Frugal Kitchens 101 - Shopping at Road Side Stands

This is the time in beautiful Ontario, Canada when road side stands selling produce, honey, baked goods, jams, jellies and even fish appear in abundance.  These road side stands generally will operate for the length of the season of whatever produce they are selling.  This means some will pop up for just the strawberry season (about 11 days) while others will run until late September adding produce as it becomes available.  Road side stand hours are hit and miss so it is common to come across one closed during the day or only open for a short period of time during the day and evening hours.  Most road side stands are family operated extensions of their larger home gardens or small farms so everything works around their life events.  Some of these stands are not manned but rather produce is sold on the honour system.  Of note, it is common for road side stands to specify 'so Sunday sales'. 

I normally make a circular route when making a road trip to stop at specific road side stands that usually involves stops at the mushroom farm and/or orchards and farm markets.  Other times I simply stop when en route to do other errands.  I never leave home with the expectation that any of my favourite road side stands will be open.  My experience has been that shopping the road side stands call for a different style of preparation.  Here are a few things I do to prep:

• pre-planning - Spur of the moment stops to buy a small quantity of a particular fruit or vegetable for dinner doesn't really require pre-planning but road trips with the specific goal of getting larger quantities of fruits or vegetables for preserving require a bit of pre-planning.  The reason being, foods being preserved need to be the freshest and highest quality possible.  Timing becomes critical in that the soon the produce is processed the better.  That means before buying larger quantities I need to have all the necessary supporting ingredients (eg. sugar, salt, other fruits or vegetables, vinegar, etc) and equipment (eg. canning jars, canning lids, freezer bags or containers, etc) on hand and ready to use as soon as I get back with the produce.  I also need to limit my purchases to what I can comfortably process within 24 hours or less.  Bringing home two hampers of green beans even if they are a bargain price is not a bargain if a good portion spoils because I can't comfortably process them.
• location - The vast majority of fruits and vegetables I purchase for processing comes from road side stands within a 25 km (16 mile) radius of our home or less.  If I know we will be in another location visiting (eg. in the GTA), I do a bit of research for planned foodie stops some of which include road side stands.  The stops are en route or short side trips from where we are visiting.
• timing - Produce allowed to sit in the hot sun will be lower quality than fresh picked.  In general, I prefer to stop at road side stands as early in the morning as possible which usually coincides with when the produce was picked. 
• bags/baskets/bins - Many road side stands are quite limited with respect to bags to cart your purchases home in.  I keep a good supply of reusable bags, a couple of larger baskets and a couple of plastic grocery totes in the trunk of the car as well as a similar set-up for the truck.  I often bring along a couple of empty produce hampers just in case I find a good deal on something I want to preserve.
• cold storage -  Some road side stand purchases can be sensitive to heat so I have cooler/thermal bags as part of my supplies.  I also bring a picnic cooler on those trips where I may be come across foods that need to be kept cold )eg. fish, cheeses, delicate berries). 

President's Choice Green Reusable Produce Bags Review

One thing I love about being a food blogger is the excuse to try out new foods or food related products.  Sometimes I am compensated for this of which is always noted in the post but the vast majority of the time, I am not compensated in any way.  I like buying foods I haven't tried before but when it comes to food related products I like trying those products that are getting a bit of hype.  They may be just new out or borderline gimmicky or simply a gimmick but part of the fun is testing them.  Such is the case with the new President's Choice (Loblaw's store brand) Green reusable produce bags that absorb and remove ethylene gas that promise to extend the life and freshness of your fruits and vegetables.  

Ethylene is a gas that is produced by ripening fruits and vegetable.  The presence of ethylene from ripe produce will cause nearby ethylene sensitive produce to ripen faster.  In fact, ethylene is sprayed onto tomato fields so the tomatoes ripen at once for harvesting.  It is the reason why one bad apple can cause the entire bag to spoil and why you put bananas or other fruit into a closed paper bag to ripen faster.  The premise behind this bags is, by absorbing any ethylene gas produced ripening will be slowed retarding spoilage.

I purchased at package of 20 of the PC Green reusable produce bags at No Frills for $7.99 (1).  The package says that these reusable bags will extend the life and freshness of produce.  Each bag can be reused up to 12 times bringing the cost per use to 3¢.  Looking at the large bags (2) there is no markings to say that this is some kind of special bag.  To my frugal mind, that means there is a greater chance of the bag being discarded before being used 12 times.  There is a rather small white rectangle at the top corner where you could write the date if you print very small or you could use this tiny space to keep track of the number of uses, perhaps by using hash marks.

I packaged freshly purchased celery, radishes and tomatoes in the reusable bags.  Celery and radishes are usually stored as is from the grocery store in the crisper.  Some leave them in the plastic produce bags.  While the tops look nice on the radishes, they should be removed for refrigeration to prevent the radishes from spoiling.  Tomatoes are always stored at room temperature out of direct sunlight.  Note that I left the stem on the tomatoes as I always do for vine ripened tomatoes purchased at the grocery store.  This tends to keep them fresh longer.  I also leave home grown tomatoes on the vine when possible until I need them.  The celery and radishes went into the refrigerator while the tomatoes were left on the counter. 

Within a day and a half, I noticed condensation (3) in the the Green reusable bag with the tomatoes.  Upon closer inspection I noticed mold on the stems (4) of the tomatoes.  I cannot ever remember mold forming on the stems of tomatoes that I store on the counter!  Unless we are away for an extended period of time, I always have fresh tomatoes sitting on the counter ready to use.  In this case, the Green reusable bag was a fail and had I not noticed it as fast as I did, I would have lost the tomatoes as well.
   

I quickly removed the tomatoes from the bag, removed the stems and washed the tomatoes in a solution of water and vinegar to kill off any mold.  I returned one cleaned tomato to the bag, then left the remainder sit open on the counter.  After 2 days there was no difference between the tomatoes on the counter and the one in the bag. 

The celery and radishes fared nicely in the bags but had no advantage over those stored open in the crisper.  Neither produce ethylene gas so the results were as expected.  I tried the bags on both apples and bananas.  The look of the bag definitely took away from the look of my perpetual fruit bowl!

