Posted on 07/24/2009 3:37:21 AM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition Category: Roundups | Comments(15)
Did you hear about the guy that lives on nothing? No seriously, he lives on zero dollars a day. Meet Daniel Suelo, who lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Suelo has no mortgage, no car payment, no debt of any kind. He also has no home, no car, no television, and absolutely no “creature comforts.” But he does have a lot of creatures, as in the mice and bugs that scurry about the cave floor he’s called home for the last three years.
To us, Suelo probably sounds a little extreme. Actually, he probably sounds very extreme. After all, I suspect most of you reading this are doing so under the protection of some sort of man-made shelter, and with some amount of money on your person, and probably a few needs for money, too. And who doesn’t need money unless they have completely unplugged from the grid? Still, it’s an amusing story about a guy who rejects all forms of consumerism as we know it.
The Frugal Roundup
How to Brew Your Own Beer and Maybe Save Some Money. A fantastic introduction to home brewing, something I’ve never done myself, but always been interested in trying. (@Generation X Finance)
Contentment: A Great Financial Principle. If I had to name one required emotion for living a frugal lifestyle it would be contentment. Once you are content with your belongings and your lot in life you can ignore forces attempting to separate you from your money. (@Personal Finance by the Book)
Use Energy Star Appliances to Save On Utility Costs. I enjoyed this post because it included actual numbers, and actual total savings, from someone who upgraded to new, energy star appliances. (@The Digerati Life)
Over-Saving for Retirement? Is it possible to “over-save” for retirement? Yes, I think so. At some point I like the idea of putting some money aside in taxable investments outside of retirement funds, to be accessed prior to traditional retirement age. (@The Simple Dollar)
40 Things to Teach My Kids Before They Leave Home. A great list of both practical and philosophical lessons to teach your kids before they reach the age where they know everything. I think that now happens around 13 years-old. (@My Supercharged Life)
Index Fund Investing Overview. If you are looking for a place to invest with high diversification and relatively low fees (for broader index funds with low turnover), index funds are a great place to start. (@Money Smart Life)
5 Reasons To Line Dry Your Laundry. My wife and I may soon be installing a clothesline in our backyard. In many neighborhoods they are frowned upon - one of the reasons I don’t like living in a neighborhood. I digress. One of our neighbors recently put up a clothesline, and we might just follow his lead. (@Simple Mom)
A Few Others I Enjoyed
* 4 Quick Tips for Getting Out of a Rut * Young and Cash Rich * Embracing Simple Style * First Trading Experience With OptionsHouse * The Exponential Power of Delayed Consumption * How Much Emergency Fund is Enough? * 50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind * Save Money On Car Insurance
Hello samiam1972 ---
I hope you don't mind me pinging you to THIS messagethread.
Last year in November you posted the above interesting remarks to a Free Republic messagethread entitled, Mormons stock up after food shortage fears -- it was post number 53 on the second page.
Would you care to share a few of the recipes for your inexpensive soups here in this messagethread?
I never use chicken stock unless it is for chicken noodle soup -- I simply rely on the cabbage & potato & beans & herbs & spices to create their own rich broth through cooking down; however, I am getting a bit bored with my own soups, and am curious about which ones of yours that your family likes the best, if you would care to share some ideas & pointers & a few soup recipes.
Thanks.
THANKS.
MUCH APPRECIATED.
JOYA; PLEASE ARCHIVE SOUNDS GOOD.
cute fix kittie pic #3664
Laughter, that is indeed a bumper crop.
They grow great harvests in your area.
Thank you for sharing, it is the perfect backup for the “Kittens grow from cuttings!!”.
Thanks - quite appropriate too...
My Grandmother’s second cousins were Orville and Wilbur Wright...<<<
Why am I not surprised?
As a kid, I would walk 5 miles and play in the wrecked airplanes, bet many of them came from this era.
Interesting, today it is the famous Brownfield Airport near the border at San Diego, then it was old airplanes and a few landing, maybe a training airport, for WW2.
The men left me alone, and I was there to sit in the planes and dream, which I will bet they understood.
Yes, please do share your recipes here.
All are welcome to join in, it is a special and fine group of Freepers.
