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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Is It ALL About the Money?

August 31st, 2010

Everywhere you look, people are fighting for the money it takes to survive!

According to USA Today there is grim news.  According to an article that appeared yesterday-thanks to Sandra for bringing this to our attention-more than 40 million people are using an EBT card for SNAP to feed their families!

I can tell you for certain that there are also people who NEED this assistance but for whatever reasons they do not qualify for benefits.

People who have Medicare-50 million of us-may have those benefits but paying the bills not covered by Medicare can leave the food budget in a shambles.

Hopefully this page will help you to hone your survival skills, particularly if you  use public assistance OR NEED IT; if you use food commodities or visit a food pantry.  Mother Connie wonders seriously and aloud if the Soup Kitchens of the 1930s will soon reappear.

Someone asked me this question yesterday:  “Why do you wake up every day?”

People who need help with feeding their families propel me out of bed every day.  Scouring newspapers, cookbooks, newsletters, articles online and speaking with neighbors and friends to pick their brains in order to help families manage their food dollars and keep their dignity intact is my main push.

There are a great many factors at work in the world.  Politics, greed, fear, natural disasters and of course, the stinking economy.  It doesn’t matter WHY the issue exists; what matters is that people can feed their loved ones and be well!

Bringing you food ideas, recipes, tips and including you in our circle is critical to all of us.  We want to teach your children the best ways to create meals as well as memories.  We want to help you learn better and better ways of preparing foods in order that you can be well and happy and do it all within your means, no matter how meager.

We cannot do this alone.  We need one another in this Club.  We must have one anothers’ backs in order to bring out the best in everybody.

Today is the last day of the month.  If your house is anything like ours, your cupboard might be looking bare.  Your canisters may be low or empty.  The fridge sounds hollow; so does the freezer.  It is so easy to run out of food dollars before the end of the month.  I want to share a simple dish we turn to on EOM (end of the month) days:

Eggs with Zucchini

1 small onion, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

Saute these in a bit of oil in a skillet until the veggies are “sweaty”.

Add 2 cups of peeled and grated zucchini.  Be sure to squeeze out excess moisture before you add the zukes to the other vegetables.

Let these hang out in the skillet until the zucchini is soft.

Add 1 cup of cooked rice, quinoa, oatmeal or barley

Stir well until everything is heated thoroughly.

Add 4 beaten eggs and cook on medium low heat until the eggs are cooked.

As soon as the eggs go into the skillet, season the whole shootin’ match with salt, pepper and curry powder (or whatever else your gang likes best!)  to taste.  It won’t take much of any of it.

If you have toast and jelly to go with this dish, you have a total meal and everyone will be too full for dessert!

Speaking of dessert, it’s apple season around here.  Find yourself a neighbor with an apple tree.  They are most likely to be happy to share the bounty.  If you HAVE an apple tree, please look for someone who could benefit from your harvest. You might even make some new friends under the apple tree!

This horrible economy and all our serious needs could really turn out to be a blessing in disguise, people, as we come together for a common cause and help one another in every way possible.

And, club members, if nobody has TOLD you yet today, please understand that you ARE loved and you ARE appreciated!

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.


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Food Stamps Cooking Club: End o Summer EZ Do?

August 28th, 2010

Who wants to spend the last, lazy days of summer in a hot kitchen?

We are experiencing the last dog days of summer.  The nights are cool enough for delicious sleep and rest but the days are humid, breezy and way warmer than we feel is comfy.

One of my guilty pleasures is listening to Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s radio show that’s designed for people who love to eat.  She talks about food and how to prepare ordinary things in interesting and creative ways and it strikes my fancy.  Her food ideas are always simple and easy to duplicate.  Best of all, her concoctions never send me out to buy something special that I won’t have on hand!

