Common Cuisine |

Last week I discussed the problem of rising food prices and how they have developed out of an imbalance in the global food economy. The question is, how do we at home survive the global economic balancing act? With an ever increasing demand on our resources, we face greater pressure to protect our own bottom line.

One powerful answer has an entire problem-solving movement named after it. Conservation primarily involves lowering consumption of resources; and promoting use of alternative resources that don’t do harm to the ecosystem that produces them. I see three valuable ways of applying conservation to my grocery shopping.

Spend Less
On the smallest scale, don’t buy as much. I don’t have the source, but I read once that Americans throw away about 10% of the produce we buy because it spoils before we can get to it. So let’s think about it: if I were to reduce the amount of food I purchase, would I really be taking away from my family, or would I just be donating less to the green waste bin?

Taking it to the opposite end of the scale, consider this before you go house hunting for a new home for your growing family: in addition to costing more upfront and in property taxes, a larger house will require larger amounts of power to heat, cool, light and otherwise power. In addition to which, the larger your house is, the greater your chances that the kitchen is a long trek from the garage with an armful of groceries!

We are looking at houses while we wait for our vacant one to sell, and this is a tough consideration for me. My husband is a big and tall guy, and smaller floor plans have smaller rooms and lower ceilings, leaving him with a sense of claustrophobia. In addition, we both crave a home office (as in, one for each of us). This makes it a little difficult to realistically think we could fit ourselves and three or four kids into 1500 square feet. But it is very tempting to remember that a smaller house will ultimately leave us with greater discretionary income, due to reduced mortgage, property tax, utilities and upkeep costs. It all adds up, helping both me and the environment.

Spend Smart
Did you know that you have spending power? Oh, yes, it’s one of your best weapons. Everyone has to spend money on food, and each purchase is like a vote for the products you choose. Every time you choose organic produce; dairy and meat products produced without hormones; and food that uses less packaging, you are voting for preserving our ecosystem.

Right now, buying better food does usually mean spending more. But each vote you cast for that better food brings it closer to mainstream, which helps bring the cost down. Just do the best you can to save money elsewhere, and watch closely for sales on your ideal items. You can choose your top priority organics, such as apples, carrots and strawberries; start with milk and add other dairy products gradually; and buy a filter for your tap so you aren’t buying and throwing away dozens of water bottles every month.

Don’t spend at all
This is such a simple idea, but is one worth addressing in our materialistic culture. Sometimes we get tempted to buy something we don’t really need. I find it wise to stop and ask myself, am I purchasing this to add something to my collection or to replace something old? If the answer is, “add,” then where will I put it? How much will I need it? Do I already have the means to accomplish what this tool can do? If the answer is, “replace,” then what will I do with the thing I am replacing? Is it really in need of replacement? A few months ago my husband presented me with the opportunity to buy a new Roomba floor cleaning robot from a friend who had bought two. Now, I think this gadget is way cool. But we already have a three-year old Dyson vacuum that works just fine. So I had to decline the opportunity for now. When my Dyson reaches the end of its life, I will check out the robot worker scene again.

One way to not spend at the grocery is to go armed with a battle plan and a full tummy. Then you know what you are going for, and you have the fortitude to stick to it. Then you can congratulate yourself on how much you didn’t have to save, because you didn’t buy those great bargains in the first place! Warning: just don’t let your reward be a purchase from the impulse section in the checkout line, I’ve been sabotaged by that logic more than once!

It seems obvious to me that helping ourselves and helping the world are interconnected. The less we spend of our financial resources, the more we have left. And the less we consume, the more is left in the global supply. As we buy smarter, we choose products that last longer or work better, which leads to lower overall consumption as well as less demand on global resources. As each individual makes the commitment to use less and buy more intelligently, our efforts will add up to make a difference.

Good luck to you as you attempt to implement these principles to protect your bottom line.

In my search for less expensive food, I discovered that I can make pizzeria pizza in my very own kitchen! Not too long ago, I was shopping for an “It’s Not Delivery…” pizza in the freezer section. My family will tolerate freezer pizza only if it is a certain brand. We have our standards, after all.

It so happened that my brand was not on sale that day, and I was outraged at paying $6.89 for one when I normally buy at the sale price of 3 for $10. I thought, surely I can make a pizza from scratch for less than that!

So off I went in search of ingredients. Turns out I was right. For a net price of $5.10 (after dividing out the appropriate percentage of larger packages), I was able to get frozen dough, pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, pepperoni and canned mushrooms.

Not only that, preparation only took 15 minutes longer than traditional frozen pizza. I just had to set out the dough far enough in advance to thaw. After that, the hardest part was getting the dough to stretch out to the perfect size and shape. I just let it rest while opening up the other ingredients, then came back for more pulling and stretching. The dough eventually came around to my way of thinking.

