It's been a wild week so far at school. Not that it is bad, but I have come home very tired.

Tonight on my short drive home I thought, boy, a nice hot pizza sounds good for supper. Bet DH would go for that!

But, alas, I had already planned and had a chicken and dressing casserole in the fridge waiting to be baked.

Pizza sounded better to my tummy, but the casserole was better for the wallet.

We had the casserole. :-)

Like many of you, I take my lunch to work. Having read so many of the news stories, I attempt to heat my leftovers at school in glass which means my lunch is a little heavier, but I feel safer.

One of the younger teachers has been sitting next to me and comments on my lunch most days. She has been commenting on some of my containers.

Many of my containers are either Corningware or Pyrex containers and if they didn't belong to my grandmother, I bought them used.

Anyway, this teacher said she has been capitivated by my lunches because of the containers...most of the folks bring those freezer read to microwave meals. She has commented on the designs and such and finally the reveal: they remind her of her mom and her cooking and her dishes.

I know some of my cookware was my grandmother's. I often wonder if she would be pleased I'm still using and enjoying these items.

I also wonder if more people would say the same thing if they saw dishes from their childhood and if it would bring back good memories. I know that is my case.

Dear Abby in her column yesterday had a letter about the home selling parties and how the writer should just say they had other plans! So between the comments made on my previous blog and her column, I feel I have had some validation.

Weather in Central Illinois the past couple of days has been, to say the least, interesting! On Thursday we had a high of 80-82 depending on which weather forecast you listened to. It was warm, whatever the thermometer listed. Yesterday it dropped to the low 40s and we had a little shower of ice pellets. Yikes! Can't say it is boring, anyway.

One of the ladies I work with told me that the people who eat lunch with me always are interested in what I bring for lunch. I kind of laughed and said, "Really?"

She smiled and said it was because I bring such good leftovers. She said the other day I was the envy of the table for my homemade mac and cheese. I'm wondering if this could be a new business for me...making lunches ... after all, Paula Deen started this way! :-)

Our local humane society had a huge "garage" sale over the weekend. It is in an area called Progress City near our local community college. We thought it would be nice to support the humane society because the funds would go to help those folks pay for neutering if they can't afford it.

One downfall is they did not have the sale place marked clearly. There was another building that said they were having a sale. We got in there and it was basically a disappointment. Three people set up and we realized then this wasn't the humane society sale...it was individuals. But, I did score a retro spice rack that was complete.



We brought it home and I washed it and let it air dry overnight. When I was washing it, I thought it was interesting that the spices listed are not the ones I often use a lot of. We aren't into major spicy, so cayenne pepper isn't at the top of our list. Then there was cloves. In fact, there were cloves in it. Not sure how old they were and the set was pretty dirty, so I wasn't keeping them.

I wonder if cooking has changed since the 50s...that when I think this set came out. I bought it because it was alumnimum, seemed to be complete...except there were two paprika so I'm sure there is something else that should have been there...but are we using many different spices?

I know I use far more than my mom ever did. I always chuckle when I think of the things in her cabinet she had for spices...more than a year old? You betcha. So, I kind of wonder if we got a lot of flavor out of some of them...I think most things were over a decade old...it was too expensive to replace every year if you didn't use much of it.

My set set me back $2 and some elbow grease in washing it. I thought the aluminimum would go well with my stainless appliances.

After using those wonderful apples that were a gift, I thought muffins are a damp, dark, fall evening would be scrumptious. I found a recipe, tweaked it, and we had them tonight. This recipes makes a dozen.

Applesauce muffins

1 1/2 cups instant oatmeal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg white
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk

brown sugar

Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups oatmeal, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon in a mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Whisk 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg white, applesauce, and milk together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until evenly moistened; it's ok if small, dry lumps remain. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle a little more brown sugar on the top of each muffin.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

They were moist and pretty tasty. I like using things we had on hand.

I'm going to brag a little here...our house smells marvelous!

OK, notice, I said our house, not me! :-)

A gal I work with offered me a bag of apples. It came from her mother's tree. She said she was hesitant to ask me because they weren't perfect with spots and bruises here and there, but then she realized I like to cook. The first thing I said was, "I can make applesauce!" She smiled and said exactly.

So, today she wended her way in the building with my much appreciated bag of apples.

