August: Getting Frugal

As of August 1^st, I am on a seriously tight budget. I’ve had budge months before, but this week when I sat down to balance my checkbook I realized that I have to pay rent, pay my car insurance, put a down-payment on a puppy, and go on two vacations in 1 pay period…. Oy vey. And throughout the month I’ll also have dental bills, vet bills, and I’ll probably have to eat some time…  So I’m pinching my pennies. This means, getting creative.

Thankfully, it’s the summer time, and my garden is actually starting to produce some things, so at least I know I won’t go hungry! I have beets, beans, peas, kale, cucumbers and carrots to supplement my diet… and if the weather keeps up the way it has been, I should have ripe tomatoes somewhere mid month! In the meantime, I decided that I had to kick my morning coffee routine, and start caffeinating at home. I usually get a large coffee (just drip) and a scone 4-5 times a week, and though I adore everything about my morning coffee stop (including a little time to be social) I figured I should be putting my daily $4.75 to better use. (not to mention the extra gas, since my coffee place is slightly out of my way…)  So instead, I took $10 bought a dozen bagels, a quart of milk, cream cheese, and some Cheerios, and now have breakfast items for nearly 2 weeks… all for the price of two days of my “norm.”  I’ve got a giant bag of stumptown coffee left over from an event… and there is really no reason why I shouldn’t be starting my day in my own kitchen. Plus with a new pet on the way, I’m sure my morning are going to become a little more chaotic… and I’ll need a little extra time in my own space, getting myself, and him ready for work (did I mention he gets to come with me?)  This morning I put fresh basil on my bagel… and it was pretty divine. 

I know that my extreme budgeting means that I will have fewer drinks with friends, and also that I will probably miss another month of Thai Country… But I also know that it will force me to be more creative, and will hopefully mean more home-cooked meals with friends! And really, a little frugality never hurt anyone…  Plus, I’ll get to come home everynight to this face! 

A few things I'm smitten with right now

My Typewriter… do I actually use it? No… but the space key is broken, and I’m trying to find a new screw for it. Will I use it? Occasionally. Do I love it? Yes

These Bulldog Twin Brothers…. Currently called Herbie & Eddie (and  that other one on the right is Bobby). They may or may not be available for sale next week. I may or may not be on a waiting list. No question I am slightly obsessed.

No secret, I cannot get enough of my garden. Hello, my tomato plants are over 6ft tall!(this picture is a few weeks old)

Pinterest…. OMG. My new obsession. I have practically given up all other social media… My co-workers and I often wish we could live in the ROOST catalog, and Pinterest is sort of like that… only now all the beautiful things/ ideas are in one place. It’s a visual list, and it is addicting. It's an organizational system for every beautiful blog, picture, idea you may have ever stumbled across! Get on it right now!

Cleaning ADD

This week I feel like I have cleaning ADD… Ok maybe it’s not just this week ( realistically it has probably been my whole life) but I feel like I self-diagnosed my cleaning ADD this week… so that is progress? I have good intentions… I want the dishes to be done, the floor to be mopped, things to be tidy…. But even when you have good intentions, execution is another matter.

I find my biggest hurdle, is that a large part of my job is cleaning up messes. I find myself at 10:30PM making sure floors are swept, trash is emptied, rentals stacked, dishes done…. And when I come home, the last thing I want to do is clean up my own messes. Maybe I need an event coordinator (or a house-keeper) to make sure my kitchen is ready to go for the next big thing. AKA dinner.

My good intentions always start out by saying “well if I can just get one room clean…” and then I start working on that one room, and find an out of place item, go to put it away, and then get sucked into another room, and start cleaning there…. Leaving my entire house, partially cleaned, but no one room completely organized and clutter free. Welcome to the chaos.

I have been trying to be better recently, though… once I started seriously looking for a dog, I began to realize that my house would need a serious cleaning overhaul/ puppy proofing… Though I’m still up in the air about getting a dog, I figure I really do need to start picking things up off the floor… the last thing I want is to be frantically picking up my entire house the night before I enter into “motherhood” (did I mention that if I get the dog, I will be picking him up the day after I get back from vacation, after I have worked a 12 hour event day? )

There are chores I don’t mind doing, like cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floor, weeding the garden. But when it comes to things like dishes, and folding laundry, I tend to do them begrudgingly. And unless I plan on eating take-out everyday, and buying new underwear every three weeks, I really don’t see a way around these two chores. There will always be dishes to do, and laundry to fold… and I doubt my bulldog is going to be of much help.

