For years I made my living as an actor/waiter. My first paying job was at a little theatre in Berthoud Colorado called the Wayside Inne Dinner Theatre. At that time (1983) I was paid $15 per show and there were 4 shows per week. I also waited tables and collected tips, but there were other ways you could make money there.
Box office hours were available and costumes and sets needed to be designed and built every couple of months when the shows changed.
I built sets for several shows there. The budget was $500.00, $250 for materials and $250 compensation for the work. However, if you could build everything for less than $250, you got to keep the difference. This was an amazing challenge that taught me more about finding creative solutions and working within a small fixed budget than anything I have experienced since.
The framework for creating a budget for our home should be the same.
Once you have recorded all the food expenses for a month, sat down with receipts and determined where cuts can be made, you should be able to come up with a realistic figure for a monthly food budget. Divide this number by four and you will have an amount that you can spend each week. The challenge then becomes trying to come in under that number.
Before I go on with any of my strategies I would like to comment on two of the cuts you might be able to make in the budget and how to see this, not as a sacrifice, but as a positive, life enriching experience.
I have talked to people who regularly purchase 2 Starbucks coffees a day. I know people who go out to eat 3 to 5 times a week.
We try to go out about once a month, we have given up daily Starbucks and make our coffee at home. I don't feel like these "sacrifices" have effected our lives in a negative way, in fact our appreciation for these things has escalated and we make the most out of the times we allow ourselves the luxury. Going out to eat is a big deal for my family. We anticipate it (the best part) with excitement and take the opportunity to review good restaurant behavior with our boys. We keep the expense as reasonable as possible and we have a really good time.
I get the same joy out of the occasional Latte from Starbucks. It is a special treat that makes me really appreciate the times we let ourselves splurge.
Now let's get down to business.
Once the budget has been determined, inventory taken and menu planned, it is time to create the shopping lists. The number of lists you make depends on the number of stores you need to hit.
I really recommend keeping this number down. Determine the grocery store in your neighborhood that has the best prices and offers the best deals and stick with them. To this we add Costco and Dollar Tree and that's it.
Costco has good prices on several items but you have to buy a lot so figure out how you are going to use it all or don't bother. If you end up throwing half of the giant bag of broccoli (which can be steamed and frozen) away, you haven't really saved.
Dollar Stores are not good for food, but often have name brand cleaning products.
Both of the above mentioned should be visited once every 4 to 6 weeks, neither except coupons. Your weekly trip will be to the neighborhood grocer.
You need two lists each week. The primary list is all the things you need to fill out the menu for the week. The secondary list is really good deals.
The secondary list can only be addressed once the primary list is filled.
Once have stocked up on enough really good deals (5 or 6 weeks in) you will start to see the primary list get smaller.
It is also a great idea to look at the whole month's budget when buying meat. If there is a great sale on pork chops or family packs of chicken, buy what you can afford (stock up) and subtract that total from what's left for the month and re-divide the total by the number of weeks left to know what you now have to spend each week.
Do not go over the weekly allowance! But, for the first few weeks try to spend it all so that you can establish your reserves.
Don't go too crazy! Sales cycle and everything goes on sale eventually. You don't need more than 4 to 6 weeks worth of food in your stock pile.
NEVER use a coupon on a full priced item! And, never buy an item you have a coupon for if the store brand is cheaper and of comparable quality.
Collect as many coupons for items you use as you can get your hands on, In addition to the newspaper, you can go to several websites and print coupons (google grocery store coupons) and you can go to the manufacturer's website. If they don't have coupons on the site, write to them and ask for some.
Keep your coupons until the time is right to use them, watch the sales closely.
Eventually you will develop a system that works for you and you will start to come in under budget each week. That is the money that goes in the teapot!
If your weekly budget is $100 and this week you spend $80 ... put $20 under the mattress.
If you do the work and you are honest about the numbers, you can budget a lot less for groceries and still save some of it for a rainy day.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Managing The Budget: The Food Bill
2010 was our year to really start addressing expenses. We constantly looked over the monthly bills to see where we might be able to cut back, what could be trimmed, what was unnecessary, and what kind of sacrifices were we willing to make. It was, overall, a good year and mostly due to this work.
