I guess I should have written that as "julienne yams," but then I'd have to figure out whether to make it "julienned yams." Not gonna do that. Besides this way kinda sounds more specialerer.
What it was, however, was just more or less "shoe-string" sweet potato. I picked up a sweet potato on my last trip to the store to experiment with. Today's experiment led to cutting it up to look like french fries. I did not fry them, however. I steamed them.
Backing up a bit, we accumulated a large (23 lbs. large) supply of pork shoulder ribs (at 99 cents/pound we took all we could). I barbecued a pan full last night and made some more or less traditional sides: crowder peas, sliced tomato, cornbread.
I had intended to try the sweet potato in some sort of stir fry dish, but last night's menu demanded something other than stir fry. I did not want to boil the thing to death and then smother its dead body with butter, which is the traditional way to cook a sweet potato in my family. The alternative is to bake it to death, peel away the resulting "shell," and smother the dead innards in butter. Given the high fat content of the ribs, I was hoping for something a little leaner.
I've never actually used my rice cooker for a steamer, but the occasion seemed right to try. After cutting (and cutting) the sweet potato, I had enough strips to fill the steamer basket on the cooker. I had no idea how much water would be needed to cook them or how long they needed to be steamed. Of course, I over did it, and the result was not as firm as I would wish. It would hold up on a fork if you were careful and the strip was not too long. Next time, I think I'll try only half as much water. I can always add more for longer steaming.
There will indeed be a next time. The flavor was nice and delicate and all sweet potato--no extra seasonings or fat. It complimented the stronger flavors of the meal very nicely, making me think that I'll need to look for other ways to use this vegetable.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Baked beans strike out
Baked beans have not been part of my family tradition. Maybe Daddy didn't like 'em. Maybe Mama couldn't make 'em. For whatever reason, I can only remember encountering them at one of our wonderful family reunions when I was a kid. There was, however, too much potato salad, fried chicken, and banana pudding to think much about baked beans.
Nowadays, however, I have begun to dabble in the baking of beans. This mostly involves grabbing a can of this or that bean and seeing what develops. A couple of days ago I did some of that dabbling and came up with disaster.
It all started out really well. I partially drained cans of:
The problem started when I opened the can of plain diced tomatoes instead of the can of tomatoes with chiles. I had to compensate with red pepper flakes, since I didn't want to use a whole can of chiles to go with the tomatoes. Oops! I overcompensated. Too much red pepper.
Strike two came when I thought some celery might be good to add. I had already chopped about 2/3 of a large onion and added that. More chopping didn't appeal to me. I was already tired of standing, so I opted for celery seed. I've been using dried celery flakes for some of my stir frying, but am not very experienced with celery seed. Who knew how much flavor those little buddies carried? Again, too much of a good thing.
Strike three came when I took the beans out of the oven. I had baked them for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. Then, when it was time to broil the pork ribs, I switched the oven over to broiling, raised the temp, and placed the ribs above the beans to keep the beans from burning. That wasn't strike three. Strike three was when I realized that I hadn't put any meat in the beans. I had been thinking about it, wishing I had some sausage to throw in. It was only when I took the pan out of the oven that I realized that I had plenty of my old standby (bacon) and could have used that for flavor. *sigh*
As it turned out, the peppers didn't kill us, and the celery seed was tolerable. I dipped out pan juices from the pork ribs to add some extra taste to the beans. We did well enough, but next time I think I will do more chopping and pay more attention to what I'm putting in the pan. Or not. :)
Nowadays, however, I have begun to dabble in the baking of beans. This mostly involves grabbing a can of this or that bean and seeing what develops. A couple of days ago I did some of that dabbling and came up with disaster.
It all started out really well. I partially drained cans of:
- pork and beans,
- black beans,
- pinto beans
The problem started when I opened the can of plain diced tomatoes instead of the can of tomatoes with chiles. I had to compensate with red pepper flakes, since I didn't want to use a whole can of chiles to go with the tomatoes. Oops! I overcompensated. Too much red pepper.