My mother’s house is very tidy, as is my brother’s (but that is all his wife’s doing). I just don’t have the personality. Yes, I like things to be clean, but if something comes up after I make dinner, and the dishes aren’t done, I have no problem leaving them until the next day, where-as my mother had this compulsion to do them immediately. She cannot/will not do anything else until the kitchen is back in it’s rightful state of cleanliness. I somehow didn’t get that gene, and I often wonder if the person I end up settling down with will have some of those qualities…. Or will we just be a messy disaster of a couple? I like to think not. I like to think that the universe will work out in such a way that I will end up with someone who loves doing dishes, and folding laundry (please!)

Of course, everyone has a point of no-return, and I find that I usually hit mine when I’m already running 10 minutes late, and yet feel as though I will not be able to function unless I stop what I’m doing and clean up whatever particular thing is bothering me…. I know, if I just did the dishes after EVERY meal, folded the laundry as soon as it came out of the dryer, put my clothes away after they were folded…. It wouldn’t pile up…. (seriously, I will fail as a house-wife… but I am a good cook, and I like baseball, and I will have a bulldog…. So I’m banking on the fact that my sparkling personality and these qualities will outshine the fact that I don’t have the domestic gene)

Speaking of which... there are 2 loads of laundry that need to be folded, and I should probably get on that...

A blog in which I talk about what I've been cooking lately

I downloaded pictures onto my computer the other day, and realized that most of my photographs were not of friends or family, but rather of food (food, and plants, and events actually) I’m not quite sure what that says about me as a person, or my personality…. Seemed like a good excuse to blog about what I’ve been cooking recently, so my photos can at least get into the world, and off of my computer.

I was working from home today, and feeling a little un-inspired, not only by my current mailing project, but also my food options. Thankfully, it’s Thursday, so I grabbed my keys and walked the few blocks to the farmers market. I was there an back in 16 minutes, and acquired a bunch of beets, 2 cucumbers, a handful of new potatoes, and a fresh baguette. Things were looking up. I broke of hunks of crusty bread, as I pondered what to do for a late lunch. I began chopping the cucumber, adding a few slices to my water glass, and arranging the rest of the chunks on a plate. It was a little on the bitter side, but not willing to give up on my lunch that easily, I decided to get creative. I added olive oil, and white wine vinegar, sel gris, freshy ground pepper, and some paprika for color. I ran to the garden and picked a few sprigs of fresh dill, threw it all together. I also added a sprinkling of Nutritional Yeast to the top… to help with my never-ending quest to get enough vitamin-B and I also added some cottage cheese to the plate. It wasn’t the most creative lunch endeavor, but it was nice and easy, and full of clean flavors, and I got to eat on my patio.  <3

Over the weekend I was working a wedding catered by Simpatica Dining Hall. I cannot say enough good things about Scott Ketterman, the chef, and every event he has done for us has been stunning. Were he not married, I’d be a little smitten… seriously people, deep fried fennel bulb with saffron aioli! More please!  He also made a really clever beet salad, and my own version has been making an appearance in my kitchen all week. The roasted beets were mixed with cucumbers, but they were cut in identical wedges, and the beet juice saturated the cucumbers, so it was almost impossible to tell if you were biting into a beet or a cucumber. I found the dish to be really playful, and I’ve had fun eating my version of it all week. I didn’t try enough of Scott’s salad to really tell what the other flavors were, but when in doubt, I add copious amounts of olive oil, and sea salt, and it seems to mostly work. I also picked from fresh sorrel from my garden and added the leaves for a nice pop of green. I love the bitter, almost lemony flavor of the sorrel, and it adds a nice tart flavor to things. Not to mention the fact that the red veined sorrel is beautiful! (with the beets, come on, its gorgeous!) Quinoa has been my go-to grain for quite some time (even though a few months ago I read an article about how it is in such high demand here, that it is becoming more expensive for the people who actually need to survive… I do have a little guilt about that…) It is my back-up protein, especially since I really don’t cook very much meat, and I put it in EVERYTHING! I love it with arugula and poached eggs, in salads, by itself... I’ll take it in any format.