As a teacher if you need to make a doctor's appointment during the school day, you have to either take a half a day or a full day off of sick time. I had a doctor's appointment for 1:30 so it meant I had to take a half of a day off. I got home, ate a quick lunch and then remember reading someone's blog that they made applesauce in their Crockpot. So, I washed the apples, cored and peeled them and put them in with a little lemon juice, water, a little sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg.

Returning home the opening of the door was such a pleasant experience...it smelled like fall! Rich applesauce barely bubbling. I took out a potato masher and mashed them up and let them cook a little longer. Yowza!

I had put a turkey breast in another Crockpot this morning so with that also going, it almost smelled a little like Thanksgiving.

Ah. Fall Scents. Can't beat 'em.

DH has grown quite a few herbs this year. Actually, because of the mild winter, we had a pot of rosemary, a pot of sage, and a pot of oregano that made it through the winter. DH planted basil, thyme, tarragon, and dill in the ground as well as another rosemary.

I have enjoyed using these fresh herbs, but someone asked the other day if I dried them. I tried once before just tying them up, but I didn't like working with them afterwards.

So, I went to that wonderful invention called the Internet and googled drying herbs. I found a couple of sites that explained how one can dry them in the microwave. I really didn't want to put out the money for a dehydrater. So, I've been experimenting and I have a nice little stockpile for the winter.

I decided yesterday since I still have plenty left, I might dry some extra and put in small bags and label them and give them away. I have some friends who enjoy cooking and I thought it might be a nice surprise for them. Plus, I hate to see anything go to waste.

It goes without saying my dear husband loves a potato! He likes them baked, mashed, roasted, and sometimes fried. Even boiled.

When I tried this recipe he was thrilled.


Creamy potato casserole

7-8 russet potatoes peeled and sliced thin
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon nutmet
1 teaspoons flour
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 - 2 small green onions chopped (both white and green)
nonstick cooking spray

Mix flour, nutmeg, cream and milk together. Grease casserole dish. Add sliced potatoes and onions and mix together, then pour milk/cream mixture over. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour, covered, or until potatoes are done. Add shredded cheese and green onions and bake 15 minutes uncovered.

This is on our menu tonight; he's pretty excited!

"When life gives you green tomatoes, fry them!"


OK, no sage said that to my knowledge and it is loosely based on the life and lemons quote, but this is our predicament. Our tomatoes have quit ripening. We have lots of small green ones on the vines, but little red in sight.

DH was hungry for a tomato and I suggested that I fix them as fried green tomatoes.

Here's how I fixed them:

Fried Green Tomatoes

Wash and slice the tomatoes and soak in milk

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground pepper

Canola oil

I heated up the cast iron skillet and then added the oil. I dipped the milk soaked tomato slices into the flour/cornmeal mixture and cooked on both sides. DH and I do not like spicy stuff, so I'm sure you could add whatever else you wanted if you want them hot.

DH enjoyed them and felt he had his tomato quota.

One of our local grocery stores reopened as a County Market. As a result they had some great specials for "loyal" customers also received a postcard with 6 coupons..white bread for 49 cents, 12 double rolls of tp for $4.99, 4 bourbon marinated pork chops for $2, 4 lbs of sugar for $1.49, Cheerios for 99 cents. Wow, what a fun grocery trip. They also sent out their monthly coupon booklet and had other stuff on special like bananas for 39 cents.

Well, I feel a little like a hoarder because any of the items I could get 2 of, I did. I only used the store special coupons on stuff I normally would get, and I used regular coupons on some of the stuff too, so felt like I saved some money.

It was nice to feel "appreciated" with the extra savings.

Saturday the group we toured with this summer to the east coast had a get together to view the movie the leader so graciously put together and then to eat some snacks.

One of the ladies asked me why I stopped putting what I was fixing for supper on Facebook. I told her because I was getting verbally abused for it. She laughed and said she missed it.

I had been kind of kidded about it -- I started it as a joke. A couple of the local restaurants that I "liked" on Facebook were putting their daily specials on their walls, so I said I would join in and put mine on my wall. A couple of folks kind of got grouchy about it. Most either said it sounded good or asked when was meal time.

Well, the gal insisted I start, so I did. It's been interesting to see the comments. This gal said she liked seeing it because it gave her ideas on fixing things.

I guess that is sort of like this site -- we blog and post replies and it makes us think. Maybe we think about menus or finances or just get challenged to think about something either we didn't or hadn't broached before.

