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It’s ALL about the $ at Food Stamps Cooking Club

February 28th, 2013

It’s all about the $$$$ when it comes to feeding those you love.

You saw the video the other day about eating what $4.00 a day will buy.  No doubt you have opinions about what was purchased.  Responding to the film, some of our faithful Members chimed in, offering the practices they employ in their own budget/menu planning/food prep for the faces around their tables.  If you have not seen these messages, they appear in the Comment panel below previous posts.

Tomorrow the people in our government could lower our resources even more with the infamous ‘sequester’.  If you have a $100.00 for food, the sequester may set you back a couple of dollars or say, half a gallon of milk.   It really IS all about the money!

There is no reason for you who use public assistance or face lower incomes to go into fear over this.  There is, however, good reason to figure out how to feed the people you love by s t r e t c h i n g whatever resources you happen to have.  

You, like the Members who commented, need a PLAN.

Plan what your family will need and study the circulars and prices so you can spend your resources accordingly.  This will be a glorious opportunity for you to experience new choices and experiment with new ways of food prep.

Some users of SNAP or WIC or food pantry foods do not cook.  Maybe their caretakers worked or worked more than one job and did not have the time to teach them.  Perhaps they don’t LIKE to cook.  No matter, by preparing foods at home, great amounts of money can be saved.  Another benefit of cooking at home is the chance to bond with your family members.  Most cooks remember hanging out with Mama or Grandfather or Auntie or SOMEONE who gave them good experiences over food prep–snitching tastes, chopping vegetables, peeling fruit for pies…this gave them the desire to cook as adults.  And let’s face it.  It is the responsible thing to do.

Don’t fall for the idea that cheap food is OK to eat.  Ramen noodles do not support health; they only temporarily satisfy your hunger pangs.  Boxes with “food” are hideous imposters, only pretending to be edible.  Fruits and vegetables may SEEM to be more costly but by eating real food-raw or cooked-your body will be well fueled and sickness won’t visit you so much. Learning to create meals with grains you may not have used in the past can be such fun.  Using veggies you have previously avoided might be more interesting than you imagined.  And please, do avoid those sugary treats.  They won’t even taste good to you once you learn to love other, more nutritious foods.  Sugar can rot your teeth and weaken your bones faster than you know.  Who needs dental bills on top of high food costs?

We really encourage you to cook.  If this is a problem for you, please let us know how we can help in this regard.  If you can read, you can cook.  Surely you have a relative, neighbor or friend who could help you learn to shop and cook.  Absent that, there are cookbooks everywhere, video tutorials online and Mother Connie is available to consult with you.  Just drop her an email at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com  and let’s see what we can make happen.  There is no charge for this, of course.

If you are living on a dime and hope you don’t have to manage on only a nickel; if you are concerned about how to feed your loved ones in the upcoming weeks, we do hope we can be of service to you.  The fact that you continue to send your sphere of influence to sign up for the Food Stamps Cooking Club and our little series of cooking tips tells us we are having a positive effect.  THANK YOU.

~Connie Baum. 

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Posted in Message from Mother Connie, Shopping, Tips

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Going Nutty at Food Stamps Cooking Club

February 22nd, 2013

Pecans, walnuts, almonds, peanuts…we are nutty for nuts in the Club House!

Did you know that you could pack a major nutritional punch just by adding a few nuts to the dishes you serve your loved ones?

It took Mother Connie a long time to learn this simple, low cost tidbit.  Nuts are not cheap to purchase but you don’t need lots of nuts to get lots of nutrition.  For example, a couple of walnuts, minced finely, and scattered into a salad will add texture, flavor and scads of nutrients.  Nuts are rich with protein and fiber and good oil.  Pecans, almonds, peanuts…various varieties liven up any food!

Another thing to consider is toasting nuts before using them.  This was a foreign concept to me, indicative of how we learn how to prepare food the way our mothers did...my mother never toasted anything but bread!

Here’s how easy it is to toast a small batch-say, the amount you’d use for a potful of oatmeal or a batch of muffins: 

Place shelled nuts into a small, dry frypan over medium heat.  Use whole pieces and chop the nuts after toasting. Shake the pan gently to keep the nuts moving.  If they stay put they could scorch.  When you begin to smell the fragrant, nutty aroma, they are toasted.  Allow them to cool by removing the pan from the burner, pour the nuts onto your cutting board and chop them to the size that suits you.  

These pieces will add glorious richness to cereals, salads, soups, stews, muffins.  And they will jazz up any vegetable side dish.  Is there anything nicer than green beans with toasted almonds?  I think not!