Ethylene absorbing bags are an expensive and unnecessary gimmick.  They give the impression that all fruits and vegetables produce ethylene gas or are adversely affected by ethylene gas when in fact that is not the case.  The PC Green reusable produce bags shows both basil and strawberries on the package, neither of which produce or are sensitive to ethylene nor should they ever be stored in plastic bags. 

Ripening does not necessarily cause food spoilage but excess moisture certainly will.  The ethylene absorbing bags are made of plastic.  Most produce should not be stored in plastic because the high humidity reduces the storage life while increasing spoilage.  Some have reported that storing bananas in the ethylene absorbing bags gives nice looking bananas that are actually rotted on the inside.  Finally, the ethylene absorbing bags are only good for certain produce.  Basically they may help protect ethylene sensitive foods from ethylene producing fruits and vegetables during storage.  However, a properly maintained crisper will do the exact same thing by allow air flow that disperses any ethylene produced by some fruits and vegetables.  In general, ethylene sensitive foods are refrigerated while ethylene producing fruits and vegetable really do not need refrigeration.  If in doubt as to how to store, just visit your local grocery store. Notice how ethylene producing fruits and vegetables are not in the cooler section nor in the higher humidity produce section?  That is the way they should be stored at home with the exception of parsley which should be place in cup of water, cut end down similar to flowers, on the counter.  Sun exposure will help the cut parsley retain its beautiful green colour until used.

Ethylene producing fruits and vegetables - apples, apricots, avocados, ripening bananas, cataloupe, figs, honeydew, kiwi, mangoes, nectarines, papayas, peaches, pears, persimmions, plantains, plums, prunes, quince, tomatoes

Ethylene sensitive foods - unripe bananas, green beans, Belgian endive, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, leafy greens, lettuce, okra, parsley, peas, peppers, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress, watermelon

The bottom line on the PC Green reusable produce bags - They are expensive and ineffective.  While the bags are reusable after washing the reality is most buyers will not do so.  Unlike the zipper style bags, these bags are thin so prone to being damaged in the fridge as well.  I honestly don't see where the average consumer will get 12 uses out of each of these bags.  If you are really concerned about ethylene sensitive foods, some can be stored in covered containers with paper towel on the bottom to absorb extra moisture.  Quite frankly, I don't find storing any of the mentioned fruits and vegetables to be much of a problem either on the counter or in the refrigerator.  The bags are of little help other than expensive storage for fruits and vegetables not affected by ethylene and they will definitely cause berries to spoil faster.  Even if per change you were to get 12 uses per bag, the bags will more than likely end up in the landfill as they cannot be recycled in many communities.  These bags get two thumbs down from me!

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Continuous Harvest

Last month I focused on discussing my continuous harvest on my gardening blog.  Growing fruits and vegetables indoors is an ideal way to stretch your food dollar.  It is a very frugal activity that the whole family can enjoy while saving money.  Let's put it in perspective.  A head of leaf lettuce costs somewhere between 80¢ and $1.50 during the winter months.  A packet of leaf lettuce seeds costs about $1 but that packet of seeds will give a much greater yield than one head of leaf lettuce.  Fresh herbs in the produce section cost about $2 and you use them up but a potted herb costs mere pennies if you start from seed or the same $2 if you start from clippings in the produce section or buy an established potted herb.  Now, the beauty with herbs is they are cut and come again edible plants that adapt rather nicely to growing indoors.  Two more examples are potatoes and tomatoes. If you grow tomatoes outdoors, take a few clippings then root in water and plant in pots indoors for  fresh tomatoes.  You won't get a huge bumper crop but those tomatoes taste so much nicer than those available in the grocery stores during the winter months.  Everyone has had a sprouted potato that has gone soft.  Cut the potato into quarters with an eye (sprout) in each piece.  Fill 4 - 5 gal pails with soil then plant a potato quarter in each.  You will be rewarded with 4 pails of new potatoes, about 10 or so per pail, just perfect for a free side from something you were going to toss anyway.  Ok, now you have an idea on what a continuous harvest is (growing a year round indoor garden), here are a few tips setting up growing space.

