone in your order to (310) 281-2228 http://www.championpress.com ------- "Frozen Assets" belongs in every family's kitchen! One of the best time and money-savers a busy family can have." ~ Gary Foreman, Editor, The Dollar Stretcher **************************************************** SIMPLY AFLOAT ~ PRACTICAL TIPS Copyright 1998 Marilyn Michael My liveaboard neighbors and I are called the "pointy-enders" by those who dwell in square floating homes down the way on Lake Union in Seattle. By choosing to move onto a boat I had to shrink my life into 42 by 14 feet, join a social category with a funny moniker, and was required to name my dwelling! The daily concerns and joys of living on a boat are often different than in landlocked dwellings. My style of life has been shaped by certain interesting realities---movement, moisture, and limited space. When everyone was asking if we’d felt Seattle’s earthquake sometime back we laughed. We would only notice if our dwelling stopped moving! At the dock we really don’t move a lot, just constantly. Bungee cord secures a lot of things in my tipsy world. At boat stores you can buy the wonderful stretchy cord in whatever thickness and length you need. Storing stemmed glasses is impossible. My neighbor has a narrow shelf under which she affixed some small copper hooks in a line about a foot apart. She then stretched a double length of quarter inch bungee cord tight through the hooks. Stemmed glasses hang there securely, even in bad weather. She used space creatively, and the cord has lasted forever. Having so much of the stretchy stuff around caused me to invent Bungee Bubbles---mix 9 cups of water with 1 cup of Joy dishwashing liquid. Take a yard of half-inch bungee cord; hold in a big loop; dip into the mixture; lift it out and swing lightly. The secret of great bubbles is high humidity and keeping foam off the surface of the mixture. They look like huge crystal balls floating over the water in the bay next to our boat. Now, about that moisture, one of my neighbors said they knew they were a committed liveaboard when one day they decided that cultivating several strains of mold could actually be considered gardening! No matter how hard we try, chips and crackers quickly lose their crispness. A solution---spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet, place in the oven for ten minutes at 350 F, and let them cool. For a long time we avoided the mildew-fueling moisture assault of cooking rice and beans, then I discovered a $9.00 microwave rice cooker. In twenty minutes or so hard beans can be salad-ready and the windows aren’t fogged. Ever complain about lack of space? I have a house barge neighbor who's lived fifteen years in 220 square feet. A favorite galley space extender is a couple clear plastic flexible cutting boards. A local variety store sells two to a pack for under $4.00. The lack of space on a boat caused a creative and truly frugal move. I didn’t cotton to sharing the boat with a cat box. So, I taught the cat to use the head (we have two on-board). It involved a plastic colander with a hole in the bottom placed inside the smaller size toilet bowl of the boat. Cats in houses can be trained to stand on the seat (check your pet store for books on the topic), but the movement of the boat would have dumped our poor guy into the bowl for sure. He learned in three days, and calculating the cost of nine years of cat litter, we figure he buys his own treats and more! Of course, when we travel someone has to come in and flush for him. Here’s a final tip for those who know who you are, telescoping spider-getters. My neighbor found them at the dollar store and treated everyone on the dock. It changed my life. You’ve seen them, those large multi-colored dusting wands. I can stretch it out and whisk up the biggest, ugliest spider. Then shake them back into the universe from whence they came before the scream emerges from the depths of my soul. Those who seek the simple life should check out books on boat and RV living---we’re experts out of necessity. The liveaboard lifestyle may have divested me of 95% of my shoes, honed my love of Tupperware and made me the Baroness of Bungee, but it also slowed my life to seven knots and I’m happy. ------- Marilyn Michael is a free-lance writer and columnist for the boating magazine, "Nor' Westing." She is also the creator of NEURO-THERAPY Training and administrates a correspondence school that trains in that method. For further boating tips, visit Marilyn at her web-page, "For the Love of Boating" <http://members.aol.com/lkunion/index.html> **************************************************** THE LAZY CHEF DOES PANCAKES by Gloriamarie Amalfitano gma@adnc.com --Gloriamarie's "Whatever's in the Caabbinet Pancakes"-- Dry Stuff ~~~~~~~~~~ 2/3 cup Whole-wheat flour 1/3 cup some other flour (buckwheat, oat, rice, anything ) 1/4 cup yet another flour 2 Tablespoon Wheat germ---or reconstituted TVP, seeds, cooked grains (great use for leftovers) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Wet Stuff ~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 cup Yoghurt (or buttermilk) 1 1/4 cup or more skim milk (or soy milk, rice milk, nut milks) 1 whole egg (optional, really, but I like the way it fluffs up the finished product. I suppose you could use egg replacement stuff. But I think that is much too expensive for what is virtually egg whites with food coloring added. The Opinionated Chef says: "Read labels and be warned!!") 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil (I have tried to use less, but I don't care for the finished product. I like the moistness it adds to the crumb (I learned that technical cooking term form James Beard Bread Cook book!!) 