Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
INTERNET RESOURCES NEWSLETTER
The free, monthly, newsletter for academics, students, engineers, scientists and social scientists.
Latest issue: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn164/irn164.html
Edited by:
Roddy MacLeod (R.A.MacLeod@hw.ac.uk ),
Catherine Ure.and Marion Kennedy
Heriot-Watt University Library
ISSN: 1361-9381
Web: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.html
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ISSUE 164- CONTENTS
1. COMMENT
Internet Resources Newsletter by email and RSS
Random quotes
News items of interest
2. A-Z NEW AND NOTABLE WEB SITES
Information and reviews of new and notable Web sites
3. NICE WEBSITE(S)
This month: Wordle, and DRIVER Search
4. BLOGORAMA
Selected interesting blogs, RSS feeds and news items
5. RECENT INTERNET BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY
Recent arrivals
6. GET A LIFE! LEISURE TIME
After hours
Over 40,000 people subscribe to the free email version of this Newsletter. Very many thanks go to FUMSI http://www.fumsi.com/ who sponsor this newsletter. FUMSI publishes articles, tools, and a monthly magazine, to give you practical help with information skills.
To subscribe to the Internet Resources Newsletter, at no cost, go to http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/
The Internet Resources Newsletter has an RSS feed: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.rss
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A pdf of a foldable A4 leaflet about this newsletter is available. This may be useful for libraries or others who want to spread the word about the newsletter. If you do - many thanks!
Random quotes
“Library users are going to be less and less willing to spend a lot of time learning about how to access specialist resources. They’ll want their information available through the sources they’re most comfortable with. As information professionals we may still feel that we should be leading people to our catalogues and teaching them to get the most out of them, but in reality if students are going to search Google we need to make sure they can retrieve our records there as well.” Gordon Hunt, University Librarian, University of the West of Scotland. Library + Information Gazette 27 June - 10 July 2008, p.23.
News items of interest.
PRISM™ Cookbook Released
http://www.prismstandard.org/news/2008/PRISM_%20PR070808.pdf
PRISM (Publishing Requirements for Industry Standard Metadata), have announced the availability of the new PRISM Cookbook. The Cookbook is designed to assist new users by providing step-by-step recipes to implement PRISM.
Inderscience online collection reaches 20,000!
http://www.inderscience.com/mapper.php?id=28#20000
Springer publishes 5,000th volume of Lecture Notes in Computer Science - 09 Jul 2008
http://www.knowledgespeak.com/newsArchieveviewdtl.asp?pickUpID=6357&pickUpBatch=935#6357
STM publisher Springer has announced the publication of the 5,000th volume in the series Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS).
From: Knowledgespeak
Web address total tops one trillion
http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2222620/web-address-total-tops-trillion
From: IWR
For more news items in business information products we recommend VIP: http://www.vivavip.com/
For news from Heriot-Watt University Library, see the spineless? blog.
http://hwlibrary.wordpress.com/
99 Resources to Research & Mine the Invisible Web
http://www.collegedegree.com/library/college-life/99-resources-to
A list by Jessica Hupp.
9th International Bielefeld Conference 2009
http://conference.ub.uni-bielefeld.de/
3 - 5 February 2009 in Bielefeld, Germany
The Bielefeld Conference 2009 provides insights into the future of eLibraries, based on the threefold interdependency of service, technology, and economics.
AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/
“AlterNet is an award-winning news magazine and online community that creates original journalism and amplifies the best of dozens of other independent media sources. AlterNet’s aim is to inspire citizen action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, and health care issues.”
Awareness Watch Newsletter
http://zillman.blogspot.com/2008/06/awareness-watch-newsletter-v6n7-july.html
The July 2008 V6N7 Awareness Watch New is available.
The Awareness Watch Featured Report this month features Internet Demographics and Statistics Resources.
The Awareness Watch Article Review covers Key differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 by Gaham Cormode, Balachander Krishnamurthy.
Awareness Watch Newsletter
http://zillman.blogspot.com/2008/07/awareness-watch-newsletter-v6n8-august.html
The August 2008 V6N8 issue is available. The Awareness Watch Featured Report this month features Student Research Resources.
The Best Reference Sites
http://websearch.about.com/od/internetresearch/a/newsreference.htm
From Wendy Boswell at About.com
BOSS International
http://www.bossintl.com/
BOSS International, a developer of civil engineering hydrology and hydraulic software, have a new website.
CheckCost UK
http://www.checkcost.co.uk/
Price comparison site for products like computers, consumer electronics, photography, music, movies, books, clothing and more.
Complete University Guide
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/
Previously the Good University Guide (as reported in IRN 162).
Cuil
http://www.cuil.com/
Claims to be the world’s biggest search engine.
”Rather than rely on superficial popularity metrics, Cuil searches for and ranks pages based on their content and relevance. When we find a page with your keywords, we stay on that page and analyze the rest of its content, its concepts, their inter-relationships and the page’s coherency.”
DimensionEngine
http://www.dimensionengine.com/
A scientific calculator with automatic units conversion.
”What makes our site different is that units conversion is part of the equation solution, not a separate step.”
DOE Data Explorer
http://www.osti.gov/dataexplorer/
Identifies collections of Department of Energy sponsored numeric files, figures and data plots, multimedia and images, computer simulations, specialized databases, and interactive data maps.
DRIVER Search Portal: Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research
http://search1.driver.research-infrastructures.eu/
This is the DRIVER search portal, which features more than 600,000 Open Access documents from over 110 European repositories in 25 languages.
EDINA Newsline
http://edina.ac.uk/news/newsline.html
The latest edition of Newsline, EDINA’s quarterly newsletter, is now available.
Elius Books
http://www.elius-books.co.uk/
An internet based publishing company that produces books about the arts.
Emerald Bookstore
http://books.emeraldinsight.com
Over 2,000 books now available to browse and buy online.
Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings: EDVR
http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/index.php
The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR) is an index to master recordings (matrixes) and published discs made by the Victor Talking Machine Company beginning in 1900. The database is edited by a team of researchers based at the University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries and currently includes master recordings made by Victor in the United States through the fall of 1914. The database includes trial recordings of new artists and sessions from which no discs were issued. Approximately 1,000 new master recordings are added to the database monthly and the database will eventually extend to the end of the 78rpm era in the early-1950s.
Energies
http://www.mdpi.org/energies/index.htm
A new Open-Access Journal of Related Scientific Research, Technology Development and Studies in Policy and Management.
Engineering Learning Wiki: E-Wiki
http://econtent.wikispaces.com/
This portal is a repository of engineering learning and reference support links.
EUROPARC
http://www.europarc.org/
EUROPARC is the umbrella organisation of Europe’s protected areas. It unites national parks, regional parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves in 38 countries, with the common aim of protecting Europe’s unique variety of wildlife, habitats and landscapes.
European Portal on Research Infrastructures Database
http://www.riportal.eu/public/
“The European Portal on Research Infrastructures Database provides information on a large number of Research Infrastructures (RIs) of pan European interest in all fields of science. It covers facilities, resources and related services that are used by the scientific community to conduct top-level research in their respective fields.
This database is not exhaustive and intends to be a tool for the scientific community looking for services offered by these infrastructures. It resulted from a survey undertaken by the European Commission (EC) and the European Science Foundation (ESF) in a tentative to identify the current scenario of infrastructures in Europe.”
Faronics
http://www.faronics.com/
“Market leaders in delivering solutions that help manage, simplify, and secure computing environments.
Driven by a desire to deliver a trouble-free computing experience, Faronics is focused on solving real world computing problems that threaten user productivity, system integrity, and organizational efficiency.”
FictionDB
http://www.fictiondb.com/
- Find author pseudonyms
- Read the latest reviews from a variety of websites
- Browse series of books by publisher and by individual author
- Learn about upcoming releases
- Search almost every field in our database
- Visit author websites
- Buy books from sellers around the world
- Track your collection and wish list
- Sell your books to customers directly with no commissions
FileInfo.net
http://www.fileinfo.net/
“The purpose of the FileInfo.net website is to make finding file extension information simple and fast. The layout of each FileInfo.net page is designed to clearly display file extension information, while providing easy navigation and fast-loading pages.
While other file extension lists provide only short definitions of each extension, FileInfo.net gives a detailed description of each extension and lists the programs that can open the file. Programs are listed for both Macintosh or Windows platforms, if available. Each entry also includes the file type (or file format) and indicates whether the file extension is common or not.”
Five Dials
http://www.fivedials.com/
“Hamish Hamilton is a London publisher specialising in contemporary writing from both sides of the Atlantic. You can learn what’s new, meet our authors, browse our titles, and download our new magazine, Five Dials.”
Graduate Junction
http://www.graduatejunction.com/
The Graduate Junction is a brand new website for Masters, Doctoral and Postdoctoral researchers working in any field all over the world.
The Graduate Junction is the first website to give graduate researchers an easy way of making contact and communicating with other researchers who share their research interests no matter which department, institution or country they work in.
Highlights
http://www.inderscience.com/mapper.php?id=19
The summer issue of the Inderscience Highlights newsletter is now available, featuring details of new titles, calls for papers, an overview of sustainable strategic management, and more.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
An article in Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2008.
Kigose
http://www.kigose.com/
Kigose is a website designed for students and teachers to find educational resources. Kigose only includes public websites that are for educational purposes only. Educational websites that need subscription are excluded.
Knol
http://knol.google.com/
New from Google.
A knol is an authoritative article about a specific topic.
Many Eyes
http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/home
For shared visualisation and discovery.
MyNetResearch
http://www.mynetresearch.com/
A new website for online global collaborative research.
MyNetResearch contains a variety of features and functionality designed to support the entire Research Enterprise for Academic and Corporate members alike.
Nederlands Observatorium van Wetenschap en Technologie: NOWT
http://www.nowt.nl/index.php?lang=GB
”NOWT focuses on the collection and analysis of figures about the Dutch research system in a broad sense, including interfaces with public information services related to science, the higher education system, and the technological innovation system. The CWTS and UNU-MERIT researchers involved in NOWT studies concentrate mainly on the position and performance of the Netherlands in an international comparative context with an emphasis on recent trends and topical long-term developments.”
Oil, Gas, Alternative Energy Jobs
http://www.totaljobs.com/IndustrySearch/OilGasAlternativeEnergy.aspx/
A new addition to the Totaljobs.com service.
Open Access Directory: OAD
http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Main_Page
The Open Access Directory (OAD) is a compendium of simple factual lists about open access (OA) to science and scholarship, maintained by the OA community at large. By bringing many OA-related lists together in one place, OAD will make it easier for everyone to discover them and use them for reference.
PlanetPhysics
http://planetphysics.org/
PlanetPhysics is a virtual community which aims to help make physics knowledge more accessible. PlanetPhysics’s content is created collaboratively: the main feature is the physics encyclopedia with entries written and reviewed by members. The entries are contributed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (FDL) in order to preserve the rights of both the authors and readers in a sensible way.
Quantix
http://www.quantix-uk.com/
Quantix, an Oracle Certified Advantage Partner, Microsoft Gold Partner and Juniper Select Partner, specialise in the provision of Database Technology solutions, Business Applications support services, High Performance Networking & Security and Remote Managed Services.
