There
are two ways to save big money on food. The first big savings is achieved
when you learn to make your own product. You can do that with bread, hot
salsas, green and red, salad dressing, jam, pies and cookies. In the case
of salad dressing, you get better quality as OLIVE OIL is very cheap at
a barrio market, espec. arab or persian. No store bought brand has all
olive. The garlic you squeeze in is fresh, onion pieces are raw, Braggs
or soy sauce, real LEMON JUICE is fresh. Oregano, Worstershire sauce. NO
STORE BOUGHT dressing has all that. YOUR JAM has local fruits found
on trees in your suburb or bought on sale at the smaller non -chain markets
that have bargains, special weekly offers. Wait til you see a dozen kiwis
for a dollar, then peel lemon rind into them, strips, add lemon juice,
grated apple to thicken it, you have jars and jars of a superior jam for
no money. The second way to achieve savings is to keep ANY FOOD fresh
longer so there's no throwaway or staleness. FREEZING gets me two weeks
out of a loaf of bread. Two months out of a lb of TOFU. a Month out of
a pound of bacon. The Bread gets frozen, the whole loaf. I need some,
no mold, it's there. I remove slices I need Tofu gets cut into what you'd
need for a single bowl of soup. Once sliced it is marinated in sesame oil,
braggs or soy sauce, and frozen in single serving, marinade and all. I
don't use alum for wrapping, just plastic bags.
I buy a lb of bacon ends as it's cheaper than brand name bacon. A piece of plastic gets a single strip. Roll plastic to cover, then a second slice. Close plastic, Bend, freeze. Do about a dozen of those double pckgs. Come Midnight, I want eggs, a single strip rolls out of the plastic, rest goes back in freezer. I have all the bacon I need, or dare to eat, in a month long period and it only cost 2$, no waste. All summer long the alleys near my house drip fruit, grapes, apricots, citrus I can't afford a 3$ box of pectin, and I always have sale fujis in the house, 25c an lb today. Peel apple, grate into jam, the pectin in the apple clots your jam. SEE THE FOOD INDEX PAGE
Chickens can be found at 79c. lb now, whole. Buy a few, freeze them whole. Just get the paper bags out of them so you can just throw into an oven frozen.
THE SALSA THING. Salsa verde keeps
like jam in a jar. Sliced Tomatillos get
simmered with cleaned up jalapenos in a cup of water. Take off fire.
In
saute pan, oil, onions, garlic. Give it a minute to soften, then add
the
green tomatillos, all soft now, mash. Add cilantro, salt, cook a tiny
bit,
2 min, then cool, throw into old glass jars.
RED FRESH SALSA. Tomatoes (take
seed, plant in garden) cilantro, onion,
jalapeno. Blend or cut together. Doesn't keep long. Only make enough
for
three days at a time.
TORTILLAS Buy the ones with no preservatives.
Real mex markets have them.
Buy big big bag. Break it down into three bags & Freeze two, a
dozen to a bag.
SEASONING SALT-
Pals give me boxes of their old spices. I mix the savories,
cumin, salt, paprika,garlic power, oregano, celery seeds, throw it
in old
spice jars, i also save those. The sweet ones, allspice, cinnamon,
ginger, go in
my endless fascination with pumpkin pies.
NOTHING CHEAPER than PUMPKIN PIE.
I grow pumpkins on my curb strips
figuring few barrio thieves can carry away a big one, or cut one free
but all can grab CORN or string beans so those don't go out there.
Nor
do raspberries. I make a butter crust pie as lard doesn't taste as
good,
I know I tried. And I bake crust empty 15 min to get it slightly crisp,
then fill, bake an hour, slow oven. Cool, cut into 8 pcs and freeze
7.
In about two weeks that's gone, I have to find another pumpkin, make
another pie. I usually have pumpkins around the living room all winter
long.
So, Have any of your own special innovations as tips for me?
<===== SEE THE FRUGAL LIFE STYLE INDEX PAGE
<===== SEE THE FOOD INDEX PAGE