So, although we often think of menus as associated with food, I think we can also think of our writings as a menu of thoughts.

This week was the first official week for students, although staff started school the Thursday before.

Last weekend I cooked a chicken in the slow cooker and made two casseroles and chicken stew. That took care of three suppers and a few lunches. I also fixed a beef roast one evening -- DH nicely put it in the oven -- and I had sloppy chicks last Sunday so the leftovers were DH's lunch one day. So, with this, I counted I fixed supper 6 out of 7 nights. We met friends last night at a reasonable place and I had salad bar and water so it wasn't super expensive.

I mentioned that I was tired, but kind of pleased that I didn't succumb to eating out and the hubby of the couple looked at DH and said he needed to help out more. I think he was kidding because although DH is a wonderful husband, he simply isn't handy when it comes to cutting, chopping, etc. He can put something in the oven or heat it on the stove or in the microwave.

So then the friend said we needed to eat out more. I guess he just doesn't get it. I cook for two reasons: it is more reasonable and I control what we eat. I know that sounds like I'm an ogre, but at most places, you have no idea what they are putting in their food or on their food. We used to eat at a restaurant that boasted all their pasta was fresh. I guess they thought opening a box was fresh. Not in my book. True fresh pasta is not dried or frozen.

Well, as I'm sitting here, I'm waiting for the pie crust to cool down so I can put the makings of quiche in it for our supper tonight.

Here's the easiest quiche recipe:

1 pie crust (homemade or store bought)
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Optional -- browned meat like sausage or bacon
roasted vegetables
herbs

Often if I have leftover roasted vegetables, I will add them to the quiche. Since I'm starting over for the week, I will just serve it with a green salad. But, you can add whatever you want.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until it is solid.

Take out of oven and let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Depending on the serving size, you can get 3-6 servings.

So, another day of saving a few coins by not eating out!

Life suddenly went into overdrive...I started back to school last week. I don't know if it was stress or the fact I no longer controlled my time, but by Friday I was so exhausted I could barely think straight.

Fortunately the weather cooled off a bit and the buildings were decent temperature wise. But, it is supposed to start warming up as the week goes along.

I have 5 meals planned for the week and most of them will give leftovers for lunches. We had meatloaf last night and there is enough for lunch for both of us one day. We are having sloppy chicks (joes made with ground chicken) for supper tonight so that will give leftovers as well. I cooked a whole chicken in the slower cooker Friday night and made three casseroles and a stew for some week day suppers.

I need to start the grocery list for the end of the week Aldi trip. I've already used a few things that I need to replenish.

I know we are indeed blessed DH has put in a small garden. I had the opportunity to make another small batch of tomato sauce yesterday. I will use part of it for tonight's meal of sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken) and then the rest will be used for goulash tomorrow night.

A friend of ours told us his wife went to the farm stand and paid $1 each for homegrown tomatoes. DH has moaned that his regular tomatoes aren't as large as they were last year and we think it is due to the drought, but $1 each? Wow.

We stopped at Aldi's Thursday night for our weekly run. Eggs had gone up 40 cents to $1.69 a dozen. Living in Central Illinois is far more economical than other places, but a 40 cent jump...wow. But, I had heard on the news that with the heat chickens aren't laying as much nor are cows giving as much milk. I noticed that butter had gone up considerably as well.

Lucky Robin has been blogging about her harvest and I bet their family saves a ton of money eating what they have grown and picked and preserved.

I wonder if the economy continues to be grim if more folks will be planting gardens next spring. I tease my husband we need to plow up the front yard and put in a really big garden. I doubt if the city would allow it, but I bet during the depression of the 1930s, folks did whatever they could.

I did something today that I hated to do. I threw away some bananas that were overripe. I normally make banana bread. The thing is, neither of us eat that much banana bread. I'm trying to watch my carbs and dh will eat a piece or two, but otherwise it goes to waste. I normally bake it and give it away. I decided that throwing away the bananas was probably more economical than using the eggs, sugar, and flour to give away the bread. I hope that doesn't sound too cheap. I shouldn't have let the bananas get overripe, but they turned on me before I knew it.

Well, I digress. It would have been interesting to have kept a running tally of how many onions, bell peppers, herbs, and tomatoes we have realized from the garden and how much we spent on the garden itself and how much it would have cost us if we had bought them at the grocery. Maybe I'll think to do this next year and see if we are eating economically.

