I probably sound like your grandmother who survived the Great Depression here, but people waste WAY too much food in this country! It wastes a whole lot of money, time, and is horrible for the environment. I could go on a eco-feminist rant here, but I'll stop. Instead, I am going to offer up some simple solutions.
Your freezer is a glorious place, where food can be preserved with very little effort. Trimmings you regard as garbage may not actually be garbage.
Beets are a staple in my house. You should most definitely be buying the ones with all the leaves on the top, as they are edible too. If you already eat beet greens, as they are called, you may not know that the purple spine that many people remove and toss out, is also edible. It is also edible in kale, collards, and every other member of the "greens" family. No, you cannot eat it raw. It adds loads of delicious flavor and VITAMINS to soups, stews, and stocks.
When trimming and washing my greens, I stash all my stems and spines in a freezer bag, then toss in the freezer for the next time I make soup, stew, or a stock. They are already washed and ready to go when I am. We could all use the extra vitamins and minerals, right?
Next on the scrap table is celery tops. Too many people toss out that leafy goodness, regarding it as either garnish for a bloody mary or trash. Its not trash! In those leaves is an intense celery flavor. Yet again, it can be used in soups, stocks, and stews, along with meats, stuffing, rice dishes, and anywhere you would want celery. Its tasty shit, so save it. When I'm done prepping my veggie tray, I toss the leafy tops into freezer bags and freeze them for later.
I always seem to have a few pieces of produce that I just won't get to before they go bad. They aren't bad yet... but they will be in another day or two. It doesn't take a psychic to guess what I do with it, at this point. Prep it up and freeze that shit! Chop it, peel it, and/or seed it. I toss fruits or veggies that could turn brown in a little lemon juice. Chopped and ready onions and celery from the freezer have saved my ass many a time.
After a party, I somehow end up with way more veggies from the veggie tray than we can eat in a few days. They all get chopped up and frozen, then I don't feel obligated to eat it for days or bad about being wasteful.
Pitted and chopped fruits are great for pies, smoothies, jam making, or frozen blender drinks. Random strawberry daiquiri on a Wednesday night? Yes, please!
Now onto bones. Don't have time to make a stock or soup the same night you cook your meat? Bag it and freeze it for later. I shamelessly call dibs on turkey and other carcasses at friend's dinner parties. I bag it up and bring it home to my freezer, then make stock another night. Making your own stocks is easy, insanely delicious, and will impress people with your culinary skills. Plus, you aren't buying into Big Food Corporations that are soulless, cruel, and patriarchal.
There are so many other bits of kitchen scraps that are actually useful if saved. Its too many to list here, but I hope I have inspired others to start thinking about their food a little more. Frugality can most definitely equate to responsible consumerism and eco-feminism, if you do it right.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Adventures in Cheese Making
Cheese making is one of those things I have always wanted to try. Now that I have a regular supplier of RAW milk, I am totally amped about it.
Raw milk? You say.
Yes, raw milk... straight from a grass fed, free-range cow's utter. Big food corporations like the national dairy counsel have done their best to convince the us that non-homogenized, unsterilized, and non-chemically treated milk is BAD for us. Well, its not. Studies are showing otherwise and crunchy moms also know raw milk is where its at too. Big dairy = patriarchal oppression of what's natural and good. (or at least that's how I see it.)
In Florida, it is not technically sold for "human consumption," so its my cats that drink a shit load of raw milk. Uh huh... yeah.
Back to the reason for my post. Raw milk is what you need to start with, in order to make cheese. Pasteurized and homogenized just won't work. If you're going to try this, you'll need to get raw milk. Find a supplier, know your cows or goats, and you should be fine. No promises, as I only know my farm is awesome and tasty.... according to my cats, that is.
My "cats" love cheese, so this is how I made some for them.
I was a little nervous about my first time making cheese, so I decided to go with a simple recipe, before diving in with rennet and investing in a slew of cheese making utensils.
Queso Fresco is a simple, easy to make cheese that was pretty good (according to the cats), for my first adventure in cheese making.