What I know about authentic pizza is this: the secret of good pizza is to bake it on a stone, with cornmeal to keep it from sticking, and to bake quickly at high heat. I didn’t have cornmeal so I used polenta. I thought it was a little gritty but nobody else noticed.

Despite how beautiful this pizza turned out, the real test was the taste. I had made this as a peace offering for the troops since Mommy was headed out the door for a playdate that night, and I was floored to come home and find not a scrap of it left. Two small children and two grown men with average food intake managed to polish off the entire thing. And to hear them talk about it afterward, apparently I am on to something good. I wish you could have seen the look in their eyes…

I think one could easily make this pizza without a recipe, but here is my formula:

• 1 loaf bread dough

• 1/2 jar pizza sauce
• 8 oz (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 oz sliced pepperoni
• 2 oz drained canned mushrooms
• 1 Tbsp butter
• garlic salt

Preheat oven to 475. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza stone. Stretch out the dough using a combination of pulling, throwing, and rolling pin, until it is just larger than the stone. Tuck the edge under.

Spread pizza sauce on dough, leaving an inch clear around the edge.

Reserve 1/2 cup cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese on sauce. Arrange toppings over cheese, then top with remainder of cheese.

Melt butter, then brush on edge of crust. Sprinkle garlic salt on buttered area, or over entire pizza if desired.

Bake 15 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Make sure you lick your fingers for every drop of deliciousness!

This dish can be as everyday as a comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup. Or switch the fillers and presentation to make it company special. Two options are presented below.

SPECIAL: Serves 8

• 1 can cream of chicken soup

• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms
• 2 small fresh zucchini, diced
• 1 can water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped (optional)
• 4 cups cut-up cooked chicken (about 4 breasts, or 1 whole bird)
• 1 pound whole-wheat rotini, cooked and drained
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 small can french fried onions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine soups, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Place cooked noodles, mushrooms, zucchini, artichokes and chicken in a large bowl. Pour soup mixture over noodle mixture, and gently stir to combine.

Portion into eight individual 2 cup ramekins or oven-proof bowls. Place on a cookie sheet, and bake for 15 minutes until bubbly. Top with shredded cheese and onions, and cook for 5 more minutes.

Serve.

SIMPLIFY: Serves at least 8

• Use any kind of cream soup you have on hand
• Use 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, instead of mushrooms, zucchini and artichoke hearts
• Use cheddar instead of mozzarella cheese
• Stir everything together and place in 3 qt. casserole dish
• Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Top with cheese and onions, then serve.

Whether you choose to make this special or simple, your audience will be delighted. May you be empowered to make similar variations to your own favorite recipes!

How is world news affecting you these days? I try not to pay too much attention, because I have a vacant house for sale in this faltering economy. I have tried to limit my reading of the newspaper, at least until that gets resolved. The only thing to be accomplished by reading all about the mortgage crisis and the impending recession is to get me uptight about a situation that is out of my control for the moment.

But there is something going on that I cannot ignore. Have you noticed yet how the news of what’s going on “out there” is starting to be reflected in your monthly expenses? We recently moved to a different region of the country, at which time I made the switch to organics for meat, dairy, and some select produce. To me this explained the significant increase in my weekly grocery bill. But as I have begun looking longingly back at the ordinary apples and milk in hopes of saving a few dollars, I am not seeing as much of a price spread as I remember. What happened when I wasn’t looking?

It seems that food prices globally are responding to increasing pressure from multiple sources: Severe weather in Australia and Argentina, among other places, has diminished supply, at a time when producers’ reserves are down, due to increased standards of living in the huge countries of China and India.

In addition, as oil prices continue their stiff climb, higher fuel cost leads to higher production and transportation cost, which gets factored into the end cost, which consumers pay. To help counteract the fuel factor, some of our usual sources of food have been reallocated to become fuel resources. But now higher corn and soybean prices are increasing the price of feed, which in turn increases the price of poultry, meat and dairy products. The summers when we could buy twelve ears of corn for a dollar, or even two, are gone.

To put the squeeze from yet another direction, our US economy is in a fragile situation, if you believe the news. Falling interest rates mean higher inflation, which means your money buys less than it did not too long ago. Natural gas and electricity are increasing in cost due to a shortage of supply; home prices are falling due to a culture of poor lending practices among the mortgage industry, finally correcting itself.

And all of those factors are being reflected in the bottom line on my grocery receipt, which according to some research reflects a five percent increase over last year. The painful realization is that many staple items such as milk, eggs, beef and wheat have increased between 25 and 50%.

