Sometimes it feels like it’s so hard to feed your family a healthy, tasty meal while sticking to a grocery budget.  Imagine what it would be like if  groceries were rationed!  Have you ever stopped to imagine what it must have been like for a homemaker trying to feed the family during WWII?  I found this interesting post  at “Diary of a Stay at Home Mom” about the wartime kitchen and rationing this week.  Kind of gives you a whole new perspective on your grocery budget, doesn’t it?

Diary of a Stay at Home Mom: The Wartime Kitchen

It’s time yet again to check out the plantings on the Frugal Upstate Village Homestead!  So I’ll ask you-How’s it Growin???

Things are starting to warm up sporadically around here (although there was a frost warning last night!).  The daylight hours are indeed getting longer and I’m itching to be able to get my full garden in.  Alas, unless I’m feeling brave many things still need to wait until Memorial Day (although I may try the beans a bit early.  Rebel!)

Luckily some of the early spring items, fall planted items and perennials are up!

I bought some lettuce seedlings this year.  It seems like when I plant lettuce it starts growing and then we hit a spurt of hot weather and it bolts!  So I figured I’d just try a few seedlings this year.In front of the store bought seedlings I went ahead and planted some lettuce seed (succession planting!) After a week they have just started sprouting.  I’ll have to thin them soon down to one plant per spot.The English Peas (ie the kind you shell and eat as peas discarding the shell itself) have finally started to really grow with a purpose.The turnips that I planted last fall and let overwinter have gone to flower.  You can actually eat the flowers (they taste sort of cabbage-y).  However I’ve just left them there so that the bees can enjoy them!  I have lots of happy little insects buzzing around.  Plus the seed heads are starting to form-I’m interested to try seed saving just to hone those skills.

Here’s a closeup of the flowers.  They are actually quite delicate!  I didn’t take pictures but the one Kale plant I had left from last year and the couple of Tat Soi have both bolted and put up flowers and seed pods as well.

This is back in the big garden.  The green fence is the one I showed last time with the itty bitty sugar snap pea seedlings that something had started munching on.  I have now planted and additional row of snap peas on this side of the fence.  I also purchased brussel sprout seedlings and planted them here.  This edge of the garden is actually shaded part of the day, so I think that the sprouts will do well here since it will be a bit cooler.This is just on the other side of that fence.  You can see the sugar snap peas which have been growing for a while (they were planted about a week and a half after the english peas)  and then that really small growth in between is where I replanted the peas that had been munched on.In front of that row I planted some broccoli seedlings that I purchased.  So now I have a “thick” row with a fence down the middle that goes, left to right, broccoli, peas, fence, peas, brussel sprouts.  My thought process is that the peas will grow up the fence while the broccoli & Brussel sprouts are small.  Then eventually the peas will give up the ghost in early summer and I’ll be able to tear them out just about the time that the broccoli & brussel sprouts are getting bit and they will have the room.

That’s the theory any way-we’ll see!

Next I left a space for a walking aisle and then I planted another row of sugar snap peas.  They have not yet started sprouting-so this is an unexciting picture of dirt.  But the posts are in and actually I’ve strung the fence since I took this picture.  I left enough space to plant another shade loving crop-maybe more lettuce or some chard on the other side of this.  From this row over the garden gets significantly more sun.

Now I’m standing with my back to the row you just saw.  Basically where the carrots were overwintered (they are all gone now).  I still have a few overwintered leeks left to eat.

I’ve got a big triple row of garlic-which is not only tasty but also has antibacterial properties.  So it’s an aromatic and a medicinal herb/plant!On this little patch of garden on the far side of the stepping stone I have a big patch of a weed called “lambsquarter”.  Last year I had let one grow on the side of the garden and obviously it dropped a lot of seeds.  I pulled all the rest but are letting these go for now.  This is an edible-the leaves taste sort of like spinach.  I really enjoy it, it grows naturally, early and easily.  So I’m going to let these go and perhaps dig some of them up and replant them somewhere else.  Why fight trying to get something like spinach grow through the summer when this stuff WANTs to grow?

