Planning your meals and not wasting food

Design*sponge grocery planner

Bon Appetite 7 habits of highly effective grocery shoppers

I'm getting ready to head to Brooklyn, I have a bit of food that I brought from Ithaca but really I want to start over. I want all new spices except for the newest spices I have. I have some flour and basics, but really I just want to treat it like I'm living in Italy again. Buy food, cook it. Buy food, cook it. make left overs, have some pasta. Buy food, cook it.

I will be much more active in this job than my past jobs, so I need to account for that when bringing lunch. I also will be working in areas that will most likely not have salad bars and delis with tasty sandwiches... so I really need to make sure I bring hearty foods that keep me going. I'm a little concerned about getting bored (food wise). I may end up getting a microwave for th job site if there isn't one there, so I can eat warm food. I'll try the food thermos again but it doesn't stay HOT it ends up being just warm. Cheap foods are beans and rice... together they create a complete protein... cheaper than meat! Salads will be good too. I will be packing lunch everyday, dinner 2 days a week and a snack everyday. I'd like to go to some yoga classes, trying out different studios. With my classes 2 days a week it doesn't make sense to get an unlimited pass for any yoga studio because there are at least 2 days a week I won't be able to go. For now I'm going to try to stick to a few classes a week.

My new job starts Monday, and I have class that night. We are being fed lunch on Monday which means I don't have to figure out lunch until Tuesday. It's hard to plan a meal when I don't know when I'm moving in (Sunday night, tomorrow, hopefully). And I have nothing in the fridge :P

Cheers to a new job, moving forward and personal growth. May this be the best year yet.

You know what's free but painful?

Letting go.

Suffering is like street meat. After enough of it you realize it sucks and you should just let it go, even though it smells good... The analogy worked better in my head.

Pain is inevitable, bad things happen, tough times happen, but holding onto a certain view of something doesn't make it go away. It makes suffering happen. It is painful. Like holding onto a rope that is sliding up, the only way to not feel the pain of rope burn is to let go of the rope. I have been suffering these 2 months because I cannot let go of this view/understanding I had of the world. Trust me, I have been working on it. But today, to receive a casual forwarded link from him, it felt like salt on the wound. How can your first contact with someone who's heart you broke be so casual and nonchalant? I have to fight harder to let go. Fight harder to remember that everything is happening perfectly, that the universe wouldn't give me anything I couldn't handle, that I will get through this... that I am getting through this... that I have so much to be grateful for and so much ahead of me. I cannot let this hurdle continuously trip me from my future... whatever that may be.

I am filling my calendar up with classes and work starting next Monday (life of a pauper by choice... food stamps, not enough to live on in NYC, but a great learning experience and opportunity). I can only hope (nay, wonder) what windows this door will lead to. 3 months ago I wouldn't have seen this all happening, yet here I am. And making the best of it. I've been told I'm brave... I have been reading the Pema Chondron Collection my mom lent me and it has been very helpful. I haven't had a steady enough mind to mediate today, but reading and thinking about it helped immensely. She said that her husband early in her marriage told her she was the bravest person he knew because she was the biggest coward but went ahead and did what she was afraid of anyway. That's where I feel I am. I don't know what the future will bring. I had my first graphic design class today and I loved it. I was riveted. I don't know where my career is headed. I feel like I'm interested in too many things to pick one. How can I combine all aspects of design? I don't think of myself as brave because I'm scared and nervous. But I am still changing my life, even without him. Perhaps because of him. I don't know what the future will bring. I used to always have a plan and now... I know where I'll be working til Dec, I know where I'll be living and taking classes til April. Next January I have no idea what my career plans will be, where I will be going or what I will be doing. It would be liberating if it wasn't so frightening. Hopefully in these next 1 months I'll learn to face that fear. To be at peace with it and be aware of what's going on around me so I can hop through any open windows or doors of opportunity that my choices may offer me in the next 11 months.

