Tag Archives: pantries.

not feeling better:(

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I thought I was on the mend and over this cold which was mild at least until yesterday. Then I was coughing non stop and by evening quite sore from it. All night, I  coughed even with Vicks Vapor rub which did help but not a lot. Today I feel worse. My heads stuffy and I’m coughing still. I guess I’m just going to take a bath and crawl back into bed….. sigh.

I was going to go to the gym and then I need to get 2 shower curtains. I know not part of the no spend pact but after a while, the old ones just need to get tossed. Maybe tomorrow.

My daughter left Truckee at 3 pm (early as she usually works till 6). It took her 4 hours to get home because of the snow and snow related accidents.

So far the Uber Frugal month has been great. I’ve used tons of stuff from the freezer that generally I just ignore. Like last night I made turkey chili with some organic ground turkey I’ve had in there and always push aside in favor of something else. So win win.  There’s more to use up especially since I’m getting a Zaycon order of Whole chickens at the end of the month. From the first time we moved to California 1975, we started buying bulk.Bulk beans, organic rice, honey, oats.  We were back to the landers living in a fairly rural area where my husband got a job with the Forest Service.  WE drove 20 miles to organic milk and made our own butter.  So even though today we live near a Holiday Market ( at the end of our driveway and across the street,  we still buy in bulk. Costco is great for cases of organic beans( when I don’t feel like making them from scratch, plus bulk butter, cheese ,tofu etc.  I don’t think we need a year’s worth of food but it wise to have some back up if a disaster occurred.  Believe me, the stores would empty out in hours.

So it’s prudent I think to have some things stored especially canned tomatoes and stuff you use a lot.  We also keep bottled water in the barn.

So think about your pantries and do a no spend month and really see what it is you use consistently and then slowly build up a small stockpile. so far, I’ ve learned quite a bit about my shopping habits.

I love to shop more European, where you go to the market daily for what you need. But it’s just not practical here.

I also enjoy reading Frugalwoods daily posts and one in particular stuck out about not trying to cook gourmet meals all the time. Stick to simple meals and simple foods. I like to think that my rotation of menus is basically simple foods like taco Tuesday which may not always be a taco but a bean bowl or burrito, Same with crockpot Thursday. Soups or beans, simple and then freeze the rest.

Well, I think it’s the Epson salt bath time for me.

the week ahead….and pantries,and stuff!

Posted in bread, cooking, freezer cooking, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

Today is Flylady’s home blessing day. So I’ve done the mirrors, I still need to vacuum and the laundry is going. Bathroom zone is done. I’m going to wash some sunroom windows later.

another huge success on the No Knead bread. I started it at 3:30 pm yesterday and then when I got back from walking, started the oven and put the dough in my new banneton (bread proofer thing).  It came out so nice . My advice with bread making is don’t give up. I’ve been making bread over 40 years. Yes, back when Laurel’s Kitchen was the rage.  I made some pretty heavy brick like whole wheat loaves. But even now after not making bread a few months during summers peak, I had to re-engage so to speak. This is my 5 th loaf in almost that many days or maybe it’s the 6 th.  Anyway, it takes time to get the feel of it all again. I haven’t tried the sourdough again, but I will soon. Of course, I will make some bread in a loaf pan soon too, but right now I’m having fun with the Le Creuset method. By the way, I love Le Creuset. My dutch oven I use is over 30 years old so if you’re going to make this bread, invest in a Le Creuset. I would love a new one in white, but it is pricey.img_0178

IMG_0179.jpgToday, I need to go buy some coffee to make it to my Costco trip. Costco’s Starbuck’s is on coupon and a great deal, but I need some for tomorrow.  Also, I need some lettuce for a salad to go with the lasagna tonight.

I’ve been off Velcade and dex now almost 3 months( September 25) and it’s really great. It’s also weird to feel kinda normal. To not worry so much about how I’m going to feel day to day and the Dex ups and downs.  It is a real gift to have this time off.  My next labs are the beginning of October… hope it’s good.  Plus, he didn’t see any need to do Zometa so I got out of that one too. the time will come , I’m sure when I’ll be back in treatment but for now it is a gift. It is very easy to take one’s health for granted until it’s not there and then you realize how precious it is.

Dinner is lasagna, salad and maybe a few slices of the bread( unless I keep eating it) ha ha…

I went thru the freezer and threw out some stuff from 2013. then I decided to organize meals all week from what is in there. I don’t have a big stockpile and want to keep it that way, but some stuff needs to be used.  Unless the apocalypse is coming I think I can get to the grocery store for whatever. I do like some things in reserve, like butter, some bagels, tomato sauce, but a lot of things just pile up in there. the pantry is the same. I do keep some reserve, but overall I like the European idea of shopping for what you need on a regular basis.  I do like cans of tomatoes, olives, some organic beans, but mostly I think its nice to keep it small.  of course, my pantry is limited so I’m not sure if I had a whole room devoted to it, what I would do.  But I do know, you shouldn’t have a stuffed pantry out of fear that everything is going to collapse at any moment. A reasonable supply if there was an emergency.  Storing food for a year, like some religious groups suggest, seems extreme.

But each to his own.