If you are using public assistance for your food source or if you have food commodities, food from a food bank or food pantry we welcome you to our little corner of the web.  We are on a mission to help people learn how to eat well and wisely, even though they hold an EBT card for SNAP or WIC.  Some of  our members are living on a dime or are just thrifty by nature.  Some people grew up  without knowing how to cook or shop and we want to hold your hand and help you learn. We hope we can lure you away from junk food and demonstrate better choices.

Your emails and comments cheer our hearts tremendously.  You are welcome to contact us at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com, where EVERY message is read.  We make every effort to answer each one, as well.

~Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links on this page. 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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Posted in Cooking, How To

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Cooking at Food Stamps Cooking Club

February 15th, 2013

Creating meals stacks up to mean food prep and cooking. We hope we help you make it FUN!

Planning for and preparing three meals a day every day is, as you are keenly aware, relentless.  It can also be daunting, not to mention how physically draining it can be or how EXPENSIVE.

You may have snazzy cookware.  You might have a glitzy kitchen.  Your food budget may be unlimited.  It’s possible you have kitchen help-a spouse, a parent, a child, a roommate or “day lady.”  In any case, nobody eats until somebody steps up to make the meal.  It’s wonderful to have help but we all know that not everyone has that luxury.

Most cooks in my world have picked up their cookware at garage sales or their collection pots n pans consists of hand me downs.  Most are mismatched and with any good luck, some have lids that fit!

Many years ago your humble blogger sold cookware.  One of the most important things I learned during that time was to use the right sized saucepan for your food.  That is to say that you would not put a cupful of corn into a three quart pot-unless that’s all you had to use.

Making skillet meals or one dish menu items makes good sense if your cookware options are limited.  Saute some onion, celery and carrot and add whatever cooked meat you have on hand.  *This is a great way to use tuna, which is usually low cost.  Serve that combo over cooked noodles or cooked rice and you have a nourishing and satisfying meal for very little money and not many dishes to wash!

If you fell heir to a poached egg set-up, I’d advise you to use those little cups for dipping out flour or sugar from your canister.  When it comes to poaching eggs you can do it EASILY by filling a skillet with water-about 3/4″.  Salt the water, add a few drops of any ole vinegar you have on hand.  When the water simmers, lower the heat and carefully drop each egg into the water.  Because of the heat and vinegar combination each egg will immediately begin to cook and it won’t look like scrambled eggs under water.  It’s a quick way to fix eggs and there is no grease involved.  That saves you some money.

If you are blessed to own a cast iron skillet, it’s important to know how to season it.  Those will last a lifetime and they are truly non stick when they are properly cared for.  I season mine every time I use it by washing it, preferably without soap, and then I pat it dry so as not to stain the dishtowel.  *I’d use paper toweling but that is sooo expensive to use.  I put it on the burner, turn the heat setting to HIGH and let the skillet heat through.  I squirt a shot of spray oil on the bottom and around the sides and turn off the burner and let it cool before I put it away. 

Storage of cookware can become an issue.  My collection fits well in the drawer under the oven and I like to store each pot with its own lid.  It’s so frustrating to have to hunt for lids when all you want to do is get a meal over with and get on with life!  Hanging cookware can be a handy way to store it, too.  And it won’t matter if your pots are not gorgeous enough to appear on magazine covers.  

Here’s a word of caution:  If your cookware is not enamel lined or glass or stainless steel, do NOT store food in it in your fridge.  It only takes a moment to scrape left over food from a pot to a food storage container or bag and pop that into the fridge or freezer for later use.    Meat can be wrapped in waxed paper.  I learned the hard way that food left on a cookie sheet can be tainted very quickly, wasting food and making people sick.

It’s been my experience that users of WIC and SNAP with their EBT cards are smart.  Those of you who fit that description probably have super great ideas about using and storing cookware.  We’d love to hear from you at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com 

If you are living on a dime, frugal by nature, or benefiting from a food pantry, food bank, or food commodities, you no doubt have had many learning experiences the rest of the Club Members could learn from.  We’d love to hear from all of you, as well.  The sharing that takes place here is wonderful!

We are hearing from peeps who have cruised by some of our favorite bloggers’ sites and it seems you are enjoying those immensely, as is Mother Connie. It’s a wonderful way to learn and to connect with like minded folks.  Thanks, everybody, for sharing the love.

We are looking forward to your stories about cookware!  Can’t wait to see your comments and messages!

~Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links on this page. 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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Comforting Pasta/Bean Soup: Food Stamps Cooking Club

February 13th, 2013
Who wants to spend the lazy days of summer in a hot kitchen?

Can we agree that pasta contributes to comfort food?

It’s entirely possible Mother Connie was Italian in another lifetime.  Oh, what delight there is in a bowl of pasta noodles, a salad featuring macaroni or a soup full of any kind of pasta product ever made!  Pasta is inexpensive and easy to make into whatever strikes your fancy.  Soup is wonderful on the cold days mid-February gives us so here today is an idea we hope will hit you like a brick:

BEAN AND PASTA SOUP

 2  cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed *If you use white Northern beans, the Kitchen Police will not arrest you but it won’t be as authentically Italian…

1  can whole tomatoes, juice and all

2  ribs celery, roughly chopped

1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2  cups chicken broth *water will work, if you have no broth but the flavor your soup will not be as rich and the Kitchen Police don’t really care which you use…

2  tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2  cup pasta of choice *macaroni is Mother Connie’s fave but even rice would work if you are in a pinch.  Pasta swells as it cooks…

salt and pepper to taste

basil leaves – fresh if you have them but dry basil will flavor it nicely

4  tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Place beans, tomatoes with their juice, celery, garlic into a good sized soup pot.  Add the broth + one cup of water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the oil and the pasta, then boil UNCOVERED for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

**Mother Connie places a wooden spoon over the pot of cooking pasta to prevent boil overs.

Add the basil, salt and pepper.  Be sure to taste so you know if it needs more seasoning.  When you are satisfied with the flavors it is ready to ladle into soup bowls or soup plates.

Put the cheese on the table to be passed so each diner can top his own soup to suit his taste.

Are you living on a dime?  Do you scrimp by every month using an EBT card from WIC or SNAP?  Do you used food commodities?  Food pantry food?  Food from a food bank?  Are you stretching your food budget to the max every month because you love the challenge of doing all you can with your food dollars?  This blog is meant to help YOU, no matter who you are or how you fit into this grocery budget business.  Ya gotta EAT, after all… 

It is such a delight to read your comments and we love getting your mail at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com    Thanks so much, everybody!

The Club House is BURSTING with new members!  This is because you have been urging your peeps to join and get our little series of cooking tips.  We know you find it refreshing not to be bombarded with sales pitches and you feel as if you can come here and be whoever you are.  That makes Mother Connie’s heart sing.

~Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links on this page. 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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Posted in Cooking, Recipes

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End of the Month at Food Stamps Cooking Club

January 28th, 2013

Good grief! Would you look at that calendar? We are into the very last week of January already! The month is nearly gone and the grocery budget is toast! What’s a cook to DO? Maybe we have an idea or two that will keep your loved ones fed until the food budget gets fat again…

Most people at your table are likely to be pasta lovers; everybody knows how inexpensive pasta is…you may think you must have meat balls with pasta to have a complete meal. But if your budget doesn’t allow for meat balls, try this: Just mix some bread crumbs with a bit of oil, toss in some herbs, like parsley and maybe a touch of oregano, a tad of garlic powder and salt and pepper. You might even have some of that dry “spaghetti cheese” to go with it! Now, a pasta bowl of that combo would bring most everyone to the table pronto! And they’d leave all satisfied…especially if you also had some roasted veg as a side.

Maybe you have not paid much attention to roasted vegetables. I love them raw, cooked, sliced, diced or mashed, no matter what vegetable it is. This is not true for all folks but veggies are sooo much more inviting when they are roasted! They are sweeter and so pretty on the plate!

You can use thick slices of cabbage, for example. Drizzle some oil or shoot some spray oil over a roasting pan, lay the cabbage out and season it with salt, pepper, whatever you like. Maybe a dash of hot sauce or cayenne if you like that extra kick and give it another thin coat of oil. Put it into a 400* oven for about 20 minutes. When it smells wonderful and has a caramel coating, it’s ready to take to the table.

Other vegetables that are perfect for roasting are carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips…whatever strikes your fancy. Just make sure all the pieces are about the same thickness, make one layer, season them as you like, coat them with oil and pop them into a hot oven. I like to stir them gently and turn the pan around about halfway through the cooking process.

If you serve the pasta as described above and have a platter of roasted veggies, you will hardly notice there was no meat on the menu!

What do YOU do to economize when the money runs out before the month?

This blog caters to the users of public assistance for their food dollars. If you are a holder of an EBT card for WIC or SNAP, you might find this site helpful. Do you find yourself living on a dime? Using things from a food pantry, food bank or food commodities? Are you pragmatic and frugal and s t r e t c h your food dollars till the paper splits? You are in the company of others just like yourself.