Science and Technology of Advanced Materials
http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/stam
From 2008 this journal will be published in an open-access model, with all content completely free to read. There is no publication charge, as the costs of publication will be covered by the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS).
Sharpened.net
http://www.sharpened.net/
“Sharpened.net, which has been around since 1999, serves to help people understand the sometimes intimidating world of computers. When you have a question, but are afraid to ask, Sharpened.net is here for you.”
Slezer’s Scotland
http://www.nls.uk/slezer/index.html
Engraved views from 17th century Scotland.
Springer Content Solutions for Industry
http://www.springer.com/librarians/corporate+licensing?SGWID=0-40475-0-0-0
These feature customised collections of professional, scientific, technical and medical books, journals, reference works and protocols specifically organised for the needs of companies heavily active in research, development and marketing activities.
TechTransferOnline.com
http://www.techtransferonline.com/
www.TechTransferOnline.com is an online marketplace that facilitates the in- and out-licensing, selling and buying of IP. This web site provides a central, global database for organizations and individuals to search, list, license, buy and sell published and non-published IP in a secure setting.
The People History
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/
Find the history of cost of living, prices, events, popular social culture, inventions, technology by year, decade or type from the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and the new Millennium. Also included are over 2,000 video’s related to the year or decade or other sections of the site.
TinyPaste
http://tinypaste.com/
Enables you to paste a block of text into a form, and then get a short URL in return.
TWI
http://www.twi.co.uk/
A fresh new look, better search capability and improved functionality for TWI website.
”TWI is a global company delivering world class value to its Members, through research, consultancy and training services in welding and joining, engineering, NDT inspection, materials, surfacing, and lifecycle integrity - respected for its expertise, professionalism and independence.”
Wordle
http://wordle.net/
Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.
Writings about e-book publishing, 2008
http://www.i-a-l.co.uk/resource_ebook2008.html
A list compiled by Chris Armstrong at Information Automation Limited.
There are two Nice Web Sites this month:
Wordle
http://wordle.net/
You can have lots of fun with this word cloud site, and there are also various practical uses - e.g. you can make a graphical representation of a talk, lecture, paper or discussion.
DRIVER Search
http://search1.driver.research-infrastructures.eu/
DRIVER is the Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research. It “responds to the vision that any form of scientific-content resource, including scientific/technical reports, research articles, experimental or observational data, rich media and other digital objects should be freely accessible through simple Internet-based infrastructures”. The project is funded by the European Commission under the auspices of the “Research Infrastructure” unit.
This Search facility allows you to search for items from more than 600,000 Open Access documents from over 110 European repositories in 25 languages.
RM
You already know what blogs are, but for more information about RSS see the Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol) or Webopedia http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RSS.html
The Internet Resources Newsletter has an RSS feed (essentially the Table of Contents for each issue): http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.rss
To add this RSS feed to any feedreader, go to: http://tinyurl.com/39sg5j
Feed Sifter
http://feedsifter.com/create.php
A facility for filtering an RSS according to required word(s)
Library Backwaters
http://www.librarybackwaters.com/
AccessArt
http://www.accessart.org.uk/wordpress/
KM Cyberary: a gateway to Knowledge Resources
http://km-cyberary.blogspot.com/
the Scholarly Kitchen blog
http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/
From the Society for Scholarly Publishing
Whats next in tech
http://whatsnextintech.com/
Power of Information Task Force
http://powerofinformation.wordpress.com/
The Power of Information Task Force was established by Cabinet Office Minister Tom Watson MP in March 2008.
Joeyanne Libraryanne
http://www.joeyanne.co.uk/
SCIT blog
http://scitblog.wordpress.com/
For staff and students at the University of Wolverhampton
Student as Scholatr
http://student-as-scholar.blogspot.com/
The future of higher education
http://hedebate.jiscinvolve.org/
Recent Arrivals
155.5 CHI (Galashiels Library)
Growing up in the digital age: how stress impacts our younger generation
by Dora Obi Chizea.
Chizea Producations, 2004
A complete list of new books added to Heriot-Watt University Library is available at: http://hw.lib.ed.ac.uk/cgi-bin/newbooks.cgi
________________________________________
This page is: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn164/irn164.html
© 2008 Heriot-Watt University
You may pass this newsletter on to others, as long as it is sent in its entirety
LOL, how alike we are.
I had my friend Mary thinking that I was a vegetarian for several years, as she loved and served lamb and goats [that she got from me], and I ate only the veggies....LOL
Eating my own beef and pork is not a problem, it is a blessing.
It is indeed all in what you were raised with.
LOL, I post some of the odd ones, for information, as in eating grasshoppers, we need to know that it can be done, if we are ever that hungry.
LOL, OK, the truth is, there is a devil in me that makes me post things that none of us will eat, just for the fun of it.
Recipes fascinate me, they always have, something about the
“take this and add that and you will have”, gets my attention.
I doubt that my mother owned a cookbook, until we were grown and bought them for her.
She concocted some weird things, that were good.
When the men started getting drunk, she would start tapping the bottles, pouring a couple shots into this and that containers in the freezer............so all her soups and stews had booze in them.
My step father would add his hand to the stew, digging for more goodies to put in it and could never tell the difference between her frozen tomatoes, so often put watermelon in the stew......LOL it works .
Zuchinni squash at walmart was $1.95 cents a pound.
I had it on my list, at that price, Scott got 2 Tiny ones.
So go out and say a prayer of thanks to your garden for all it has given to you.
99 Resources to Research & Mine the Invisible Web
Published on Wednesday February 13th , 2008
By Jessica Hupp
College researchers often need more than Google and Wikipedia to get the job done. To find what you’re looking for, it may be necessary to tap into the invisible web, the sites that don’t get indexed by broad search engines. The following resources were designed to help you do just that, offering specialized search engines, directories, and more places to find the complex and obscure.
http://www.collegedegree.com/library/college-life/99-resources-to
**LOL, I post some of the odd ones, for information, as in eating grasshoppers, we need to know that it can be done, if we are ever that hungry.**
We have a strange seafood festival here every year. I’ve tried some of the stuff, some of it... No way!
Although, do you realize how hungry/desperate the first person to eat an oyster was?! LOL
Have no prob eating deer, but don’t like squirrel. I think it’s because when they’re dressed out, they look like tiny skinned humans. Shudder. no prob with fish/shrimp but I can’t abide the thought of eating a crawdad. Or a monkey. Or an elephant or a giraffe. Water buffalo—bring him on. Isn’t that weird? Wonder how things got divided into food or friend?
Love goats—as pets/milk. I’d be like you—eating just the veggies!
Haven’t tried watermelon in soup yet! My crowd would probably pitch a fit!
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/goodbuyconveniencefoods.htm
Store Bought Convenience Foods
that are Usually Good Buys
When it comes to Convenience Foods, most of us are coming from 2 opposite sides of the fence. We either love ‘em or we hate ‘em. I tend to be from the “Hate ‘Em-Camp” so you’ll have to overlook any obvious prejudices on my part. I’ll try to keep these prejudices under my hat the best I can. Regardless of which side you associate yourself with the fact of the matter is that some convenience foods really do what they’re supposed to do. They save us a great deal of work and time without costing much more than the homemade-from-scratch-version. Amazingly, a few even cost less. There aren’t a lot of convenience foods that fall into this golden category. The ones that do have definitely earned a spot on every budget-shopper’s grocery list.
Bread - Biscuits - Pasta - Mac & Cheese - Crackers, Chips & Snacks - Dried & Canned Beans - Frozen Veggies - Canned Spaghetti Sauce - Fruit Juice Concentrate - Instant Potatoes - Hot Dogs & Baloney - Condiments - Bouillon, Broth & Stock - Desserts - Powdered Milk, Buttermilk & Evaporated Milk - Dried Egg Whites
BREAD
Probably the best convenience food available today is store-bought bread. For folks who don’t have time to bake from scratch every week (or twice a week when the family is hungry), store-bought bread is a reasonable buy. You may not even consider bread a convenience food. You may think that only hippies and Amish women make their own bread. This is not true. Regular, every-day women like you often bake their own bread every week. When pressed for time though, even master bakers find store-bought bread quite convenient.
Day old bread from bakery thrift stores is the best use of one’s bread dollar. Bread that’s approaching it’s sell date is offered for sale at a discounted price. Usually you can save at least half of the in-store price for the same bread. If you have a bread outlet available to you then buy enough to use and freeze until your next visit. Don’t be afraid to buy a couple dozen loaves if you have the freezer space and know you’ll use it up before your next visit.
Even if you must buy your bread from the supermarket, it can usually be found for a reasonable amount of money. Usually the market’s own brand of white sandwich bread is the best deal. Be sure to look at the price per pound, and not the price per loaf. Loaves appearing to be the same size can weigh anywhere from 15 to 24 ounces, a difference of over half a pound! Obviously a 24 ounce loaf is a better buy than 15 or 16 ounces for the same price. If you must have 100% whole wheat bread or reduced calorie bread for special diets then carefully compare prices among brands. Some brands are half as much as others.
Rolls, muffins, cake, biscuits, pie and other goodies are never a good buy at the market. You can make them at home for very little and the time involved is much less than baking your own yeast bread.
Before I leave the bread aisle, let me give one small plug for baking your own bread. I bake almost all of our bread and it costs me about 40¢ for a 1-1/2 pound loaf. I use high quality ingredients like whole grains and honey, and it still costs me less than half of the supermarket’s lowest price white bread. Baking bread is not as difficult as it seems. All it really takes is a little time and the right motivation to learn. My recipe for Beginner’s Bread is a great starter course for new bakers who might be a little intimidated by the process.
CANNED BISCUITS & BISCUIT MIX
A 4-pack for $1 is a reasonable price for refrigerated biscuits. They will never taste as good as homemade, and they will never make good sausage or ham biscuits, but they do supply a hot bread really fast. The gourmet and extra-large biscuits are usually too pricey to make them good buys. If you must have big biscuits fast, then try Paula’s Instant Biscuits. They have excellent flavor and texture and the price is definitely right.
Biscuit mix is so easy to make at home that it seems unreasonable to me to buy it already prepared. It saves a few steps in baking and is incredibly versatile. For an easy recipe click here, and avoid buying it at the store unless they are almost giving it away.
PASTA
Not everyone realizes that pasta can be made at home from eggs and flour. For a good recipe click here. Homemade pasta is such a chore that I only save it for very special occasions. Before the kids were born I made it more often than I do now. For now, store-bought pasta is one of my personal favorite convenience foods. It costs the same or less than homemade pasta depending on the price of eggs. Store-brand spaghetti and macaroni are usually the least expensive and the most versatile. Egg noodles are also nice to have on hand, but they cost a third to half again as much as spaghetti and macaroni. If you must buy whole wheat pasta then look for a discount brand. My local store sells 2 brands, one of which costs twice as much as the other. Once again, it pays to compare prices among brands.
