My favorite cookbooks

My favorites

I love cookbooks.  I haven't counted recently but I probably have close to 50 of them.  Not all of them are big ones.  I have lots that are thin booklets from a variety of sources (a Pennsylvania Dutch one, English cooking, dutch oven cooking, etc).  But I do have my favorites.  I use my 'Joy of Cooking' a LOT.  It was a gift from my Mom when I moved away from home 25+ years ago and is showing it's age.  The spine is cracked, the cover ripped, the dust cover was destroyed long ago and it's definitely not the latest edition.  But I still treasure it.  It has lots of information about a great variety of foods and cooking techniques in addition to recipes.

Another couple of favorites are from the Mennonite Central Committee.  When we lived in Pennsylvania, my MIL got me this great one called 'Extending the Table... A World Community Cookbook'.  It is a collection of world recipes from missionaries with lots of tips for frugal living and cooking since most of the world eats much more frugally than do we here in the US. It's fun if you want to have an African or Latin American meal.

And speaking of frugal cooking.  A few years ago I treated myself to the 'More-with-Less Cookbook'.  It is wonderful!!! It is worth the read even without the recipes! It has information on substitutions, complementary proteins, comparison of protein costs (not recent) and so much more.  I also love it because of the attitude it promotes: That we need to do more with less, to be good stewards and not take more than is our share.  It's definitely worth checking out from your local library if nothing else.  It's worth the read.

I have other cookbooks that I use regularly but these are some of my favorites, just thought I'd share.

On Hangin' Clothes

Drying time.

I was asked about how we dry clothes in the basement.  I'm definitely no expert but we've been line drying year round for a long time. Clothes seem to last longer this way.  The elastic doesn't go bad as fast and things definitely don't shrink.  On the other hand, line drying can leave you with wrinkly, stiff clothes if you're not careful.  

We have probably about 70 feet of line space in our basement.  When the lines are full it gets a bit difficult to walk around in the laundry/utility room but there is a path through.  We have a partially finished basement.  Most of it is carpeted (on a raised platform floor) and nicely finished with built in shelves and all.  But the laundry is way in the back of the unfinished portion, along with the freezer, water heater and furnace.  My pantry shelves are also nestled in there near the dryer along with V's trains and most of the power tools, etc.  From a point near the middle, by the water heater, 5 separate lines go to the back wall, 3 straight and 2 at an angle leaving a triangular work space in front of the washer.  A sixth line runs the opposite direction from the water heater to over the freezer.  Sounds very complicated doesn't it.  We have a 2x4 fixed to the floor joists above that serves as the anchor, with a cross piece holding the ends of the lines.  The far ends are tied into eye bolts in another 2x4 that is anchored into the cinder block wall.  It isn't pretty but it works. Near the washer I have a large box fan (I think V got it from a dumpster) that we turn on to speed drying.

After washing I generally tumble things in the dryer for a few minutes so I'm not totally line drying everything.  The clothes don't have to be dry, just warmed up a bit. Tumbling things briefly (5 min or so) does several things: It removes most of the dog fur (important in our house); It softens things up so you don't have cardboard stiff, scratchy towels; and, most importantly for my work clothes- it takes out the wrinkles- or at least most of them. 

Usually by the time I take a load out of the washer, put it in to tumble and start a new load, I can start hanging things from the dryer.  I'm pretty OCD about how I hang things and V tends to make fun of me.  Depending on the thickness and type of fabric things will take from a few hours to a day to dry.  I can generally get 3 loads of laundry on the lines, depending on size of load and what is in it.  I mostly do my laundry on weekends. My usual MO is to wash and hang in the morning til the lines are full- then let it go until the next day.  The next day I can wash and hang 3 more loads. That usually does it for us.  There are occasional mid-week loads but not often.  

I had a co-worker who discovered that I line dried my clothes a while ago.  She seemed to think that it would be so much more time consuming than doing them in the dryer.  I don't know- I've done both and I think line drying is much more convenient.  I don't have to worry about getting to the dryer before things get wrinkled after it stops.  I can fold as I take things off the lines and then they just need put away.