• what to grow - In general most herbs, smaller fruiting tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, radishes, leaf lettuce, mesclun mix, mustard, cucumbers, bush beans, some varieties of pole beans, sweet peas, zucchini, sweet peppers, spinach and some varieties of strawberries can be grown indoors.  Hot peppers and most melons don't grow indoors well.  Indoor space is too limited to grow most berries or other fruits, or corn but as you can see, there is a fair amount of produce that can be grown indoors year round.
• plastic trays - Water from over flowing potted plants can damage furniture and floors.  I bought a few plastic kitty litter trays from the dollar store.  I put potted plants in the trays making it easy to move several plants at one time while protecting surfaces from water damage.  
• space - Space is of course the limiting factor when growing indoors as everything else (eg. lighting, temperature, humidity, water, nutrients) can all be controlled.  I use a lot of the principles of square foot gardening so I always look at ways to 'grow up not out'.  There are all kinds of shelf units available that can be fitted with grow lights and there are several products on the market for growing small (eg. table top, self contained units) for growing indoors.  Of course, there are hooks for hanging edible potted plants from the ceiling.  Sometime, thinking outside of the box works too.  I turned one south facing window in our second home into a lovely grow space by adding shallow shelves that held 4 - inch potted plants.  The window was still functional but it did eliminate the need for curtains on that window.  A small, rigid plastic kiddie pool (bought at an end of season sale for about $5) can be turned into a stunning indoor garden.  Pop all your edible potter plants into the pool, camouflage the edge with a row of plants in self watering containers, add a couple of grow lights and you have lovely, easy to care for, low maintenance indoor garden that can be the focal point of a room as well.
• time savers - Growing edible plants indoors need not be time consuming.  If anything it is easier than growing outdoors because there are a lot of time savers available.  Use self-watering pots (dollar store, Wal-mart) or make your own using plastic bins.  Watering a couple of times a month is likely all you will need from there especially if the heat or AC is not on.  Use water bulbs in potted plants, another dollar store find that works quite nicely to lessen the number of times you need to water.  An inexpensive indoor drip watering system can be set up using plastic aquarium tubing.  This clear tubing can be discretely run to water all your plants from a single location.  I use wooden plant dollies with plastic casters (dollar store find) to move larger plants around when needed.  The casters don't mar up our laminate, tile or marble flooring and I don't have to worry about injuring myself moving heavier plants.
• successive plantings - Some plants (eg. herbs) are cut and come again meaning the plant will continue to grow and produce even though you harvest some of it.  Never harvest more than a third of the plant.  Other plants like leaf lettuce are depleted upon harvesting.  For that reason, grow them in larger pots and treat them the way you would in a square foot garden by repeated sowings.  If it is a plant you use a lot of, plant multiple pots then combine with repeated sowings as a pot is harvested to ensure a steady supply.  For example, plant four pots a day or two apart with leaf lettuce.  As the first one matures to harvest, the next one will be a couple of days behind and so on.  Harvest some or all of the first pot, work up the soil a bit and sow more seeds.  Continue in this fashion for a steady supply.  You can do the same with any vegetable grown indoors, adjusting the spacing between plantings as desired.
• cost - For very little investment, even as low as $0 you can easily have a rather productive indoor garden set up.  Honestly, most equipment can be found for free and chances are you already have what you need on hand.  The cheapest way to get seeds is to collect them yourself either from your outdoor garden or even from some of the produce you purchase in the grocery store.  Seed exchanges are a cheap source for seeds for only the price of a stamp.  Electricity for lighting should be minimal as well if you use CFL bulbs.  I have spent about $20 so far establishing an indoor garden here that is still very much a work in progress.  A lot of the materials, shelving and planters can easily be found on Freecycle or very cheap at yard sales.  Higher end, self-contained growing stations will cost somewhere between $50 and $80 but there is a return on that investment so they can pay for themselves.  The biggest expense with indoor growing is the energy to operate any grow lights.  Grow lights are necessary indoors to give the proper light spectrum for healthy plant growth.   In general grow lights are incandescent, fluorescent, CFL and LED.  Forget incandescent grow lights.  They are cheap to buy but can increase your hydro bill by $20 or more a month.  LED lights are expensive to buy but very cheap to operate.  The standard in growing indoors has been the fluorescent tube lighting but the newer and cheaper to operate CFL grow lights are now on the market.  CFL bulbs should be in the higher wattage range and despite a bit higher cost of operation as opposed to lower wattage CFL, they are still less expensive to operate than fluorescent tube lighting.

Easy Way to Cook Acorn Squash

As newly-weds  my husband would not eat sweet peas, squash or eggplant but he loved rutabaga.  I, on the other hand would eat any vegetable, except eggplant and I have to tell you rutabaga was something I almost had to choke down.  Other than that, any vegetable was fair game for both of us and to this day, while our tastes have changed a bit, vegetables play a large role in our diet.  Honestly, the only vegetable neither of us eats is eggplant.  That may be because I don't cook it right.  I don't know.  At any rate, any vegetable other than eggplant is fair game in our home.

Squash comes in two varieties, summer and winter.  Summer squash (eg. zucchini) has a thin, edible skin whereas winter squash has a thick, inedible skin that needs to be removed.  The seeds of both varieties are edible as well with summer squash seeds being small and tender compared to the larger, tougher skinned seeds of winter squash.

By far my favourite winter squash is acorn squash which gets it's name from its shape that resembles an acorn.  It is rich in Vitamins A (beta carotene) and C as well as a good source of potassium.  It has a bit lighter flavour than some of larger, darker fleshed winter squashes.  In season, large acorn squash will be as cheap as 5/$1 or 20¢ each but even off season, they are still quite inexpensive.  The beauty of acorn squash is it can be baked, grilled, steamed or microwaved without removing the hard outer skin.

Simply cut in half and scoop out the seeds with connective tissue.  The squash is now ready to prepare for baking or grilling.  Don't discard the seeds!  Place the seeds in a colander and rinse well to remove the connecting tissue.  Place the seeds on a mesh tray to dry.  The dried seeds can be saved for next year's garden or they can be roasted in the oven for a delightful, nutritious snack.

Some folks like to add brown sugar to their squash and the worst concoction I've ever seen with squash was adding marshmallows!  I see no need to mask the flavour of squash.  Instead, I add a little butter and sea salt to the cavity of each half of the squash.  This is just enough flavour without overpowering the wonderful flavour of the squash.

That is just how quick and easy it is to prepare acorn squash for baking, microwaving or grilling.  The same prep without the butter and salt is used when steaming except the squash is turned cut side down in the steaming basket.

If baking or grilling, I cover the prepared acorn squash with tinfoil.  This retains the steam produced by the cooking squash, keeping it tender and flavourful.  If cooking the prepared squash in the microwave oven, I recommend using wax paper to wrap the squash in.

Acorn squash baked or grilled takes about the same amount of time as baked potatoes, usually about 45 minutes.  If cooking on the grill, the prepared squash should be put on the top rack of the outdoor grill.  I place the prepared squash on a Silpat lined baking sheet when cooking in the oven to prevent any leakage onto the floor of the oven.

The squash is cooked when it gives when slightly pinched between fingers and thumb.  I remove the squash from the oven (grill or microwave) and let sit a couple of minutes.  I then carefully remove the covering.  It is important to open from the side furthest from you to prevent steam burning you.  The soft flesh is easily scooped from the harder skin which has softened somewhat during cooking.  I simply scoop the flesh out into a serving bowl, mash lightly with a fork to mix the butter and salt, then serve.  The empty skin is destined for the compost bin.  It really is that easy to prepare and cook acorn squash without ever having to peel it!  It is a no muss, no fuss method to enjoy acorn squash.

Kitchen Quick Tips - Stop Peeling Fruits and Vegetables

Peeling fruits and vegetables removes nutrients and fiber while creating kitchen waste.  Chewing the fiber while eating also strengthens jaw muscles. So stop peeling your fruits and vegetables!