You may have sent a friend of yours to this blog and they, like you, signed up for our series of cooking tips. We are welcoming new Members every day and we marvel that our Club House is bursting with all of you. We sincerely hope you find meaning and a sense of belonging here…we like to think it’s a bit like neighbors chatting over a backyard fence. All are welcome here…with the possible exception of those pesky spammers. :(

Members, you are welcome to contact us at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.

~Connie Baum

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Posted in Cooking, Tips

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Use It Up at Food Stamps Cooking Club

January 24th, 2013

Dear Club Members:
I am so excited I can scarcely breathe! One of my favorite bloggers-I have many of those-graciously agreed to give us a Guest Post and today’s the day! Pamela, of Feral Homemaking: http://feralhomemaking.blogspot.com/ offers us these thoughts.

“BE A HEDONIST AND USE IT UP!

I use things up, all the way up, because I’m a hedonist. It sounds counterintuitive, but it isn’t.

If I enjoy something, I want to enjoy every single thing it can offer me. I want to get as much use and pleasure out of it as I can. I don’t want to go through a hundred of them and leave a trail of peelings, ends and sad leftovers that are left to rot. I want to savor every single bit of it. That’s a big reason why I use things up completely—the other reasons are ecological (I don’t want to use more resources than I need) and financial (I like frugality). One area where I really focus on this is food. You can use this principal with anything—crafts, scraps and leavings from projects, old containers, etc., but I am all thumbs when it comes to crafts and I am terrified of ending up on the TV show Hoarders. So food and cooking it is.

Don’t get me wrong–I have made all kinds of flubs in my quest for low-cost, delicious cooking and general frugality. Everyone’s mileage varies, of course, but being a single woman, some of the stuff that works for large families may not work for me, and some things that I would have discounted actually ended up being quite useful. One things that really helps is making and using less. I have found that making smaller servings than I used to make really helps since I tend to make too much and then have a lot leftover. If I’m still hungry, I can reach for something else—maybe, if I had a little meat and some vegetable and rice, I can have some salad or a piece of fruit or yogurt. Often, however, I find that I’m actually full on the smaller serving I prepared for myself.

Buying in bulk is nice, if you are going to a) eat what you’ve bought before it goes off or b) remember that you even have it. (I have had many mold gardens in my fridge because I bought in bulk and never used it.) It’s way too easy to buy things because they are a good deal and then let them get freezer burn or gather dust in the back of your pantry. I’ve seen people suggest that you make up a list of what you have and then base your shopping decisions on that. I’m not nearly that organized. What I do is basically this:

Buy only what I need

Use it up completel

By “use it up completely” I mean just that. I don’t just mean, “Hey, I have some leftover vegetables, I’ll put them in a container with other leftover vegetables for a soup or stew,” though that is a good idea. Here’s an example:

DRIED BEANS

1) Soak the beans you want to cook

2) Save the water to water your plants (yes, you’re not using the water directly, but plants get thirsty, you’re not wasting water, and they may have some of the nutrients from the dried beans now.

VEGETABLES (fresh or frozen)

1) I cook them on the stove in water. When I drain it, I save the water it cooked in and save the water in a container of vegetable stock.

2) I eat the vegetables

3) If there is any leftover, I either put it in the fridge for my omelet/scrambled eggs the next morning (depending on the vegetable), or I put it in a container in the freezer for soup/stews or things like stir fries or fried rice.

4) I plan to make the soup/stew and make some homemade bread to eat with it. It’s especially nice on a cold winter day.

MEAT

1) Cook the meat and eat it.

2) If it was bone in, take the leftover pieces, cut the meat from the bones for another use, and make stock with the bones (this is especially good for roasts, but it works for any bone-in meat.)

3) Use the leftover pieces in soups, casseroles, or sandwiches, or as an added bit of protein to salads.

4) If there are several meat pieces with the bone in and leftover vegetables, you’ve basically got soup right there.

FRESH VEGETABLES—I don’t compost ends and scraps right away (and I wasn’t always in a situation where composting was doable). This is what I do:

1) Peel and slice the vegetables.

2) Save the ends and skin (if the skin is edible) in a freezer container for stock. Do the same thing with tough stems.

3) Use those ends, tough stems, and peelings to make stock.

4) If I have fresh herbs from my garden or that I got at a good price, I save the stems and add those to the container for stock. Flavor—stock is for flavor. So I am not shy with herbs.