I'll confess, I occasionally run things all the way through the dryer- usually if it is a load of mostly socks or if I'm washing the blankets off the couch- (those tend to need longer to get the dog fur off of them) and blankets take up LOTS of line space.  

This has been pretty rambling- I hope it makes sense.  I know you probably don't really care how I have my lines set up but I thought it was important to let you know that it can really work on a permanent basis.  

Independence days- week 5

Dinner to be...

Today has been a good day.  Well, for the most part.  I11 finally succumbed to the stomach malady that we have been sharing and was up most of the night and early morning vomiting.  He is feeling much better by now and has managed to have some soup for dinner. It has now made it's rounds of all of us so we should be done with that phase of our lives.  I11 had soup-The rest of us had roast pork loin with winter veggies.  I rubbed the loin with a little bit of 'magic dust' prior to roasting it. Magic dust is a dry rub that I discovered online a while ago.  We use it for smoking ribs in the summer but a little goes a long way. I also use it on pork roasts and chicken. It adds a lovely, complex spicy flavor.  The butternut squash was the one I needed to use because it was beginning to get squishy toward the stem end. I used one of the last of our fresh onions and the first of the organic garlic that was a gift from my friend Jim (it's HUGE!!).  A little olive oil, fresh pepper, sea salt and rosemary and you have a feast.

Tomorrow is back to school and work, except for V who starts his enforced vacation.  I really hope this doesn't trigger a relapse of the depression that he struggled with in the past few years. We talked about goals for the year today on our way to Best Buy. I know- we're trying to cut down on spending and we're going to buy electronics. Well, the surge protector on the main computer system in the house finally gave up the ghost.  It is probably about 10 years old and went through lots of rough weather this year.  It isn't an expense that we anticipated but replacing it will preserve all of the other equipment plugged into it- including V's computer with the household server. This far into the year and we're already spending money we didn't want to. Grrr.

Well, on to the business at hand, Independence Days:

1. Plant something- No- Still dreaming and sifting through seed catalogues.  I did buy some seeds yesterday.  We were out and about running errands and to the grocery store.  A local store had the 2009 seed displays up already at 40% off!  I'm not sure what varieties I want to plant but I did pick up some sugar snap peas and chard seed.  Briefly talked to Roger today and we're trying to plan a time to get together to plan the garden.

2. Harvest something- Well, kind of...J, V and I each had a little 3 inch leaf of lettuce from the planter in the basement- WOW!  it was tasty. Hopefully soon we can supplement the organic Romaine I've been getting with home grown leaf lettuce. I'm not hopeful that we will ever have enough for salads for all of us from this, but it tastes SO good.

3. Preserve something- Nope.

4. Store something- No, unless you count the pound and a half of macadamia nuts from my sister that finally made their way into the fridge drawer with the other nuts.  Oh, I did get a great deal on an 18 lb. bag of red grapefruit that are now sitting in our fridge fruit drawer.  J14 and I are the only ones who eat them so they will last a while.  Definitely not local but seasonal and Oh so good.  I need to look into candying the peels.  My Dad has done that and they're really yummy.

5. Manage reserves- Brought up and ate the butternut squash that was getting squishy (see above). Still have 4 sweet potatoes that need used before they get much worse.  I have 4 apples left in the fridge from my parents.  They are the least pretty of the bunch.  I plan to dice them and cook them in sugar syrup and spices for on top of oatmeal for breakfasts.  V has discovered the spiced apples I canned this fall and has been devouring them.  I'm glad he likes them but I had hoped they would last a bit longer.  Note to self for next year- can more than 6 pints!

6. Cook something new- Not this week.  

7. Prep something- You are all going to think we're candle crazy around here (well, I am) since I've talked about stocking up on candles before-  but when V and I were out yesterday we picked up some pillar candles and tapers that were 50% off after the holidays. We like to light the oil lamps and a few candles in the evenings and can pretty much heat the downstairs with them. Since we don't have a wood stove or fireplace, they are our alternative heat source should we lose power. Not ideal, but it will keep us from freezing to death.

