Off Grid Microwave

Off Grid Microwave a.k.a. firebox on my Jotul 

It's been a crazy Winter this year.
Some days we wake up & realize that we can go without a fire in the stove for most of the day because its so warm out.
K, 50 degrees now is a heat way here in Buffalo. Come May not so much.
Last year when a warm day presented itself (late Spring) I use to just work up a small fire for coffee & oatmeal. Then hang out waiting for it to die down.
I won't leave a fire burning when I'm not home. Houses on my street are too close & too old.
Call it MOCS or Mrs. O'Leary's cow syndrome.

This year I realized that I could convert the firebox in my wood stove to an off grid microwave that accepts metal without sparking.
Water heats up in 3 minutes. I have coffee in less than 5.
After the coffee is done I place a small saucepan with lid in for oatmeal.
But it's really all about the coffee.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Free Food Friday

Groceries & Paper Goods bought with Swagbucks

Today was grocery deliver day from Amazon & a new to me website Alice.com.

My Amazon order which was completely free thank you very much Swagbucks was Skippy Peanut Butter, Natural Creamy, 15-Ounce Jars (Pack of 6) Choose the subscribe & save option (which you can cancel @ any time) total cost drops down to $15.83/6 jars or $2.63 per jar.
I'll have to can up more jelly if I keep scoring peanut butter deals like this.


To be truthful I had never heard of Alice.com before becoming a swaggernauts (that's what u r called when you swagbuck).
The swagstore (where u can redeem all those swagbucks for good stuffs like gift cards), had a sale on Alice.com gift cards. Yes, there are sales on gift cards in the swagstore.
Snagged myself a $5 paypal gift card the other day when it was discounted.

Alice.com is an online grocery store that also features the use of coupons.
You don't even need to hunt those down as the site already has them posted.
Order 6 or more items and shipping is free.
You all know I'm all about the free :-)

If you use my alice.com my referral link I get 3% of your purchases for a year.
You get a $10 sign up bonus when you buy $50 or more of groceries.
Use Alice.com gift cards bought with Swagbucks and everything is free.

Take the money you would normally have spent on groceries and pay off a debt faster or put that $ into savings. Or like me just pay the mortgage and keep praying that an end is in sight.

Here's my Alice.com shopping list 
Angel Soft Reg. Rolls 2 ply, unscented toilet paper - 1 pk. 24 rolls $9.65 (B-day gift for Mom).
Folgers Whole Bean Coffee, Lively Colombian, Med. Roast - 11 oz. bag $6.39.
Fiber Wise Elbow Macaroni, 16 oz. boxes (6) $2.31 each.
Bounty Paper Towels, 2 ply, Select a size, 8 roll pk. $10.25.
Glad Tall Kitchen bags, 13 gallon size, 1 box (80 bags).

The coffee I should have waited on an Amazon score. I really need to get my addiction under control.
Paper towels ... don't think too bad of me. I do use recycled bath towels for cleaning. And we use cloth napkins for everyday use. Paper towels last use forever as I only use them to drain grease off of foods.
Plastic garbage bags ... can I justify it by writing that we only use on bag a week because we recycle so much of our garbage.

This brand macaroni that I bought is a high fiber version - 12 gm. of dietary fiber.
Being diabetic having a plate full of regular pasta is a huge issue. By the end of the meal my blood sugar has spiked and I'm really sluggish.

Pasta as you all know is an easy & economical meal to put together especially if you have fresh or preserved garden veggies. Add meat or don't. Pair with a salad ... dinner is served.
Choose elbow over spaghetti because I still hope to make my own pasta and we love homemade mac & cheese.

I was a little disappointed that this site didn't have powdered milk or some of the other dry goods that I use to stock my pantry. But they do have a good selection of everything else.
The site is very straight forward, allows you make up a shopping list. Ordering and use of the gift cards was supper easy. Shipping & packing was good and as you can see cute to boot.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Re-Stock of the Pantry Shelves

Once every two weeks I head out with a gf to the wilds of suburbia.
Sometimes we stop @ a discount clearing store where prices are decent or sometimes down right great.
A few weeks ago that was that case of RTRPMIMP or right time/right place/money in my pocket.


Here's what I bought geared toward our whole grain diabetic diet -

Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Wild & Brown Rice 1 lb. 11 oz. - $4 per bag. Bought 3 bags.
Down the street Wegman's had it for over $7 a bag.

Capatriti 100% Pure Olive Oil - 34 oz. $4.80 Expiration date 12/19/2013.
Not really sure I thought I bought two but I could only find one in the cellar.
Ghost has been acting up lately after a 3 or 4 year hiatus.
Only not made in America purchase.

