Era of cheap food drawing to a close?

According the experts who wrote this article, an era cheap food may be drawing to a close. This really bothers me. I know I can get food since I live in a town of 14,000 near farms and farmland. Plus, I have a lawn, a few garden tools, and a smattering of garden knowledge.

Food shortages
Will there be food shortages or will the prices be out of sight? The latter, I believe will happen. The former, I hope will not happen. Remember when the price of gas went up because of shortages? Drive-offs caused gas station attendants to require payment first because they locked the pumps until payment was received.

Lock up food
Can we extrapolate that scenario to food access? I don't really know. But, it seems plausible. Of course, food is already IN the store, gas is not.

Family concerns
Two of my children are near rural areas, are teachers and can depend on one another for access to food. My now-single daughter in NYC is struggling as it is, and only has access to window sills for growing. Her network is large, but not so large and close that she can depend on them in a crisis-crunch, I am afraid. People have their own families. My daughter has already noticed rising prices.

Grain and meat
From what I gather, grain prices will be out of sight. Will meat costs become astronomical, also? The price fo meat will rise, but how far? Of course, all food prices will suffer. But, to me it seems that growing wheat or meat in my yard or on a fire escape will be more difficult that growing tomatoes and basil and a few beans and potatoes.

Prepare
I am by no means speaking in the prepper mode. If we save for a rainy day, why not save for that same rainy day in the pantries and freezers of America? I can only get so much in the freezer. Meats and grains seem the way to maximize the freezer for ordinary folk. Of course, the plastic buckets with oxygen packets to preserve grains seems all of a sudden to be a practical means of having flour or wheat storage without refrigeration. I truly believe the electricity will be here. Most of us don't have a half dozen freezers to store enough food. Canning meat is an option, too, depending on electricity for freezers full of meats and grains. Dehydrators will become more popular.

Neglected fruit
People who let fruit fall and rot may decide to use their fruit or have someone else take it. The squirrels in this town may have fierce competition for food!

Hens in the yard
I feel lucky to get eggs every day. Maybe this practice will be more common if prices rise or there are shortages of grain or the grain prices make eggs expensive. One hen is broody, so she could raise baby chicks and I can be set for life. I will have to buy fertile eggs!

While I won't discuss eating the three hens. I would definitely consider eating other chickens I could raise to slaughter!

Around the world
People are starving and suffering as it is. Rising prices will make their world more fragile.

Stockpiling
Along with raising some of our own food, stockpiling seems a good plan. The worst thing that can happen if you stockpile is that you will be eating cheap food when prices rise.

Buy wisely
I realize that I don't buy wisely sometimes. The ice cream price could buy flour to freeze or store with oxygen packets.. Since I am not a grinder of grain, buying wheat is not an issue with me. Maybe it should be. Maybe I need a wheat grinder.

Your turn
Do you think food prices will rise to levels that will cause food emergencies? Will groceries be protected like gasoline? Do you know people who stockpile in the extreme?

Have a bowl of soup

Soup's on
I just had to share this lovely and delicious soup. This pot of soup has my last quart of home-canned tomatoes in it, so this is a sad day.

Weather
Cold weather makes me want soup and other nice warm meals. I made spaghetti on Friday and still have lots in the refrigerator. Someone said the temperature was 70 degrees today. I don't know why I am starving for warm, tomato-ey food.

My recipe
Many times I make this soup without meat. Today, I used
1/2 lb ground round
frozen, diced  onions, 1/4 cup ?
tiny piece of Bell pepper
1/2 cup frozen, diced celery
1/2 lb carrots
1 potato, diced
can of green beans
qt home canned tomatoes
can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup brown rice
1 cup shredded cabbage from bag with carrots
1 sprinkle of ground savory (usually, dried summer savory)
bay leaf

Usually, I also add:
3/4 cup frozen corn
3/4 cup frozen lima beans


Chop and cook the ground round
Put onions in pot when meat is almost done, saute onions with the meat
Add:
1 can water
1 or 2qts of tomatoes (or equivalent to about 1.5 or 2 qts of store-bought, canned tomatoes)
carrots
potatoes
celery
bell pepper

Cook until carrots almost done
Add:
corn
beans, lima and green

When carrots and potatoes are done, add:
rice
cabbage

Cook just long enough to get the rice done. Discard the bay leaf before eating or storing.