Kitchen Quick Tips - Washing Produce

Produce can have pesticide residue unless it has been organically grown.  Even then it should be washed before consuming.  Place the produce in the sink with fresh soapy water.  Wash to remove any soil.  Rinse.  Cover with fresh water and about 2 tbsp of white vinegar.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Drain and dry.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Frugal Produce

On of the biggest complaints with respect to fresh fruits and vegetables is their expense.  Fresh fruits and vegetables can be expensive depending on your location and where you are purchasing them.  However, there are a lot of excellent produce deals out there if you know what to look for and where to look.  This week's Frugal Kitchens 101 discusses how to find a few deals on fresh produce that won't break the bank.

• shop in season -  Produce is cheapest is bought locally in season BUT for imported produce (eg. clementines, mangos) they are cheapest according to their local season.  That means in our area if I want the best prices for clementines I buy them in late October to late November and again late December to mid-January.  If I want the best prices in mangos I look for them in the grocery stores mid to late July when they will go for 14/$3.99 verses 99¢ each throughout the rest of the year.
• shop locally - The best produce prices will always be produce grown close to home, quite often well under the 100 Mile Radius of your home.  
• know local produce - It goes without saying that if you don't know what is available locally you can't take advantage of it.  When it comes to produce the following are very inexpensive here:  peaches, pears, plums, apricots, apples, cucumbers, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, squash, rutabaga, beets and strawberries.  Mid range priced produce includes: tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, blueberries, green/wax beans.  High priced produce includes: corn, Brussels sprouts, raspberries, blackberries.  This is based on our local availability and local prices which will differ significantly depending on your location.  At our summer home citrus fruit is extremely low priced in season but a lot of other produce I'm used to getting inexpensively is quite pricey.
• grow what you can - Honestly growing whatever produce you can is a huge help.  Focus on growing produce that is more expensive to buy or produce you can't easily buy in the stores.  Don't waste space growing low yielding crops like corn and potatoes in a home garden.  
• buy in bulk - Normally potatoes will go for $7.99 for 50 lb or 16¢ per lb here in season but at the same time a 10 lb bag will go for $1.99 or 20¢ per lb.  The better deal is the 50 lb bag but only if you preserve some of them for use during the late winter when potatoes here will creep as high as 30¢ per lb.  The same savings can be had for a lot of vegetables!  
• know your grades -  Number One or Grade A apples means no blemishes; number twos have minor blemishes and wind fallen are exactly that, wind fallen apples that will likely have bruising from falling.  A bushel of number ones at our prices will cost about $8 depending on the variety but number twos will cost about half that while wind fallen less than number twos.  If you are using the apples for juice or sauce there is no need to buy number ones.  Even number twos are great for eating so again there's no need to buy number ones.  Windfallen apples can be used for juice and sauce as well so again knowing the grades can help determine use and seriously the bottom line is unless you want almost picture perfect apples, number ones are a waste of your money.  The same thing applies to most fruits and vegetables and while there are times number ones are what you want in most cases number twos will give you the same time while saving money.  
• know how to preserve in season produce - My rule of thumb for any produce coming into the house unless grown or acquired for a particular reason is ⅓ to ½ is preserved to later use.  In this way I am constantly adding to my pantry stocks.  Preserving includes canning, freezing, fermenting and drying when it comes to produce

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Is Organic Food Worth It?

Organic has become the new buzzword in food over the past decade.  The reality is well before organic became a marketing buzzword, many recognized the importance of eating organically produced foods. Organic foods cost more because they are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.  The use of machinery is kept to a bare minimum to avoid contaminating the soil and in fact to be certified organic in some areas machinery cannot be used on the farms where the produce is grown.  Produce grown organically is more labour intensive and subject to a lower yield due to loss through plant diseases and insect damage.  Organic foods tend to be higher priced as a direct result of growing organically.  This week's Frugal Kitchens 101 addresses the issue of whether organic food is worth the extra cost.

Organic produce is free from synthetic pesticide, herbicide, fertilizer residues and are not genetically modified (GMO).  Organic meat products are free of animal by-product feed, antibiotics and hormones.  There has been a growing concern as to the negative side effects these residues have on the body.  It is better to avoid consuming them.  There are twelve produce items known as the dirty dozen.  These items have thin skin with no protective layer so synthetic residues can penetrate through the entire fruit or vegetable.  They are: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes, pears, spinach and potatoes¹.  These fruits and vegetables should always be purchased organic.  There are 15 fruits and vegetables that are known as the clean 15.  These fruits and vegetables have a thicker skin or protective layer that prevents synthetic pesticides and fertilizers from penetrating the entire food.  They are: onion, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mangos, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapefruit, sweet potato and honeydew melon².

In my opinion the price of organic food is worth.  How do you find organic produce and other foods?  There are several available sources for organic foods.  They include:

• Grow an organic garden yourself and extend that growing greens, herbs and other fruits and vegetables indoor through the winter months.
• Shop organic fruit and vegetable stands for fresh produce.
• Take advantage of organic U-picks where picking the produce yourself is cheaper.
• Organic is the marketing buzzword so many grocery stores now have an organic foods aisle for dried (flours, cereals, grains, pastas), canned (fruits, vegetables, condiments) and bottled (fruits, vegetables, juices) foods.  Quite often organic produce is marked with some type of sign in the produce section however if it isn't check the little produce code stickers.  If the number starts with a 9 it is organic. 
• Shop specialty stores (bulk food stores, health food stores) for dried foods like cereals and grains.  Some health food stores also carry refrigerator items.
• Buy local honey directly from the beekeeper.
• Buy organic meats directly from a farmer that raises organically or buy certified organic meats in the grocery store.  Buy organic, free range chickens and eggs again either directly from the farmer or certified in the grocery stores.  In some municipalities it is possible to raise your own backyard chickens giving you a good source of fresh organic eggs.
• Many organic items such as jams, jellies, herbs, cheeses, seafood and much more can be ordered online and delivered right to your door.
• Ask at the health food store and organic stands where to find other organic growers in your area. 
• Do a Google search for organic growers in your area.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Produce Variety Does Matter

