Free soup!


One of the challenges I have set for myself for 2009 is to never again buy pre-fab stock for my soups. The buying of big containers full of flavored water for up to $3.50 per 32 oz has always irked me, but I never really took the plunge to make an effort to end this travesty.
If we look at the ingredients of the stock pictured above, the first one listed is “water” - and of course water accounts for about 98% of what is in that $3 container, all the rest of the ingredients onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, salt, spices, oil and garlic are represented as mere trace elements floating in water.
To get to make your own stock for free I followed the advice of a dear friend and restaurant owner, who makes the best soups far and wide. His secret lies in the compost bin - or rather the things he will not throw in, in order to make soup. Kitchen scrap soup - I am pretty sure that was also my grandmother’s secret for her fantastic vegetable soup. Basically as you chop veggies for stir fries, curries or any other vegetable dish, have a separate container ready to collect all the bits and pieces that even though they are not good enough - or sometimes merely not attractive enough - for your stir fry - they are perfect for cooking over a slow simmer and giving you that flavor that we are looking for in a good broth. The obvious candidates are: the tough core of a cabbage, the woody ends of broccoli, the butts of carrots, the outer layer - not the skin - of onions, the stem of kale etc. All these should go into your soup stock container and keep in the refrigerator for two or three days - after that - if you are eating enough veggies - as you should - you will have a full container of cookable scraps. Put up a large pot with water, salt and spices and simmer - after about an hour you have wonderful and free stock! Enjoy!
It freezes great and lasts almost indefinitely!

Insane and Unheard of: How to make your own Automatic Dishwashing Detergent

After you have tried making your own toothpaste, there is just no way back. You are on the path to utter money saving insanity. You really start looking at every item on your shopping list in a new way. Do I really have to buy this, or is there a way I could make this myself and save a bundle? I have to admit that dishwashing detergent had me stumped for a while, and then of course the solution was super simple.

Two things first, my dishwasher sucks! I am sorry to say it is an expensive German model and I have tried to defend it up and down, to the not very printable things it has been called by both my husband and my son. Even the repairman, who came in to repair my refrigerator, which was upset with me because I crammed it full with my lovely CSA produce, gave me a look, that was very non approving, a la “How could you spend this much money on such a piece of junk….”
Also, our water which is wonderful well water, that tastes great, is actually very hard, chock full of minerals, which leaves a whitish deposit on everything from the tea kettle to the wine glasses. So, the odds were stacked heavily against being able to get away with a homemade detergent, but, as usual, homemade beat the pants out of everything else I have bought in the store. I should have had a revelation, when I started getting sparkling glasses, an event in my house, with a simple vinegar rinse. But I guess I wanted to remain faithful to my Seventh Generation detergent, even though it costs way too much.
However, after the toothpaste incident, I was determined to give the expensive cleaner the boot, and I did a little research.


What I found was baking soda’s older, stronger brother “washing soda” or sodium carbonate, as it is called by Seventh Generation as the main ingredient in their automatic dishwashing detergent. Figures!
I paired this with Borax, which is a bit of a controversial cleaner. It is all natural, but of course that does not mean much, since poisons, such as arsenic are technically all natural too. After reading an health study conducted by the EPA, I have concluded that for me it does not represent a risk, but of course I would like you to make your own mind. You can find the EPA article here. Given the choice of having to swallow a shot glass worth of Cascade™ or my homemade borax - washing soda mix, I would chose my mix any day!

So here is the recipe:

1 tablespoon washing soda ( Not baking soda)
1 tablespoon Borax

1 cup vinegar as a rinse in a seperate rinse cycle - or filled directly into the rinse dispenser, or both.

This works wonders for me, despite the lame dishwasher and the hard water.
You may have to experiment a bit - you can double the amounts of either, or both the washing soda and the borax. Make sure everything is rinsed off well. I usually run the rinse cycle twice and add the vinegar to the last cycle.

Borax and Washing Soda can be found in the laundry aisle of your supermarket. You will have to buy it about once a year.
I paid $4.39 for 76 oz of Borax and
$2.99 for 55 oz of Washing Soda.

The white vinegar varies in price. I have found some supermarket store brands as low as $1.00 per gallon. Needless to say that although it is a great bargain as an all around house cleaner, I definitely do not consider this vinegar to be food. It is just awful and should never be used to eat - only to clean!

So, all in all your dishwashing detergent is down to cents per load - another expensive item eliminated from your shopping list for good!

Shopping - a tutorial!

1.Never leave the house without your tools. They include in order of importance:
a. Your current shopping list
b. The list of foods you already have at home
c.The Organics Dirty Dozen Guide
d. Your Shop Journal - which is a little record book of what you buy most often and how much does it cost in other stores - without your journal, comparisons are really an exercise in memorization.

So you really have to have a game plan - What are you and your family going to eat for breakfast , lunch and dinner for the next seven days. The list should be as realistic as possible - plan in social engagements, children birthday parties , sports or cultural events - everything that could influence your food intake for the next seven days. Keep in mind you should plan around foods you already have in the house, so the first step has to be evaluating your list from last week - to see if some recipes did not get made - and you have to transfer them over to this week.

2.An often heard rule: Don’t ever shop on an empty stomach.

3.Try to shop alone. I know this is hard on moms but maybe you can trade baby sitting with a friend so they can get their shopping done in peace as well. Spouses need special mentioning - some of them are great, some horribly distracting and some are just the worst impulse shoppers ever. Bottom line if they are not helpful they should not come. You really need your concentration!

4.Shop the bulk food section first. This should be the backbone of your diet.

5.Be aware of false sales and sales that prompt you to buy things you did not want to buy. Consult your shopping journal to see how much of a good deal the sale really is.

6. Always look at the top and bottom of big supermarket shelves to find similar products often cheaper. General rule is: what’s on eye level is usually most expensive.

7.Also in big supermarkets you want to stick to the outer perimeter of the store. That’s where you will find the food that is worth eating. Your produce, dairy or undairy etc.

8.Always bring a calculator - some cell phones have one built in, or in a dollar store or a Staples you can find some with a niffty clip to hook to your shopping bags. The calculator is necessary to compare prices per unit not per package. However if math happens to be your forte, you can do all those fractions in your head!

9.Buy only what you will use soon - food storage can be tricky - unless you have enough room and you stock up on staples.

10. Be realistic and buy only what you and your family will eat. Try to have fun, but also keep in mind that if the last three time you bought “tofu” it was not used chances are, unless you had a huge mind boggling awakening you will throw it out again. Don’t ever forget it is about choices. There are perfectly happy vegetarians out there who never eat tofu. Not me though - I love the stuff!