Happy New Year 2009

One of the things I simply love about the end of every year, is the news on TV relaying what transpired through the past year. We will be reminded of who died, who was elected, who got divorced and remarried, who had children – these ‘WHO’ are people we are familiar with since they are in the entertainment or well known for various reasons.Sometimes, I like to think, ‘who cares!?!’

I wish at times, they would rerun those happy stories of dogs being reunited with their families after hard trials, (I’m partial to dogs right now as I am halfway through ‘The Story of Edgar Sawtell’, and my own dog Theo is comfortably enjoying additional treats as we start retraining him again just because of this book. A good read, I highly recommend purchasing a copy, then after reading passing it along to your friends in your book club.

Why don’t they (the news programs on TV) retell the happy stories of the year’s past? I am not sure. It seems to dwell on the negatives. But I am more interested in this New Year quite frankly more than anything else.

New Traditions and New Resolutions:

This year I decided to have a New Year’s Day Brunch – and though this is not new, as I have done this brunch thing before, since so many of us adults no longer like to go out on a night we like to refer as “beginning drinker’s eve”, I have decided to make this an all girlie brunch.

Us women will enjoy each others’ friendship and be reminded why we are all friends to begin with despite our many differences in personalities, ages, and stages in our lives. It should be loads of fun. I am planning on cheese soufflee, bodacious baked ham, my homemade waffles and much more. All those recipes are already posted in my blog here.

Why is it we always seem (ok some of us) to rewrite the same resolutions as the previous years: lose weight, stay on budget, get away for vacation, get a car, job, etc., this list can go on. In fact even on facebook my latest endeavor moment was that I was writing up my New Year Resolutions – then questioned if I should only rewrite last year’s with pretty colored ink. Frankly I could, but heck, is that really necessary?

I know one thing, as I went of to bed last night after rearranging my bedroom today, I started to read a old book about de-cluttering one’s household. I have been re-energized and it is amazing to me every year how crazy we can collect items we never use. I am a big believer of freecylce.org – and it is a great way to find new homes for the items you no longer need. It is also a great place to find things you might need or want.

In fact I have been wishing for a daybed for sometime to use as an alternative for a couch in my large loft. As it is, I have a small love seat, not very comfortable for light naps or for guests, I assure you! And voila, there it was this morning and I ‘won’ it. So I will be removing a variety of items from my home in the coming weeks and am totally happy – as this will be finally the year I not only get organized, but stay organized and clutter free, despite the oncoming onslaught of mail and other paraphernalia that seems to enter my household.

So without further adieu, I got’s to go, and get a little more caffeine in my body, to get it together in my art room which has taken a life on its own – rather scary – especially since I will really be needing this space these coming weeks.

But I wish you all from the bottom of my bug heart, a very happy New Year and may it be filled with many blessings, great happiness and loads of health along with anything else you think you would like to manifest into your lives this year. Make 2009 a blast! I know I will try my very best.

~Chef Maven

Holiday Woes and Ho Ho Ho’s

I am not alone this year as I learn that many of my friends and family are barely ‘doing’ Christmas this year. By that I mean, some have not bought a tree, others barely decorated (including me). And it is not that we are not in the holiday spirit or trying to make a political point by not buying anything this year, but frankly I think we are more reflective of so many people in the US who have had a hard year.

As I learn about other people’s real woes, it reminds me to be ever so grateful of all that I have, even if it is as simple as having a dry roof over one’s head and a can of corn in the cupboard. I am not against gift buying, in fact, this year Amazon.com was my ‘bestest’ of friends – and though it cost me twice as much as it would have normally to ensure those presents arrive before the holiday, it was a pleasure not to enter a large retail store besurged with other wanting holiday shoppers with kids a screaming, they want this or that.

So, wow, I just sounded like Scrooge when it comes to screaming kids, but in this case, and you know what I mean – those long lines, spending over your budget on possibly already over-maxed credit cards all the while you are trying to be in the holiday spirit of things.

This is why I am spending my time quite quietly this holiday season, going to friends homes to enjoy entertaining on a small scale, going to a food pantry and helping others less fortunate by serving up food and remembering to be ever so thankful.

