Good Grief. I just realized that in order to have bread crumbs... I need to bake bread, dry it, and then make the crumbs.
I've never bought bread crumbs before. I've always just made them out of stale loaves, but sheesh.
Friday, August 13, 2010
3 days and counting.
Today's plan is to stock up on the necessities. After having scoured the bread recipe books, I have an idea of something of the things I'll be needing to bake a variety of bread. I'll be starting at the bulk food store and working out from there.
It made me start to wonder. How will this affect the amount of trash we create? Convenience foods are typically wrapped in boxes and plastics and jars and bottles. All large items. While we can recycle most of them, it's still a lot. Raw ingredients can be bought in bulk, come in big bags (like flour and sugar) or don't really come wrapped at all (fruits, veggies and the like). We'll still have milk jugs I suppose, but my guess is that it changes the amount of garbage we drop out at the curb.
Call me terrible, but I've never been particularly worried about garbage, but since this is a complex experiment, I might as well take note of any and all changes, for better or worse.
I'm starting to panic less, for now. Looking back at the kinds of food we ate, overall, we ate a lot of food made from scratch. Much of what wasn't was mostly made from scratch, just using bakery bread, or salad dressings, or things like that. Realistically I could spend the entire year making essentially the same things, bread, meat, veggies, potatoes, soups and some baked goodies. We would survive, but it would defeat the purpose of my experiement. Ideally I'd like to eat in a similar fashion to how we currently do. We eat plenty of meats and veggies, but we also enjoy cereal, sandwiches, pastas and sauces, tacos, pizza, casseroles, and the like. Thats where the tricky stuff comes in. I'll need to make my own cereals, sandwich fillings, salsa, noodles, tortilla shells, etc.
Knowing that this can be as simple or complicated as I'd like it to be (simple being just eating the same thing over and over again), makes me feel a little calmer.
My overall plan is to fill the freezer with my own "convenience foods", things I can pull out at a moments notice and have a good meal. Chili, soups (beet borscht being at the top of that list, YUM!), lasagnes. I typically do that kind of thing anyway, but I guess it'll take a bit longer if I have to actually make my own lasagne noodles.
I'm sure I'll panic again, but for now, I'm doing OK.
It made me start to wonder. How will this affect the amount of trash we create? Convenience foods are typically wrapped in boxes and plastics and jars and bottles. All large items. While we can recycle most of them, it's still a lot. Raw ingredients can be bought in bulk, come in big bags (like flour and sugar) or don't really come wrapped at all (fruits, veggies and the like). We'll still have milk jugs I suppose, but my guess is that it changes the amount of garbage we drop out at the curb.
Call me terrible, but I've never been particularly worried about garbage, but since this is a complex experiment, I might as well take note of any and all changes, for better or worse.
I'm starting to panic less, for now. Looking back at the kinds of food we ate, overall, we ate a lot of food made from scratch. Much of what wasn't was mostly made from scratch, just using bakery bread, or salad dressings, or things like that. Realistically I could spend the entire year making essentially the same things, bread, meat, veggies, potatoes, soups and some baked goodies. We would survive, but it would defeat the purpose of my experiement. Ideally I'd like to eat in a similar fashion to how we currently do. We eat plenty of meats and veggies, but we also enjoy cereal, sandwiches, pastas and sauces, tacos, pizza, casseroles, and the like. Thats where the tricky stuff comes in. I'll need to make my own cereals, sandwich fillings, salsa, noodles, tortilla shells, etc.
Knowing that this can be as simple or complicated as I'd like it to be (simple being just eating the same thing over and over again), makes me feel a little calmer.
My overall plan is to fill the freezer with my own "convenience foods", things I can pull out at a moments notice and have a good meal. Chili, soups (beet borscht being at the top of that list, YUM!), lasagnes. I typically do that kind of thing anyway, but I guess it'll take a bit longer if I have to actually make my own lasagne noodles.
I'm sure I'll panic again, but for now, I'm doing OK.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
CBC News - Manitoba - Winnipeg Beach fire leaves neighbours nervous
CBC News - Manitoba - Winnipeg Beach fire leaves neighbours nervous
This is a terrible story, but could someone PLEASE have blurred out/cropped out/stuck some tape over the "concerned neighbour's" t-shirt?
This is a terrible story, but could someone PLEASE have blurred out/cropped out/stuck some tape over the "concerned neighbour's" t-shirt?
The Flour Debate.
So, apparently we're just going to have to let it slide. Because we live in Canada, it is against food regulations to sell un-enriched flour or anything made with it. In some ways I am relieved. The idea of having to get some crazy/expensive/hard to find ingredient to do the majority of our cooking was daunting to say the least. I'm still in a bit of panic mode, but at least a main ingredient isn't off the list. Before you tell me that Laura and Mary Ingalls ground their own flour in a coffee maker... I know. Ain't gonna happen.
