The Ultimate Guide to Understanding the Food Crisis: How it Started, Who it Hurts Most, and How to Solve the Problem

If you’ve picked up a paper the last few weeks, odds are you’ve seen a frenzy of stories about rising food prices. And if even if you haven’t, you’ve definitely felt the hit in your wallet. American grocery costs have risen around 5% over the last year, while salaries have only gone up 3.5%. That means we’re paying more for loaves of bread and our paychecks aren’t making up the difference. And in certain nations? The food situation is so bad, they WISH they had our problems.While some journalists are taking the age-old EVERYBODY PANIC! approach, most are calmly disseminating inflation information as best they can. Unfortunately, it’s complicated stuff - difficult to explain and even harder to cover thoroughly. While I’ve perused dozens of great...

Read more »

Posted in: Buying Food,Do-Gooding,Frugality

Tuesday Megalinks

It's a saucy batch of links today, folks. Opinions abound on the impending recession/ever-increasing grocery prices, and bloggers aren't afraid to get all up in ... uh, somebody's ... face. Read on and don't forget to express yo'self! (Note: Not necessarily Madonna-style.) (Note: Though, if you have a cone bra, go for it.)Chief Family Officer: No Surprise – Cooking at Home is CheaperCathy summarizes an LA Times article that discovers full-blown gourmet meals can be prepared in one’s kitchen for a little over half the price. THAT'S whaI'mtalkin'bout!The Digerati Life: Coupon Tips and Tricks That Can Cut Your Grocery Bill By 80%TDL presents the best, most exhaustive outline of couponing strategies I’ve seen yet. Trick #8 is the key to LIFE. Read...

Read more »

Posted in: Links

Roasted Chickpeas: Wrong Way, Right Way

Mornin’ everybody! Hope y’all had a lovely weekend, and that the weather was half as nice as it was here in Brooklyn: blooming trees, perfect skies, visible patch of grass – the whole nine. Even our neighborhood Incredibly Frightening Drunk Who Hangs Out 24-7 at the Last Remaining Pay Phone on Earth was suitably enchanted.My weekend was fantastic, spoiled only briefly by a botched attempt at Roasted Chickpeas. I got ‘em right the second time around, but wanted to transcribe the wrong directions, just in case anyone ever attempts them. Here goes:1) Comb Food Blog Search for acceptable Roasted Chickpea recipe.2) Settle on Roasted Chickpeas at Anne’s Food. Revel in Scandinavian…ness, as she is fellow Swede.3) Resolve to visit Sweden, see if everyone...

Read more »

Posted in: Desserts and Snacks,Vegan,Vegetarian

Comments of the Week! (Now With Extra !)

A bunch this week on the diet foods post, including Dani’s sugar substitutes, Anne’s Tasti D-Light observations, and Kelly’s inventive SnackWells sandwiches. Plus, check out Slinkystar2002’s solid, extensive comment on Touchy Subjects: Confronting Loved Ones About Weight and Money Problems. It’s a bit long to cut-and-paste here, but her stories provide some good insight on the subject. (It’s the last one.) Finally, three cheers for Elaine, who dropped 50 pounds! Nice!On Popovers and OutCollier: I woke up starving this morning with nothing in the house but egg whites, flour, skim milk and pam. so i made this recipe substituting pam for shortening and using three egg whites in place of one egg and two whites. they are delicious, and cooked in 20 minutes under 450. the batter made 12 popovers...

Read more »

Posted in: Reader Comments

Cantaloupe Soup: The Pop Quiz

Hey everybody! It’s multiple choice time! So gather your wits, sharpen your, uh, keyboard and let’s get going.Cantaloupe is:A) Surprisingly easy to chop, though the juice gets dang near everywhere.B) Difficult to spell, with that whole “loupe” thing.C) Something your roommate might confuse for a hatstand.D) Meant for better things than fruit salad.Orange juice is:A) Pretty friggin’ expensive, man.B) Orange.C) Being suspiciously cut back to 51 ounce containers (rather than 64) by some companies.D) A good base for any liquid with additional fruits.Soup is:A) Eaten with a spoon. Or a fork if you’re looking for a challenge.B) Blind Melon’s second album.C) Not something you throw at your sister.D) An anytime kind of dish made from nearly any substance...

Read more »

Posted in: Drinks,Soups and Stocks,Vegan,Vegetarian

CHG Favorites of the Week

Blog of the WeekFrugal DadThoughtful, well-written and often funny, Frugal Dad’s four-month-old site is quickly becoming a go-to for folks interested in everything from finance to square-foot gardening. Check out his 7-day turnaround plan for some neat ideas on how to kick-start a savings strategy, and don’t forget to chime in on his latest post about Kids and Allowance. The salary chart is genius.Comedy of the Week“Soup Nazi” from SeinfeldOo! Someone code-named AlasforAlas comped the best moments from the legendary “NO SOUP FOR YOU” episode! In a related story, the real-life Soup Nazi used to run his store a few blocks from my workplace, and he was really a pretty intimidating guy. But man, that soup was worth it. Especially the seafood bisque.Organization...

Read more »

Posted in: Links

The Problem with Diet Foods

Let’s get this out of the way up front: I eat diet products. I drink Diet Coke, inhale low-fat granola bars, and am not ashamed to love No Pudge brownies as if they were my own mother. Moreover, I challenge anyone who insists that their yogurt tastes better than Weight Watchers’ Amaretto Cheesecake brand to an all-out dairy war. (Note: I will win.)Like most people who’re even slightly concerned about the magnitude of their bum, diet products are a part of my everyday life. I buy them regularly because they let me think that I care about what I eat, without actually having to care about what I eat. And in a world of 770-calorie Strawberry Frappuccinos and Deep-fried Cheesecake, doesn’t that borderline awareness count for something?As it turns...

