$35 a Month and Other Topics

For the last day of my blog's anniversary month, I wanted to do a little review on topics I posted last year at this time, for those of you who may have joined us later in the game, or for anyone who needs a reminder (including myself):

• How a family of four can happily live on a $35/week grocery budget. (Fortunately we're not in as dire straits as we were a year ago and have a little more leeway in our grocery budget now, but the principles are still the same and I am still very frugal.) This is what provided the impetus for starting Katrina's Kitchen in the first place.
• A typical daily meal plan and a typical grocery bill. A couple of the items on this last year's grocery bill I don't buy anymore, which shows me I'm learning and improving too.
• The philosophy behind regularly making homemade 100% whole wheat bread.
• The bread recipe.
• Health reasons for regularly adding beans to your diet. (Also, under "topics" in the right hand side, click on beans for some of our favorite bean recipes.)
  
• Answers to bean FAQs (including how to cook them).
• Budget Saver Tips #1, #2, #3
  

Budget Saver Tip #20: Shopping Clearance

I'm always surprised by how many parents do all their children's school clothes shopping at once, just before school starts. Maybe that's because I never experienced that as a child, I don't know. But, while less exciting, the way my mom has always done it and I do it now makes so much more sense for someone living on a budget. Budgeting in, say, a possible $20 every month for your children's clothing, is a lot easier to manage than hundreds of dollars in August. (Of course, this amount will vary depending on your resources and the number of children you have.)

I have recently been reminded of this concept again as I have noticed so much clothing going on clearance after the holidays and toward the end of the winter season. In a two week time period I found two excellent sales: First, a friend of mine told me about an online sale going on at a children's store I really like that had many items for $2.99, and then at my local Wal-Mart I noticed rack after rack of children's clothing on clearance for $2-$5. (Of course, the 75 cent Christmas shirts I picked up a couple weeks before that for my youngest daughter for next winter were the best deal, but you don't often find steals quite that good.)

If you can budget a little each month for the possibility that you may find good deals--and then look through clearance racks any time you are at a store with children's clothing (which includes shoes, boots, coats, etc)--and plan for the future, you can stash away some great deals that will save you money (and stress) down the road. And, of course, this habit has to be a continual one because children never stop growing...

Worth Your Salt

A well-educated woman (both through medical degrees and trial and error experience) I have recently come in contact with, has been advising me in how to help my oldest daughter become consistently healthy again. She has opened my eyes to things I hadn't thought of before or was simply unaware of. Among these is the nature of salt. I knew that sea salt is supposedly somewhat more healthy for you than regular table salt, but that's about as far as my knowledge went. (And for those of you who already knew the following, bear with me.) Now I know that regular salt--such as Morton's iodized--like any food that has been heated and processed, is inferior. I had simply never thought about the processing of salt. Did you know that salt in its pure form already contains iodine, while the refined kind most of us use has to have the iodine added back in (unless you buy the non-iodized variety)?

The aforementioned woman uses, instead, Redmond Real Salt, which contains 60+ trace minerals. Sixty, folks! That's 60 as compared to 0! I don't know how I was kept in the dark so long and am rather embarrassed about it, actually. And this isn't even the best kind of salt to have. Himalayan salt has 80+ trace minerals, but since it is harvested in the Himalayan Mountains at altitudes of over 10,000 feet, it is more expensive than Real Salt--but easy to order online. This woman who educated me about Real Salt told me that when she added it to her family's diet (after being on a no or low sodium diet for quite a while), her family experienced amazing differences in their health. So I will definitely be trying this out for our family in the near future...

One Year Anniversary

February 2011 marks this blog's one year anniversary. In some ways it's hard to believe it has only been a year, since so much has changed in my family's life in that time--and also because I have learned so much. Keeping up Katrina's Kitchen somehow makes me accountable and motivates me to continue making healthy changes as I become more and more educated in all sorts of health topics (as well as budgeting). It is a bonus that many of you have been able to benefit from what I learn, too, and are also making healthy changes for your families.