Things are turning around, the kids are both in school now, so I can work more hours and people seem a little less afraid to spend money, new clients are appearing again, but even if we doubled our income, I would not want to change how we are currently managing the budget.
Addressing the food budget is as good a place to start as any. It is a necessary expense, but there are some very effective ways to save. I won't lie to you, the process is a lot of work, but I think it's worth it. And in the end we will turn the savings into actual real money in the bank.
First you need an accurate picture of what is currently happening.
STEP 1: FIND OUT WHAT YOU REALLY SPEND
We have a whole week to get ready to do this step for the month of February and I am going to do it too and log it all here.
During this step you should clip coupons and watch sales, but the real work in the first month is logging food expenses.
I should note here that I include paper and cleaning products, detergents and personal care items in this budget IF they come from the grocery or dollar store.
(Soaps, shampoos, colognes, etc. that come from salons or boutiques are not counted. They belong in a luxury budget that we will talk about later.)
Log EVERY food expense for the month! Every lunch out at work, every Starbucks, every time you get chinese take out, every soda or candy bar purchased at a convenience store, any money put into school lunch accounts, every time you go out to dinner, and every trip to the grocery.
Keep ALL receipts.
Write it all down. (This is what we will be doing for the month of February)
At the end of the month, add it ALL up.
THIS is what you/your family spends on food in one month ... THE REAL FIGURE.
STEP 2: ASSESS
The reason to keep all the receipts is so you can assess what percentages of the money are spent where.
Now you can start to talk about making initial cuts and you have actual data in front of you.
There is no way to accurately, effectively start to address the food budget without completing these first two steps. This is not the really hard work though ... read on.
STEP 3: TAKE INVENTORY
This can happen during step one and should happen weekly from now on. Eventually you will start to stockpile essentials that you get really good deals on and there will be a decent inventory of food in your house at all times. This is where you start at the beginning of each week before you make a menu. Taking inventory helps you plan the menu and create your shopping list.
Basically you will shop for what you need (that's not in your current inventory) to create the meals for that week.
What you add to your reserves each week is a sub-list and depends on available funds, sales and coupons. Basically you only stockpile really good deals.
STEP 4: MAKE A MENU
Your menu needs to include every meal that will be prepared that week.
Planning this at the first of the week and knowing what will be for dinner every night not only saves money, it reduces stress.
The only meals we don't cook at home are school lunches because, quite frankly, I can't make a lunch for less then the school charges for one. Our boys take a lunchbox to school on Friday.
They look forward to it, and it's something we can take away if they don't behave that doesn't effect us.
Frank and I eat lunch from home every day. Often times leftovers from the night before.
Plan your cooking day.
You need to cook a good percentage of your food for the week on a day when you have time. Pasta sauces, soups/stews, pans of lasagna or enchiladas, casseroles, can all be made ahead and frozen or refrigerated so that on work days you can simply come home and stick it in the oven.
Any dinner that takes more then a few minutes to prepare should be done on cooking day.
STEP 5: GOING TO THE STORE
This step and the preparations involved will be the subject of the next entry.
By doing all of the steps listed so far you will be saving a lot of money, maximizing your savings at the grocery store and finding that real money to save involves a whole series of sub-steps.
Stay tuned!
Things are turning around, the kids are both in school now, so I can work more hours and people seem a little less afraid to spend money, new clients are appearing again, but even if we doubled our income, I would not want to change how we are currently managing the budget.
Addressing the food budget is as good a place to start as any. It is a necessary expense, but there are some very effective ways to save. I won't lie to you, the process is a lot of work, but I think it's worth it. And in the end we will turn the savings into actual real money in the bank.
First you need an accurate picture of what is currently happening.
STEP 1: FIND OUT WHAT YOU REALLY SPEND
We have a whole week to get ready to do this step for the month of February and I am going to do it too and log it all here.
During this step you should clip coupons and watch sales, but the real work in the first month is logging food expenses.
I should note here that I include paper and cleaning products, detergents and personal care items in this budget IF they come from the grocery or dollar store.
(Soaps, shampoos, colognes, etc. that come from salons or boutiques are not counted. They belong in a luxury budget that we will talk about later.)