Beet & Cucumber Salad with Sorrel

A few weeks ago, I was feeling overly ambitions, and decided to cook a steak. My parents were eating out, so I commandeered their kitchen and their barbeque and I cooked my first ever steak. It was a trial and error process (I only had to put it back on the grill 3 times) but the final product was pretty tasty. I put it over oven roasted fingerling potatoes, black rice, and lightly sautéed kale.  It was a good night to be a meat and potatoes kind of girl.

Tonight I was excited to use the beets from the famer’s market, and I had a fridge full of random vegetables, so I made a roasted vegetable medley. Brussel Sprouts, onions, red bell pepper, potatoes, I also thinned out my carrots today, so I threw in the little carrot “fingers” in an effort not to be wasteful.  And then I added the beets. I was pleasantly surprised when I cut into them and discovered candy stripes! I know, I know, I’m really excited by the little things in life, but doesn’t it just make you swoon a little bit? I’m always amazed by the beauty and playfulness of plants, and these are some sassy little vegetables!   I dressed everything with a large helping of olive oil, and cut some fresh sage, rosemary, thyme and winter savory from the garden.  ( first time using my golden rosemary… again, I’m in love with the variegated leaves! It’s a gorgeous plant!)  While the veggies were roasting away, I cut up the remainder of the baguette and began to make some croutons. I almost always make croutons in the oven, but since the vegetables were in there, I made them on the stove, and I’m really happy with how they turned out! Again, I added copious amounts of olive oil, sel gris, and thyme and rosemary. I mixed them together with my hands, (which is fun, and also the olive oil is great for my hands during gardening season. Win!) and added them to the pan…. I really wish that I would have had a nice cheese to add to the veggie medley… but alas when I went shopping this week, all I bought was ricotta cheese… (this is what happens when you just go grocery shopping and don’t have any menus planned out… random ingredients) but it actually worked with the dish. I also think some bacon would be really good crumbled on top… then again what wouldn’t be better with bacon crumbled on top? The roasted flavor of the vegetables, mixed with the crunchiness of the croutons was perfect, and it felt like a very hearty and comforting dish.  I think just about any vegetables would work… eggplant, fennel bulb… whatever you have.

Candy Stripe Beets! Swoon

thinned out carrot fingers

Veggie medley ready for the oven

*I got a little distracted writing this post, and over-cooked the vegetables a tad… not too bad, but the brussel-sprouts are a little over-done… aka not pretty, so there is no “after” picture… but it still tastes good!

It’s been a good day, great food, wonderful market, two yoga classes,  and the Red Sox Won (Jason Varitek hit two home runs in one game!) and now I’ve got a glass of wine, and a satisfying meal… what more could a girl ask for?  Well… ok maybe someone to share it with….

GARDEN! AKA my latest obsession

This spring I went on a plant buying frenzy. I felt like it was mostly justified, since I do actually have a large garden space this year… and though it is true that not all of my plants are functional, I think it's ok to surround yourself with a little beauty every now and then! I was watching The Botany of Desire a few weeks ago, and Michael Pollen makes a very good point, that plants have been very successful in surviving, because we are willing to pay money for them. No, the flowers on my front porch are not feeding me, or serving any practical purpose really other than looking gorgeous, and yet I do not have any buyer’s remorse. Plants are the one thing that I feel like I can purchase guilt free… where as other things I always question “did I really need that pair of shoes?”  Did I really need that pocketbook plant. Hell yes, I really did. (the same goes for the chocolate cosmos, and the black petunias… how could you see them and not bring them home?)