Since CSN Stores has again offered me the opportunity to do a product review, I have decided to do it in connection with this one year anniversary. If you have followed Katrina's Kitchen for any length of time, you are somewhat familiar with all that CSN's 200+ websites have to offer. Their selection is seemingly endless! They have flat panel TV stands and other furniture and decor, accessories for bed and bath, light fixtures, everything for the kitchen, and even childrens' items like strollers. Whenever we're in need of something that I know I can't find locally, or that I simply want to compare prices on, I now check CSNStores.com to see what I can find...and try not to get lost in the browsing. :)

I'm excited to make another order and write a product review on what I receive!

Homemade Barbecue Sauce (for Chicken)

Here is the family recipe I used for the barbecued chicken (turkey) sandwiches I made, as mentioned previously. Since I had shredded turkey already cooked, I just mixed together the sauce (below) in my crock pot, added a small diced onion, and set the pot on high for a couple of hours (though this long probably isn't necessary, since only the onion needed to cook). Then 45 minutes to an hour before dinner time, I added the semi-frozen turkey to the pot, mixed it all in, and that was it.

Barbecue Sauce (for Chicken)
(As opposed to the one for spare ribs)

1 c. ketchup (preferably corn syrup free)
1 c. water
1 Tb. salt
2 Tb. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tb. vinegar
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 black pepper

Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

The other night I decided to make barbecued chicken sandwiches with the leftover turkey I had in the freezer. I found what looked like a good recipe online for whole wheat hamburger buns and tried it out. It worked! The buns were yummy and soft and not very crumbly, and they didn't instantly become soggy and gummy on contact with the saucy barbecued turkey, like the white, glue-like variety from the store. I have tried making whole wheat buns other ways, but this is definitely superior to my past attempts. (It does take a while to make these, but most of the time is just letting the dough rise.)

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

5 cups (+) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. warm water
4 1/2 tsp. regular or active dry yeast
2 Tb. honey
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. milk
2 Tb. butter
2 tsp. sea salt (I just used regular iodized)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together 3 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Set aside to let rest for 30 minutes (I didn't let it sit quite this long). In the meantime, mix together 1/4 cup water, yeast and honey. Allow this to sit for at least 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Melt butter, milk and salt in a small saucepan on the stove. Do not allow the mixture to get above 120 degrees.

Pour yeast mixture and milk mixture into flour mixture. Add remaining two cups of flour (more if needed).

Knead for about 10 minutes until dough begins to look “shiny” (or pulls cleanly away from mixing bowl). Put dough back into the bowl, cover and let rise for at least an hour…or until it has doubled. (I didn't have an hour to let it rise, but it did double in less than that time.)

Pull dough onto a clean counter top and knead for a couple of minutes to get any air bubbles out. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/2 inch thick.*

Cut circles from the dough with a large drinking glass or wide mouth jar. Place circles on a well- buttered baking dish about an inch apart.

Allow to rise for about 30 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Makes about 18 buns.

*Note: Either I prepared mine too thin or didn't give them long enough to rise, because I ended up with more than 18 buns. I added the extras to the tops of others to make double-decker buns that actually turned out perfect, while the single-layer ones were too thin.

Berry, Berry Strawberry Cake

My family has a tradition of making a special dinner whenever it is someone's birthday--and he/she gets to choose the menu. This tradition was one big thing that really made birthdays special when I was growing up, so I wanted to continue it with my own family. While our children are too young to know what to choose, we pick things we know they like. This year when I asked our youngest daughter what she wanted for her birthday dinner, the only thing she could tell me--which she had already been telling me for weeks-- was that she wanted "a pink, strawberry cake." This little girl loves Strawberry Shortcake, the cartoon character, but she was positive she wanted a pink cake instead of actual strawberry shortcake (I showed her pictures).

So I got to work searching through online recipes. Everything I found used either a cake mix and/or red jello powder. I was, of course, already planning to modify whatever I found, but those sort of items are not modifiable. So I kept searching and hit upon this one. Even exchanging the white flour for wheat, raw sugar for refined sugar, and in the frosting using Florida Crystals less refined sugar for powdered sugar (and half the amount called for, at that), it was very sweet, delicious, soft, satisfying, with a "berry" distinct strawberry flavor--and everyone at the party (all 15 people) seemed to like it a lot. I definitely want to make this one again!