Strike two came when I thought some celery might be good to add. I had already chopped about 2/3 of a large onion and added that. More chopping didn't appeal to me. I was already tired of standing, so I opted for celery seed. I've been using dried celery flakes for some of my stir frying, but am not very experienced with celery seed. Who knew how much flavor those little buddies carried? Again, too much of a good thing.
Strike three came when I took the beans out of the oven. I had baked them for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. Then, when it was time to broil the pork ribs, I switched the oven over to broiling, raised the temp, and placed the ribs above the beans to keep the beans from burning. That wasn't strike three. Strike three was when I realized that I hadn't put any meat in the beans. I had been thinking about it, wishing I had some sausage to throw in. It was only when I took the pan out of the oven that I realized that I had plenty of my old standby (bacon) and could have used that for flavor. *sigh*
As it turned out, the peppers didn't kill us, and the celery seed was tolerable. I dipped out pan juices from the pork ribs to add some extra taste to the beans. We did well enough, but next time I think I will do more chopping and pay more attention to what I'm putting in the pan. Or not. :)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Soaring food costs
Not too long ago, USA Today did its part to offer some suggestions for surviving the increasing cost of food. Nancy Hellmich, the article's author, cites "government statistics" regarding those costs:
I did find a couple of ideas I hadn't already thought of:
The second idea is, however, one of those hand to forehead moments when I wonder why I didn't think of it myself. We are buying more fresh vegetables these days in order to get more fiber and generally better nutrition. Some of it is going to waste when I cook fewer meals than I thought I would or travel sooner than originally planned. I hadn't thought about just cooking them up and storing them. I already do that for ground beef and sometimes for other meats. The problem will be storage space in the freezer (if I'm leaving town, the refrigerator won't be an option because I'm not leaving an actual cook behind in either my home or Mama's home).
Another problem will be what on earth to cook with these leftover veggies. One solution is soup: I made a big pot of it before I left Houston last week, intending for it to be used for the Friday night gathering. I heard that the "girls" didn't feel like soup on Friday and turned it into Sunday dinner instead, but either way we got a good meal for Mama and used up the veggies. Except for the broccoli, of course; Big Kid Cousin don't like no stinkin' broccoli!
Overall, food prices climbed 4% in 2007, the biggest annual increase since 1990, and prices are projected to rise 4.5% to 5.5% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,016 adults, 46% said the higher cost of food is creating a financial hardship. They said they have noticed an increase in the cost of milk, fruits and vegetables, meat, bread and eggs.
I found the article interesting if a little long on "grow-your-own" solutions. I do, however, wonder at those "government statistics." I hope to do some more delving into them, mostly because the price increases that I have seen are much higher. Almonds at Sam's Club doubled in price in four years. Milk has almost doubled in price in the last few years; it is no longer economical to buy a gallon of milk if there is any risk of not using it all before it spoils.
I did find a couple of ideas I hadn't already thought of:
Instead of buying packaged instant oatmeal or fancy rice pilafs, she [Linda Vance] now gets those foods in bulk and packages them in small plastic bags. She also buys fresh vegetables in bulk, and to make sure that none of the produce goes to waste, she roasts the vegetables right away and stores them in the refrigerator.For the first idea, I was already thinking of doing something like this. Not that it was my idea in the first place. Alton Brown (I love this man) did a Good Eats segment on making your own "instant" pancake mix, which gave me the idea of making my own "instant" cornbread mix (see my practice run in "Cornbread"). Ms. Vance is apparently applying the concept to other favorites for her family. A related issue that needs consideration is food storage for all of these "instant" mixes, but more on that later.
The second idea is, however, one of those hand to forehead moments when I wonder why I didn't think of it myself. We are buying more fresh vegetables these days in order to get more fiber and generally better nutrition. Some of it is going to waste when I cook fewer meals than I thought I would or travel sooner than originally planned. I hadn't thought about just cooking them up and storing them. I already do that for ground beef and sometimes for other meats. The problem will be storage space in the freezer (if I'm leaving town, the refrigerator won't be an option because I'm not leaving an actual cook behind in either my home or Mama's home).