MACARONI & CHEESE
Good ole’ mac ‘n’ cheese, the favorite of children and harried mothers all across the nation. Usually sold in 7-ounce boxes, these can be found at 3/$1 all over town. Some of them taste like so much cardboard, but others deliver good flavor for a tiny price. With the cost of real cheese being what it is, the little packets of powdered cheese sauce are minuscule by comparison. If your kids have become accustomed to expensive “shells and cheese” dinners, you have some options. Start off by eliminating all mac & cheese from your menus. Go without it completely for at least 4 weeks, and 12 weeks if necessary. Then casually cook up a box of the cheap stuff. Nine times out of 10 they’ll gobble it up with gusto. This is the way we solved the “shells and cheese” dilemma at my house and it worked beautifully. I will never buy another box of that stuff in my life. It costs a full $1.50 for 3 servings. For that price I can make 14 servings of the cheap stuff. Mac & Cheese with packets of powdered cheese are one of the great convenience foods of our times.
CRACKERS, CHIPS & SNACKS
Saltines, Graham Crackers & Animal Crackers are all reasonably priced when purchased in store-brands. The most they should cost you, even during these days of inflation, is $1 a pound. If you can’t find them for this little, then check your local Dollar Store, Wal-Mart or Aldis. Saltines are incredibly versatile. Click here for some tried and true ideas. Also remember that they are quite good all by themselves. We often overlook the tasty simplicity of 5 or 6 saltines and a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate when a snack is in order but there is no time to cook.
Graham and Animal Crackers are the dessert versions of saltines. Graham crackers can be spread with leftover frosting, whipped topping, peanut butter, cream cheese, jam, or almost anything spreadable. Top them with thin slices of banana or apple or sprinkle on raisins, nuts or seeds or even a drizzle of honey. Animal Crackers are best eaten plain with a frosty glass of reconstituted milk for a chaser.
If you have dietary limitations, then store-brand triscuit-like crackers can sometimes be found cheaply. Saltines with unsalted tops are also good for those of us trying to reduce our sodium intake. They can be found in store-brands too, and can be used just like regular saltines.
Other snacks that I sometimes make room for in my budget are pretzels and large bags of tortilla chips. I used to think that all chips were always bad buys. Several teenage boys I know were kind enough to teach me otherwise. Their high metabolism and bottomless-pit-bellies demand quick snacks and extra calories. With this in mind I went on a quest for the best buys among the chips. I discovered that unit price, or the cost per ounce, is the key to making wise purchases in the chip aisle. Pretzels and tortilla chips can usually be found for 6¢ to 8¢ per ounce. They should never cost more than a dime per ounce. Tortilla chips are good for dipping in salsa, sour cream or yogurt-cheese, or melted velveeta-type cheese. They can also be sprinkled with shredded cheddar and nuked until gooey. Pretzels are good plain, dipped in mustard or ranch dressing, and mixed in with your own homemade snack mix.
While on the subject, peanuts, sunflower seeds, cold cereal (in large bags) and plain popcorn are usually good snack buys. Popcorn is the cheapest, especially if you pop it yourself at home. Potato chips are just about the worst buy in the snack aisle. Five ounces for $2 is not a wise use of funds. Other chips and crackers should be measured against the standards mentioned above. If the unit price is low, they may be worth buying. If the unit price is high, pass them up and seek out the winners mentioned herein.
DRIED & CANNED BEANS
Believe it or not, dried beans were one of the earliest convenience foods. They could be safely stored for long periods of time without deteriorating, were relatively light weight, and are easily prepared by anyone with 4 hours to watch a pot. These days though, we have something a bit faster: canned dried beans. The canned variety is certainly convenient: just open the can, season, heat and serve. This saves the work of soaking and simmering your own beans from scratch. While canned beans are relatively cheap, they cost at least twice or thrice as much as the dried variety. When every minute counts canned beans are a reasonable resource, especially when purchased at 3/$1. If you have the time though, you owe it to yourself to make them from scratch. They are lower in sodium and taste better too. Cooked beans can be frozen or home-canned with a pressure cooker for added time-savings. A 15-oz can of beans equals about 1-1/2 cups of cooked beans. Refried beans also save the time of mashing the beans into a thick paste, and my oldest son loves them, so I tend to indulge him on this point.
Quick Soak Method for Beans: Cover your beans with a few inches of water. Bring them to a boil and put a lid on the pot. Turn off the heat and allow the beans to soak for an hour. Drain and cover the plumped up beans with fresh water. Simmer on the back of the stove for an hour or two, or until tender. Season and use as desired.
Overnight Soak Method for Beans: Cover your beans with a few inches of water. Soak them overnight. The next day drain them, cover them with fresh water and simmer for an hour or two, or until tender. Season and use as desired.
FROZEN VEGETABLES
I love frozen vegetables. They often cost less than their fresh counterpart plus all of the work of cleaning, slicing, peeling, stringing and scraping is already done. Simply plop the veggies into boiling water or in the top of a steamer pan and within 5 minutes fresh, hot, crunchy veggies are ready for the family. The main convenience for frozen vegetables is the work they save. They are also handy to keep around because they store in the freezer for a full year if necessary. This means that when there is extra cash in the budget you can stock up without worrying about waste. The only bad buys among frozen veggies are carrots, which are almost always cheaper when purchased fresh in 5lb bags, and any frozen vegetable in a sauce. You pay the same premium price per pound for the sauce as you do for the vegetable. Plain frozen vegetables are always a better buy. Make your own sauces and save yourself a ton of money.
CANNED SPAGHETTI SAUCE
Spaghetti Sauce purchased in tall 26-ounce cans are one of the best bargains in the supermarket these days. They usually cost about the same as an equivalent amount of canned tomatoes. All of the work of preparing the tomatoes, seasoning the sauce and simmering it on the back of the stove for an hour, is already done for you. Spaghetti sauce in jars is never as a good a buy as the canned variety. At our house we use it for homemade pizza, for quickie meals of spaghetti with tomato sauce, and as a nice sauce on baked chicken leg-quarters. It’s quick, it’s easy and it doesn’t cost any more than plain tomatoes. The sugar-free variety is great for special diets, and the variety of flavors means everyone can find a favorite. These qualities make it a real winner in my book.
CANNED OR FROZEN FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATE
Concentrated fruit juice saves both time and money over preparing juice from scratch. Fresh squeezed orange juice is delicious, and it’s a great way to use up aging oranges, but it almost always costs more than frozen concentrated orange juice. Preparing juice from concentrate is quick and easy while being a national goldmind. These days almost all juice concentrate is fortified with Vitamin C. Orange juice can be found fortified with calcium too. For the lactose intolerant among us, this is a nice benefit. Generally the least expensive frozen juices are orange, apple, grapefruit and purple grape. Canned juice concentrates are also available in soda-pop sized cans. They are reconstituted just like the frozen variety. Apple, purple grape, white grape and berry flavors are usually inexpensive. Concentrated fruit juice almost always costs less than regular strength juice in cans, jugs and jars. The only exception I’ve found is 48-ounce jars of apple juice on sale. Be sure to read labels when you compare juice prices. You want 100% real juice, not fruit juice cocktail. Juice cocktails only contain a small percentage of fruit juice and a bucket load of sugar. They are never a good buy.
INSTANT MASHED POTATOES
When you need a side dish in a flash,
Don’t worry, you don’t have to dash.
Make instant ‘taters in your pot,
And quickly fill your hungry tots.
YUM!
Okay, poetry may not be my ultimate calling in life, buy you get the idea. Instant mashed potatoes are filling and taste good. They save the time of peeling, chopping, boiling and mashing potatoes from scratch, or about 45 minutes of work. They are relatively nutritious, containing moderate amounts of Vitamin C and Potassium. In addition, they are popular with most families, especially children. Fresh mashed potatoes taste better and are more nutritious, but they can’t be fixed from beginning to end, in less than 5 minutes flat! Recently I’ve seen several packages of flavored instant potatoes. Don’t waste your time or money on them. Plain instant potatoes are you best buy. It is easy as pie to add garlic powder, sour cream, or cheese to your own mashed potatoes. Doing it yourself saves lots of money and doesn’t take much extra time, perhaps a minute at most. If you are really pressed for time, try making your own Garlic Mashed Potato Mix.
HOT DOGS & BALONEY
All right, in today’s politically correct days the health food police are telling us all to stop eating hotdogs and baloney because they are high in fat, chock full of preservatives, and provide only dubious amounts of nutrition. I suspect these folks have never struggled to make ends meet because if they had, they would know that there is a time and place for these things in a limited budget. The least expensive types of lunch meat are usually made from chicken or turkey. This turns out to be a good thing health-wise because they contain 40% less fat than their pork or beef relatives. Chicken baloney and hot dogs can be widely purchased for about $1 a pound. They are high in protein, taste good and have moderate amounts of fat. Hot dogs are handy for quick snacks and meals and are so versatile that you can find an article about them by Clicking Here. Baloney is not quite as versatile but it still has it’s uses. It can be fried and served at breakfast or placed on a sandwich with egg or cheese. Cut into triangles it is yummy on crackers or fried and arranged on homemade pizza. The classic way to eat baloney is on white bread with mayo and mustard. A slice of cheese and maybe some lettuce or tomato are nice additions, but not really necessary for a good sandwich.
CONDIMENTS
These are things like pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup, salsa and mustard. A hundred years ago every housewife worth her salt prepared or canned these items herself. Today we don’t have to do that. They are available inexpensively, and save a ton of work over making them from scratch. A few women still make these at home themselves, but no one thinks less of you if you use the store-bought versions. Check the store-brands and off-brands, especially in large sizes, for the smallest price per ounce. Reduced fat mayonnaise is usually available in a store-brand, so it doesn’t cost any extra. In case you can’t find it in your area, then try combining plain nonfat yogurt and regular mayonnaise half and half. The resulting dressing tastes good and has half the fat and calories of normal mayo. It can be used in dips, as a spread or pretty much anywhere you would use reduced fat mayonnaise. Reduced sugar or low sodium ketchup costs more than the standard varieties, but may be worth it to you if you are on a special diet. A fast and inexpensive alternative is to make you own ketchup and adjust the salt or sugar to accommodate your needs.
BOUILLON CUBES, BROTH POWDER & STOCK
These are a real staple in my home. In fancy French kitchens freshly made stock is always available for soups and sauces, which is one of the secrets to their cuisine. In my kitchen I prefer the ease, convenience and low cost of bouillon cubes. I usually buy large jars of both beef and chicken bouillon cubes from my local warehouse store. They last a couple of years and give me week upon week of tasty broth. I also use ham and veggie broth powders when I can find them, although they’re not as versatile as the others. Another handy item to have on hand is onion soup mix. I am willing to pay 50¢ a box but much more than that puts it out of my price range.
Some recipes call for canned consomme. To make your own simply use twice as much bouillon as you normally would. For instance, 1-cup of consomme is made by dissolving 2 bouillon cubes or 2 teaspoons of broth powder in 1 cup of boiling water. If you prefer a richer product, you can also dissolve a small amount (1/2-teaspoon) of unflavored gelatin in the broth. This isn’t necessary, but it does improve the texture somewhat. If you are on a low-sodium diet then packets of low-sodium broth are quite delicious. They cost a little more than the cheap high-sodium ones, but are still much cheaper than canned broth.