The natural principle at work here is that economy is built on a balance between supply and demand. Prices of products are always fluctuating; sometimes there is a bit more supply, sometimes a bit more demand. In an ideal capitalistic economy, demand will slightly outpace supply. Right now, the equation is unbalanced with too much demand for food resources, and a food supply that has been globally diminished on multiple fronts.

The good news is, the equation will naturally right itself, sooner or later. Growers will increase their production of needed crops, because with more demand they can get paid more for growing them. Governments will eventually change policy to encourage greater production in areas of need. Higher cost of transportation may lead us to increase consumption of locally grown produce and goods, as well as take the step into more fuel-efficient vehicles. If critical markets slide or crash, perhaps that will bring a relief to the high price of oil (which still seems to mystify those of us outside the oil industry as to its true cause). Long term, there are good results to come from this imbalance.

In the meantime, it is time to take action. What are you doing to protect your family budget at the grocery? In the next few weeks I will be discussing responsible and effective ways we can make our food budget stretch to the max.

Welcome to the new and improved CommonCuisine: Adventures in Everyday Cooking. I love to cook; I love to write. To be more accurate, I have a passion to write to uplift and inspire others to be their best person; and what better theme to start with than something we all have in common, food.

On this site you will find simple recipes to encourage and inspire you. They are my favorites, my most requested recipes resulting from ten years of potluck and big family dinners. I also post most successful new recipes I try, in case I should ever be tempted to try them out on the road. And you get the benefit, because you also can find them here anytime! My hope is that you can find something you can easily cook, and that your audience will enjoy eating.

In addition to recipes, you will notice a second food section. This includes my tips for simplifying your cooking in general, product reviews, and some important nutritional information. Sometimes I even find funny food pictures or newsworthy stories, so be prepared for an occasional chuckle!

Beyond recipes, my aim is to offer something to inspire you at the end of your day, to give you that extra spurt of energy to get dinner to the finish line. I am a mom, and I know that inspiration can come from unexpected sources, sometimes entirely unrelated to food. Other articles you will read cover health and beauty news; hobbies; and more thoughtful inspiration such as literary quotes, amazing stories, and faith talk.

Finally, know that I am producing this blog out of my desire to share information. If you enjoy my content, there are some completely painless ways you can support me. First, you can click a sponsored link to learn more about what is hopefully an area of interest to you. Or, you can bookmark my page and come back regularly to see my new content. Both ways are quick, simple, and free, but help me greatly. Thank you so much.

So what will inspire you to feed your loved ones tonight? Could it be nature photos or relaxation tips? How about a funny picture or story? Perhaps it is simply a recipe for French Onion Soup. Whatever it is, may you find what you came looking for, and may you be blessed today.

Of course the easiest way to make guacamole is to buy two avocados and a packet of mix and just stir them all together. My two objections to this are that first, I usually am lucky to make it home with avocados, let alone remember to also purchase the spice packet; and second it is so expensive just to get the avocados that I hate to spend another dollar on spices. So here is my completely non-scientific approach to making guacamole less expensive and fresher tasting at the same time. Don’t worry about the proportions, just put in a little of each and it will be great, I promise!

• 2-3 avocados
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 2 Tbsp salsa
• a sliver of fresh chopped red onion
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 whole jarred jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt, to taste
• a couple shakes each garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder (if desired), to taste
• Bag of tortilla chips and baby carrots

Cut the avocados in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Use a fork to gently mash the flesh. Now don’t stir it again until everything else is added! Add remaining ingredients, except tortilla chips and carrots. Stir everything together, purposely leaving some chunks for texture. Chill for an hour if desired, then serve with chips and veggies, and you are a genius!

My mommy support group finished up for the school year yesterday. What a fun group that has been to be in! While I love many things about the group, you might guess that my very most favorite part of each session is that it starts out promptly at 9am with a hot buffet breakfast. We all take turns participating in the potluck, but half of the contributions each time are assigned to be Meats. This can include egg and cheese dishes as well, but a large percentage of the meat table each time is devoted to sausage. Yummm!

I believe our location in Texas accounts for the emphasis on this mystery meat. I never thought of Lil’ Smokies and BBQ sauce as a breakfast dish before (to say nothing of the chips and queso), but I sure like it! The best are the link sausage kolaches, in which a fat polish sausage link about 4 inches long is baked inside a pastry. Holy goodness, thank you to Rolf for popularizing this Czech breakfast delicacy in College Station.

There are other things I have really enjoyed about MOPS. See my non-food-related thoughts at my Family Blog.

Yesterday, as we shared an exotic luau themed luncheon, we got all excited to hear about saving money through coupon clipping. My friends and I have decided to try to make it work for us. I’ll blog more about it as we move along!

Meanwhile, see the recipe for our interesting lunch, Hawaiian Haystacks.