Log EVERY food expense for the month! Every lunch out at work, every Starbucks, every time you get chinese take out, every soda or candy bar purchased at a convenience store, any money put into school lunch accounts, every time you go out to dinner, and every trip to the grocery.
Keep ALL receipts.
Write it all down. (This is what we will be doing for the month of February)
At the end of the month, add it ALL up.
THIS is what you/your family spends on food in one month ... THE REAL FIGURE.
STEP 2: ASSESS
The reason to keep all the receipts is so you can assess what percentages of the money are spent where.
Now you can start to talk about making initial cuts and you have actual data in front of you.
There is no way to accurately, effectively start to address the food budget without completing these first two steps. This is not the really hard work though ... read on.
STEP 3: TAKE INVENTORY
This can happen during step one and should happen weekly from now on. Eventually you will start to stockpile essentials that you get really good deals on and there will be a decent inventory of food in your house at all times. This is where you start at the beginning of each week before you make a menu. Taking inventory helps you plan the menu and create your shopping list.
Basically you will shop for what you need (that's not in your current inventory) to create the meals for that week.
What you add to your reserves each week is a sub-list and depends on available funds, sales and coupons. Basically you only stockpile really good deals.
STEP 4: MAKE A MENU
Your menu needs to include every meal that will be prepared that week.
Planning this at the first of the week and knowing what will be for dinner every night not only saves money, it reduces stress.
The only meals we don't cook at home are school lunches because, quite frankly, I can't make a lunch for less then the school charges for one. Our boys take a lunchbox to school on Friday.
They look forward to it, and it's something we can take away if they don't behave that doesn't effect us.
Frank and I eat lunch from home every day. Often times leftovers from the night before.
Plan your cooking day.
You need to cook a good percentage of your food for the week on a day when you have time. Pasta sauces, soups/stews, pans of lasagna or enchiladas, casseroles, can all be made ahead and frozen or refrigerated so that on work days you can simply come home and stick it in the oven.
Any dinner that takes more then a few minutes to prepare should be done on cooking day.
STEP 5: GOING TO THE STORE
This step and the preparations involved will be the subject of the next entry.
By doing all of the steps listed so far you will be saving a lot of money, maximizing your savings at the grocery store and finding that real money to save involves a whole series of sub-steps.
Stay tuned!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Prelude To Some Ideas About Managing The Household Budget
About twenty five years ago my grandmother started dedicating her Betty Crocker points toward a full set of flatware for me. These points were printed on the boxes of Betty Crocker products and could be redeemed for merchandise in the Betty Crocker catalog. (Betty Crocker retired this program in 2006). I did end up with a very nice 12 place settings plus hostess pieces set.
Many of the women in my family (including my mother) had everyday dishes that came out of boxes of Dove laundry detergent and most of the mothers I knew growing up collected green stamps.
Grocery stores used to offer up sets of pots and pans or everyday china that could be earned by shopping at that store. Usually you payed a discounted price per piece or got a free piece depending on what you spent at the store that day.
These kinds of rewards for loyalty programs have pretty much disappeared.
Today if someone wants new dishes they go to Bed Bath and Beyond, pull out the Visa and come home with the whole set. No one has the patience to do it any other way. Get what you want today and worry about paying for it later.
The families of this country have never been in the kind of financial trouble that we are in right now and we have, mostly, ourselves to blame.
In 1970 about 16% of American households had a credit card.
At that time the home fires were predominantly stoked by the woman of the family, who I like to call the COO (Chief Operations Officer) She often had a weekly budget, determined by the CEO (Chief Executive Officer [the man of the house]). This budget was to cover all household expenses for the week and at that time it was, in most families, pretty conservative.
If the COO wanted to do anything extra (buy a gift, go out to lunch, have her hair done, SAVE) the money had to come out of that budget.
Coupons equalled money, Layaway allowed you to pay for something over time, and promotions (like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this entry) gave you the opportunity to acquire things you needed, if you had the patience. Wise COO's put any pennies that were left at the end of the week into a teapot or under a loose floorboard for a rainy day.
People lived, for the most part, within their means. Aside from the mortgage and maybe a car payment, they didn't owe much, and most people had some savings.