Home gardening is an excellent way to save money on your grocery bill.  As both a home cook and home gardener one of my pet peeves is recipes that do not tell you what variety of a particular produce or herb to use.  Variety does matter when it comes to taste and texture of any fruit or vegetable.  Some varieties are simply not interchangeable!  For example a tomato is a tomato, right?  Wrong!  Tomato varieties include grape, cherry, paste, and slicing.   Slicing tomatoes do not make good tomato sauce and paste tomatoes don't make good tomato sandwiches.  In addition to that tomatoes come in a vast array of colours when ripe ranging from green to pinkish red to orangish red to yellows and oranges and even deep purple.  Each has their own flavour, texture and aesthetically are better for some culinary uses than others.  The same thing applies to virtually every plant in your garden.  There are upwards of 20 or more different basils so a recipe that calls for fresh basil is rather vague but in most cases refers to the standard sweet basil.  Certain varieties of green beans can better than others.  The problem for many new home gardeners is they don't understand that variety does matter and has a huge effect on the end result of anything you are cooking.  They end up being disappointed because they don't get the end result they wanted

I tend to grow vegetable varieties in my garden that are expensive to buy in the grocery store.  For me that means a secret commercial variety of paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, yellow tomatoes.  At the moment I have 27 plants that will more than double as I start taking clipping.  Each plant has a specific purpose.  If you want to maximize your food dollars with a garden then do pay attention to the varieties of vegetables that you plant, not only for their use but as to how well they do in your particular area.  If you want to preserve some of your harvest which most home gardeners do then choose varieties of vegetables that freeze or can well.  Either way whether using home grown produce for fresh eating or preserving it can save you a considerable amount of money.

Gardening is a very inexpensive, healthy activity but you can make it even cheaper.  The more you save on the garden the cheaper your harvest is.  A few garden saving tips to help you save even more money:

• Plants go on sale towards the end of the perceived planting season so shop those sales as often it is not to late to plant them for a harvest.
• Think outside of the box.  If you need more growing space add hanging planters and containers.
• Collect seeds from this year's harvest.  Any heirloom plant will breed true so always plant a few heirlooms and collect those seeds.
• Plants grown from seed are cheaper so start your own.
• Get plant clippings and seeds from other gardeners often for free or the cost of a stamp.
• Always plant more than you think you will need to compensate for plant loss, inclimate weather and pest damage.
• Collect and use rainwater for your watering needs.  Rainwater doesn't contain chlorine or fluoride so is considered the organic choice for watering and it is free.
• Dollar stores are a good source for some vegetables seed although there may be a slightly lower germination rate.  The packets usually go 2 for $1 so they are still a good deal.
• If you have a lot of one type of vegetable trade a fellow gardener for what they have extra of.  It works out to be a win:win.
• Certain fruits, vegetables and herbs can be grown year round indoors using a variety of methods.  This is known as "continuous harvest" as is another way to help you get fresh produce on your table without breaking the bank.
• Use intensive gardening methods such as square foot gardening, container gardening, small space gardening and vertical gardening.  All of these methods maximize yield while taking up the minimal amount of ground space.

If you would like to know more about the varieties of vegetables and herbs I grow please check out my gardening blog.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Quality Counts

When it comes to frugal cooking food quality is very important. Lower quality foods are often high is sodium, sugar and preservatives as well as being lower in nutritional value. Buying quality foods does not mean you have to break the bank either. Quality foods can be quite inexpensive. I want to stress that inexpensive doesn't mean cheap when it comes to foods. Inexpensive quality foods can easily be purchased whereas cheap foods are seldom quality foods.  Focus on buying foods with the highest nutritional value for your food dollars.  This week's Frugal Kitchens 101 will focus on choosing quality foods to help you get the best value for your food dollars.

• buy locally - This is an excellent way of ensuring you are getting quality produce that has not spent a vast amount of time traveling from the farmer to your table. Local produce is fresher and higher in nutrients than imported produce. Imported produce is often picked when it is under ripe so they are not at their peak of nutritional value and they continue to lose nutrients as soon as they are picked.
  
• buy in season - The best example of quality is comparing a store bought in season tomato to one that is a hot house off season tomato. Hands down the in season tomato has more flavour, more nutrients and is less expensive. The only tomato that will beat a store bought in season tomato is a home grown one picked moments before use. Be aware of the produce seasonal trends in your area then plan your menus with this in mind.
• preserve your own - Preserving in season, locally grown foods makes good frugal sense and it allows you to avoid the problems and concerns associated with commercially canned, frozen and dried foods.
• fresh produce - When buying produce look for firm, fresh, ripe produce free from bruising that will cause the produce to spoil faster.  Avoid buy under ripe, over ripe produce or produce with any signs of spoilage.   Smell the produce and avoid any produce with an off smell.
  
• brand name vs store brand - In most cases the quality of the brand name may be just slightly higher than the store brand.  Many food processing plants process both brand and store brands with the higher quality produce going to the brand name and seconds (eg. smaller size) going to the store brands.  However, this is not always the case so this becomes a trial and error thing.  The problem is if you try a store brand and no one will eat it then both food and money are wasted.  When it comes to store brands it is best to buy a small amount (eg. one can), try it first and then if it meets your requirements buy more.
• cooking - The frugal approach for a large variety of produce is to serve raw.  This ensures no nutrients are lost through the cooking process giving you the best value for your food dollar.  When cooking choose a method such as steaming or baking rather than boiling which leaches nutrients out of the vegetables.
• meats - There is a myth that ground beef is a good bargain but in my experience it isn't.  In terms of price it may be but there is also a greater surface area that leads to flavour loss, quicker spoilage and contamination (eg. E. coli).  A meat grinder is quite inexpensive and can be used for grinding a wide variety of meats and used for making sausage.  Grinding your own meat allows you to trim as much fat as desired.  The important thing is you are getting a fresher, higher quality ground meat which is reflected in the taste of the cooked meat.
• cheeses - Cheeses bring up two quality issues both centred on flavour.  Commercially shredded cheese is not a good value for your food dollar on several levels.  In terms of quality the greater surface area means flavour loss so you end up using more to try and make up for flavour loss.  It is cheaper to buy a block of quality cheese (not store brand) and shred it your self in the amount you will use for that particular dish.  That way you get the best flavour and can get away with using a bit less.  My experience has been that store brand brick cheeses while often on sale are sadly lacking in flavour.  If you go with a quality cheese from a cheese factory it will cost slight more but again you can use less so in the end you save money.  The exception is cream cheese must meet a certain criteria (eg. same quality) so quite often there is no noticeable difference between store brand and brand name.
• bread products - If you have the option either make your own bread products or buy them from a bakery.  These are higher quality breads that are not full of a lot of excess fats, sugars and preservatives.  Of growing concern is the impact of high fructose corn syrup something is often found in packaged breads.   Making grocery stores now offer fresh baked breads without all the preservatives and homemade bread products eliminates both high fructose corn syrup and preservatives while giving you a high quality product often cheaper than packaged breads.
  