If there is anything you don't like that I use, leave it out. Today, this is different from any I have made because I don't have the corn and lima beans. Add what you like. There are so few potatoes and so little rice that the calories will not foil your plans for eating. If you use canned corn and limas, adding the whole can will really fill the pot in a hurry.

When I use cans of vegetables, I drain the liquid and put in the pot to cook carrots and potatoes. I add the other contents of the can to the pot later.

I had just added the cabbage when I took the picture, so it was all floating. If I don't have cabbage, I leave it out. Since it cooked for such a short time, the cabbage still has texture, not at all unpleasant.

Cabbage cooks so quickly that I don't put it in at the beginning. The tomatoes are done, so I try not to add them early. Today, I did because I needed the juice to cook the carrots and potatoes. When I finish my bowl of soup, I will dip the remainder into quart jars to store in the refrigerator. I am having company Wednesday, so I will make a pan of cornbread to go with the soup. I will spice up some peaches in a skillet and make a stove top pie in a tiny iron skillet.

Your turn
If you are in areas where the snow is relentlessly piling up, I am sure you are preparing warm foods. Share with us what you crave, if you please. If you are making soup, post your recipe link here. It's okay. I just finished a bowl of soup. Now, I need a nap, but it is 10 pm, so maybe it is too late for a nap. Is soup on at your house?

Dishwasher detergent substitutes

This morning, I noticed that the Palmolive Dishwasher liquid is running low. Several years ago, when I noticed the bottle was empty, I turned it over and left it to drain into the dishwasher. I drained the bottle into the cup, then drained more into the dishwasher, sort of the first wash or pre-wash portion. The next dishwashing event happened and I drained more into the cup and washed out the bottle.

Extreme?
I am parsimonious like that. The next time, I washed the bottle out again and poured the liquid into the dishwasher, and then put the bottle and cap in the dishwasher to get the last bit.

Better Me, Better World
Then, Dmarie over at Better me, Better world wrote a post about the same thing--dishwasher liquid substitutes to be more green and save money. In the past, this subject has been discussed. I am apparently the only person who does not have major film issues. Maybe Dmarie will tell about her film experiences. Read her post for her recipe.

Complementary post
This post on a similar subject is supposed to be complementary, not competitive.

Whiter than white
The film issue seems to be sort of like the "whiter than white" conversation in washing machine detergent ads a few decades ago. Why is it necessary to add chemicals to make clothing that white? And, what is a little film compared to being green, saving the cost of a plastic bottle, and spending less money?

Enviromental issues
Palmolive has no phospates. Is that good enough? I don't know. There is the problem of a plastic bottle, but that is not the focus of this discussion. I do try to reuse them. Another thing I do is use less than the bottle or the cup in the dishwasher calls for.

White or shiny equals clean?
We are being brain-washed into thinking that cleanliness equates shine and brightness. I do like the dishwasher and the washing machine. No, I love my dishwasher and washing machine...lol.

Brainwashing
Back to brainwashing. I noted that I used only baking soda and vinegar. Others said there was a film on the stainless steel and nothing was shiny enough. However, the water temperature assures me that it is all clean.

Germy
The shiny plate or bowl that I carry to the chicken yard and dump food from is clean and germ-free when I leave the house. However, once I handle the latch on the pen, handle freshly laid eggs, pet a hen who thinks she must submit to get food, neither the dish or my hands are germ-free, even if the plate still shines.  (I am the rooster substitute)

Wash a shiny dish?
Thankfully, I have grown beyond "shiny=clean." That said, I do like shiny dishes. Commercial dishwasher liquid accomplishes the shiny goal. Yes, I do was the still-shiny dish that was handled after I fed chickens. However, when the pen is open and I touch nothing, the dish is placed on the counter for more scraps for hens.

My formula
I pull out both racks. Then, I take a cupful or less of vinegar and sort of pour at the top rack. Then, I sprinkle about half cup of baking soda over the top rack and bottom rack and the utensils on the door. This half cup is all I use for all three locations. Close the door and wash.

Stay nearby
This method only works to avoid film if you can catch the rinse cycle. I then put more vinegar into the dishwasher. That seems to cut the film. The film is just the baking soda. It will not hurt anything. For the sake of aesthetics, we buy commercial products? Okay, I, too, am often guilty.