By the year 2000, over 70% of households were in possession of at least one major credit card and most had several department store cards. The opportunity to do/have all kinds of things without having to save up, without having to wait ... FABULOUS! After all, it seemed kind of the same, you just pay what you would have been saving to the credit card company each month. Of course we know this doesn't usually work out, and, if you are making minimum payments, you pay interest for years before touching the principle.
In tomorrow's post I am going to discuss some strategies for trimming household expenses, keeping the grocery bill manageable and finding money to stick in a teapot.
I don't think it's realistic to try and go back to a 1970 COO's strategy, but it has also become unrealistic to continue a 21st century one. Somewhere in the middle is a recipe for success and I've been working on it for awhile.
Many of the women in my family (including my mother) had everyday dishes that came out of boxes of Dove laundry detergent and most of the mothers I knew growing up collected green stamps.
Grocery stores used to offer up sets of pots and pans or everyday china that could be earned by shopping at that store. Usually you payed a discounted price per piece or got a free piece depending on what you spent at the store that day.
These kinds of rewards for loyalty programs have pretty much disappeared.
Today if someone wants new dishes they go to Bed Bath and Beyond, pull out the Visa and come home with the whole set. No one has the patience to do it any other way. Get what you want today and worry about paying for it later.
The families of this country have never been in the kind of financial trouble that we are in right now and we have, mostly, ourselves to blame.
In 1970 about 16% of American households had a credit card.
At that time the home fires were predominantly stoked by the woman of the family, who I like to call the COO (Chief Operations Officer) She often had a weekly budget, determined by the CEO (Chief Executive Officer [the man of the house]). This budget was to cover all household expenses for the week and at that time it was, in most families, pretty conservative.
If the COO wanted to do anything extra (buy a gift, go out to lunch, have her hair done, SAVE) the money had to come out of that budget.
Coupons equalled money, Layaway allowed you to pay for something over time, and promotions (like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this entry) gave you the opportunity to acquire things you needed, if you had the patience. Wise COO's put any pennies that were left at the end of the week into a teapot or under a loose floorboard for a rainy day.
People lived, for the most part, within their means. Aside from the mortgage and maybe a car payment, they didn't owe much, and most people had some savings.
By the year 2000, over 70% of households were in possession of at least one major credit card and most had several department store cards. The opportunity to do/have all kinds of things without having to save up, without having to wait ... FABULOUS! After all, it seemed kind of the same, you just pay what you would have been saving to the credit card company each month. Of course we know this doesn't usually work out, and, if you are making minimum payments, you pay interest for years before touching the principle.
In tomorrow's post I am going to discuss some strategies for trimming household expenses, keeping the grocery bill manageable and finding money to stick in a teapot.
I don't think it's realistic to try and go back to a 1970 COO's strategy, but it has also become unrealistic to continue a 21st century one. Somewhere in the middle is a recipe for success and I've been working on it for awhile.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Give Your Kids A Fighting Chance
I could go down a number of paths under the title of this post, but this entry is specifically about housekeeping.
Our boys share a bedroom. It's a nice bedroom, actually the original master. They have their own full bathroom and a walk-in closet. But any kid's bedroom, regardless of size or available storage space, can become a disastrous mess.
It's not the kids fault. Our boys are actually quite good at picking up their toys and keeping the room neat, however, it can't happen without some help from you and I don't mean cleaning for them.
THERE HAS TO BE A SYSTEM
A place for everything and everything in it's place!
In order for our boys to be successful at this there must be a designated space for everything. If this is not established they end up tucking (or even cramming) books, toys, etc. into any available slot, shelf, box or hole creating a clutter perimeter. This eventually becomes cripplingly overwhelming.
Beyond the unappealing aesthetic, the biggest issue here is the inability to find anything. Parts and pieces of 100 different games and toys are hidden all over the room and it becomes very frustrating for the child(ren) to play.
By establishing an organized system and creating it with your children involved in the process, most of this problem is eliminated.
Our kids like to have things neat. They like how it feels when their room is clean and organized and they like being able to find their things. They need help getting started, but once an easy to follow system is in place, it is surprising how good they are at maintaining it.
THE STORAGE SPACES
Space is like time and money, if you don't keep track of it and use it wisely, it just goes away.
Decide what will fit neatly into each existing cupboard and drawer.
Install some additional shelving at a height that can be easily reached by your children.
Buy sterlite containers.