5) Preserve the stock—either pressure can it, or freeze it in one to two cup servings, or freeze in ice cube trays for when you need a small amount of water to thin out a soup or add to something—this will add flavor. Once they are frozen, pop them out of the trays and put them in a clearly labeled freezer bag.

BREAD

Once bread starts to go stale*, I’m so tempted to trash it. But I don’t. I do one of the following:

1) Cut into squares, toss with a teaspoon of olive oil and mixed dried herbs, and toast in the oven at 350 degrees (turning over once or twice) until they are crisp for croutons

2) Grating them for breadcrumbs and storing them in the freezer

3) Chop roughly and use for a strata or bread pudding

*It’s very rare for bread to go off in my house as I love bread, and I bake my own. It’s a big downfall of mine.

I do my best to do root to stem cooking. Many parts of the vegetable are edible, not just the parts that we’re used to eating. Green leafy carrot tops are edible and quite delicious. They are a tasty addition to fried rice. You can pickle watermelon rind, or peel off the hard, green outer skin and chop up the rind for salads. You can use the leaves of a tomato plant to steep in a sauce, soup or stock for a few minutes to add flavor (don’t eat it, though, they aren’t good for you to eat). You can eat broccoli stalks—if you slice off the tough outer peel, you’ll find the stalks themselves are quite sweet and tender. Don’t want to steam them to eat? Slice them into matchsticks for a snack with hummus or dip, or as part of a crunchy salad or slaw. Got fresh radishes, beets, or turnips? Those greens on top are edible. Now, I don’t relish a big plate of radish greens, but chopped up finely and thrown into a soup they do just fine. (I do like steamed or sautéed beet greens and turnip greens, but they are also pretty good in a soup.) If you get a stalk of Brussels sprouts, you can actually cook the leaves. Celery leaves are a great garnish or substitute for fresh parsley. Potato peels? If they are thick peels from Russet potatoes, they are good roasted until crisp, with a little olive oil and rosemary. Or save them for stock. Otherwise, if they are thinner skinned potatoes, I tend to leave the skin on and scrub them very well as there are a lot of nutrients in the skin.

One thing I will buy a lot of if I’m out: lemons and limes. I take what I need for the day, slice the rest (or in the case of limes, cut into quarters) and freeze. They are very nice in cold drinks. If I squeeze the juice out of one, I save the rind in the freezer (in a bag with other fruit peelings). Then, if I want to liven up my place, I put a handful of the peelings, half a cinnamon stick, a clove, and maybe another aromatic herb or two in a mini-dipper crockpot, potpourri pot, or on a small pan on the stove and let it simmer all day. It makes your place smell nice and it won’t irritate your sinuses or leave a film of candle soot on your walls.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO USE THINGS UP?

Oh, Pamela! What great ideas you have offered us! Those who use EBT cards from SNAP or WIC will get so many fresh notions for s t r e t c h i n g their food dollars! Those who have food commodities or get things from a food bank or food pantry will have a fresh take on frugality, as well. Those who are living on a dime may already do these things but it’s always good to hear from people who are like minded!

To those Members of the Food Stamps Cooking Club, please cruise over to Pamela’s adorable blog and leave her some love, won’t you? Her blog is found here:
http://feralhomemaking.blogspot.com…I am so sorry WordPress will not allow me to insert a link for this…boohoo…

We are thrilled to welcome new Members again today! Send your thoughts to us at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com – You are welcome to leave a comment in the comment panel here, as well.

Thank you again, Pamela!

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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Posted in Guest Post, Tips

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Granola! and Food Stamps Cooking Club

January 18th, 2013

We are going to pretend that the WordPress gremlins do not exist, even though we found a wonderful representation of oatmeal to share with you. Just imagine, if you will that there is a photograph of oat flakes scattered across the top of the page.

There is another DELIGHTFUL blog that brings smiles to my inbox and my face. It is called “The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking” and the photos and ideas there just ooze love and class and care. The blogger, Kelly, shows off her latest recipe by serving it up on white dinnerware-it just so happens that our daughter in law has the same pattern so I am partial. I admit it! grin

Kelly was gracious in allowing me to share her GRANOLA! Here is how she did it:

She calls it “MAPLE PECAN GRANOLA” *Is your mouth watering yet? If not, it will…

She put all this into a large bowl:

3 cups of oats – not the ‘quick cook’ kind

2 cups pecans, chopped ***I suspect you could also use walnuts or almonds BUT remember, this is Maple PECAN Granola!