You'll need:
1/2 gallon of raw milk
1 cup of acid (lime juice, lemon juice, or vinegar)
Salt and pepper
Pour milk into sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Make sure you stir it often, to avoid scalding or burning it. When its warm, but not yet boiling, add the acid (I used lime juice).
I used bottled lime juice, because it has a more consistent and higher acid content. If there isn't enough acid, its not going to separate. Blame chemistry, for not being able to use an actual lime.
Now stir over medium low heat. Curds will form. This is good. Wait until you're pretty sure its as chunky and separated as its going to get.
Remove from the heat and stir. Allow to sit for a few minutes. While its sitting, you need to place a colander, lined with cheese cloth, into a large bowl.
Next, carefully pour your curds and whey into the colander. Press lightly and massage. Gently work as much of the whey out of the cheese curds as you can. Set the whey aside.
Rinse your cheese with water, then squeeze as much of the water out as you can. I folded my cheese cloth all around my ball of curds and squeezed it out.
Dump all the curds into a bowl. Sprinkle with some sea salt and cracked pepper and mix up.
This cheese does not melt. Its a firm, squeaky cheese that is absolutely delicious in salads, soups, Mexican dishes and anywhere else you want to put it. Since I used lime juice as my acid, my cheese had a distinct lime taste. Experiment with your acids, to achieve different flavors.
I made black bean soup the next night, and I sprinkled my cheese over the soup. It was simply divine, especially with the hint of lime in the cheese.
Sticking it to the cheese man never tasted so good.
Get Stocky
I know all about being busy and burning the candle at both ends. I have to be Mary Fucking Sunshine at 7 am, after pulling an all-nighter for midterms. That's what 12 cups of coffee are for, and maybe a shot of Bailey's. (Just kidding, of course!) However, quality and socially responsible foods are high on my priority list. With my tight budget, I have to get really creative to accomplish this.
Two ways of getting the most out of your feminist dollars comes from one simple meal: roasted chicken. (I can hear the vegetarians cringing and clicking off the page now.) Before you get your panties in a twist, the vast majority of my meat comes from a local, slow-food, free range farm.
Roasting your chickens, free range or not, is the single best way to get the best value from your bird. After you have carved off every succulent morsel of meat, you have a the best treasure of deliciousness left before you, in the bones and fatty bits. Don't give me any of that grossed out business. If you're going to eat meat, don't be squeamish and don't waste what's edible... or the GOP wins.
Dump the bones and whatever bits of skin, fat, cartilage, and juices are left over into a crockpot.
Then add whatever vegetables and herbs you have on hand. I usually add onion, some garlic, carrots, some celery tops (aka that leafy shit you usually toss out), kale or beat green spines (the tough parts of your greens that you probably didn't know were edible), parsley and sage from my herb garden (dried is fine too), and a healthy dash of sea salt and pepper.
Cover the whole thing with water, it's usually between 12 and 16 cups of water.
Then you turn your crockpot to low and forget about it for anywhere between 12 to 24 hours. I personally prefer 24 hours. The stock is richer and almost condensed tasting.
When you've deemed it ready to come out, you'll need the following paraphernalia:
- Quart sized canning jars and lids (sanitized)
- Large bowl or pitcher
- Canning funnel
- Mesh strainer
- Ladle
Strain everything out over a bigger bowl with a pitcher lip, then pour the liquid into my jars. You can also strain it into your jars, by using a canning funnel under your strainer.
You have two choices for storing your stock: the fridge or the freezer.
For the fridge: Fill your jars a quarter inch from the top, wipe the rims, and screw on the lids. Allow to cool on the counter, then stick in the fridge. Use within 30 days.
For the freezer: Fill your jars 3/4 full. DO NOT fill them up any more than this or they will explode stock all over your freezer. Then screw on the lids, allow to cool completely on the counter, and place in the freezer. Always make sure your jars are freezer safe.
There you have it. Now you have no excuse for buying chicken stock from companies that torture chickens and load you up with chemicals. You have also saved yourself a bunch of money and effectively stuck it to the man.
This method can and should be done with all of your leftover bones, whether turkey, beef, ham, duck, or fish heads (yes, fish heads... It's delicious, so don't knock it until you try it.)
Chicken soup, made with this stock, is good for the feminist soul.
