Frugal Fail

-
After all the ways we've been indulging ourselves for the past couple of months, I thought it was time to tighten our belts and get back into Frugal mode...mostly so we can afford to repeat our indulgent behaviour again next year! 


I'm afraid it didn't take much of a nudge for me to fall off the frugality wagon when I stopped for cooking oil at Valoroso this afternoon.  I swear I have mediterranean blood in me somewhere.  I absolutely love Spanish, Italian and Greek cuisine.  I did refrain from tossing a few of the more extravagant "wants", like instant espresso, into my basket, but I just couldn't resist those tiny red tomatoes and the spicy pickled eggplant.  In the deli case beside the eggplant there was a boccocini salad that would be so easy to make myself,  so of course I bought some boccocini since the tomatoes, basil and kalamata olives were already there in my basket.  Did I mention the fennel?...oh how I love the liquoricey flavour sauted with onions and capers.  And I want to try to make the fennel soup with apple and blue cheese that Nicole had last week. And speaking of soup, I haven't made tortellini soup in quite a while and here the frozen tortellini is  cheaper than the grocery store. And what about that Spanish salad in House and Home magazine with the blood oranges...there they were right in front of me in the cooler - who knows when I'd find them again.   Honestly, when you really look at it....I didn't stand a chance!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pearls of Wisdom

-
Image
On Tuesday, my daughter received her diploma from the University of British Columbia. On Wednesday I was moving documents to my new computer when I stumbled upon a verse I'd copied from a card my mom gave Nicole when she graduated from high school.  I thought I'd post it today along with some photos of my Mom.  Today, is the fourth anniversary of her passing. GRANDMA'S PEARLS OF WISDOM by Becky Netherland I've traveled paths you've yet to walk Learned lessons old and new And now this wisdom of my life I'm blessed to share with you. Let kindness spread like sunshine Embrace those who are sad Respect their dignity, give them joy And leave them feeling glad   Forgive those who might hurt you And though you have your pride Listen closely to their viewpoint Try to see the other side Walk softly when you're angry Try not to take offense Invoke your sense of humor Laughter's power is immense!   Express w...
Read more

My Favourite Childhood Christmas Book

-
Image
Every Christmas, for as long as I can remember my heart has been touched by  The Wonderful Window by Beth Vardon,  illustrated by Charlot Byj.    I believe it was written in the 50's and I would likely have received it for Christmas sometime in the 60's.  It's no longer in print so I hope I'm not violating any copyright laws by sharing it with you.    As soon as the patchwork was tacked into place The angel came in with a smile on his face. And both he and Katie got down on their knees, Praying: Lord, could you spare one small miracle -- please? That night, all the people who happened to pass  Saw a wonderful window of glistening glass! And the light from the candles was shining inside  On the angel and Katie -- both beaming with pride. (Just take a look now, while the happy choir sings...You'll see -- even Katie --- has almost got wings!)
Read more

Currying Flavour

-
Image
When I arrived home from grocery shopping on Tuesday I discovered my husband had already purchased a four litre jug of milk to replace the empty one I had spied on the counter that morning.  I bought one too.  We don't use a lot of cow's milk and a four litre jug will usually last us two weeks.  It's not that we don't like it, we just believe that milk is for baby cows, not people and use almond or soy milk (though someone  prefers cow milk in their cereal).  I've been on a kick to use up the extra milk for the past two days and tonight we are going to consume it in a flavourful curried cauliflower soup.   I used this recipe more or less.  The cauliflower was huge so I added a little more curry, used chicken flavoured vegetable broth and replaced the half & half with a cup of skim milk.  I also left some small chunks of cauliflower in the mix because I like a little texture in my creamed soups.  I also added a couple of hu...
Read more