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract (optional really, I suppose, but I LOVE the flavor so I tend to use more) The official way would be to get two bowls dirty, mixing together the drys in one, the wets in another, then ading the drys to the wets. Then one would have to stand over the hot stove or waffle iron a-pourin' and a-flippin', a flippin' and a-pourin' and the Lazy Chef hates that. She likes eating the results, but not wasting too many motions. The "Lazy Chef" Way: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Kitchen Aid Mix master: dump in all the wets. Then add the drys, mixing briefly after each. Grab a jellyroll pan (or two if the batch is big enough. I have used one pan for a 24 serving batch), grease it with whatever is your preferred method of greasing at the moment (and I sure do hope it isn't one of those expensive vegetable sprays), slop in the batter, slosh it around a bit to make it even---just tilt the pan around. Why get a spatula dirty? Unless of course, you're a klutz, in which case by all means bat the batter around with a spatula since that is more frugal than spilling the batter on the floor. Bake at 350 F anywhere from 15-45 min or so depending on how big a batch you clumped together. I bake it until it passes the knife stuck in the center test. Take it out when baked. Let it cool briefly before cutting. Cut into as many pieces as servings you mixed up. Eat some now and freeze the rest. The Lazy Chefs put hers into ziploc freezer bags and freezes them. When she wants to use them, she takes out what she wants. If they are stuck together, a hearty thunk on the counter and they separate quite nicely. I stick them in the microwave or toaster oven and there's breakfast (or lunch, or even dinner). Other Lazy Chef ideas: you could also make up a batch of the drys and keep in a container in the pantry---as long as the batch did not included cooked grains or reconstituted TVP. Then all you would need to measure out would be the wets. ***************************************************** CREATIVITY VS. CASH AT CHIRISMAS by Ruth Payne Palmer There is an old saying that I have taken liberties with to make it apply to my situation. It goes something like this, "The Christmas spirit is like cookie frosting. You can't spread it around without getting a little on yourself." Through the years our family has tried to spread it to the max giving gifts to not only family members but also to neighbors and friends and all on a very limited budget. Not easy you say? No, not easy but lots of fun and we have wonderful Christmas memories to prove it! We are fortunate that our friends and relatives are all of the "it's the thought that counts" persuasion and seem to enjoy our creative gifts as much as we enjoy their's. In this series I hope to pass along some ideas of gifts we have both given and recieved and maybe they will inspire you in having a creative, debt free Christmas. In this first installment I am presenting a couple of gift ideas for children in the eight to eleven age group which will take a little time so you will need to start right away. This age loves gifts that give them something to do. These gifts would be even more effective if they were accompanied by a promise of personal help from the giver---you know, some of that "quality time" that everyone talks about. ------- A STARTER STAMP COLLECTING KIT Supplies Needed: l. A folder with pockets inside and brads to hold the pages (mine cost 35cents) 2. At least two plastic sheet protectors with paper inside. One will hold stamps from your country---the other foreign. 3. Stamp hinges 4. Stamps cut from old envelopes. Cut a little square out of the envelope leaving the stamp attached. 5. A free booklet from the post office called "INTRODUCTION TO STAMP COLLECTING" Directions: The folder can be decorated any way you wish. I cut stamp pictures from a free stamp catalog (also from the post office) and glued it on the cover as well as a label ("My Stamp Collection") which I printed on the computer. Put all the supplies in a suitable box labeled "STAMP COLLECTING KIT". While you're at the Post Office ask about the free coloring activity books available for youngsters. They make great stocking stuffers. When my postmaster doesn't have these items he is always good about ordering them for me. ------- CHILD'S COOKBOOK AND APRON Supplies needed: l. One yard or less of fabric suitable for a child's apron (a scrap or remnant of course!) 2. Bias tape to bind 3. A recipe book (either of your own making or you could order one inexpensively as I did) Directions: Cut a newspaper pattern for a butcher style apron. You might have to hold it up to a child of similar size. Cut the pattern from fabric and bind with bias tape making strings to tie at the neck and back. I made the pocket big enough for the cookbook to fit in. The cookbook that I used was just darling. I ordered it from GOLD MEDAL FLOUR. The cookbook was called "ALPHA-BAKERY CHILDREN'S COOKBOOK" and it is probably still available since it states in the cookbook that they are available until December 200l, or as long as supplies last. They cost $2 each and can be ordered from this address: Gold Medal Alpha-Bakery Cookbook, PO Box 5119, Minneapolis, MN, 55460-5119. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. --------- Ruth Payne Palmer enjoys living frugally, and has often taught classes in her local area called "Creativity Vs. Cash." She'll be sharing a series of articles on the topic of creatively saving money on holiday gifts. *************************************************** FURTHER "PETS ON A BUDGET" IDEAS submitted by Simple Times Readers PET LENDING LIBRARY We have a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation place in our community (Alexander Lindsay Junior Museum) that has a pet lending library. When my children were little, we joined the lending library nad could check out a guinea pig, a rabbit, a hamster, or a rat for a week at a time. The museum sold food, but you could always buy it at the pet store and keep it. It so happened that based on that experience we decided that guinea pigs were the right pet for us (rats came in second, surprisingly enough), but it was a great experience, and I would recommend it to anybody. I know there are other places similar to this in California but I don't know if they have them anywhere else." ~ Melinda M. ------ COOKING FOR PETS While working in Ghana (West Africa) in 1969-70, my wife and I house-sat for a couple who had a medium-large black dog, and a cat (while the couple was on sabbatical in England). We pressure-cooked a lot of rice each day, then mixed in a tin of sardines (or similar cheap fish) to give it flavour, extra protein and oils. That was all. The cat supplemented this diet with mice and rats, but the dog relied on us. The animals loved it. When Allen Nunn May and his wife returned, they exclaimed about how healthy their pets were: it seems that their house-boy had been eating at least half of the fish, thinking animals shouldn't be eating food good enough for people. (Meat-type food was scarce/expensive then, and even more so since then.) We have cooked for a cat in a similar way here (in New Zealand); the cat was used to more variety already, so we gave it a couple of days of (cheapest) dried "biscuits" after some days of the fishy rice. Alternating like this worked. In comparison, a car bought new for $23,000 will cost a total of perhaps $60,000 over its 13 year "lifetime"; there may be people who can only afford a car if they commit themselves to cooking rice for their dog. ~David MacClement http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Delphi/3142/ ----- COMMENTS FROM A VETERINARY TECHNICIAN As a Vet Tech, I enjoyed the article on "Pets on a Budget" by Jonni McCoy (Simple Times ~ Vol. 1, No. 7). I have a few comments on the topic, as well. When buying pet food, make sure you get quality pet food, especially for a puppy or kitten. We had one of our dogs live for 16 yrs on Purina (puppy to reg to fit and trim to senior) So I know that you don't need our Vet food for your animals (just don't tell my boss I said that!). If you have any questions about what good food, read your bag, ask your vet, and check out some web sites. I have seen a puppy on a generic (from the store food) whose bones weren't very calcified on the x-ray. The owner just tripped over the dog's leg and it broke! It wasn't getting enough "stuff" in it's food. Not overfeeding is one of the best things you can do. Pets have as many problems as we humans do when they are overweight. The biggest thing is back and hip problems. Cooking in bulk is fine too... just check with your vet. You can get vitamins to add to their food so they are getting everything they need. Another thing to try when you go to the veterinarian is to see if maybe they have Vet Tech appointments. Some places do and you can get your basics done a little cheaper. Here in VA we (Vet Techs) can't give rabies shots, so most shots are done by a Vet. Check it out. What a good article. You wouldn't believe how many animals end up in shelters or abandoned simply because the owners didn't realize how expensive owning a pet can be. ~ JJ Sommerville, LVT **************************************************** "You CAN live within your means!" Does the above statement sound impossible? Is money just too tight? The answer could be as simple as using a few of the easy, money-saving ideas found in the helpful booklet, "Simple Living ~ One Income Living in a Two Income World." Learn dollar-stretching tricks for your regular family expenses: gifts, cooking, grocery shopping, clothing, entertainment, vacations, babies, and more! To receive a free brochure describing the Simple Living booklet (plus a free Mix-n-Match recipe), send a business sized self- addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to: Simple Living Brochure Request, c/o Simple Pleasures Press, PO Box 941, Auburn WA 98071-0941. **************************************************** IN THE NEXT ISSUE: ~ A simple personal budget ~ Book review ~ And more! **************************************************** Due to upgrades to the computers that maintain the Simple Times mailing list and archives, the Simple Times Archives have been off-line for several weeks. The Archives should be back on-line again soon. Thanks for your patience. ********************************************************** SIMPLE TIMES RECOMMENDED BOOKS Book list for frugality and simple living Go to: http://members.aol.com/DSimple/books.html ********************************************************** SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION To subscribe to this free newsletter, send an e-mail message to: hub@xc.org In the BODY of the e-mail type: subscribe SIMPLE-TIMES (be sure to include the hyphen between the words simple-times) Please feel free to copy this subscription information and pass it on to anyone else who you think might be interested in obtaining a free subscription. **********************************************************

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