Black Petunia

Pocketbook Plant

Chocolate Cosmos

And then there are the vegetable plants. I am so excited to harvest things out of my garden I can hardly stand it! There is nothing like being able to grow your own food, starting something from seed, and watching it grow. I am always amazed at how much things are changing and evolving in my garden. Some days I  come home from work, and find the whole landscape completely changed. Inch by inch, things are growing and expanding, filling out, blossoming! It’s pretty exciting. I know it will still be a while before I am ready to harvest anything (minus the radishes… and sadly I don’t really like radishes… I really want to like them, and I planted them because I really want to like them, and I think they are beautiful, and they grow really fast… I can tolerate them slathered in dip, or sliced really thin over bread and butter, but still they are not my go-to dish… I needed the quick fix of growing something fast though, in this miserable spring when it seemed like it would never be warm enough to grow anything for real… and so I grew radishes… and I may or may not eat them….). Here is something I find ridiculous…. I can go to the grocery store and spend $2 on tomatoes for dinner…. Or I can go to a nursery, spend $2 on one tomato plant, and let it feed me for several meals. The same goes for herbs. I can spend $2.50 on a sage plant, or thyme, or rosemary, or chives or any other perennial herb, and have it last me YEARS. Or I could go to the store and pick up a tiny pre-packed bunch of herbs for the same price… Its not only about the enjoyment of growing things, it’s about saving money, and being efficient with my food budget. Not to mention that the time I spend out in the garden is very zen.  It is so calming to be out there with my watering can, weeding between rows, getting a little sun-tan…. It is way more relaxing than a trip to the store! 

Happy Little Garden

Over the past few years my love of plants has been building. I started out with a pot of herbs on my back porch…. I had a few house-plants here and there…. And then I started working at a Nursery, and it unleashed my green thumb…. Or at least my desire to have a green thumb. I found myself in a tiny loft apartment installing window boxes… planting flowers, herbs… trying to grow enough mint to keep me in mojitos. Once I moved to an apartment with a large patio I thought I was in heaven. Out came the container gardens, suddenly one herb boxed turned into 6 pots of mint, a barrel full of carrots, two tomato plans, and some cucumbers… and yet it still wasn’t enough. (ok for one single girl…. It might have been enough, but I wanted more damn it!). So when I was looking to move again, I knew that the one requirement I had was a garden space. (there were other requirements… but that was the biggest…. And I must say my garden is by far my favorite feature of this place). Who knew that one raised bed could grow so much? Am I going a little over-board on the produce? Maybe…. But I’m excited. In my small garden plot I have Snow Peas, and beans, leeks, carrots, beets, 3 types of cucumbers, 3 types of tomatoes, tomatillos,  2 types of potatoes and yes, that row of radishes. I also have a barrel full of lettuce, and a container full of kale… and 5 containers full of mint. I have sorrel, and red veined sorrel, and an artichoke…. 4 types of thyme, 3 types of rosemary, savory, chives, dill, sage, and nasturtiums and calendula for adding to salads.  Look out folks, I’ve got a garden, and I’m not afraid to use it!

Beets

 

Alaska Mix Nasturtiums

First little tomatoes

Beans

I’ve discovered that growing things in the ground is a whole different beast from growing things in pots. The principles are the same, but it’s a little easier to pour some soil into a pot, add a plant, and voila! (I know it takes more than that… but generally speaking) As I was prepping my soil for planting, I realized there would be a lot of sweat and blisters before the ground would be ready for planting… and yes, now that things are in, I think that growing in a bed is probably easier than a pot, but there is a lot more ground work (bad pun, sorry couldn’t resist) that comes with a raised bed. And then there are the cat terrorist that live in my neighborhood, who think that my garden is a well landscaped litter box. As if I wasn’t a cat person before this…

Having a garden has been a great bonding experience for me and my dad. He bought me a Sunset Vegetable Garden book, and we compare notes daily…about our various veggies. His lettuce is doing better, my tomatoes are about 10 times further along… our peas are about the same, my beans are growing faster… The main difference between our gardens is that I went with a few more heirloom varieties… I’m trying my hand at Armenian cucumbers and rattlesnake speckled beans. 

Kale

Potato Blossom

Tomatillos

Without fully realizing it, I made my garden purple themed. I am growing purple beans, purple carrots, purple potatoes, an purple tomatoes…. Of course I also have some orange and yellow carrots, candy striped and golden beets, a green zebra striped tomato, a sungold tomato, and some Yukon gold potatoes as well… and hopefully with enough love and luck, everything will turn out! I know it will be a lot of trial and error on my part… and it’s a lot of guesswork too… I know nothing about tomatillos, besides the fact that I love salsa verde, so I figured why not give them a shot? Why not give it all a shot… even if I only get one tomato… I think it will be a success.