Pinning it down {3}...reuse, repurpose, recycle

It's no wonder I am on my third installment of Pinning It Down here on my food blog. I admit I enjoy Pinterest, but I am still trying not to get too cozy with beautiful homes and elaborate projects (trying to keep that dastardly covetous demon off my shoulder). Food, however, I can do without getting carried away. So I'm pinning away good things to eat and clever kitchen tips.

This is so simple and so genius (whoever thought it up is most worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize -- dontcha think?). I don't think I'll ever throw away another whole plastic soda or water bottle. Just cut the bottom third or so off (mostly below the curve at the top) and stuff an open bag up through the mouth (it helps to twist it a little), fold the bag down and put the cap bag on. The bag doesn't come untwisted, so the contents stay fresh. Love it! You could do this with any thin-ish kind of bag -- crackers, chips, cookies, even bread, and possible milk bottles as well as long as you give 'em a good scrub first.

My college son (environmental policy and management major) is becoming so proud of my reuse- repurpose-recycling. What he doesn't know is I'm just cheap!

Note: I deleted the original pin because I could not locate the source.

it works! II

I had every intention of posting this idea last week right after the last one. But these people, called my family, have these expectations that I should cook, clean, launder for them, shuttle them places, and, uh, school them, of all things. I tease because I don't really mind, but it really cuts into blogging time. I often head for the computer, but am sidetracked by someone or something. I feel like Batman and Robin, "Foiled again!"

I saw this idea at the Daily Buzz along with the strawberry idea below. I always knew you could pop popcorn without special gadgetry but didn't know that it was quite this simple. Popcorn and a brown paper bag. That's it. Easy peasy. Even the kids can do it, though there was one burned popcorn incident at 1 a.m. with a particular 19 yo boy (did you know the smell of something burning can wake you from a dead sleep?). Just don't recook the old kernels.

I used a jumbo size brown lunch bag and about 1/3 cup popcorn. As you can see below there was plenty of room left in the bag for more popcorn, but the kids each had their own bag, so 1/3 cup was plenty. We have a popcorn setting on our micro -- I think most do these days -- but if you don't just micro on high until the popping slows down.

We added a tablespoon of melted butter and salt after the popcorn was popped. Shake and serve.

it works!

Here's a question for you (unrelated to the post title): why is it that when I use my oven timer with the oven on, the timer doesn't shut off when I turn the oven off? Don't answer that. I know the answer. It's just a constant source of frustration for me.

Anyway...I saw this great suggestion yesterday on the the Daily Buzz. I just happened to have strawberries planned for dinner last night (to go with Eggs Benedict) and it works! So easy. And for fun you can put a strawberry on the straw for the kids to use in their juice or smoothie. Or even chocolate milk.

Quick stuffing tip

Cubing then toasting the bread makes a lot less mess than toasting and cubing. Toast on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven until no longer soft.

Drying Fresh Herbs

My brother gave me some fresh sage and lime-thyme (he assures me it's tasty in salsa) from his garden a few weeks ago and they have been on the top shelf of my pantry in paper sacks since then. I just took them down and pulled them out of the bags, and, voila, dried herbs. My brother taught me this little trick and it's wonderful -- just place your fresh herbs in a paper bag -- he just uses a lunch sack -- and wait. After a few weeks they were completely dry and I placed them in plastic zipper bags in my spice cabinet.


My girlfriend gave me a huge bunch of rosemary, and because it was so large, I just tied it and hung it next to my kitchen window. For a few days my kitchen smelled wonderful.

I haven't cut any herbs from my own garden, but a hard frost is around the corner, so I better get out there. Of course, you don't have to have a garden to dry herbs. The next time you have purchased fresh herbs leftover, just tuck them inside a paper sack for a few weeks, and then enjoy them dried.

Did You Know...

...that toothpaste makes a perfectly efficient silver polish? Just wipe it on and wash it off. If your silver is more tarnished than my fork (left), you might want to let it dry for a little while before washing.

 un"polished" (left), "polished" (right)

And it leaves you with minty fresh hands!