As I am wont to do, I reworked one of her summertime supper notions and it is uber divine! I think it falls under the umbrella of “comfort foods.”   Here’s what’s for dinner tonight at our house:

MOTHER CONNIE’S VERSION:

PASTA, TOMATOES AND CHICKPEAS

1 ripe tomato for each diner.  Peel them if you like, or not.  As you prefer

1 clove garlic, finely minced-I only had garlic powder on hand

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon balsamic vinega

1 tablespoon basil-I used dried sweet basil from my pantry shelf

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Combine the tomato pieces with the garlic, salt, pepper, basil and oil in a large bowl. Add the chickpeas. Stir and adjust the seasonings to suit your palate.   This can stand, macerating all those lovely tomato juices for a few hours before you cook the pasta.

I cooked regular old $.99 cent sale priced spaghetti.  If you want to use the whole wheat or other styles of pasta products it would work just as well but might not be as cost effective.

We had freshly baked Foccacia bread with this and it was a big hit with The Normanator.  It’s hard to impress that man, so I took that as a very positive sign!

If you are swiping an EBT card from WIC or SNAP, this is a dish that will be very easy on your food budget.  If you happen to have goods from a food pantry, it is very likely you could easily put this together.  Maybe you’ll even put your own spin on it.  If you use food commodities, this dish will help those commodities to stretch as far as your month. For users of Angel Food Ministries food or Farmers Markets food, this is a superb way to manage those resources.  And for all those frugal, thrifty types-this will be very kind to your food budgets!

Besides,  who wants to hang out in a hot kitchen at summer’s end?

Maybe you would like to learn more about healthy eating.  Mother Connie Sez has some big ideas about how to get and stay well.  Her rhetoric and rants can be found on the Mother Connie Sez blog

It might even be that YOU should like to rant and rave.  You can leave us your comment-we’d be pleased-or you can send an email to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.

You are most welcome to visit the sponsors of this blog: Saving Dinner, Rapid Cash Marketing and ToothSoap, too.  Each has interesting ideas and there may be possibilities for extra income for your family that you’d find appealing.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  If you should click on them and sales result, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting business online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Smile! It’s Marilyn’s Cucumbers!

August 22nd, 2010


Marilyn knows and grows cucumbers so she sent her favorite salad recipe for us to share!

Marilyn describes herself as frugal.  That pretty much says it all for all of us who hang out in the Clubhouse.  We are all about getting all we can from EBT cards from SNAP and WIC.  We do all we can with food commodities and what comes from the food pantry.  If we have goods from the Farmers Market or Angel Food Ministries, we make that stretch as far as possible.  And then, some of us, like Marilyn, are frugal and want to be good stewards.

She sent her favorite recipe for cucumbers:

MARILYN’S CUCUMBER MARINADE

4 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons chopped dill
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper

Combine sliced cucumber with all other ingredients; cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.
Marinated cucumbers recipe serves 4 to 6

YUMMY, Marilyn!  Pretty similar to what we make at our house but with a bit of a twist.  It’s always fun to freshen the menu with new ideas and we appreciate your sharing!  Thanks so much!

We have  another great offering from our faithful contributor, Sandra.  She suggests this would be a perfect project for the weekend because it needs to simmer to marry the flavors.

SANDRA’S OLD COUNTRY SPAGHETTI GRAVY

3½ hours | 25 min prep | Yields about 24 cups of gravy.

4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

2 (28 ounce) can tomato puree

3 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (35 ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree or water (crush by hand when adding to the pot)

4 cloves garlic, crushed (or substitute 2 tablespoons garlic powder)

½ cup onion, chopped

3 – 4 tablespoons good olive oil (it should smell fruity when heated)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon Kosher or other coarse salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional)

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 cup dry red wine

5 cups water

In a large stockpot on low-med heat add olive oil and sauté onions for about 4 minutes, then add garlic powder and cook a moment longer. Then add remaining ingredients, being sure to mix everything very well. Cover and cook for 2½ hours. Taste and adjust seasonings, salt or sugar as desired.

So now we have the makings for a complete meal, except for dessert.  Maybe we’ll be too full for dessert?