Canned broth is a BIG waste of money. The flavor is insipid. It tastes like the shadow of a chicken was waved over a gallon of water and canned in a factory to sell to foolish women who don’t know any better. If you must have real broth then make your own chicken stock. Boil up any chicken bones, skin and fat that you have leftover from normal kitchen use. Chicken bones that have been gnawed on by the family can still make good stock. Just boil everything in a big pot for a couple of hours. Then strain off the solids and toss them out. Chill the remaining broth in the fridge overnight. In the morning remove the big cake of fat that will have risen to the top and what you have left is 99% fat free, honest to goodness, homemade chicken stock. Use it in soups, sauces or anywhere else you would use the canned variety. It should be frozen for long term keeping, as it only keeps for a few short days in the fridge. Reboil it every couple of days for longer keeping. I usually salt my homemade broth with bouillon cubes to give an even richer flavor to the broth.
DESSERTS
Most desserts are best made from scratch. A few though, are reasonably priced and save time as well. Instant Pudding Mix is my favorite dessert convenience food. It can be made in about 5 minutes, from start to clean-up, and it’s a real family pleaser. The time savings over making your own pudding from scratch is about 15 minutes, and the price is very similar assuming you’re able to find them 3 for a $1. When made with reconstituted milk, four servings can be made for less than 50¢. Prepared pudding in cups cost over twice as much and don’t taste half as good. Plus the servings are smaller, making them a really bad buy. Other good buys include chocolate frosting at $1 a tub and whipped topping at $1.50 for the large tub. Vanilla frosting is not as good a buy as chocolate frosting because we must factor in the price of cocoa. It does save time though, and some women find it indispensable. Homemade frosting from scratch tastes better than store-bought, but the price really isn’t that much more. Whipped topping can be made at home from this recipe, or you can buy it ready-made from your grocer’s freezer. At 10¢ an ounce or less, it saves the work of making it yourself. The only drawback is the bucketload of chemicals used to make it stable, but if you’re already eating hot dogs and baloney then you may be able to overlook the chemicals in frozen whipped topping because of it’s ease of use. In case you can’t make yourself overlook the chemical feast, then get friendly with the recipe linked above. Another great buy in the frozen food aisle is ice cream. If you can find it for between $2 & $2.50 per half gallon, then consider yourself lucky and stock up. It is delicious on fruit crisps, in sundaes and as a refreshing dessert in the heat of summer. Making it yourself is complicated and requires special equipment. For most of us, if we can’t buy it from the store, then we won’t be able to eat it very often. If your main use of ice cream is for milk shakes, then try my recipe for Magic Milk Shakes that are made in a blender and don’t require ice cream. Finally, fruit flavored gelatin mix, when found at 3/$1 adds variety to our diet. I don’t really like them because they are completely empty calories. I prefer to buy unflavored gelatin and make my own “gell-o” with fruit juice. It doesn’t take any more time, and you know it is supplying the family with much needed nutrition. If you love gelatin though, then it can be used as desired.
EVAPORATED MILK, POWDERED MILK & BUTTERMILK
Powdered milk is my A #1 favorite convenience food ever. It’s fat-free, tastes good and keeps for a very long time. I use it in cooking, for drinking and anywhere else I can. If you think powdered milk tastes icky, then your box of it is probably very old. Toss it out, buy a fresh box and mix up a pitcher full of frosty reconstituted milk. Once opened, dry milk tastes best if used within 3 or 4 months. Unopened it tastes best if used within a year. Even if it begins to take on a stale flavor, it is still good in cooking, where the flavor is less noticeable. Click Here for lots of information on delicious powdered milk.
Evaporated whole milk is another great buy. It’s rich, full bodied texture and flavor make it a great substitute for heavy cream. It can even be whipped if well chilled first. When diluted with an equal amount of water you have the equivalent of whole milk. It won’t taste the same for drinking, but it is excellent for cooking and making scrumptious hot chocolate. It’s good in coffee or tea and costs less than fresh whole milk. Plus it sits on the shelf for a year or longer without going bad. Definitely worth keeping on hand.
Powdered buttermilk is available in the baking aisle of most supermarkets under the SACO brand. It costs less than fresh buttermilk and stores more easily. It can be used anywhere fresh buttermilk is used, even for making fruit smoothies and buttermilk ranch dressing. If you like to make your own baking mixes it’s handy to keep on hand. I always make my homemade biscuits with powdered buttermilk and folks are always telling me how good they are. Not everyone will find powdered buttermilk as useful as I do. If you never use buttermilk then it will not be a good buy for you. If you do use buttermilk though, and hate having a quart of it in the fridge for a month or longer, then you’ll find the convenience of preparing only a small amount at a time, much to your liking.
While on the subject, coffee lightener, or nondairy powdered creamer, can be very useful when used in conjunction with dry milk. I use it like a powdered cream to add body and richness to homemade drink mixes that are based on powdered milk. To make liquid non-dairy creamer, combine 1/4 cup powdered creamer with 1/2 cup hot tap water. Stir well. Add a drop or 2 of vanilla flavoring and chill until serving time. This is the equivalent of French Vanilla Creamer, only yours tastes better, and costs a fraction of the refrigerated version on the grocer’s shelf.
DRIED EGG WHITES
Just Whites is the only brand name that I’ve seen. It comes in a 7 or 8-ounce tub and has the equivalent of about 60 egg whites in it. While dried egg whites aren’t as cheap as eggs on sale, they are not overly expensive either, especially considering that there is no waste. If you are on a low cholesterol diet dried egg whites are obviously a great alternative to eggs. Their real beauty though is that they can be included in your own homemade baking or pancake mixes. They are cholesterol and fat free, but still supply all of the good emulsion properties of whole eggs. They can even be whipped into peaks and meringues. Another good use is to add a small amount to homemade frosting. It improves the texture and spread-ability of your finished product. Like dried buttermilk, dried egg whites are not something that everyone will need. For homemade mixes they are great and for some people they will be handy to have in the cupboard.
Family Bread
* 4 cups warm tap water (not hot)
* 2/3 cup non-fat dry milk powder (instant powdered milk)
* 1/3 cup sugar or 1/4 cup honey
* 2 packets or 4 teaspoons dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1/3 cup melted margarine or oil
* 12 cups (approximately) white or whole wheat flour or a combination
The first thing you need is a big bowl or clean dish pan to mix this up in. I use a huge metal bowl that is made of stainless steel. But I used to use the same plastic dish tub I washed the dishes in. I would wash it with a little bit of bleach, rinse it really well, and then dry it completely. In some ways it worked better because it fit on my lap more conveniently due to the rectangular shape. But the shiny stainless steel one does look more like I know what I’m doing. So much for appearances.
So anyway mix the water, dry milk powder and sugar in the dishpan or bowl. Add the yeast, sort of sprinkled on top. Allow the mixture to sit until the yeast dissolves some, this will only take a couple of minutes. Add the salt, margarine or oil, and flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until it gets too stiff and then dig in with your hands. When the dough is in a nice cohesive ball, turn it out onto a floured kitchen table or counter. Or if you are using a dish pan, you can just leave it in there.
Now start kneading the dough with all of the love you have for your family. Press the dough and send big love vibes into it. Stretch the dough and impress all of your compassion and generosity into it. Remember why you love your kids, and your spouse and your mom or you dad, and just put it all into the dough. Knead it like this for a full ten minutes. Add more flour if you need to as you go along.
Coat the dough with oil, about 2 tablespoons of it, and put it into the bowl or dishpan. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap and let it set in a warm place to rise for about an hour or so. It should double in bulk. It may take up to two hours on cool days, or in the air conditioning, so be patient.
Punch down the dough by literally pressing your fist into the center of it. Divide the dough into 4 equal lumps. Coax them into loaf shapes and place them into large (9 by 5-inch) well oiled loaf pans. If you don’t have enough loaf pans, use casserole pans or cake pans, or whatever. Cover the dough with a cloth or more plastic wrap and let it rise again. It should take less time for the second rising. When the dough is risen up enough, bake the loaves at 350° for 40 minutes.
You can tell the dough is done if you turn it out of the pan and thump the bottom with your finger. It should make a dull hollow sound. If it doesn’t sound hollow, put it back into the pan and cook it some more. Makes four loaves.
Old-Fashioned Low-Yeast Bread:
This variation is similar to sourdough bread and it has 2 benefits. The first is economical. You only need a single packet of yeast to make 4 loaves of bread. The second is that the work can be done the day before and finished when you have more time the next day. The process is simple.
Reduce the yeast to 1 packet, or approximately 2-1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast. Mix and knead the dough as directed. When you tuck it away to rise, put it in a spot that is safe from nocturnal critters (like in the oven or the drier) and let it sit for 12 to 18 hours. The yeast has to have a long time to work because there isn’t much of it in there. As it sits in the dough, it will reproduce itself and gradually raise the entire batch of dough. Do not refrigerate it during this time; let it sit at room temperature.
The next day check your dough to see how it’s doing. If it has doubled in bulk, then you can punch it down and shape it into loaves. If it hasn’t doubled yet then let it sit a while longer.
Don’t worry about the dough. Don’t worry about it going bad, or getting contaminated or anything like that. Remember, our foremothers always made their dough this way and they produced healthy, hearty offspring that could withstand all sorts of trouble. Eating this kind of bread didn’t make anyone sick back then when their sanitary methods were questionable at best and it won’t hurt you or your crew either.
After the dough has doubled, you can proceed with the recipe as written. The second rise may take 2 or 3 hours, or it may take less than that. Bake the bread like you normally do. When it’s done you’ll notice that the texture may seem a tiny bit chewier than usual, but for the most part it will be perfectly normal bread.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/familybread.htm
Watermelon in soup, could be called squash ??? LOL
Soup without cabbage, squash and tomatoes, is too puny for me.
Oysters, are a good way to get me to eat all the vegetables....
I have never lived where there were Squirrels, so have never considered eating them.
As a kid we ate wild rabbits and wild Prairie hens, in Texas.
During WW2, my dad made money raising rabbits to sell, on the black market.
I love the rabbits, but discovered that I did not like to eat them as an adult.
Bill refused to allow me to keep them, as he would be the one to dress them out, LOL, I wouldn’t eat them, so I found buyers who would buy the dressed rabbits.
Bill said that they sounded like babies when he killed them.
A friend, who was in Cambodia, during Viet Nam war, training them to fight and as a front crew, you know the ones the news said were not there.
Larry said they would come to a village and the feast would be in the works, as they were welcome.
He was one of those guys who would eat anything.....except monkey.
He said they came to a village and that the villagers had dressed out the monkeys and thrown them on the thatched hut roof, till time to cook them.............and they looked like human babies.
His stories were interesting, as he was there, retired from the Army before we knew him.
Larry said they would switch a couple wires on the military radio and then could listen to the American radio, say they were not in Cambodia.
My thinking on the odd foods, is that if I know they exist and have some idea of how to cook them, that will save me, as I am sure that I could figure out how to catch them, LOL, I read those articles too.
To be stranded here is more deadly, than most places, we had a guy escape from jail, about 20 years ago.
He knew how to live in the wild and did survive in the desert for about 3 or 4 months.
One day, he knocked on a mobile home door, told the 14 year old girl to call the cops, he was the one they were looking for.
He was starving and from the wild rabbits, had gotten worms and warbles, [skin worms] and was a mess.