(note: that’s actually a stone step-we think it was a horse mounting block-it goes about a foot down in the soil and weighs a ton-it can’t be moved so the garden goes around it.)Here’s a close up of the lambsquarter.  Make sure you use a good website like Wildman Steve Brill’s or a good field guide to identify your wild edibles.  And make darn sure you know what any look a-likes are and how to tell the difference so you don’t eat something dangerous.

Now I’m standing behind the garden looking at my little raspberry patch.  You cant really see it but directly in front of this is the green fencing with that wide row of brussel sprouts/peas/peas/broccoli. . . These raspberries actually produced a bit last year-so hopefully I’ll get some berries this year too.  (like a cup, but hey!). Raspberry leaves also have some medicinal properties and can be used for tea.  I’ve got wild blackberry growing on the fenceline closer to the house-we barely get any berries from those but again, those leaves can be used in tea and have medicinal uses as well.Speaking of tea, my Oswego Tea (aka bergamot or scarlet beebalm) is popping up, and in a thicker patch than the original stuff I purchased & planted last year.  Yay!  This does multiple duty as an ornamental, an edible (at least as tea) and a bee attractor.   Triple win!Farther down the fenceline the horseradish (surrounded by some dandelion) is going gangbusters.  I really am not sure why we need THREE horseradish plants (only one shown) but there you are.Off on the very side of my property our little tiny asparagus bed is happily chugging away.  We’ve had about 4 sprout up.  They really aren’t enough for a meal so I just snap them off and eat them raw.  Yum.  I really do need to figure out planting some more.  Right behind these is a fence that I like to plant things up.  Last year I grew my vining summer squash up the fence, but this year I think I’ll plant some beans to add nitrogen back into the soil.  Squash is a heavy feeder-so that should be a good rotation.

The rhubarb is doing great over by the barn.  I’ve already cut out a couple of seed heads–this is an antique strain from a friend’s very old homestead.  Unlike more “modern” cultivars it likes to send up seedheads right away.  I don’t care what the books say, I just cut them off and the plant keeps producing rhubarb.

Now back by the house I have my pot of Egyptian Walking Onions.  I need to find a good home for these this year and get them out of the pot.  I can’t decide what the best spot is-I’ll have to do that soon.

Now to the mostly container herb garden I have right by the back steps.  As a matter of fact that cement step you see IS the bottom step leading up to my back door.  The chives actually started out back a couple of feet but they moved themselves up here and are quite happy. The first round of chive blossoms (which are edible) are out, and we’ve been using the chives in cooking for over a month.  That’s a job I frequently give the kiddos while I’m in the middle of cooking–”take the scissors and go get me 2 chives”.About a food behind the chives is my lovage plant.  It’s already up to the top step and will grow up at least as far as that sign.  I usually have to hack it down a couple of times each summer so it doesn’t take over!  Loveage has a strong celery flavor and is lovely in soups, chopped up in salads etc.This is some lavender that took a couple of years to really get going.  Now it’s draping over the driveway-which isn’t the best.  I’m probably going to move it soon.  Here is my crazy sage that isn’t supposed to be perennial in my zone and yet has come back for two years.  Sage is of course the herb you think of when you think of “poultry seasoning”.  It tastes good in a variety of things. It also has medicinal properties.Many herbs are not perennial for me due to our cold winters.  I purchased these 3 pots (there are two in that front circle) and will plant them up in these containers.  From front to back they are rosemary, oregano and thyme.  All of them are culinary and have some medicinal properties.

In the other planters (not circled) I have two kinds of mint and some lemon balm.  The red self watering planters that I did the tutorial on last year will be used this year for peppers.

 And that’s how it’s growin at the Frugal Upstate Village homestead!  How are your garden plan progressing?

Dear Frugal Upstate:

Photo by Renee Silverman

I’m am sure you have posted about this somewhere but I can’t remember!

