Food prices are increasing. Too fast and too much!
#41
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 9,734
Oh, yes! Cooked dry beans taste so much better than canned. I've started cooking a big pot of black beans and then freezing it to use in the future. Its so much better than using canned beans.
#42
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: The Finger Lakes of upstate NY
Posts: 3,572
I grew up on a small family dairy and cash crop farm. Not enough flat land to go straight to crops. The cows, while needing a lot of work 365 days a year, meant a milk check coming in. When I was little, Dad had to put it in milk cans and haul it to the dairy. Only 25 or so cows, not like the hundreds and thousands that farms have now.
While my grandmother was alive, we had chickens. So milk and eggs were a given - as were old chickens and cows that no longer produced. Let me tell you, dairy cows that are old are not all that great eating. Some years we had a couple of pigs, but not always. Big garden, lots of freezing and canning. One of the crops Dad grew was kidney beans! I didn't even know they came in a can until I was grown.
Both of our girls grew up eating foods made from scratch, and like to eat good food. So now, they also cook from scratch. Our younger daughter has twins who are not quite a year old and are allergic to dairy, so their meals are somewhat unusual for babies, lol. No yogurt or cheese, for example. They love salmon and eat a lot of beans! She cooks them in an instant pot (aka pressure cooker), quick and easy. She's a single mom through the miracle of science - she didn't want to wait any longer so went the medical route. Was supposed to be one, but had identical twins. So inexpensive and quick are very important.
I honestly don't know if packaged foods were scarce here, it's not something we have on hand. Recently, I needed to make a dessert to take to a family and wasn't feeling inspired. Somebody said, "Just make up a cake mix!". Yeah, I don't have that on hand...
While my grandmother was alive, we had chickens. So milk and eggs were a given - as were old chickens and cows that no longer produced. Let me tell you, dairy cows that are old are not all that great eating. Some years we had a couple of pigs, but not always. Big garden, lots of freezing and canning. One of the crops Dad grew was kidney beans! I didn't even know they came in a can until I was grown.
Both of our girls grew up eating foods made from scratch, and like to eat good food. So now, they also cook from scratch. Our younger daughter has twins who are not quite a year old and are allergic to dairy, so their meals are somewhat unusual for babies, lol. No yogurt or cheese, for example. They love salmon and eat a lot of beans! She cooks them in an instant pot (aka pressure cooker), quick and easy. She's a single mom through the miracle of science - she didn't want to wait any longer so went the medical route. Was supposed to be one, but had identical twins. So inexpensive and quick are very important.
I honestly don't know if packaged foods were scarce here, it's not something we have on hand. Recently, I needed to make a dessert to take to a family and wasn't feeling inspired. Somebody said, "Just make up a cake mix!". Yeah, I don't have that on hand...
#43
Anniedeb- your story about your Dad was so touching.
I went to Catholic school until college but grade school was free. My Dad only had to pay for our high school years.
I know it's not that way now though. Maybe city taxes paid it? I don't really know.
I went to Catholic school until college but grade school was free. My Dad only had to pay for our high school years.
I know it's not that way now though. Maybe city taxes paid it? I don't really know.
#44
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Mendocino Coast, CA
Posts: 5,007
Freezing them is a good idea! I wish I had a bigger freezer. I'd stock it full of things that I make during the plentiful seasons.
#45
Power Poster
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 16,423
We like black bean burgers. They are tasty and economical. If you dry the cook beans in the oven for about 15 min first, it makes a firmer burger. I has the same protein as ground beef and really cut my grocery budget when I needed to scrimp when the kids were little. We all liked them so I kept making them.
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 9,734
A few years ago we bought a little box freezer. It's about 2' x 3' and fits right in the corner of the breakfast room. Best purchase ever. I bought it to keep the dogs frozen food in, but we use it for everything. It's a great overflow freezer for the one in the frig.
#48
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 9,734
After my 90+ year old neighbor died, her son tried to give us her huge freezer. We really didn't have room or the need for it, but one of our employees who has 4 kids took it. Freezers are so nice to have, but those huge ones are really overkill for just 2 people. We got this small one because it holds a lot but doesn't take up much room so we can put it in the house instead of the garage. With the heat here, it costs a lot of run a freezer in the garage.