When I eat deer, I feel like I am eating the deer’s eyes, so put them on the ‘very’ hungry list.
I miss my goats, more than you can guess.
Mine were Nubians, if I had a choice, and they are [to me] like a Siamese cat, all personality and talking up a storm......and fantastic milkers.
Lucy, always wanted to go for a walk with me, we lived out in the desert out of Wellton, Arizona [Yuma County].
Lucy would walk to the edge of the light circle from the street light we had and no further........she would stand there and fuss and complain, if I went outside the light circle.
In the day light, she would go as far as I did and often went for a walk with me to the neighbors, a half mile away.
When we got the electric in, we had them install a street light, LOL, not knowing it would attract all the bugs and concentrate them close to the house.
I had bought the land as an investment, then one day the doctor said “If you could take Bill to Arizona, he might get better.” And so I did. And he lived another 33 years.
Bill had a bad lung, as a bullet went through it, on the battle field in WW2.
The first year, we had a small travel trailer and slept out doors.
Lucy and Misty, I had bought before we had goat pens, so they slept in the patio with us, LOL, one on each side of the bed, as close to the bed as they could get.
If you got up during the night, they fussed, until you were back in bed.
When you woke in the morning, your fingernails were full of black, as best that i could figure it, they had a set schedule for getting their heads scratched and could get me to do it, with out even waking me up.
I can understand how folks come to live with their animals, they are willing to fit in, as people.
When we got a trailer, large enough to have a bed in it, it came with magnetic screen door latches.
If I did not get up, or took a nap in the day time, I would wake up to the sound of high heels marching down the trailer, and there would be Misty, checking on me.
That first ‘larger trailer’, was as close to identical, as they come, to Lucille Ball’s, Long Long Trailer.
Make Your Own Cup Of Soup
All of the following snacks are under 25 calories, some are under 10! They are warm, fast and satisfying, especially when you are hungry for something, but don’t know what. All are made by adding 1 cup of boiling water to a packet of low-sodium broth powder. I mix mine in a mug, but a bowl would work just as well.
Sick Woman’s Salvation: 1 cup hot chicken bouillon with a dash of lemon pepper. 6 calories.
Maggie’s Favorite: 1 cup hot chicken bouillon with a dash each of onion powder and cayenne pepper. 7 calories. I often add an unsalted, crumbled saltine cracker which brings the calories up to 20.
Tangy Beef Cup: 1 cup hot beef bouillon with a dash of Worcestershire sauce. 5 calories.
Spicy Beef Cup: 1/2 cup each beef bouillon and tomato juice with a shot of hot sauce. 23 calories.
Chicken Curry: 1 cup hot chicken bouillon with a pinch of curry powder, 2 teaspoons dry instant rice, or cooked rice, and a pinch of dry parsley. 21 calories.
Country Compassion: 1 cup hot ham or beef bouillon, 1 teaspoon bacon bits; 1 teaspoon mashed potato flakes and 1/2 teaspoon dry onion. 19 calories.
French Onion: 1 cup beef bouillon, 1 teaspoon dry onion and a small pinch of garlic powder. 10 calories.
French Onion Supreme: Prepare French Onion above. Crumble 1 saltine cracker into the soup, and add 1/2 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese. 25 calories.
Vegetable Beef: 1 cup hot beef bouillon poured over 1/2 cup shredded salad greens. The boiling broth will cook the vegetables just enough. Add a dash each hot pepper flakes, onion powder and garlic powder. A few celery leaves are also nice. 15 calories.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/cupofsoup.htm
Instant Café Au Lait
* 1-1/2 teaspoons instant coffee
* 1-1/2 teaspoons powdered creamer
* 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons dry milk
Measure all of the ingredients into a coffee cup. Add hot water and stir to dissolve. Savor the flavor of savings.
1-1/2 teaspoons is the same as 1/2 a tablespoon or 1 very heaping teaspoon. Every time you drink this instead of buying coffee from the local coffee shop, you save $2 to $3 bucks.
If you are out of either powdered creamer or dry milk, then double up on the one you do have. This would be 1/4-cup of dry milk powder or 1-tablespoon of powdered creamer.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/instantcafeaulait.htm
Beverages are one of the easiest places to save money on your food bill. In order to do this we have to be willing to let go of old expensive attitudes and open the door to newer, cheaper ones. All beverages besides water, milk, and fruit juice are luxuries. This includes kool-aid, soda-pop, coffee, cocoa, tea, root-beer floats, cola, and almost any other beverage you can imagine. They add calories, caffeine, sugar, fizz and flavor to our diet. They do not add significant nutrition. When we buy these types of luxury beverages we are paying for someone else to combine water and flavorings for us, and then package them in a container that probably costs more than the beverage itself.
This doesn’t mean we need to give up our favorite beverages. It does mean that we need to recognize our favorite drinks for what they really are, luxuries. Then it’s a lot easier to put them in their place. We can become realistic about where they fit into our budgets. I do this by assigning beverages 1 of 4 labels: High Priority, Medium Priority, Low Priority, and No Way. The kids quickly learn this system, and actually stick by it pretty well. Below you will find a chart detailing the beverages that I usually fit into my budget, and the priority I have assigned them. Yours will be different; that is all right. I just want to give you an idea of how to begin to change the way you think about beverages.
High Priority
Medium Priority
Low Priority
No Way!
Tap Water
Sugar & Artificial Sweetener for Mixing our own Beverages
Whole Milk
Fresh & Refrigerated Juices
Dry Milk
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Store Brand
Soda-Pop (3-liter)
Chocolate Milk
Fruit Juice Concentrates
Store Brand Unsweetened Fruit-Flavored Drink Mix
Store Brand, Canned 8-Vegetable Juice (low priority, but a real favorite of mine)
Flavored Coffee & Tea
Juice Boxes or Pouches
Evaporated Whole Milk
Bottled Lemon Juice
Bottled Water
Store Brand Instant Coffee & Tea
Name Brand Soda-Pop & Cola
Cheap Ground Coffee & Tea Bags
Most Canned & Bottled Juices & Punches
Your list won’t look exactly like mine, but it will probably be similar. If you notice, at the end of the Low Priority column, I list 8-Vegetable Juice. This is a long-time favorite of mine. I like to indulge in it when we have the extra cash. The rest of the family hates it though. This means that even though it may be very nutritious, it doesn’t have a regular place on my grocery list. If no one will drink it, it’s never a bargain. Instead it is special treat just for me. When everyone else gets soda-pop for a treat, I get a large can of store-brand Vegetable Juice, mmmmmm, delicious! When there is room in your budget for a luxury beverage, by all means indulge a little. It makes sticking to a tough budget a lot easier. Make sure the important things are purchased first. Buying your favorite soda-pop on sale for half price is false economy when you don’t have enough milk or juice to make it until next pay day.
Mix your Own for Biggest Savings:
The next step for saving money on beverages, is becoming willing to mix them up yourself. Most beverages can be mixed or brewed up at home, in your own kitchen, with a pitcher or blender, a big spoon, a bag of sugar, and a packet or jar of flavoring. This is true of milk, juice, coffee, tea, fruit-flavored drinks, milk shakes, slushies, smoothies, and a lot of other drinks too.
Mixing your own beverages takes commitment. It is easier to open up a carton of pre-mixed juice or fruit punch than it is to mix your own. If you read the labels on these beverages most are from concentrate or have added flavorings just like homemade. This means that you are paying someone else to open up a frozen can of juice concentrate, pour it into a pitcher, add 3 cans of water and stir. You have to shake the juice up anyway, so the stirring really doesn’t count. Usually even the least expensive cartons and bottles of juice cost twice as much as an equivalent amount of frozen, or canned juice concentrate. I cannot afford to pay someone else in a factory to prepare my beverages for me.
I mix up most of my beverages when I am cleaning up the kitchen at night. I have to check out the options for tomorrow’s lunch anyway, so I take stock of the beverage situation while I’m at it. Most cold beverages taste best if they are chilled overnight. When I mix them up before bed, they have ample time to chill by morning.
Containers:
When you commit to mixing your own beverages, you need containers to mix or brew them in. I prefer to use 2-quart and gallon-sized pitchers. They are convenient for mixing and storing and very easy to keep clean. This becomes important when you find yourself mixing up to 4 different kinds of drinks a day. Yard sales are a good place to look for pitchers. Standard 2-quart size pitchers are pretty abundant these days. If you have a large family, you may want to invest in gallon size pitchers to reduce the number of containers in your fridge. I bought 5 of them at a local discount store, and they have made keeping up with the beverages easier for me. I still use a 2-quart pitcher for fruit juice, but for everything else, I make a gallon at a time.
If you cannot afford new drink containers, don’t worry. Free containers are available in the form of milk jugs, 2 & 3-liter bottles, on-sale-apple-juice-jars, and even half-gallon pickle jars. Use what ever is cheapest and most readily available. If necessary, a bottle brush and a little bleach may be used to ensure cleanliness. Narrow mouthed jars are easier to fill if you use a funnel. I jab a chop stick or spoon handle down the funnel spout to keep things moving if they appear clogged.
Specific Beverages
For a whole page about Powdered Milk click here.
Fruit-Flavored Drink Mix: These are usually cheapest in a store brand, or off-brand. I regularly find them 10/$1 at a local dollar store. There aren’t as many flavors available as in the name brand. The main ones: orange, lemon, cherry, fruit punch and grape, are available, and provide plenty of variety. I use 2/3-cup of sugar for each packet of drink mix. Most packages call for a full cup, but I’ve found 2/3-cup works just as well. Some people use 1/2-cup and find their flavor-ade is plenty sweet. If you prefer yours sugar-free, then sweeten it with artificial sweetener to taste. I usually use 12 packets of artificial sweetener to 1 packet of drink mix. Fred is diabetic, and finds this much to his liking.
Fruit Juice Concentrate: These are available frozen, and have just recently become available in 12 oz cans as well. The cans are usually found on a top shelf of the juice aisle. They are sometimes cheaper than their frozen counterparts, so be sure to price them when you are at the store. Often store-brand frozen juice concentrates are your best buy though. Orange, Apple, and Grape Juice usually have the lowest price per ounce. Read the cans to make sure that you are buying 100% juice, instead of juice cocktail or “ade”. If you are going to pay the money for juice, you might as well get the real thing. I prefer to buy juices that are enriched with vitamin C, but this is a personal matter. I am not willing to pay extra for the enrichment. Lemonade, made from bottled lemon juice is an excellent source of vitamin C. Even though it has sugar added to it, I include it in this category because of it’s nutritional benefits.
Tea, Fresh Brewed or Instant: Whether you prefer it freshly brewed and hot or icy cold, tea is one of the biggest beverage bargains these days. I usually buy tagless tea bags in a 100 count box for 99¢. This works out to 1¢ a cup! I am addicted to caffeine, and tea bags are the least expensive way for me to feed my habit. An entire pitcher of iced tea is less than a dime. I prefer it unsweetened, but you can easily add your own sugar if you like yours sweet; 1/2 cup of sugar per 2-quart pitcher is about right.
If hot beverages are more your cup of tea, then tea bags offer a variety of options. Orange or lemon peel, dry or fresh mint, lemon juice, garden herbs and evaporated milk can all be added to plain hot tea for variety. An old favorite is English Breakfast Tea. Add a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of evaporated milk to a cup of hot tea and stir. This is quite enriching early in the morning.
