Category: Frugality

Grandma’s Easy White Bread

Posted on by Earth Chick

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Grandma’s Easy White Bread

What you need:

  • 1 TBS of active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 2 TBS bacon grease (or other natural oil/shortening)
  • 6-ish cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 TBS sugar
  • 2 standard loaf pans, greased
  • 2 9×5 standard loaf pans

This bread is so incredibly easy to make—even for folks who don’t think they can bake bread.

I got the recipe from my grandmother, back in the 80s, when I was a fairly new housewife, making our first home, and struggling to save money. It was then that I learned that my grandfather once owned a bakery. I’m thankful that they were able to pass on skills that are in danger of slipping away.  Note that *bacon grease or oil prevents the dough from becoming too elastic and controls the big air holes in the bread. Don’t leave it out, if you want a nice small crumb that goes with sandwiches and everyday use. Once you are making bread, you can experiment with it and its effect on texture. Have fun!

  1. Put 2 cups of warm water in a very large bowl. Add the active dry yeast sugar and salt. Add the *bacon grease and whisk to mix.
  2. Gradually add flour to the mixture, ½ cup at a time. At first it will be soupy, then it will start to get sticky, then move on to have a sturdier form. It will be hard to mix. A large sturdy metal spoon works well (or a stand mixer with a dough hook). The bread will become a workable, soft dough at somewhere near 6 cups of flour. Don’t add too much or it will be too stiff and prevent proper rising. Knead for 5 minutes.
  3. Oil the inside of a large bowl and transfer the dough into it. Set it aside to rise until it is 1 ½ its original size. Pick a warm location that is free of drafts. Plan on this taking an hour or so.
  4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Punch down and knead about 1 minute.
  5. Divide into 2 equal pieces. Shape the pieces into a loaf and put in the 2 greased loaf pans.
  6. Set aside and let rise until double in size.
  7. Split top with a sharp knife and drizzle butter down middle for a fancy butter-top finish.
  8. Bake at 375° until light golden brown. Bread will sound hollow when thumped or tapped.
  9. Bread will be done in approximately 25-30 minutes. Set a timer and check it at 20 minutes.

Bread is a living thing and will have slight changes from batch to batch. The more you make it, the more you will get to know your yeast, altitude, personal oven, etc. Once you find the perfect crumb for your family, stick to the recipe variations you have found successful. If you get a new oven, you will have to play with it a bit to find the perfect timing.

Recipe makes 2 loaves. We slice into about 12 slices per loaf.

 

 

 

The Buddy Burner

Posted on by Earth Chick

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Making a Traditional BuddyBurner

If you grew up in Girl Scouts, the chances are good that you made a Situpon or a BuddyBurner.  The BuddyBurner is a fun and useful project to create with the kiddos. Not only does it make use of common items that would normally be tossed into the trash, it becomes a useful item for preparedness.

You will need:

  • An empty tuna can (save the lid if possible)
  • Corrugated cardboard cut into 1-inch wide strips across the corrugated grain
  • Broken crayons, wax remnants from used candles, or paraffin wax

Open the tuna can with a safety opener that leaves no sharp edges. Regular can openers can leave sharp edges that you must be doubly careful of. No matter the method be careful of sharp edges.

Coil up the 1″ corrugated strips tightly. Continue adding strips until you have enough to tightly fill the tuna can. If you have extra space cut a few small strips and slide them in spaces until the can is completely filled with the coil.

Melt the wax or crayons and pour into the can. Allow the wax to fill the spaces in the corrugated cardboard. The cardboard becomes a wick and the wax become the fuel.

The saved lid can be used as a quick way to extinguish the flame and preserve unused fuel.

To use, place the burner on a fireproof surface, where it may remain when it becomes hot. This is an activity best done outdoors. Simply light the cardboard wick. The burner will become very hot.

A larger can with holes punched in it for airflow may be placed above it to heat water or food.

