Supermarket Savings 101

Last Friday morning I went grocery shopping as I was expecting my two out-of-town sisters for the week end. Have you noticed that in the last couple weeks that the costs of milk and dairy items, grain products such as bread and cereal, and related baked goods are shooting through the roof?

For example, my favorite whole milk yogurt just went up about 50 cents for one quart! I calculate that as about a 20% increase.

My wheat supplier said that grain prices are going up about 25% any day, fortunately, my grain sale customers bought grain just in time! Can you imagine what a 25% increase in grain prices will do to the cost of bread and bakery items?

I don\'t know about you, but my grocery budget just can\'t withstand an overnight increase of 20% or so. Now, I know tthat not everything has gone up that much in just a few weeks, but huge price spikes in basic foods reminds me that the best protection from rapidly increasing grocery prices is learning to buy in bulk and making your own.

If you have ever wished you could significantly cut your grocery bill but had no idea where to start I have a simple, economical solution.

My friend, Crystal Paine, is the queen of frugality and has taught dozens of moms how to save hundreds of dollars on groceries each month.

She has managed with about $35.00 a week for her small family for quite some time.

About 15 years ago, one of the most popular books I sold was The $30 a Week Grocery Budget written by a mom of four feeding a family of six. I learned a lot from her, but that book is now out-of-print.

However, after many requests, Crystal just released a very helpful step-by-step online course detailing how to reduce your grocery spending without sacrificing quality to do so. Her exhaustive course, Supermarket Savings 101

, includes a large course handbook, six audio lessons, access to a private members-only message forum, and six money-saving ebooks.

For the next 48 hours only, she is offering a very special deal to all of us that I am sure you would want to know about if you are serious about saving money in the grocery store. You can get her entire course at the incredible deal of only $8.97!

It\'s a no-brainer. Buy the course while you can at this steal-of-a-deal price and your wallet will thank you for the rest of your life!

This course has a money back guarantee!

Click Here to order it today:

Remember, the special price of $8.97 is only good for 48 hours. Don\'t miss out!

Our Garden is Brimming!

We nearly had a frost two nights ago, there was snow at the higher elevations. We took precautions this year, covered the tomatoes and they were fine. Last year we had an early, unexpected frost and that was it! I was out of town Monday night and my husband picked all the tomatoes and even started drying them for me!!! The tomatoes are in the middle, dying corn in behind, cucumbers etc in front. We use raised beds made of cinderblocks. We have had our best luck with this type of garden.


The back row in the picture below is our grape arbor that we inherited with this property. They will be ready to harvest soon. I usually make about 40 quarts using a steam extraction method, saves so much time!

Fall Centerpiece Ideas

Making a Fall Centerpiece is very easy and inexpensive. My talented friend, Sandy Tuin has taken an inexpensive cloth napkin with Fall colors. On top she has used two small silk pumpkins (real ones are fine) that she bought last year at 90% off at Hobby Lobby. Combined with a few pieces of mini-Indian corn (her's is from the garden) and two or three picks in Fall colors. This basic plan could be changed seasonally for Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, etc with a little creativity. Sandy says it is quite easy and can be VERY economical if you plan ahead.Here is how I adapted Sandy's basic centerpiece with stuff I had sitting in storage from years past:

How have you decorated your table for Fall?

Pictures from the Beautiful Oregon Coast

My husband and youngest daughter Mary and I were able to sneak away for a 10 day trip to the Oregon Coast and Columbia River Gorge at the end of August, our first, well deserved, vacation in over a year. I thought it would be fun to share a few pictures so you can catch a glimpse inside our Urban Homemaker family. We camped a few nights in the Hood River Region near the Columbia. This area is known for fruit farming, primarily Pears. The view of Mt Hood is spectacular. It is a little over 11,300 feet tall and still has snow on it. In contrast, Mt Lamborn, near our home is a similar elevation but has no snow.


The next day we traveled along the historical highway along the Columbia. We were so shocked at the lack of development along the river, it is still beautiful and unspoiled for the generations to come. One stop was the Bonneville Dam, built during the depression, and the first dam on the Columbia.


From the Hood River area we drove to the Oregon Coast. This was Mary's first time to the Pacific Ocean, and my first visit to the famed Oregon Coast. We were not disappointed. We camped at Nehalem Bay State Park, just east of the dunes separating us from the Pacific Ocean. The next day we took a hike to Cape Falcon about 15 miles from where we camped. This picture looks South along the coast towards the state park. I just wish the water was warm enough to swim in.


While headquartered at this state park, we visited Ft Clatsop, the place the Corps of Discover (Lewis and Clark Expedition) spent the winter. This ranger dressed in period costume explained why the Corps ate
primarily elk and deer meat while they spent the miserably rainy winter of 1805--1806.



Our last stop was at the Golden Spike Historical Park in Utah where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific rail lines met in 1869. We just "happened" to arrive minutes before the May 10, 1869 ceremony was re-enacted by costumed actors. To be authentic, they actually had a pastor open in prayer and he closed the prayer in Jesus Name. We were blessed.

How are you supporting your local farmers?

One topic I talk a lot about is buy fruits and vegetables locally and seasonally.

