Stand by my Stove

One major cooking disadvantage to a small wood stove is that for the most part only fit one good sized pot or skillet @ a time. Which works if you cooking up a stew or soup or frying up pancakes. Not so much if you have a steamer going with Broccoli, a skillet with pork chops, and a rice pot. As I'm done cooking one item I slide the pot over to the stand to stay warm and start with the next. It's also nice to have a place to lay down a spoon, hot pad, trivets, or sit my bread bucket on while dough raises.
Have also warmed mittens, socks, and yes unders. Hey much like Marilyn Monroes brilliant idea to cool panties in the dog days of August in her freezer, toasty unders in January are the bomb baby.
This mid sixties mod designed stand bought @ a church tag sale for $2, usually sits next to my garden glider with a potted plant & a few candles or solar light during the Summer. Originally it had only the one middle shelf. The top had a series of vertical pencil sized bars. Hubby added some punch metal pieces to the top & very bottom that he scored from work for a few dollars. This Summer I'll scrub off the rust caused by wet boots & spray paint the whole stand black.
Not a bad hack huh?

~~ pelenaka ~~

Pee'd off Pussy

This is a my red headed stepson Hunter.
He's mad.
The sleep with one eye open mad 'cause it's just a matter of time when payback is a ... mad. The only other time when I've seen him this mad was when I started sleeping with his Dad. Then he'd sit on my night stand staring at me in the dim glow of a street light planning his revenge. I won't mention what he use to do in my pantie drawer under our antique cast iron bed.
Besides the dirty looks he demonstrates his extreme displeasure of a cold stove by series of short pitiful yelps as he stares into the window of the stove. As of this week he has also taken to a slow walk around the stove stopping to inspect each leg. Problem solving no doubt. He's a smart kitty. Thought about popping in a few votive candles to give the impression of fire but he'd realize that I was just ranking his tail so to speak. Then I'd have to sleep in tub with the clothes hamper pushed up against the bathroom door. He's found a way to turn the knob & push open the door.
Breaks my heart almost as much as my cold toes.
Reason for not firing up the stove is that we are down to just a fourth of a face cord of wood which we're saving in case of a power outage. Waiting on federal tax return to buy enough to get us though til spring. Mean while DH has been cultivating bartering deals for firewood which will work for next Winter. If by July we don't have a good supply laid in then we'll buy the rest. Firewood in the off season is usually half the cost.

We burn though the almost 5 face words of firewood that took us 3 years to collect. Wish we had been more aggressive with our gathering. Last big score was by DH who bartered labor for almost a face cord of seasoned Apple wood. After burning Maple & Walnut it was a nice change to have wood that throws off decent heat.
Plans are to continue collecting lesser grade wood to burn in the early Fall & late Spring when it's not as cold, save the good wood for deep Winter. And as always work toward what's free.


Here's the low down on the cost of the stove which includes the stove, all piping/chimney, damper, hearth & labor/permits - $1700. Hate to think what it would have been if we hadn't bought items on sale.


Started heating with wood in November so free heat for 3 months has made a dent with both the electric & gas bill. On average for these past 3 months the electric bill has been under $50. Normally it's over $80 so it has been a $120 savings. This January we used 172 kWh less than in 2009. Blower fan on the furnace is a real power hog.

Important to note is that we didn't heat 100% with wood. I don't like to leave a fire burning when I'm not home. Furnace set to kick on @ 50 degrees. That occurred about twice a week for on average 4 hours.


Here's the comparison broken down between this Winter's natural gas bill & last year's.

Both November 2009 & 2008 were under $75. Rule of thumb for us is the heat comes on when the thermometer its the freezing mark & my toes are cold. This year we fired up the wood stove in the evenings until the end of November when it was 24/7.

December 2009 was an adjusted $50.54 after all was said & done with the new gas meter. For 2008 it was $217.14 a savings of $166.60.
Gas bill for January 2010 was $68.57. It’s been a colder than norm Dec/Jan so we did splurge & tee up the water heater a bit . Down side is that one tends to linger in a hot shower which drives up the water bill.
January 2009 gas bill was $242.14.
Total utility savings for January were $161.54.
Overall total savings worked out to $448.14 or the value of the free firewood. About 1/4 of the cost of the stove has been recouped. Not bad but I had hoped @ least half the cost.

On a positive note much like the concept of family meals we have had a real family bonding experience over our wood stove. It's a natural meeting place. Hence the old adage home is where the hearth is.


~~ pelenaka ~~

2010 Urban Pantry Challenge

1/27/10 I've edited the following post to include all of my purchases hopefully in a more concise order.