Happy Ho Ho Ho! Chef Maven…

Election Results & Reactions

Well, depending upon where you live, you should know that Obama has won the Presidential Election…

I am happy for this event and was pleasantly surprised (I live in NY) the happy reaction in the streets. As old as I am, I cannot ever remember a time when a President Elect gardnered this public happiness as a result of their winning the election.

Bravo I say to Obama – and heck while I am at it, for the Democratic Strength we now have in both the Hosue and Senate…

Now, if you voted, fantastic! – Let’s remember it was over 52 million of us who got out the vote. But we have only started – let’s remember now to write and stand firm for that we believe in – as in health care, family leave, bringing back our troops, etc.

Keep the peace!

I promise as this blog’s owner, my next post will be about food!   ~Chef Maven

Tips and Tricks to Save Money at the Grocery Store

I am sure you are not alone, in fact I know you are not alone when it comes to wanting to provide you and your family with healthy good food – yet with the food prices continually increasing, we can easily learn how to be a bit more diligent in saving even more money than you previously thought.

So you want to learn some new tricks? You might get a few new tips and tricks here, and with others you may already have heard of, but are you really following through with them? Ask yourself, how many times do you go to the grocery store a week? Do you ever use coupons? Is that bargain bag if chips really necessary when you know you already have several at home?

Families with children can make it even more difficult in trying to bring down the weekly grocery budget, but I gasped when I see time and time again, so many people when checking out, use their credit cards to buy groceries. I even look into their grocery carts and wonder do they really need that many boxes of ‘let go my eggos?”. Heck, I am no Suzy Orman, but do you know those purchased with a credit card $100.00 bags of groceries in one week placed and ‘bought’ on a credit card with a 21% interest rate – get ready – would take you years to pay off if you are only paying the minimum each month?

If you have a meager balance of only $2500 with a 21% interest let’s say and ONLY pay the $100 minimum, it will take over 25 years to pay it off, while you also pay more than an additional $5,000 in interest alone. Yikes. It is time for everyone to sit down and see where they monies go and why they go. You will soon learn, even if you do this for two weeks, but I suggest one month, of really keeping track of all your receipts – and see where you are sending the bulk of your money.

I have also recently started using mint.com – which I highly recommend for those who tend to lose their receipts and are need an easier way of keeping track of their spending habits. Heck, it’s free, highly recommend and super safe to use.

So with that said, let me show you some tips I have been using myself to help my own family stay within budget. Does it take a little doing? Of course! Personally we have not suffered in lowering our standard and quality of food, not really – though we have changed a bit in what we eat and in fact have been eating healthier – go figure!

It all does start with having a different mind set. Knowing what you really can afford and making the right choices. Instead of simply buying without any thought as to what you may already have in your cupboards and refrigerator, it begins by being smarter about your food purchases.

Tips and Tricks

• Stop paying groceries with your credit card immediately. That means right now! As the given example showed above, why pay for groceries years from now that you bought and ate years earlier? That simply does not make sense. Personally I have not had credit cards for over five years and have been paying for my groceries with my debit card or cash ever since. If I do not have the money, I know my cupboards should be filled with enough food and with a little creativity, I can easily cook up a healthy and hearty meal for my family.
• Take a good look in your cupboards and refrigerator, take stock of what ingredients you have and which ingredients need to be staples in your cupboard. These staples you will want to purchase when they are on sale and to take advantage of bulking up on them.In my own cupboards, I consider some of the following items as staples: canned tomatoes (I use an array of varieties; crushed, whole plum, paste), frozen veggies, milk, eggs, yeast (for making bread for pennies), pasta, flour, butter, olive oil, chicken & beef broth pastes (“Better than Bouillon” is what I love and use and I find it is cheaper at Walmart-type stores than at the grocery store), whole chicken, sausages, ground beef, fresh carrots and celery among a few other items such as fresh fruit.

