Cheap Eats — Katy’s Addictive Ginger Snaps

by Katy on March 12, 2011 · 16 comments

Ready to bake!

Henry Ford may have invented the assembly line, but I perfected it.

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:

  • 3/4 cup of margarine at room temperature (butter makes the cookies spread out too much and ruins the texture)

  • 1 egg

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup molasses

Add dry ingredients to the wet until well mixed:

  • 2 cups white flour

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 tsp cloves

  • 1 tsp ginger

Put cookie dough in the refrigerator to chill. This is also important so they don’t spread out too much while cooking. (I often chill the dough overnight.)

Scoop out approx. 1 Tbsp amount and roll into a ball. Roll in a sugar/ginger mix. (Maybe 1/4 cup sugar to 1-1/2 Tbsp ginger.)

Place on a cookie sheet and mark an “X” using a fork.

Cook at 325 degrees for 8-9 minutes. They’re done when the tops are no longer shiny. It’s better to err on the side of undercooking so they’re nice and soft.

 

This recipe doubles well. I buy my spices in bulk, which is much fresher, (and cheaper!) than the little bottles from the grocery store.

The ability to cook and even bake from regular and inexpensive ingredients is a great life skill. Anyone can cook a gourmet meal from swanky ingredients, but it takes true skill and artistry to concoct something wonderful from the nuts and bolts of pantry staples.

 

What are your favorite recipes made from seemingly mundane ingredients? Please share them in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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Many Leftovers, No Waste and Bob Barker

by Katy on March 11, 2011 · 4 comments

Bob Barker says "Come on down!"

I’ve had the pleasure of hosting Wasted Food’s Jonathan Bloom both yesterday and today as he’s been in town for his whirlwind West coast book tour.

Bloom took to the podium last night to discuss the very serious subject of food waste, and the well attended event gave the author his deserved respect. That is, until he somehow knocked the microphone from the podium and had to complete his talk holding it á la The Price is Right’s Bob Barker.

Which was my cue to pull out the camera.

Luckily, we composed ourselves enough to enjoy a nice get together at the house, enjoying the company of Heather of Mile73, Dave of Daveknowspdx, Sara of GoGingham, Christopher of GleanOrganics and even a few fine folks who are not bloggers! (I know, I know, hard to find in this day and age!)

Of course I prepared too much food, but fear not little non-consumers. There will be no waste, as these were definitely bestovers of the finest sort.

Thank you to everyone who attended this event, even though there was no Plinko.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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Keeping an Eye Out

by Katy on March 10, 2011 · 35 comments

Keeping an eye out for a nice basket to replace this ugly plastic bin.

One of the most frugal practices you can work into your life is the art of patience. (Here is a post I wrote two years ago about patience.)  The habit of buying things as soon as you decide you want them is detrimental not only to your wallet, but also your uncluttered home, as that buffer of time is necessary to deflate the “That thingy is so cool, I totally have to buy it” mentality.

How many among us can deny having bought impulsively only later to wonder if aliens had temporarily inhabited our normally rational selves?

As a thrift store shopper, I have to act somewhat impulsively, as that one of a kind find is sure to get snapped up if not immediately pounced upon. This does not mean that I buy every uber-cool doohickey that crosses my line of vision. What it does mean is that I have a running list of things I’m keeping an eye out for.

For example, right now I am keeping an eye out for:

  • A chaise lounge for my patio. (You may have fantasies about Mr. Darcy, but my #1 fantasy features me spending countless hours laying under the shade of my enormous maple tree while reading and napping.)
  • More free wood chips for yard. I am waiting for a close-by neighbor to have one of those landscaper chippy-things.

  • A sturdy and large square or rectangular basket for the dining room paper recycling. I currently have a plastic bin, and it’s uug-lee!

  • A couple rolls of William Morris wallpaper. (Hey, can’t knock a girl for dreaming!)
  • Four matching outdoor cushions for my patio chairs.

  • A solid colored vintage bedspread that I can transform into a bedskirt to hide the hideousness that is our Hollywood bed frame.

This list isn’t written down, instead runs on a mental loop. It ensures that I know when to snap up those thrift store bargains and what to leave on the shelves for others. And it sure as heck keeps me from filling up a Target shopping cart and my home with weird impulse purchases. Because that, my friends is not the Non-Consumer way.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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Brighten Up Your Thursday Evening with Some Bloom

by Katy on March 9, 2011 · 3 comments

I don’t know if you live in Portland, or even if you already have plans for this Thursday evening, but there is a great Non-Consumer event waiting for you. Jonathan Bloom of Wasted Food fame will be speaking (for free!) at the Powell’s on Hawthorne at 7:30 P.M. Think about it. It’s free, it’s dry, (and indoors) and the subject of food waste is surprisingly interesting.

So if you’re a foodie, a Non-Consumer or simply a “what can I do for free tonight” kind of Portlander, get yourself over to the Powell’s on Hawthorne.

See you there!