Can you make the Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe ahead of time or do you make it and par-bake it right away. I’m just wondering if it can be frozen or refrigerated?? 

Thanks!!! and love your site!
Kristie

Well Kristie, most of the time I just make the crust up as I am going to use it–since I work from a home office it’s easy to just throw it together around 3pm and have it ready for suppertime!  I’ve even gone so far as to make up ahead of time 4 or 5 ziplock bags full of all the dry ingredients (sans yeast) and then stick a note inside with what wet ingredients need to be added so that it’s super easy!

(note: this is sort of like the method I show at the bottom of my “Weekly Bread Baking Method” post)

There are times that I have made the crust and par baked it (350 for about 8 minutes) then either held on to it until later that day or frozen it parbaked. Usually I just do that by sticking it on a cookie sheet and layering wax paper in between the crusts.  When they are frozen I lightly wrap in saran wrap and return them to the freezer.  Then I try to use them up fairly soon.

I have frozen the recipe as a big lump of dough-and while the quality was ok, I preferred it either fresh or par baked. Also I have a hard time getting the timing right for thawing a big lump o dough-either it was done too soon & started rising again or it was still partially frozen when I wanted to use it.  With the parbaked and then frozen crust I could just put all the toppings on it frozen and throw it in the oven like that, adding just a few minutes.

I’m all about easy. 

I have on a few occasions just refridgerated it for a day-punching it down once or twice to make sure it didn’t overflow the container.  I think that it loses some of the texture that way-the baking soda has already done it’s thing hours ago. Again it’s fine-I’m sure your family will still eat it, but not my favorite way.

I’ll be honest-with things like this you can probably get it to work no matter what you do-but the quality will be affected a bit.  Personally, even with my least favorite of the methods, once you top it with sauce, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and then the regular mozzarella and toppings you are still beating the pants off a really cheapo frozen pizza.

Do you have a reader’s question?  Use my contact form and let me know!

Are you familiar with the Children’s Miracle Network?  I’ll be honest.  I could tell you that they are a charity, that they had to do with kids, and that at certain times of year you can “buy” little paper balloons at Walmart to help contribute.  But honestly? I didn’t really know what they did until Walmart asked all of us Walmart Moms to help spread the word about their annual fundraising campaign.

So I did what any good blogger would do when they aren’t sure about something.  I googled it   And of course I came up with the CMN website where they succinctly described their mission:

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® raises funds for 170 children’s hospitals across North America, which, in turn, use the money where it’s needed the most. When a donation is given it stays in the community, ensuring that every dollar is helping local kids. Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $4 billion, most of it $1 at a time. These donations have gone to support research and training, purchase equipment, and pay for uncompensated care, all in support of our mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.

I also found out that the CMN was founded by Marie Osmond-which probably doesn’t mean anything to you younger readers, but to me Marie will always be remembered from my childhood as part of the brother sister TV duo-The Osmonds!

Every year Walmart supports the Children’s Miracle Network for the month of May-after all “May is for Miracles”-and this year they have extended their campaign through June 15th!  Participating is easy-You can make a $1 or $2 donation at the register of any Walmart and the money will automatically be earmarked for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in your community.

I have to admit-that is one of the things I really like about the Children’s Miracle Network–that they take such pride in keeping funds within the community where they are generated.  Of course if you don’t have a CMN children’s hospital in your local community, the money goes to the one closest geographically. (Wondering where your closest CMN children’s hospital is?  Use the CMN Hospital Search to see)

I think it is wonderful that the local hospitals are allowed to decide how that money is best spent. These donations have gone to support things like research and training, purchasing equipment, and paying for uncompensated care.

So please, the next time you are shopping at Walmart, consider spending that extra $1 or $2 dollars at the register to support this wonderful cause!

****This is a sponsored post****

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.

I love Hollandaise Sauce.  It tastes so rich and lovely drizzled over everything from lightly steamed vegetables to my favorite Old Fashioned Salmon Loaf.