For the 2010 - 2011 UPC it occurred to me that I should give more details, show my work = tips, tricks, trades, & blessings for food that we don't grow or harvest. LSS show the grocery store receipts.

Hence the shopping cart full of chicken. In theory this is enough chicken to last us until May. At that time the salad bed and early garden produce such as peas will be in harvest. I can sub veggies for meat entrees if not at dinner then for lunch. Husband is more inclined to accept a meatless meal mid day than for dinner.
One chicken roaster every other week.
Perdue Chicken Roasters were a loss leader last week selling for 89 cents a pound, up 10 cents from last year. Took me until the final day of the sale to make a decision. Buy now or wait for a better/worse price.

8 oven roaster chickens average weight was 5.8 pounds
1 bottle of Soy sauce - $1.69 for 10 oz on sale.
5 jars of Store brand Spaghetti sauce - $1 per jar on sale.
1 package of Italian sausage on sale for $1.88 per pound. 2 1/2 lbs. package will give us 5 meals.
1 package of 90% lean ground beef discounted, almost 3 lbs.
Total = $70.86

One bird gave us 2 dinner meals, enough chicken salad for 3 lunches, & once the chicken carcass was boiled enough chicken stock for soup later on. On the menu for last night's dinner was sliced cukes & roma toms in ranch dressing, shredded chicken in homemade gravy with garlic, sage, & rosemary (herbs were either grown or bartered for), broccoli (freezer last years garden), sauteed sweet potatoes (aldis), mashed potatoes ( 50 lbs./$10 farmers stand). Cooked on wood stove but that's for another blog post.
Soy sauce used for a veggie dinner. This dinner meal which was basically everything vegetables left in the fridge was sauteed. Also added in re hydrated vegetables such as green bell peppers put up last Summer. Side dish was white rice.
About one pound of the ground beef used for a nacho salads. Rest in freezer.
Sauce went to restocking the pantry. Hopefully next Summer I won't have to deal with tomato blight and will be able to can homemade spaghetti sauce instead of buying it.
Italian sausage was for DD#3 & I since we don't care for the Italian venison/pork sausage husband & DD#2 made. Yes we have issues with game meat. Would be cheaper if we didn't but we do.

Husband ran to Aldis for me a few days before and bought the following items; gallon of 2% milk, package of sliced ham, Italian dressing, roma tomatoes, romaine hearts, coffee creamer (original item that I asked for), sour cream, can of black olives. If I had gone I wouldn't have bought the ham (Husbands lunches) or the sour cream. Doubtful on the salad dressing. Total = $13.68

Cost cutting changes - make salad dressings.
Consider planting patio tomatoes for houseplants. Would entail threatening my red head step child (husband's cat Hunter a red tabby) with harm to keep him from digging in the soil.

Grocery update for the month of January -
1/06/10 - $22.19 bought 16 cans of Progresso soup, 19 oz size & canned tomatoes 28 oz size. 3 cans to
added to the cellar pantry. Normally I don’t buy canned toms but since last years harvest was non existent
there wasn’t any to can. These were an advertised special a.k.a. loss leader @ a dollar each. Normally I
don’t buy canned toms but since last years harvest was non existent there wasn’t any to can. Dawn dish
soap 24 oz. used a 20¢ off coupon that was doubled and Colgate toothpaste used $1 off coupon that was
doubled. These should have been acquired though bartering . Canned soup is a fav with husband to keep
in his locker @ work for those times when he has no packed lunch.
1/16/10 Adis $19.02 - 2 bags of white corn tortilla chips 99¢ each, 2 tubs of quick oats $1.79 each, jar of peanut butter $1.39, bag of brown sugar $1.19, TP for $5.29, fresh bell pepper (used in a veggie dip for church coffee hour) . Also bought a dozen eggs because my usual source was down 79¢. While shopping I realized that Adis sells ground corn flour or Mesa for tortilla making. Eventually then we can make tortilla chips that we use for nacho salad a family dinner favorite.
1/27/10 Tops Market $36.80 - loss leaders that I bought today @ Tops were; eggs 69¢ bought 3 dozen, butter $1.49 pound cheaper than the dairy’s employee discount deal I was included in last October bought
2 pounds, & Carnation evaporated milk a $ a can stocked up & bought 10 for the pantry.
Soda pop is also on sale 2 liter bottles for a buck bought 2. Nice to have on pizza night .
Unable to barter for a gallon of bleach so I purchased a gallon of no name for $1.49. Also bought a small box of powder milk for $4.99. Been without for a few weeks. For me it is a hardships not having it on hand. Tonight I am planning on making cream of Broccoli Soup. Frozen
broccoli from last year’s garden, chicken stock from the bird I roasted last week, & powdered milk. Can't get any easier than that. Grilled
Swiss cheese made with mustard rye bread baked yesterday.
2 cans for tuna packed in h2o @ 99¢ & a pound of deli German bologna both for school lunches.
If I had the extra money I’d have also bought a large family sized package of split chicken breasts @ 99¢ a pound. Nice to have on hand when I don’t have any chicken leftovers. 2 nice sized breast can fill out a pot of soup.