Berry, Berry Strawberry Cake

3 c. whole wheat flour
3 3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/8 tsp. salt
2 c. raw sugar
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. pureed strawberries, strained* (I didn't bother to strain them and was glad I didn't worry about it)--a 16 oz. carton of fresh strawberries made the perfect amount
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon zest
4 large eggs, beaten
red food coloring**

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside. (My round cake pans were big enough I only needed 2 of them.)
- Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.
- Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting (recipe below); frost as desired and refrigerate until ready to serve.
* You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If you use frozen, let them defrost on a cookie sheet. Then place in a food processor and pulse until pureed. Run through a medium-sized strainer to remove the seeds.
** [The author of the blog recipe says:] I did add some food coloring to achieve that perfectly pink color. If you don’t care about getting the pink color, feel free to leave it out. I used about 5 drops, but you should add them one at a time until you achieve the color you are looking for. I needed about 7 drops, since I used whole wheat flour, which turned the batter a brownish color.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. Florida Crystals less refined sugar
1 Tb. milk (if needed--mine needed it)

- Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
- Slowly add the sugar in small batches until desired sweetness is achieved.
- Stir in vanilla. Add milk slowly if you need a looser consistency.

Spring Fever

In my little corner of the universe it has been exceptionally cold this winter--but then, it always is here. There are two places in my state that always have the coldest temperatures and we live in one of them. In fact, it hasn't broken freezing for so long I can't even remember. Daytime temps in the 20s feel warm now, and overnight temperatures in the negatives are pretty common (we've also had our share of negative daytime temps). Because of all of the above, the two snowstorms that dumped on us a couple months ago haven't had the chance to melt.

Winter is not my favorite season (in case you couldn't tell), but as I look out at my white yard I am already imagining what I will do to it in the spring.

Spring fever? I believe so. But it's not just an itching that gets under my skin, it's a motivator to help me envision and plan for the future. (And I'd really better do it now anyway, since our baby will be born just before planting time and I'm sure I won't have the clarity of mind to do it then!) So, as part of this joyful planning (and it is so much fun!), I have ordered a free Gurney's catalog to better understand my options. (If you are interested in ordering a free catalog also, click on the above link to go to their homepage.)

I have also started asking local gardeners specific questions, since this will be my first time to plant here in our new town and I need all the tips I can get. And I'm perusing my copy of Mel Bartholemew's book on Square Foot Gardening. (Also see the SFG website for lots of info and answers to your questions.)

Man, I just want to get out there and start working! How about you?

Any other fellow gardeners have books, websites, etc that are your go-to's?

How Do You Know...

...When to substitute honey for sugar? How do you decide when to substitute raw sugar instead of substituting honey?

So asked one of my friends the other day and I thought it was an excellent question that deserved to be addressed in its own post. Here was my response to her:

I substitute honey for refined sugar in everything except recipes where I don't particularly want the honey taste. For example, I've been making different kinds of sweeter salad dressings lately and use raw sugar for them (or the "less refined," less coarse, light brown sugar that's usually found near the raw sugar). If it were a honey mustard dressing, honey would probably be perfect, but not for poppy seed, etc. But for anything you bake, such as cookies, cakes, and sweet breads, honey is the perfect substitute.

Raw sugar is the better option when making things like homemade ice cream or frosting (or something like that cranberry-orange caramel popcorn that calls for more than one type of sweetener). Part of it is also a texture issue. Raw sugar is crunchy because the grains are so large, so for those items you don't want crunchy, you need to heat it till it melts.

Short answer: I try to use honey as the substitute as much as I can, since it is healthier than raw sugar. But it's nice to have another option for those times when I prefer a natural granular sweetener with less harmful effects than refined sugar.

Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

This is my aunt Karen's recipe and the only modification I made was to substitute Florida Crystals less refined sugar or raw (turbinado) sugar for the regular sugar. (Note: This gives the dressing a light brown tint, instead of the pretty pink that the red wine vinegar gives it when using white sugar.) Only 7 ingredients, no preservatives, no artificial anything. Can't beat that! And it's yummy. 

It lasts well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks when I half the recipe, which is usually how long it takes my family to go through that much.

Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

1 1/2 c. less refined (or raw) sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dry mustard (scant)
2/3 c. red wine vinegar
3 T. onion juice (If you don't have onion juice--who does?--liquefy pieces of onion in blender. Or eliminate this altogether--which is what my children prefer.)
2 c. salad oil
3 T. poppy seeds

Mix together sugar, salt, mustard, and vinegar.