Buying Locally

I've been running the Frugal Kitchens 101 each Monday since the first of 2009. I seriously cannot stress enough how important it is that if you want to save money on your food costs to eat locally. The closer to home you can buy any produce, meats or dairy the more you are going to save money. Now, buying locally doesn't mean you buy at the local grocery store. Buying locally means that particular food was grown and/or processed within a 160 km (100 mile) of your home. The shorter the distance the better it is. Anything you can grow yourself is within a few feet or yards of your house. There are no transportation or environmental costs providing you grow organically. Buying locally supports your neighbours, makes your community stronger while providing you with the freshest food products possible. This is a great video by Hellman's highlights buying locally.

We have had the good fortune to live in an area where produce, meats, poultry, eggs and fish are abundant within less than the 162 km range of our house. Sugar beets are grown and processed into sugar just under that 162 km range. Even salt including curing salt is produced within that range. I am seriously amazed at what I can buy that is grown within that range. There are even a couple of domestic cheese factories, breweries and wineries with online stores that will deliver right to our door! We try to eat as much as possible within the 162 km range. Unfortunately some foods like oils, olives, tropical fruits, teas, vinegars, coffees, sea salts, rices except for wild rice and some seasonings are not grown locally. Obviously there are a lot of other foods we eat that have their origins outside the 162 km range but for the most part the vast majority of the foods we eat are within that range.

We live in a world where global trade is the norm. We are used to all of the lovely food extras that are produced throughout the world. How wonderful it is to be able to enjoy them! I don't know a magical percentage for purchasing them but if you aim to keep these foods at 20% or less of your total food budget you will be saving money and the environment as well as supporting local growers.

A Busy Preserving Weekend

It has been a busy preserving weekend thanks to the foodie road trip. Friday night I canned up the wax and yellow beans. The kids were here yesterday with all three grandbabies then we went boating when they left so I didn't get as much canning done as I should have. I managed to get blueberry pie filling and blueberry juice canned. So far today I've canned blueberry syrup, chocolate raspberry sauce, low sugar cherry jam, regular cherry jam with one batch using regular pectin and the other using Pomona's pectin. The plum sauce is simmering so will be next in the canner. The freezer pickles will be ready to put into containers around 11 pm. Tomorrow I will be canning mushrooms and pickled beets. I will also be drying mushrooms if the humidity level stays low enough. Starting Tuesday I will begin posting pictures and recipes of this weekend's canning.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - U Picks

Like many I grow a vegetable garden but simply cannot produce as much as we need to get us through from one growing season to the next for some fruits and vegetables. Unless you live on a good sized parcel of land the chances of growing all the produce you want to use both fresh and for preserving is likely not possible. Certain vegetables such as corn take up a fair amount of room in the garden for the yield. Potatoes are nice in the garden to enjoy the small, new potatoes but to grow the amount needed for a year supply would be difficult for many home gardeners. Fruit trees and bushes, asparagus and rhubarb can take a few years to become well established so in the meantime buying this produce is the only real option. The best place to buy this type of produce it at the source.

U-picks are simply farmers who may also have ready picked produce for you to buy and orchards that have both. Always check them out before planning a trip especially if you want organic, pesticide-free produce. Ask about their growing methods. In general U-picks are mainly fruit focused but some may offer vegetables for picking as well. Their ready picked produce is quite often cheaper than in the grocery stores but more expensive than if you pick your own. Picking your own is an excellent way to connect to your food. You become quality control while you pick so you are assured of getting the fruit or vegetable just at its peak. You can also determine just the right size of fruit or vegetable. For example, large strawberries are ideal for desserts and snacking but small berries are better for making jam so you can sort as you pick into two containers saving you time later. Picking your own is wonderful exercise as well as a great way to spend quality family time and meet others in your surrounding community. When you go to a U-pick, be prepared.

1. dress appropriately - You will be picking your produce directly in the field or plot that it is planted. That means in most cases little shade and depending on the day hot sun. You will encounter rough paths between the rows, mosquitoes and/or other insects, possibly a snake or two and/or other critters, weeds like stinging nettle and possibly thorns. You will need: sunblock, a wide brimmed hat, sturdy closed toe shoes with socks, light coloured breathable clothing, a light long sleeve shirt to protect your arms. A mid-calf length skirt or long lightweight pants are better than shorts too.
2. water - Lack of shade and hot sun will make you dehydrate rather quickly so bring water in a re-usable water bottle.
   
3. restroom facilities - These are basically non-existent so govern yourself accordingly.
   
4. timing - The best time to go to a U-pick is early morning just after the dew has burned off and before the heat of the day. Avoid going after a rain or heavy dew as this can spread any plant disease from one to another plant as well as make it uncomfortable picking due to mosquitoes.
5. containers - Bring your own containers! Many U-picks are just small Mom & Pop garden patches so they more than likely will not supply much in the way of containers. They may give you quart fruit baskets to use for picking only for calculating cost. These are then emptied into your own pail or other container. I always take a few extra shopping bags with me to leave. This helps them out and recycles my bags.
6. wet wash cloth - Pack a wet wash cloth in a re-usable container. When you are finished picking your hands will be dirty.
   