$5.90 spent @ restaurant supply store for 2 lbs of Fleishman’s yeast for baking. I won’t go into how
many teaspoons are in a pound (anyone out there a math whiz?) but single yeast packets which hold 2
teaspoons retail for 79¢ each. If you don’t have someone to split the package/cost divide it up in sections & freeze for later use.
Total - $163.26.

~~ pelenaka ~~

G/ESCOs/GC

A belated Felix Natividad et Próspero Año y Felicidad.
I ushered on Christmas Eve, daughter's worked the church nursery, and husband was able to join us @ the last minute for a very well attended service. Once home we had snacks & opened a present @ midnight.
For New Year's we stayed home huddled around the wood stove snacking, watching DVDs, & napping. Promised daughters that next year we would go watch the ball drop in downtown Buffalo and perhaps attend a few First Night Activities. I'm sure that they will make me keep my word since banging pot lids & beating on stock pots no longer holds a deep fascination for them as it once did.
Besides the usual weight loss/self improvement resolutions my goals for the New Year is to go more solar but in MacGyver style. Solar panels from recycled parts or just hack'ng an existing application into solar I'm not sure. Diffacult due to our cloudy climate and disrupted sunshine due to buildings & trees. The 2nd (ongoing) major goal is to increase/document our garden harvest.


After an afternoon of studying charts, reading NYS Public Service Commission website twice, and one very long drawn out phone call to National Grid ( the customer service # published on my bill has been disconnected freaky huh?) I was able to make an informed decision with regards to switching my electric & gas suppliers.
Stay put for now & monitor the ESCOs (energy service companies) for a better rate than what both my eclectic & natural gas companies are charging then make the switch.
The kww rate the ESCO I was considering is currently @ 6.5 ¢ per kww hour, gas is .65 ¢ per ccf. Both higher than what I currently pay. True only by a few cents but here a penny there a penny.
Pity as the ESCO I decided on was offering a $75 Visa gift card to switch.
Plan was to use the Visa to get a subscription to Netfix which would help curb the pro cable voices in the family. And fill my need to view alternative documentaries on sustainable subjects & episodes of Leave it to Beaver.
For us the new digital t.v. revolution has been bogus.
Reception is still defined by buildings, weather, and flight patterns. Upside is that my 15 year old tele has outstanding picture quality when we do get reception. Oh foil wrapped around digital antenni makes no mind.

Speaking of gift cards I received two this year both to Wally World = $100. One was in September from a fellow Presbyterian as a reward for working the church garden. After consulting with my pastor I decided to keep the card. The second was a Christmas gift.
So after much thought & discussion we decided to use the cards on items that would give us the most value from a homesteader's point of view;

• Coleman Portable Camp Oven - $39
• Rechargeable solar batteries for garden lights
• Vinegar - white
• Outdoor/Hunting clothing for daughter #2
• Canning lids, pectin
• Garden Seeds ?
• Hand Cranked Radio
• Special needs that can't be gotten elsewhere

The stove top oven is my 1st priority since I bake about every other day - bread, cakes, & pies. Hope to be able to barter bake goods for toiletries & other items that I can't manufacture like canned tuna.

Solar batteries for our hacked garden lights. I have plans to hang these lights in the bathroom, stairwell, & front room near the wood stove for low lighting. Also the garden lights outside are due for replacements.

Now that I clean green (I'll let you all think I'm this big environmentalist but those who know me well know that I'm just cheap) I go though allot of white vinegar so if it's not too much more than Save-a-Lots price/can coupon then I'll stock up. Vinegar is a hard to barter for item. Much like powdered milk.

DD#2 needs a good two piece hunting ensemble now that we know she enjoys hunting. Hopefully we can score a great deal now that deer season is over. Will check WW's website.