PS Tooth"gel" does not work -- must be paste.

Homemade Baby Food

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Faith was a little too old for baby food in this picture, but she was young, and so sweet. Anyway, she ate plenty in her day.

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I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not pregnant. Sadly, I'm way beyond being able to get pregnant. I'm not making baby food myself, but I certainly have made a lot of it in all my years of babies.

The reason that I started thinking about it again is an article Doug read to me from the newspaper the other day. He said there is a new phenomenon that occurs at grocery stores between 11:30 p.m. and about 1 a.m. on the last day/first day of each month. Apparently if one receives food stamp or WIC money, the money is transferred to ones "account" at midnight on the first of the month. The recent phenomenon, which has been noticed and documented by grocery stores, is that parking lots fill up at around 11:30 p.m. on the last day of the month and are empty again by 1 a.m. on the first day of the month. There are enough folks out their shopping at that hour that grocery stores have altered their stocking patterns and plan ahead for extra employees. Because money is so tight, many families have run so low on groceries that they simply can not wait one more day to fill the cupboards, and so they go grocery shopping at midnight.

The article got me thinking about baby food when the writer noted one particular couple who were shopping at a Wal-Mart with their cart loaded with Gerber baby food and Cream of Wheat. I applaud these folks for spending their allotment on baby as there are plenty out there who would load up on food that is for everyone except baby. But Gerber baby food is convenience food. And Cream of Wheat is top-of-the line breakfast food. Sadly most folks don't know that. They think Gerber is the only way to feed baby.

I got to thinking about how so many people have no idea how to go about making baby food, and they certainly have no idea how easy, or inexpensive it can be. With a couple of sweet potatoes, a butternut squash, a bag of carrots, a bag of frozen peas, and a bag frozen green beans you have vegetables for a couple weeks, depending on how old baby is. A bag of apples, a couple ripe bananas, a jar or two of peaches -- fruit for a couple weeks. And baby can eat regular oatmeal and even cooked white rice if it's made properly -- two choices which are much less expensive than Cream of Wheat.

What people tend to forget is that baby food is just like grown up food without seasoning, pureed to a nice, smooth, swallowable-without-teeth consistency. If mama is making steamed carrots for her family for dinner, she is making baby food minus a few short steps. By peeling and slicing a whole bag of carrots instead of just the five or six her family needs, she can go through the whole process for making baby food without hardly doing any extra work. Once the baby food is made, she can portion it out into plastic ice cube trays (just a few bucks) and freeze them. Once it is frozen solid, she pops the cubes out into a ziploc bag and then can just take out and heat up as may cubes as baby will eat.

I did a quick search on the internet and found this website which gives very good instructions for making homemade baby food. If you have a food processor, or immersion blender, making baby food can't be easier. You can also use a food mill (like this, or even an inexpensive one like this). This page of the website gives detailed recipes for each vegetable or fruit, and even for meats, teething biscuits and finger foods. The same website gives instructions for making inexpensive baby cereal -- so easy to do with a blender or processor.

Looking at all that great information makes me anxious for the day when I can teach my own daughter, or daughters-in-law to make food for their infants. I wish that mothers and fathers using food stamps and other food assistance programs had mentors who could show them alternatives to buying expensive baby food. Sadly, so many were raised with convenience foods and don't know how to cook very basic foods.


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The gift of recipes

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Many years ago I gathered and published into a cookbook recipes from families in our school community, intended as a gift to the faculty and administrators of the school. We had plenty of copies, however, and many families benefited from the collection in their own kitchens. As the person who processed all the handwritten recipes into a publishable format, I got to know quite a few of those mamas, as well as their style in the kitchen. Some were "scratch cooks" as I often call those who bake and cook the way their mothers did, using recipes passed down in the family. Some were "modern cooks" who used modern ingredients to create fusion foods -- combinations of multi-cultural dishes. It was all good.