Those of you who have entered your name and email address have received a series of cooking tips and we hope those have been helpful for you.  Occasionally, VERY occasionally, we send out messages that are germane to this site.  We never mean to intrude or overload your Inboxes.  We are tickled pink when new people join our gang!

We are also tickled pink to have comments and emails: foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com will get your email to us.

If you are interested in health and wealth you might also like to see The Healthy and Wealthy You blog.  You might even like to look into having another stream of income or super dental care by clicking on some of the ads and links in this post.  No pressure; just great ideas to enhance your life if you like.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Patty Came to Dinner?

August 21st, 2010

Guess who came to dinner? PATTY!

Mom always maintained that if you did not get to the grocery store you’d just have to make do in order to put a meal on the table.

Chef Shawn Bucher recommends that most meals consist of protein, sides and dessert.  He also puts a high priority on sauces.

Today I satisfied BOTH of those folks’ requirements and felt proud as punch in the process.

Mother Connie is not a fancy-schmancy cook; has no formal training and certainly is no high priced expert when it comes to the culinary world!

I made a meatless ‘meat’ patty!  Here’s how I did it:

MOTHER CONNIE’S PATTY

2 potatoes, scrubbed and quartered.  I had 1 white and 1 red tater.

1 small zucchini, peeled and cut to match the size of the cut potatoes.

I covered the potatoes and the zucchini with water, sprinkled them with salt.  I brought them to a boil and let them simmer til the vegetables were fork tender.

While those cooked, I chopped a small onion and set it aside.

I combined 3 small eggs, 2 slices of bread made into fine crumbs, the chopped onions and 1 teaspoon of curry powder.  I salted and peppered the mix, as well.

When the potatoes and zucchinis were cooked I drained and mashed them, skins and all, and added that combination to the eggs, crumbs, onions and seasonings.

I was eager to see if my combination would be fit to eat, so I took a page from Rachel Ray’s book and made a teeny sample sized patty to fry.  When it had browned on both sides I borrowed a hint from Anne Burrell, who is big on QC  or Quality Control-as in TASTE.

Well, let me tell you:  I thought it was MOREish, which means there may not be enough! grin

While the patties browned in hot olive oil I made a beshemel sauce.  That’s only a fancy word for white sauce.  I used 2 Tablespoons of melted butter, a slurry of 1 teaspoon of corn starch in water and stirred it all together.  Before it thickened I added about a cup or so of milk.  When it came together I salted and peppered it and added about a half a bag of frozen peas.  I flirted with the idea of adding spinach but the peas were more appealing to me.

You can see for yourself that it made for a pretty dish, spread all over a luncheon plate.  I had some beets-they had sat in a rice vinegar brine for most of the afternoon so I sliced them and used them as a garnish.

Next time I make these goodies, I’ll hope to have celery and corn on hand.  Oh, and beans.  Mashed beans could replace the potatoes and help to bind the vegetables together.  Carrots, cabbage-any combo of foods would work well with this method.  And the curry is just ONE of many ways to season things.  That’s where the creative cook can shine.

Fooey!  Even young children or picky husbands who don’t like anything but chicken nuggets will enjoy these yummies!

Oh.  About dessert.  I hate to admit it.  We had green gelatin.  Well, like Mom said, you have to use what you have in the house…I have no idea why we have gelatin in our house because it has no redeeming nutritive value.  It does LOOK cheery, though.

If you are users of Angel Food Ministries, visit a food pantry or use food commodities; if you have an EBT card for SNAP or WIC, we hope “Patty” will be YOUR new best friend forever!  This is also true if you have food from a Farmers Market or you are just thrifty and pinching your pennies to make your food budget last through the month.

Leave your comment on our doorstep or shoot us an email at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  We ADORE hearing from you!

PS/We hope you have scoped out The Dinner Diva’s ideas, too! They are spectacular!

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.


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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Is It Breakfast or Dinner?

August 20th, 2010

Does breakfast ALWAYS mean toast?

