July 25, 2012 and our thermometer reads 101*!

It’s July.  It’s hot.  As a matter of fact, it’s hotter than Hades and it makes people feel crabby.  You yearn for the time when you can just play in the snow, make snow angels and snow men and snow forts!  It’s a challenge to be so close to the end of this  hot summer month-so near and yet so far from payday-yet we crave something yummy  COLD and sweet.  What’s a family to do?  Especially a family who depends on public assistance for their food dollars?

Mother Connie has a solution or two.  These ideas are not for everyone but take what suits you and leave the rest for another time.

1.  Surprise your family by eliminating a meal that must be cooked, creating heat in the kitchen and all through the house:  replace your evening meal with an ice cold MILKSHAKE.  You may not have ice cream in your freezer but there is probably a supply of ice CUBES…drop some cubes into everyone’s glasses and pour some delicious, homemade chocolate milk over these  frosty piles of cold.

Here’s how Mother Connie makes chocolate milk: 

Using a measuring pitcher, I use equal parts of cocoa and sugar-powdered sugar works as well as granulated.  I add a small amount of hot water into the cocoa/sugar mixture and stir it thoroughly.  I add 1 or 2 teaspoons of vanilla flavoring to that and pour the whole business into a pitcher.  I add enough milk to fill as many glasses as there are, stir it well and pour the chocolate goodness into each glass.  If you are blessed to have ice cream, you can forgo the ice cubes.

Since this drink is a substitute for a meal, you may want to offer the faces around your table some fresh fruit or augment the meal with nut butter/jelly sammies.   In my experience, children love to have dessert for their main meal!

2.  Mother Connie is adamantly against soda pop.  But in July, nobody will die if one time you make ice cream floats.  As an afternoon refreshment, these cannot be beat.  You can use whatever soda you like-root beer, cola, fizzy clear soda pop or fruit flavors.  Ice cream is great but so is sherbet.  You could even use watermelon, depending on the flavor of soda you choose.  Be creative.  Let the kids experiment.  Splurge on plastic cups so there’s minimum clean up.

3.   Breakfast food has become supper during the summer in  The Club House.  We pour our choice of cereal (Yes, Mother does not regularly keep cold cereal on hand but there are exceptions and we choose carefully) and pour cold milk over it.  Sometimes we go to the picnic table, sometimes we make a picnic by changing the scene: spreading a tablecloth on the living room floor makes things more festive!

4.  Make good use of an antique platter, pretty tray or paper plate by offering your diners an assortment of fresh fruits or a pretty arrangement of veggies, all cut and inviting.  Fruit salads and veggies make for cool summer meals and are far more nutritious than soda pop.  grin

These are but a few ideas you might like to try.  YOU, dear Members, no doubt have ideas of your own that far outweigh these.  We’d love for you to share.  And comment. 

SIDEBAR:  Oh, but Mother Connie is getting to be such a nag about comments!  END SIDEBAR

We have been delighted to hear from new members of the Food Stamps Cooking Club.  You are privately sharing your struggles and victories of having EBT cards for SNAP and WIC.  You are letting us know about what you do with your food commodities and things you have from food pantries and food banks.  You are so good to share your experiences of living on a dime, s t r e t c h i n g your food budgets and being as frugal as you know how.  WE THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.

Please stay a cool as you can.  Drink lots of good water, don’t  over do as you work in your gardens or homes or on the job.  Pace yourselves.  This heat is brutal and we want you to be safe and well.  We hope people are checking in on one another and sharing any cool air they might. 

Above all, please remember you are loved and appreciated!

Connie Baum

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