Of course part of the reason it tastes so rich is because the typical recipe calls for 4 egg yolks and a full stick of butter.  And you’ve got to use a double boiler–a piece of kitchen equipment in this day of microwaves that many home makers don’t even own.

So over the years I’ve resorted to using those little powdered packets of Hollandaise mix. . . but they have been steadily creeping up in cost over the last few years.

In my quest to replace them I found this interesting Mock Hollandaise recipe.  I’ll be honest-it really doesn’t hold a candle to real Hollandaise.  It’s thicker-more of a thin sour cream texture than a drizzle-y Hollandaise.  You aren’t going to fool anyone into thinking that it is the original.  However if you enjoy it for what it is-a thick, rich sauce that you can whip up in just a few moments from ingredients that you always have on hand–then you’ll be able to enjoy it.

Time again for the weekly meal plan!

This week is fairly simple-nothing too out of the ordinary to deal with (thank goodness!)

1.  Standard schedule of meetings and after school type activities.  Scouts & Pool on Wednesdays, Yankee Bill has a meeting on Tuesday (today), Princess has her dance lesson.  The regular stuff.

2.  Monday I was in town all day with a meeting and errands.  So I needed a simple dinner.

3.  Tuesday (tonight) there is an ice cream social and talent show we want to go to.  Friday Yankee Bill has an evening event and I have a girls night out scheduled-so it’s just the kiddos that night.

4.  Yankee Bill will be gone all day Saturday with our motorcycle group.  Unfortunately every single one of my usual babysitters is busy on Saturday, so I guess I don’t get to go with him.

5.  I’ve got a lot of really nice lettuce in the fridge since it was on sale this week.  I’ve also still got those butternut squash up on top of my kitchen cabinets from last fall (gotta use those up soon!).   Last week when I was making the meal plan I forgot that Sunday was Mother’s Day and planned a fairly intensive meal.  I ditched that on Sunday and went with very uber simple because I didn’t want to cook.  So that nice big trout is still in the freezer.

6. As always my goal is to have one venison meal, one fish meal, one bean meal, one meatless meal and one soup meal per week.

Taking all that into account here is my game plan:

Monday: Super Size Submarine Salad with Macaroni and Cheese

While I was running errands I found a really nice loaf of “everything” Italian bread at Walmart marked down to $.99–I decided a big sandwich was just the thing for dinner.  3 kinds of lunch meat, cheese, tomato and lettuce made a delicious sandwich.  I used the leftover boxed mac ‘n cheese as a side.

Tuesday: Venison Curry over Angel Hair Pasta

I’m way behind on planning tonight’s dinner (it’s almost 4pm as I type this).  I’ll make a “This and That” style curry with odds and ends from the fridge, perhaps some canned carrots or beans from last fall etc.  I’ll quick defrost some venison from the freezer-I only need to partially defrost it and then if I slice it into thin chunks it should brown up quickly with some onion in my skillet before adding the rest.  I’ve got a bit of leftover rice in the fridge and a bunch of leftover angel hair pasta-so we’ll serve it over that.

This is my venison meal for the week.

Wednesday: Homemade Cream of Broccoli Soup, Salad and Bagels

There was a good sale on frozen broccoli, so I picked up several bags.  I’ll make a cream of broccoli soup from scratch and serve it with green salad (using that really nice lettuce!) and some of the bagels my neighbor gifted me with.

This is my meatless meal and my soup meal for the week.

Thursday: Grilled Lentil Burgers, Potato Salad and Pickled Beets

I’ve got a few lentil burger recipes to try-I’m looking for that holy grail of a tasty patty that doesn’t fall to pieces on the grill!  I’ll serve them on buns and put potato salad and some quick pickled/marinated beets.

This is my bean meal for the week (and another meatless meal).

Friday: Perogies & Salad

The kids love frozen Perogies for dinner when Yankee Bill and I aren’t around.  There should be plenty of leftover green salad to put with them.

Saturday: Pizza

Since we won’t be home for me to make Pizza on Friday I’ll make my Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe on Saturday instead!

