My husband and I don't tend to do much for Valentine's Day, but I was in the mood to surprise him with a treat when he came home from work. It had been awhile since I'd made a depression era "Wacky Cake, (recipe HERE) so I mixed up an 8" X 8" pan and was...
I stopped into Fred Meyer (Kroger) this afternoon while walking back from the library. I was shopping for bananas and bananas only, as I'm trying to avoid corporations that scheme to "Eliminate competition and raise grocery prices for millions of Americans, while harming tens of thousands of workers." However . . . like Target...
I was craving a sweet treat something awful last night, which only grew stronger as the hours passed. I scoured the cupboards and fridge for something anything to feed this desire and came up empty as stupid me never buys premade snacks or desserts. Sure, I had a brownie mix in the cupboard, but that...
The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy! People ask me all the time which blogs I follow, and I always mumble a little something about Get Rich Slowly, The Frugal Girl, Modern Thrifter and then kind of lose steam. Sure, there are other blogs I like to look at, but not on a daily basis....
The downside of mostly cooking from scratch is that there's not a lot of grab-and-go food. However, I do try and stock the fridge with a few convenience foods, and one of my favorites is kale pesto. Why not basil pesto? Because kale is like 1/10th the price of basil, super healthy and I actually...
People ask me all the time which blogs I follow, and I always mumble a little something about Get Rich Slowly, The Frugal Girl, Modern Thrifter and then kind of lose steam. Sure, there are other blogs I like to look at, but not on a daily basis. But I have actually added a new...
I've always liked lentil soup, but I've recently discovered that when the regular brown lentils are replaced with red lentils, the result is silky smooth and rather delicious. This discovery was prompted by one of my mother's guest cottage tenants who left behind a huge unopened bag of red lentils from an Indian grocery store....
These ginger snaps are addictively good, with just the perfect amount of spicy goodness. Sorry there are no photos of the finished cookies, but their time in this world was short lived. Katy's Ginger Snaps Cream together: ¾ cup of margarine at room temperature (butter makes the cookies spread out too much and ruins the texture)...
The following is a repeat of a previously published post. Enjoy! I ventured out in the snow and ice on Christmas Eve to buy the fixings for a lovely Christmas dinner. I was thinking salmon with a nice big salad. (My husband drives our only snow-worthy vehicle to work, and I have to wait until...
The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy! Sometimes I have time to prepare a wonderful, complicated dinner for my family . . . but often I don't. Especially during soccer season. Does this mean I order pizza or get take out? No way. I pull together a meal from what I...
I wrote the other day about tucking leftover cranberry sauce into a double batch of scones, and a number of readers asked me to share my recipe. I started making scones years ago while in nursing school, as I found them to be quick, easy, versatile and the perfect gift, (who among us is not...
I've had some rather unpalatable experiences with frittatas in the past. Dry and oniony with a texture akin to a tire rubber was not a dish I aspired to recreate. But my Scrabble friend Glenn encouraged me to give frittatas another try. The arrival of an extra half-dozen eggs in addition to the 18-pack in...
The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy! Do you have a favorite recipe, but only serve it on special occasions because of pricey ingredients? With a bit of clever substitutions, you can enjoy these meals year round. I first realized this technique years ago when I swapped out the prosciutto and...
The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy! I may be in a time warp, because I am freshly in love with pesto. I know that the rest of the world went pesto-crazy 10+ years ago. But here I am in 2009 trying to figure out how to work this magical green paste into...
I love food. There's just no two ways about it. But if I had to choose between a great meal with a mediocre dessert and a mediocre meal with a great dessert, I'd definitely go with the great dessert. What can I say? I like the sweets. It's who I am, and it's also...
Even if you're bound and determined to spend as little money as possible, you still have to eat. Sure, there are a number of "Freegans" who are happy to haul still edible food stuffs from dumpsters, but most of us will not be choosing that route and do have to open our wallets in order...
I ventured out in the snow and ice on Christmas Eve to buy the fixings for a lovely Christmas dinner. I was thinking salmon with a nice big salad. (My husband drives our only snow-worthy vehicle to work, and I have to wait until he gets home to do any driving.) Unfortunately, both...
Sometimes I have time to prepare a wonderful, complicated dinner for my family . . . but often I don't. Especially during soccer season. Does this mean I order pizza or get take out? No way. I pull together a meal from what I have on hand. And it's not uncommon to make up...
I wrote a few days ago about how my son chose some rather delicious foods for his 13th birthday supper. The main course was my signature curried lime chicken satay sticks. (Okay, the recipe is really from my friend Tina Bloom, PhD, but I digress.) This recipe is super simple, inexpensive and impressive to...
Leftovers. They sit in the refigerator and mock us. Taunting us each time we reach for something new. "Why are you opening a new yogurt/bag of mini carrots/package of cottage cheese/ when you could be reheating me?" General rule of thumb is to bring leftovers to work for lunch, or to toss them into...
I may be in a time warp, because I am freshly in love with pesto. I know that the rest of the world went pesto-crazy 10+ years ago. But here I am in 2008 trying to figure out how to work this magical green paste into everything I cook. My sister Sara was over at the...
