Eating and living locally . . . mindfully . . . simply.
I know, I’m not usually a fan of making leftovers into something else. But I had a free range chicken just begging to be used as DH and I barely put a dent in it the other day. So I turned to More-With-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook) and found a recipe that would put it to good use.
It’s easy to throw a dinner party on an unlimited budget (catering, anyone?), but when funds are tight it’s time to get creative. Potlucks are a common alternative, but sometimes you end up with bags of chips and various dipping things. Here are some ideas to help you think beyond the crock pot:
I thawed out a chicken from my local farmer in anticipation of this week’s Dark Days Challenge meal. DH wanted to try brining it since he claims my crock pot version turns out too dry. “Store chickens have all that stuff injected in it,” he said, “so I want to experiment and see if I can get a free range chicken more moist.”
I haven’t been on top of my meal planning lately, so last night I found myself wondering what to make for dinner, or perhaps whether to get Thai or pizza. Then I remembered the split peas lurking in my pantry. So I hauled out my copy of More with Less and decided to give this recipe a try.
I’m sure many of us are thinking about weight loss in the New Year, so I signed up to preview Cinch!: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches by Cynthia Sass. While not my cup of tea, I can suggest some other ideas.
It was a little weird buying brussels sprouts already off the stem, one row over from asparagus in December. The tag told me it was from California; I had my doubts, but really wanted sprouts and since I’ve been traveling haven’t had a chance to get to the indoor winter farmer’s market. So California sprouts it was.
This post begins the Simple Living Challenge, which will incorporate may of the themes from the book Living More with Less. “Do Justice” is one of the Life Standards suggested in the book.
Once again I am participating in the Dark Days Challenge over at (not so) Urban Hennery. I hope to do better than last year, as I’m encouraged by the increasing number of sources that offer local produce in the winter around here.
This recipe is based on a whole bunch that I found online. I had to bring a dish to pass and there was a large bag of quinoa from Costco in my pantry just begging to be used; so I searched for various recipes and cobbled together something based on what sounded good to me.
At first, I was disappointed that there weren’t more “how to” suggestions; then, I realized that the beauty of this book is that it doesn’t include more “how to” suggestions.
