An end, and a beginning

As I sit down to write this, I have already begun a new chapter in my life. My relationship has ended. My partner has just left, now for good, to a place of his own.  It is a split that is mutual, extremely amicable, and immensely difficult.  We both love and care for each other very much, and yet we believe that is right to part ways and explore different paths. 

When the decision was first made, I considered closing down the blog.  This blog has documented my efforts to create a frugal, green household and most of the things I did were for us, and often facilitated by my partner, as my best friend by my side.  In fact, he was the reason I began the blog in the first place, thanks to his encouragement and technical support.  After some thought, and the suggestions from reader Catherine, I realize that a lot of the things that gave me comfort will continue to provide me with joy and stability in this new chapter of my life.  I think I will especially use the blog to document my search for frugal luxuries, simple pleasures, and a quest to find peace, joy and abundance, beyond a consumerist lifestyle.

I truly want to thank all my readers for their support.  You are really the best.  This is an incredibly difficult time, but I’m finding reserves of strength and inner calm that I didn’t even know existed, and that I think have developed quietly and unknowingly during my practice of meditation, yoga and solitude.

I will be traveling nearly 3 weeks out of the month of July, which is interspersed with about a million other commitments in-between trips.  So you may see a few sporadic posts in July, and then a return to regular blogging in August.

I do apologize for the fact that some close friends will find out about this through such an impersonal format, but the challenging nature of the time has actually made me want to retreat inwards for a little while.

I’m fighting the urge to wax poetic on the beautiful moments we shared, how we fell in love, and how knowing him has changed me in so many ways.  But I will keep this to myself for now. Instead, I just want to remind everyone to enjoy and appreciate, as best you can, the bounty you have around you, because you never know when things might change to become just a memory.  Each moment is all we have. Let’s be mindful and grateful.  I am incredibly grateful to have had the years I did with someone so inspiring, so unique, loving, and passionate. Thank you, Josh, for everything you have given to me. I wish you all the blessings this beautiful life has to offer.

What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye.  But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” 

-Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Coping

I know you are all probably wondering where Saver Queen has been lately.  I think this is the first time that I’ve actually missed more than an entire week.  I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been having some personal difficulties lately, which have prevented me from blogging. I will update you later and will certainly be back blogging in the near future.  If anyone is interested in supplying me with a guest post on a frugal topic of your choice, please let me know.

In the meantime, seek out frugal luxuries wherever possible, and stay as mindful and present to the abundance at your doorstep as you can.  I recently enjoyed a yoga and meditation retreat. Afterwards, a friend of mine shared a story, recalling time spent in a park with her siblings as a child.  Their family owned very little, but a little picnic in the park was all she needed to feel free and filled with joy. I hope that all my readers can find joy in the simple beauty that surrounds us.  I will try to take my own advice, too.

I will be back to share more as soon as I can. Thanks for your understanding, and for your support.

Saver Queen’s summer salads

This past winter, my main trick for eating healthy and tasty food on a budget was to make a lot of hearty and yummy soups.  Now that spring and summer are here, I’ve moved on to salads.  Making salads that combine protein and veggies are easy. A few combinations and you have yourself an entire meal! The best part? It’s an incredibly frugal way to eat nutritious foods.

I found this one by googling for barley and discovered a great recipe from Whole Foods (see below).

Ingredients

3 cups water 
1 cup pearled barley 
1/2 cup chopped green onions 
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped 
1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped 
2 tablespoons mint leaves, chopped 
1/4 cup avocado oil or canola oil* 
1 clove garlic, minced 
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

In a saucepan, combine water and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until barley is tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Drain barley and set aside. 

Place green onions, red pepper, parsley, basil and mint in a large bowl. Add cooked barley and toss to combine. 

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, minced garlic and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then drizzle over barley salad, stirring to combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Saver Queen’s adjustments

I lacked lemons, green onions, red pepper and basil, so I subbed in green pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes and just used mint, parsley and bottled lemon juice instead. I also used olive oil instead of canola.  The recipe has 4g of protein per serving, which is not bad for a vegetarian dish! I have served this before with salmon, but it would also work well with a few other salads. 

I love digging out staples hiding in the pantry, like barley, lentils, and dried or canned beans, because they can usually be combined with whatever veggies you have around to create a great dish.  These frugal staples are not only cheap, they are tasty and nutritious.  It’s a great way to pull together a light, meatless summer meal that’s easy on the budget.

What’s your favourite summer salad?

Reducing a stubborn electric bill

Try as I might, I can’t seem to reduce my electric bills. I’m hoping you will have some suggestions on how to cut back on my electricity usage!  I feel like I am already doing the standard tricks necessary to lower energy consumption, so I would love some creative tips.  