Every family has their own private and weird language, in use for so long as to seem normal. In my family, we make a meal made out of random ingredients called, "dirt and buttons." Origin? Umm . . . I forget. But it goes a little something like this: "What for dinner?" "I dunno, dirt...
Do you have a favorite recipe, but only serve it on special occasions because of pricey ingredients? With a bit of clever substitutions, you can enjoy these meals year round. I first realized this technique years ago when I swapped out the prosciutto and wild mushrooms for smoked turkey and regular mushrooms in "Angel Hair...
I used to always buy bottled salad dressing. Sure, I'd tried making it from scratch, but it was never thick enough. It slid off the lettuce like an Exxon Valdez oil slick. All that changed a few years ago. I realized that the elaborate cursive writing on one of my tea towels, (which I had never...
When you think of your grandmother, what delicious foods come to mind? Warm chocolate chip cookies? Spicy enchiladas? My grandmother, dubbed Momeye, was famous for an unfortunate signature dish consisting of a can of spinach, plopped right into a pan to heat up. This delicacy was then enhanced with a splash of vinegar and served up to...
Even if you are bound and determined to spend as little money as possible, you still have to eat. Sure, there are a number of "Freegans" who are happy to haul still edible food stuffs from dumpsters, but most of us will not be choosing that route and do have to open our wallets in...
Although my family's birthdays are generally spread out throughout the year, we do have a few that clump up in the middle of May. First around the bend is my husband's on May 16th and then my younger son's on the 19th. But that doesn't mean they don't each get their own celebration. And in my...
There is one category of budgeting that can make a huge difference in your spending, and that (no surprise here) is food. Of course, food is not simply an expenditure. Food physically fuels us and is also one of life's greatest pleasures. From preparation to consumption to clean up, food defines our days and nourishes our souls. But...
It's time again for Five Frugal Things! My sons' morning soccer game was only a mile or so from the house. My husband, (the coach) needed to drive, as he had all the equipment, but I took my time showering, drinking tea, etc. and then walked the distance. Normally soccer games are waaay across town,...
There is one category of budgeting that can make a huge difference in your spending, and that (no surprise here) is food. Of course, food is not simply an expenditure. Food physically fuels us and is also one of life's greatest pleasures. From preparation to consumption to clean up, food defines our days and nourishes...
Thank you to everyone who commented on Lauren Weber's In Freeganism I Trust guest post. As always, your input was beyond what I could have hoped for. Unfortunately, I could only (randomly) pick one reader to win a copy of In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue. Congratulations to Elizabeth B....
The Non-Consumer Advocate is currently running a giveaway for a copy of Lauren Weber's fabulous In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue. To enter, readers have been commenting about what they do to live cheaply, and these comments have been informative, inspired and downright incredible. I normally wait to publish comments after the giveaways...
1. I found a couple items, both for myself and to resell while browsing the Goodwill "bins" the other day. The best of which was this $109 Portland Gear "Cascade" backpack that was new with tags! I checked with the company and they confirmed that these "Portland Thorns" bags were given to the National Women's...
Today is my niece's last full day in Portland before heading back to college and we're both feeling/not feeling the urge to make the most of it. She has a paper with a looming deadline, so we looped back to Tabor Space so she could focus enough to make her deadline. We brought our own...
Today was day three of The July Food Stamp Challenge, and was essentially unremarkable. I worked a shift at the hospital, bringing leftover pasta salad for lunch and helping myself to a couple tiny packets of Peanut M&M's. (They're free and as legumes, they're in the same category as lentils, right?!) I also work tomorrow,...
Today marks the 100th blog entry on The Non-Consumer Advocate. So in the tradition of television, it's time for a show of flashbacks. A best of, if you will. (The special effects department is suspiciously absent, so you'll just have to imagine the wiggly lines across the screen.) I remember it as...
1. My Husband and I spent an afternoon walking down Portland's S.E. Division Street in the name of enjoying a series of small treats. For those outside the area, Division Street has become a central area for small restaurants and dessert spots. Especially for desserts! First up was this taco plate from Taqueria Bravos Tacos....
1. I gathered our clear plastic recycling and walked it to a New Seasons grocery store. We're able to recycle (wishcycle?) most categories of plastic through our curbside pickup, but the "clamshell" style of plastic requires an extra step. My plan had been to grab some individual items from their salad bar, as it was...
1. My husband filled my stocking with heavy treats, to the point that he had to enlist a clamp from the basement to hold it on place! Oy vey! Here are the contents: Everything got set aside, except of course for the milk chocolate digestive biscuits which served as a post-breakfast snack. He and I...
I try to live my life as frugally as possible, but that doesn't mean I abstain from a full and satisfying social life. However, it does require that I make deliberate choices on how and where I do that socializing. Meet up with friends at a bar for drinks? Highly unlikely. Have a friend over...
My husband and I are lucky to get lots of trick-or-treaters, which is fantastic as I love the creativity and sugar fueled enthusiasm. Of course, those treats don't come free. Back in the heyday of couponing, I'd match store sales with double coupons for almost free candy, but those days are sadly long gone. I...
Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month, which meant there was nothing short of a level five hurricane to keep me from hitting the Franz Bakery Outlet! Because: Even though all their bargain bread is priced the same, I was still judicious with my purchases. because this sleeve of English muffins: Was not as...