Sunday: Baked Trout with Wheat/Rice Pilaf, Grilled Leeks and Green Beans

The trout is from the freezer (still).  I’ve bought wheat to grind in my new grain mill, so I figure it will be fun to experiment with cooking it as a grain-so I’ll try the pilaf.  The Leeks are from the garden and the green beans are canned from last fall.

This is my fish meal for the week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you interested in learning more about menu planning? Check out my post “Why Plan a Weekly Menu” .

Dogs add a lot to our lives, don’t they?  Sure, they can be work–but where else in this crazy world could you possibly get the kind of unconditional love and adoration that you get from a dog?

The Frugal Upstate dog, Summer, is your basic “Heinz 57″ all American mutt.  My husband visited the pound 3 years ago as part of his job and fell in love.  Next thing I knew we had an adorable little black puppy.  The kids thought she was fantastic and she became my little buddy.

She’s still more my dog than anyone elses-when I go away on trips she refuses to eat the first few days I’m gone in protest

So when Walmart, Pedigree and Pet Armor said they wanted to send me some products for Summer to try out I thought that was a great idea!  And let me tell you, as soon as the box arrived and I opened it she knew there was something inside for her.

We had to try out some of the wet food immediately.  Summer mostly has dry dog food, with the occasional table scraps thrown in as a treat.  When I set up the food for my photograph and made her sit & stay she was quivering with excitement. . . she could smell that yummy food that I had opened!

As soon as I gave her the “ok” command she DOVE into it.  The food was gone in seconds.  I’ll say that’s a resounding “yum” from Summer!!!

I know what I’ll be having the family feed Summer the next time I go on a trip to get her to eat!

The other item I was sent to try was the Pet Armor flea and tick treatment.

Now I don’t know about where you live, but here in Upstate NY we had an unusually warm winter.  While it was nice not to have to shovel the walk as much, or to have any power outages from blizzards, apparently the mild temperatures didn’t kill off as many of the ticks as usual.  They are predicting a really bad year for ticks.  Blech.  We live in deer country, and deer ticks are what transmit the really nasty Lyme disease.  So keeping the ticks away from the dog and out of our home is a necessity.

These treatments really should be done once a month, and with the other brands we’ve used it has cost  a pretty penny.  The Pet Armor brand has the same ingredients as the other brands you might be familiar with, and at about half the cost your wallet will thank you!  You get 3 doses per box, and as long as they are kept sealed they don’t expire.  Bonus!

 You can bet the Frugal Upstate household will continue to use this product after my samples are gone.  All the protection and half the cost are things this girl likes to hear!

And that’s not all, along with this campaign is a great way that you can help your local shelter without spending a dime:

 Help shelter pets in need by participating in the PetArmor® Protection Promise! Throughout May 2012, one flea and tick treatment will be donated to the ASPCA®, or to a shelter of your choice. (up to 20,000 doses).  It’s easy, just “Like” PetArmor on Facebook and select the participating shelter you want the treatment to go to!

****This is a sponsored post****

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.

Dear Frugal Upstate,

Photo by Florence Crayne

I’ve been using and love your Homemade Laundry Soap, but it’s got me wondering. . . do you have a frugal homemade laundry stain remover?  My kids (and frankly my husband) are hard on clothes.

Alice

Well Alice, here are a few inexpensive options you can use to deal with stains.  Remember, I am not a fabric or stain expert, and you have to use any method at your own risk:

1.  Use Fels Naptha, Octagon or another “Laundry” bar soap as a stain pretreatment.

Many people will just take a bar of a true laundry soap such as Fels Naptha, wet it and rub it into the stain.  Let it sit for a few minutes then toss it in the laundry as usual.

2.  Pretreat with Tide (or another product you feel really works well).

At one of the conferences I attended I had a really long, really interesting talk with one of the gentleman from a large name brand detergent company you would recognize.  I found it very interesting that he said yes, Tide really does get out the tough stains. . . but that most other detergents (like the brand he represented) worked just as well for normal laundry dirt.