Click HERE for information about the event.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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More Frugal Photos

by Katy on March 9, 2011 · 16 comments

I hope it’s not too soon to be posting more photos from the famed and prestigious Non-Consumer Institute. Either way, here goes . . . .

 

A recent beet purchase came with such luscious foliage that I had to put them to good use. Beet greens, A.K.A. "swiss chard" are so beautiful, with their red veined goodness, it's almost a shame to cook them up rather than put them in a vase.

My neighbor recently put this table out in front of her house for free. The table top was scummed with black stuff, candle wax and what finish was left was in pretty bad shape. I scrubbed up the scum and wax, and then turned it over to my mother who lightly sanded the top and applied four coats of paste wax. It's not perfect, but it's lovely nonetheless.

I almost didn't bring the table home, but it had gams that just wouldn't quit. It's the Betty Grable of console tables!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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Link-O-Rama Mama — Happiness, Pantries and a Little Bit of Soule

by Katy on March 8, 2011 · 15 comments

My husband took this photo of our first son when he was a newborn. So sweet, kicky and intense. Happiness is available to everyone.

It’s time again for Link-O-Rama Mama, where I lazily just link to other people’s well written and thoroughly researched articles.

A Great Blog for the Soule

My friend Sasha has been telling me about the blog SouleMama for years. But somehow, I didn’t actually look at it until a few days ago. Now she may be old news to the rest of you, but Amanda Soule’s blog is beautiful, revealing, inspiring and frankly, puts The Non-Consumer Advocate to shame. (Today’s post already has 600+ comments!) Unschooling, knitting, crafting, cooking and simple living are all swirled together in a way that softens the heart and makes me want to dedicate a month to reading all her back posts.

Soule’s About page is filled with wonderful information, links and a FAQ section that I think I need to incorporate into my own blog. (Worry not, it would be your FAQ’s, not hers!)

You should totally check out Soulemama. Then again, you probably already have.

The Pain-Free Pantry Principle

Tuesdays in Portland, Oregon are notable not only for their probability of rain, but also because it’s the day that The Oregonian publishes the FoodDay insert in the newspaper. And today’s edition was especially rewarding.

My favorite food writer is Leslie Cole. Not only is she a terrific writer, but her choice of subjects always seems to grab my attention. (I previously linked to an insightful article she wrote about eating well on a limited budget.) Today’s article was titled The Pantry Principle, so I knew it was worth a thorough read. The story profiled a stay at home dad who had taken a Cook with What You Have class that changed his family’s life.

Now I am a pantry principle kind of gal. I don’t make meal plans with elaborate shopping lists, instead choosing to just keep a store of generalized ingredients on hand that seem to never fail. I’m not vain enough to think that there isn’t a trick or two still to learn, and I waited until kids were off to school to give the article my proper attention.

I won’t spoil the article for you, as it’s pretty terrific, plus chock full of mouth watering recipes.

Click HERE to read it!

Happiness is a Warm Baby

My friend Ashley English is a whirlwind of productive activity. Not only has she published four Homemade Living books in the past year, but she also gave birth to Huxley, a sweet giggly bundle of joy a few months ago.

Today, Ashley published a lovely piece about happiness on her blog, Small Measures. My favorite line that she quotes from Thomas Bien, Ph.D is “Know that happiness is always available to you.” A powerful message that I may need to memorize for those challenging days that sneak into my life.

Click HERE to read Ashley’s post on happiness.

Do you have any links to share with The Non-Consumer Advocate community?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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My TV-Free Month

by Katy on March 6, 2011 · 27 comments



It all started last summer when my husband got cable “to watch World Cup Soccer.” Something was suddenly available to watch on the TV 24 hours a day. I had avoided the cable TV trap for 42 years, (granted there was no cable TV when I was growing up, but that’s besides the point) and allowed the beauty that is On Demand TV to wash over me like Charlie Sheen at a STD clinic a warm bubble bath. Yes, we cancelled the cable TV at the end of the summer, but streaming Netflix took its place. My beautiful, beautiful Netflix. It wasn’t long before we were watching back-to-back episodes of The Office and 30 Rock. Television gets a bad rap as an idiot box or boob tube, but these were smart, funny shows with fantastic characters. What was not to love?!

And then I discovered Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

My family watched seven seasons of Buffy over a few months and then breezed through five additional seasons of Angel with a speed not seen since vampires first emerged. People, there are 22 episodes per season, each lasting approximately 42 minutes, times the 12 seasons I just watched. I could do the math, but I choose not to.

So tonight, I watched the very last episode of Angel. It was bittersweet, and I yearn for just one. More. Episode.

I plan on taking at least a month off to wean myself off the TV habit. I’m not sure whether I’ll watch movies with the kids, but I’m going to try to even avoid this little concession.

So goodbye TV, goodbye Buffy and Angel. I will miss you dreadfully, although I did put all your comics on hold at the library. *Sob*

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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Frugal Photos from Someone Not in the Mood to Write

by Katy on March 6, 2011 · 18 comments

 

 

I bought this vintage mantel clock at Value Village for $10. It was non-functional, but I had a battery unit installed a few years later as a birthday gift from my husband. I don't remember how much that cost, but it was pretty cheap, maybe $30. I love this clock!