A giant toy box in the corner of the room is a terrible idea. When told to clean the room, children will just dump everything in the box. Leggo pieces, dolls, tea set pieces, musical instruments, puzzle pieces, etc. become unretrievable without dumping the entire mess back on the floor. Instead, purchase sterlite shoeboxes (about $1 apiece) and keep toys separated and easy to access.
Larger toys can go in cupboards or be displayed on shelves. Larger buckets or those cans people give you popcorn in at Christmas are great for TinkerToys, Lincoln Logs and train sets. These can sit in designated places in the room very neatly.
The most important thing is that the kids know where everything goes so that when they pick up there are no questions. The task becomes fast and easy!
LABEL EVERYTHING
It is crucial that everything is labeled. This helps younger children with reading/ letter recognition and eliminates any confusion about where things go.
In our house it is important that both boys have their own things (they are expected to share A LOT) so certain drawers/containers are labeled with their names. These are their own private spaces for things.
Puzzles and games should stay in original boxes most of the time and go on a designated shelf. These boxes are usually a manageable size and stack neatly. Things like Leggo kits get transferred to their own labeled plastic shoebox. These shoeboxes (which I LOVE) stack very neatly.
DADDY'S JOB
We clean the boy's bathroom (for now, they are only 4 and 7) and we vacuum. We expect the boys to keep things neat and dust. We do not require made beds unless we are expecting company, but if they wanted to make the bed I wouldn't argue.
Things have to be reasonable, we have high expectations but understand the boys limitations.
These limitations are lessened by building a system that gives them a fighting chance.
Our boys share a bedroom. It's a nice bedroom, actually the original master. They have their own full bathroom and a walk-in closet. But any kid's bedroom, regardless of size or available storage space, can become a disastrous mess.
It's not the kids fault. Our boys are actually quite good at picking up their toys and keeping the room neat, however, it can't happen without some help from you and I don't mean cleaning for them.
THERE HAS TO BE A SYSTEM
A place for everything and everything in it's place!
In order for our boys to be successful at this there must be a designated space for everything. If this is not established they end up tucking (or even cramming) books, toys, etc. into any available slot, shelf, box or hole creating a clutter perimeter. This eventually becomes cripplingly overwhelming.
Beyond the unappealing aesthetic, the biggest issue here is the inability to find anything. Parts and pieces of 100 different games and toys are hidden all over the room and it becomes very frustrating for the child(ren) to play.
By establishing an organized system and creating it with your children involved in the process, most of this problem is eliminated.
Our kids like to have things neat. They like how it feels when their room is clean and organized and they like being able to find their things. They need help getting started, but once an easy to follow system is in place, it is surprising how good they are at maintaining it.
THE STORAGE SPACES
Space is like time and money, if you don't keep track of it and use it wisely, it just goes away.
Decide what will fit neatly into each existing cupboard and drawer.
Install some additional shelving at a height that can be easily reached by your children.
Buy sterlite containers.
A giant toy box in the corner of the room is a terrible idea. When told to clean the room, children will just dump everything in the box. Leggo pieces, dolls, tea set pieces, musical instruments, puzzle pieces, etc. become unretrievable without dumping the entire mess back on the floor. Instead, purchase sterlite shoeboxes (about $1 apiece) and keep toys separated and easy to access.
Larger toys can go in cupboards or be displayed on shelves. Larger buckets or those cans people give you popcorn in at Christmas are great for TinkerToys, Lincoln Logs and train sets. These can sit in designated places in the room very neatly.
The most important thing is that the kids know where everything goes so that when they pick up there are no questions. The task becomes fast and easy!
LABEL EVERYTHING
It is crucial that everything is labeled. This helps younger children with reading/ letter recognition and eliminates any confusion about where things go.
In our house it is important that both boys have their own things (they are expected to share A LOT) so certain drawers/containers are labeled with their names. These are their own private spaces for things.
Puzzles and games should stay in original boxes most of the time and go on a designated shelf. These boxes are usually a manageable size and stack neatly. Things like Leggo kits get transferred to their own labeled plastic shoebox. These shoeboxes (which I LOVE) stack very neatly.
DADDY'S JOB
We clean the boy's bathroom (for now, they are only 4 and 7) and we vacuum. We expect the boys to keep things neat and dust. We do not require made beds unless we are expecting company, but if they wanted to make the bed I wouldn't argue.
