This week, we have egg tricks, bread tips, oil explanations, and the best New York Post headline since “Headless Body Found in Topless Bar.” Behold!
Casual Kitchen: How to Start a Casual and Inexpensive Wine Tasting Club
If your bar tabs are messing with your ability to pay the mortgage, well – uh, first seek help. But then click on CK for a solid guide to classy, vino-centric get-togethers.
Chow: Do Eggs Need to Be Refrigerated?
The answer: mostly, with some exceptions. Read on for details.
Cookie: Simple Weekday Meals
Base an entire week of simple, healthy meals off cooked apples, braised pork, boiled barley, and roasted squash. Excellent. (Thanks to Apartment Therapy for the link.)
Culinary School Guide: Top 100 Blogs for the Frugal Gourmet
Wow! You’ll never need Google again. Unless you’re looking up an old boyfriend. Then, go crazy.
Culinate: Vegetable oils - Choose a variety for flavor, cooking temperature
Should you use olive oil for chicken? Canola oil for vegetables? Walnut oil for, uh, walnuts? This post gives you the answers, plus explanations.
Epi-Log: Are We Entering the Age of Rachael Ray?
Imagine a world where everyone wears scoop-neck sweaters and loves the word “YUMMO!” If you live, read this piece, which makes some pretty good points about Rachael’s influence during the recession.
Epi-Log: Dieter’s Diary – Can a Dieter Throw a Dinner Party?
It’s tricky, but possible. Like making pizza dough or weight-lifting after you’ve just moisturized your hands.
Epi-Log: Is it Okay to Only Order Appetizers?
Restaurant etiquette question wherein the answer depends on the formality of said eatery. If it’s Applebees? Yes. If it’s Per Se? Maybe not.
Get Rich Slowly: Starting Seeds Indoors - Jump-Start Your Garden Today
Extensive post on getting garden started in your kitchen. Hint #1: don’t snack on the seeds before planting them. That part comes several months later.
Gourmet: 20 Tools That Changed the Way We Cook
From nonstick coating to egg timers to the dishwasher, this super-cool slideshow gives historical background on all the kitchen doohickeys you’ve come to depend on. For example: after World War II, Tupperware changed how food was stored, giving it better flavor and a longer shelflife. Really, it kind of reinvented the leftover. Neat.
Home Ec 101: Minimize Food Waste by Thinking Like a Kitchen Manager
I’ve never read anything like this, and maybe I should have. Efficiency is key here, as it saved cash and keeps things clean in the long run.
The Kitchn: Basic Technique – Mise en Place
Cooking is monumentally easier when you chop, distribute, and arrange your ingredients in little bowls beforehand. It makes for pretty pictures, too.
Like Merchant Ships: Using What I Have – Waffle Maker
Meredith is going through her home, determining what to toss and what to keep. Her waffle iron will enjoy a second chance, thanks to the adorable Waffle Factory set up she’s designed for the kids. Great idea, sweet execution.
M-Live.com: 'Tightwad Gazette' author drove frugality in the 1990s but now Amy Dacyczyn worries about massive U.S. debt
Michigan Business Review’s Paula Gardner hunts down the elusive Frugal Zealot for an interview. Among the new revelations: Amy buys local, isn’t too crazy about government spending, and now spends all her money on diamond tire rims. (Kidding, kidding.)
Money Saving Mom: Ask the Readers: Frugality with food allergies?
Summer has a problem feeding her three-year-old: “I have to completely avoid eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. But what is more difficult is limiting wheat. My son can have wheat, dairy, soy, corn, peas, bananas, and watermelon in moderation and on a revolving schedule, but he's intolerant of the foods and too much puts his GI system in turmoil.” Several dozen readers come to the rescue with informative suggestions and thought-provoking comments.
Mother Jones: The Food Issue
I admit: I have not read this yet. It’s huge. But I like the picture. And that’s a good start.
New York Post: Coke Stashed in Doctored Pepper
In which the Post wins the pun war, now and forever. (Thanks to Consumerist for the link.)
Serious Eats: Is Organic Food Necessarily Safer?
SE makes the logical, but not always apparent conclusion about organics: “Organic processed food is still in fact processed, and the organic label doesn't guarantee its safety.” Yep.
Serious Eats: Where Americans are Cutting Corners – Food
Transportation is suffering the most cuts, but food is close by at #2. In the thread, Serious Eaters detail how they’re slashing costs in the kitchen.
SFGate: No crumb left behind
Ooo! Great article on how to use up stale bread goes way beyond the typical “make breadcrumbs.” A must-read if you can’t quite finish that loaf fast enough.
The Simple Dollar: Nine Tactics for Making Healthy, Incredibly Simple, and Cheap Meals for You and Your Family
The main piece is fine, but the comments make it worth the read. Go forth and, uh … peruse! (I’m running out of synonyms here.)
And to top everything off, CHG was included in two festivals this week:
- Festival of Frugality #168 @ Funny About Money
- Make it From Scratch Festival @ Gotta Little Space to Fill
Posted in: Links