Kitchen Chat

[duh]

I just thought I would start this topic for all those things that are general about the kitchen.

Like for me today the grocery shopping and the fact that I only got half of it done before I had to come home.

And I bought the big budget packages of meat and then realized that I don't have any freezer bags.  Ooooops

So what's been happening in your kitchen?

[Triss]

I did shopping as well today and bought enough meat and supplies for meals for the week.  I am sure that it will not keep me completely out of the grocery store cuz it seems we always need milk but at least I know what will be cooking all week.

I also managed this week to clean out one of the cabinets and one of the drawers of my server and removed all of the kids games which gave me room to actually store kitchenware... it now houses my cast iron skillet and wok which were usually on the stove and in the way.  The drawer is now being used for flashlights and the decks of cards that I had stuffed all over the place. 

[barleychown]

Doesn't it feel good to organize, Triss? I did a bit of that myself, today.

Lately, I have been working really hard to lower my grocery bill, and remove a lot of "convenience" foods, and anything with high fructose corn syrup. Both of my sisters are headed down an unhealthy weight path, and I am working with them to change that.

I have learned how to make soy milk. It's actually not too bad! When I use it in smoothies, no one but me knows it's there.

I've also moved to using powdered milk in my cooking, and I honestly can not tell the difference. Every little bit I can shave off the "real" milk budget helps.

[Triss]

Yes it did feel good and more importantly the kids can get to all of the new games they got for Christmas and they have been playing them all of the time so it all works.

I have tried the cooking with powdered milk and could really taste the difference.  I think for us, I will stick to real milk and cut other places.  Mine do not go through a ton of it since most of them are not milk drinkers anyhow.

[landofoz]

I have learned how to make soy milk. It's actually not too bad! When I use it in smoothies, no one but me knows it's there.

Make soymilk??  How do you do that?  My littlest can only drink soymilk and that is a killer on my budget.  I also put the soymilk in smoothies (I usually buy the high fiber stuff) and no one ever knows. 

I use powdered milk in most of my baking and cooking and I also sub in half whole milk and half powdered milk in stuff that isn't very strongly flavored, like a cream soup or something.

[barleychown]

I read an interesting article about a 1950's family, and what they bought for food over the course of a year.

http://nc.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/?p=204

It's amazing to me just how dramatically shopping has changed since then.

[barleychown]

Making soy milk is easy! I can buy a pound of soy beans for 67 cents, and it will make 12-15 cups of soy milk. Once you make the milk, you can still use the left-over bean mush in your cooking. I've added it to pasta sauces, cassaroles, hamburgers, ect.

 http://www.soya.be/how-to-make-soy-milk.php

[Triss]

For sure!  WOW.   Notice no prepackaged things like mac n cheese or season packets... no seasonings at all really, spices and such.   

I was surprised there was not more chicken though, with what they had listed that is less than 1 chicken a week and with chicken being one of the least expensive meats, I expected to see more of it.

[landofoz]

First off, you realize they were drinking about 3.5 gallons of milk a week??  Granted, ours is rationed, but we only go through 1 every 2 weeks. 

I'm afraid my leftover soy beans would probably take a quick hop into the compost pile.  Maybe if I could mix it in with ground beef and season it to death, it would be better.  Somewhere in the back of my brain is a bad experience with soybeans.  I just can't remember exactly what. 

How does the soymilk taste?  I don't like soymilk but I would like it to be edible for Lindsay.  Right now she's drinking the 'Very Vanilla' because my husband thinks it's downright mean to make her drink the plain stuff.   

Triss, I have talked with several people of the older generations and I guess that lamb, veal, and fish were a lot cheaper than chicken.  I also think that chicken was more of a "country folk" food than "city folk."  I'm sure most women would rather not kill the chicken themselves by the 50's and they are somewhat disease ridden - so it was hard to get them fresh.  JMO, though.

[Triss]

Never thought about that one Sarah.  I guess the whole mass production of chicken was not a huge thing then.  Lamb and veal are not even in our menu and certainly not carp either.  We also do not go through that much milk, a gallon a week or so, more if I am baking.

[barleychown]

I did the math on almost everything there. 3.5 gallons a week is not far off what Mike and I, and two teen girls go through in a week, but you have to realize I also make cheese and yougurt out of it.

The soy milk tastes like, well, soy milk. I guess it's an aquired taste, or so I'm told. I have heard you can add vanilla or whatever to it, just like the soy milk you buy in the store. The key, for me, is to get the beans hot before grinding. It really helps destroy the bean-y flavor.