Things I am already doing:

• Turning off all lights when not in use
• Turning off the drobo when not in use (I have a little trouble remembering to do this, and wish there was some sort of timer function)
• Unplugging battery and phone chargers when not in use, as well as other appliances that I use rarely, such as the dvd player

Things I am currently trying:

• Running the dishwasher on “air-dry” instead of “heat dry” whenever possible
• Hang-drying all laundry.  I’m putting the towels and other  potentially “scratchy” items in the dryer for 10 minutes when they are nearly completely dry and just slightly damp. This trick seems to work pretty well!

Things I would like to try:

• Energy efficient light-bulbs 

One of the problems is that we have an inefficient washing machine, drying and dishwasher. Since we are only renting, we had no input on the appliances and have to live with what’s here.  I’m hoping that my attempts at hang-drying the laundry and air-drying the dishes will help decrease the bill.

Please, any other suggestions would be much appreciated!

My new blog

Interested in the nonprofit sector and social media?  I’ve started a new blog called The Naked Nonprofit, exploring the new face of Canadian charities.  Feel free to check it out if you are keen on how nonprofits can improve their fundraising and public outreach campaigns with the use of social media.

More garage sale goodies

In addition to the Oster food processor, I thrifted some fabulous kitchen finds at recent garage sales and scratched several items off my summer thrift list. I thought I would share just how much you can get for so little, when you buy used. 

Here’s what I got last weekend:

1. Ceramic Tea pot (full size) - $2

2. Glass relish tray (looks like crystal but its weight gives it away as glass) - $1

3. Tea & biscuit tins (great for packaging gifts or storing tea or other goodies) - 25¢ each x 2

4. Men’s American Eagle sweater vest (never worn) - $1

5. Complete set of measuring cups - 50¢

6. Set of four ceramic soup bowls - FREE

7. Glass jar, suited for candy or crafts - FREE

8. Roasting rack - FREE

9. Metal frame and mat for 8×10″ photo- FREE

Total cost: $5

My best advice when garage sale-ing is to arrive early to have your best pick and circle around near the end, when people are starting to pack up.  They are usually more than willing to give you stuff for free, or for a reduced price. The freebies I mentioned above all came from “freebie” tables that were left to the whims of passers-by. The near-misses can be frustrating. I saw a man buy a milk glass vase for $2 - seconds before I got to it!

Here’s my updated thrift list:
 

• 9×9 pans
• pie plates
• popcorn popper
• mandolin
• food processor
• apron
• large tea pot
• measuring cups
• rice cooker
• hand blender
• cutting boards
• pizza peel
• canning equipment
• spice jars
• funnel
• patio chairs & table
• vegetable peeler
• toaster oven

Do you have any tips for going garage sale-ing?  Have you made any adjustments to your summer thrift lists?

My best garage sale find yet!

I love garage sales. It just makes so much sense, financially and environmentally speaking, to re-use what is already out there, instead of just assuming we need to go out and buy everything we want at full price.  

During the last two weekends, I have visited garage sales and found some exceptional deals. In particular, I am looking for good quality, useful kitchen items, some of which I mentioned on the thrift list. 

My best find, so far has been this Oster food processor, which retails for around $140 at Home Hardware, after tax.  I was skeptical when I were told that this food processor was “out of the box” and had “never been used,” but after taking it home and carefully inspecting it, I discovered that it was true: this machine was in mint condition.

My Black & Decker food processor broke after a little more than 6 months of use (I’m appalled) and we needed a new one, as we use our food pro regularly. I’m so glad that I held off buying a new one long enough to take a look at other available options.

The best thing about our thrifted food processor? It only cost $10!

What great finds have you discovered this spring?

The joys of an empty box of salt

What can you do with an empty box of salt? 

As it turns out… a lot!

I made this craft with an empty box of kosher salt.  Normally I would throw it away, but as you know, these days I am trying to repurpose junk to create a more organized home. I love giving a new purpose to stuff that would normally end up in my recycling bin.  It’s frugal, fun, and environmentally friendly!

Here’s how I did it:

First, I cut the top off in a diagonal direction.

Then I cut out pictures of Archie comics* and followed the same set of instructions that I provided in my guest post at I’m an Organizing Junkie on repurposing a tea box.  

Note: If you don’t want to destroy your old comic books, use comic strips from the newspaper.  I simply cut out the “gag bags” or other one-page stories that had advertisements on the back.  That way I didn’t ruin the entire comic.

I pasted the comics on to the box and then covered it with mac-tack, trimming and folding the edges carefully.

