Here's to 2012!

     2011 went by much too fast, don't you agree? I accomplished most of what I wanted to and enjoyed the time I was able to spend with family, but I was so busy most of the year that it was hard to enjoy the moments as they happened. 2010 was kind of a miserable year for me that was capped off with a shitty end, so I was determined to make 2011 much, much better. I think it was a success.

      Not only was I able to come back to work for my old employer in February (the one I quit so that I could move to Portland, Oregon at the end of 2010), but I landed a great job with them in a department that I have wanted to work in for a while now. I started that position in November and am enjoying the new challenges and increased customer interaction.

      During the summer I was able to travel around Texas a bit with Thomas and his family. We visited Colorado Bend State Park, Longhorn Caverns, Inks Lake, and went tubing with friends in Gruene.

      I started school up full time this past fall and pulled in all but one A for the semester. This past fall we even had a new kitty join our household! She adds spice to the mix and is always looking for mischief. She's a beautiful cat. 2011 was the year I was determined to make it happen, and I did. I'm even saving for retirement!

      With January 1st rolling around, I have been thinking of ways to make 2012 just as successful as last year. Two clear goals came to mind. The first is to break 1,000 miles on my bicycle this year. I was just shy of 900 miles for 2011, so I think with a bit of effort I could do the 1k! I'll keep you updated on my progress for that goal. The other goal is finding ways to trim our grocery budget this year without trimming out fresh produce, the most expensive part of our diet. This one will be more challenging for me because in the last year I have seen the price of a half gallon of soy milk rise from $2.10 to $2.89. We use just shy of one gallon per week. That's an extra $5.53 per month in milk from one year ago. Add that to the extra few cents per item here, a bad peanut crop there, and the next thing you know your grocery budget has risen by $50 per month. It's just two of us and we can feel it, I can't imagine what it's like for a family of four or five. I'm having to come up with different strategies for saving.

      One of the ways I've already been able to cut down on grocery costs is keeping a spreadsheet of prices. This may seem odd, but knowing where to get the best price on a pound of rice or a loaf of gluten free bread is a powerful piece of budgeting. Buying some things in bulk on Amazon, like my favorite cornbread mix, is nearly $1 cheaper per item than in the store. I would not know this had I not had a record of what I've paid for the item in the past. This accounting method also makes you aware of any price changes. The cookies Thomas likes are $2 cheaper at the grocery store down the street rather than the Walgreens across the street.

      Another way I've been able to cut down on prices is to reduce the amount of produce I purchase per week. I think this is another way of saying 'only buy what I am really going to use.' I hate to waste produce, but sometimes it just goes bad before I (or the rabbit) get to it. I combat this by planning my meals to incorporate the items sold in bunches (carrots, spinach, green onions, herbs, leeks, etc) several times throughout the week with the single-use items (broccoli / cauliflower head, bok choi, avocados, tomatoes, etc) to be used close to the start of the week. Because I was already used to meal planning, with just a little extra planning, this was no sweat. I still have my weeks where I am tempted to just eat soup or tots every night, especially with full time work and school, but I know that will just make my body feel tired and run down with low energy intake.

     These strategies and some others that will really save you money on a grocery store trip are found in a book by Jennifer Maughan called “100 Meals for $5 or Less.” You can find the book here. This is a great book that has tips for everyone including the first time 'serious' grocery shopper and the avid couponer. There really is something for everyone in this book. It's a weekend read that you'll want to keep around for reference and future ideas. The first half of the book is tips and advice (bring a list and stick to it!) and finishes with tons of recipes. While the book is not geared for vegetarians or the gluten free, it does have the basic tips that we can all incorporate to make a cheaper trip to the grocery store. With just a few simple substitutions in the recipes, many of them become workable. If you've been vegetarian or gluten free for any period of time, you're used to substitution in cooking.

      I already have several food and recipe books lined up to share with you in 2012! I got Thomas a Kindle for his birthday last summer and we've been reading constantly since then. This year Thomas is challenging himself to read 52 books. He read 22 since getting the Kindle in July, so I think that is a do-able goal for him. This year I am also going to try and stick to being as dairy-free as possible. I have always talked about how unhealthy it is for Celiac patients to be off their diet. I know that milk can be tolerated again after a period of time, but my body just doesn't do well when I intake large amounts of it. Say, a pint of ice cream or a pound of giant holiday-themed candies. I've got a weakness, what can I say?

I'll keep you updated on the progress of my goals throughout the year. I'm hoping to tackle this semester with grades just as good as last semester, cut down on the dairy, increase the miles on my bike, spend less on groceries this year than we did last year, and spend more time enjoying the time in between all that. This is going to be a busy year!