On a slightly different note. If you live in NYC and are looking for a way to spend your day for little money and maximum relaxation... Spa Castle, on a weekday, $35 for 3 levels of pools, hot tubs, jets and saunas is pretty freaking amazing. I also got a chair massage of my back for $15/10 min (the most affordable massage option). They have other services like manis and pedis, hot stone massage and waxing... less of a fun filled cheap day though to include those. I went there with a group of girls on Friday and it was totally awesome. We were there from 1pm til about 8pm. On the weekends it's busier and $10 more, so less enticing. 6 days til I start working my below-minimum wage job. These next 11 months are going to be interesting...

The quinetessential city dwellers fireplace

1. install greasemonkey,
2. install Loopy for youtube
3. go here and click 'loop' (bottom right) then go to fullscreen mode
(remember to adjust the time on or disable your screen saver)

Not sure what to do with what's in your fridge?

This website, My Fridge Food, gives you recipes based on ingredients you select. If you already have a list of what's in your pantry, this will help you figure out what your options are for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Eating well on a downsized budget - NYTimes article

Eating well on a Downsized Budget By JANE E. BRODY, March 2, 2009

"So let’s welcome back to the American table meals made from potatoes, eggs, beans, low-fat or nonfat yogurt and milk (including reconstituted powdered milk), carrots, kale or collards, onions, bananas, apples, peanut butter, almonds, lean ground beef, chicken and turkey, along with canned or frozen corn, peas, tomatoes, broccoli and fish. For nutrient-dense beverages, Dr. Drewnowski suggests 100 percent fruit juice blends and fruit-and-vegetable juice blends."

yay, I have and have been eating most of these things!

What to do with broccoli stems and other bits of veggies?

I followed the advice of a friend on facebook and also this video tip from Chow and popped them in a bag int he freezer. I should have some decent vegetable stock this upcoming soup season!

A day at home

I made scrambled eggs with spinach and cheddar for... brunch :) And then I sauteed 3 little zucchini and a tomato and mixed with rigatoni for dinner, making enough to have it as a cold pasta salad tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'm having a little get together. I just got here but I met my neighbors and a friend's girlfriend and invited them all over for a little potluck! Not sure what I'm making yet, but I want to make something using things I already have (of which there is a list on the fridge, to remind me NOT to go grocery shopping again, because I love shopping for groceries!)

(the little asterisk means it's in the freezer)

One of the things I did today was watch the rest of project runway season 5, disc 3 (still have some catching up to do, and I don't have cable... or a TV, so I'm always a season behind!). So I started draping with fabrics I already have. I'm so not allowed to buy anything except for notions I need to finish a garment! So I played with some draping, not sewing anything yet- I have a few patterns I want to make and I'm still a little intimidated by draping and making patterns from draping because I'm all self/book taught and in the past it hasn't gotten me too far with draping... hopefully that will change!

Pretty elementary, but mostly fun to work on! (Though I really should have been reading, grad school is a lot of work!)

Getting settled in my new place

The move is complete, I've met several of my neighbors, been to the farmer's market, Wegman's grocery store (24hrs! yay!) and wal-mart and now it's time to get back to blogging about learning to be cheap.

Some thoughts on setting up your apartment and how to do it cheaply.

• Share- ask your neighbors if they are interested in sharing wireless internet- if they already have it even better- you can check the strength of the signal.

• check craigslist for furniture or look up cheap ways to make your own. I went with the classic 70s style shelves because it's just me living here and I could carry each of the components individually.The black felt is to protect the recently refinished floors (and to prevent a heart attack in my landlord should he see concrete blocks on his floors!).
  

• Unpack your kitchen and bathroom first- make a list before you go shopping for things you absolutely need. If there is a category of things you would like but could live without for a while save them for the next month. I didn't do this and spent way too much in my first month here. In the end I decided not to go back and get the paper towel holder, just one more expense that could be done without.
  

