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Setup costs
An issue that holds people back from home canning is setup costs. I hope this article will reassure anyone in that position that the costs involved are quite reasonable and a worthwhile investment. First, you need to decide what kind of canning you are going to do – hot water bath or pressure. Hot water…
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Seasonal eating – May
Finally, things are beginning to get better. More produce is appearing on the shelves, but not to the overwhelming levels we’ll have in a couple of months. Asparagus Beets: roots and greens Broccoli Broccoli Rabe Cauliflower (time to make piccalilli!) Cabbage: red, green, Chinese Carrots Peas (English, sugar, snap, snow) Radishes Spinach Turnip Onions Kale…
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Eat real food
As I read more about health and nutrition, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that a lot of what is wrong with people’s health in the “western world” is the food we are eating. Our grandparents mainly ate what would today be considered a semi-vegetarian diet: fresh, local, seasonal fruit and vegetables, cheese, butter, relishes…
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Deliciously cheap burgers
So, not that you have some canned beans, what are you going to make with them? How about bean burgers? Laughably cheap and really easy? Of course! Ingredients 1 1/2 cups cooked beans (any variety), drained and rinsed 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, pine nuts, or steel cut oats 1/2 cup minced onion 1/2 cup grated…
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Pressure canning – beans
Beans are a powerful ally in living frugally. They have the best “bang for the buck” in terms of nutritional return for money: insoluble and soluble fiber, high in protein, complex carbohydrates, folate, and iron. Once you get a stockpile of dried and canned beans in your pantry you are opening up new vistas of…
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Spices and seasonings
How can you eat the same thing for dinner for 5 consecutive days without getting bored with it? Spices and seasonings. They can transform the mundane to the magical, the dull into a fantastic feast, and make leftovers feel not-leftover-y. The advice on spice is simple: buy it whole from an ethnic store. Ethnic stores…
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Make your own yoghurt
It’s stupidly easy, laughably cheap, and takes next to no hands-on time. 1 quart (946ml) milk (any kind but not “ultra-high pasteurised”/UHP or “ultra heat treated”/UHT) 1/4 to 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk (optional) 2 tablespoons existing yoghurt with live cultures You can easily scale this up – I made a gallon batch, added 1…
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Seasonal Eating – January
As we pull out of the depths of winter, there is relatively little that is in season just now, mainly root vegetables. But if you ever wanted an excuse to pickle carrots, now is the time to do it. IN SEASON IN JANUARY Green cabbage Carrots Peas Scallions / green onions / spring onions Turnip…
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Cherries
Cherry. Wikipedia will tell you the dry facts, but it won’t tell you how you get that burst of sweet, dark fruitiness when you bite into them, or how well they go in desserts, jams, or pies, or how you almost start to salivate at the mere word. There is one downside. They are intensely…
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Red beans and rice
So you have taken care of your leftovers in a frugal manner and are looking for a dish which can soak them up and turn into something really tasty as well as being laughably cheap? Red beans and rice! A Creole favourite, it uses simple basic ingredients which you should already have in your pantry…