You are keenly aware that Food Stamps Cooking Club is all about saving you cash on your food costs and making sure you and your loved ones are healthy and happy.

Leanne Ely has that same goal in mind and one of her recent messages to me underscores that goal.  I want to share it with you all so you can have a new perspective on breakfast, especially now that fall is in the air, school is in session again-or soon will be.  Those of you who struggle with the EBT card covering the costs whether you use SNAP or WIC or if you depend on food commodities food pantries will appreciate the value in what The Dinner Diva has to offer:

“Breakfast for Dinner

by Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

My passion in life is that everyone would understand just how important the family dinner table is. That simple piece of furniture represents an intimate ministry in the home that will leave a legacy. To lose this focus and become driven by all kinds of extra curricular activities (both for the kids and the parents) is to lose your family vision. Those are some sharp words, but the consequence of skipping this ritual in favor of another activity is to invite chaos into your home and influence that you don’t want. Statistics have proven over and over again that the family that eats dinner together at least 4 times a week, at the family dinner table (not in front of the tube or in the car) will have children who are less likely to do drugs, drink, have premarital sex and do better in school. What parent doesn’t want that? And all because of a simple thing like dinner. Amazing how un-complex it all is, isn’t it?

The family dinner table represents the connection we have with each other. Each person sitting at the table isn’t there by accident, but is (I believe) a God-given gift and a specific fit for your family.

If I had the opportunity to give every woman on the planet a gift, it would be a vase of flowers for the middle of their dinner tables to remind them that this is a sacred place where their families are not only fed, but nurtured and loved. Where heart strings are tied and relationships realigned.

I invite you this week to make that sacred place pretty. Even if you are facing a raging schedule, at least attempt one dinner there this week. Are you up to the challenge? I know you can do this! Splurge on some flowers, or just a big bowl of apples in a basket you love. You could EVEN do candles if you wanted! As a matter of fact, why not have Breakfast for Dinner this week? It’s quick, easy and your kids will love it.

My children have many fond memories of sipping orange juice from a stemmed glass and listening to Vivaldi by candlelight while diving into a stack of pancakes! It will take 5 minutes to set the table and will create a lifetime of memories–I promise. Sometimes those old fashioned breakfasts of pancakes, waffles and eggs are near impossible to pull off even on weekend mornings. Why not have it for dinner?

Here’s a recipe to get you started:

Crustless No Recipe Quiche
Serves about 6

  • 1 dozen eggs, beaten like for scrambled eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 small package of frozen, chopped spinach; drained
  • 1/2 a small onion chopped and sauteed
  • 1 cup ground beef, cooked (I use just about anything from leftover spaghetti meat to leftover taco meat–use whatever you have)
  • 6 oz. shredded sharp cheddar (I use lowfat)

    • In a bowl, beat your eggs and add milk, salt and pepper. In a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan, put meat, spinach and cheese down then top with egg mixture. Bake @ 350 for 20-30 minutes, but check it often. I have noticed a great deal of difference in cooking times on this. Serve it with a great big salad and some whole grain bread and you have one wonderful supper.

    For the spinach, you can use broccoli instead if you like. I’ve substituted the meat for turkey ham or sausage even or left it out. You can do anything in the cheese dept. This (un)recipe has served me very well and guess what? It will work for you low carbers, too!

    That’s all there is to it. Simple, easy, cheap and quite good! Enjoy!

    ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

    Breakfast Mixes
    by Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

    To make the most of our days and to really start off right, it’s important to remember that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is when you break your fast from not eating all night. Your blood sugar is low–you need fuel. To start the day fuel-less is akin to taking a car on a long journey hoping the reserve tank will get you there and back–I promise you, it’s not gonna happen. Most likely you will end up eating something greasy from a drive-thru because your blood sugar has crashed or waiting till lunch and then eating out of control because you’re starving. Let’s not even talk about our foul moods due to our blood sugar being in the can. This is not how we’re meant to operate and we deserve better.

