The only zuccini recipe you'll ever want

We finally made the leap to join a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm this summer. We've loved the weekly share of fresh, delicious produce and have had a fun (and challenging) time figuring out how to fit all of this goodness into our diet. I've cooked and eaten things that I've previously not even heard of (kohlrabi) - which is more a testament to my being sheltered than to the rarity of the produce our farm grows.

The most exciting part of this CSA is that we've gotten more than our usual portion of zucchini, tomatoes, and greens. Our family loves all three in everything and we've received enough zucchini that stir fry, side dishes, and pastas aren't cutting it. I experimented with zucchini cookies a few weeks ago and while they were delicious, they were so moist that I might as well have eaten them with a fork. Then I discovered this recipe:

Brandi Chase's Zucchini Brownies

I will never go back.

Ok, I might have to still use them in stirfry every once in a while just so that I don't overdo it on baked goods, but I don't think I'll ever enjoy zucchini more than this. I made some changes to the original recipe that I think really add to its amazingness:

Zucchini Coconut Brownies

• 2 c. flour (I used 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
  
• 1.25 c. sugar (organic turbinado)
  
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 1/2 c. coconut oil (warm it up in the microwave for 30 sec. to make it easier to mix)
  
• 2 c. grated zucchini
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. freshly grated coconut

Mix, spread in 9X11" pan, bake for 30 min at 350.

I'd love to make it again soon with walnuts and dark choco chips as well! mmm!

Best Recipes of 2008

I end up hunting for recipes online about once a week. I love to try new combinations and I don't have many years of experience behind me, so even though I'm pretty adventurous, I like to get an idea of what others have tried that works. I don't always stick to recipes that I find, but they are in invaluable resource. Reading food blogs is addictive as well, and there's such a great pool to choose from! This last year I discovered so many great new blogs that I couldn't possibly write them all up. Instead I want to share with you my top 10 recipes found on blogs in 2008. Better late than never. :) They aren't all pantry meals, but they all:

1. are able to be made from common ingredients
2. are hard to mess up
3. are delicious!!!!

These links should take you to the original blog post I took them from. If I blogged about them myself after I made them, I've noted that too.

Powerballs - (I blogged about them here)
Rosemary chickpea soup
Chip and dip cookies - (my thoughts coming soon)
Double good raisin bars - (my thoughts coming soon)
Peanut butter filled chocolate cookies
crockpot applesauce - (I mentioned it here)
Homemade eggrolls
Eggplant caviar, falafel and pita - (I blogged about them here)
Yogurt - (I blogged about it here)
Rustic Garlic Onion Pizza - (I blogged about it here)

Technically 12 recipes if you count eggplant caviar, falafel, and pita as three - but then this wouldn't be a "Top 10" list, and besides I ate them as a meal! :) Thank you internet for access to amazing recipes!!

Eating From MY Pantry

Last day of shopping, Feb 2nd, 2009

That's right - I'm done. :) With the exception of buying asparagus and sliced ham for a meal going to a friend with a new baby, I have shopped my last (for groceries) until April or longer. We are anticipating a move in the next two months and want to deplete our food stores so as to have less to pack and transfer. Should be an interesting ride. :)

Because I generally purchase more than one of any regularly-consumed item that I find at a good price, we are fairly prepared for this little project. So far it has been a small challenge and certainly no hardship. I have frozen veggies and a good amount of yogurt with fruit in it, dried fruit, and a jar of canned peaches. I have at least 8lbs of chicken, 5lbs of beef, 4 pork chops, half a dozen fillet of talapia, 1lb ground turkey, and 2 dozen eggs. I also have 3 loaves of already-made bread stored and plenty of flour to make more.

The difficult part of this project will be the fillers. The pre-made granola bars, crackers, chips, and cookies are gone, and we are obviously limited on the healthier choices. This is fine for me and the little guy (who just turned 1 on Valentine's Day!), but harder to manage for my husband who takes his lunch to work and eats, well, like the 6'4" man that he is. :) He has no qualms with leftovers - eats them every day - but it will be a stretch to find things to go with the leftovers he takes.

In an effort to conserve our egg supply, I have been making us oatmeal in the mornings. My husband isn't a fan of plain oatmeal, so I've been sprucing it up a bit. Here are some ideas:

"Home Made" Instant Oatmeal

3/4 cup quick oats

a handful of any or all of the following:

dried fruit (cranberries are our fave)
seeds/nuts (we like sunflower seeds and pecans the best)

1/2 tsp cinnamon
tsp sugar or honey

you can also add a tsp of powdered milk or coffee creamer if you like creamy oatmeal

Add water to desired consistency and voila!