• Take notes when you grocery shop. In Ithaca there are farmer's markets, a co-op, and a grocery store (that offers organic stuff, not so much fair trade, and is open 24 hours!). I have saved all my receipts so I can compare the costs. Tomatoes are cheaper at the farmer's market (for now) than at the big grocery store, same with potatoes (I got potato seconds for $1.50 a pound!). I am also comparing the costs of bulk pastas and grains. I'm not just comparing costs but also eco-footprints. I prefer to buy local because local food supports local farmers and I <3>

• If your apartment doesn't come with things you are used to, like a microwave, toaster or toaster oven- try going without for a while and see if you really really need one. I don't have a microwave but reheating food in a skillet tastes far superior and I'm learning to use my broiler to quickly toast/melt things (nachos!)

• Get an EZpass! Now that I have an actual address, I'm ordering mine I already have two trips to NYC planned and the ezpass will make the drive quicker, probably save gas from not slowing down and then accelerating and I will get discount rates on my tolls. How could I not get one!?
  

A couple foodie-on-a-budget tips:

• Make your own salad dressing. It's super tasty and you can experiment with mixtures. My recipe is as follows (quantities vary): dijon mustard, pressed garlic (or finely diced), lemon juice from half a lemon, fresh ground pepper, olive oil. Mix together and keep in a container with a lid. It will get a little solid in the fridge but when it gets to room temp it will be runny again. You can make it as thick or thin as you like depending on how much olive oil you add.
• If you have some ingredients and want to make something specific browse the web for recipes that use only things you have in stock, that way you don't have to make a special trip to the grocery store (so long as you keep your staples stocks) and you get what you wanted. I believe the phrase is "have your cake and eat it too"!
• leftover roasted potatoes could be remade into mashed potatoes (really easily), add some roasted garlic to give your potatoes new flavor!
  

This was my dinner, reheated roasted potatoes (with way too much oregano, gotta watch that pour spout!) and romaine lettuce with my homemade dressing. I also had some guac-salad with nachos earlier today. I love having my own kitchen!


Tonight I am making an apple bread using this recipe. I changed it to make one loaf, it's just me and I don't want too much bread! I think it could potential make a phenomenal grilled cheese sandwich- granny smith and cheddar are a great combo! I will have to taste the bread before I get to excited. It had all good reviews which is a good sign, I did make some changes though. No sugar was added, I used white whole wheat flour, instead of oil I added a 1/2 cup of no sugar added applesauce. I poured a little olive oil and agave nectar in when it needed more moisture. I If this bread doesn't spread too much it could probably be made as a free-form loaf.

This could totally be made into whatever shape you wanted. The dough was super thick, it didn't rise/spread much at all. It's really tasty and hearty. I think it would be great with some whipped cream, a glass of milk or some vanilla gelato! Warm it's pretty good because of the soft apple chunks (I put in like 2x the amount of apple it called for). It's not overly sweet, would be a good hearty breakfast bread, possibly with some yogurt.. ooo or peanutbutter!

Go forth and create!

How not to buy a car in another state and then exchange it between family members

Why are state-to-state transactions so difficult!?

My mom lives in DE, she bought a car in MD and didn't pay sales tax because Delaware doesn't believe in taxes. She bought the car and put both our names on the title. Lesson one: don't do this.

If you are going to buy a car and give it to your child who lives in a different state (especially one with tax/higher tax) this is what you should do:
1. buy the car in your name in whatever state
2. get the title in your name in that state
3. sign the title over in your state to your family member, in that state
4. have that family member request a new title in his/her state- if it is gifted in the other state and you have a title you shouldn't have to pay sales


What not to do:
1. sign your name and your giftee's/daughter's name on the title
2. register the car in your state
3. take the car to NY with only the giftee present at the DMV
4. have to get the other person to take a trip up to your state in order to show proof of ID and sign the paper- oh and pay NYS sales tax because the NY residents was on the original papers
5. be told the credit card machines aren't working (and you are going to owe more than $500- who carries that much cash? or a check book unless you expect to use it?!
6. have the credit card machine work (thankfully!)
7. get plates, get emissions testing and wait for new title in about 3 months


Ugh. What a frustrating experience! Ready to leave the city where hopefully things will be clearer.