What are your goals for the year?
- Patricia

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Traveling and the Importance of Easy Meals

     One of the only downsides about biking everywhere is the lack of long distance transportation. I can easily ride 10 miles on my bike to go somewhere, but that is about the upper limits of my abilities when time is taken into consideration. It's not too convenient beyond that. 

     The end of this past week and the beginning of the weekend were spent mostly in San Antonio with my lovely niece I had not seen in three years. She was able to catch up with her boyfriend and his family while Thomas and I were able to take in the sights of San Antonio. It truly is a beautiful city with a bit of old world charm. Because we had to be in town so early we were able to see it as few people get to, nearly empty.

     By the time we got home, we were all exhausted and wanted to do nothing more than go straight to bed. Dinner, however, needed to be dealt with. Two bags of 10oz frozen corn and a couple of potatoes to the rescue!

Corn Chowder with Roasted Potatoes
Serves 3

Ingredients
For the chowder:
2 - 10oz bags of frozen sweet corn
Handful of cilantro, washed, stemmed, and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
Olive oil for frying
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp chili powder
2-3 cups water
1/4 - 1/2 cup soy milk
Salt, to taste

For the roasted potatoes:
2 or 3 small to medium potatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
Olive oil for coating
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne

Optional Toppings:
Shredded cheese
Diced green onions
Sour cream
Diced cilantro

Method
First... Preheat your oven to 350*F while you prep the potatoes by washing them well, then dicing into bite sized pieces. Nothing fancy here, just keep them a uniform size. Toss together in a bowl with the diced onion, coat with the olive oil, then add the salt and cayenne before mixing well. Toss the potatoes in the oven on a foiled or parchment-lined baking sheet for around 25 minutes or until fork tender.

Then... While the potatoes are baking, you'll make the corn chowder. Start by heating oil in a soup pot and adding the onions to fry for around 5-6 minutes. Add the salt and other dry seasonings and mix well. Add the frozen corn and enough water to cover before bringing to a simmer. Carefully transfer around 1/2 of soup contents to a blender and blend, using the remaining water for easy blending. Return contents of blender to soup pot, add cilantro, and continue simmering. After 10 minutes of additional simmering, add the milk and turn heat off.

Finally... Remove the potatoes from oven. Ladle soup into bowls, top with roasted potatoes and any optional toppings desired.

     Because this recipe is so basic, there are many ways that you could make it your own. Try adding some salsa or chili garlic paste to the blender for a spicier touch, a can of chopped tomatoes with green peppers, or use a can of black beans instead of the second bag of corn for a slightly different soup. Make it yours!
- Patricia

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How to Meal Plan, Made Simple

      My seasonal job has started back up for the year and as a result I've been a bit extra busy these last several weeks, so posting has been a bit sparse. I've been trying to keep posts scheduled so that things aren't too barren around here, but that's just how it goes. 

With my new, mostly nocturnal, schedule I've been keeping the cooking down to simple one-dish meals that are easy and quiet to prepare at 2AM. Here's a sampling of what I've been cooking as of late:

The top right photo features Corn Chowder with Roasted Potatoes. This is a new dish I am making that is inspired by the method I use to make black bean soup. I have not posted about that black bean soup because the pictures of it seem to come out poorly, but I won't let that be an excuse to keep such a simple and quick recipe from you. Both the corn chowder and the black bean soup are very simple and can be made in under 30 minutes! Bottom right is the beginnings of Lentil & Brown Rice Soup, with just an onion, seasonings and a lentil blend in the pot. The final picture is of Berbere Mixed Vegetables which I featured last month, along with what is pictured in the top left photo, Kale and Zucchini Stir Fry.

I'll be posting the recipes for the Lentil & Brown Rice Soup as well as the Corn Chowder with Roasted Potatoes over the next week or so. Also coming up will be a Wokin' Stir Fry Recipe! One of my birthday gifts this year included a wok and I couldn't have been more surprised. It was used within the week and we took lots of pictures that I'll post along with the recipe. 

The thing about making these 'easy' meals is that it is make possible with a meal plan diligently created each week before we grocery shop. While meal planning isn't exactly exciting - it's quite far from it, actually, and can start arguments you wouldn't normally have about broccoli vs cauliflower - it does need to be taken care of. I've made a small system to help with that time of the week. First, I made a document on my computer that includes dishes that I make on a regular basis broken down into pasta, rice, and vegetable based dishes. When it's time to meal plan for the week I open up this list, grab a cookbook or The Flavor Bible, and maybe open up a few good websites to browse (I like Open Source Food as of late). I use some loose leaf paper to make three line sections where I'll fill in a rough breakfast/lunch/dinner schedule as follows:

As you can see, I've got kale, zucchini, and lentil soup, chili & corn bread, Mexican casserole, pesto & white bean quinoa (seen in this months' Vegetarian Times), lasagna rolls, pizza, and a black bean avocado taco superevent on the menu for this week. I don't really worry about making Thursday's meal on Thursday, we're pretty flexible on when that happens and sometimes you just don't feel like what's on the meal plan, and that's okay. The real point of having all this is so that I know that when I go to the store with the list based off this meal plan, that I will be purchasing enough food to theoretically feed myself and the boyfriend for however many days I've planned for. 