This little box was the perfect size and shape for the comic digests! And the box fits neatly onto a shelf. 

Believe it or not, I didn’t stop there. When you are cutting off the top of the box, save the spout! I taped it on to my box of baking soda to make it easier to pour. This spout will help me to measure out the exact amount of baking soda I actually need, instead of spilling it everywhere, so I will waste less.

With a little creativity, we can turn junk into really fun, attractive, useful items around the house. 

Have you repurposed anything lately?

*So now I have revealed that I am a Star Trek nerd, I might as well admit that I am a comic book geek too. *Sigh* What else will this blog reveal about me?  I haven’t even gotten started on my secret love for medieval themed board games.

Homemade junk food, part two: candied peanuts

I found this wonderful recipe from David Lebovitz: delicious candied peanuts. I made a batch of these at Christmas time, and again a few days ago when I had a craving for some salty, sweet goodness.  This recipe is also incredibly cheap to make - all it requires is a bag of raw peanuts, sugar, and a bit of salt.  If you buy your peanuts from a bulk food store, it will cost just cents to make.

Carmelized peanuts

Ingredients:

2 cups (275g) raw peanuts (or almonds)
1 cup (200g) sugar
1/3 cup (75ml) water
a sprinkle of coarse sea salt (or smoked salt)
optional: ground cinnamon or chili powder

Directions

“In a wide, heavy-duty skillet, mix the peanuts with the sugar and water. Cook the ingredients over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid seizes up. It will take a few minutes. At this point, the peanuts will get crusty and the sugar will crystallize.

The peanuts will become dry and sandy, which is perfectly normal. Don’t worry; you didn’t mess up. Lower the heat and keep going, scraping up any syrup collecting in the bottom of the pan and stir the peanuts in it, coating them as much as possible.

As you go, tilt the pan, removing it from the heat from time-to-time to regulate the heat and the syrup, so you can coat the nuts with the liquid as it darkens without burning the peanuts or the syrup. This is the only tricky part—I like to get the peanuts as deeply-bronzed as possible. if the mixture starts to smoke, remove it from the heat and stir.

Right before they’re done, sprinkle the peanuts with a sizable pinch of flaky salt (and pinch of cinnamon or chili powder, if you want), stir them a couple of times, then tilt the peanuts out onto a baking sheet or a marble countertop.

Let the peanuts cool completely, then break up any clumps. Store in an airtight container, where they’ll keep up to a week.”

Might I say that this snack goes perfectly with a beer?

Homemade junk food, part one: Pizza Pops

As I mentioned in part one of my series, How to cut your grocery bill in half, I try to avoid buying processed foods or junk foods. Instead, I enjoy making them at home.  Last week I fell off the wagon many times and resorted to fast food and coffee on the go; this was mostly due to a hectic schedule that involved traveling out of town.  Last weekend I resolved to do some cooking and baking to help myself to stay on track.

Eating a healthy diet means that every so often I run up against insurmountable cravings for salty, fatty, late night snacks.  One of my favourite guilty pleasures are Pizza Pops, or miniature frozen calzones.  Last weekend, I decided to try making them myself.  I’m not sure what the cost-per-unit is; but if you purchase your baking supplies at a low cost, buy cheese on sale and pick up affordable veggies like green pepper and mushrooms, these little snacks can end up being incredibly affordable indulgences.

The recipe I  used was from Recipe Zaar:

Ingredients

CRUST

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 1/2 cups flour

SAUCE

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup fine diced onion
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 3 tablespoons water

Saver Queen’s tip: Add a pinch of salt.

Directions

1. Mix yeast with 1 cup of flour. Add all the rest of the ingredients and beat well.
2. Knead in the rest of the flour. I am not sure of the amount of flour here as I do it by feel of the dough. The dough should be soft and elastic, not too dry.
3. Let rest 15 minutes.
4. Cut into 10 balls and roll out into 6″ circles.
5. Top with equal amounts of sauce on half of the circle leaving 1/2″ at edge clear for sealing purposes.
6. Add your choice of fillings. I love pepperoni, mushroom and cheese. Pinch edge well to seal.
7. Prick tops and you can also brush with an egg wash mixture.
8. Bake on cookie sheets at 350′ for 30-35 minutes.

Saver Queen’s tip: remember that you can stuff these with lots of fillings, because the bread expands, leaving a large pocket inside.

These freeze really well. Package them in individual ziplock bags or wrap in plastic.  Then, simply re-heat them for about 15 minutes at 375′ on a baking sheet, or preferably, a pizza stone.  If not heated all the way through, you can also microwave them for 20 or 30 seconds, but they lose their nice crispy crust. These make a great late night snack!