Higher Food Prices Start to Pinch Consumers

bokbadok · Senior Bucketkeeper

RE: Higher Food Prices Start to Pinch Consumers

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

Mmmm...lentils. Spanish lentils. Mmmmm.

I've got dried garbanzos soaking for dinner tomorrow right now. Mmmmm.

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

(The secret to lentils is more salt than you'd expect, lots of garlic, and olive oil.)

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

WIC gives you a little cookbook thingie when you sign up for it, but WIC is very specific. I think the only fresh produce you can get is carrots and apples--it also depends on the amount you qualify for... They do give you things like dry beans, and lentils and such. It's a decent program in that it encourages cooking. They gave us more milk that we could drink, because we had an newborn baby... Though it's been a year since we were on the program... so I forget some of the details...

--Ray

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

I made this balsamic vinegared lentil stew once. With spinach and potatoes... it was interesting. I liked it... it made me go put on a veil and robes and play Ravel's "Bolero"...

So, Euph - would that be a 48 hour soak for garbanzo's? Did you boil them at the start?

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

No, just 24 hours, no pre-boiling. I do the 24-hour soak then put them in the pressure cooker.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Pressure cooker... riiiight...

I don't do the pressure cooker, yet. If I'm just cooking them in a pot, what's it take? Another day?

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

Probably. I've never been able to get garbonzos completely soft in a pot.

bokbadok · Senior Bucketkeeper

I didn't used to do the pressure cooker either, coco. But now I wouldn't go back to the dark ages. I can make awesome homemade refried beans in under three hours from dry beans to burritos!

I kid you not. Two hour "power soak", then 15 minutes at pressure, and viola! Easy, fast. Not having to plan a day ahead helps me use beans a lot more often. And... it saves energy too. So there, you backwater enviro-disaster!

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

garbonzos? You mean chickpeas? Do you make hummus? I generally can't get any beans soft... we have some kidney beans... requires too much prep work... maybe that's why I don't make them. :)

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Okay, opening new thread for beans education...

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

I do make hummus, as a matter of fact. Mmmmm.

dianoia · Senior Member

My paternal grandparents were the "working poor" and my father has said that my grandma could whip up basic healthy meals when it seemed like there was no food in the house at all. They did all the things we've talked about here - huge garden, cows, canning, making food from scratch, all of it.

So it was the surprise of a lifetime when we had a sister board with us for a while who came from a background of "Maritime welfare poor." After she lived with us for a while she told us what an eye-opener it was for her to see us budget, and rarely eat in restaurants, and cook from scratch.

She honestly had the perception that as "rich people" - because we owned a home and a car - she thought we lived like she did, with pre-ordered pizzas and sugared cereals and a pop and chocolate bar every day, but that we made enough extra money to also afford a house.

It really is education for some people. My SIL volunteered at an organization called "Country Kitchen", which showed Native women in her area how to menu plan and cook basic meals. They had no idea how to do these things because they'd never been taught.

And in regards to that article, do those people live in a different world than me? Since when is buying salmon considered a sacrifice instead of a luxury? The only time I get steak is on my birthday, and I've always bought the cheap roast. And the person who cut back by buying cheap items from McDonald's every morning? Puh-leeze.

-- Edited by dianoia at 12:47, 2008-01-15

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing with the salmon deal. I only buy fish when it's 3 days old... j/k... it's gonna expire in about a day, so they mark it 40% or 50% off or something.

We hardly ever go out to eat, either. And what's funny, when we finally do... it's kind of a disappointment. But for many folks, that's just sort of their way of life.