Things have to be reasonable, we have high expectations but understand the boys limitations.
These limitations are lessened by building a system that gives them a fighting chance.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Why Gay Daddies Are Superior
It has been fun watching all of the heated debate over Amy Chua's memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and the Wall Street Journal extract from the book, headlined: Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.
In it's basest form the controversy boils down to who is doing it better, is it the fiercely strict and relentless asian parent or the permissive, pussy western one?
As with all things, it just isn't that simple.
In the 7 hours a day that my children are in school, they are working pretty hard. They are also playing, eating, talking and sharing with other children (their friends/ social group). These 7 hours, 5 days a week are invaluable and create a great framework for real learning, but it doesn't all happen at school ... it can't.
The learning that happens at home is crucial, layered, complex and in some respects not entirely realized by the parent(s). Beyond academic efforts our children are learning how to behave, how to solve conflict and how to succeed in the daily grind. Whether we are aware or not, we are teaching them how to be a person.
Here is one example of a learning opportunity that is often mishandled:
In recent studies it has been shown that children who watch a lot of educational television act more aggressively toward their peers. A surprising result until you really think about it. in much of this programming the story involves creating conflict between characters with an eventual resolution, but the resolution doesn't come until the end of the story. Younger children don't put this together as well as we might hope they would. Kids need to see problems immediately solved and the methods for reaching the solution need to be explained or "broken down" for them.
In our house we allow our children to witness conflict and resolution between us and then talk to them about it to make sure they understand that we still love each other and were just working something out.
Starting an argument (or discussion) and sending the kids upstairs to "protect" them leaves them hanging ... the model is left incomplete.
Our kids are allowed a good amount of time for "free play". At this point they are not involved in any "extra curricular" activities, there is no time in the schedule for that.
Sleep studies should/may be the subject of a future blog entry, but for now I will share that 12 hours a night is what we consider to be required. This means our boys go to bed every night (lights out) at 7:00.
The school day is extended here. homework happens first and then free time before dinner.
Beyond the required homework each night, we drill math facts. We also do science experiments in our kitchen and challenge our 7 year old to break down words he doesn't think he can read rather than tell him the word.
Creating at home curriculum is a lot of work for us, but we feel it is essential for a child to have this individual time. It helps us assess where they are at and allows us to challenge our children to think critically about what they are doing.
Play dates, birthday parties and sleepovers are allowed (because deep down, we are western pussies).
In it's basest form the controversy boils down to who is doing it better, is it the fiercely strict and relentless asian parent or the permissive, pussy western one?
As with all things, it just isn't that simple.
In the 7 hours a day that my children are in school, they are working pretty hard. They are also playing, eating, talking and sharing with other children (their friends/ social group). These 7 hours, 5 days a week are invaluable and create a great framework for real learning, but it doesn't all happen at school ... it can't.
The learning that happens at home is crucial, layered, complex and in some respects not entirely realized by the parent(s). Beyond academic efforts our children are learning how to behave, how to solve conflict and how to succeed in the daily grind. Whether we are aware or not, we are teaching them how to be a person.
Here is one example of a learning opportunity that is often mishandled:
In recent studies it has been shown that children who watch a lot of educational television act more aggressively toward their peers. A surprising result until you really think about it. in much of this programming the story involves creating conflict between characters with an eventual resolution, but the resolution doesn't come until the end of the story. Younger children don't put this together as well as we might hope they would. Kids need to see problems immediately solved and the methods for reaching the solution need to be explained or "broken down" for them.
In our house we allow our children to witness conflict and resolution between us and then talk to them about it to make sure they understand that we still love each other and were just working something out.
Starting an argument (or discussion) and sending the kids upstairs to "protect" them leaves them hanging ... the model is left incomplete.
Our kids are allowed a good amount of time for "free play". At this point they are not involved in any "extra curricular" activities, there is no time in the schedule for that.
Sleep studies should/may be the subject of a future blog entry, but for now I will share that 12 hours a night is what we consider to be required. This means our boys go to bed every night (lights out) at 7:00.
The school day is extended here. homework happens first and then free time before dinner.