Carnation Evaporated Milk - 12 oz. cans - 59¢ each. Bought 4 mainly to use in pumpkin pie recipe.
An alternative is to use filtered H2O and cup & half of powdered low-fat milk.
If you use powdered milk then decrease the cornstarch, flour, or tapioca flour (thickening agent) to just one tablespoon. The canned milk will be used in pies that I barter out.
Label proudly reads Made in America!

Kraft Mayonnaise - 30 oz. jar @ $3.50 bought one to tide us over until I can score an Amazon deal.  

Nevella Baking Blend - 9.7 oz (label says = 5 lbs. sugar) @ $3.50, bought 5 bags.
An off brand similar to Splenda.
Before I hear about this purchase, yes I wish I could grow & process or be able to afford to buy Stevia but right now I can't.
And now that I am a grinding fool with my White Winter Wheat I've been baking more.
Bag reads - Caremel, IN.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Easy as Pie

If you have ever heard the expression Easy as Pie and have ever tried actually making a pie then you know it isn't easy. 

It isn't easy if you want it to look good. 

It isn't easy if you want it to taste good. 

Certainly isn't easy if you want it to be healthy. 

And it ain't easy if you want to do it on a budget (read free).

So in honor of National Pie Day on Monday, here is the saga of my free pie ... 

Farm fresh eggs from Genesee County was a barter trade, powdered buttermilk (swagbucks reward).

Organic canned pumpkin, an Amazon find which worked out to $1.50 per can @ the time (posted on my fb page). I really could smack myself for not ordering two cases because now it's not a buck & half per can. Another Swagbucks reward (read free).

After I opened the can of pumpkin puree I realized I was out of both canned & powdered milk so I went with using a container of the Almond and Cashew cream I had bought to use in my coffee. Very smooth texture with a faint nutty undertone. I also split the difference with what the recipe called for in sugar instead using locally harvested Maple Syrup.

Poor UPS guy deserves a pie.

Still hanging on to my New Year's Resolution #2 - It pays to get lost in the warehouse on Amazon.

I got the last bag marked down to $21.70 I added in an under $5 order on some survival prepps which 

made the entire order free shipping all 25 pounds of grain. 

Subscribe & save has almost as good a deal for $26.35 + free shipping. 

Great River Organic Milling, Organic Whole Grains Soft White Winter Wheat, 25-Pound Package
Grown in America, certified organic, milled in the great state of Wisconsin.

Soft White Winter Wheat is for cakes, pastries, & pie crusts. 

Gotta justify these pies.

Soft Winter Wheat ready for grinding. 

Here's the my basic pie crust recipe a tried & true favorite that can be made ahead of time and frozen. The added ingredients of baking powder, egg, and vinegar make the dough very pliable and forgiving.
Always make sure all equipment has been chilled as well as the flour and shortening.  

• 5 cups flour 
• 2 1/2 cups shortening (I use 2 cups of lard) 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 egg
• ice water 

Sift flour, salt, & baking powder together in to a large bowl. Add shortening/lard working in until the mixture resembles an even meal. Shortening should be in small pea sized nuggets through out the flour.
In a cold glass measuring cup whisk egg well add vinegar. Fill cup with ice water to measure 1 cup.
Add liquid to dry ingredients mix thoroughly.

Divide into equally sized balls about the size of a small grapefruit.
Place in individual freezer bags to freeze.

Makes 3 double crust pies or 6 single crusts.

Variations -
Add cinnamon or nutmeg to taste in flour mixture along with 1/4 cup sugar for Apple or Pumpkin pie.
Almond extract whisked in with the liquid along with 1/4 cup sugar for Peach pie.
Substituent one cup of butter instead of shortening or use butter flavored shortening.
Savory herbs such as Sage and Rosemary (sparingly) finely ground mixed into the flour mixture - quiche or meat pies.



~~ pelenaka ~~
 

Girl U Can't Do That Here

Cloudy & gloomy as usual but warm start to December and most of January been in the mid-40's 

That was a comment I heard over the small portion of back fence behind the greenhouse from a guy I only know by our brief exchanges that happen whenever he's on the tail end of the shoe leather express. He has a tag to differentiate between the other people who walk or bike my neighborhood but after today I'm renaming him Giveup. 

Today there's a fence between us. On occasion it's my street as he gives a holla, a comment or question as he stands lighting a cigarette across from my city lot. Seems every time I see or smell someone lite up I wonder how they can afford food & smokes. Then as I find myself inhaling just a bit too deeply I remember how much I loved that first cigarette of the day with coffee. Usually for me it was dawn, on a fire escape the last break before 0600 meds and quitting time. 