My takeaway?  For 90% of the jobs the inexpensive stuff (or homemade!) is fine, but if you’ve got a really really tough stain you might want to try the good stuff.  So maybe, in the long run, it’s worth it to buy something like Tide, but to keep it ONLY as a stain pretreater-just rub a little bit of the liquid into the stain and give it time to work, then use the homemade detergent for the entire load.

3.  Use a Homemade Stain Soak

I found the recipe for this stain soak years ago in my copy of  The Complete Tightwad Gazette:

1 C Powdered Cascade (or other plain powdered dishwasher detergent)
1 C Clorox II
5 Gallons very hot tap water

Mix it together and then soak the stained articles overnight.  Do not use on delicate fabrics or fabrics that are not color safe.

4. Ignore the stain.

Yeah, this is actually a method! An item can have a stain and be completely clean. I don’t bother trying to get the stains out of the bottoms of my kids socks (they INSIST on wearing socks outside while I’m not looking) or my washcloths for the kitchen sink.

Personally, I like the idea of kids having “play clothes” and “school clothes” so that when they come home (and are more likely to be outside getting filthy) they wear clothes that are either already stained or that I don’t care if they get stained.  I’m working on implementing that here-maybe it’s something that would help you?

So what are some of your favorite frugal stain strategies?

One of the least expensive fruits in your local supermarket, per pound, is usually the lowly banana.

Poor Banana!  Although grown in tropical regions they are so plentiful and so well known that we sort of take them for granted.  I guess it’s true-if something is inexpensive most people tend to think it is unexciting.

Bananas really are a great fruit!  They are tasty in their various stages (I like them pretty ripe myself) and although their life out on the counter isn’t too long, and you don’t want to stick one in  your BDU pants pocket and then forget about it when you are going through training (ask me how I know.  Ewww. Smooshed banana) you can always chuck the extras that are starting to be a bit OVER ripe into a container in the freezer.  (note-they will turn to mush when they defrost, but that’s fine for baking!)

Fresh bananas can be eaten plain, sliced into cold cereal or oatmeal, stuck on a stick and frozen as a treat, cooked into Banana Pancakes or baked into Banana Bread, Banana Squares and Banana Oatmeal Drop Cookies.

Here’s another great way to eat your bananas-dehydrated banana slices!  They are super easy to make if you have a solar or electric dehydrator.

1.  Slice bananas into 1/8″ slices.  On one website I saw it mentioned that 1/8″ is about the same width as two quarters stacked on top of each other.

2.  Lay them on the dehydrator sheet almost touching.  If you like you can spray them with a bit of lemon juice to keep them from darkening.  It’s mostly an aesthetic thing.  If I’m in the mood to do that I just put my lemon juice into a clean spraybottle that I ONLY use for lemon juice.  Spritz it on (over the sink please!) and go.

3.  Dehydrate at around 105 degrees (if you have a thermostat) for about 10-12 hours.  I like to flip mine over about half way through.  You sort of have to peel them up off the tray.  When they are done they will be smaller, thinner, darker but still bend, like I’m doing in the photo.  They are actually more like banana fruit leather bites.  They are NOT going to get hard and “snap” the way the banana chips at the store will.

4.  Store in a zippered baggie, plastic container or glass mason jar.  Enjoy as a very sweet and chewy snack.  If I was packaging them for longer term storage I’d either use a vacuum sealer or some oxygen absorbers–and I’d still be aware that they would probably all stick together in a lump

If you want to, you can reconstitute them into a banana mush by soaking them in just enough warm water to cover them.   Then you can use them in any baked good or just eat as banana mush   I know in my house they all get eaten as if they were banana candy by the kiddos-I never get the CHANCE to store them for longer time periods.

****This is a sponsored post****

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.

Congratulations to Colleen who won the Rubbermaid 2-in-1 Recycler!

And thanks again to Rubbermaid for hosting this giveaway!