Hennie Pennie, thank you for being alert and sending the invite...........
cute fix kittie pic #3664<<<
That is the crop of kittens that was grown from the cuttings in post #3650.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2299939/posts?page=3650#3650
From the looks of them, they are related to the Ruler Cat in post #3647.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2299939/posts?page=3647#3647
You are welcome on the plans, don’t see any reason that a wind turbine would not work.
Thanks.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370949/posts
Felines, Nothing More than Felines
Townhall.com ^ | October 26, 2009 | Mike Adams
Posted on Monday, October 26, 2009 4:29:29 AM by Kaslin
Editors’ Note: the following column contains graphic language.
[and a powerful message...........granny]
It sounds like samiam1972 has really mastered the Art of the Delicious & Inexpensive Soup -- and this is something that has interested me for years.
I worry about the many tens of thousands of people who have actually purchased beans & rice to store away, but have NO idea how to prepare them so that they are edible.
LOL
Carrot City: Designing for Urban Agriculture - goes on the road
The exhibition Carrot City: Designing for Urban Agriculture, was shown at the Design
Exchange (DX) in Toronto earlier this year. The exhibition explores the relationship
of design and urban food systems as well as the impact that agricultural issues
have on the design of urban spaces and buildings as society addresses the issues
of a more sustainable pattern of living.
The exhibit generated a huge amount of interest, including press articles, blog
entries, YouTube submissions, and thousands of visitors.
Electric Indoor Compost Unit - The Red Dragon
You plug it in and hook up the exhaust pipe so that it vents outdoors. Then add
a sawdust/enzyme mix and 2 litres of water to the machine.
That’s it. You can add
any food waste AND DOG WASTE to the mix and it will decompose the organic material.
That’s the promise. We are presently testing the machine at the Vancouver Compost
Demonstration Garden to see if it lives up to that promise.
New York Times - When the Problems Come Home to Roost
THE Bay Area is unmatched in its embrace of the urban backyard chicken trend. But
raising chickens, which promises delicious, untainted eggs and instant membership
in the local food movement, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Chickens, it turns out, have issues.
They get diseases with odd names, like pasty butt and the fowl plague. Rats and
raccoons appear out of nowhere. Hens suddenly stop laying eggs or never produce
them at all. Crowing roosters disturb neighbors.
Popular Mini-Gardens in Berlin May Soon Be Paved Over
Tiny urban gardens are everywhere in Berlin and they have been for decades. But
now, the city government is threatening to level many of them to make way for new
construction. A battle is looming.
Berlin prides itself on being in the vanguard of a number of trends - and it might
have found itself another one. In this case, it’s what climate experts and city
planners call “urban farming.” Many see the drive to produce foodstuffs within cities
- rather than carting them in from far away - as the farming of the future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All stories here:
City Farmer News [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102786363758&s=1304&e=001KwDn78qIh_VeMSbXBDjf8IK2G6Dxg44halNunCxswuO3QZN_Ajyn2auMLRo35rTU5tztemxFoJBj3r04W7ZpSzIWKHPjZl5b0jjbq1vJozaLPELs_ohkUQ==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture
Well, I think it was nice of you to send the invitation, a wonderful act, for we do need all the information we can find.
Yes, there will be many folks who do not know how to fix rice and beans or soups, or think you need to buy a soup base to start with.
I have all my life attempted to have food stored ahead and it has been a lifesaver more than once.
Over the years, I have educated a few clerks and bag boys, who had never seen anyone buy as much as I did and intend to use it all....
But I noticed that many of the people who got the Y2K frenzy and bought tons of food, had not a clue of what they should do with 800 pounds of beans, had families that would not eat them and no idea of how to cook them.
So many people think, beans, water and dinner is ready, not I, I put some spices in them and a pepper of some kind, to wake them up, bacon ends if available and LOL, would not know how to cook plain beans.
The best beans that I ever ate, were from a mexican cafe that I worked in, the food was good and Cora said she cooked in the restaurant, just as she did at home.
Her bean secret, was simple, she seasoned them with the grease in the grill collection can, so they had beef, pork and anything else that she grilled.
Real simple, cooking beans, tilt grease trap, add a few mex spices and delicious they were.
I still don’t get all the milage out of rice, that I should, but when I grew up, we rarely had it, for a rice pudding maybe and no other uses.