Husband amused me.
"Suzie... this is just like that Pioneer show... you know, except without the farming, and raising livestock and living in a shack you built yourself through a Canadian winter"
So... not like it at all?
(He's refering to the show called "Pioneer Quest" which offered families $100,000 if they gave up real life for a year to live like early settlers. My all-time favourite episode was when one family had their barn catch fire and burn down, killing their giant pig. They subsequently buried the entire pig. I figured... pre-made bacon!)
Luckily, we have something early settlers didn't have (other than modern appliances, refrigeration, grocery stores, cars, etc)... THE INTERNET.
It's a valuable research source, and I think by using it, I'll be able to make the majority of things we used to eat. Minus Kraft Dinner of course, but I could likely make a Mac'n'cheese that is pretty darn good.
Husband amused me.
"Suzie... this is just like that Pioneer show... you know, except without the farming, and raising livestock and living in a shack you built yourself through a Canadian winter"
So... not like it at all?
(He's refering to the show called "Pioneer Quest" which offered families $100,000 if they gave up real life for a year to live like early settlers. My all-time favourite episode was when one family had their barn catch fire and burn down, killing their giant pig. They subsequently buried the entire pig. I figured... pre-made bacon!)
Luckily, we have something early settlers didn't have (other than modern appliances, refrigeration, grocery stores, cars, etc)... THE INTERNET.
It's a valuable research source, and I think by using it, I'll be able to make the majority of things we used to eat. Minus Kraft Dinner of course, but I could likely make a Mac'n'cheese that is pretty darn good.
The panic is setting in.
T-minus 4 days until D-Day and I'm starting to panic. I'm having second thoughts, third thoughts and fifty-fourth thoughts. I decided to make a loaf or two of bread ahead of time, so that I have a few things to eat before Monday, and the first thing I need to do is learn how to read a recipe apparently. After try #1 went into the trash, I made the sponge for try #2... it's waiting for me in the kitchen to make the dough and knead this morning. before Girl wakes up.
I've discovered my first hitch. Enriched flour. It's full of ingredients I don't know. Can you buy flour otherwise? I was personally willing to let it slide, but of course husband (who let him be part of this anyway) said "that's part of the experiement! You HAVE to find something else!". I guess it's off to the store again. I dread the idea of having to buy organic flour or something... mainly because I'm cheap and if I have to be making all my own bread...
*sigh*. Maybe I should go to bulk barn and see what I can find. They have plenty of flours and grains, maybe I'll get lucky and find something that won't cost me $5 for a tiny bag.
On the plus side, my local grocery store JUST started carrying greek yogurt. High in protein, low in fat and nothing in it but cream and bacteria. YAY! I was planning on making tzaziki to eat in place of mayo-based things (dips, chicken salad, etc), so that was exciting to see.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Who came up with this anyway?
Someone in this house came up with a bonehead idea today. I'm not naming any names, but it will result in a whole heap of a lot of work for me and quite possibly in complete failure. I won't point fingers because frankly, I don't like being pointed at.
It was a rash decision, a whim, and before I thought it through fully, I told Husband. Now, to be fair, normally Husband is pretty good at shining light on my dumb ideas and sending them back to whatever fantasyland they came from. Unfortunately, he did nothing as my sober second thought. He thought it was brilliant. Who is this guy?
Here's the idea. For a year, the three of us will not eat anything that isn't "real food". My personal definition of real food is stuff that doesn't have unpronouncable ingredients on the label. Basically, whever we eat will be made from scratch, using only "normal" ingredients. Any convenience food is out. Salad dressings, bread, yogurt, salsas, tomato sauces, and everything else we typically buy pre-made will be made at home.
Kraft Dinner is out. So is cereal, soda, chips, chocolate (unless I bake something myself with cocoa powder).
Before you all think I've wandered off the deep end, indulge me. I'm sure it's no secret that the "western diet" sucks. Period. Pretty much every other culture in the world is healthier, thinner and live longer. They don't pay attention to fat grams, or carbs, or calories. They just eat real food. So, that's what we're going to do. It's our little experiment.
To clarify, this is NOT:
- The Hundred Mile Diet
- Organic
- a Cleanse/ Toxin-free diet
- Vegetarian/Vegan
It's purely trying to eat like our grandparents did. I am also curious to see how much time it takes, and if there are any financial or health benefits.
I will be journaling our progress, explaining what I made and how I made it. I'll detail the time it took and the cost in comparison to what we pay for groceries now.
