Still have a bag of turkey in the fridge needing some creative recycling?This is the Turkey Tetrazzini recipe from Peg Bracken's "I Hate to Cook" book.I'm not much of a chef, but I have a few recipes I really love. This is one of them.Now, don't get scared off when you read this through. It may sound a little complicated, but after you make it once, you'll see that it … [Read more...]
Tightwad on Tuesday, Pt. 2
Already there have been some great comments and links to the Tightwad on Tuesday post.Apparently we're not the only ones who have made changes after all, contrary to what my informal local survey revealed.Nor are we the only ones who have been more on the tightwad end of the spectrum for some time. We've always been pretty cheap thrifty, but I can see right away that many … [Read more...]
Tightwad on Tuesday
Not long after the national -- now global -- financial upheaval dominated the news, I conducted an informal interview of friends and neighbors.While chatting with someone at the soccer field or church, I would sometimes inquire, "Have you made any changes as a result of this whole big economic scare?"They all answered, "No."I was surprised, because in these days of … [Read more...]
One Summer-Fall Day
Unseasonably warm temperatures reached the mid-70s today, allowing the kids to experiment with leaf inventions; they were unencumbered by pesky fall jackets or gloves and instead donned shorts and T-shirts.They raked leaves and jumped. They shook branches, raked more, heaped, leaped, tumbled, skidded and slid into the mounds.They created circles and walls of leaves. They … [Read more...]
Feeling Nifty being Thrifty – iPod Case Made from a Soccer Sock and Pom-Pom
Well, there's nothing like a national financial crisis to inspire people to greater frugality. These days I prefer using the happier term, thriftiness. For years, I've thought of myself as "cheap." I love that I can now refer to myself as "thrifty." It's trendy, these days, to be thrifty. Plus, who can resist using a word that rhymes with "nifty"? Well, speaking of … [Read more...]
Friday Food Thoughts: Apples Now, Apples Later
We went apple picking this week.We love eating freshly sliced apples as a snack or with lunch.We love them dipped in caramel or Nutella for dessert.We love them just about any way they can be consumed: as applesauce, apple butter, apple pie, or apple cobbler.We love apples.So I started thinking about ways to preserve apples, because just as we discovered on our blueberry … [Read more...]
Monster Nutella
A friend of mine gave me a gift. A big gift. Perhaps a near perfect gift.Check it out:For the photo, to provide some perspective, I placed an ordinary jar of Nutella next to the dynamic duo she bought at Costco. Can you see and appreciate the dramatic difference? Each of the big jars contains twice the little jar.That's a lot of Nutella.I can get the regular jar (that … [Read more...]
Bonus Bathroom Storage that Works for Me
Before I was married, I lived in a simple, inexpensive apartment with a couple of roommates. We all shared one full bathroom.Several other friends had newer, nicer apartments, and I coveted their master baths and walk-in closets. I told myself that if at all possible, someday, I wanted to own a house with a master bath and walk-in closet.That "someday" arrived nine years … [Read more...]
The Parable of the Lost Nickel
As I was leaving the post office, I heard the jingling of loose change hitting the sidewalk. The lady in front of me--from whose hand or purse it must have dropped--glanced down, but didn't stop. She kept walking. I stopped.I saw a nickel and picked it up.I looked around, because it sounded like more than one had fallen, but only found the nickel.I thought about my … [Read more...]
Frugal Friday Thoughts: Old Brown Teapot
Years ago, I found a humble, old, brown, "Made in England" teapot at Goodwill.I loved that old teapot. It was just the right size for a couple of cups of tea in the morning with extra for iced tea later. Or it would serve two cups each to a friend and me.The old brown pot wasn't ornate or delicate; rather, it was simple, sturdy, and useful -- just what this tea-drinker … [Read more...]
Thankful
For the cicadas' and crickets' late summer serenade.For lingering warmth, stretching out summer.For rain after weeks of dry.For food in the freezer.For food in the pantry.For water to drink.For safety.Freedom.Life.Health.Family.I'm thankful for today. For right now.For a bed. Clean sheets. A shower.For enough.Far more than enough.Philippians 4:19 (and 20) … [Read more...]
"Quatre Quarts" Translates to a Common American Dessert: Guess Which One
Our French visitor offered to make a cake for us. "It's very simple and common," she said. "Everyone makes it." She called it "Quatre Quarts."There are only four ingredients, all in the same amounts. That is, if you weigh your ingredients, like the Europeans do. She didn't know how we managed to cook without a good scale. To a girl used to working in grams, all of those … [Read more...]
Dealing with a Mess (a delicious mess)
I picked what I think is considered a "mess of beans" the other day.From my own little backyard garden!I couldn't believe our meager plot produced so many beans!I wanted to get a picture of them just picked and piled high in my basket, but the kids had borrowed my camera to go to the zoo. I had no idea I'd be at home wanting to take bean pictures (obviously I haven't … [Read more...]
Chucks in Paris
Buried in a previous post, I mentioned that we're hosting an out-of-country guest--a young teen from Paris.When people meet her and find out she's from Paris, she's an instant celebrity. People assume that everything she wears must be the mode in Paris. The scarf wound around her neck is a dead giveaway that she's from Europe, because no one other than a girl from Paris … [Read more...]
Eco-Friendly Experiments: Bicycling to Church (and thoughts on patience)
This past week we've only had one van. The other one is in the shop for repairs. As a result, we've been creative with transportation solutions, running errands by bicycle or simply staying home some afternoons.Inspired by this forced experiment (and with this post from Anne Jackson still affecting me a little every time we fire up the van on a Sunday), we decided to ride … [Read more...]