Too much trouble
Yes, it is a problem, but so is washing dishes by hand, as is comsuming plastic and throwing it in the landfill. Actually, washing dishes by hand never leaves things as shiny as the dishwasher does. Okay, maybe you get different results.

Sanitized?
I believe my handwashing of dishes leaves the dishes clean. I know the hot water temperature of the dishwasher does a better job of sanitizing, far beyond clean. Think about it: how clean do dishes need to be? How do you figure in the germy hands that touch them. Yes, we all have germs on our hands.  I don't know how clean dishes need to be. But, I do know that we all eat from less than sanitary dishes at least some of the time. But, we never die or even become ill. I was my hands and call them clean enough--soap, warm water, that's all.

Your turn
Do you feel safe eating from dishes your hands have touched? Do you have a problem with film after using a substitute for dishwasher liquid?

Too much food?



not really food to eat--two of four shelves on the door

 What a complaint!
It is not just food in general that is hogging my refrigerator. It's multiple bottles of condiments, dressing, mayos, pickles. I can barely get real food in and close the door. The great majority of this is NOT something I really NEED, but just like and want.

Coupon crazy
The coupons get soooo good some days. I had many coupons for French's mustards. The mustard cost me tax, about nine cents each. So, I just went wild--regular yellow mustard, brown mustard, honey mustard AND honey mustard dipping mustard, mustards galore. Now, I have managed to open five, yes 5, see it--V different kinds of mustards. That takes up room.

Then, we move on to mayo types. I love love love Miracle Whip. But, there are a few recipes that call for regular mayonaise. Take my word for it--NEVER substitute MW for mayo. It does not work in recipes I have tried.. That makes Miracle Whip, Mayonaisse (two brands), Sandwich Shop Mayo with Horseradish, and two kinds of sandwich spread. That is 5 mayo/MW spreads.

Now, for the salad dressings--Italian that I only use for cooking, Ranch--my favorite, Thousand Island that bf said he liked and would eat, Brianna's with asiago, and another I cannot remember.

How about Hot Dog Relish, two--Vlasic and Mt. Olive. And, the quart jar of Vlasic Zesty Garden Mix with zesty garlic and dill flavor that was sent to me to test for a survey. Nope, don't like it and forget to push it on bf who does like it.

Tartar sauce is in a category of its own. Oh, Worcestshire and hot sauce--eeeek. I never touch them, just serve to others and judiciously use in spaghetti....and catsup.

Pickles, anyone? Sweet pickles, dill pickles, sweet relish, dill relish, and bread and butter pickles. Let's add the pint of cucumbers that live in vinegar. Remember, I don't like pickles. I am allergic to them. Plus, I have hotdog relish. Any pickle or cucumber evokes an immediate reaction if I just bite it. My throat starts to close. But, I can handle a little bit of pickle that is hidden in something. Actually, I prefer my tuna and potato salads with sweet and dill pickles, well diced.

Three jars of my homemade jelly were staring at me--hot pepper jelly, crabapple jelly, and scuppernong jelly.  One Smucker's glass jar holds chopped walnuts; another, pecan halves. After I took the picture, I realized there was lemon juice and olive oil.

That's 31 jars and bottles of assorted sizes cramping my style. Plus, anything in a plastic container falls over.

Then, there is the leftover Pet milk, stored in a pb jar--glass. And, the Smuckers pb that must be refrigerated.

Cleaning the refrigerator
Considering the food in the refrigerator and what had to be removed to clean the refrigerator was my motivation for counting. I just knew there was way too much food/condiments, way more than usual.

No promises
I cannot say that I will not buy many containers of mustard, pickles, or spreads if there is another huge coupon event. I won't even hint that I will not have over two dozen things open in the refrigerator. That makes me incorrigible, I suppose. I will promise to think about what I open next time, and will probably do as I did this time...lol.

Waste
No way! I use the MW and mayo before expiration date. Salad dressings will be eaten, but WHEN? I was searching for a good honey mustard when I bought those.  Pickles last forever. It's not like I could just decide to have a big helping of mustard or a bowl of relish.

Most of this will be slowly consumed, never to be bought again. My whole complaint is crowding in the refrigerator, not waste. Of course, I did buy the cheapest, therefore, smallest refrigerator that had a self-defrosting freezer.  So, I did not start out with much room.