Add onion juice; blend.

Using blender (or immersion blender), blend salad oil slowly into mixture until thick. With a spoon, mix in poppy seeds.

Enjoy dribbled over your favorite salad!

Chiles Rellenos Casserole

Another less-used produce item we received in our Bountiful Basket was long, sweet peppers (green).*  I was relieved they weren't jalapenos, since my heat tolerance is now back down to low, due to my not-often-enough contact with real Mexican food. (Sigh.) I decided I wanted to make chiles rellenos with the peppers, but not wanting to actually fry them in oil, I found a recipe on allrecipes.com (which I modified, surprise, surprise) for a casserole that looked quick and easy. While my kids weren't thrilled by it (they don't like peppers), my husband and I thought it was delicious! In fact, if we hadn't finished it already, I'd like some right now...

*I also make this with red, yellow, and orange peppers, as seen in the picture.

Chiles Rellenos Casserole

About five medium long, green chilies, cut in half with seeds and pulp removed, sliced into small pieces.
About 1 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
About 1 c. Mozzarella or Cheddar cheese, shredded
3 eggs, beaten
1 (5 oz) can evaporated or regular milk
2 Tb. flour
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Lay half of the chilies evenly in bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and cover with remaining chilies. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, and flour, and pour over the top of the chilies.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, pour tomato sauce evenly over the top, and continue baking another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and serve.

Immunity and Healthy Guts

After about a three year reprieve, beginning in October my oldest daughter started getting a virus every two weeks. We don't know why she gets this and no doctor has been able to tell us more than just that she'll grow out of it. But, as any parent of a sick child knows, illness throws off a child's balance and the overall momentum of life, not to mention being no fun for either the parent or the child. It can be exhausting and is a strain on the body to be sick so often. We've experienced so many of these cyclical viruses that we've learned to cope and we pretty much know what to expect. But sometimes they still put me at my wits' end. And so, knowing the medical community could do very little to help us, and making it a matter of prayer (again), I realized there were a few changes/improvements I could make to see if they would boost my daughter's immune system.

The biggest thrust of these efforts has been to increase her consumption of homemade yogurt. For the past couple of months I have tried to make sure that we always have this yogurt on hand, which means making about a batch a week (no biggie). When I first got my yogurt maker this daughter wasn't overly thrilled with the result, since she remembered when we used to buy that sugary stuff from the store. (Incidentally, my other daughter, who was never allowed yogurt before, due to her lactose intolerance, grew to love our plain homemade variety more quickly than her sister.) Over time she has come to enjoy it, sweetened with honey, and I no longer have to urge her to eat it.

While it may be too early to tell, I am beginning to notice signs that this effort might actually be making a difference, and I pray that it is so.

Yogurt is basically fermented milk--or cultured, if you prefer. Many cultures include fermented* foods in their regular diets just as a matter of course, and time and research has shown the benefits.

I realize now that I should've thought of regular yogurt consumption long ago, but you live and learn... Of course, we can add probiotics to our diets in other ways, but homemade yogurt--or at least good quality store-bought (plain) yogurt from the store--with acidophilus, bifidum and other cultures, is an easy, tasty way to get it. (Just add honey, fruit, or other natural and unrefined sweetener, if desired.) Eating this kind of yogurt aids in digestion, improves regularity, improves absorption of nutrients, and boosts immunity, as shown in this article, which also includes further nutrient information. No wonder it feels so good to eat it!

While yogurt manufacturers would have you believe that all yogurt is good for the health (and created equally), this is certainly not true. At least in my searches at grocery stores, I have found that most yogurts do not contain the necessary probiotics, and the flavored varieties contain so much sugar as to pretty much negate any good any probiotics may do, since refined sugar is not good for the gut and actually provides food for bad bacteria to feast on (and grow from).

So we will continue our experiment and hope that it proves effective for our daughter! In the meantime, the rest of us are seeing and feeling good results ourselves.

*Let me point out that these foods are not fermented to the point of becoming alcoholic, but only to the point of becoming full of the good bacteria that our guts need to help us stay healthy.