6:36 ~ January 7, 2011

{the assemblage of ingredients for a pot of bean soup.

what?? i've got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow!!}

GUARANTEED TO BE THE BEST BEAN SOUP YOU'VE EVER EATEN!

1 lb. dried white beans, soaked overnight

2 quarts water

2 large ham slices, diced

1 whole onion, studded with three cloves

1 large carrot, peeled

1 bay leaf

1 dried hot pepper

2 celery stalks, with leaves

salt and pepper

a large "glug" of apple cider vinegar

In crock pot combine beans, water, ham, onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaf and celery. Cook on low for 10 hours.

Discard onion, celery, bay leaf and carrot and hot pepper. Puree some soup to thicken the whole pot. Season with salt and pepper. Add vinegar. Serve. Send me a note thanking me for this recipe that makes you remember your grandmother's bean soup!

Slow Sunday Afternoon

I sat out on the front porch late yesterday afternoon, soaking up the last of the sunshine. You never know in northwest Ohio when the sun is going to make it's final showing before chilly rain starts to fall. It seems like only weeks before that rain turns to snow and we won't feel the sun for many long months.

These are the mums decorating our front steps.

Every fall I start to crave warm things to drink. When I was a kid my mom used to make us a drink mix called Russian Tea. It was basically Tang – I'm old enough to associate that with astronauts and breakfast! – instant lemonade, unsweetened tea and spices that you mixed into hot water for a flavored tea drink.

This weekend I had a more grown up hot beverage on my mind – Chai.

I love a cup of something warm in the afternoons at work. Traditional chai is brewed, strained and then added to warm milk. I don't have the capacity to do all that at work, so I came up with a recipe that only needs hot water.

1 C. nonfat powdered milk

1 C. non-dairy powdered creamer

1 C. french vanilla flavored powdered creamer

2 C. white sugar

1 1/2 C. instant, unsweetened tea

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

1 t. ground cardamom

1 t. ground nutmeg

1 t. ground allspice

1/4 t. white pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse or blend until it's a fine powder. Mix 3 tablespoons into a mug of hot water.

Fall flowers. Sunshine. Warm drink. I'm ready.

Grocery Woes

The grocery store is starting to piss me off. I tried to be more gentle, or at least more ladylike in writing that sentence, but I just can't. I get cranky when I think about the price of food and the ways it effects every family, every week.

I've been noticing a trend that I haven't read about and haven't heard the politicos addressing. Maybe corporate America thinks we aren't paying attention, but products that we have been buying for years are getting smaller. Much smaller. And the prices are either staying the same or rising. For example, have you noticed that a five pound bag of sugar that you are accustomed to picking up in the store no longer weighs five pounds? It now weighs four pounds. And it costs the same.

A 96 count box of Glad kitchen garbage bags now only contains 80 bags.

There's been a package redesign by General Mills. The box of Honey Wheat Cheerios that costs $3.99 used to be in a 14 oz. box. They made the box taller and slimmer. It looks bigger. For the same price you now get 12.5 ounces.

How does this figure into the inflation rate? My guess is that it doesn't. And the consumer is left absorbing the loss while giant corporations continue to make record profits.

See why I get pissed?

We are trying to make ends meet and cut corners however we can, while our incomes don't increase at the same rate that our expenses do.

Here's something I'm willing to try. I'll let you know how it works out and do a cost analysis compared to leading national brands.

Homemade Laundry Detergent (recipe from Recipezaar.com)
1 bar bath soap, grated (your favorite brand, fels naptha is great)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda laundry detergent (a laundry booster)
1/2 cup borax
hot water
essential oil of your choice for fragrance

Directions
1. Place grated soap in a pot.
2. Cover with water and simmer over medium heat until all soap is melted, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour into 5 gallon bucket.
4. Add washing soda and borax.
5. Add enough hot water to fill the bucket.
6. Stir (I use a long measuring stick, but any long stick will work).
7. Let sit overnight to gel.
8. Use 1 cup per load. (This recipe makes enough for 80 loads of laundry.)