8. Reduce waste- composted, recycled and used cloth bags as usual.  Boxed up the ribbons, etc after the holidays and finally got them stored again. In the process, I discovered another box that I saved last year.  We won't have to buy ribbons for years!

9. Learn a new skill- Not really.  Didn't make time to work on the knitting this week.  Between holidays, illness and trying to get organized for the new year, it didn't happen.  I also have been spending too much time with the garden porn (seed catalogues).  

10. Work on Community food security- didn't do much with this one either. It was a strange week with the holiday madness.

11. Regenerate what is lost- Hmmm, not sure. I still struggle with what this category means to me.  It would be so much easier to give back when I have a chance to nurture my garden and yard.  I guess I did have a chance to work on some family relationships at my brother's party.  We had a chance to chat with my nephew and fiancee and one of my cousins and her husband. This was my first chance to meet Tim's fiancee. She is very sweet.  She is pursuing graduate work in neuroscience and is studying bee brains of all things- trying to figure out how they form working memory.  We had an interesting chat about Colony Collapse Disorder.

I will try to figure out a good time during the week or month to update my personal goals.  I'm not sure how often I want to report on them.  There is something about reporting weekly that seems to keep me more accountable but I'm not sure they are things that will go that quickly that there will be much to report. Monthly seems so far apart, I don't know.  I'll figure it out.

Hickchick asked about drying laundry in the basement so I'll post on how we do that tomorrow. I'm definitely not an expert but have been doing it for a number of years.

Peace and joy to you all.

Movie Night

One thing we try to do regularly as a family is have Saturday Movie Night. We don't go out much to movies.  They're not a cheap date anymore. But, one of the local grocery stores that also has a movie rental business periodically sells it's used DVDs for cheap.  They're not new releases but generally pretty new (they get rid of the excess after a new movie isn't a hot item anymore).  They usually sell them for about $5 each but recently had then 3/$10.  

So, last night we turned out the lights, all snuggled on the couch and watched 'Forbidden Kingdom' with Jackie Chan and Jet Li.  What fun.  

J14 was fascinated.  Of course, she realized that there were lots of special effects, but she ended up wanting to learn to fight with a staff.  Yeah, she's like that- into weaponry, OLD weaponry.  I told her to ask her Master if he would teach her sometime.  She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and she and V are taking Kum Do (Korean sword fighting).  They have progressed to the point where they will need to buy armor soon - a big EEEK right now because armor and uniforms for the two of them will cost about $700.  But they are really enjoying it.  V was a fencer in his younger days and having had a desk job it is good for him to have something physical that he really likes.  It is also a great Dad/Daughter bonding event that I wouldn't deny them.  So, we'll figure out how to make that work when the time comes. 

J14 is also THRILLED to have her internet access back.  I noticed this morning that she posted a new entry on her blog.  She has come up with some good goals for the year.

Back to the grind.  More laundry beckons. I can only fit 3 loads on the lines in the basement at a time so it takes a long time to get through the backlog.  But school and work start back tomorrow.

I'll try to post challenge updates later.

Quiet day

It was a quiet day here.  I am feeling tremendously better. Of course, the fact that I slept for 22 of the last 48 hours helps.  I requested today as a vacation day long ago since it is not a scheduled holiday for the hospital.  The children all start back to school on Monday so it was our last chance to hang out at home for a while.  

I did manage to get a few things done:  three loads of laundry, sorting through the stack of junk mail and other papers that had collected on the kitchen counter, making our black-eyed peas and ham that we would have eaten last night, cuddling I11 who managed to burn his hand by slopping hot soup on himself carrying it from kitchen to table, inventorying the squash and bringing up the one that is getting squishy, colored J14's hair.