DH loves to garden. He has a very small vegetable garden in our front yard due to the fact our back yard is heavily shaded.

With the drought (sorry, I keeping bringing it up)we weren't sure how well his tomatoes were going to do. We are currently under water restrictions so he can only water three days a week and if we don't get any rain in the next week, that will be cut too.

So, on those three days he waters deeply hoping with the 90+ degree days (they are anticipating 100 or more today), the plants will survive.

We didn't think we would have enough tomatoes for me to make sauce this year. In the past, he plants both cherry tomatoes and then regular tomatoes and when both ripen at the same time, I use the cherry tomatoes to make sauce. In the past, I've been able to freeze some of it for the winter, besides using some of it.

Well, this week we had a bonanza of both tomatoes, so I could make a pot of sauce. My recipes changes based on what I have on hand, but I start out with diced onions and bell peppers and saute them. Then add the tomatoes and cook down and added lots of basil and then some garlic. I then pureed the mixture for a smooth consistency.

It made for a thrifty supper...I cooked some pasta and added some of the tomato sauce for our meal that evening. With the heat, we didn't want a whole lot. With bread and butter and some cottage cheese as a side dish, it was filling. It also made our kitchen smell wonderful.

I had some of the pasta and sauce left over so last night I had a piece of chicken left over so I chunked it and browned it, and cut up vegetables that were in the crisper, and made chicken stew. I had broth in the freezer. I simmered all of this and then added the leftover pasta and tomato sauce. That will make a good meal one evening this week.

We are considered in a drought like most of the Midwest. Our city lake has dropped to such an extent that we are now on mandatory water restrictions. So far, the water restrictions let people water their gardens and lawns on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If we don't ge some rain and the oppressive heat doesn't subside, that will probably be cut as well. In the meantime, no watering of any kind can be done on any other days, even with a sprinkling can.

DH is worried about his small vegetable garden. Before the restrictions, he was watering his tomatoes, peppers, and herbs each morning. he's been out over 1 1/2 hours today trying to get things thoroughly soaked.

I totally get why we need to restrict water. Drinking water is vital. It just means many of us may lose our gardens which means higher food prices. I see the national news is now predicting higher grocery prices of at least 4%.

That rate hike may mean some folks won't be eating very much.

Let's pray the drought breaks soon.

It's been so hot lately here in Central Illinois. Friday was cool with the temps in the upper 80s...it made us almost feel chilly! :-)

I know some of our friends are beating the heat by eating out. I don't want to succumb to that temptation. So, I've been perusing the Crockpot recipes to try and find some things that I can fix that won't heat up the kitchen.

Yesterday I put ribs in one slow cooker, but wondered what to fix. We have mashed potatoes and rice already so I wondered if I could find a recipe for a Crockpot.
I did find one that cooked between 6-8 hours on low and it was pretty good.

Oregano potatoes

8 potatoes peeled and sliced into wedges
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
3 T Oregano (fresh), chopped
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves of garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients except garlic in a slow cooker -- mix until evenly coated. Stir in garlic. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If potatoes appear to be dry, add up to 1/2 additional water while cooking.

Serves 6-8


This was pretty good and I had everything on hand. We have fresh herbs. I bet this could be changed up using a different herb.

So, I resisted the temptation of eating out and saved money and used what I had.

We went to the library and I checked out some more cookbooks for the slow cooker. Hopefully I will find some other great recipes as we endure this heat.

It was a nice start to our Friday -- the temps were a bit cooler and there was a nice breeze when we walked this morning. It has been dreadfully hot here in Central Illinois like it has been in most of the Midwest. Still no rain, but at least a few hours of relief.

After our walk I picked lettuce and washed it and put it in the fridge. DH picked tomatoes. We are starting to get some cherry tomatoes and a few larger ones. He waters every day to keep things going.

We went to the meat market the other day and I bought both ground chuck and sausage. Yesterday I sauted onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic with thyme and oregano (onions, thyme and oregano were from our garden) and mixed that with the meat and added oatmeal, some bread crumbs, and eggs to make meat loaves. I make a topping of worchestershire sauce, mustard, brown sugar, and ketchup. I made 4 loaves. One we had last night baked in a toaster oven. The other three are wrapped up and put in the freezer.