As for chicken, most family's then kept their own at the back of their yards. They were used for two years for egg production, then eaten. A grand plan, but i can't eat my girls. They are very much pets here.

[patches]

I have tried the cooking with powdered milk and could really taste the difference.  I think for us, I will stick to real milk and cut other places. 

I'm with you on that one, Triss!    I'm a big milk drinker and can go through a gallon or two a week, by myself. 

[landofoz]

My husband grew up next to his grandmother and has all sorts of frightening stories to tell about her killing chickens.  Another one of those things I wish he had kept to himself.

[patches]

My husband grew up next to his grandmother and has all sorts of frightening stories to tell about her killing chickens.  Another one of those things I wish he had kept to himself.

Boy, I can understand that Sarah,    some things are just better left unsaid. 


School starts next week, so I'm getting ready by fixing some things I can freeze for a quick lungh or dinner.   So, I made my French Onion soup this past weekend and have it frozen in one serving containers.     I would like to make a large pot of my Beef Vegetable soup this week and do the same thing. 

[Triss]

That is a really good idea!  I love having premade meals in the freezer for those nights I do not have a lot of time to cook but still want the kids to eat well.

[landofoz]

Does your homemade soymilk keep longer than 3 days?  We aren't big milk drinkers and that may be more than we can handle.  Maybe I could just do a half batch or something.  And will a food processor work for grinding the beans?  I don't have a blender.

I got a food vacuum for christmas and have been vacuuming anything and everything I can lay my hands on.  I love making up meals ahead, vacuuming them, and then freezing them. 

[barleychown]

I freeze the soy milk in 2 cup portions, so I can just grab a bag and toss it in the blender for smoothies.

I would think a food processor would work.

I make a double batch every time I make soup, so there is always another meals-worth in the freezer. It's nice on those nights when you just don't feel like cooking.

What other cost-saving tips do you have?

[landofoz]

My food processor is getting on my bad side - either the blades are dull or the motor is going out.      It would not appreciate frozen milk being put in it.  I'm glad that it can be frozen.  I may just have to freeze half the batch.  Thanks so much for sharing this with me, I was so irritated with spending more on a half gallon-if that-of soy milk than I do on a gallon of cow milk. 

[patches]

I got a food vacuum for christmas and have been vacuuming anything and everything I can lay my hands on.

I can certainly relate to that, Sarah!     Aren't they fantastic!!!  I had a Seal-a-Meal when they first came out many, many years ago, and loved it.    Of course, these new vacuum ones are so much better and they seem to cut down on any ice crystals forming.  

[barleychown]

That is exactly why I make my own. I want to use more soy in our diet, but the cost was more than I was willing to pay. I read up on making my own, and have since made many, many batches. Some turn out better than others, and heat is the key. I strain it with cheesecloth, which can be rinsed out and reused. I use a HUGE pot for the boiling stage, as the milk foams up huge when it starts to boil.

I have a kitchenaid blender, because I've burned through so many cheap ones it's not funny. This one is holding up wonderfully, even after a year of abuse.

Muffin tins hold approx. 1/4 cup of liquid. You can use the muffin pan to freeze things like stock, left over buttermilk,gravies, ect. Once frozen, pop them out and store them in a ziplock bag.

[duh]

wow there is a bunch of wonderful information in this thread.  I really enjoyed reading it. 

[barleychown]

So, what have you all been up to in the kitchen this week?

Today, I canned candy apple jelly. Yum! A few days ago I did 4 quarts of apple pie filling.

I tried a new (to us) recipe for leek soup, and used bread bowls...it was good. Different, but good.

What new things have you tried lately?

[landofoz]

I bought my very first set of tongs for the kitchen and about fell over that the only good set cost $8.49 at Walmart.  Also discovered that no stores in the area carry soya beans.  Next time I'm in Wichita, I'll have to check there--and stock up if I find them.  They'd be in with the navy beans, nasty split peas, and stuff like that, right?

I made spaghetti Carbonara the other night (first time trying it) and was floored at how delicious/quick/easy it was. 

[barleychown]

I buy all my dry beans in bulk, and find the soy beans right next to the other beans, like you listed.

I still haven't found a local supplier of bagged bulk soy beans. I'm still looking, though.

[landofoz]

Where on earth do you find bulk soy beans??  And how big is bulk?