Wardrobe Malfuctions

This is not what you think.  All season long I have been considering (and reconsidering) buying a black jacket, because my old one is looking a bit shabby.  Thinking maybe I would try the new resale shop in town.

Last Saturday morning I woke up with the sudden knowledge that I bought a nice black jacket last year.  How, I don't know, but I'd forgotten it.  We had a busy, hectic, not to say traumatic spring this year, and well, I forgot.  Not in the bedroom closet, nor in the guest room closet, but hanging there in the cedar closet, in a dry cleaner's bag with my favorite skirt that I had also forgotten. Wore both to the MFA to the Alex Katz show, feeling very elegant.   


Normally, it would have been in the guest closet, because neither of the fabrics were wool, hence they didn't need to be in the cedar closet.  This morning, I woke up trying too remember when my grandmother had died.  1963.  How could I forget?  A stressed mind plays tricks on you.  I'm unstressing and hence, remembering stuff. 


In the days of yore, I kept an inventory by season of summer and winter clothes, with the age and condition of each garment.  When I stopped working, I no longer kept the inventory.  Now I'm thinking maybe it should be revived.  The nice thing about this is that you can cast you eye over what you have and the age and condition, and make some fill-in purchases.  No doing what I did this year and buying a new top for really old pants.  


There are many ways to be frugal, and clothes come right behind groceries.  Recently I have discovered The Sports Authority which has name brands of sportswear at good prices.   The chain had always flown under my radar.   Ocean State Job Lot always has good "lounge pants" at  $ 5 - $6.  Add a Walmart Faded Glory T-shirt for $5 and you have yourself a great set of pajamas for $10.00.  


Frugally yours, 


the Cheeseparer

Brunch and other meals

Feeding houseguests always presents a challenge if you have to deal with food dislikes, time in the kitchen and budget considerations. We did this recently with a fair amount of elegance. Main courses were tortilla soup, pot roast, and seafood marinara. The pot roast covered two meals, and no one ever complains about leftover pot roast and gravy. I cooked fresh vegetables each night. Root vegetables: carrots, parsnips, potatoes and onions are cheap, as is celery. Loads of parsley from the garden. All you need is a salad.

The seafood marinara (pictured) had limited quantities of seafood and was served over pasta, so that worked out well. I went to a first rate fish market and bought scallops untreated with chemicals and large (not giant) shrimp.

Below is the brunch dish I served. Notice it calls for bread, milk, eggs and sausage, none of which break the bank. Neither are prunes gold-plated. It serves a lot and tastes great. We buy maple syrup at the Ocean State Job Lot and use it sparingly. Enjoy!

Raisin-Bread Strata with Sausage and Dried Plums

8 – 10 servings

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage ( I used pork, turkey will work)
8 large eggs
4 cups whole milk
1 ½ t. salt
¾ t. ground black pepper
1 16 ounce loaf sliced raisin-cinnamon swirl bread, each slice halved on the diagonal. (Pepperidge Farm makes a good raisin cinnamon swirl).
18 dried pitted plums (prunes) each cut into 3 pieces

Pure Maple Syrup

Sauté sausage in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of fork, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove sausage to bowl; cool.
Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish.
Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Arrange half of bread in bottom of prepared dish with bases of triangles facing in same direction. Scatter half of sausage, then half of plums over bread. Arrange remaining bread in dish with triangles facing in opposite direction. Scatter remaining sausage and plums over. Pour milk mixture over; press on bread to submerge. Cover and chill overnight.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place strata on rimmed baking sheet. Bake uncovered until strata is pulled and golden and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut strata into squares and serve with maple syrup.

From Bon Appetit

Paring Cheese in the Summer

So, we've revved up the smoker for salmon and kielbasa, a BOGO. This weekend we're entertaining, and I'm grilling a pork roast with a special slaw.

The lettuces, spinach and herbs from the garden have been paying big dividends, and the tomatoes are growing like weeds.

Corn is getting cheaper. Potatoes were on sale and I made a bistro potato salad with yukon golds and some onion. My husband gave me a slicer (Mandolin) that makes ultra thin slices and it's fab for onion and cukes. Makes the salads so suave looking. And thin slices use less of the vegetable.

I'm going to make Cuban sandwiches with he leftover pork. You need pork, ham, swiss cheese, crusty bread and pickles. A little garlicky mayo.

Ocean State Job Lot had all manner of picnic stuff today, so I bought paper plates, napkins, toothpicks, and plastic platters for another party. Water, too. The table will look lovely and summery with cheap stuff.

The Job Lot always has a lot of customers these days. No wonder. If you pick your recipes, and buy the store specials, you can always eat well at home. Grow your garden. The rewards are not just cheap produce, but the joy of gardening, and the relaxation of this kind of work. Believe me, it's so worthwhile.

Eating on the Cheap

Amatriciana Sauce With Bacon and Tomatoes AKA Bucattini all'Amatriciana from the province of Abruzzi

Serves 4-6

I splurge and buy Schaler and Weber smoked slab bacon. We use it for everything and for flavoring several meals, it pays for itself. Meat as flavoring.

1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 oz. slab bacon or pancetta, finely diced
3 T. butter
28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, crushed (from the Ocean State Job Lot)
1/4 t. chili pepper flakes or to taste
salt and pepper
1/4 cup pecorino Romano cheese

1 lb. bucattini, penne or spaghetti (from the Ocean State Job Lot)

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Saute onion until transparent, about 5 minutes.

Add the chili flakes and bacon and saute until the onion is golden and the bacon nice and crisp, about 8 - 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, making sure sauce does not burn, about 15 minutes.

Add salt to taste. Go easy, as the bacon and cheese are salty.

Cook the pasta during the last 15 minutes of the sauce prep. When done to taste, drain and pour into a warm serving bowl or directly into the pan with the sauce, mixing well, adding grated cheese to taste.

Pass extra cheese at table.

Serve with bread sticks and a green salad. Tonight ours will have red leaf lettuce, English cucumber, and arthichoke hearts with dressing and blue cheese.

The Ocean State Job Lot, in the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area, sells sale-priced prepared foods. I also bought the artichoke hearts for the salad there. They have interesting ethnic foods, and great buys on jam, coffee, cereal and pasta.

I hope your area offers a similiar business where you can buy cheap foodstuffs. Shop smarter, not harder.