    The wonderful thing about breakfast is that it’s a cheap and easy meal. I’m not talking about the artificially colored, overly sugared breakfast cereals. That stuff is so over priced, you’ll need to take a second out on your house just to keep up with the expense! Not only that, but the only thing those cereals are good for is getting your kids hyper–there is NO nutritional redemption in that expensive stuff. Let me say this again: YOU are the parent and YOU can control what goes in your child’s cereal bowl every day.

    Pancakes and waffles are more “weekend” food. Who has time to make them during the week? YOU do if you can get these mixes together. Even better, you can make extra pancakes or waffles on the weekend, freeze them in big freezer zipper topped bags and use them instead of those expensive and less nutritious toaster waffles in the freezer section in the store.

    Here’s a terrific mix:

    8 cups flour (if you’d like an all whole wheat mix, use whole wheat pastry flour from health food stores)
    2 cups whole wheat flour
    1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour (at some markets, but for sure at health food stores. Optional; use more whole wheat flour if you can’t find it)
    1/2 cup cornmeal (stone ground)
    1 1/2 cups oatmeal (blend in your blender till powdered)
    2 cups buttermilk powder (this is in the baking section of your market)
    5 tablespoons baking powder
    2 tablespoons baking soda
    1 cup sugar (or sucanat–natural sugar at the health food store)
    2 tablespoons salt

    This will make four quarts. Mix all together in a very large bowl and divvy up into gallon sized freezer storage bags. I would mark the date with a Sharpie pen and keep it in the freezer although you can keep in your pantry.

    To make pancakes or waffles:

    1 cup pancake mix
    1 egg
    1/2 to 2/3 cup water (start with the lesser amount first and add if you need to)
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil

    In a medium bowl, stir mix with water, egg and vegetable oil. Heat your griddle and make your pancakes as usual! To make waffles, double the batter and follow the directions for your waffle iron.

    Basic Muffin Mix
    Makes 11 cups

    8 cups flour (again, if you prefer whole wheat, use whole wheat pastry flour)
    3 cups sugar (can use sucanat if you prefer, see note on pancake mix)
    3 tablespoons baking powder
    2 teaspoons salt
    2 teaspoons cinnamon
    2 teaspoons nutmeg

    Combine everything in a large bowl and divide into freezer zipper topped bags. Mark date with a Sharpie pen and store in the freezer or cool dry place.

    To make muffins:
    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

    In a bowl, mix together 3 cups baking mix, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup berries, raisins, chocolate chips or whatever else you’d like.

    Bake in a prepared muffin pan–that means lightly greased (I prefer the cupcake papers–easy clean up!), filling cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool for five minutes in the pan then turn out on to a rack to cool. Makes about 12 muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tin.”

    Copyright (C) 2010 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.


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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Sheila Went to Idaho?

    August 16th, 2010

    Sheila was responsible for the famed "Ben Bowl" we received so joyously. Now Sheila has traveled to Canada. AND IDAHO.

    Sheila is another of our faithful Food Stamps Cooking Club members.  She’s been vacationing and eating well and wisely in the process.

    Always eager to lend a helping hand to our Club Members, Sheila has offered this recipe on a post card she picked up in, as you might expect, Idaho!  Mother Connie jumped all over this because of the great crop of taters The Normanator has produced in this year’s garden.  And, not surprisingly, has put HER spin on this tasty dish.

    IDAHO BAKED POTATO SOUP 

    *Mother Connie says this translates as “comfort food!”


    2/3 cup butter

    2/3 cup all-purpose flour

    7 cups milk

    4 large potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed-approx 4 cups

    4 green onions, sliced

    12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

    1 ¼ cups shredded cheddar cheese

    1 cup sour cream

    ¾ teaspoon salt

    ½ teaspoon pepper

    In large soup kettle, melt butter.  Stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth.  Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened.  Add potatoes and onions.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.  Yield:  8 to 10 servings.

    ***Mother Connie, in her quest to be thrifty, used 3 cups of potatoes and 1 cup of shredded sautéed zucchini.  Also, not having green onions, white onions from the garden were substituted.