How like our childhood we remain, give me cornbread and beans and I am happy.
I don’t mind the ping at all! I’ll do the best I can. I’ve learned to cook soups from scratch just by throwing things that I have on hand in a pot that I think will go well together. I don’t have actual recipes but I’ll list a few things that work well for us. Put these items into a crock with chicken broth. I will admit to cheating sometimes and using water and bouillon when I’m desperate.
Tortilla soup-
Rice, chicken, corn, black beans and fajita type seasonings make a great tortilla soup. Just crush some chips into it when it’s ready to serve. If I don’t feel like being frugal on this one, I’ll throw in some Velveeta cheese and let it melt. My kids gobble this up! Also, if you have an abundance of zucchini, it works great in this soup.
Italian Soup-
Canned(or whatever you have available) tomatoes (can be crushed, diced, whole, seasoned), onion, garlic, white beans and torn spinach. I use Italian seasonings in this soup. A bonus is that it is very low on calories! I do cook the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil before adding everything else. Instead of using spinach you could use yellow squash and zucchini.
Chili-type soup-
Cooked/canned chicken, onions, garlic, red/kidney beans, chili beans and a can of tomatoes or green chilies depending on whether you want a red or white soup. I always have a large bag of frozen corn available so I might add corn to this. Throw in some chili seasoning if the beans or chilies don’t give it enough flavor for you.
Chicken noodle-
Cooked/canned chicken, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, macaroni, salt and pepper. This is also good drained the next day and thrown into a casserole with a cream of something soup and some cheese. Makes a nice lunch for the kids.
You can make the soups any size you want using more or less ingredients. The tortilla type soup can be drained of all liquid and wrapped in tortillas with a sprinkle of cheese the next day so I always make a larger batch of that one. I chop bags of carrots, celery and onions and store them in the freezer to make these come together faster. Perfect for throwing a pot of veggie soup together, too.
I hope these spark some ideas for you. Some people might think this is gross but I often just throw whatever leftovers I have in the fridge, meat, rice, noodles, veggie, etc. into some broth and call it soup. I make a quick beer bread or not as quick Diet Coke bread,garlic cheese toast or corn bread to go along with the soups.
Now I’m hungry. :0)
That is absolutely brilliant, and not anything I'd ever find in any cookbook, not anywhere. THANK YOU. That is an invaluable tip.
>>>> "Her bean secret, was simple, she seasoned them with the grease in the grill collection can, so they had beef, pork and anything else that she grilled. Real simple, cooking beans, tilt grease trap, add a few mex spices and delicious they were." <<<<
In the past, after meat juices have gelled and the fat all risen to the top of beef/chicken broth, I've always thrown the fat away.
NO more.
Now it will go in the freezer, and I'll add bacon grease to the mixture. Hmm... I'll bet that I could toss hamburger grease in there, too, say?!
I enjoy homemade refried beans, as they taste so delicious in comparison to the canned variety -- but I've never used LARD, which so many people advise, and was fine with my results without it -- however, what you are describing is altogether different, and I can see how it would REALLY assist the final flavor of homemade refried beans.
Yummy!
That's the problem with threads like this, one could dangerously gain some serious weight, LOL!! :o)
I'm going to click on View Replies beneath your posting moniker and print off your posting.
Oh my goodness! I just learned something new today! I had no idea what the ‘View Replies’ button was for. That is awesome!!
I’ll add one more thing that I do. I use Worcestershire sauce and steak sauce in my veggie soup. My husband appreciates my attempt to make it seem more meaty. LOL!
>>I was there to sit in the planes and dream, which I will bet they understood.<<
I have an uncle (still living) who turned 18 near the end of WW II and who loved airplanes - he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was always in trouble when he was going through flight training in San Antonio, TX... Seems every time he was standing in a formation and a plane would take off or land, his head instinctively followed it - getting him in trouble... The penalty - double-time around the airfield..
He spent many hours running...
Troop - Do you like watching airplanes?
Yes Sir!
Take a lap around the airfield...
Yes Sir!
When he would get back it was:
Troop - Do you still like to watch airplanes?
Yes Sir!
Take another lap...
He was never one to bend the truth for anything or anybody, and his love of watching planes never waned.
What would you expect - he was half Wright...