Another problem will be what on earth to cook with these leftover veggies. One solution is soup: I made a big pot of it before I left Houston last week, intending for it to be used for the Friday night gathering. I heard that the "girls" didn't feel like soup on Friday and turned it into Sunday dinner instead, but either way we got a good meal for Mama and used up the veggies. Except for the broccoli, of course; Big Kid Cousin don't like no stinkin' broccoli!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Green Giant product codes
As I mentioned earlier, I picked up some cans of Green Giant veggies on sale. When it came time to store them away, I got ready to write the expiration dates on the cans. Imagine my surprise (not) when I found that 16 out of 20 cans had no expiration date printed anywhere on the cans!
Happily, GG provides a toll free number for consumers to call. I called it.
A nice lady named "Jo" explained the codes to me. For my purposes, the important numbers in the long product codes stamped on the bottom of the cans were the first two. The first number, actually a letter, stands for the month. A is January, B is February, and so on through L (for December). The second number is an actual numeral, and it stands for the year. A 7 would mean that the product was manufactured in 2007.
The next thing we need to know is how long the cans are good for. According to Jo, the whole kernel corn and green peas are good for 3 years, the cut green beans for only 2 years.
It took a little longer to get these cans labeled because of having to decode the product code and calculate the year, but it turns out to be a good thing that I took the time. The 4 cans that did have an expiration date printed on them were cut green beans, and all 4 cans were manufactured this month with an expiration date in 2011 (not 2010, as one would expect). This is another question that I will now have for GG consumer affairs. Also, while all of the cans were purchased at the same time from the same store, they had several manufacturing dates, and some will have an expiring shelf life in less than a year.
Now I just have to figure out how to store them!
Happily, GG provides a toll free number for consumers to call. I called it.
A nice lady named "Jo" explained the codes to me. For my purposes, the important numbers in the long product codes stamped on the bottom of the cans were the first two. The first number, actually a letter, stands for the month. A is January, B is February, and so on through L (for December). The second number is an actual numeral, and it stands for the year. A 7 would mean that the product was manufactured in 2007.
The next thing we need to know is how long the cans are good for. According to Jo, the whole kernel corn and green peas are good for 3 years, the cut green beans for only 2 years.
It took a little longer to get these cans labeled because of having to decode the product code and calculate the year, but it turns out to be a good thing that I took the time. The 4 cans that did have an expiration date printed on them were cut green beans, and all 4 cans were manufactured this month with an expiration date in 2011 (not 2010, as one would expect). This is another question that I will now have for GG consumer affairs. Also, while all of the cans were purchased at the same time from the same store, they had several manufacturing dates, and some will have an expiring shelf life in less than a year.
Now I just have to figure out how to store them!
Trip to Shiner (2)
Aside from the brewery, there is quite a bit to see and do in Shiner. Not that we old folks were quite up to doing much of it. We thought about going to the drive-in or even driving over to Yoakum for Country Music USA. In the end, we settled for the local museum and several naps.
But we didn't miss any meals!
While we were not as adventurous as I would have wished, i.e., we didn't try every single eatery in Shiner, we did find a couple of jewels--and went back again for another meal.
Our first discovery was the Country Corner Cafe.
We first went there for dinner, expecting to see a lot of, well, country food on the menu. We were a bit nonplussed by page after page of Tex-Mex with only a tiny corner for chicken fried steak and that sort of thing. There was, however, a large assortment of hamburgers, all given monster names, perhaps to indicate their size. My Prince managed to find the belt-buster Tex-Mex meal (which made my mouth water--I was jealous of every bite), and I, having had a high blood sugar reading, decided to try the taco salad. My Prince shared his nachos, which I nibbled very slowly, but he managed to handle everything else all by himself. This was not quite the tragedy I make it out to be, since my taco salad was quite large. Happily it was mostly lettuce (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), so I could eat it all. Well, I left most of the salad shell behind and felt quite virtuous about it. My blood sugar readings were much happier anyway.
Our second trip to the Country Corner was for lunch. As promised, there was a sizable buffet that included all sorts of meats and veggies. This time, the place lived up to its name: fried chicken, pulled pork, chicken fried steak, turnip greens, green beans, and on and on. A nice assortment of salads and desserts plus some big pots of soup provided ample variety and opportunities for most everyone to maintain their diet (sorta). At $6.25 per person, lunch was a bargain.