Read more »

Posted in: Buying Food,Frugality,Health

Michael Pollan Earth Day Special

Hey everybody,I didn't add "Why Bother" by Michael Pollan to this morning's links, but please read if you get the chance. Thoughtful, informative, and full of solutions, it's an excellent piece on how we as individuals can and do affect the environment.Two excerpts:1) "The climate-change crisis is at its very bottom a crisis of lifestyle — of character, even. The Big Problem is nothing more or less than the sum total of countless little everyday choices, most of them made by us (consumer spending represents 70 percent of our economy), and most of the rest of them made in the name of our needs and desires and preferences."2) "The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can...

Read more »

Posted in: Do-Gooding

Tuesday Megalinks

Folks, I don’t know if you knew this, but it’s not only National Jelly Bean Day and National Karaoke Week, but also National Welding Month. So get out there, pop a Buttered Popcorn, belt “Since You’ve Been Gone,” and hug the nearest guy holding a blowtorch.AV Club: Taste Test – NutriloafAnd you may ask yourself, “Sweet merciful crap, what is that THING?” And the Onion's answer is: “Nutriloaf, a.k.a. Prison Loaf, a.k.a. what it tastes like to have your soul whither and die inside of you.”Casual Kitchen: More Applications of the 80/20 Rule to Diet, Food and CookingA sweet continuation/expansion of Dan’s original piece on the 80/20 cooking rule. He’s been on a tear lately with the recipes, too, so be sure to check one out.Chow: Q&A Alton BrownOO!...

Read more »

Posted in: Links

Popovers and Out

There comes a time in every former dieter’s life when she takes a good, long look in her boyfriend’s full-size IKEA mirror and comes to the realization that her thighs are slightly thicker than they were a year ago, her arms a tad flabbier, and her butt, while not quite epically proportioned, is definitely nearing a novella.It is not a fun realization.Ask any Weight Watcher, South Beach devotee, or heaven forbid, Slim Fast quaffer, and they’ll tell you straight up: the problem with dropping pounds isn’t necessarily doing it in the first place. Rather, it’s keeping them off. Maintaining that level of discipline over the long run is, for lack of a better term, really, really hard. Some ridiculous percentage of dieters pack the bulk back on within...

Read more »

Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Vegetarian

Comments of the Week

This week: stellar suggestions for maximizing kitchen equipment, a few great ideas for healthier mac and cheese, and the start of the Great Ranch Dressing Wars. Bring your courage ... and a salad.As always, some comments have been edited for length.On Mission: Light Mac and CheeseErica: I've also found a great way to make mac and cheese low fat is to sub in some cottage cheese. If you use 1/2 cheddar and 1/2 low-fat or 2% cottage cheese it tastes almost as cheesy. And the cottage cheese actually becomes very creamy.Kevin: I have tried a few lower fat versions of mac and cheese. … My favourite of the ones that I tried is from a show called Eat, Shrink and be Merry.Kristen: Whenever I made mac and cheese, I depend heavily on a roux to make it...

Read more »

Posted in: Reader Comments

Low-Fat Broccoli Cheddar Soup: Of Cheese and Rock

Wednesday night, The Boyfriend and I jaunted off to Queens to play Rock Band with our friends A and A. I’m not a big video game fan, preferring to read, socialize, or hit myself in the head with a mallet. That said, Rock Band was the most incredibly fun game in the history of America, time, and space. Seriously, playing skee ball on a roller coaster in Oz wouldn’t even compare. I got to strum bass to a Pixies song, bang drums to an R.E.M. classic, and discovered that my vocal range most resembles that of ‘70s-era Ozzy Osbourne. Which, frankly, is a tad uncomfortable, but good to know for future karaoke parties/Black Sabbath auditions.Our impromptu evening of RAWK curbed my cooking plans, so I was forced to make Cook’s Country Low-Fat Broccoli...

Read more »

Posted in: Mains,Sides,Soups and Stocks,Vegetarian

CHG Favorites of the Week

Hey everbody! I learned how to embed videos! Well, actually reader Hops taught me because I'm 30 and don't understand this newfangled technology stuff. Now, if there's anyone out there that can explain the flashing "12:00" on my alarm clock ...Blog of the WeekMy Recycled Bags After a few seconds on this site, you too will be pretty amazed at what Cindy can do with a few dozen used plastic grocery bags, and how cute they can look when they’re repurposed the right way. She’s also newly diagnosed with breast cancer, so if you can pop over and lend a few words of support and/or “Wow! Nice bags!” it would be awesome.Comedy of the Week"Cookie Monster Searches Deep Within Himself and Asks: Is Me Really Monster?" at McSweeney'sOh man – HILARIOUS. An...

Read more »

Posted in: Links

Cheap, Healthy Salad Dressing: 102 Light Recipes

Ah, Spring - the birds are singing, the trees are budding, the construction next door has resumed, the writers’ strike is over, and last but not least, salad season is finally upon us. So gather ‘round, my leafy green-lovin’ compatriots, and let’s talk dressing.Much like marinades and mixes, making your own salad dressing is a frugal, delicious, and preservative-free exercise. The problem, alas, is the fat content, as homemade toppings generally contain a small tureen of olive oil. While the heart-healthy liquid can have enormous health benefits in moderation, let’s face it – sometimes you just want (need?) to pile the stuff on.Subsequently, as a naked salad is a dinnertime tragedy, listed below are 102 recipes for lightened dressings of all...

Read more »

Posted in: Cooking,Frugality