7. cooler - Hot berries spoil quickly. I recommend putting them in a cooler for transporting home.
   

In most cases you will have to drive to a U-pick. A U-pick is not the place to drive to for one quart of berries if that's all you need! However, I like to keep a few picking supplies in the trunk of the car just in case on one of my travels I pass by a U-pick and decide to stop. Now this brings up an issue of availability. We live in an area where we can find a lot of these types of orchards and farms within a 100 mile radius from our home. This is a huge cost savings for me for the produce I don't grow but even then I still always take into consideration the cost of acquisition. I also consider that the best time to preserve any produce is as quickly as possible after picking. In short, that means an early morning start with multiple stops gathering food with a goal of being home by noon followed by a long afternoon and evening of processing the produce. This is a very cost effective way of putting good quality food on your table while saving money so be sure to check this source out!

Frugal Kitchens 101: Shopping the Outer Perimeter

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to view the video by Natalie on Eating Healthy on a Budget. Her first suggestion is to buy the raw ingredients and cook them at home and her sixth suggestion was to eat foods that are in season. That brings us to today's Frugal Kitchens 101 topic of shopping the outer perimeter of the grocery store. The outer perimeter is generally where fresh produce, breads/bakery products, meats, fresh fish, poultry, dairy and freezer items are found. I would estimate a good 80% of my food dollar is spent on items in the outer perimeter when I shop in a grocery store with about 75% of that being items in the produce and dairy sections. In general you best value for your food dollar lies in the outer perimeter but there are ways to save even more when shopping the outer perimeter.

Certain food items in the outer perimeter are seldom what I would consider frugal food choices. Eliminating or substituting these foods will save a considerable amount of money with very little effort. Following is a list of ten foods along with my comments that should be eliminated from your groceries.

1. pre-cut bagged lettuces - In general these tend to be more expensive per gram or ounce than regular lettuces. They have been handled more and have a higher surface area making them perfect for contamination (eg. E. coli) and they may have have been sprayed with sulfiting agents to prevent browning that can cause allergic reactions for some. Replace these with whole leaf or head lettuce. The two exceptions to this are spinach and mesclun or spring mix, so buy these when they are on sale.
2. baby/cocktail carrots - These are the cute little carrots sold in plastic bags that have become very popular for vegetable trays and as a side when cooked. They often go on sale for about 99¢ for a 12 oz (8¢ per ounce) package making them appear to be a good bargain but they are not. They are put through a machine to be formed then put into a vat of water with chlorine as a preservative. The carrots used have been bred to have a deeper orange colour as well as a sweeter flavour. Consider that whole carrots are often on sale in 5 lb bags for $1.50 (2¢ per ounce) or less saving not only 6¢ per ounce but avoiding any chlorine residue.
3. bean or other sprouts - Bean and other sprouts in the grocery stores have already started losing some of their nutritional value by the time you get them on the table. They are pricey at upwards of $1.50 per lb and are not always available. Instead buy a bag of dried mung beans and sprout them yourself. A bag of dried mung beans (450 g) will yield 4 - 5 times the amount of beans sprouts for the same price you pay for fresh bean sprouts in the store.
4. pre-made salads or pre-chopped/prepared anything - You will seldom find anything in this respect that is cheaper than if you cut it up yourself. In most cases these foods will be more than double the cost.
5. orange juice from concentrate - It is always cheaper to buy the frozen concentrate and add your own water. For example in this week's flyer Minute Maid orange juice is $2.97 for 2.84 L but I can make the same amount from frozen concentrate for $1.29. Right there is a savings of $1.77!
6. flavoured yogurt/individual yogurts - Sorry but these tend to be over priced and laden with sweeteners as well as having environmentally unfriendly packaging. Make your own yogurt with very little effort. Use it plain for eating or baking or stir in low sugar jams or fresh fruit to kick the sugar habit to the curb. The exception to this is buying one single serving plain yogurt with active bacteria for a starter.
7. processed cheese slices - These cheese slices contain additional oil to get them to the desired consistency. At the same time they come in individually wrapped slices wrapped again in more plastic. A better choice it to buy better quality cheese and use less of it. You get more flavour for less cost as well as eliminating the excess packaging so it is a win win situation!
8. pre-made refrigerator snacks (Lunchables, Dunkables etc.) - Honestly these are some of the worst things out there in my opinion. They are laden with salt, sugar and over processed and over priced junk food pure and simple. Trust me on this one Little Jimmy does not need to dip a sugar laden cookie into more sugar laden icing! Instead buy a box of cracker, a cube of cheese and some polish sausage and make your own. Get some divided re-usable containers with lids to make homemade, healthy versions then make them fun for your kids by cutting real cheese or vegetables into fun shapes using cookie cutters.
9. most breads and bakery products - These tend to have a lot of sugars, salt, fats and preservatives to make them last a week or more. Anything with bleached flour that has been whitened with chloride oxide is a health risk. The chloride oxide combines with the proteins forming alloxon a chemical shown to cause diabetes under laboratory conditions. At our current prices unbleached flour is 8¢ per cup making the average white bread I make cost about 79¢ per loaf when the electricity is considered (more on that later). Now that doesn't sound like a lot of savings but consider what you aren't getting! Cookies, cakes and other bakery items are always cheaper made at home. Pick up a used breadmachine or KitchenAid® standmixer and you will avoid the bread/bakery aisle all together.
10. lunchmeats - These are on my list of foods to eliminate because they are generally over priced for what you get and there is the concern with contamination (Listeria). Cheaper and safer alternatives are to cook an extra roast then slice for lunchmeat. The same thing can be done with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, turkey breast, corned beef, ham and roast pork. Cook, cool and slice then freeze into sizes you will use within a week and freeze. Thaw as needed.

Following these 10 tips not only will you be saving money you will be eating healthier substitutes. If you grocery shop weekly and save an minimum average of $10 per week it doesn't seem like a lot. However over the course of one year you will have saved $520!

Home Canned Pears

This time of year local produce is abundant and inexpensive. I made a trip to my favourite farm market last Wednesday. There was so much to choose from! The deep oranges, reds, yellows mixed with shades of green echoed the changing colours on the trees. The beautiful aroma of the various fruits and vegetables tantalized the taste buds. I could have stayed there all day!