1/4 cup chia seeds ***Either black or white DO NOT OMIT, these slurp up lots of liquid and add so much nutrition it’s amazing.

1/2 teaspoon sea salt ***OK, if you don’t use sea salt you don’t know what you are missing but I suppose land salt will do for this.

Then she put all this into a saucepan:

1/2 cup coconut oil ***This may sound esoteric but trust me, it’s worth a trip to the health food store to use this on a regular basis.

1/2 cup maple syrup ***I suppose you could “cheat” and make your own, with real maple flavoring but real maple syrup is wondermous and won’t disappoint

a spoonful of vanilla extract ***The Kitchen Police might not arrest you for using vanilla flavoring…

Kelly drizzled the wet ingredients over the dry and carefully stirred the whole works.

She then heated the coconut oil so it was melted.

She spread the mixture out on two cooky sheets. Kelly lined her sheets with parchment paper to keep it from sticking. She baked her granola in a 300* oven for 12 to 15 minutes and removed it from the oven when it was the perfect shade of golden brown. Can you imagine how wonderful and delicious her kitchen must have smelled?

Kelly let the granola cool thoroughly and put it into a glass jar. It’s so pretty I hope she left in on the counter for all to admire!

Do cruise by her blog http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2013/01/maple-pecan-granola.html?showComment=1358512251318#c6468536153175032902 (SORRY; WordPress won’t let me put in a simpler link! ARGH) See for yourself all the steps she took and all those great photos she shows there. And do admire “my daughter in law’s” china! And while you’re there, leave Kelly some love.

You can leave some love HERE, too…in the comment box, if you don’t mind.

There are so many other blogs to admire. My favorites include livingonadime.com CTonabudget.blogspot.com and creativesavv.blogspot.com. All these women are smart, creative, well organized, and they mean to help others navigate the kitchen and home in frugal, pragmatic, beautifully designed ways. They are family oriented and so loving. They all need love in return, so shower them, won’t you please? Thanks oodles.

*Food Stamps Cooking Club caters to those who depend on public assistance for their food budgets. If you are a user of an EBT card from SNAP or WIC or get things from a food pantry, food bank, food commodities or other charity you might benefit from the information we share here. If you are just living on a dime or enjoy the challenge of frugal shopping and cooking, we are here to help you, too. We LOVE hearing from you, either on the comment panel or by email: foodstampscookingclub!gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who is new here in the Club House. We just love getting new members and you must know this, for you are sharing this site-with all its warts and foibles-with your networks! THANK YOU SO MUCH.

~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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Posted in Breakfast, Recipes

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Lili Inspires Post at Food Stamps Cooking Club

November 13th, 2012

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!
Wherever there are pumpkins, there is a wonderful SOUP!

You may have noted that your “Fearless Leader” has vacated the Club House…Yes, the Cooking Class took all I had.  I guess it must have been the cleaning that led up to the big event!  GRIN  Well, I had blog posts living in my head, but I was so wound up in living my bliss that blogging just did not happen.

It isn’t that I was lying in bed, eating bon bons and reading trashy novels.  No, no.  I have been working on my Spanish, learning how to knit-make that learning how NOT to knit-and I’ve written letters, listened to music and danced like a teen aged kid.  I have been using a mini-trampoline since we gave up the paper route and I have been cooking and doing laundry.  Nothing of note and yet it has all been deeply satisfying.  I feel productive, despite the lack of posting here.

There are a couple of things that brought Mother Connie back TODAY.  First, Lili sent a blog post of her own that made me sit up and notice, so I begged her for permission to share it.  The other thing is that one of my granddaughters posted something on Facebook that had to do with recipients of SNAP or WIC and how they are so harshly judged AND how wrong she thinks that is. 

Judgmental attitudes such as these are the reasons why this blog exists.  So here goes and oh, how I hope this helps you and yours:

 

LILI’S PUMPKIN SOUP   -   with our sincere gratitude

5 to 6 servings

1  tablespoon any cooking oil

1  large onion, sliced thin, rough chopped

1  clove garlic, minced

Flesh of one roasted 2# sugar pie pumpkin OR 2 cups canned pumpkin puree

6  cups water and/or stock *Chicken stock preferred, but ham stock’s nice and water’s fine.

Dash red pepper flakes

1  large russet potato, peeled & diced into 1/2″ pieces

1  cup shredded cooked chicken breast

1   cup diced ham

pinch nutmeg

salt to taste  *Depends on whether your stock is already salted.