It might be a bit overkill. Do I really need to fill in oatmeal, waffles, and eggs for breakfast every day? Yes, I do, because I will forget to put them on the grocery list to buy. Sometimes we'll shop for just dinner stuff and think we have some extra money to splurge on a bottle of something and then we realize we have no lunch or snack stuff available during the week. Lame.

So pictured above is my meal plan for this week, my grocery bill at Whole Foods came out to $68.50 and we bought juice, cookies, and a couple of personal items that weren't on the list. It is possible to shop healthy on a budget - even with a special diet!
- Patricia

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Bulk Up!

     I posted an Amazon Listmania list this past weekend that included budget gluten free items. I found pancake mix for $2.55 per box, bags of oatmeal under $4.50, and cornbread mix for $2.27 per bag! I was so impressed with the prices there. I know the overall price of a bulk purchase is more than what is normally budgeted for a particular item, but doing one purchase every two weeks or every month is still a great way to save a few dollars on your grocery budget.

     There are so many ways to save money on the monthly grocery budget, but so few options are regularly taken advantage of. Not everyone clips coupons and not everyone has access to larger grocers or specialty stores. For these people, and many others, finding discounts online is becoming a more popular and mainstream option. Colleges are encouraging students to order foods online now in bulk to help save money on their meal plans, and households are turning to online bargains to shave dollars off the monthly food budget.

     Dig around and you'll be surprised at what you can find. Be ware, however, of those home delivery services. Several of our friends were thinking how neat it would be to have fresh produce and groceries delivered to your door, but after the company tacks on fees for fuel and delivery it makes the services too expensive to remotely consider.

     A step down from the grocery delivery is the food share program or CSA programs available in most parts of the country. Check out www.localharvest.org for CSAs near your location as well as a myriad of other farm goods that are deliverable to your door. CSAs consist of a specified amount of vegetables each week or every other week for a certain amount of time. Pick ups are the general rule and little supplementation is needed to get you through a week filled with produce. These can be a bit more expensive than just buying produce, especially if you do not use all of the produce each week.

     Buying larger amounts of an item is generally a sure-fire way to get a discount. Whole Foods regularly offers a 10% discount for buying a case of an item. It may seem silly to buy an entire case of canned Indian food, but when you eat it at least once a week and can save .47c per can – that's a $5.64 savings on your groceries just by purchasing one item in bulk.

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No Fuss Hashbrowns For One

*Vegan and gluten free.
This is an easy-as-it-gets recipe. I would let a 12 or 13 year old do this on their own, with limited supervision – not that I have children or know any 12 or 13 year olds. Seriously, though, it's a fast and easy recipe that calls for very few ingredients, quick prep, and instant gratification.

What you need:
1 medium potato½ sweet onion
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme
Fresh ground pepper
Dash of saltOil for cooking
(You can easily adjust the ingredients for more than one serving)

(I'm eating this as I write the recipe!)
How to do it:
Chop up the onion into smallish pieces. They don't have to be perfect and uniform, just smallish so they'll soften up while cooking. Bag the other ½ of the onion and throw it in the fridge for a later use. Dump the onions into the bottom of a small mixing bowl.

Take your handy-dandy grater and grate that potato, baby! Only after you've washed it and picked off the bad spots with a knife, of course! I prefer to just stick the grater in the bowl so I don't have to transfer it over later, but if you do it elsewhere, put the potato in with the onion.
Pick the thyme off the sprigs and do your best to chop those little guys up a bit. Nothing fancy, just get the job done. Dump that in with the onion and potato and add some fresh ground pepper and some salt to the top before digging your hand in and mixing it all up. You could use a fork to do the mixing, but what's the fun in that?


Coat the bottom of a medium or large skillet with olive oil (use a spray bottle or a paper towel moist with olive oil) and heat it up to medium heat. Once hot, dump in the potato mix and scoot around to form to potato blobs. Again, nothing fancy, just makes it easier to turn two smallish hashbrowns than one large hashbrown. Cook for about 3 or 4 minutes per side, or until your desired crispiness is achieved. I topped mine with Daiya and Braggs and flipped them over, Daiya side down, to help melt the cheese. The cheese doesn't stick too bad in the skillet, so just about 30 seconds should do the trick.

Eat and enjoy. Sharing optional.

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