• After taking stock of your cupboards and refrigerator, think of interesting ways you can use what you already have before going off and buying more. I have one couple who take turns twice a week, choosing items in their cupboards that have been there a while, and they create a meal with the items that have been in their cupboards the longest. Not only does this couples enjoy this time together while being creative making dinner, they are using up the older ingredients in the cupboard.
• Use those coupons! If you already get the Sunday paper, fantastic. If not, even the $1.00 Sunday paper have enough coupons to easily pay for itself with just one coupon. And be smart, if you can’t afford the Sunday paper, sometimes, at the end of the day, the store owner will allow you to have the paper without the front page – heck it’s worth the try.
• Take advantage of using your store’s instant savings. This is especially true as the holiday season approaches. You will find some stores even provide you with a free turkey or ham if you spend $200 over the course of two months. I made enough one year for two turkeys – both of which were over 20 pounds – and I even ended up giving them away to a local church who needed them for their own holiday meals for the hungry, as I was having dinner at a friends house that year.
• Taking this idea even further, many times, right after the holidays foods go on sale. Last year in fact, I was able to purchase two fresh turkeys each over 17 pounds right after Thanksgiving for – get this, $2.00 or less for each turkey. Not only were they fresh turkeys, I immediately threw them into the freezer; one of which I roasted up for Christmas allowing me some extra monies for presents.
• Many stores offer weekly specials, just make sure you do not have to buy 10 of that item to get it for $10.00 say, in fact many stores will simply charge you $1.00 for each item on sale – who needs 10 boxes of brownies…
• Pay yourself first, even if you are on unemployment, put 10% of that check into your savings account.
• These next one’s seem obvious, but really stop buying coffee out. Making your own really does save mega bucks. Are you still drinking soda? Well, I often make my own natural sodas with adding fruit juice, fresh and jarred to seltzer for a homemade soda feel.
• Find ways to stretch your food. Instead of buying chicken breasts, I will purchase a chicken and cut it up myself. I can easily get two meals out of the breasts alone, while using the thighs for another meal and the legs, wings and other parts for soup. The savings here are huge people. The same goes with buying ground beef. There really is not a major difference from 75% lean to 90% lean ground beef except for their prices. And if you are super concerned with fat, after you make your chili for example or meat sauce, you can let it cool, put it into the fridge, then easily remove the fat that floats to the top and voila, defatted chili and meat sauce where no one will miss the missing extra fat.
• Eat more beans!, Yes, beans are super affordable (think cheap) and provide loads of protein our bodies crave. Hummus, bean salads, rice and beans are just a few ideas to get you started.
• Kiwis – are super cheap and provide super large amounts of vitamins.
• I often check out ’slightly bruised’ fruit and veggie section at my store. Now there are better times that others to check in this section. But I find usually at around 11:00am new products are added as the store employees add fresh produce to the shelves.
• Also check out the ‘bruised’ canned section and products that are no longer made. I find nothing wrong with buying a dented can of canned corn or pumpkin both for 25 cents that I can use in chowders, as long as I can open up the can, it does not matter to me that the can has been dented.
• Then there is usually a ‘baked yesterday’ shelf – when I wish to treat my family to croissants, I will buy them here and immediately throw them in the freezer taking out a couple when I need them – and I tell you, thrown into the oven to heat up, they are super crispy and decadent as they ought to be.
• Lastly, and you need to be diligent on this one, take a look at your meat isle, I often find meat with a coupon for a dollar off here or there, if this meat is to be cooked that day, excellent, if not, you can safely throw it into the freezer and use it on another day.

Here are a few good sites you might like to peruse at your convenience in learning more about saving money. I have many other tips, but I started with a few that really make a difference quickly.

http://www.uniondebthelp.org/credit-questions.cfm – great tips on bringing down your debt.

http://couponmom.com/ – The Coupon Mom as seen on Oprah.

Let me know how you save money at the grocery store, I am sure you could help other families too! As for me, tonight I made roast rib eye roast hash from the left overs I had last week which I threw into the freezer. The rib eye I was able to spot that it was half off and super fresh which is why I served it up for my party. And throwing it into the freezer promptly, allowed me to take advantage of keeping it fresh for another day of amazing leftovers once I turned it into hash. It was super good, I tell yas~!

~Chef Maven