Hiding in the main part of the refrigerator were another dozen bottles of condiment-type foodstuffs. I just don't want to discuss and name them for you....eeeeek!

Problem
It's not like I can just finish everything off by eating through the refrigerator. I do have two containers with only a smidgen--tartar sauce and one of the sandwich spreads. So, there. It's a good start.

Your turn
Do you ever get an abundance, an overload of condiments? Coupons, other people, and saving money is my excuse. What's yours?

Salon Savings--my hair costs

Parsimony or Preference?
Many of my parsimonious ways were the result of  forces other than trying to save money.

The beginning
About 48 years ago when I was 16-years-old, my sister who was 14-years-old, wanted me to cut her hair. She still brings it up. It was my first try. What did I know? I did butcher her hair. But, I am tired of saying I am sorry...lol.

Second attempt
My son was 13-months-old and his curls were over his ears. It was not the hair that led to his first haircut; it was the fact that people thought he was a girl. ??? So, I cut the curls and the back of the neck strands. My mother cried. People still called my son a girl.

Barber problems
My husband got the worst haircuts, really bad cuts for his thick hair. The barber was about 65 and my husband was 25. One day, I was out with the children walking in the small town. My husband's car was at the barber's. I pushed the stroller about halfway in and asked the barber, okay, told the barber not to cut his hair with a ledge in the back.

Barber's answer
"I cut a man's hair like he wants it, not like his wife wants it." I smile, say bye to husband, and exit. EX said not one word.

Later
Let's just say a civilized conversation ensued at home later that night. The result was that I would be cutting my husband's hair from now on--my idea. He loved the way I cut his hair. Until after the divorce, I was the barber around here.

Boy child
I also cut my son's hair and both of the girls' hair. Of course, I still had to pay to get mine cut. One day when my son was 12-years-old, he wanted to go to the beauty shop, all the newest rage for guys back in 1979. I tried to reason with him. Finally, I decided I would not want to interfere with his emerging manhood. Mama gave the job over to another woman. He did not want me to stay and make sure things went right! I gave in. He emerged speaking rather gruffly, and I was not sure if it were displeasure or an ugly manifestation of more emerging manhood. The haircut was not right for him, but I praised his looks with the new cut.

He liked the haircut. Yes, he would go back again. sigh....sigh...sigh<----me. A few more days passed and he told me he wanted me to cut his hair from now on.. Yay, Mama wins him back. Just kidding. It turned out he did not like the haircut. He never said so, but I am just positive he had unfavorable comments from peers.

Girl children
Their hair was long. I trimmed their long hair and trimmed bangs. The oldest had a double cowlick in the front where her bangs were. So, it never looked right unless her bangs were chin length--not acceptable to any of us.

Coercion
Yes, I insisted several of my friends who had never cut a strand of hair, cut my hair with my sewing scissors. I was really tired of bad haircuts or desperate, except for one occassion when I did not have money. Those friends extracted haircuts and sewing from me. Hey, I will do anything to get a good haircut or be in charge of how long or short it is cut. For years, I searched for a hairdresser who would not cut an extra three inches off my hair or grab thinning scissors while she had me turned away from the mirror.

I heart Cindy
My present hairdresser is wonderful. She can actually remember how I have had it cut for about 12 years!

Hate styling
I do not like the shampoo chair. It hurts my neck. I hate the shampoo. Taking my own shampoo was better, but I still hurt in the chair.  I hate the goop in my hair. I really hate the haze of hairspray. Mostly, I just hate the whole process and the result of my session in the chair for a cut and style. Paint that baby yellow and call it Yellow Mama, and you see how much I dreaded it. I always washed my hair in two to 12 hours from leaving the chair. I was just glad to have escaped.

Brave move
I told my then-hairdresser that I would wash my hair and come with dry hair and just get a cut if she would allow it. "You mean you will leave here with nothing else and people will see you?" or some insane variation. "Yes, I don't care." It works. My present hairdresser is fine with it and has other people who do the same thing.

My bangs
Finally, because of lack of funds, I let my hair grow longer and trimmed my bangs. Around this time was another time I "convinced" friends they knew how to trim the length on my hair.