When we visited Oregon last month we enjoyed shopping at a family farm. This sign

posted at the end of the parking lot caught my eye.
Here is a picture of the old packing shed where we bought some fresh fruits locally in the Hood Oregon
region.



I loved the old-fashioned atmosphere of this fruit stand and meeting the owner!

Have you heard of or shopped at the "Fruit Loop" of family owned fruit farms and orchards in the Hood River, Oregon area? Tell me about your local orchards, farmer's markets and homegrown vegetable stands! I will publish pictures at my website if you want to share.

What kind of oil do you use in bread

How would you answer this question?

<<<Could you please tell me what type of oil I should use in making my bread. I normally use canola oil but was reading that it is very bad for one. Olive oil would have a strong taste. What do you use, sesame oil? If you could help me with this I would greatly appreciate it. >>>

Here is my answer:

<<<You could use coconut oil, or safflower oil if it is expeller pressed. I think the sesame oil as long as it is refined (not strongly flavored) but expeller pressed or you could even use butter.>>>

What healthy oil do you use?

Questions and Answers from my mailbox

The following is a sample of questions I have been receiving lately regarding bread baking problems and other topics of interest to homemakers.

Dear Marilyn,

Besides eating bread faster, how can I keep my homemade bread from going moldy? Thanks. Nancie

Dear Nancie,

I have four strategies for keeping bread from going moldy. First, I use dough enhancer.
2. I use honey which promotes shelf life.
3. I freeze all bread loaves, sliced and bagged until I am ready to use it. It takes bread
about 3 hours to completely thaw.
4. I use the 2 Stage Process. This soaking process has extended the shelf life
of my home made bread up to a week.

Dear Marilyn,

I am new to grinding wheat. I was given an old mill - electric with 2 stones. No directions. I had to experiment and ground the wheat this neighbor gave me. It came out too course, the bread was a little crumbly. I did use dough enhancer. Can this flour be ground again? finer?? Or is it possible to soak the flour first


Dear Carol,

I would say it is unlikely the flour can be made finer in the mill, but I would say experiment a bit and see if you can. Old stone mills really don't produce good quality flour for high rising yeast bread. My recommendation is to use 2 Tbsp vital gluten per Cup of water used in your recipe, plus master the two stage process. A high speed grain mill will produce finer flour which will do a lot for eliminating crumbly bread. Higher quality wheat will also help. Keep in mind whole grain bread will never be quite as high rising as white flour because the bran is included.

Dear Marilyn,

I have been looking forward to your seminars but have not seen any
posted in a long time. Will you be doing these again anytime soon? I
really enjoyed them. Kristin M

Kristin,

Thanks for asking and encouraging me to get back to the seminars. I plan to resume
seminars this Fall and will announce a tentative schedule soon.

Dear Marilyn,

I want to sprout the grain and then mill it rather that use the two stage process. I've searced your sight and cannot find a conversion of this method for use with the zo machine. I know that the kneading time needs to be changed. Do you have zo machine settings for your whole wheat bread recipe using milled grain already sprouted?

Thank you,
Amy P

Dear Amy,

If you have sprouted the grain, use my basic Zo settings.
articles.urbanhomemaker.com/index.php?article=564

Let me know if it works out ok.

Amy wrote back that the dough was still very gooey. Here are my additional suggestions:

No, I haven't had anyone contact me regarding the Zo and sprouted wheat bread settings. Hopefully someone who has mastered this process with sprouted wheat will send their tips and I will get back to you. In the meantime here are some other suggestions:

I think basic principles should still apply. If it is a gooey mess, it tells me either there wasn't enough flour, did you check for a nice round dough ball and make adjustments in the beginning of the kneading cycle? If so, and it was gooey inside after baking, it tells me the bread wasn't baked long enough, and you will need to increase the baking time by at least 10 minutes using the programmable feature.

IF the dough is gooey from over kneading, that tells me to cut the kneading time again using the programmable feature. I would try 8-10 minutes kneading time in that case.

Keep me posted with your results so if you get it, I can tell others and give you the credit! Marilyn




Hi, Marilyn,




Lately, on the Mercola and Debra Lynn Dadd websites, I've been reading about plastics and potential estrogen effects. Plastic water bottles, even the heavy-duty ones on coolers, are cited as a major source.







We have two Multi-Pure filters in our kitchen, and, as you know, they have plastic tubing to the spigot.




So, my question is, has the plastic used in the Multi-Pure system been tested for potential leaching of toxins, including estrogen mimickers? How about in the pot-filler application we have, to the pot-filler? Thanks!



Helen in SpokaneDear Helen,

Thanks for asking a really timely question. Fortunately I have a great answer.
This is the reply I received from Multi-Pure:

>>>The plastic that we use is FDA Pharmaceutical grade and has

been tested by NSF to ensure that there is no leaching

of the materials into the water.



One of the great things about NSF certification is that they

test every nut, bolt, fitting, piece of tubing etc to make sure that

the item is not adding anything to the water supply. This is called

the Leach Test. So your customers should be assured that the water

they are drinking from their Multi-Pure is safe. We start with the best materials

and certify their performance.>>>



Hope this helps.


Marilyn

Do you have a question, comment or suggestion that others might benefit from?
Please email me at marilyn@urbanhomemaker.com.