Instant tea is handy to have around too. Store brands are often affordable, and are sometimes even cheaper per cup than tea bags. A 3oz jar of plain instant tea will make 30 quarts of iced tea. A 100 count box of tea bags will make 25 quarts of tea. If the 3oz jar is about the same price as the 100 count box, then it is a very good deal. I like instant tea for homemade tea mixes, and also for quick iced tea in the summertime. I use 3 level tablespoons of plain instant tea for a 2-quart pitcher, and 1/3 cup for a gallon. Add sugar if you like. An old trick is to put 2 to 4 tablespoons of lemon juice in with the tea to make it sparkle. You can’t really taste the lemon, but the overall flavor of the tea is improved.
Coffee, Fresh Brewed or Instant: I buy both instant and ground coffee. Instant coffee is good for making flavored coffee mixes. If you have ever found yourself paying $3 or more for a cup of cappuccino, then you really owe it to yourself to mix up a batch of flavored coffee in your own kitchen. For the price of one 12oz ready-made gourmet coffee, you can prepare enough homemade coffee mix to last a month. This is very significant savings. When making flavored coffees, I use the absolutely cheapest instant coffee I can find. The coffee is glorified by all the sugar, milk and flavorings, making the flavor of the coffee itself less noticeable.
Fresh Brewed coffee tastes better than instant. I prefer to buy it in large cans. The price per ounce is usually less this way, but not always. Compare prices with the vacuum packed coffee “bricks” to be sure. One nice thing about the large cans of coffee, is that when the can is empty, it can be reused. I wash mine with hot soapy water, dry them thoroughly, and cover them with contact paper. Then I use them to store my homemade baking mixes and granola. They look very pretty all lined up next to each other on the shelf.
Fred has a way to make a pot of coffee go a little farther. He prepares the first pot the normal way, in the coffee maker, using 1/3 cup of ground coffee per pot. When it is gone, he adds 3 tablespoons of new grounds to the old grounds in the filter. He then runs a full pot of water through the mixture of old and new grounds. I can’t tell the difference between the first batch and the second batch. Another thing he does, is to pour the coffee in an insulated pitcher or thermos instead of keeping it on the the eye of the coffee maker. He preheats the pitcher with hot tap water, and then pours in the hot, fresh coffee. We find that the coffee tastes better because it doesn’t develop that bitter “burnt” flavor from sitting on the hot eye of the coffee maker for too long.
If you prefer your coffee with cream, the most luxurious thing to use is whole evaporated milk. A large can costs about fifty cents, and lasts the whole week. This is one of my favorite luxuries in life; coffee and “cream” mmmm, decadent. A fat-free option is to stir powdered milk directly into the coffee. Usually a teaspoon or two is enough to lighten it sufficiently. Sugar or Artificial Sweetener can be added to taste.
Soda Pop & Colas: I grew up poor, and cola’s weren’t available very often, so I never developed a hankering for soft drinks. Then I married a man who drank a 2-liter of cola every day (before he developed diabetes). I became much more aware of how deeply soda drinking has infiltrated our society. In our culture, it is almost more common to drink soda pop than water. If you don’t have much money to spend on food, then it’s a bad idea to drink a can of pop, or an entire 2-liter every day. Soda Pop is a luxury, not a necessity. Buy the basics before you splurge on cola.
When you do buy soda pop, there are a few ways to save money on it. Avoid brand loyalty; national brands will always cost more money. Stick with the store brands for the most savings. At my stores, I’m able to find Gingerale, Dr. Perky, Cola, Root Beer, Cream Soda, Lemon-Lime, Mountain-Lightening, Grape, Orange, and several diet varieties too. All of these are available for between 50¢ and 60¢ per 2-liter. This is fully half the price of name brands. Which brings me to the next point, 2-liters and 3-liters are almost always better buys than 12 packs.
Some people don’t buy large bottles because it goes flat before they get a chance to drink it all. If this is one of your concerns, then try the following trick. Squeeze the air out of the bottle, until the level of the soda rises close to the top. Then screw the cap on tightly. The bottle will be dented. Reducing the amount of air in the bottle, preserves the fizz for a longer time. We do this with all of our pop bottles, and it really works! If saving money is your highest priority, then stick with store-brand 2 & 3-liters.
If you absolutely need individual drinks then store-brand 12 packs are the way to go. They are always better buys than juice boxes or pouches. My kids sometimes need lunches that are completely disposable for school field trips. I give them each a can of soda pop, and they feel like they are getting something really special.
Children will mimic the behavior they see in their parents. If you show them that sodas are a luxury and not a right, they will treat them this way. If they see you buying soda pop, when you’ve already told them that you don’t have any money left for luxuries, they will learn that soda is is more important than milk, bread and vegetables, which is not in their or your best interest.
Water: Never underestimate the power of water to quench a hearty thirst. Nutritionists say we need 8 cups or two quarts each day. When we keep our bodies hydrated our skin seems softer, we protect our urinary tract and kidneys, we keep our weight down, and mostly we allow ourselves to achieve optimum health. I keep a pop bottle of water in the refrigerator at all times. When the kids come inside from playing all day, the first thing they always go for is the cold water in the fridge. If you have a large family, it’s a good idea to keep a couple of large bottles or pitchers of water in the fridge, especially during the summer months.
We don’t drink bottled water at our house. We think it is ridiculous to spend a dollar or more on a penny’s worth of water. I keep a jug of water in the van so we can quench our thirst while we travel. This gets a lot of use in the summertime especially. If you need individual bottles of water, then get empty bottles from friends, bleach them well, and refill them with water. If all your friends are as frugal as you are, then check out your local dollar store. Ours has bottled water at 3/$1. For $2 I can get 6 good bottles to refill all summer long. Be sure to teach the kids to refill their own bottles, and even write each person’s name on theirs with permanent marker for easy identification. They can learn to fill up their own bottles before going on any car trips. Teach the kids by example, make sure they see the adults in the house drinking water too. It is infinitely cheap, healthy, and one of the miracles of modern civilization.
One last note. The biggest stumbling block I have experienced to mixing my own beverages, is having a sink full of dirty dishes. I cannot fit the pitchers or jugs under the spigot when the sink is overflowing with clutter. One of the biggest boosts I gave myself was vowing to keep the dishes done. Not only are beverages easier to make, but all of the cooking I need to do everyday, is a hundred times easier. If you can only afford to give yourself one free gift this year, give yourself the gift of finally conquering the dishes. You will always be blessed by an empty sink.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/beveragebargains.htm
Powdered Milk
With the price of milk soaring through the roof lots of folks are reconsidering powdered milk for it’s economy. The dairy price hike hasn’t affected dry milk much yet, making it the best dairy bargain currently available. Through an informal investigation I’ve discovered that fresh milk costs between $3.50 and $4.50 a gallon in most places. Dairy towns still have it available for between $2 and $3 a gallon, but the rest of us are paying considerably more. Fresh milk is a delicious, versatile staple when it can be purchased inexpensively. Until the price drops off to a more moderate cost however, my family will be making do with powdered milk.
Instant nonfat powdered milk is to the urban dweller what the family cow is to the homesteader. True, powdered milk doesn’t taste as good as fresh milk from the cow, but it is a darned site more convenient to procure, and much easier to store. Additionally, it is a readily available source of protein and vitamin D. It’s also high in calcium which is good to know if you are pregnant, nursing or have osteoporosis in your family history. Since powdered milk has no fat, it’s low in calories (about 80 per cup of liquid milk) and completely cholesterol free.
Powdered Milk is available in two common forms: Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder and Regular Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder. Regular dry milk is sometimes referred to as “Non-Instant”. It doesn’t dissolve as readily as instant milk powder and is a bit more troublesome to locate. Dry whole milk powder is available too. It doesn’t last as long as non-fat dry milk because the fat in it can go rancid over time. When it is fresh however, it has a very pleasing flavor. Dry whole milk can be difficult to find. I buy it in small tins in the ethnic section of a large grocery store. It costs a little more than instant non-fat dry milk, but it’s good to have on hand, for young children especially. All of the recipes and ideas that follow are made using Instant Nonfat Dry Milk. It is the cheapest and generally the easiest to find. Read the box label to be sure this is the kind you are buying.
Once reconstituted, powdered milk tastes a lot better than it used to. If you haven’t tried it in the past few years, it’s worth another taste. When mixed correctly and chilled overnight, it has a pleasant, sweet flavor that tastes especially good with homemade cookies. Reconstituted milk doesn’t taste the same as fresh whole milk. If you are already used to skim milk though, you won’t notice much difference in the flavor of reconstituted milk. In cooking, powdered milk performs flawlessly. It can be substituted for fresh milk in almost any recipe with excellent results. Many budget conscious women cook with powdered milk exclusively. This is smart use of resources because the results are so good.
Drinking powdered milk is another kettle of fish. Some folks find the flavor objectionable even after chilling it because they are accustomed to fresh whole milk. You cannot fool anyone into thinking that reconstituted dry milk is the same as fresh milk when used as a beverage. There are things you can do to make powdered milk taste better. Mixing it with fresh whole milk for body and flavor is a good alternative.
To get good tasting powdered milk make sure you start with fresh dry milk. If your box of dry milk is a year old, then buy a new one and use the old one for cooking exclusively. Mix up the milk following the package directions. If your box doesn’t have directions then you can use the ones below.
Large 4-pound boxes of powdered milk are available in most markets. A box this size will make 20 quarts or 5 gallons of liquid milk. At an average cost of $8 to $9 per box, this is the equivalent of less than $2 per gallon, making it fully half the price of fresh milk at this time.
Reconstituting Powdered Milk
To equal this amount of liquid milk
Use this much
Fresh Water
And this much Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder
1/4 cup
1/4 cup
1-1/2 tablespoons
1/3 cup
1/3 cup
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup
1/2 cup
3 tablespoons
1 cup
1 cup
1/3 cup
1 quart
3-3/4 cup
1-1/3 cups
2 quarts
7-2/3 cups
2 -2/3 cups
1 gallon
15-1/2 cups
5-1/3 cups
The table above will help you work out the amount of powdered milk you will need to prepare a specific measurement of liquid milk. Here are some tips to help the milk turn out as fresh tasting as possible:
*
Fill your pitcher or container with half the amount of water you will be using. Measure in the appropriate amount of dry milk powder. Stir to dissolve. Fill the pitcher with the balance of the water called for above. Stir again and chill.
*
Use cool water when possible. The powder tends to dissolve more readily in cool water.
*
Stir the milk a lot, to dissolve the milk powder. Then let the milk sit for a little while and stir again. The protein in the milk powder blends most easily if it gets a chance to stand after mixing.
*
Powdered milk may be used immediately after mixing if desired. For the best flavor chill the milk for at least 4 hours or overnight.
*
Store the milk in a refrigerator if you have one. If you don’t, then wrap the milk in a wet towel. As the water evaporates, the milk will cool. If you have a root cellar or basement, you may want to keep the milk there, or even outside in the fall and winter.
*
If you store the milk outside be sure that it is protected from critters who may be thirsty. A box with a large rock on top is sufficient to keep out most animals.