Beyond the required homework each night, we drill math facts. We also do science experiments in our kitchen and challenge our 7 year old to break down words he doesn't think he can read rather than tell him the word.
Creating at home curriculum is a lot of work for us, but we feel it is essential for a child to have this individual time. It helps us assess where they are at and allows us to challenge our children to think critically about what they are doing.
Play dates, birthday parties and sleepovers are allowed (because deep down, we are western pussies).
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Green Chile
I spent the entire day today taking apart and organizing our garage.
I love the idea of a "fresh start" with a new year, but I won't make "resolutions."
I have, however, decided that 2011 is the year to re-evaluate all the spaces in our house and make every effort to use the space as wisely as possible. Somehow it sounds like I made a resolution and it's an interesting way to start a post on how I make green chile ... it's actually an explanation of why I'm writing this so late.
I have been making green chile for 7+ years. I was taught how to make a roux by Frank's mother but most of how green chile goes together was taught to me by Frank (who learned it from his mother).
The hardest part about it is trying to share the recipe with someone else without having them stand next to you at the stove (how I learned).
There are no written instructions from Franks New Mexican family.
This is what you need and how it is done here:
A good sized pork loin or roast
24 to 36 roasted green chile peppers
garlic powder
garlic
flour
canola or vegetable oil
3 large cans of diced tomatoes
salt
PORK
Start preparing the raw pork first. Dice it into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes and season with garlic powder (I use a lot). put it into a large pot and cover with water about two to three inches above the pork. Bring it to a boil and lower the temperature to a point where it continues to boil softly but won't boil over. Let it boil while you start the next step.
PEPPERS
If your peppers are not clean you must first wash the black blistered skin off and stem them. Don't throw away all the seeds, most of these should go into the chile. Chop your clean roasted peppers, not too finely, and place in a mixing bowl. Press 6 to 8 cloves of garlic into the bowl. Stir them together and set aside.
ROUX
In another large pot (your biggest stew pot will work best) start the roux.
On high heat pour oil into the pot to cover the bottom (about a cup) then start to spoon in flour working the mix constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula. Keep adding flour until the mix becomes like a dough and rolls around the pot freely. Stop adding flour but keep working the mixture over high heat until the flour turns a lovely reddish-brown color then remove the pot from heat so you don't burn the roux.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Immediately pour in your peppers and garlic and rinse the bowl with water (pour that in too). Now stir all of this together with the wooden spoon off the heat and start to add the water from your pot of boiling pork. Once you start adding the pork water you can put the chile pot back on a medium heat burner and continue working with your spoon. At this point you can start to ladle in the diced pork as well.
Keep adding pork water until your pot is over 1/2 full (you will probably use all of it).
Now strain and add the 3 cans of tomatoes.
Keep adding pork water, you don't want it too thick.
Keep cooking until the whole pot comes to a boil.
Add salt to taste, but be careful ... tomorrow it will taste saltier, so it's best to err on the lighter side. You can always add salt later.
That's it.
It freezes well and goes with everything!
Enjoy!
I love the idea of a "fresh start" with a new year, but I won't make "resolutions."
I have, however, decided that 2011 is the year to re-evaluate all the spaces in our house and make every effort to use the space as wisely as possible. Somehow it sounds like I made a resolution and it's an interesting way to start a post on how I make green chile ... it's actually an explanation of why I'm writing this so late.
I have been making green chile for 7+ years. I was taught how to make a roux by Frank's mother but most of how green chile goes together was taught to me by Frank (who learned it from his mother).
The hardest part about it is trying to share the recipe with someone else without having them stand next to you at the stove (how I learned).
There are no written instructions from Franks New Mexican family.
This is what you need and how it is done here:
A good sized pork loin or roast
24 to 36 roasted green chile peppers
garlic powder
garlic
flour
canola or vegetable oil
3 large cans of diced tomatoes
salt
PORK
Start preparing the raw pork first. Dice it into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes and season with garlic powder (I use a lot). put it into a large pot and cover with water about two to three inches above the pork. Bring it to a boil and lower the temperature to a point where it continues to boil softly but won't boil over. Let it boil while you start the next step.