I remember one woman in particular who told me some of her best recipes came to her as a wedding gift, from a dear friend who could not afford a pricey gift, but instead gave her a gift from the heart -- some of her best recipes. As a private business woman with a catering business she had some real keepers, and had gifted them to her friend to start her own collection in her own newlywed's kitchen. How precious, I remember thinking -- how very personal.

It was not long after that I started my own collection for my two young cousins Amy and Jill, and then several years later for my niece Rachel. I gave them my very favorites -- easy recipes that a young woman can make with little experience, and family recipes -- dishes they may have enjoyed in my mother's or my kitchen.

I came across some blank recipe cards recently when I was cleaning a kitchen drawer and I was reminded that I had not gifted any new recipes in at least a year. Having just baked a loaf of banana bread, I sat down with the recipe and copied it -- I'll give a handful of new recipes to Rachel for her upcoming birthday. Years ago I gave her to box to hold the recipes. Maybe this year an apron and some kitchen tools for her hope chest.

I have never known a woman who did not treasure a hand-copied recipe from a beloved family member. Those recipes always seem to taste so much better. They elicit memories and warm feelings that make the food created so much better, so much more real, if that's possible.

When money is tight we often resort to homemade gifts, but you don't have to wait for crunch time to give family recipes. Offered in a collection box, or tied with some kitchen twine, paired with some wooden spoons and a set of stainless measuring cups, the gift of family recipes are heartfelt and cherished and can be given for any special occasion.




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Kitchen Tip: Chipotle Peppers

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I use quite a lot of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo in my cooking. But even using quite a lot I could never use a whole can of these spicy little mamas. One pepper and a tablespoon of sauce is plenty in most recipes. So what to do with the rest of the can?

Take each pepper and place it in the recess of an ice cube tray. Then spoon sauce on top to fill. Freeze and when they are frozen, pop them out into a ziploc bag and back into the freezer. Then when you need one, take out a cube, and with a sharp knife, chop while frozen -- no need to thaw. Works great!

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Kitchen Tips: Diced Peppers and Onions

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If you are dicing a pepper or an onion and you don't plan to use the entire thing, dice it any way. Place the extra in a ziploc bag and pop it in the freezer. Instead of putting it back in the veggie drawer, in hopes of using it, you'll have it ready to use right from the bag.



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The Thanksgiving Table

diagram from hungrymonster.com


Today my favorite job is on my list of things to do: set the table. We will have two set tables this year (we often have three), and one is our kitchen table, so I can't set that until tomorrow before dinner, but I can set the dining room table and I love that job.

I love getting out my mother-in-law's wedding silver, polishing it up and placing it besides my own mother's wedding china and crystal. I love putting out the freshly ironed napkins and putting the candles around the centerpiece. This is the stuff big holiday meals are made of -- the extra pretty touches. I always pull out my Joy of Cooking to make certain I have the wine and water goblets in the right place, but I found a website today that helps you set your table. It couldn't be any easier. And don't worry if you don't have enough matching pieces -- my table is all mix and match, and either no one cares, or no one notices. In the glow of the dimly lit chandelier, and the table candles, it all looks gorgeous.






This picture really doesn't do the table justice, if I do say so myself. I had to turn the lights up for the pictures, but when the candles are lit and the chandelier dim, I know it will glow. You may notice that some of the glasses are different, and several of the chairs, as are the napkins (that was intentional), but when it's all put together, it looks pretty. You can't tell from this angle, but the centerpiece is an old cornucopia that has been in the family for years.



This is a decoration for the other table in the kitchen eating area. It just goes to show that it doesn't take a lot of money to pretty up a table. I found this little centerpiece with the artificial fruit and leaves in my discount grocer's closeout dept. for $3.99. Then I used some jelly jars, filled with popping corn and real cranberries, and a plumber's candle (about 75 cents a piece at the neighborhood hardware store) to brighten the table some more. This table is traditionally the "kids table" but I will sit there with my mom and my single brother, with the younger kids. I chose to move a few of the older kids to the dining room table -- maybe they'll "notice" some manners in there.

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