The Country Corner Cafe was not all that much to look at. Inside and outside, it was fairly ramshackle. Getting in and out of the ladies room was a challenge, given the way the doors bumped into each other. But the food was good, the staff friendly, and the place filled up nicely for lunch.
Our other find was Mary's Tacos. This was a tin-roof building, nicer than a shack, with corrugated parking. Mary's was only open from 6:30 to 1, so her trade was for breakfast and lunch. Both mornings that I went there, a steady stream of customers walked in and out. Inside, the place was clean and bright, with several small tables for those who chose to dine in. Most seemed to just grab and run off to work or wherever.
The tacos themselves seemed overpriced at $1.75 and up--until I saw them. They were huge. One was quite easily a meal in itself. The breakfast plates were also filling. I ordered huevos a la Mexicana and huevos rancheros (on separate days) for My Prince. Both of us were more than pleased with our food. My egg and bacon taco had the extra benefit of little green chiles, which left me with nothing to complain about. Both mornings, breakfast for two cost about $7.00, which we decided was a good deal, especially in terms of value for the dollar.
There were a few other options for eating out in Shiner. Maybe we can check them out on another trip. We did decide to stay in for dinner one evening, since we had brought along some summer sausage and crackers. What we lacked was cheese, so I went out to find it. I tried one of the (national brand) service stations which seemed to have a convenience store attached to it. That turned out to be a good place for junk food (nachos, hot dogs), but no cheese. One of the teens who had popped in for grease and calories directed me to the local grocery store. I had seen it before as we drove past, so I had no trouble returning. Sadly, it was closed (at 7:00!), highlighting one of the difficulties that come with rural life--lack of goods, services, and amenities. We found others, which we could easily survive for a couple of days, but all these little "annoyances" made us appreciate Austin (and its traffic) even more. Luckily, I found another convenience store (no national brand), complete with domino table, that had some cheese. I loaded up and went back to the Shiner Country Inn (well, we were in the country) for a nice meal of sausage, cheese, crackers, and the Olympics (we weren't that far in the country).
On the whole, we ate well in Shiner. You sure won't starve to death if you go there for a couple of days--and you will get away from every national chain you ever ate at. There is nothing Generica about Shiner, except maybe that Exxon station.
But we didn't miss any meals!
While we were not as adventurous as I would have wished, i.e., we didn't try every single eatery in Shiner, we did find a couple of jewels--and went back again for another meal.
Our first discovery was the Country Corner Cafe.
We first went there for dinner, expecting to see a lot of, well, country food on the menu. We were a bit nonplussed by page after page of Tex-Mex with only a tiny corner for chicken fried steak and that sort of thing. There was, however, a large assortment of hamburgers, all given monster names, perhaps to indicate their size. My Prince managed to find the belt-buster Tex-Mex meal (which made my mouth water--I was jealous of every bite), and I, having had a high blood sugar reading, decided to try the taco salad. My Prince shared his nachos, which I nibbled very slowly, but he managed to handle everything else all by himself. This was not quite the tragedy I make it out to be, since my taco salad was quite large. Happily it was mostly lettuce (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), so I could eat it all. Well, I left most of the salad shell behind and felt quite virtuous about it. My blood sugar readings were much happier anyway.
Our second trip to the Country Corner was for lunch. As promised, there was a sizable buffet that included all sorts of meats and veggies. This time, the place lived up to its name: fried chicken, pulled pork, chicken fried steak, turnip greens, green beans, and on and on. A nice assortment of salads and desserts plus some big pots of soup provided ample variety and opportunities for most everyone to maintain their diet (sorta). At $6.25 per person, lunch was a bargain.
The Country Corner Cafe was not all that much to look at. Inside and outside, it was fairly ramshackle. Getting in and out of the ladies room was a challenge, given the way the doors bumped into each other. But the food was good, the staff friendly, and the place filled up nicely for lunch.
Our other find was Mary's Tacos. This was a tin-roof building, nicer than a shack, with corrugated parking. Mary's was only open from 6:30 to 1, so her trade was for breakfast and lunch. Both mornings that I went there, a steady stream of customers walked in and out. Inside, the place was clean and bright, with several small tables for those who chose to dine in. Most seemed to just grab and run off to work or wherever.