    Remember the Foccacia bread recipe we shared recently?  The leftover bread we had was cut into cubes, drizzled with olive oil and parked in the oven to toast.  That made for lovely, yummy croutons and we felt as if we were attending a feast!  We had a salad with Swiss Chard and tomatoes from the oven.  What a great meal!

    Thank you, Sheila.

    Users of EBT cards provided by WIC or SNAP; Angel Food Ministries users; those who frequent food pantries or use food commodities can appreciate the value and cost effectiveness of this soup, even in warm weather.  If you garden, if you have taters and no meat you could make this sans bacon and have a very nourishing meal.  For those who watch their food budgets closely; for those who yearn for comfort food-this is a wonderful menu item.

    Your cards and emails and comments are priceless to us.  Thank you SO MUCH for your participation in this effort to help folks stretch their food dollars.

    Connie Baum
    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Low Cost Kale Salad?

    August 8th, 2010

    This text will be replaced by the player
    Here is a wonderful tutorial I found on the internet because Renita, one of our faithful Club Members, brought it to my attention. It is part of the Natural News TV Network.   I was very pleased to find this because I am weary of creamed and sauteed kale.  I wanted something fresh and tasty and this certainly fills the bill.
    While the Kale Salad is the star of this video, alongside the chef with a wonderful accent, I would like to draw your attention to the WATER UNIT at the left side of the video.  This is the kind of water unit our kids have in their group homes and it provides pure, clean, magnetized, energized water.  This is the kind of water that is beneficial to vibrant good health.  If you would like more information, shoot me an email: foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com and I will cheerfully give you the persnickulars.
    For users of Angel Food Ministries, food commodities or food pantries; anyone who has an EBT card from SNAP or WIC; those of you who are frugal, thrifty and looking to save money on your food budgets-this kale salad will really be a highly nutritious dollar saving menu item.  You might have to lay out some cash for the ingredients initially but having them on hand will open new vistas for food prep on a dime.
    We LOVE LOVE LOVE getting your comments.  We have met some mighty fine folks because they took the time to leave their thoughts on this blog.  We met a coupla stinkers, too.  We might swipe an idea from one of our favorite bloggers:  she threatens to dip spammers in a vat of fish waste.  Twice.
    We hope YOU love, love, love the things we bring you and the series of cooking tips you may sign up to receive.  In addition, we sometimes send out messages we think will be of value to you.
    This blog is designed to help you stretch your food dollars and still be healthy.  We love people; we hope it shows.

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Favorite Perfume?

    August 6th, 2010

    Is anything so luxurious as freshly baked bread? And the aroma...DIVINE!

    My dad always declared that home made bread was his favorite perfume!  He and I used to sit on the front porch with thick slices of Mom’s home made bread, smeared with butter and sprinkled with sugar!  The aroma of fresh bread baking takes me all the way back to being three years old!  What a journey!

    It was an ordeal for Mom to bake bread.  This gave me the mistaken impression that it was a difficult task.  Bless Mom’s heart; she did not have YouTube videos or The Dinner Diva or many of the learning opportunities I have at my disposal.

    It just so happens that I found a fabulishous, easy and inexpensive recipe for a good and rustic bread that goes really well with soup or salad!  Even though it’s hot these days and heating up the oven may not suit your fancy, I promise you that you’ll be glad to have this bread product.  Remember, bread is the staff of life.  Or is it the STUFF of life?  In any case, you must prepare this baked yumminess!

    Chef Anne Burrell’s Focaccia Bread- Courtesy FoodNetwork.com

    •    1  3/4 cups warm water
    •    1  package active dry yeast
    •    1  tablespoon sugar
    •    5  cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
    •    1  tablespoon kosher salt, plus coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
    •    1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

    Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl in a warm, not hot or cool, place until the yeast is bubbling and aromatic, at least 15 minutes.


    In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 1/2 cup olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes on a medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft. Give it a sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.


    Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface, then knead it by hand 1 or 2 times. Again, give it another sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.


    Coat the inside of the mixer bowl lightly with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
    Coat a jelly roll pan with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. (Chef’s Note: This may seem excessive, but focaccia is an oily crusted bread. This is why it is soooooooooo delicious!).


    Put the dough onto the jelly roll pan and begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pan. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make finger holes all the way through the dough. (Chef’s Note: Yes, this is strange. But when the dough rises again it will create the characteristic craggy looking focaccia. If you do not make the actual holes in the dough, the finished product will be very smooth.)


    Put the dough in the warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.


    Liberally sprinkle the top of the focaccia with some coarse sea salt and lightly drizzle a little oil on top. Bake the dough until the top of the loaf is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and let it cool before cutting and serving.
    Oh baby!

    For those of you who have seen Chef Anne working in the kitchen you know she oozes personality and loves good food!  Her warm personality is surely expressed in this wonderful recipe.  We thank Chef Anne for this great offering.

    NOTE:

    If you, like me, do not have a mixer with a dough hook, worry not.  Work the mixture by hand.  It’s good exercise and this product is worth the extra effort!

    We salute users of SNAP, WIC, food pantries or food commodities as well as Angel Food Ministries.  We understand your work to feed your family is not easy.  We also acknowledge those who just want to keep their food budgets in tow because they are frugal and thrifty.  Here’s hoping the material we share with you is helpful and helps to bear your load.  We understand you are tired and weary at meal time; we hope to be of help.  It’s not as if we are in your kitchen helping you to chop veggies but we do what we can from here!

    We LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing from you!  Our mailbox has been full of late.  Some comments and emails are not worthy to publish but each message is read and considered.  Comments which do not relate to preparing meals with food provided by public assistance, meal ideas, cooking tips or things food related will not be considered for publication.  They will be considered spam and not the kind you fry!

    You may be interested to add a stream of income to your household.  If that’s the case you will want to check out the ads on the right of the blog and study  those opportunities.

    We hope you are enjoying your summer!  Today’s recipe for Focaccia bread is going to be a great hit with the people who sit around your table!  ENJOY!

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.


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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: SNAP Users Are UP?

    August 5th, 2010
    The numbers of people in need is growing!

    The number of people in need of food assistance is growing!

    According to Boston.com  the number of people who are receiving public assistance for their food requirements is staggering and growing!  This comes as no surprise to your humble blogger.  As one who is acutely and painfully aware of rising food costs and works with those in need, this brings a tear to Mother Connie’s eye.

    According to the aforementioned website, 19% more people in the USA are using SNAP.  Some of those are first time users.

    If you stay with the article long enough to read the comments you realize how these facts incite anger in people. It would seem to be reasonable that there should be outrage that this need EXISTS.  No.  People who commented COMPLAINED ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE RECIPIENTS!  Incredible!

    To those insensitive commenters I would pose these questions:  “What about the behavior of greedy CEOs and stockholders?  Does that affect the price of food?  Has the fact that many American jobs have been shipped across the pond affect our ability to earn a living to feed our families?  As Americans, isn’t it our duty to help one another?  And what about all the VALUES we hear politicians brag about?  Don’t we value one another enough to see so everyone in this country is well nourished?   Shouldn’t each of us be responsible for his/her own behavior?”

    So Food Stamps Cooking Club, hopefully, is a soft place for you to fall.  You have to eat, for heaven’s sake.  If you have children to feed it is imperative that you have help in doing so.

    We love you unconditionally, dear visitor.  We want to help you learn how to stretch those food dollars as far as possible.  We understand you might be working long, thankless days for little pay and you are dog tired when you get home.  We hope to help you create meals and memories that will bond your family and help you along life’s way.

    Here is an idea I pulled together yesterday that might be of help to you:

    BEAN SOUP-AGAIN

    Soak a package of beans overnight.  DO NOT SALT.  Drain and rinse the beans after they have soaked and cover them with cold water.  Set on medium heat, cover, bring to boil, and reduce the heat to a simmer.