 

We lived with super cheap $3 light fixtures for years before making the leap to something more period appropriate. I bought a pair of these chandeliers from eBay for $35. My husband re-wired them and I bought the glass shades for $25 for the two of them. Portland is the home of both Rejuvenation Lighting and Schoolhouse Electric. However, they were both out of our budget, and I like the uniqueness of our lighting.

I bought this framed Maxfield Parrish print at an estate sale for $18 and change. (It was all the cash I had on me at the time.) It's from 1918 and looks perfect in my 1914 house.

 

I have a hard time not wasting garlic and ginger, so I chop them all at once and them store them in glass jars ready to be used in the refrigerator. Very convenient and very frugal!

When I chop an onion, I chop the entire onion and keep it in the freezer. This time saver streamlines making dinner and ensures that we never send onion to the compost bin. The crusts are for making bread crumbs.

I found this vintage piece of fabric in my mother's basement. It is simply hung over a tension rod, which is good enough for me. The vintage glass shade set me back a couple dollars and I think it looks great in my older kitchen.

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Non-Consumer Mish-Mash, The Grateful Dead Edition

by Katy on March 3, 2011 · 7 comments

It’s time again for Non-Consumer Mish- Mash, where I write a little bit about this and a little bit about that.

Coin Girl is Smoking Hot!

It’s rare for me to go places and not find coins on the ground. They are however, almost always pennies. And as much as I love these little freebies, I am fully aware that I can pick up pennies till the cows come home, and they will never add up to enough to buy even one of my kids’ college textbooks, let alone fully fund a Roth IRA. However, I’ve been on a bizarre string of finding silver coins lately. A quarter on the ground outside Ikea yesterday, a dime outside the credit union this morning and then a quarter outside The Grocery Outlet this afternoon. (I also found four pennies, but that’s hardly worth writing home about.)

I am not going to overthink this trend of big floor cash, but instead will continue to keep my eyes cast downwards for unclaimed doubloons and diamonds.

And if I run smack into you, you’ll just have to excuse me, I’m Coin Girl and I’m on a hot streak.

Thanks, I’ll Just Have an Apple

I was wandering the aisles of The Grocery Outlet this afternoon, when I noticed an obscene sight that made me regret my camera-free status.

A package of four pears, each individually wrapped in styrofoam mesh, all nestled together in an additional clamshell plastic box.

I practically had to restrain My Plastic Free Life’s Beth Terry from starting a letter writing campaign. It was almost more packaging than product. And now that I think about it, it might have been. I am fully aware that pears are a delicate fruit, bruising at even the mere thought of a jostle, but there’s got to be a better way. I like pears and buy them frequently when they’re in season, but I do so by bringing my own bag, not my own bubble wrap. This is a disturbing trend which I would like to see die out.

Perhaps the very presence of this product in a food outlet store is a sign that Portlanders are turning down these overpackaged goodies, although I know this is unlikely.

So I’ll just wait patiently until the fall, when I can buy pears without the protective gear.

Food Waste Friday? Nah, it’s Food Waste Thursday!

I know that few of my blog readers actually live in Portland proper, (or Portland improper if you want to be a stickler for details) but I still want to put the word out about an upcoming event. Next Thursday, March 10th, Wasted Food.com’s Jonathan Bloom will be speaking at the Powell’s on Hawthorne from 6:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. Bloom will be covering information from his book, American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of its Food and What We Can do About it, and I expect it to be a very interesting (and frugal) evening. Of course, it’s less frugal if you buy the book, but the amount of money saved by non-food wastage will more than cover the cost of the book. 😉

I look forward to meeting any and all blog readers, so please come introduce yourself. I’ll be the one trying to not look like she’s listening to Jerry Garcia at a Grateful Dead concert. Cause yeah, I’m that obsessed with food waste.

Minus the tie-die and LSD of course.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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Help, I’m Having a Curtain Emergency!

by Katy on March 2, 2011 · 73 comments

Update: There was a *mishap* at the very beginning of Curtainpalooza 2011 with the very first cut of fabric. I am not here to place blame, but my mother is still recovering from surgery and I appreciate all the help she’s able to give. I love my mom, I love my mom, I love my mom . . . .

In the meantime, I’m just kind of watching how they look in the different times of day. I’m leaning towards having the two side curtains be full length, as that looks cohesive with the also tan full length curtains that are in the adjoining living room. However, keep your votes coming in, as they are very helpful!

I am sewing new sheer curtains for my dining room, but need help deciding how long to make the two side curtains.

Should they be:

 

Full length?
All one length?
Each in line with their windows?

I would like your opinions as soon as possible as my mother is currently over at the house, sewing machine at the ready.

And yes, I did buy the curtains from Goodwill, where they were half off and $5 total. I did however pick up the spring tension rods at Target.

Thank you!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

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