The tacos themselves seemed overpriced at $1.75 and up--until I saw them. They were huge. One was quite easily a meal in itself. The breakfast plates were also filling. I ordered huevos a la Mexicana and huevos rancheros (on separate days) for My Prince. Both of us were more than pleased with our food. My egg and bacon taco had the extra benefit of little green chiles, which left me with nothing to complain about. Both mornings, breakfast for two cost about $7.00, which we decided was a good deal, especially in terms of value for the dollar.
There were a few other options for eating out in Shiner. Maybe we can check them out on another trip. We did decide to stay in for dinner one evening, since we had brought along some summer sausage and crackers. What we lacked was cheese, so I went out to find it. I tried one of the (national brand) service stations which seemed to have a convenience store attached to it. That turned out to be a good place for junk food (nachos, hot dogs), but no cheese. One of the teens who had popped in for grease and calories directed me to the local grocery store. I had seen it before as we drove past, so I had no trouble returning. Sadly, it was closed (at 7:00!), highlighting one of the difficulties that come with rural life--lack of goods, services, and amenities. We found others, which we could easily survive for a couple of days, but all these little "annoyances" made us appreciate Austin (and its traffic) even more. Luckily, I found another convenience store (no national brand), complete with domino table, that had some cheese. I loaded up and went back to the Shiner Country Inn (well, we were in the country) for a nice meal of sausage, cheese, crackers, and the Olympics (we weren't that far in the country).
On the whole, we ate well in Shiner. You sure won't starve to death if you go there for a couple of days--and you will get away from every national chain you ever ate at. There is nothing Generica about Shiner, except maybe that Exxon station.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Trip to Shiner (1)
My Prince and I took a trip to Shiner, Texas, earlier this week. We've always wanted to start seeing Texas whenever we got the time. Time flies, it seems, and we decided we'd never get the time unless we made it. So, we went to Shiner for a couple of nights.
The major attraction in Shiner, of course, is the Spoetzl Brewery, where Shiner beer is made. We are not big drinkers, indeed we hardly drink at all, but we do know a good beer when we find one. Naturally, we toured the brewery.
Seeing the big copper kettles was fun. Even more fun was getting to see the bottling and packing machinery. We learned about the origin of ice cubes (the brewery made near beer and ice during Prohibition). We were pleased to hear about the inclusion of Texas products, including bottles, in the manufacturing process.
The point of a beer tour for most folks is the Hospitality Room. No matter what it is called, this would be the place where samples of the product are available for tasting. My Prince and I agreed that we didn't need the 4 cups (4 oz., I think) of beer that we would be allowed; instead we would choose what we wanted to taste and split the cups between us.
The major attraction in Shiner, of course, is the Spoetzl Brewery, where Shiner beer is made. We are not big drinkers, indeed we hardly drink at all, but we do know a good beer when we find one. Naturally, we toured the brewery.
Seeing the big copper kettles was fun. Even more fun was getting to see the bottling and packing machinery. We learned about the origin of ice cubes (the brewery made near beer and ice during Prohibition). We were pleased to hear about the inclusion of Texas products, including bottles, in the manufacturing process.
The point of a beer tour for most folks is the Hospitality Room. No matter what it is called, this would be the place where samples of the product are available for tasting. My Prince and I agreed that we didn't need the 4 cups (4 oz., I think) of beer that we would be allowed; instead we would choose what we wanted to taste and split the cups between us.
- We tried the Spezial Leicht, a low carb beer that tasted really nice. It had the full beer flavor and, we were told, 3.2% alcohol, although we never seemed to feel any effects from it.
- We tried the Hefeweizen, an unfiltered wheat brew. I didn't much care for it, but My Prince thought it was pretty good.
- We tried the Bohemian Black Lager, a "black beer" typically brewed in Germany. My Prince liked this, too, but I loved it. Indeed, I drank most of the cup we "shared" and part of another one--which is one of several reasons why I don't drink much. Nope. But it did taste wunderbar!
Friday, August 15, 2008
OJ
One of the things that we are having to give up these days is Diet Coke. It's just getting too expensive to buy! A 12-pack at Randall's (here in Austin) was priced at $5.99 this week. Ridiculous!