Most of the time Giveup, asks me what I'm planting. Other times he tells me he needs a gardener flashing a broad smile bright even @ a distance. 

Once I quipped back that I can't I'm on parole. Say anything with a straight face a calm stare. The myth become fact. 

He gave a hearty laugh. 

Stared. 

Then said, "yeah, it's the ones who don't look like they would ". 

True that I nod.

This day though he was in a more talkative mood counting down the reasons why I can't gardening here like this meaning here as in New York. 

Here as in this city. 

Here as in my city lot.

I heard the words cold, snow, freezing, but I wasn't listening. 

His cigarette smoke just seemed to hang in the air between us as he leaned up against the fence less than 40 feet away. I tasted coffee thick with creamer. 

He spoke a bit more something about see u in the Spring. Then the words Florida, got people, I'll be thinking of you, smile flashing bright. 

Then he trudged up to the city sidewalk from where he had been standing in the vacant lot behind my house. 

I am fully aware I can't do that here.  

He shook his head, apparently I had spoke my mind out loud.

Inside the cold frame I transplanted found celery no doubt from kitchen scraps. It's a commercial brand since I didn't plant any seeds.
Hopefully since it sprouted up in late October/November it will be hardy enough to last through the Winter.  Center is fancy salad greens that I planted a week ago. I don't expect much turn out maybe come March. Far right is old stand by Swiss Chard.

Maybe a second layer of 4 ml plastic?  As if it couldn't look any more trashy.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Resolutions my Ghetto Amish A**

Resolution # 1- grow vegetables like a drug dealer.
I'm really serious about this, been thinking about it for a few months. Seems like there isn't a week that goes by that there isn't a news story about a grow house raided by a local police task force or in combination with DEA MIB. Doesn't really seem to matter if it's rural or urban.
These ganga growers have a green thumb I'd love to emulate ... legally ... let me clarify legally & in an off grid method. I can only imagine the overhead (electric bill). Could you imagine having premo peaches in Winter ?

Resolution #1a - Cold weather gardening - who knows maybe one cold Winter day I just maybe able to steam up some Broccoli fresh from the backyard.

Resolution #1b - Vertical gardening. There has just got to be more gardening space that I haven't found.

Resolution #2 - Eat healthy as if $ was no object.
K, I had to put down my coffee before I electrocute myself with my lap top. Like that can really happen. Yeah I think it can with careful shopping (Swagbucks & Amazon) & more effort put into bartering, foraging, gardening, & gleaning.
What I want is to increase the amount of our pantry style cooking (eat what you store-store what you eat), but make healthy food choices as it pertains to us (diabetics).
I also want in increase the amount of whole grains we eat not just whole grain pasta or whole wheat bread as we've been doing. I want to have whole grain pie crusts & cakes.
I've been eyeing this book No More Bricks! Successful Whole Grain Bread Made Quick & Easy Great reviews posted on amazon, would love to chat with anyone who owns a copy.

Resolution #3 - Walk the talk when it come to DIY solar projects (solar room heaters). I have been saying we are installing one for what two years now. Someone needs to be slapped ...

Resolution #4 - Camp, specially bike camp or more specific bicycle touring/camping. It's the next stage up from my usual everyday urban bike commuting that I do. There's some challenges we have to over come but I can so see Woodsrunner & I on a tandem recumbent bike heading out of the city to do a weekend of survival camping. I should say that it's not a shared vision @ this time.

Resolution #5 - Go old school more. Learn or in some cases prefect our homesteading skills. Sewing is one (I actually was gifted a treadle). I have two black trash bags full of clothes that I want to upcycle into shopping bags, camping gear, clothing, biking & gardening stuffs. I also want to learn to make whole wheat pasta.

Resolution #6 - Finish our old house. There are just way too many DIY projects that we have either talked about or started that need to be finished. Everything from restoring the remaining woodwork to the a new metal roof on the main portion of the house. There is also a wall & door that needs to be re-installed (early 1980's remodel why would you take away a bedroom, why?).
Our time table to stay here in the city has been extended due to the Great Recession. Not so much Woods recent unemployment but more due to the housing market.
Seems we are surrounded by foreclosed homes.

Resolution #7 - Enjoy my life ... enjoy my husband ... enjoy my children ... enjoy.

Resolution #7a - Be a better Presbyterian = be a better person. Gonna need prayers on that one.


~~ pelenaka ~~