Two ways of getting the most out of your feminist dollars comes from one simple meal: roasted chicken. (I can hear the vegetarians cringing and clicking off the page now.) Before you get your panties in a twist, the vast majority of my meat comes from a local, slow-food, free range farm.
Roasting your chickens, free range or not, is the single best way to get the best value from your bird. After you have carved off every succulent morsel of meat, you have a the best treasure of deliciousness left before you, in the bones and fatty bits. Don't give me any of that grossed out business. If you're going to eat meat, don't be squeamish and don't waste what's edible... or the GOP wins.
Dump the bones and whatever bits of skin, fat, cartilage, and juices are left over into a crockpot.
Then add whatever vegetables and herbs you have on hand. I usually add onion, some garlic, carrots, some celery tops (aka that leafy shit you usually toss out), kale or beat green spines (the tough parts of your greens that you probably didn't know were edible), parsley and sage from my herb garden (dried is fine too), and a healthy dash of sea salt and pepper.
Cover the whole thing with water, it's usually between 12 and 16 cups of water.
Then you turn your crockpot to low and forget about it for anywhere between 12 to 24 hours. I personally prefer 24 hours. The stock is richer and almost condensed tasting.
When you've deemed it ready to come out, you'll need the following paraphernalia:
- Quart sized canning jars and lids (sanitized)
- Large bowl or pitcher
- Canning funnel
- Mesh strainer
- Ladle
Strain everything out over a bigger bowl with a pitcher lip, then pour the liquid into my jars. You can also strain it into your jars, by using a canning funnel under your strainer.
You have two choices for storing your stock: the fridge or the freezer.
For the fridge: Fill your jars a quarter inch from the top, wipe the rims, and screw on the lids. Allow to cool on the counter, then stick in the fridge. Use within 30 days.
For the freezer: Fill your jars 3/4 full. DO NOT fill them up any more than this or they will explode stock all over your freezer. Then screw on the lids, allow to cool completely on the counter, and place in the freezer. Always make sure your jars are freezer safe.
There you have it. Now you have no excuse for buying chicken stock from companies that torture chickens and load you up with chemicals. You have also saved yourself a bunch of money and effectively stuck it to the man.
This method can and should be done with all of your leftover bones, whether turkey, beef, ham, duck, or fish heads (yes, fish heads... It's delicious, so don't knock it until you try it.)
Chicken soup, made with this stock, is good for the feminist soul.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A homemade cleaner that metaphorically sticks it to the man, while removing any physical stickiness.
Kids are little, dirty, germy tornadoes of grossness. (The same could be said for many partners and significant others I know) I say that with the utmost love in my heart, too. I find myself in a perpetual cycle of disinfecting, cleaning, and wiping. I've accepted that this is my reality, since taking on the role of motherhood. I may reject patriarchy, but I am germaphobic and therefore much more efficient at cleaning than my husband. Its not a gendered thing, its a "CLEAN ALL THE THINGS" thing. (Do not unpack that.)
You will need a good sized spray bottle. Then pour in:
1 cup of water
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of rubbing alcohol
Shake the bottle to incorporate all the liquids. Easy and cheaper than I could calculate, without lots of zeroes after the decimal point.
This is a good clean way to stick it to the man, patriarchy, and wipe away any stickiness left behind by little (or big) tornadoes of grime.
Do me a favor, and use cut up old shirts or rags to clean. Paper towels are wasteful when used in excess, and sponges are bacteria magnets.
With all the cleaning in the realm of the little one, came to the realization that I go through Clorox wipes and windex like someone does tissue during a sinus infection. Wasting money, using chemicals, and big chemical companies... f*ck that. I figured I could make it myself. This time, a friend of mine gave me a great recipe she uses. It turned out to be the best all purpose cleaner on the PLANET. Yes... THE PLANET.
It cleans glass without streaking, cuts greasy crud off my flat top stove and counters, and cleans and leaves no residue on tile and wood floors. It even takes crayon off the wall! Its safe for little ones, so I clean all of my kiddo's toys with the stuff. Basically, it cleans everything in my house.