Never rent a 16' truck in NYC and other lessons learned from moving out

A 16' truck is a commercial vehicle. No one at the rental place told me this when they said "well it's the same price as a 10' truck". It is not the same price. On the Verezano bridge alone I paid $20 to get through, I had to take truck routes and pay truck tolls. There is no parking of commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods overnight (a $65 ticket). So while the price at budget was the same as a 10' truck the price within the city and the reality is that it cost more than that. On top of that, it was a huge pain to drive in the city.

Now I am staying with KE and trying to get started with my fitness regime I was so excited to have the time to implement. So far, it hasn't been going as well as I'd hoped, but I'm working out my eating plan again and trying to figureout what to eat that's healthy and cheap before I head off to an unknown kitchen this summer. I did pick up one thing at Wal-Mart for the summer though: a mini food processor. It holds 1.5 cups and I look forward to making fresh pesto! I may even get some potted basil plants to keep in VT. When I get there and check the lay of the land I'll know more about that.

Back to diet planning!

boo realizing I *could have* saved $250!

If I'd signed up for the online prescription refill through my insurance company I would have apparently saved $250 on my already expensive prescription! In the future, I will have to pay more attention to online prescription options. Even if I had to keep this pill because there isn't' a cheaper alternative, it would still be cheaper than going to the pharmacy every month (and I would get a few months filled at once instead of needing to refill it every month.) Now I'm changing insurance in 3 months so I will still save some money (except that I will be on COBRA, which is way expensive). I'm not looking forward to figuring out health insurance when I'm done with school. I also wish I'd looked into the cost of alternate pills and brought the co-pay to the attention of my doctor earlier. There has to be a cheaper/ generic alternative out there. Unfortunately I wasn't trying to think cheap before, and I paid for it, literally!

If I knew then what I know now. I could have saved $250 :(

I'm so bad with leftovers. and produce. and things that get moved in the fridge

I just found out about this neat website StillTasty which tells you how long foods really last in the fridge or freezer. Opened or unopened, dependent upon the packaging. This is excellent news because I have a tendency to forget about things. Probably the most helpful thing you can do, armed with this website, is to write what date you opened packages of things like cheese with longer freshness periods.

Everybody should at least peruse this site to get an understanding of expiration dates and how long to keep that one food that doesn't look bad but has been open for a couple weeks...

Books

Get a library card. There are many books you can read once and do not need to reference again. Beware of late fees piling up though! Most large metropolitan libraries will allow you to renew online. Your savings by borrowing books will be nil if you end up paying exorbitant late fees. SO be sure to mark the book due date in your calendar as son as you check out the books. If someone else has the book on hold you won't be able to renew it. You can hold it longer but you will have to pay for it. Libraries are a great place to get movies, audio books (which you can then put on your ipod and the latest hardback book that you would buy if it was cheaper.

I read a lot of non-fiction so there aren't as many books available to me as say people who read a lot of best sellers or Oprah book club books. I got myself an amazon credit cad, so when I spend money, I slowly earn amazon gift cards. This is great because by putting things I normally buy on a credit card (and paying it off asap) I earn books. So I get my book buying fix (which some have called "a problem") but don't spend much more than I would without having purchased the books. Also if you are seeking a book that is out of print or you want a used version, an excellent resourse is addall's used book search or, how I got a recent book purchase, is to sign up on powells for a book alert. When my book arrived I got an email and was able to purchase it rightaway.

I'm looking forward to reading books I purchased recently and reviewing them here, keep an eye out for them this summer!

The past week

I tried budgeting with cash this week and it didn't work. I think it is because I got the cash at the beginning of the weekend. Week-End! I should be getting my cash on Monday and then spending it and whatever I have left at the week's end is what I can spend for entertainment/ going out/ drinks/ whathaveyou. The 100$ I took out last Saturday barely lasted me until Tuesday. I went grocery shopping, had a BBQ, failed at using my chimney starter, had to buy lighter fuel. I had tiring days in which I just wanted to go out, I spend many evenings with KE which made having breakfast difficult, I overslept and only went running once. I've also been very mentally busy trying to prepare for this summer at Yestermorrow, moving out of my place, trying to figure out who will take my room and if I'll come back next summer, what to do with my furniture, where to live in Ithaca when I head there in the Fall, and what to eat for lunch. Oh, and I bought a guitar and a guitar playing book. (To keep myself occupied this summer between reading and jumping into lakes and building stuff.)