*
If you do not have refrigeration, then only prepare enough milk to last the day. I prepare it the night before, so it has a chance to blend and chill overnight. About 2 quarts will be enough to last a family of 4 for most of the day. If you continually find you have some left over, then prepare less the next day. If you find yourself running out, then prepare more.
*
Some people add a drop or two of vanilla to their milk to improve the flavor. Other people add a spoonful or two of sugar for the same purpose. I don’t use either of these ideas, because we are accustomed to reconstituted milk, and prefer it plain.
*
Pitchers and wide-mouthed jars are the easiest to use for mixing and storing reconstituted milk. I used to try to use appl- juice jars, but they are difficult to keep clean and awkward to pour the milk powder into. If you must use a narrow mouthed jar to mix your milk, then use a funnel. A chop stick or spoon handle is handy for poking down though the funnel tip when things get clogged up.
Products to Make with Powdered Milk
Sweet Vanilla Milk: Run a little hot water into a 2-quart pitcher. Add 1/4-cup each powdered coffee creamer and sugar. Stir well to dissolve. Add 1/2-teaspoon vanilla. Fill the pitcher half full with cold tap water. Add 2-2/3 cups of instant nonfat dry milk powder. Stir well. Fill the pitcher the rest of the way full. Stir again. Chill and serve. This milk is more palatable to some folks than straight reconstituted milk. The powdered coffee creamer gives the milk a rich fullness, while the sugar and vanilla make it taste sweet and almost dessert-like. If you must switch to powdered milk, and are having trouble with the flavor, this recipe can make the transition easier. For a gallon of milk use: 1/2-cup each powdered coffee cream & sugar and 1-teaspoon of vanilla flavoring. Add a dash of salt too if desired. Be sure to dissolve the creamer and sugar in hot tap water first. They do not dissolve readily in cold water.
A Very Rich Gallon of Milk: Measure 3-1/2 quarts (14 cups) of water into a gallon size pitcher. Add 5-cups of dry milk powder and a 12-ounce can of undiluted evaporated whole milk. Mix all together. Chill and serve. This makes about a gallon. It is richer than plain reconstituted milk. If you must use powdered milk, but prefer a richer product, this is the recipe for you. Children will sometimes tolerate it better than straight reconstituted milk, especially if they are already used to fresh 1% or 2%.
To Mix with Whole Milk: Powdered milk is easily mixed half-and-half with whole milk. When combined and well chilled, it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between fresh milk and mixed milk. To do this, use an extra, clean milk jug and two 2-quart sized pitchers. First reconstitute 2 quarts of milk in each of the pitchers, using the chart above. Then, using a funnel, pour half of the whole milk into the clean empty milk jug. Using the same funnel, pour the reconstituted milk from one pitcher into each jug, making a gallon of mixed milk in each jug. Both empty pitchers then have to be washed, but they are pretty easy to keep clean. I used to try to reconstitute the powdered milk in the milk jug, with the whole milk, but it never worked as well as I’d hoped. Now I find it much easier to reconstitute the powdered milk in the pitcher first, and then pour the liquid milk into the jug with the whole milk. Like regular powdered milk, mixed milk tastes best if well chilled.
Sour Milk: To sour reconstituted milk, just add a little vinegar to it and stir it up. For instance, if a recipe calls for 1-cup of sour milk or buttermilk, then measure a tablespoon of vinegar into a measuring cup. Add reconstituted milk to reach the 1-cup mark. Stir the milk gently. In a moment or two, it will sour. This can replace soured milk or buttermilk in baking recipes.
Overnight Buttermilk: To make your own buttermilk, you have to start off with 1/2-cup of fresh, store-bought buttermilk and a quart (4-cups) of reconstituted milk. Combine the fresh buttermilk and reconstituted milk in a pitcher or jar. Mix it really well. Allow it to stand at room temperature overnight, or for about 8 hours. The milk will have thickened up and cultured into regular buttermilk. Refrigerate or chill and use anywhere fresh buttermilk is called for.
Easy Evaporated Milk: To make this you only need dry milk powder and water. Measure 1-1/3 cups water into a jar or bowl. Add 1 cup of instant dry milk powder. Stir or shake to combine. This is the equivalent of a 12-ounce can of evaporated skim milk. To make evaporated whole milk, you will need to add some fat to replace the milk fat in whole milk. Do this by preparing evaporated skim milk and then adding 2-tablespoons of vegetable oil to the milk. Stir it up vigorously to emulsify the fat with the milk. It will separate on standing, so mix it really well right before using it. This is best used in cooking and baking. A spritz of nonstick spray will help the emulsification process.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: On the stove, bring to a boil 1/2-cup of water, 1-cup of sugar and 3-tablespoons of margarine or shortening. Add a dash of salt. Stir the mixture every now and then. When it comes to a full rolling boil, remove it from the heat. Allow it to cool slightly. Add a cup of instant dry milk powder. Use a whisk to stir it smooth. A fork or a spoon will not work out all the lumps. You really need a whisk, or egg beaters. There, you are done. This is the equivalent of a can of sweetened condensed milk. This will keep unrefrigerated for a day or two because of the sugar. I have never kept it longer than that without refrigeration. In the fridge it will keep for 2 weeks. For longer storage than that, I freeze it.
Quick Whipped Topping: This recipe is best made if you have electricity. Put 1/2-cup of water into a large bowl and place it in your freezer. Whenice crystals form around the edges remove it from the freezer. Add 1/2-cup instant dry milk powder. Whip the mixture with electric beaters until it is light and fluffy. This will take a couple of minutes. Add 2-tablespoons sugar, 1-teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1/2-teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until thick enough to spoon like whipped topping. Use immediately.
Molasses Milk: High in iron, with a caramel-toffee flavor this hot beverage is quite delicious. Heat 3/4-cup of reconstituted milk in a cup in the microwave. Stir in a spoonful of molasses. Serve hot. My kids love this stuff.
Chocolate Milk: Fill a cup with reconstituted milk. Squeeze in a couple spoonfuls of homemade Chocolate Syrup. Stir to combine. Serve to thirsty children who object to plain reconstituted powdered milk. Cold chocolate milk can be heated in the microwave for hot chocolate. This is also great in lunch boxes. If you want to be really nice to the kids then make up a whole gallon of reconstituted chocolate milk at a time. They will brag to their friends and your reputation will become legendary.
Homemade Yogurt: Reconstitute a quart of milk in a very clean container like a wide mouthed canning jar. Add another 1/2-cup of milk powder for body. Whisk in 1/4-cup of commercial yogurt with active cultures. Read the label to be sure the yogurt has active cultures. Stash the milk in a warm spot, between 80° and 110°. Allow it to sit undisturbed for 6 to 8 hours. It should be thick and creamy, like commercially available yogurt. Chill your yogurt and use anywhere you would regular yogurt. It makes a great substitute for sour cream. Or mix it half and half with prepared mayonnaise for your own homemade low-fat mayo.
Yogurt Cheese: Line a colander with a clean, damp piece of cloth. Pour prepared yogurt into the cloth. Allow the yogurt to drain overnight. In the morning the remaining solids will be yogurt cheese. They can be used anywhere you would use cream cheese or thick sour cream.
Curds & Whey: In a large pot combine 6-cups of fresh water and 3-cups of dry milk powder. Stir to dissolve. Heat the milk over a medium flame until it is very warm, about 120°. This is hot to the touch, but not scalding. Stir in 1/2-cup of plain white vinegar. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. There should be a large mass of curds in an amber pool of whey. If the liquid is still milky, add another 1/4-cup of vinegar. Stir and stand again for 10 minutes. Line a strainer with a clean cloth and drain off the whey. It can be used as the liquid in bread or muffins or biscuits. Rinse the curds under cool water and store in the fridge. This recipe makes about 1-1/2 to 2-cups of curds.
Ricotta or Cottage Cheese: The dry cheese curds from the above recipe will work for ricotta cheese in most recipes. To turn it into cottage cheese add a little evaporated milk or yogurt to “cream” it and stir to combine. You can divide the mixture in half and make some of each if you want to give them both a try.
Proverbs 30:33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/powderedmilk.htm
You will need to go to the link, to figure out the mixing chart, as it did not print right........sorry, granny
Lentil and Vegetable Soup With Dumplings
Soup
* 1-1/4 cups dry lentils
* 8 cups water (2 quarts)
* 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
* 3 or 4 celery stalks, peeled and sliced
* 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
* 4 bouillon cubes or 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dumplings
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 egg or 3 tablespoons more milk (see note below)
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1-1/2 cups flour
* 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon each salt & sugar
Begin by making the soup. Rinse the lentils under running water. Then place them in a large pot and cover them with 2-quarts of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes. The lentils will be almost tender. Add the vegetables, bouillon, garlic and black pepper. Stir gently and allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes more. The vegetables and lentils will both be tender. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it.
Now look over the amount of liquid in the pot. Add enough extra water so that all of the solids are well covered with liquid. They don’t need to be swimming over their heads, but they should be wading up to their waists. Bring the mixture to a slow lazy simmer, not a boil. If the soup boils it will disintegrate the dumplings instead of cooking them up into fluffy, glimmering jewels.
While the soup is simmering, prepare your dumplings. Get out a big bowl. In it combine the oil, egg and milk until they are well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix it up to a stiff batter, like for drop biscuits. Set it aside until you need it.
When the soup is simmering slowly, it is time to drop in the dumplings. Take small rounded scoops of the dough with teaspoon and drop them into the simmering broth, on top of the vegetables. Keep dropping the dough blobs until you have scraped the bowl clean. Now put the lid, or a handy pizza pan over the pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Do not peak. Let the dumplings simmer covered for the full 20 minutes. The thing about dumplings is that they cook partly from the boiling soup and partly from the steam. The steam is what makes them fluffy, and the simmering broth is what cooks them all the way through. If you peak while the dumplings are cooking then they will turn into lumpy, doughy rocks. When the time is up, serve the soup and dumplings as soon as possible. The soup will be thickened and the dumplings will be light and fluffy.
Makes between 4 and 6 servings.
NOTE: If you don’t have any extra eggs, then leave out the egg and replace it with 3 tablespoons of milk. The dumplings will still be good.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/vegetablesoupwithdumplings.htm
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/govebooks.htm
Free e-Books from the Government
As near as I can tell it is legal for me to offer these downloads here. If you see anything that shouldn’t be here, then contact me and I will remove it asap. Thank-you. These e-Books are all in PDF or Adobe Acrobat format. Right Click then choose Save Target As to download to your computer.
Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals
Preparing Nutritious Meals at Minimal Cost
The following e-books are from the National Heart Lung & Blood Institute
Heart-Healthy Latino Recipes, Bilingual
Heart-Healthy Home Cooking African American Style
Keep the Beat: Heart Healthy Recipes
The DASH Eating Plan (to reduced hypertension)
Mud phobia pig gets its own boots
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Cinders walks around in her boots
A piglet scared of wallowing in mud has overcome its fears with the help of some Wellington boots.
Six-week-old Cinders appears to suffer from mysophobia, a fear of dirt, after refusing to join her siblings as they splashed around in the mud.