Savings?
Right now, I pay $15 for a haircut once a month. I am not aware at this point of the cost of cut, set and style,  or even a blowout. The first Wednesday of every month, I know where I will be and what it will cost. Maybe you save by getting a yearly cut or less than once a month. When I was working, a professional look was important. When I was looking for a job, same idea. Now that I am not working at a job outside my home and with other professionals, I still do not like to look shaggy or unkempt. Bangs are a must because I say so. I can trim them. A layered cut is necessary for my hair that I refuse to tease and spray. Long, stringy hair on a woman my age is just not attractive! Layers give it poof. (no teasing my hair) I do save a bit on products but that is because they ruin my skin.

Misspent youth
From the time I was a teen, I spent years teasing, spraying, using product on my hair. Those years are why I refuse to tease and spray! No more!

Expense?
So, here is where you probably have me beat in the savings department. You don't get haircuts so often? I get one extra haircut in December, so that is 13 haircuts x $15=$195/year. Right here, I am going to fall back on the low cost of products for me for 30 years or more, the savings on haircuts for four other family members, and your goodwill...lol. People, I have to justify spending $200/year!

Are you truly parsimonious? Am I?
Maybe some of you cut your own hair, have someone in the family cut it, or only have your hair cut once a year. Maybe you think my spending is not at all frugal. That's okay, too.

Your turn
Do you cut your family's hair to save money? How do you save on hair products or cuts? Are you so lucky that you can last a year without a cut? Or, do you get the wash, set, and style? Are salon visits just part of your budget?

Join the Jam Slam

We're Jamming and Slamming
Okey dokey. This sounds like a song by Little Richard. Max Wong at My Roman Apartment has challenged us all to "put up" 52 jams in 52 weeks. How close can you get to 52 jams?

Don't make jam?
That's fine. What do you preserve? The way I understand it, anything preserved counts. So my tomatoes and hot pepper jelly will be legal? I wonder if my pepper counts. Yes, I made pepper to sprinkle on food. I took some to a friend today. She could not believe anyone could make pepper...lol. Then, she snorted some. My friend, just sprinkle it!

According to Max
"For the sake of keeping things interesting and challenging, Jam Slam 2011 will count pickles and other varieties of preserved food as jam, because, frankly, Preserve Slam 2011 sounds scarily like one of those awful formal dances where your dad gives you a chastity ring."

Working bees
Her bees will be working too. Does honey from bees count as preserved? Even though the bees will be doing all the work making honey, Max will be the one to get the honey from the hive to the jars. I think the bees have the easier chores.

My plans
The first thing I will make is grape jelly. I have some Welch's grape juice, the kind in the glass jar, communion juice, if you will. I like grape jelly and won't consume it as quickly as I will consume grape juice. So, communion grape jelly, it is. The grape juice in big plastic containers has apple and pear juice, among other things. Now, I just despise apple juice, so will not buy the apple/pear/grape mixture. The Welch's in the small bottle is 100% grape juice, ONLY.

Next will be fig jam of some sort from figs I froze last fall. It seemed like a good idea at the time, so I whirred them in the blender. Now, it does not seem like such a good idea.

Winning at the fair
Max plans to win lots of ribbons at the fair. So do I. We both have won ribbons, and I am sure some of you have a clutch of ribbons, also, to brag about. No? Then, let's get started.

Picture on post
My pot in the picture is perfect for short jars. It can be used as a water bath canner with the insert pot. The inner pot is for steaming or for cooking pasta. By using this I can heat less water for the canning process. Fig jam selling or gifting is best in 8 oz or 4 oz jars. The little stick thing is the magnet for lifting lids. Yes, you can avoid buying this, but I boiled my fingers for decades and finally gave in. My funnel is at least 30 years old. I have another, given to me. Both are battered from having a drawer closed on them too many times. The small jar is hot pepper jelly and the larger is scuppernong jelly. Only the shorter jar will fit in the "canner" in the picture. That is not my house. I went on location for the photo.

Your turn
Who will click on My Roman Apartment and join the Jam Slam today? Have you ever won ribbons at the fair? Would you like to win one ribbon or more?