So we have been switching to 2-liter bottles of soda, sometimes getting Diet Coke, but more often getting some generic cola or version of Diet Dr. Pepper. We have also branched out into flavored instant teas, regular brewed tea, and even (gasp!) water.
I've been trying out some of the other flavors that Crystal Light, Wyler's, and the various house brands have to offer. Big Kid Cousin introduced me to Target's brand of raspberry tea. I think I will introduce her to Wyler's Light Sunsplash Orange.
I have been unable to drink orange juice for soooooooo long now because of the carbohydrates that it contains. Imagine my surprise when I dragged the Wyler's can out of the pantry and forced myself to mix up a batch, thinking that it was just going to be some orange-colored drink, and found that it tasted enough like orange juice to fool my taste buds. I was not only surprised but thrilled to have the taste of OJ back in my life.
So we have been switching to 2-liter bottles of soda, sometimes getting Diet Coke, but more often getting some generic cola or version of Diet Dr. Pepper. We have also branched out into flavored instant teas, regular brewed tea, and even (gasp!) water.
I've been trying out some of the other flavors that Crystal Light, Wyler's, and the various house brands have to offer. Big Kid Cousin introduced me to Target's brand of raspberry tea. I think I will introduce her to Wyler's Light Sunsplash Orange.
I have been unable to drink orange juice for soooooooo long now because of the carbohydrates that it contains. Imagine my surprise when I dragged the Wyler's can out of the pantry and forced myself to mix up a batch, thinking that it was just going to be some orange-colored drink, and found that it tasted enough like orange juice to fool my taste buds. I was not only surprised but thrilled to have the taste of OJ back in my life.
Shopping the sales
Went to Randall's this week to pick up a couple of essentials (milk, bread) and get some items that were on sale. As usual, it got harder and harder to walk as I made my way through the store, so I was most pleased with the helpful attitudes of those whose assistance I needed, specifically the manager who showed me to the heirloom tomatoes and the young butcher who took me right to the things I wanted to get.
More than simply showing me what I needed to get, they each went that extra step. The manager fellow and I discussed the heirloom tomatoes: he wanted to know what the heck they were, and I allowed as how I sorta knew but was really going to take a couple home and try them out. He offered to cut one open right there so I could taste before I bought. Nice. The young butcher brought me what I ordered from his domain and then some, adding an extra pound to one of the items for which I had a rain check--which was only supposed to let me have 2 pounds at that price. Very nice.
Randall's, however, is not a place where we can afford to do much shopping, so I was extra careful in picking out vegetables and weighing them. I decided not to get broccoli, even though that would have been a nice addition to tonight's vegetables. I only got 2 potatoes, even though I usually get a large bag. These and other veggies are cheaper at other stores, so I just got the essentials to carry us through the next couple of days.
I did, however, intend to stock up on canned vegetables. Randall's sales flyer advertised Green Giant canned vegetables at 2/$1. Imagine my joy (not) when I found the shelves almost empty of the 3 (count them) actual Green Giant products that they had stocked: whole kernel corn, green beans, and green peas. I had to do way too much bending and reaching to the backs of shelves to get this pitiful selection.
I found it ironic that the sale brand had so few choices while there were other brands (Del Monte, Safeway) with a much broader selection of vegetables (creamed corn, french cut green beans, etc.). Ironic, that is, that those brands with the broader selection were still filling the shelves, while the sale brand (with such poor selection) had almost disappeared from the shelves. I understand the use of sale items to get customers in the store in hopes that they will buy other things, but what happened to the benefit of selling in volume?
As aggravated as I was by this part of my shopping trip, imagine my delight when I found boxes of Cheetos in little 100 calorie packs! I picked up 2 for Big Kid Cousin. Now all I have to do is keep My Prince from scarfing them down before I make my way back to Houston.
More than simply showing me what I needed to get, they each went that extra step. The manager fellow and I discussed the heirloom tomatoes: he wanted to know what the heck they were, and I allowed as how I sorta knew but was really going to take a couple home and try them out. He offered to cut one open right there so I could taste before I bought. Nice. The young butcher brought me what I ordered from his domain and then some, adding an extra pound to one of the items for which I had a rain check--which was only supposed to let me have 2 pounds at that price. Very nice.