You will need a good sized spray bottle. Then pour in:
1 cup of water
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of rubbing alcohol
Shake the bottle to incorporate all the liquids. Easy and cheaper than I could calculate, without lots of zeroes after the decimal point.
This is a good clean way to stick it to the man, patriarchy, and wipe away any stickiness left behind by little (or big) tornadoes of grime.
Do me a favor, and use cut up old shirts or rags to clean. Paper towels are wasteful when used in excess, and sponges are bacteria magnets.
Sticking it to the man, one load of dishes at a time...
My budget is almost as tight, as my ideals are high. Its hard to find the balance between responsible feminist consumerism and not spending more than I have to, but have the internet and a love for making things from scratch. I'm crafty as f*ck.
I am obsessed with making things from scratch myself. Chances are, doing it myself is at least half the cost of buying it pre-made. Along with wanting to be a responsible consumer and save money, I also have to consider all environmentally hazardous sh*t that is added to many consumer goods. I do not want just anything going into my kid's body, whether ingested, breathed in, or absorbed through his skin. I don't want that sh*t in my body or my husband's body either, for that matter.
Big chemical companies rake in millions, just in selling cleaning supplies. "Green" cleaning supplies are a huge trend right now, and they cost double what plain old Windex costs. Sometimes the ingredient lists look less than "green," with nearly as many synthetic cleaning agents in them as the regular stuff. Also, just because its biodegradable, doesn't mean its safe to use around your kids. Better for the earth is a step in the right direction, but either way big corporations like SC Johnson's focus is their profits.
I wanted to go eco-friendly on a ridiculously cheap budget.... so I did. Making my own detergent, I run my dishwasher for around FOUR CENTS per load. My dishes are clean and spotless.
Here's my recipe:
Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (its like turbo-charged baking soda)
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid
Jug of White Vinegar
Mix the borax, washing soda, salt, and citric acid together. Store in an air tight container.
Use one tablespoon of the mix in the regular detergent compartment, and pour a little white vinegar into the rinse cycle dispenser (where you would normally put liquid jet dry).
Voila! Dishes are cleaned for around FOUR CENTS PER LOAD.
You might be asking: Where the heck do I find all that stuff?
Most supermarkets and box stores like Target sell Borax and Washing Soda. You can usually find them in the laundry detergent aisle. I buy my citric acid in bulk online or through a local Frontier co-op for around $4, for a big ass bag of it.
Take that patriarchy, capitalism, and dirty dishes!
I am obsessed with making things from scratch myself. Chances are, doing it myself is at least half the cost of buying it pre-made. Along with wanting to be a responsible consumer and save money, I also have to consider all environmentally hazardous sh*t that is added to many consumer goods. I do not want just anything going into my kid's body, whether ingested, breathed in, or absorbed through his skin. I don't want that sh*t in my body or my husband's body either, for that matter.
Big chemical companies rake in millions, just in selling cleaning supplies. "Green" cleaning supplies are a huge trend right now, and they cost double what plain old Windex costs. Sometimes the ingredient lists look less than "green," with nearly as many synthetic cleaning agents in them as the regular stuff. Also, just because its biodegradable, doesn't mean its safe to use around your kids. Better for the earth is a step in the right direction, but either way big corporations like SC Johnson's focus is their profits.
I wanted to go eco-friendly on a ridiculously cheap budget.... so I did. Making my own detergent, I run my dishwasher for around FOUR CENTS per load. My dishes are clean and spotless.
Here's my recipe:
Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (its like turbo-charged baking soda)
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid
Jug of White Vinegar
Mix the borax, washing soda, salt, and citric acid together. Store in an air tight container.
Use one tablespoon of the mix in the regular detergent compartment, and pour a little white vinegar into the rinse cycle dispenser (where you would normally put liquid jet dry).
Voila! Dishes are cleaned for around FOUR CENTS PER LOAD.
You might be asking: Where the heck do I find all that stuff?
Most supermarkets and box stores like Target sell Borax and Washing Soda. You can usually find them in the laundry detergent aisle. I buy my citric acid in bulk online or through a local Frontier co-op for around $4, for a big ass bag of it.
Take that patriarchy, capitalism, and dirty dishes!
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