Purchases

Pictured are the day's purchase from the farm market with the exception of the two oranges that I bought at the grocery store on the way home. I needed those for another recipe. As I walked through the farm market I mentally thought about what I was going to make with each item added to the counter. It's a small market with no shopping carts so purchases go onto the counter to be rung up when you're finished selecting.

The weather was cool so leeks were needed for a large pot of potato and leek soup. Cabbages were cheap and since I wanted to try a new cabbage recipe (see tomorrow's post) two went onto the counter. Two winter squash and a pumpkin were must haves. Bartlett pears and Crispin (Mutsu) apples were added because you can never have too many apples. Topping off the purchases were sweet potatoes, sweet pepper. tomatoes and apple cider. I plan on making mulled apple cider with the cider, always a wonderful fall beverage that not only tastes good but makes the house smell wonderful!

Home Canned Pears

Fruit is extremely easy to can and because it is processed using a boiling water bath canner (BWB) you can take advantage of fruit savings as they become available. The nice thing about canning fruit is you can do as many jars as you want or have fruit to fill. This means if you can easily adjust the number of jars canned to meet your needs. Another nice thing about canning fruit is you add various spices and/or alcohol (eg. brandy) for a unique product.

I canned 5 - 500 ml (pint) jars of plain Bartlett pears using a thin syrup. The syrup can be adjusted to medium or heavy and you can substitute the sugar with either corn syrup or honey. Both substitutions will give a different flavour to the finished product. Do not use artificial sweeteners for canning fruits. Yellow Bartlett pears are better for canning than other varieties but you cannot use them fully ripened as they will be too soft. Use under ripe Bartlett pears instead. Approximately .57 kg (1¼ lb of pears) will be needed per 2 - 500 ml (pint) or 1 - L (quart) or for an easy estimation 8 large pears should yield about 5 - 500 ml (pint) jars of finished product.

Method: Wash, peel and core the pears. Cut into desired size. Place in a bowl with water and about 1 tbsp lemon juice to prevent browning. Make desired syrup* (see below). Add spices if desired. Bring the syrup to a boil. Pack the pear slices into hot, sterilized jars leaving ½ headspace. Pour hot syrup over the pears leaving ½ headspace. Wipe the rims. Adjust two piece lids. Process 500 ml (pint) 20 minutes, 1 L (quart) 25 minutes in boiling water bath canner.

Syrups for Canning:

• thin - 1 c sugar, 2 c water; yield 2.5 c syrup
• medium - 1.5 c sugar, 2 c water; yield 2.75 c syrup
• thick - 2.25 c sugar, 2 c water; yield 3.25 c syrup
• substitute up to ½ the white sugar with corn syrup or honey if desired or ¼ the white sugar with maple syrup

Multiply the proportions as required for the number of jars you are using. As a guide I doubled the thin syrup for the 5 - 500 ml (pint) jars for 5 c of syrup but only used about 4¼ of it.

Buying Locally

Despite growing a lot of vegetables and herbs as well as living in a rural area we simply cannot produce all the food we eat. We are very fortunate to live in an area where I can buy a fair amount of locally produced foods directly from farmers, orchards and roadside stands. This includes beef, pork, eggs, fruits, vegetables We also take advantage of local hunting through friends and fishing ourselves. Why do I stress buying locally?

Buying locally ensures you get the freshest produce often shortly after picking or in some cases you can pick your own. The produce is at its peak when purchased in season so always tastes better. Both fruits and vegetables begin losing nutrients as soon as they are picked. Ideally for canning or freezing you want to have as short of a time frame between picking and processing. When you buy locally you get to know who is growing your food. You get to know the animal husbandry practices as well as their field management and produce growing practices. Buying locally keeps local farmers in business creating a stronger community. Did you know the average food travels 1,500 miles from farmer to your table? Buying locally greatly reduces this distance quite often to well under 10 miles. Talk about an effective way to reduce your carbon footprint while saving money on food! Finally buying locally is in my experience always less expensive than buying in the grocery store. So if you want to save money on your food bill, buy locally produced fruits and vegetables.

My Purchases

Imagine my disappointment when the closest orchard/farm stand closed up shop last winter. This is a place I frequented two or three times a week! It is normal for some of these types of markets to close over the winter but this one had always remained open. The reason for the closure was mis-management by the new owners of the business end. As produce came into season it looked more and more like this farm market would not be re-opening. Resigning myself to that fact I set about finding a weekly farm market, a traveling weekly farm stand and an amazing organic farm market. All of them are local within about 30 to 40 minutes drive, not the best solution but better than nothing.

A week ago Monday I was reading through the paper last week when I noticed an ad. The former owners of the farm market had re-opened the market under their own management. The still owned the land, orchard and buildings so rather than let the community down by keeping the market closed and despite being well beyond retirement age, they opened it back up under their old business name. I excited called them to thank them for opening back up and told them I would be there that afternoon. Suddenly a day that really was making a valid attempt at being very much annoying took on a whole new meaning. I finished what I was doing in the kitchen, quickly changed and grabbing by eco-friendly cloth shopping bags headed out the door.

It was like greeting a long lost friend when I walked through the door. We chatted for awhile then I set about choosing what I wanted. I bought 10 lb cooking onions, 10 lb Spanish onion, 10 lb L-star apples, 3 nice looking field tomatoes, a quart of peaches and a quart of grapes. The total cost was $16.50, definitely under grocery store prices and oh so much fresher. The L-stars had been picked that morning! The price was a bit higher because of the smaller quantities I bought as well as the apples just starting. The prices will drop within a week or so as larger quantities become available. I noticed the potatoes were $12.95 for a 50 lb bag so at 26¢ per pound is a good deal but she assured me the price would be going down to my familiar $7.95 which works out to 16¢ per pound, a better deal. All of the variety of apples they grow will quite inexpensive as will the squashes and other root vegetables. Spanish onions will likely be down to their normal $3.95 for 20 lb. I have to tell you I am a very happy camper!