For lunch today we will have the leftover meatloaf on sandwiches. I think I'm going to get some herbs and olive oil and put them on some tortillas and make our own chips. And, I think we'll have a few of those cherry tomatoes.

I saw a recipe the other day for meatloaf that had 3 meats -- hamburger, sausage,and ground turkey breast. I wonder if it is tasty.

I live in Central Illinois. If you do not live in the Midwest and haven't watched the news, we are in drought conditions. Last night they said 56% of the country is in drought.

The corn fields around here are pitiful. It has tassled and we have had no rain. The leaves have curled and many plants are stunted in growth.

No, I'm not a farmer...I'm telling you this to tell you the next part.

I'm stocking up. We went to Aldi yesterday and I bought some bottles of oil, and some extra crackers, flour, and sugar. I predict grocery prices are going to skyrocket because of the corn crop. Today I'm buying corn meal to put in the freezer. The sugar and flour went into the freezer as well. I might even buy a little more beef to put in the freezer, but it doesn't keep THAT long.

The reason I bought some of these items...well here is my reasoning. Sugar -- I believe the price of sugar will go up because many things are made from high fructose corn syrup. When there isn't as much corn to make this corn syrup, sugar will be used and the demand will increase.

Flour -- people will start using flour in place of corn products.

Oil -- a lot of vegetable oils are made from corn and the lack of corn...well you get the picture.

As for beef, well, the price will probably go up because the price of corn will go up to feed those cattle.

Also on the national news was with the extreme heat, cows aren't giving as much milk...I wonder if we will see an increase in dairy products as well.

My pantry isn't bulging by any means, but I thought I'd pick up a few extra things to ofset major jumps in the coming weeks.

In the Midwest, we had an early spring or should I say summer with high 80s in March.

One thing hubby likes is lemonade when it is hot. I don't mind making it and I'm amazed that some think it is a lot of work. I guess if I were making gallons at a time, it might be, but to make a pitcher of it ever couple of days isn't that big a hassle. And finding lemons on sale is a bonus!

I don't have fancy equipment. I bought this little squeezer a couple of years ago for $1 and it is handy because it fits right over the pitcher.






Lemonade:

4 small lemons or two medium to large lemons, squeezed. I roll them on the counter a bit to try and get as much juice. I also wash them before I cut into them.

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on tartness of lemons)

4 cups of water

Stir and serve chilled.

DH loves it!

Our pantry and freezer appear to be pretty full. I thought I would try to start using some of the stuff in both before going back to the store.

I used the last of the potatoes last night for mashed potatoes. I have kept leftover potatoes -- mashed and roasted-- so I thought I'd make potato soup for some lunches. I diced onion and celery and cooked them down in some olive oil. I then added some broth and then the leftover potatoes. When the mashed potatoes dissolved making the broth thicken, I then added about a cup of milk and heated it. Since all the potatoes were already cooked, I didn't have to simmer. This morning in another pot I made a small white sauce of butter and flower in another pot, added the potato soup and it thickened. It was pretty good for lunch with a sandwich and we have enough for another lunch too.

Before I made the soup, I used some of the roasted potatoes cup up in a frittata with eggs, cheese, and some other leftover cut up vegetables. It was a pretty good supper too.

Tonight's supper is using chicken that was in the freezer for oven fried chicken, cornbread, and rice, with a salad.

Fortunately I keep a well stocked pantry or some of our meals could be inventive, but it is always nice using what we have that I probably bought on sale.

I love healthy, frugal eating!

Have you seen the new Maxwell House commercial where the main character is holding a glass mug and gives it to someone to replace a paper cup and says something along the lines of we are fully capable of brewing our own coffee at home?

Way to go, Maxwell House!

I take coffee with me when I go to work in a Thermos. At home, I fix it so I can enjoy it.

A gal I work with was bringing her coffee with her, purchased at the local gas station. She told me it was only 99 cents. I asked her how often she buys it and she says every day. She then moaned about how tight things could be on certain weeks. I mentioned that if she buys coffee 5 times a week that is a least $5 a week and $20 a month. I think the coffee is 99 cents and then tax so it is probably over a dollar. I try to snag my coffee on sale and I bet I don't spend $20 a month on coffee. And I brew it at least 6 times a week.

They don't call it the latte factor for nothing!

It may seem I am driving my hubby crazy. Well, maybe crazier, depending on one's opinion.