Owner Andrew Keeble from Thirsk, North Yorks, said his daughter Ellie, 12, suggested kitting her out in the tiny footwear which had been on a key ring.
“Lo and behold they fitted her like a glove,” Mr Keeble said.
“She’s scared of mud, but her brothers and sisters are quite happy in it.
“We’ve never come across this before. They are born ready to go and explore, but she never really liked going in the mud.”
Mr Keeble and wife Debbie, both 42, run a sausage company and keep about 200 pigs on their 1,000-acre farm.
But the father-of-four said there was no chance that Cinders would be slaughtered.
“She’s more of a pet really now and she’s going to live a very long and happy life,” he said.
The young saddleback has been chosen by the couple as a mascot for their campaign to raise money for the Farm Crisis Network, which supports struggling farmers.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/7448006.stm
Published: 2008/06/11 11:20:28 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
[She is a beauty]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061621/posts
Rat snacks can solve world food price crisis: Indian official
AFP ^ | 8-13-2008 | AFP
Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:22:23 PM by Westlander
Eating rats is the best way for rich and poor people to solve the global crisis of rising food prices, an Indian official said Wednesday as he unveiled his plan to put rodents on menus.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
Actavis Totowa voluntarily recalls drugs
AUGUST 13, 2008
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LITTLE FALLS. N.J. (AP) — Actavis Totowa is voluntarily recalling more than 60 generic
drugs from hospitals and pharmacies that were manufactured at its Little Falls plant.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080813/UPDATES01/80813003
The Food and Drug Administration earlier this year found the plant did not meet
manufacturing standards.
The Iceland-based company in April recalled Digitek after some of the heart medication
pills were found to have twice the approved dosage.
The generic drug maker is advising patients who want replacement prescriptions to
contact their doctors or pharmacists.
Drugs made at the Little Falls plant include the painkiller Oxycodone and the supplement
Prenatal Plus FE.
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit Milford’s group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/under-investigation/
All a coincidence then, eh?
Amid Recalls and Illness, the USDA Says Food Safety is in Good Shape
Date Published: Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Despite an overwhelming rash of food recalls and reports of sometimes fatal food borne
illnesses such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeriosis, and Botulism this year, the head of the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA)—Ed Schafer—is saying that food safety in the United
States is doing just fine. Meanwhile consumers are hearing about and living with nearly
daily reports of federal government announcements about such recalls, some originating
from the nations’ largest meat processors and grocery chains.
Most recently, Nebraska Beef Limited recalled millions of pounds that are linked to an
ongoing multi-state E. coli outbreak. And, just this week, Whole Food markets recalled
ground beef produced from large cuts of prime meat from the same processor. As of
yesterday, about a dozen people on the East Coast fell ill after eating food from the high-
end natural food” supplier. Despite all of this, Schafer told Reuters today that the number
of contaminated products has declined in recent years and the situation is improving,
saying, “I don’t believe that, from a USDA standpoint, we need to increase the number of
inspectors or change the testing requirements.”
It’s a bit surprising that the USDA feels the nation is in good shape. Look at this list of
recalls from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) over the past week
alone. Bear in mind, each of these recalls can include dozens of individual wholesale or
retail stores and this list generally reflects Class 1—a health hazard situation where there
is reasonable probability that use of the product will result in serious, adverse health
consequences or death—recalls only:
Today: Renna’s Meat Marketis recalling about 780 pounds of ground beef products that
may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
Yesterday: Palama Holdings LLC recalled about 4,535 pounds of fully cooked pork
products over Listeria monocytogenes contamination concerns.
Yesterday: Stop & Shop Supermarket Company recalled its pre-packaged and deli service
tuna salad over possible contamination with the Listeria monocytogenes.
August 11: Mars Petcare US recalled 100 20-pound bags of one brand of Pedigree pet
food over Salmonella concerns. Nutro pet food, which was not recalled, is being blamed
by consumers for recent rash of pet illnesses and e deaths.
August 8: Nebraska Beef Ltd., recalled 1.2 million additional pounds of primal cuts, sub-
primal cuts, and boxed beef that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
August 7: Dallas City Packing Inc. recalled nearly one million pounds of cattle heads with
tonsils not completely removed, which is not compliant with regulations that require
removal of tonsils from all cattle.
August 6: S&S Foods LLC. recalled approximately 153,630 pounds of frozen ground beef
products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
August 6: Tyson Foods Inc. recalled 51,360 pounds of raw frozen chicken breast
tenderloin products because they may contain an undeclared allergen—soy—which is not
declared on the label.
August 5: Listeria monocytogenes was discovered in raw milk at Autumn Valley Farm in
Worcester, New York.
August 5: DBC Inc., doing business as World Class Canapes of Wilmington,
Massachusetts, recalled about 285 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products that may be
contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 12:57 pm and is filed under
Legal News, Food Poisoning.
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http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/3631
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THE COOK BOOK BY “OSCAR”
OF THE WALDORF
OSCAR TSCHIRKY
\s
MAITRE D’ HOTEL, THE WALDORF
CHICAGO NEW YORK
THE WERNER COMPANY
COPYRIGHT
I8g6 [1896]
BY OSCAR TSCHIRKY
http://ia331315.us.archive.org/3/items/tchirkycookbook00tschrich/tchirkycookbook00tschrich_djvu.txt
[to read book on line, go to link..]
ANNOUNCEMENTS (02): CROP DISEASE MANAGEMENT REPORTS
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Thu 14 Aug 2008
Source: Plant Management Network [edited]
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/about/press/PDMR2008/
Latest volume of Crop Disease Management Reports published by the
Plant Management Network
This latest volume contains more than 560 searchable reports on the
effectiveness of fungicides/nematicides, resistant varieties, and
other biological controls that defend against diseases of
agricultural and horticultural crops. All volumes of PDMR and its
preceding publications, F&N [fungicide and nematicide] Tests and B&C
[biological and cultural] Tests, contain 5000-plus reports, covering
more than 1500 chemical and biological controls.
Each 1-2-page report consists of a summary outlining trial
conditions and results. Test plot trial data, also in the report,
includes treatment rates, application timings, and pertinent efficacy
data for each product tested. A full history of PDMR is discussed in
this volume.
Users can search the reports by keyword or section. Keyword searches
can include product names, active ingredients, host crops, and
authors. Sections include cereals and forage crops; citrus, tropical,
and vegetable crops; field crops; ornamentals and trees; pome fruits;
seed treatments (for all crops); small fruits; stone fruits and nuts;
and turfgrass.
Users can have continuous access to all volumes of Plant Disease
Management Reports, F&N Tests, and B&C Tests online for USD 45
yearly. This subscription also includes access to other Plant
Management Network resources. To subscribe or learn more, visit
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pdmr
PDMR is distributed online through the Plant Management Network
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org
a nonprofit publisher of
applied plant science resources. The Plant Management Network is
jointly managed by the American Phytopathological Society, the Crop
Science Society of America, and the American Society of Agronomy. The
Plant Management Network’s nonprofit publishing mission is to enhance
the health, management, and production of agricultural and
horticultural crops.
—
Communicated by:
Miles Wimer
Director
Plant Management Network
The American Phytopathological Society
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org
mwimer@scisoc.org
[Thank you to Mr Wimer for this useful information.
Links
Plant Disease Management Reports:
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/trial/PDMR/search.aspx - Mod.DHA]
Posted by: “McSled
CARAMEL APPLE DIP
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk
1/4 cup sugar
COmbine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Great
dip for tart apples.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. CREAM CHEESE DIP
Posted by: “McSled
CREAM CHEESE DIP
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tomato
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh ground pepper
Slice tomato in half and scoop out inside pulp. Combine tomato pulp with
cream chees and garlic. Mix in mixer until smooth. Place in small bowl and
sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Refrigerate until needed. Serve with
crackers.
Posted by: “Mary
Hawaiian Dream Cake
1 (18 oz) yellow cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with 1/2 juice
With mixer, beat all ingredients for 5 minutes. Pour into a greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tests done with a toothpick and cool.
Coconut-Pineapple Icing:
1/2 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
1 (7 oz) can coconut
1/2 cup almonds, slivered, toasted
Heat pineapple and butter and boil for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Punch holes in cake with a knife. Pour hot icing over cake.
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6a. Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Posted by: “Mary
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
1 (16 oz) pkg frozen chopped broccoli
2 T water
1 (16 oz) jar process cheese sauce
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 (8 oz) cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
4 cups cooked white rice
1 (2.25 oz) pkg blanched slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Place broccoli in saucepan with 2 tablespoons water. Bring water to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cover; cook 5 minutes. Uncover; cook 2 to 3 more minutes, separating broccoli occasionally. Drain well. In a small pot, cook cheese and soup together until smooth. Combine cheese and soup, borccoli, water chestnuts and rice in the casserole dish. Cover with almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbly.
Posted by: “Mary
Angel Strawberry Delight Cake
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 pint fresh strawberries, halved
1 angel food cake
1 pint heavy cream, whipped
Combine condensed milk and lemon juice. Fold in strawberries. Slice cake in half. Spread strawberry filling on bottom layer. Place top layer over filling. Cover with whipped cream and top with extra strawberries.
Posted by: “Mary
Coconut Cake Deluxe
1 (18 oz) pkg yellow cake mix
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 can coconut cream
1 can flaked coconut
1 (8 oz) carton whipped topping
Mix yellow cake according to directions. Pour into greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. While cake is warm, punch holes in cake about 2 inches apart. Pour sweetened condensed milk over cake and spread around until all milk soaks into cake. Pour coconut cream over cake and sprinkle coconut on top. Cool, frost with whipped topping and refrigerate.
Posted by: “Mary
Spanish Rice Bake
1 pound lean ground beef1/2 cup finely chopped
onion1/4 cup chopped green
bell pepper1 (14.5 ounce) can canned
tomatoes1 cup water3/4 cup uncooked long
grain rice1/2 cup chile sauce1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon brown sugar1/2 teaspoon ground cumin1/2 teaspoon
Worcestershire sauce1 pinch ground black
pepper1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
cheese2 tablespoons chopped
fresh cilantro
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown the ground beef in
a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat and transfer beef to a
large pot over medium low heat.. Stir in the onion, green bell pepper,
tomatoes, water, rice, chile sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire
sauce and ground black pepper. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring
occasionally, then transport this to a 2-quart casserole dish. Press down
firmly and sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for
10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with chopped
fresh cilantro.
Posted by: “Jodi”
Raisin Snack Cake
From Cooking for 2
Ana Colon in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin enjoys whipping up a batch of these down-home delicious raisin bars for breakfast, coffee breaks or dessert. “They couldn’t be much quicker or easier to make,” she says.
SERVINGS 8
CATEGORY Lower Fat METHOD Baked
PREP 15 min. COOK 25 min. TOTAL 40 min.
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup raisins
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Place the raisins in a bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes; drain and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla; beat just until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir in raisins. Pour into an 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 8 servings.
Nutrition Facts One serving: 1 piece Calories: 106 Fat: 5 g Saturated Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 38 mg Sodium: 105 mg Carbohydrate: 15 g Fiber: 0 g Protein: 1 g Diabetic Exch: 1 starch, 1 fat.
God Bless and have a GREAT DAY!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SimpleMeals/
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