1 shallot, finely minced

Heat a large stockpot of medium. Add oil and onion.  Saute onion til golden, add minced garlic and cook 1 minute

Add pumpkin, 4 cups of stock and/or water and the red pepper flakes.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

After cooking — if your pumpkin is not pureed *I roasted mine in he morning, scraped the flesh from the skin upon cooking the soup* then mash well with a potato masher.

Add diced potato and 2 remaining cups of stock or water.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.   Mash or blend the potatoes into the soup.

Add chicken, ham, nutmeg, and salt to taste.  Heat until the meats are warm.  Stir in minced shallots and serve.

Lilli adds some cooking tips:

I’ve made this with just chicken, just ham, no meat whatsoever and with both meats.  The consensus is that it is best tasting with both meats.  *MOTHER CONNIE HERE:  People who  use SNAP don’t always HAVE meat!   Lili continues:  I prefer using a fresh pumpkin over canned.  Home cooked pumpkin has a prettier color and lighter flavor than canned.  for liquid, I prefer half chicken stock and half water.  This soup is also delicious when made with squash in lieu of the pumpkin.  Butternut squash is my favorite.  One other bonus:  the leftovers freeze very well.  I freeze soup in single size portions, for my weekday lunches.

She continues:

If you like this recipe, my name is Lili and I’ve been happy to provide it for you.  Please leave a comment.  If you did NOT like this recipe, my name is …um, er…BOB.  And I think the comments are malfunctioning today. Yeah.  That’s it.  The comments are not working so don’t bother leaving one if you don’t like it!”

MOTHER CONNIE AGAIN:

Now you understand, dear Members, why I was moved and motivated to come to the computer and blog once again.  I’ll make every effort to be a better advocate for you from now on!   Thank you so much, Lili!  I hope they leave some love for you and leave “BOB” alone!  grin/giggle

If you Members choose to  leave some love on the comments section here, I will see so Lili gets your message.  Now let’s get some soup going!

 

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.

PS/The membership is growing!  Each of you is dear to Mother Connie’s heart and it is her sincere hope that this blog, along with our little series of tips is helpful to you and yours!  Thanks to all of you!

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Posted in Cooking, Recipes

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We Can Stop Cleaning the Kitchen at Food Stamps Cooking Club!

October 9th, 2012

 Nothing, but NOTHING, motivates one to clean the kitchen like having a French pastry chef come to your home for a Cooking Class!  Everything shone to a fare-thee-well and when the magic show had ended there was no trace that anyone had entered the kitchen…was it a dream?  Well, it was dreamy, all right!
Angels helped to bring this about.  You may recall that there were computer issues awhile back.  During that time, the August 29th issue of the Lincoln Journal Star carried the story of how Chef totes his pastries to the Farmers Market.  His story touched my heart and soul, so I ‘hired’ the heavens to help  bring him to the Club House for a Cooking Class.  Having a real, live chef has been a dream of mine for awhile.

When the computer was up and running again, I contacted Chef Lawrence through his website.  He responded instantly and shared with me that the news item had produced so much interest and new customers for him that he felt the need to give back.  He would be delighted to come and share with us.  Had we connected a week earlier the answer would have been ‘no’ because he was just too busy.  Angels have such great timing.

His philosophy is simple:  “Get 9, give 1.”  In other words, he ‘pays it forward.’  What’s not to love about that?

Chef Lawrence De Villiers, a French Pastry Chef from Lincoln, NE, relaxed in the Club House before he taught us about crepes!

 

Prior to his arrival, we made nice for him:

 

We learned at the outset that all cooking is meant to be simple.  Use simple ingredients.  Be sparing with herbs and fixings.  When making crepes, it’s best to whirl the ingredients in a blender or food processor and let the batter rest for at least one hour before preparing the finished product!  This allows the bubbles to dissipate so there are not holes in the crepes.

 

Chef discusses his work in a homeless shelter in the Bronx, after arriving in the USA from Normandy, France.

After Chef Lawrence had given us an overview of our lesson and had shared some of his story with us, he proceeded to the kitchen.  WOW, were we impressed!

These videos were made possible because of Food Stamps Cooking Club supporters:
Judy Coe, Videographer
Dustin and Wendi Buggi, Technical Advisors Extrordinaire
Pastor Kathy Rahorst, Chief Cheerleader
Loretta Pope,  Charleen Scott, Velda Koehler, Ruby Meister, Annie Wickett,Jan Neal- all consummate cooks
Jeff and Lorraine Wellman and Renita Farrall, long distance  Club Fans
Anita Brown, Prime Promoter
Kim, Janet and others who could not attend because of last minute snafus
and
of course,
THE NORMANATOR, who supports Mother Connie no matter what.
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
PS:  We live for comments!  Chef Lawrence will appreciate your comments, also!  Thanks for your patience as this blog post was being prepared FOR YOU, dear members!