I've been getting so bored with buying lunch, after the week of making my own lunch, in midtown. I stumbled upon Midtown Lunch an wandered to a couple new places, but still. I'd prefer to be eating things I made. I had planned to heat up left over Pad Thai and put it in a warmed up thermos but I was warned that the noodles would turn to mush because they wouldn't stop cooking. I didn't want to waste tasty Pad Thai (which is a good deal for me. $6.95 with chicken and it lasts me at least two meals from Thai 101- best reheated in a skillet on the stove- tastes way better than reheating in a microwave)

I'd better get back to filing taxes so I can afford my summer plans and filling out the FAFSA so I'm not homeless when I get to Ithaca! This weekend I'm having a crafting get together (crafting alone can be so boring!) and I'm also going grocery shopping. Let's see if I can't get my home cooked meals back in shape. Soup anyone?

Spring Cleaning!

After KE told me that he killed a cockroach with a Seventh Generation cleaning product I started thinking more about my household cleaners. I buy and use "earth friendly" products but I feel like it would be even more earth friendly to use more natural things- vinegar and baking soda are supposed to clean stuff.

We got a new stove not too long ago and my landlord said "Now you be sure to keep that clean, that's part of the security deposit." (Which my roommate later said, "is that in writing?" I hope she plans to help keep it clean :P ) I was looking at the stove that hadn't been cleaned or even wiped off since the last time I did it and decided to scrub the heck out of it.
I started by removing all the burners (this is a gas stove- I used to be afraid of them having grown up with electric and now I wonder what I'll do if we don't have gas anymore :( Maybe a fire pit) and placing them in the sink to soak for a bit just with water- to soften what gunk could be softened. Then I used my sponge to wipe off the big chunks. (like sweeping before you mop. You know that's what you're supposed to do, right!?)

I did a bit of online research and read about a baking soda and water paste 1:1. That failed miserably. The baking soda sat at the bottom of the measuring cup and when I tried to pour some out all the water on the top came out. I think it's more accurate to say a splash of water with some baking soda. So while I used a bit of this baking soda mixture poured onto the stains and then the soft yellow side of the sponge and a lot o scrubbing and fingernail scratching, i got the stove top to be pretty clean.

When I was in London staying with my friend N, he and his girlfriend had foil (shiny side up) under the burners on their stove and I was so excited by it's brilliance! Now, a mere 3 months later and I finally did it to my stove. After it was all clean and shiny, I ripped of foil sheets the length to cover each pair of burners. Pressing down I was able to mark where the burner elements are and then used my exact-o knife to cut open the tightest hole I could in the foil. (I'm an architect... precision is pretty.) Then I ripped off the foil edges that spilled out of the burner depressions for a nice tidy foil liner- which also doubles as a reflector making the stovetop even more efficient!

It's already been used since I put down the foil but now the part that gets the hottest and is most likely to having spills and mistakes get burned in is covered up and ought to be easy to clean up!

I did have to use some of my Seventh Generation all-purpose cleaning spray to get the gunk off the burners. My method is to put a paper towel over the affected area, spray cleaner fluid on it until it's soaked, let it sit for a bit, then wipe it off. The soaking really helps get out deep stains. Hopefully you were enticed rather than bored by my stovetop cleaning saga and find a way to keep yours clean (saide from washing it every time you cook... which would probably work even better!)

Get yourself a vacuum food jar

It takes some extra time in the morning (I wish I'd prepared for that cause I was late and had a little "talkin' to") but it is so worth it; my soup is still hot!