Each meal I've been cooking, I have tried to estimate what it cost to fix it. I'm not counting the power for the stove or how much refrigeration, but the cost of the ingredients.

Sunday after church I fixed eggs, sausage, potatoes, toast. Coffee for me, and iced tea for him. I figure at the very most the meal cost $6 when you add in the oil and the butter. A similar meal at a restaurant would have probably cost $17 or more. I realize they have overhead and wages to pay. But, I figure that is $11 we saved by eating at home. All in all, the meal took less than 15 minutes to cook.

Supper the other night was a little pricier...we had sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken), chips, fruit, and iced tea. I estimated it cost between $7 to $8 total. And we had leftovers! Enough for lunch the next day so I figure that lunch if we figured in the buns and the chips cost less than $3.

Tonight's supper was a little more expensive than yesterday's lunch -- we had spaghetti (bought on sale), ground turkey, homemade marinara sauce, biscuits (homemade with homegrown herbs), a salad (homegrown lettuce), cottage cheese, and fruit. I think our meal cost around $8. And, we have enough leftover of the spaghetti and biscuits for a lunch.

Sometimes I feel like I spend a ton of money at the store, but then I realize a lot of times, I'm buying stuff to stock the pantry. I try to get pasta on sale and I have been putting it on glass sealed containers or putting it in the freezer. We hit two stores last weekend and in total we spent less than $90. Only one meal we've had didn't include meat that we bought the on this weekend trip.

DH has a very small area for a garden -- our backyard is almost all shade -- so he had herbs in pots and he has planted bell pepper plants among his other fauna in the yard. He has 3 tomato plants, lettuce, radishes, and basil planted in the small garden like area. Someone asked him why he was doing this and he said because it helps me out when I cook and he enjoys eating like a king!

A gal I know was kidding me about the cooking -- she says it is too hard to cook at home and eating out isn't that expensive. I wonder if she could eat as cheaply as we do...we certainly aren't going hungry and I figure a little time in the kitchen means money saved for other things.

Another person we know said brewing tea for iced tea took too much work. During the winter I get the electric kettle out and make iced tea in glass pitchers using tea bags. I let it cool down before I put it in the fridge. This summer I've made "sun tea" as well as brewed it. Somehow putting a few tea bags in some water doesn't seem that hard and I know what is going into the tea...no artificial sweeteners.

One friend has complained how short of money he is...they eat out every single day...sometimes twice. I'm not against eating out -- it is a nice treat -- but when I look at how much it costs, cooking seems a bit more reasonable.

Fake? Really? How can a Farmer's Market be fake?
 
A few years ago we were at a local farmer's market. As I perused the green beans, the person at that table brought out a box to replenish the supply. The box looked strangely familiar -- very familiar in fact. It appeared to be the same box that our local grocery uses when stocking their vegetable bins.
 
I stepped back and watched. Other boxes were pulled out with other things like bell peppers, zucchini, etc. All seemed to be the same shape, same size. And the boxes -- all the same. The materials to divide seemed like the ones from the store.
 
I thought to myself -- this guy is a fake. He's purchased this stuff and is implying he grew it and selling it as his own. And he was charging far higher prices than the local supermarket.
 
Humbug.
 
Apparently it's not just happening in our little city, but other places as well. I read an article about these being scams.
 
Fortunately our local community college also hosts a farmer's market and I do think most of the folks who set up are bringing stuff they raised themselves.
 
Frankly, fake is frightening not to mention being a rip off when it comes to farmer's markets.
 
Debbie's blog: http://frugalfoodie.savingadvice.com/

It is darn warm outside here in Central Illinois. It feels like July instead of May. Yesterday was warm too. I know the farmers are probably delighted because some of them have corn coming up and we did finally receive some rain earlier in the week and the corn popping up will enjoy the hot sun.

DH pulled some radishes, green onions, and picked some lettuce yesterday for our supper last night. It was so nice to have fresh stuff. He hasn't put in tomatoes yet because he normally waits until Mother's Day weekend to plant...our weather pattern has been so weird with the atypical warmer weather, but he was afraid of frost. My brother planted his tomatoes a few weeks ago and is bragging about how great they look...one never knows.

Our herbs in pots from last year are all looking pretty good since they didn't die off. The thyme looks like it might be knocking on the door pretty soon since it is growing so fast.

