Doing without but not forever

Something that has always helped me be hopeful instead of feel like I'm missing out, is to create a wish list.

I do still get asked from time to time by family what I would like for my birthday or Christmas. Having a list of things that have tugged at your heart over the months means you're not just getting stuff for the sake of getting stuff. It's something you've looked forward to for a long time.

So this week I made a kitchen gadget board on pintrest. It was the ideal format since I didn't have a clue what most of them are actually called, and needed to go by picture.

It has already removed a nagging, longing kind of feeling from the "but I want to have what I want!" part of my brain and relieved me of even the energy of trying to remember what it was that I wanted in the first place.

I have no idea if this link will work, but I'm attempting to include it here

The miracle of the salmon

Something you might not know about me is that I'm obsessed with the culinary arts. Mind you, I've never been trained in anything other than 7th grade home ec (which doesn't even exist anymore) but lately I've been expanding my knowledge base, and with it my interest, via the food network and other such programs highlighting the skills of trained professionals and those aspiring to be like them. I even have a cousin who is a personal chef and works for the Boston Globe in the food section, so I contacted her and got some fun tips on online cooking courses, now that I have more free time.

So the other night I was watching children make salmon en croute for Chef Gordon Ramsay and decided I'd like to try it. But when I looked up the recipe online, I found so many ingredients that aren't on my budget list or in my cupboard that my heart sank and I had resolved to let it go- it was a want not a need and I have plenty of other meals to make that I can do without buying a ton of one time use ingredients.

Tonight I went to our ladies' night activity at church and one of my best friends and the originator of most of the good ideas I ever have which end up posted here shared with me that Aldi has WILD CAUGHT salmon in their freezer selection right now for less than 4 bucks. And when I told her how I had written it down as an act of faith that maybe when I was out and about I'd find a good deal because sometimes faith is like that...I shared with her my desire to make this meal and she totally agreed, offering that she actually has coarse mustard and is going to a specialty store this week that sells cheap puff pastry. And then we had the brilliant idea to make it together! Seeing as how we're pretty sure no one else in our families will want to eat it, we can pool our resources and enjoy it together.

Just a little tender mercy from a loving God who saw I wanted to try something special and created a way out of no way. I was willing to "do without" but it looks like it will work out after all.

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a go. Good luck!

When being poor gets hard

I've been able to keep my spirits up because I have so longed for this phase of life that I'm overwhelmingly happy to be home and done with work and that pretty much makes up for anything negative in my life right now, but there is a solemn truth that going without things takes its toll.

It is in our nature to want more, and to want what others have, but also to improve ourselves and see our investments in time and money yield something meaningful. Something we've been looking forward to. Something that excites us. Something at all...

I was sitting along side my husband at a hockey game. The local "minor league" team (not sure what the hockey equivalent would be called) was playing on the same night as the church youth group activity, so all the boys went. My husband is one of the leaders. They asked us to chaperone and provide rides in exchange for free tickets. It was an OK game- lots of action, but the score was very one sided and got a little depressing for the home team towards the end. I enjoyed the whole of it and was grateful for something fun to do, a night out, and for free. But about halfway through the third period I started getting weepy. You see, we had pulled into the parking garage to find a few gentlement manning the gate, collecting payment. When the attendant asked for 5 dollars and we were unable to produce it, Eric asked if we should back out. The gentleman waved us through and said, "Don't worry about it." It was so nice of him, and of course made all the difference in the world to us. But for some reason it kind of broke my heart. I mean, we can't even afford to park at a FREE hockey game? What has become of us! I was reflecting on how we wouldn't even be able to have done something like that without the boy scouts paying for it. And my little soul cried a little.

So it's hard some times. And wanting something you can't have is the pits.

But it's worth it to make wise choices. And things work out.

You should read my last post.

Homemade Bread

I love to make bread, so I actually have three kinds of flour on hand, a large jar of yeast, and all the important fixings for this to be cost effective over purchasing loaves of wheat bread from the store. I recognize that to start out, it would be an investment for some. I also recognize that it would be even more cost effective if I had wheat bins that I ground into flour, but again, this is the very first stage of this process.

This is how I am choosing to "do without" buying bread.

I've made this recipe twice now and I've loved it both times. It gets eaten up and doesn't go bad. I got it from my friend Andrea Wells and it is written from her perspective. It has a few steps and takes several hours, but I've been able to get chores done and even run errands as it is in progress so it fits into the day instead of taking up the whole of it.  I use one cup of whole wheat flour and 3-4 white. Last time I used bread flour and it took almost 1.5 cups more than when I used All-Purpose. Something to consider.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup milk

Just less than 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp Yeast

*Mix water, milk and sugar.  Sprinkle yeast over surface and let sit until dissolved (~5 min)

1 Tbsp Oil (I use vegetable oil, but canola oil or olive oil probably work fine too)

1 Tbsp Salt

*Mix in oil and salt

5-6 Cups of All Purpose Flour (this recipe works with wheat flour as well, though I think you need a little less flour if you use wheat flour)

*Stir in 3 cups of flour. Knead in remaining flour (leave out last cup and knead in until your dough is only slightly sticky). Knead for a few minutes.

*Cover and let it rise for 1 hour (until about double). 

*Knead the air out of the dough, cover and let sit for 45 minutes.

*Knead the air out again and shape into loaves (makes 2 loaves)

*Place in greased bread pans and rub a small amount of oil on the top of each loaf.

*Let rise for 30 minutes. After those 30 minutes, heat oven to 365 degrees.

*Once oven is hot, bake loaves in center of oven for 30-33 minutes, or until tops of loaves are browned.

Enjoy!