Money-Saving Tips

I am very frugal.  I splurge a little when it comes to making delicious foods and trying new dishes, but try to make up for it by being waste-conscious when cooking.  I also rarely go out to eat.  After a while, it seems like what you can make would be better than what you order.  And cheaper!

Rule 1: Nothing Goes to Waste
When prepping vegetables, we rarely throw anything out.  Why toss them when they do wonders for the kitchen and the garden?  Onion shells and butts, celery tops and ends, apple cores, tomato stems, potato peels, and much more are kept to create a broth later.  I just keep a ziplock bag in the freezer and add these items whenever they're available. Whatever I don't toss in there, like the tops of carrots (since they can sometimes make stocks bitter), we set aside for our worms.  There are many more ways to turn your trash into a worm's treasure.  The worms will create an amazing "black gold" soil for the garden and you greatly decrease your contribution to the landfills.  It's a beautiful cycle from the kitchen to the garden.  See my Vermicompost entry for such suggestions! 

Rule 2: Why Buy Tupperware?
Our tupperware cabinet, I admit, is an avalanche of containers.  It's messy but we'll accept that over buying pretty, matching tupperware that easily folds away like the infomercials on TV.  Why throw away good containers just to spend money on these other new containers?  You're bound to lose some, melt some, break some and re-toss and re-buy again.  Sounds wasteful.  Instead, we keep containers from foods such as mustard, peanut butter, plastic to-go boxes from the rare venture out, tupperware from family dinners and even a big one that used to hold paper labels from Staples.  If they have holes, convert them into a seed starter pot.  Truly, all that you require is a container that can store your leftovers.  And if you bring your extra containers to potlucks, people will love something to bring away food with, even if it's not in matching pink and blue. 

Rule 3: Reuse your Byproducts
I don't mean your poop (although the city can absolutely use human waste to produce algae biodiesel, but that's a whole other topic), I mean the foods that you're cooking up.  I try to cook bacon first and separately so the fat doesn't get absorbed by other foods.  I then store the fat in a glass jar in the fridge.  When we boil ribs in beer before barbecuing, that leftover beer and pork fat broth is simmered down and stored.  I use it for batter and soup.  Whenever we deep fry stuff, I'll let the used oil cool, layer a few paper towels in our funnel, and run the oil through the funnel into our empty olive oil glass bottle.  Then it goes in the fridge.  There are some concerns with re-using oil, so I usually try to use it within the week before tossing it.  I'll have to remember to mention in my recipe blogs if and when you can save your byproducts.

Stocking Up your Pantry, Cabinets, and Fridge

I always have on hand certain essential ingredients at home.  There are just some things you need more often than others.  Garlic, for example, is used in so many recipes, it's silly not to have it on hand.  I'll generally stock up on things that don't expire quickly too, such as raisins and nuts, just in case they come in handy.  Here's a list of what I keep stocked up: 

Vegetables: garlic, onion and ginger root. 

Seasonings: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cayenne, onion powder, chili powder, parsley flakes, cumin, paprika, minced dried onion, curry powder, ground ginger, tarragon leaves, fennel seeds, homemade taco seasoning, bay leaves and turmeric powder

Dessert stuffs: cinnamon, vanilla extract, nuts, chocolate chips and ground cloves

Liquids: olive oil, vinegars (I have red wine, apple cider, balsamic and rice vinegar), honey, bbq sauce, soy sauce, mustard (we really like Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce) and liquid smoke.

Fresh Herbs: Basil, mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme and sage.  My goal for this year is to plant (and keep alive) more herbs. 

In each category above I've tried to list them in the order of use, the first being the most used.  I understand it's not desirable to go out and buy a crapload of seasonings if you don't see an immediate use for them, so this ordering should help you decide what you'll need more than others.  My seasonings are not comprehensive to what's out there, so sometimes I'll skip some things in the recipe or replace it with other stuff.  I do that until I feel I've skipped it enough and just need to buy it :) 

We also have several lemon trees in our neighborhood, available when we need them.  I always try to have some salad stuffs, cheese, eggs, butter and Earth Balance vegan shortening on hand too.  Make sure you're stocked with sugar, brown sugar and flour too.  It's frustrating to find out halfway through a recipe that you've run out of something so simple.  I also keep whole cloves, but they're more for making flavorful tea and rice than for cooking.