Looking forward to a bountiful garden this year...and hopefully saving a few bucks besides. We figure the herbs not dying saved us some money.

We had training today for Common Core reading. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is national standards for reading that most of the U.S. has adopted. Teachers normally do not get more than 30 minutes for lunch, so on training days, we often are allowed an hour.

I packed my lunch this morning -- a few leftovers and some fruit. My partner did the same. We were the only two left in the room as the mass exodus left to go purchase lunch.

I looked around when they came back. Many have complained how their money just doesn't go as far as it did or they have huge expenses...yet they thought nothing of going out for lunch.

When they came this morning, many brought their breakfast they had picked up or soda or coffee purchased. My old checkered Thermos almost seems out of place. One person was telling me what a deal it was for the soda they bought this morning on the way as I drank my home brewed coffee and then my Thermos of water after lunch.

It's a treat to go out -- I realize that, but tomorrow when we return, I bet many will treat themselves again to a hurried lunch and a thinner pocketbook.

I hit the library again and saw a cookbook with cooking with olive oil. It is a type of flatbread and I think one could serve it in place of cornbread. Other than the carbs, it appears to be pretty healthy:

Oatmeal honey bread



1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup honey

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil



Preheat oven to 400. Coat a 9 inch round or square baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl add the wet and whick. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir just until moistened.

Transfer batter to the prepared baking pan.



Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Can be served warm or cooled entirely.


We will be eating it with a few meals this week...fairly economical as far as bread goes too.

We had ham for supper. We originally had ham for Easter dinner. Then again for supper Sunday night. I had some for lunch on Monday as well as ham and eggs Monday. We ate it again tonight. Hubby had some for lunch too this week. I think we got our money's worth out of that $15 ham. Three meals Sunday noon; three meals Sunday supper. (We had a guest Sunday and then sent her home with some for her supper.) Supper Monday, lunch Monday, DH's lunch Tuesday, and then tonight...let's see 12 individual servings on one ham! I can honestly say I was glad to see the end of it for now, but I feel like we did pretty well...and it was economical.

Today is Easter and around my home, my hubby really likes a traditional Easter dinner at noon...ham, scalloped potatoes, cornbread, green beans, and deviled eggs. Anyway, that's what he considers traditional.

Each year for each holiday we extend an invitation to a former neighbor or ours. Sometimes she accepts. This Easter, she accepted. In addition to the above, I also fixed honey glazed carrots, peas, and a white cake with white icing since that is her favorite cake and her birthday was Thursday.

The table is set, the food is out, and I suggest I dip up the potatoes since I just got the pan out of the oven and didn't want anyone to burn themselves. She laughed and said that was OK and then said, "I really came for the cornbread." We laughed and then she was afraid she hurt my feelings. I told her no, it was taken as a compliment and she could have as much as she wanted.

The cornbread is baked in a skillet and it is Paula Deen's corny cornbread recipe, except I use less sour cream and more creamed corn. Why? Because her recipe calls for one of those expensive little cans of corn and I buy the corn on sale so I use what is on hand.

We had a nice dinner and we sent some leftovers, including cornbread home with her for her supper.

As a cook, having someone compliment on something is never taken as an insult.

What is a traditional Easter dinner for you?

Our weather has been weird! Living in the Midwest we didn't really have much of a winter...unseasonably warm! Then, the past few weeks it has been in the 70s and 80s and flowers are popping out, trees are blooming, grass is growing...DH has mowed twice already!

Normally one doesn't think about a hearty soup in this kind of weather, but fortunately DH likes soup year round. I had a meeting after school last night and wanted to get something fixed that we could have ready when I got home. I tried this new soup recipe and hubby took one bite and informed me it was a keeper!

Hearty Tomato Pasta Soup

1 lb bulk Italian sausage
6 cups beef broth
1 can stewed tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped in small pieces
3/4 cup of pasta of your choice

I browned the sausage with the chopped onion. I sauted the vegetables in extra virgin olive oil. I then added the sausage to the vegetables then everything else and let it simmer for about an hour and a half. I added the pasta the last half hour and it cooked. It was whole wheat pasta so I figured I could add it that early. I think you could wait and add the other pasta later. I refrigerated it over night and heated it up when we got home. With crackers it was a very, very heart meal!

By fixing it ahead, it meant we weren't tempted to go out and there is enough left over for lunch!