For a bit of a walk down memory lane, go to http://www.girlscoutsla.org/documents/6_Griddle_Skillet_Buddy_Burner_Recipes.pdf and enjoy some Girl Scout fun. Don’t forget to support your local Troop with a donation of money or purchase of cookies!

Electricity, My Pocketbook, and the Environment (part 1)

Posted on by Earth Chick

Turning on the Light Bulb

Today is not the beginning of a quest but the extension of one that has been going on for many years. In 2004 our family used 14,060 kWh over the course of the year. That was the year we did our first electricity challenge. In 2008 I shared my challenge with others. In 2016, we were down to 11,043 kWh. That was in spite of having two new buildings and electric heating units installed in three rooms.

Over the next few months, I have promised myself to re-research and carry through on the things I need to do to tweak my energy usage even more.
In the past I have just implemented energy savings ideas with no strategy on how to get from point A to point B. Sure, they probably helped, but did I miss some? Quite likely! Am I still missing them? Certainly.

The US Dept of Energy has great information on choosing a company to do an energy audit and what to do to get ready. http://tinyurl.com/6bb4lz For more information on energy audits go to http://tinyurl.com/6q3vqb
A few years ago, our local news did a piece on energy audits and used Chopper 10 to evaluate heat loss with heat seeking radar and some other fancy electronics. Wouldn’t it be cool to have that done?
Now, I have an idea of what they look for. I will contact some companies and see about having the audit performed, but for now, I will start my own list.

 

CFLs and LED technology

A great debate has begun over the safety of using CFL bulbs in the home, considering that they contain a small amount of mercury. As a person who is chemically sensitive from previous overexposures to hazardous materials, I want things to be safe.

I have a choice if I want to use technology which requires less electricity: CFL bulbs or LED components.

CFLs contain varying amounts of mercury so they could be a hazard if broken in the home and not cleaned up properly. I am going to need to weigh the dangers carefully. http://tinyurl.com/yq8a6l Energy Star puts out an informational pdf to help. http://tinyurl.com/2elryb Unbroken CFLs should be recycled and broken CFLs should be cleaned up properly. Check out the links if you want to educate yourself on how to do it. The CFLs contain much less mercury than the fillings in my teeth. EEK, is that a good thing? The good news is that the amount of mercury is being reduced dramatically.

While CFLs are readily available, I may choose to use LEDs in areas where they may come in contact with children or pets and use CFLs where they are not likely to get broken.  For more info on LEDs go to http://tinyurl.com/6ns7zl

I’ve discovered a site http://www.eartheasy.com , and ordered a few goodies to try. First, I scooped up an amber LED bug light for outside.  It’s about three times more expensive than the traditional incandescent we used to buy. However, it will use less electricity and that reduces mercury emissions into the air at the power plant side. Yippee! It’s one good thing for the environment that will also help on the electric bill. Another source for LEDs is http://tinyurl.com/6krxb7,  and http://tinyurl.com/5rjrkm .
I’m changing the bulbs in my home (about 2300). Some bulbs have already been changed, so I’ll have a head start. A few years ago, I put in natural light fluorescents in the office to help fight a vitamin D deficiency. A side is that the natural light bulbs lift mood and can prevent seasonal affective disorder, which can strike during the winter.

Benefits all around.

All the Whey

Posted on by Earth Chick

If you are into making your own mozzarella cheese or Greek style yogurt, you may already be acquainted with the delicious drink made of whey. It’s a shame my family had been missing out on this so long. No, we weren’t letting the protein-rich liquid go to waste. I would save it for use in bread making, soak dried beans in it before cooking, or acid up the soil around acid loving plants. Even the worm farm and compost bins appreciated a drink when there was more than enough to go around.
Well, it’s not likely there will be any leftovers this summer. The whey liquid can be sweetened up with agave nectar or sugar and it tastes just like lemonade! Chilled, over ice it is just divine–and so healthy.
The picture at left shows how much whey liquid is recaptured from a single gallon of milk after making American Mozzarella Cheese using rennet. Nothing wasted! If you are looking for a really easy recipe, check out the Junket website or the rennet tablet packet insert.