When both my husband and I were working, we'd take a shortcut in this process and combine a dozen or so servings in a large tupperware container or ziplock bag and dish it into our bowls each morning until it was gone. One of our very favorite blogs posted a great "visual guide" to making individual oatmeal packets ahead of time a while back - read it here.

Please continue to follow me the next month as I stretch our food supply. :)

Valentine's Day on a Dime

Yay for freebies!

The folks at Living on a Dime are at it again! They are offering their Valentine's On A Dime e-book free this month!

Click on the image above and download it! It expires Feb. 15.

And if that weren't nice enough, they are also offering a ONE DAY SALE on that great cookbook - Dining on a Dime that I gave away last year! It ends tonight at midnight, so don't miss out!!

New Year New Focus

I apologize for the unannounced hiatus. The holidays are busy here at Hillcrest (and everywhere else, I know) and it took me a while to recoup. However, I have written a million blog posts in my mind and have taken plenty of food pictures over the last two months, so we'll be on a roll now that I'm back.

One of the things I want to do differently here at EFYP in the new year is to focus more on creating a comprehensive resource than a personal memoir about pantry food. I wanted to enlarge my audience last year and so spent the majority of my time on advertising, giveaways, fun posts, etc. While I will still share things like that (look for another freebie next week!!), I want to get serious about eating from my pantry.

We happen to be entering a phase of transition in our lives that will lend nicely to refocusing here. In April we expect to move into another (Hillcrest) apartment that has two bedrooms!! Since we will be moving, I don't want to stock up on a lot of extra food right now just to have to pack it all up.

Therefore, the first part of this transition that will affect EFYP is that I will not be shopping for groceries from now until the time that we move provided that the move actually occurs in April. There will be a few exceptions to that rule like shopping for dinners to bring to friends experiencing illness or loss, and shopping for our church pot luck if I can't find anything appropriate here. Otherwise I will be doing my best to make our current food stretch and I'll be sharing the experience with you. There is a more detailed post about this to come.

The second thing to note about our moving is that I will have to start from scratch when we move into our new place which includes purchasing staples to stockpile and planning out our new pantry space. I am fairly certain that the kitchen in our new place is just as small as the one here, but we may have a linen closet to fill - in which case I'll get to post about labeling and rotating and all sorts of fun stuff.

I hope you'll continue to follow along as our journey unfolds before us, and I am looking forward to posting things to make your life a little easier and your wallet a little bit thicker. :)

Edible Christmas gifts freebie

Tawra Kellam, author of the Living on a Dime book series I've posted about before has sent me a link to a wonderful freebie for all of you!!


"Gifts In A Jar shows you how to make all sorts of cool, yummy gifts that will save you money while endearing you to your friends for life! ;-) Gifts In A Jar features ideas to make delightful Gift Baskets like those in the expensive stores -- everything from the Honeymoon Basket to the Get Well Basket."

Tawra is offering the e-book free to all of you for Christmas!!! That's a $5.95 value! CLICK HERE to snatch it up and make sure you check out all og her other great poducts, too!

Save Money By Doing It Yourself

Unfortunately, eating well isn't always cheap. Cooking "from scratch" isn't always cheaper than buying processed, prepared foods - especially when you utilize sales and coupons. I am always frustrated to find that locally produced, fresh veggies cost more than salted veggies in a bpa-lined aluminum can do. Demand seems to compensate for transportation and productions costs in our current economy. Many of us are concerned about what implications that will have for our future and have turned to farmers markets and the likes to ease our conscience.

This is, however, a blog about how to cook with what you have on hand in your pantry. And even on the tightest budget, with only bare minimum ingredients, there's a lot we can do at home to save money and take back some of the responsibility of our own food production and consumption. Below are some ideas for cheap food items you may normally buy pre-made that you can actually make yourself.


I'll start off with yogurt because I've made this recently. I was AMAZED at how easy this is using a crock pot. Thank you Crock Pot Lady! It comes out a little thinner than the yogurt you buy in plastic containers at the store, but it's perfect for eating with granola or using in smoothies. The Crock Pot Lady has some tips for thickening it also.

I got a gigantic crock-pot full of yogurty-goodness that cost me only some time and a gallon of milk!

And of course, you can save money making your own granola, too! My husband hand I have never found a store-bought granola that we like as well as our own.



Yesterday I used some leftover pumpkin seeds in place of pine nuts (way cheaper) to make pesto, which usually costs a pretty penny pre-made. Try this recipe and substitute dry ingredients if you don't have the fresh ones needed.


Here are a few more links, let me know how it goes!

Bread

Dry Beans

Pizza Dough

Convenience Foods - pudding, sloppy joe mix, etc.

Sauce and Gravy

Seasonings and Dips - taco seasoning, pumpkin pie spice, etc.

Save Money Using Your Crockpot