15 comments »

Posted in cooking class

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Dill, Cleaning Tips and Food Stamps Cooking Club

September 14th, 2012

DILL!  Makes us think of pickles, potato salad and…

You have been well aware that the faithful Club Members have terrific ideas and have generously shared them.  Well, the mail was especially fun this morning because I heard from a Member from Canada!  She and I seem  to have a kindred spirit, as do many of the people who take the time to share their lives, and she reminded me how good dill is with carrots!  Here is part of her dear message:

“One thing I really love to use dill for is my carrots.  especially new carrots, cook until just done, then I add butter and a good sprinkle of dill.  When we have company they always rave about my carrots and that is all I do if I am getting “fancy”.  “   ~Pat

Boy.  I wish I had thought of that!  grin  We appreciate you for sharing, Pat!

Mother Connie really cannot think of dill without remembering the blog post  featuring Dill Pickle Soup!  It’s time to prepare a pot of that again!  Maybe one day soon I’ll bake a loaf of dill bread. . . wouldn’t that make wonderful croutons?

Pat also had another dilly of an idea:  “Turmeric is another of my favorites.  Especially with rice!“

Because rice can be ‘blah’ turmeric would certainly give it a kick.  That makes me think of my pal, Velda.  One of her go-to quick meals when she is too tired to cook is to cook rice, add a can of spinach, juice and all and heat it all together.  If she thinks it needs a finishing touch, she sprinkles cheese over it.  Now, I’m thinking a pinch or two of turmeric would give that dish a whole new character!

Recently a visitor to the Club House kitchen spied the spice rack, which had recently been moved next to the stove.  She was curious about the little bottles and how the contents got used.   Really, spices are a reasonably inexpensive way to add punch to your cooking.  We get into routines, we humans, and when we use spices to flavor our food it helps to break the monotony. She assured me she would “steal” all my best spice ideas and try them out in her kitchen!

There is always cleaning to be done…

Changing the subject, as I am wont to to, I want to share the cleaning tips sent in by April.  Bless her heart, she must keep quite the tidy house and busy kitchen.  Still, she makes the time to share with the Club:

“April’s All Purpose Spray:
In a spray bottle, combine equal parts water and vinegar.  Shake and use.  DO NOT USE ON MARBLE.  You can add essential oils, if you want.

To help clean drains pour baking soda down the drain, then pour a little vinegar down the drain.

For cleaning toilets just pour straight vinegar into the bowl, let it sit for a few minutes and then scrub and flush.  **Mother Connie here:  I had a good friend who used a paper cup to dip all the water out of the bowl and THEN used vinegar + soda to scrub.  She cleaned for a living, so I think she must have earned her $!

To make a a soft scrub, mix baking soda and water. It is non abrasive and good to use for sinks and tubs.”

*Thank you, April!

One more cleaning tip for you comes from a good friend who also cleans for a living.  Her home made window cleaner is the BOMB and I have used it for years.  When she gave me the formula I was astonished at how simple it is:

“In a large spray bottle use a pint of  alcohol *NOT the drinking kind!

Fill the bottle with water *Filtered water is best, if you have it

Add 1 TABLESPOON  Prell shampoo

Mix the ingredients by shaking the bottle gently and spray on glass.  Use coffee filters to polish the surface.

*When washing the INSIDE of windows, wipe them from side to side; on the OUTSIDE,wipe them from top to bottom.  By doing so, you can easily see any missed spots. “

Dawn, thank you so much!

Cleaning must be done in our homes regardless of how tired we are, whether we like to clean or not.  The SNAP or WIC funds help feed our loved ones but they do not wash the dishes or clean the sink!  If you use food commodities or items from a food bank or food pantry, you still have to sweep floors and make beds!  Those of you who are frugal or living on a dime, know all too well that those chores pile up as they wait–we hope these ideas will lighten your load.

Again, we thank the Members who contributed their ideas to this post.  We really could not keep house without you people!!!

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.

PS/Did you fill out the questionnaire for the Public Insight Network yet?  They will be so pleased to hear from you.  Remember that there is nothing to buy.  Click here:  Public Insight Network.

PS#2:  These cleaning supplies will be pressed into full service to properly prepare the Club House for the Cooking Class in October!  WOOOO HOOOO!

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Posted in From the mail, Home Care, Tips

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