Randall's, however, is not a place where we can afford to do much shopping, so I was extra careful in picking out vegetables and weighing them. I decided not to get broccoli, even though that would have been a nice addition to tonight's vegetables. I only got 2 potatoes, even though I usually get a large bag. These and other veggies are cheaper at other stores, so I just got the essentials to carry us through the next couple of days.
I did, however, intend to stock up on canned vegetables. Randall's sales flyer advertised Green Giant canned vegetables at 2/$1. Imagine my joy (not) when I found the shelves almost empty of the 3 (count them) actual Green Giant products that they had stocked: whole kernel corn, green beans, and green peas. I had to do way too much bending and reaching to the backs of shelves to get this pitiful selection.
I found it ironic that the sale brand had so few choices while there were other brands (Del Monte, Safeway) with a much broader selection of vegetables (creamed corn, french cut green beans, etc.). Ironic, that is, that those brands with the broader selection were still filling the shelves, while the sale brand (with such poor selection) had almost disappeared from the shelves. I understand the use of sale items to get customers in the store in hopes that they will buy other things, but what happened to the benefit of selling in volume?
As aggravated as I was by this part of my shopping trip, imagine my delight when I found boxes of Cheetos in little 100 calorie packs! I picked up 2 for Big Kid Cousin. Now all I have to do is keep My Prince from scarfing them down before I make my way back to Houston.
Monday, August 11, 2008
No water
There was a break in the water main last week near where Mama lives. We were suddenly without water. No warning. No clue when water would be restored.
It's amazing how dependent we are on water. Mama was trying to finish watering her plants, but nothing would come out. We thought the hose was twisted at first. I was trying to brush my teeth. Suddenly, all the things that I had planned for the morning (shower, dishwasher, clothes washer, floor mopping) were impossible.
As it happens, My Prince and I have some experience with water shortages. We lived for a while in an area where clean water was an issue and so was the frequent loss of water supply. That experience was called into play when the water was cut off a second day at Mama's and then we had to get ready for Tropical Storm Edouard.
Luckily, we were without water for only a few hours when the mains were being worked on, and nothing dreadful happened with Edouard. While I should have taken the work on the mains as a sign of things to come (but didn't), I did wake up with Edouard and decided to take the opportunity for some real disaster planning and preparation. Mama and I treated it like a drill.
Here's what we did (and talked about doing):
It's amazing how dependent we are on water. Mama was trying to finish watering her plants, but nothing would come out. We thought the hose was twisted at first. I was trying to brush my teeth. Suddenly, all the things that I had planned for the morning (shower, dishwasher, clothes washer, floor mopping) were impossible.
As it happens, My Prince and I have some experience with water shortages. We lived for a while in an area where clean water was an issue and so was the frequent loss of water supply. That experience was called into play when the water was cut off a second day at Mama's and then we had to get ready for Tropical Storm Edouard.
Luckily, we were without water for only a few hours when the mains were being worked on, and nothing dreadful happened with Edouard. While I should have taken the work on the mains as a sign of things to come (but didn't), I did wake up with Edouard and decided to take the opportunity for some real disaster planning and preparation. Mama and I treated it like a drill.
Here's what we did (and talked about doing):
- We bought more drinking water. The Red Cross recommends having a 2-week supply on hand. They recommend 1 gallon per day per adult. For Mama and me, that worked out to 28 gallons. We don't have that much yet, but we are close.
- I filled the bathtub with water. While I would never want to drink that water, it could be purified with 16 drops of household bleach per gallon and then consumed. My goal was to keep the toilet reservoir filled so that Mama could flush when needed. We did, however, have a little discussion about when to flush. "When it's yellow, it's mellow. When it's brown, it's down," according to Larry on Dharma & Greg. We may need to work on this one.
- We discussed other sources of water. I mentioned that I had learned about the secret supply in the hot water tank. Mama suggested that we fill the tub of the washing machine.
- We talked about water usage. This included reminding Mama that she would have to keep drinking water, an especially critical issue for her health problems. We agreed that we could "bathe" in very small amounts of water.