1. Boil water, get it crazy hot, boil a little extra long
2. Pour into vacuum food jar set lid on let sit for 5 or 10 minutes and dump water out
3. Put HOT food into jar and seal asap! (This is where I finally appreciate having a microwave after 2+ years without.)
4. Put it in your reusable bag or purse next to your water bottle
   
5. Open at lunch and enjoy!

I'm having left over soup from last Wednesday, it is sooo tasty after marinating with itself in the fridge for, oh , a week and a half.

Mine's a Stanley, there are other brands as well.

When experiemnting with food, start cheap

Like an herb sauce. Last night, in attempt to clean out my freezer, KE and I made broiled salmon. We both have the goal of being better at making sauces so we decided to try to make a dill pesto type sauce. I made the mistake of looking up a recipe that called for parsley as well. We also had way too much dill and parsley so we made more than "one recipe" called for. It tasted green. Like grass, without the fresh cut aroma. The dill was lost amongst the parsley, almost as if the two greens canceled each other out for flavor. This was surprising, because dill is such a strong flavor!

The sauce tasted a little better on the fish, but the fish having been in the freezer for way too long it was tough and the color of a salmon t-shirt... and not in a good way. I was glad KE bought a piece of fresh salmon because he wanted to make sure to have enough left overs to take for lunch today. The fresh salmon was the perfect texture and it made the "green sauce" taste better, not that we ate much of it.

Our side dish was Dijon roasted potatoes. A favorite of mine. KE brought over a bag of baby red potatoes (the cutest potatoes!) I normally cut them but because they were so small I opted not to. This was a medium sized mistake. There were about 3 delicious potatoes, which complimented the 1 of 3 good pieces of salmon. All in all we had a 33% tasty and 66% mediocre to awful meal.

What saved this meal was dessert. I have a serious sweet tooth and because dinner wasn't done being made, let alone eaten until about 10:30pm with piles of dishes and a plethora of dirty knives and counter space I opted not to make the chocolate chip cookies that have been on the back (but really the front) of my mind. When I went to pick up dill I saw Ciao Bella Maple Gingerbread Gelato in the fridge and could not help myself. I got it. After washing and drying most of the dishes, we ended our meal alternating scooping out gelato and trying to discover the little pouches of gingerbread.

What I learned from this week's wednesday night dinner:

• When experimenting with a new sauce or something, use herbs, it's a lot cheaper than messing up with meat (which I did last summer with my first ragu ever that sits unloved in my freezer).
• If you are going to experiement, aim for a nigh when you have more time. We didn't finish all the prepping, cooking, eating and cleaning until about 11:30pm. Which also meant we ate late.
• Always keep good ice cream on hand. It's nice to have something you know will be good after a 66% failing meal!
• Take more pictures while prepping, and upload them promptly!
  

Time

Money is not the only thing you budget. Time is a more valuable commodity (for people who have money-I'm sure unemployed friends of mine would agree). There are 24 hours a day and you spend them how you want. The things you spend time on aren't always things you want to spend time on but through muti-tasking and prioritizing and a stitch in time to save 9, you can get the most out of your time.

My weekday time budget:

9.5 hours at work (incl. lunch)
8 hours sleeping (on average)
1.5 hours commuting (subway)

19 hours SUBTOTAL

5 hours "Me" time: shower, making dinner, waking up slowly, in the bathroom,
checking email, watching movies, sewing, planning meals and parties, etc.

24 hours TOTAL


Time saving and Multitasking tips:

• When I get a seat, I read on the subway. I have a couple magazines and some library books I'm always trying to read. Much harder when I'm on the verge of sleeping, which leads me to
• Take a cat nap on the subway, but make sure to wake up before your stop!
• Think about what you have to do while you are at work- I keep a list (digital or old school ) handy to add to because I'm always thinking about my weekend and evening projects.
• Make big meals that can spread over many meals saving time for cooking later.
• Work on projects with your sweetie. KE and I have a list of projects we want to do independently that will work well to do together such as learning to make sauces and play the guitar.
• If you can handle mornings, exercise in the morning- you start your day feeling productive and when you get home you have time to do what you want be it hobbies, movies, or making food for the week.
• Make a grocery list and stick to it! Meal planning can save you time in the longrun because you won't dawdle at the grocery store (though sometimes it is fun to get inspired by ingredients).
• Rather than feeling burdened by making food, turn it into a party. Invite friends over for a a food making party. Just make sure that you make enough marinara so everyone can take home a usable amount. If you live in a place where many people have gardens or there are a lot of U-pick places even better. Part one: picking goods, part two: making goods. You could also have parties creating your own mixes. Purchasing dried goods in bulk such as beans or flour and sugar you can make your own jars of soup and cake/cookie mix. I would make custom labels for everyone to put on their jars before the party.
• Have potluck meals, or a weekly meal with friends. This way you socialize, and still eat. You can take turns hosting/ preparing food. Or one person can host regularly and you can have potluck meals. If it's dinner, I suggest organizing a bit to make sure it is a balanced meal. Stone soup is another option- people can bring whatever soup ingredient they have and you put it in the soup, different every time!
  

Do you have any other time saving or multitasking tips to share?

Free advice!

Tips I've gotten from frugal friends on how to be frugal:

• use what you have in the pantry, buy food when it's a good deal (and won't go bad before you have a chance to use it)
• give yourself a cash budget for the week and don't use cards to purchase anything. When you are out of cash, you are out of money... until next week.
• put money in savings before you even look at it, better yet set up an automatic transfer
• get a CSA or veggie box, you'll save on veggies (be ware of getting more than you can eat!)
• make soup!

What are your suggestions or tips? Leave a comment below with any additional suggestions for ways you (or people you know) are cheap.

Dinner for 20

I recently hosted a 1920s Murder Mystery Dinner Party for my birthday. Since the kit could accommodate 20 characters, I decided to get the most out of the evening by filling the slate. I really wanted to make a meal that was reminiscent of the '20s, and I had lots of great ideas about how to do that.

In order to make a fabulous meal and not spend a lot of money, I took my list of ideas to the store to see what dishes would be the cheapest to make. With this in mind, I also compared what ingredients I already had on hand. Costco had some good prices on certain things, but WinCo had the best deals.

The official menu for the evening was:
Snack Tray
Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Marinara
Waldorf Salad
Rhubarb Jello Mold
Curried Deviled Quail Eggs
Baking Powder Biscuits.

Here's the price breakdown of the entire shopping trip:

$ 16.00 organic spinach and ricotta ravioli
$ 2.79 celery
$ 1.50 red grapes
$ 5.49 organic sweet apples
$ 1.79 10 quail eggs
$ 1.79 10 quail eggs
$ 1.00 3 packs of raspberry jello
$ 4.49 big box of spring mix salad
$ 1.50 3 cucumbers

$ 36.35 Total
$ 1.82 per person

Things I had on hand:
marinara
walnuts
mayonnaise
mustard
rhubarb
canned pineapple
carrots
bell pepper
Ranch dressing
curry powder
flour
baking powder
salt

It is important to your wallet to use ingredients on hand. Had I bought each and every ingredient specifically for this meal, I would be bankrupt! That is one of the main things I consider when preparing meals - what's already in the kitchen that I can use. Except for those times when I get a delicious idea in my mind and must have it - then I make sure to use the left overs.

For dessert, my friend Sarah made an amazing three-layer cake: Charlotte Royale on top, chocolate coconut in the middle and white ginger on the bottom. She has a knack for that kind of thing, and I don't know of anyone who could have made a better cake! In addition to this, my friend's mom sent a chocolate ganache and raspberry cake down with him.


If I had to plan dessert for this dinner, I probably would have done a build-your-own-sundae.


Lessons on frugality from this evening:

• Incorporate "on-hand" ingredients into meals
• Use ingredients in more than one way (I used a little bit of the different vegetables and fruits to make the snack tray)
• Accept offers when friends ask what they can bring (alcohol fits well into this category)