PEPPERS
If your peppers are not clean you must first wash the black blistered skin off and stem them. Don't throw away all the seeds, most of these should go into the chile. Chop your clean roasted peppers, not too finely, and place in a mixing bowl. Press 6 to 8 cloves of garlic into the bowl. Stir them together and set aside.
ROUX
In another large pot (your biggest stew pot will work best) start the roux.
On high heat pour oil into the pot to cover the bottom (about a cup) then start to spoon in flour working the mix constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula. Keep adding flour until the mix becomes like a dough and rolls around the pot freely. Stop adding flour but keep working the mixture over high heat until the flour turns a lovely reddish-brown color then remove the pot from heat so you don't burn the roux.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Immediately pour in your peppers and garlic and rinse the bowl with water (pour that in too). Now stir all of this together with the wooden spoon off the heat and start to add the water from your pot of boiling pork. Once you start adding the pork water you can put the chile pot back on a medium heat burner and continue working with your spoon. At this point you can start to ladle in the diced pork as well.
Keep adding pork water until your pot is over 1/2 full (you will probably use all of it).
Now strain and add the 3 cans of tomatoes.
Keep adding pork water, you don't want it too thick.
Keep cooking until the whole pot comes to a boil.
Add salt to taste, but be careful ... tomorrow it will taste saltier, so it's best to err on the lighter side. You can always add salt later.
That's it.
It freezes well and goes with everything!
Enjoy!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
10 Essential Foods That Come In A Box
There are two things that I predict will be true about this blog:
1. There will be no real sense of through line. I will bounce around the house and write daily about whatever subject is at the front of my mind at that time.
2. Each day's post will stand on it's own, but all together they will give a pretty accurate account of how we manage to survive.
I am no Martha Stewart. I do not profess to have the greatest method for doing anything. The hope I have is that by documenting things I have learned and continue to learn, things I have come up with and continue to create ... I will trigger ideas in your brain or maybe share some good ideas that have been shared with me.
Many of the things I will write about have somehow morphed into my ideas or "the way I do it." By no means are they all original. We talk to a lot of people in our work. Frank comes home with hints, recipes and ideas from his clients (same with me) I read magazines, watch television, etc.
I don't remember where all the stuff comes from, or what actually came from me but get ready ... I'm sharing it all!
Here are 10 things that come in a box that should ALWAYS be in your cupboard (unless you're vegan, lactose intolerant, glucose free, organic only, etc.)
This is (by the way) MY list!
10 Essential Foods That Come In A Box
1. Kikoman Panko Bread Crumbs
2. Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix
3. Annie's Shells and Real Aged Chedder
4. Stove Top Stuffing
5. Multi Grain Cheerios
6. Taco and/or Tostada Shells
7. Bisquick
8. Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars
9. Betty Crocker Instant Mashed Potatoes
10. Wine
All of these things are used in upcoming posts. All of these, that are not currently in your cupboard, should be added to your grocery list!
1. There will be no real sense of through line. I will bounce around the house and write daily about whatever subject is at the front of my mind at that time.
2. Each day's post will stand on it's own, but all together they will give a pretty accurate account of how we manage to survive.
I am no Martha Stewart. I do not profess to have the greatest method for doing anything. The hope I have is that by documenting things I have learned and continue to learn, things I have come up with and continue to create ... I will trigger ideas in your brain or maybe share some good ideas that have been shared with me.
Many of the things I will write about have somehow morphed into my ideas or "the way I do it." By no means are they all original. We talk to a lot of people in our work. Frank comes home with hints, recipes and ideas from his clients (same with me) I read magazines, watch television, etc.
I don't remember where all the stuff comes from, or what actually came from me but get ready ... I'm sharing it all!
Here are 10 things that come in a box that should ALWAYS be in your cupboard (unless you're vegan, lactose intolerant, glucose free, organic only, etc.)
This is (by the way) MY list!
10 Essential Foods That Come In A Box
1. Kikoman Panko Bread Crumbs
2. Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix
3. Annie's Shells and Real Aged Chedder
4. Stove Top Stuffing
5. Multi Grain Cheerios
6. Taco and/or Tostada Shells
7. Bisquick
8. Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars
9. Betty Crocker Instant Mashed Potatoes
10. Wine
All of these things are used in upcoming posts. All of these, that are not currently in your cupboard, should be added to your grocery list!
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