- Before Edouard was due in, I made sure that all the clothes had been washed and that we had showered and washed our hair. Same for running the dishwasher and mopping the floor.
- Set up a system for rainwater collection (not likely to be needed in Houston since we would evacuate before reaching that level of need).
- Find some aluminum sulfate (which I have incorrectly been referring to as "alum"). This little chunk of mineral, when just swished through a bucket of water a couple of times, will cause all of the suspended matter to precipitate out and sink to the bottom of the bucket. We used this while overseas, and found that it made water purification much faster and simpler.
- Get an alternative cooking unit for boiling water (and cooking). Again, we would likely evacuate before getting to the boiling water stage, but electric stoves tend not to be handy when the lights go out. A gas grill (which I had already begun to covet) might be just the thing.
- Start saving the empty plastic jugs that the drinking water comes in. We may fill them up with tap water and store them in the bathtub. The tub seems to leak a bit even with double stoppers, so this might preserve a needed water supply. We can also stack the jugs higher than the drain outlet and (I think) store more water. Or we could just have a big mess. It's worth a try.
Road Food: Peter's BBQ
The family has now foresworn Weikel's pigs-in-blanket. On my last stop there, I found that the price for a package of 6 pigs had gone up to $8.15. The price has been rising fairly slowly up to now, but the jump from $7.50 to $8.15 is a little over 9% in one bite. We've been seeing that and more a lot lately.
Another favorite stop has been Peter's BBQ in Ellinger (on HWY 71, it is hard to miss). We have only been stopping there for the past couple of years and don't make it every trip. It depends on the time of day, mood, and appetite (but more mood than appetite). Stopping generally leads to a sack full of chopped beef sandwiches, but we have branched out to sausage wraps and sausage sandwiches as well. We've never taken the opportunity to dine in, but I am hoping that we will one day have the time for a more leisurely trip down HWY 71 so that we can do more sampling of its pleasures.
Peter's has a couple of billboards, which first caught our attention. The big attraction was $1.50 BBQ sandwiches. As the item and the price began to seep into my consciousness, what made the idea of stopping so attractive was actually another favorite childhood memory: stopping at Ward's BBQ on HWY 59 as we drove to
Ward's BBQ, if I recall correctly, was even more dilapidated than Peter's, and I don't know that there was a "dine in" option. We did, however, stop there on so many trips that I was the voice frequently chanting from the back seat about "how far is it to Ward's?" The BBQ sandwiches were served on plain white sandwich bread and accompanied by grape cider. For all I know, the cider was Welch's grape juice, but it was cold and wonderful as Mama, Daddy and I passed the bottle around in the car, while I inhaled that marvelous chopped beef sandwich.
Thinking we might be in for a similar experience, I ventured into Peter's one day a couple of years back. Inside was a fairly bare bones cafe with chrome-finished tables, a short little buffet, a slightly larger serving area for the barbecue, and ice-filled tubs with bottled soft drinks that didn't look anything like Coca-Cola (although you could get that from the refrigerated coolers). I ordered 10 chopped beef sandwiches and watched as they were being made--with pickle and onion added by the young fellow who was slapping on the BBQ. As it turns out, Peter's BBQ is a little more upscale than Ward's was: the sandwich is made with a bun instead of plain white bread. Peter's chopped beef didn't erase my childhood memory with an outstanding new taste, but it was just as good.
We stop in at Peter's now and then. Never have tried the buffet but hope to. The prices are very reasonable. Picking up a sack of sandwiches to eat on the road (fresh and unsoggy) or at home (fresh and soggy) is tasty either way.
Sadly, when I stopped in this last time, the price had gone up to $1.99 per sandwich. The high cost of gasoline (I am not fooled by the recent drop in prices) and other anti-food policies that are driving up the cost of supplies has forced even Peter's to start raising what were some of the most reasonable prices in the state. I'm hoping that that hand-lettered sign on a piece of typing paper is temporary, but I fear that it is not. This time I ordered fewer sandwiches, so we didn't have any leftover to eat cold for breakfast. I'm sure that's a good thing in terms of eating healthily, but BBQ is not about health, now is it?
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