V and I plan to sit down tomorrow and make the master to do list for while he is off work.  Unfortunately, lots of the things we want to get done are things better left for warmer weather when you can open windows (stripping wallpaper in the upstairs bath, painting, refinishing the dining room floor).  We have also been talking about making a floorcloth for the dining room because the chairs scratch the wood floor so badly.  But that is another thing that would need lots of airing out in the process.  We'll see what happens.

V has the train track set up again.  We plan to take down the tree tomorrow so this is his last chance with the track before it gets put away.  We normally leave the tree up until 12th night but decided it is close enough, especially since we have the time this weekend. Undecorating is so much less fun than decorating.

Tomorrow starts back up the usual grind.  J14 has her Tae Kwon Do black belt class and then she and V have Kum Do. I need to make my menu and shopping list and make sure we have everything for the week ahead. I need to finish the January calendar so we can keep organized. Back to real life and not this life of leisure I've been living.

Goals for 2009

I have never been good at new years resolutions.  In fact, I once joked that the only time I kept a resolution was when I resolved to never make resolutions again! I think part of my problem with them is, if you want to make a change in your life- do it- you don't need to wait until the beginning of a new year.  That being said, I do think the new year is a good opportunity to reflect on the old and plan for the future.

2008 was tough on us:  Job stress, changes and loss, illness, floods. I don't want to try this one again.  But it has also been a year of growth.  We started looking for an acreage last year in February but didn't have much luck finding one we could afford or that we liked.  One the land was perfect but the house needed a bulldozer, another was too far away, another had a great house but not much useable land.  Another for sale by owner house we wanted to go look at, the guy just never called us back.  But I have managed to bring V on board with the whole thing.  He was very interestedly looking through the root cellar book since that is something we decided we wanted even before we got the book.  I have been working on my food preservation skills and we made much more of a concerted effort to be sure where our food came from.

Yeah, the good and the bad.  But 2009 is a fresh start.  So much of what I want to accomplish this year is dependent of V's ability to find a new job.  That said, here are the goals for 2009:

1. Food production-  Plan, plant, weed and harvest garden.  Last year with all the flooding the weeds got out of control in a large section of the garden so we'll have to try extra hard to keep on top of it this year.  I need to make getting out to the garden more of a priority.  The biggest problem is that I have to drive a few miles to get to the garden so it turns into an expedition rather than being able to take advantage of little bits of time that I may have.

2. Food security- By the end of the year, I would like to have at least 50% of our food be either grown ourselves or locally produced.  I hope for a higher percentage but I'm going to keep it realistic.  Even 50% is better than the average person.

3. Home front-  Find and purchase our homestead acreage.  This one really depends on V's job situation.  This also entails getting our house ready to sell so V has a list of projects that he is going to work on while off work.

4.  Health-  I want to get into better physical shape.  Some of that involves shedding a few of the extra pounds I have acquired over the years but also just getting back into shape.  I do walk back and forth to work but it's easy to use that as my exercise and ignore all the other components. Being able to spend more time in the garden will help but I need to come up with an exercise plan I can stick with.

5. Learn something new-  I want to learn to knit.  I haven't been making time for it lately and I am determined that I'll figure it out.

6.  The 3 R's- I want to reduce more waste at home- both of stuff and money.  We need to be more deliberate about our purchases and decide if we REALLY need something before purchasing.

I hope these are all things I can manage in the year ahead.  They don't seem unreasonable to me.  Granted, finding the homestead will be the biggest challenge.  I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about planting my garden and then moving since we don't garden at our house anyway.

Happy new year!

If the rest of the year goes like the first few hours I'm in trouble.  After spending a few hours last night at my brother's house for his party, we came home to ring the new year in with the children.  Unfortunately, about 5am, I woke up  nauseous and vomiting- evidently I did not escape the stomach virus that K8 brought home.  I just hope I didn't infect my brother who leaves today for 3 weeks in Antarctica.

I had planned to post my hopes and goals for 2009 today.  Maybe that will still happen if I feel better later.  

Here's wishing the best to everyone out there.  May 2009 find you healthy and happy.

Judy