Music is cheaper than drugs and safer than romance

Music is healthy
So, we are all trying to save a little money, stay a little sane, and stay healthy. Right? This article tells how the sound of our favorite song retunes our bodies to feeling good.
Measurable
These are not theories of a music lover. Scientists can measure the "feel-good" feelings. (keeping this rated PG)

My opinion
For many years I have listened to songs of the 50s and 60s and noticed that there is an extra bounce to my step, a little zing in the brain, and heightened awareness of my body and my surroundings. Yes, it felt like 16 again. Right now, oldies are songs from the 80s, so I must be ancient.

It may not be possible, but it is almost like I can feel the level of hormones in my body rise. Silly? Maybe not.

Songs remind me of certain times of pleasure. Copacabana reminds me of 1978-79 and riding in the car. My three children and I sang to the tops of our voices. The radio was loud. Good memories. Puff the Magic Dragon from 1963 brings back memories of my son singing it in 1972 when he was four and my daughter was two. Oh, we all sang it, but his voice was sweet.

You can guess the strength I drew from I Will Survive right after my divorce. Music Box Dancer was a song to which my two-year-old (third child) performed an impromptu ballet in an arboretum in Florida. I can still see her in her pink satin shorts and jacket worn over a little tank top, unselfconsciously twirling and doing many a plie and port de bras, counting in French if you wished. (Satin was good in 1977...lol.

The Wayward Wind  was a song I heard many a night in the summer, a summer like all of my childhood summers--lacking air conditioning. The Blue Danube or any waltz transports me to a peacefulness that is indescribable.

Most music moves me to feelings that can be described as a peaceful ecstasy. Is that dopamine I feel? (okay, no rap)  Scientists "say a best-loved aria or guitar riff can trigger the same chemical reaction in us as good food, money or sex." It sounds as if music could be a cheap and safe cure-all. Well, maybe I should listen to music instead of eating. Okay, I have good food, so one out of three ain't bad. Right?

Even when songs do not remind me of a specific setting or people, music evokes feelings of pleasure. Music is one great pleasure in my life. Alas, I cannot sing or play an instrument. So sad. However, I do love a good musical in any form--live theater, movies, amateurs or professional performers.

Diarrhea
When the little dancer was almost two, she saw a commercial for Kaopectate or Pepto-Bismol. A little doll with a billowy skirt was moving across the black background on the TV screen, while a tinkly, music box tune played. The hidden man said in soothing tones, "Diarrhea, blah, blah, diarrhea." My daughter sat rapt, and then turned and said in her little baby voice that could articulate the words perfectly, "I want diarrhea."

We laughed at the ludicrous idea that anyone wanted diarrhea. She raised her voice, "I do want diarrhea." We howled and I tried to comfort her because everyone laughed. She wailed, "I waaaant diiiiarheeea!" It was the kind of things that had us all howling. I tried, I really tried, I cried, hid my face from her so she would not see my tears rolling down my face.

This went on for months as she saw the commercial. She never failed to express her desire in the same three words, "I want diarrhea." Our response was always the same but tempered. At other times she just wanted me to get diarrhea for her. No amount of explaining worked. Yes, the children explained it graphically to her. She did not flinch. I explained it to her in terms someone so young could understand...like, "running down your leg." The visual and music kept her desire strong until finally the commercial ran its course and was no more.

The cure
Could it be that we could save money, lose stress, and attain a "peace with zing" that we crave by listening to more music? Maybe we assail our senses with new purchases just to feel something pleasurable? Of course, we do. That is what marketing tries to do, "manipulate hedonic states" (pleasure) to us through purchasing. Music helps marketing. Maybe we can listen to music to help us avoid purchasing.

My goal
I will listen to more pleasurable music. Rod Stewart, here I come. If I can lose weight, spend even less, I will have accomplished two goals. Since I have never done recreational drugs, I have no goals there. Romance department? What? Where? LOL I will put on music tomorrow and work or play to sounds that make me happier inside and out.

Your turn
Do you think that you could possibly curb spending, lose weight, or reach another goal by listening to music? Maybe it would have to be purposeful listening, not just listening to whatever someone else leaves on the radio or whichever CD is ready to go. Do you think putting on music from your youth or a happy period would help you become peaceful enough to curb your appetites? Maybe it is a certain genre you need from just any period of your life. If you like country and no one in the house listens to country, maybe you need a good country fix. How about it? What do you think? Even if you are like me and cannot sing, sing anyway if no one else is around. Let's get our pleasure from music. Can we save money along with our sanity with music?