Before anyone freaks out and abstains from inviting us to dinner, I assure you, as guests we will partake in whatever is served. We're not crazy after all. If you do come here, you will eat as we do (and by that, I mean "really well").
Start Date: Monday, August 16th
Typical current grocery bill: $110/week
Starting weight: I decline to answer on the grounds that I am a woman, and it's none of your business.
Time spent cooking: varies. A regular day - 1 hour... on average perhaps 1-2/day
Wish us luck! Stacey, I'm going to need to borrow your yogurt maker... and mom... your pasta maker.
It was a rash decision, a whim, and before I thought it through fully, I told Husband. Now, to be fair, normally Husband is pretty good at shining light on my dumb ideas and sending them back to whatever fantasyland they came from. Unfortunately, he did nothing as my sober second thought. He thought it was brilliant. Who is this guy?
Here's the idea. For a year, the three of us will not eat anything that isn't "real food". My personal definition of real food is stuff that doesn't have unpronouncable ingredients on the label. Basically, whever we eat will be made from scratch, using only "normal" ingredients. Any convenience food is out. Salad dressings, bread, yogurt, salsas, tomato sauces, and everything else we typically buy pre-made will be made at home.
Kraft Dinner is out. So is cereal, soda, chips, chocolate (unless I bake something myself with cocoa powder).
Before you all think I've wandered off the deep end, indulge me. I'm sure it's no secret that the "western diet" sucks. Period. Pretty much every other culture in the world is healthier, thinner and live longer. They don't pay attention to fat grams, or carbs, or calories. They just eat real food. So, that's what we're going to do. It's our little experiment.
To clarify, this is NOT:
- The Hundred Mile Diet
- Organic
- a Cleanse/ Toxin-free diet
- Vegetarian/Vegan
It's purely trying to eat like our grandparents did. I am also curious to see how much time it takes, and if there are any financial or health benefits.
I will be journaling our progress, explaining what I made and how I made it. I'll detail the time it took and the cost in comparison to what we pay for groceries now.
Before anyone freaks out and abstains from inviting us to dinner, I assure you, as guests we will partake in whatever is served. We're not crazy after all. If you do come here, you will eat as we do (and by that, I mean "really well").
Start Date: Monday, August 16th
Typical current grocery bill: $110/week
Starting weight: I decline to answer on the grounds that I am a woman, and it's none of your business.
Time spent cooking: varies. A regular day - 1 hour... on average perhaps 1-2/day
Wish us luck! Stacey, I'm going to need to borrow your yogurt maker... and mom... your pasta maker.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sew Expensive.
I've been toying with the idea of making my own clothes lately (in the winter of course when I only have a million things to do, not 2 million). I grow so weary of buying clothes that once washed, turn boxy, shapeless or too short. I already find most shirts too short (however, I have been loving the recent long-shirt trend, unfortunately I have a feeling it won't last forever). So, simple things, here and there. T-shirts, tank tops and the like. I think I'd be able to manage, provided I have a bit of help along the way. Then, I could modify clothes to suit my exact preferences and tastes, and not have to rely on what the stores decide is the must-have colour or style.
I was at the fabric store, flipping through the pattern books, scoping things out for the next time the patterns go on sale, and I stumbled across this:
I've never been a huge fan of dolls, but I'm warming up to them now that I have Girl. She does seem moderately more interested than I am, but my plan is to try to avoid having masses of pink by carefully selecting her dolls. (The ones I can control at least). We'll see how that works out for me.
Anyhow, I saw this pattern and nearly died. They are the cutest dolls I have ever seen, and really cute clothes. I thought (in my naive mind) "These are the dolls I must get for Girl. She will have cool dolls and there won't be a mass of pink feathers and glitter around the house".
I ran home to google this doll and nearly had a heart attack. A cheap one sells for $180.
I was at the fabric store, flipping through the pattern books, scoping things out for the next time the patterns go on sale, and I stumbled across this:
Anyhow, I saw this pattern and nearly died. They are the cutest dolls I have ever seen, and really cute clothes. I thought (in my naive mind) "These are the dolls I must get for Girl. She will have cool dolls and there won't be a mass of pink feathers and glitter around the house".
I ran home to google this doll and nearly had a heart attack. A cheap one sells for $180.
*Disheartened sigh*
Oh you tease me so! Apparently these dolls are for grown-ups... you know, the people that won't touch them with sticky fingers and who have so much disposable income that they could buy a pair of $40 glasses and $80 shoes for their doll.
Call me crazy, but as much as I love them (and for me to like a doll is a VERY big thing)... I'm gonna say no.
I guess I should get used to the feathers and glitter.
I guess I should get used to the feathers and glitter.
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