Day Olde Soup tastes very delicious, but by the third/fourth day, it is a tedious chore to eat the same old, same old. And I don't like throwing out leftovers - it defeats the purpose - to make a "frugal" pot of soup, and then not eat the entire contents.
Really, it's just too easy to throw another can of beans in the soup pan, or "just" a handful of this or that -- and suddenly there's a month supply of soup. (Again.)
Nowadays I am trying making just enough of any one soup, so that it is consumed the same day it is made.
And I'm trying to make it DIFFERENTLY each time.
I think that this is an important Survival Skill, and one I wish I'd learned during early childhood, and not at this late advanced date.
For lunch today, I put 1/16 teaspoon of baking soda, two slices of uncooked bacon, and 1/2 cup of lentils in a heavy cast iron pot.
In another pot I brought water to the boil and then poured two cups of the boiling hot water into the heavy cast iron pan - and carefully stirred up the water, lentils and bacon.
While that BOILED on the back burner, I chopped up a small quantity of minced onion, minced garlic, very thinly sliced celery, a few julienne carrot strips. Along with a maybe 1/8th cup-sized chunk of frozen spinach, I boiled all the veggies with just enough water to cover.
About 20 minutes later, the lentils were just started to fall apart, so I added the vegetables & their boiling cooking water, and let everything simmer together.
I will not have leftovers of this soup - so there will be no way to get sick of it, LOL.
When I use canned beans to make a ONE-DAY-ONLY-SOUP, I divide the can into thirds, use just one-third of the can, and then label & freeze the other two portions.
For vegetable soup that I plan to eat for several days in a row, I make sure to use the OUTER leaves of cabbages, and the OUTERMOST layers of peeled onions. These are the parts of cabbages & onions that most people throw away -- but because they are so very tough, they are PERFECT for a large pot of soup -- because they don't fall apart into nothing: on Day 3 of this type of veggie soup, you can still identify the piece of diced onion or chopped cabbage.
Like others, when soup vegetables are on sale, I'll pick up extra - then flash-heat them and freeze in half cup quantities, so that I always have a supply of frozen carrots, celery, cabbage, etc. to toss into soup or stews.
All colors of split peas, as well as all types of lentils, and the Japanese Aduki bean will boil up quickly - these legumes & beans require no soaking.
The fastest way to make a thick black bean soup is to simply boil up a cup of mixed veggies, and then open a can of refried black beans, stir it into the boiled mixed veggies and then add a can (or two) of water, until the black bean soup is the right consistency. This is a very rich concoction, and requires NO culinary skills.
I am looking so forward to trying several of samiam1972's delicious sounding soups, I'll have to see if I have enough spices on hand to try her Mexican Tortilla Soup, it sounds SO good!!
The idea is to NOT drain anything off, you want to keep all the MEAT FLAVOR in, so resist the urge to drain the fat -- after all, 2 tablespoons of hamburger is a tiny quantity, something like an eighth of a cup.
When the meat is all crumbled & fully cooked, pour ALL the meat AND the water into HIS soup bowl - and then ladle in the veggie soup and stir well.
Voila!
Your husband now has "Vegetable BEEF Soup," while the rest of you stay vegetarian.
You might want to experiment a bit with this, BEFORE trying it out on him -- I'm NOT a cookbook writer, but seriously, a tiny bit of boiled hamburger, along with the water it has been boiled in will DRASTICALLY change any vegetable soup.
AND, really, only a TINY quantity is needed; this is an example where LESS is more. Really!! Experiment with this, it really works wonders.
8 infected with rare form of typhus near U.S. Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Eight people near Los Angeles have been infected with a rare form of typhus that is spread by fleas, authorities announced on Saturday.
Of the 8 people who contracted the disease, five were male. Patients' ages ranged from less than 1 year old to 59 years old, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
"This is a rare disease," said Dr. Helene Calvet, a health officer in Long Beach where the cases were reported. Long Beach is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Los Angeles.
The patients are recovering after spending a day in hospital, Calvet said.
[...snip...]
Calvet said no cases were reported in Long Beach prior to 2006,when there were six. In 2007, nine cases were reported. Most flea-borne typhus cases occur in Southern California, south Texas and Hawaii, according to the health department Web site.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/25/content_12319778.htm
Copyright ©2009 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
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