Canning lids & pectin if I can snag some for a better price than my usual sources. 3 or 4 years ago I bought pectin @ Save -a-lot for 69¢ a box. Best price on lids is anything under 99¢ per 12 count box. This purchase will be delayed until Sept./Oct. when canning supplies are generally clearance.

Garden seeds if I can score them on deep discount yeah that's what I'm telling myself now. But wait til oh February when the garden displays start showing up and I absolutely need that package of black eyed peas.

Hand cranked radio so I can listen to NPR as I do the wash.

Special needs ... yeah what exactly is that? It's items like photos that I promised to DB#4's gf, of him as a baby for example. They are expecting their 1st in February. Also under that column is really anything that is a must have that can't be bartered or bought second hand. Pantyhose come to mind. DD#3 plays bass & violin in school orchestra, I usher @ church, an occasionally DD#2 wears a dress so pantyhose can be a need.

Even though our local mega mart has a grocery section IMHO my savings have always come from my alternative methods so as a last resort food items. And only if I have a coupon. Shame Aldi doesn't sell gift cards. Is it wrong to suggest stores that we would perfer gift cards to?

Any other ideas for sustainable homesteading items that can be bought main stream ?

~~ pelenaka ~~

groceries for under $200/month

The first year of our Urban Pantry Challenge has ended. Personally it was very enlightening. Like being struck with lightening and coming to the realization that I was living in a cloud, firmly believing that I spent on average $100 a month for groceries. Yeah, I know some peeps are delusional about their dress size I'm whacked about our grocery bill. Overall we did good.
I do have one point to get across when you live a challenge like this - it is a constant there is never any down time to NOT think about any opportunity to gather food.


In reviewing my posts I realized I neglected to account for the 1/4 side of beef that I bought in July. Here's da deal - the hanging weight of the cow was 530 lbs. at $1.30 per pound. My portion was $303.30 which includes all the butchering fees ect. for 132 lbs. of beef. The cow was 1/2 Pinzgaver and 1/2 Angus locally raised in near Arcade, New York. Mostly pasture raised on a small family farm. Hormone free although not organically certified.
My butchering list ranged from chuck, rump & shoulder roasts, to t-bone & sirloin steaks, porter house, and beef stew cuts. 50 lbs. of ground beef filled out the order. I asked for two large roasts 7 lbs. or more. One for bartering & one for a holiday family meal.
Next time I won't order ground beef since it is more advantageous to pay $1.30 per pound for a roast than hamburger cut. Locally roasts go for $3.99 per pound. Will scout out a bulk package deal on ground beef since it is by far our most used cut of beef.
Chicken & pork was bought when on sale & repackaged into meal sized portions.
This year we haven't had rabbit since I suspended breeding for the time being.
Venison was obtained last month. While this game meat isn't a fav amoung two of us it is a nice add on. Also venison jerky has a great barter value.
No fish which has a deeper meaning in that we didn't do enough fishing this past year. Sad. Very Very Sad.
Still working on the 100 plus pounds of Winter wheat that a bb brought over in '08. Same for the Rye bought in bulk in 2007. Salt, free from the butcher (sells BBQ lunches leftover from salt potatoes), baking powder bought in bulk. Spices/herbs either grown or bartered for or bought on sale. We generally bake & cook from scratch.
Locally milk has dropped to under $2 a gallon so we have stopped buying milk directly from the farmer @ a savings 50¢. Also by way of a church friend I am able to buy eggs for $3 a flat from time to time. Butter is bought through a co-op as an employee benefit. Kinda a friend has a friend who has a ... this supply is fragile.
As I've blogged about before the biggest return on our gardening effort has been the cold frame planted with salad greens saving us several hundred dollars a year. Now that it is deep Winter and the craving level for fresh greens is high the cold frame is sorely missed. Salad Fixings are back on the grocery list. Should be able to plant the frame in late February early March.
Big changes other than what I wrote about is that we have a veggie meal twice a week now & when I do cook meat it is smaller portions. Also we now have two vegetables for dinner instead of one.

Methods of obtaining & preserving groceries are;

• bartering- toiletries, paper products, tuna
• bulk, clearance, co-ops & loss leader sales, no frills stores such as Aldi, Restaurant Supply Stores, co-op with friends, employee only buying ops.
• canning either free or low cost produce
• freezing
• foraging both in urban & rural settings
• dehydrating
• gardening
• gleaning
• hunting.

Total for 2008-2009 UPC was $1925.19 which averaged out to $160.43 per month.

Hmm, gotta be a way to trim this ?