    In a saute` pan, put:

    1  onion, chopped

    2  carrots, chopped

    3  ribs celery, chopped

    After the vegetables are tender, add a pinch of red pepper flakes and add that mixture to the beans.  Taste occasionally to make sure you have great flavors.

    If you have chicken broth, add some of that.  If not, no worries.

    When the beans are tender, add salt and pepper to taste.

    **For variety, add a package of thawed spinach after you have squeezed out the excess water.

    ***Another variation: Toss in 1/2  cup of toasted barley or 1/2  cup of rice.

    This soup is very good when served with cornbread.  For dessert, if you provide a rice pudding, you have given your family  complete protein on a very tight budget!  You can stand back and be proud of yourself!

    As for those complainers–they would complain about the price of a free dance!  Pay them no mind.  Now go hug your loved ones!

    For users of SNAP, WIC, food pantries or food commodities, we invite you to sign up for our series of cooking tips and occasional messages.

    If you are just frugal or thrifty, we extend the same invitation to you!

    You are welcome to send your ideas and comments to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com or leave your message at the end of this post.

    And please remember that you ARE loved and appreciated!

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly

    5 comments »

    Posted in Cooking, Food News, Recipes

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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Pizza Pie by Sandra?

    August 4th, 2010

    Mama mia! Sandra has shared her pizza recipe! Preheat the oven and let's get rolling!

    Food Stamps Cooking Club members are the most helpful bunch on the internet!  Sandra has graciously stepped up to share her pizza recipe; this was prompted by the post about tomatoes!  Thanks, Sandra!

    SANDRA’S HOME MADE PIZZA RECIPE

    Crust:
    1  1/4 c. hot water
    2  1/2 tsp yeast
    1  T. sugar

    Let yeast get foamy and then add 1  1/2 T. oil (I use olive), 1/2 tsp salt, and 3 cups flour (I use half wheat/half white).  Stir until it forms a ball.

    Brush pan with melted butter or oil or spray with nonstick spray.  Roll out dough with rolling pin and then press into pan.  Prick dough all over with fork.

    Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  Take out of oven, add sauce, cheese and/or toppings.  Bake another 6-8 minutes.  Voila!  Tasty homemade pizza.

    For the sauce I just use a can of tomato sauce to which I add salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings.  You could use spaghetti sauce if you have leftovers.

    For toppings I usually do 1/2 pound of sausage or some pepperoni or pineapple.  But you could do anything you want!  :O)


    Regarding her preference for peeled or non-peeled tomatoes, Sandra had this comment:  “I’m a non-peeler except for when I cook raw tomatoes into veggie fajitas – then I peel because the peeling gets bitter.”

    Thanks so much, Sandra.  People who love pizza and use public assistance like SNAP or WIC or food pantry food; even food commodities or Angel Food Ministries food will appreciate this low cost make-at-home goodness!

    SIDEBAR:  Have you SEEN the price of pre-made pizza rounds or store bought pizza?  HOLEY SMOKES!  It’s higher than a kite and now we learn that wheat prices will be rising AGAIN soon!  This recipe is going to help EVERYBODY and it will be fun to make!  END SIDEBAR.

    Thank you so much to those who have directed their family and associates to the opt in box which gets you a series of cooking tips and occasional messages we think would be of interest to you.  We have a growing number of members and we are very pleased about that.

    One thing we want to mention is that there is good kitchen help available from The Dinner Diva.  You might want to cruise by and scope that out.

    If you are interested in adding another stream of income to your household you might find this link helpful: Automated Affiliate Formula.  It’s only an idea…just like window shopping, you don’t HAVE to make any purchases.  It’s just fun to know what’s out there that might help your family.

    Let us know when you make Sandra’s Home Made Pizza and all the luscious toppings to used, won’t you please?  You are welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send your message to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com!  Thanks oodles!

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

    3 comments »

    Posted in Cooking, Guest Post, Recipes, Tips

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