~~ pelenaka ~~

P.S. a comment lead me to clarify a few points - we don't have small children so there is no speciality foods like chicken nuggets. To tell you the truth though I never really had that problem with my children. While I didn't let them starve I also wasn't their enabler. Green beans got eaten. Momma doesn't run a Dinner.
Other than cooking low fat (no frying) the only other dietary choices we follow are low carb/low sugar. Potatoes are no longer a staple.
There's no issue with gluten or nuts. Don't know what I'd do if there was.
On average everyone only eats 2 meals a day weekdays & Sunday (fellowship coffee after service is considered a lite brunch & Sunday dinner is @ 5 p.m. instead of our usual 6:30). Daughter's generally don't eat breakfast but will grab a glass a milk on the way out the door. Girls are in charge of packing their own lunch with leftovers. I usually have 4 cups of coffee & a slice of bread or small bowl of homemade yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast, 2 cups of coffee for midday & a snack, & then dinner. DH same.
Dinner is our big meal of the day.
Also should note that we eat several times a , month @ church for free. KP duty has it's perks!

http://onfoodstamps.blogspot.com/ interesting blog - challenges of living on a food stamp buget without the benefit of bartering, foraging, or gleaning.

Changing up dealers

Lately I have been giving some serious thought to alternative energy suppliers . I had vaguely considered the concept before putting the matter on the back burner until recently, thanks to National Fuel, my local natural gas company. If they hadn’t changed out a perfectly functional meter then I wouldn’t have been forced into action. Well that's not entirely true. I'm sure I would have been spurred to action when my gas rates ate a hole in our finances. We all know how I go .
A few weeks ago there was a message left on our voicemail by National Fuel that the meter needed to be changed out, because the meter reader wasn’t able to record an accurate reading. It was @ that point where the rep from the gas company's voice started trailing off and she mumbled something about water in the dials. Then she mentioned that the meter was installed in 1976 so it was due.
Yeah, made me wonder too. I immediately assumed that our new meter would be a high tech digital version of the gray metal box that was installed. Perhaps National Fuel would install the meter that allows readings from the outside. Thus no more estimated bills because no one was home to let the meter reader in !
So I trek down to the cellar.
Cell & flashlight in hand. No canary.
There on the far foundation wall about two and half feet above the cement floor stood the meter as gray and metal as the day it was installed. No rust, no damage, no dampness, no obscured dials. Just a cobweb and a bit of mortar dust from the foundation on it's shinny gray body.
Ring ring …National Fuel Service Appointments this is Jane how may I help you?
GM Jane, I received a message that my meter needed to be changed out.
Thank you for calling let’s set up a time to do that. It only takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete the procedure. Anytime between …
Jane, ah I’m actually calling you from my cellar … standing in front of the meter. I gotta say that there’s no problem reading the dials. I could tell you the current read right now. This decision to update my meter isn’t due to the low amount of gas that we consume is it ?
Ah no, the reason given was that there was water in the dials. So let’s set up an appointment …
Any chance that the new meter is that type that can be read from the outside of my home Jane?
Ah no … so anytime between the hours for 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. …

LSS it took the guy about 17 minutes to change out my vintage 1976 meter with the updated version that stands a bit higher and more flush with the foundation wall.
Before he disconnected the old meter he had me run the furnace both before and after. He handled the water heater assuring me that he would set it back to the warm setting just above the vacation setting on the dial. He recorded the make and model of the heater along with the info on the furnace. He asked three times about my kitchen range. Gas or Electric ?

He didn’t notice any water in the dial compartment nor water inside either.

For the record the hot water heater circa 2000 is wrapped in an insulation blanket. The water temp is set @ 110. Not as hot as I'd prefer but the lower temp besides conserving gas discourages long showers. In the Summer the heater is lowered to the vacation setting. As I've written before on my posts we've always kept the thermostat down in the low 60's. During the day when I was home alone sleeping I kept it set @ 56 to 58. When the children came home from school then depending on how cold it was outside the thermostat is raised.
Now that our primary heating source is the wood stove the only time the furnace clicks on is when the stove is out like when we're not home. For those periods the furnace is set @ 48 degrees (enough to keep the pipes & family cat from freezing).

Now I have to educated myself on using an alternative natural gas supplier.
Any tips ? What exactly does one look for in an alternative utility supplier ?

Jet Blue is offering 3k bonus miles if I sigh up with an alternative supplier. would be nice to go see family in P.R. soon. Will have to read the fine print on that offer.

New bill came in @ $90 & some change. I'll dig out Dec. 2008 bill to compare.


~~ pelenaka ~~