Average Jane

Blog

  • Average Jane’s Depression-Era Cooking

    Meesha had a post today that mentioned the 93-year-old woman who cooks Depression-era meals on YouTube and it reminded me that many of my favorite childhood recipes had their origin during the Depression.

    Here are a few that I've posted before:
    Slumgullion
    Chicken & Dumplings
    Meatloaf (which undoubtedly had less meat and more cracker crumbs back then)

    All of these recipes will feed an entire family; the chicken and dumplings can be stretched over at least two meals. It's also notable that they consist mainly of meat and vegetables. Staying out of the center aisles of the grocery store is a big money saver.

    Not all of my grandmother's recipes made the transition to the next generations. My mother and her siblings used to complain about being served Mock Chicken as children, but my grandmother would protest that she "Only made it one time!"

    Still, the cooking sensibilities of my grandmother were passed down to my mother and then to me as I was growing up. If we had leftover roast beef, we made it into hash. If we had some roasted chicken or turkey and gravy, the leftovers turned up as pot pie. The ham bone from Sunday dinner was boiled with cabbage during the week. Stale bread became French toast or bread pudding.

    Food was precious and you didn't waste it. Even the vegetable peels and rinds went out to the chickens. Post-meal scraps flavored the dogs' food.

    Dealing with food this way is still second nature for me. I always have a plan for leftover meat and although I don't have dogs or chickens, the birds and squirrels in my neighborhood get to enjoy any scraps that get too stale for the humans to eat.

    What's your favorite budget-stretching recipe? Did it come from the 1930s/1940s or is it more recent?

  • Average Jane Makes A Bucket List

    I'm picking up this meme from MLE because I can tell that today is going to be too busy for a "real" post. It's a bucket list (i.e., stuff you might want to do before you kick the bucket). You have to review all 100 items and put
    in bold the ones you’ve already achieved in life. Like MLE, I am italicizing the ones I want to do.

    1. Started my own blog
    2. Slept under the stars
    3. Played in a band
    4. Visited Hawaii
    5. Watched a meteor shower
    6. Given more than I can afford to charity – I've given lots of money to charity, but obviously I could afford it.
    7. Been to Disneyland/Disney World
    8. Climbed a mountain
    9. Held a praying mantis
    10. Sung a solo
    11. Bungee jumped
    12. Visited Paris
    13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
    14. Taught myself an art from scratch
    15. Adopted a child
    16. Had food poisoning
    17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
    18. Grown my own vegetables
    19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
    20. Slept on an overnight train (no, but I've slept overnight on a bus)
    21. Had a pillow fight
    22. Hitchhiked
    23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (not anytime recently, but I'm sure I've had a mental health day or two in my lifetime)
    24. Built a snow fort
    25. Held a lamb
    26. Gone skinny dipping
    27. Run a marathon
    28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
    29. Seen a total eclipse
    30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
    31. Hit a home run
    32. Been on a cruise
    33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
    34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
    35. Seen an Amish community
    36. Taught myself a new language
    37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
    38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
    39. Gone rock climbing
    40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
    41. Sung karaoke
    42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
    43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
    44. Visited Africa
    45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
    46. Been transported in an ambulance
    47. Had my portrait painted
    48. Gone deep sea fishing
    49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
    50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
    51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
    52. Kissed in the rain
    53. Played in the mud
    54. Gone to a drive-in theater
    55. Been in a movie
    56. Visited the Great Wall of China
    57. Started a business
    58. Taken a martial arts class
    59. Visited Russia
    60. Served at a soup kitchen
    61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
    62. Gone whale watching
    63. Got flowers for no reason
    64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma – yesterday!
    65. Gone sky diving
    66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
    67. Bounced a check (not on purpose!)
    68. Flown in a helicopter
    69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
    70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
    71. Eaten caviar
    72. Pieced a quilt
    73. Stood in Times Square
    74. Toured the Everglades
    75. Been fired from a job (not fired fired, but laid off)
    76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
    77. Broken a bone
    78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
    79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
    80. Published a book
    81. Visited the Vatican
    82. Bought a brand new car
    83. Walked in Jerusalem
    84. Had my picture in the newspaper
    85. Read the entire Bible
    86. Visited the White House (outside, anyway.)
    87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
    88. Had chickenpox
    89. Saved someone’s life
    90. Sat on a jury
    91. Met someone famous
    92. Joined a book club
    93. Lost a loved one
    94. Had a baby
    95. Seen the Alamo in person
    96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
    97. Been involved in a law suit
    98. Owned a cell phone
    99. Been stung by a bee
    100. Ridden an elephant

  • Average Jane Falls Off the Wagon and Pushes It Over A Cliff

    So I'm drinking coffee again after well over a year without caffeine. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me.

    I didn't stop drinking caffeine voluntarily; I did it because I have acid reflux that was just barely controlled by medication. As much as I loved my morning coffee, it would give me all-day heartburn. I hated to give it up, but I had no choice.

    Then a miracle happened! No, not really. What really happened was much more bureaucratic than that. I went to refill my meds and discovered that the doctor had switched me to a high-dose, time-release generic drug at the behest of the insurance company. I was suspicious, but started taking the new capsules…and it turned out that the new medication actually works much better than the kind I'd been taking.

    Naturally, I had to test it to see just how good it was. I went to Coffee Morning and drank two-and-a-half big cups of coffee. Later that day I had a Pepsi with lunch. Man, oh man was I sorry! My stomach was in such an uproar I was lucky to get to sleep that night.

    That's how I learned that I can have ONE cup of delicious, life-improving coffee in the morning.

    I love strong, black coffee. It makes me feel more focused and energetic. I get the impression that it speeds up my metabolism, but I may be making that up. I know for sure that I missed it every single day when I wasn't drinking it.

    Of course there are drawbacks. The first is that I either need to make coffee in the morning before work or I have to stop somewhere and buy some. (Seriously, our office coffee is undrinkable.) Either way, it's an inconvenience and an expense. Then there's the lovely trifecta of coffee breath, tooth staining, and the inevitable little drops of coffee that land on clothes and car upholstery.

    Even with all of that, I'm enjoying my morning coffee while I can. I've lived with acid reflux long enough to know that I'm pushing my luck hoping that the new meds will continue control my heartburn this well. There could quickly come a time when I'll have to go back to drinking nothing but water.

    Thus, I'm actively enjoying every drop of my morning coffee each day. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to continue to do so for a long time.

  • Average Jane Plans A New Band

    My husband and I have been kicking around the idea of starting another original band – possibly this summer. I'm sure I'll still keep the cover band, but I miss writing and performing my own songs.

    In the meantime, I've finally gotten around to doing the Facebook "fake band" album cover meme. Here was the result:

    Album

    Here's what you do, if you feel like playing along:

    1. Go to “Wikipedia.” Hit “random” and the first article you get is the name of your band.
    2. Then go to “Random Quotations” and the last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
    3. Then, go to Flickr and click on “Explore the Last Seven Days” and the third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
    4. Use Photoshop or some other image editor to add text and make it look cool (obviously I don't have any graphic design skills at all).

    In case you're curious, a Leptocoma is a type of bird and the full Benjamin Disraeli quote is, "The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own."

  • Average Jane Supports Local Farmers

    This year I've decided that I'm going to pay up front for the majority of my spring and summer meals by joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. I'm getting a half share of veggies from Fair Share Farm and a bi-weekly share of meat from Parker Farms. I decided to forego getting an egg share because I already buy free-range eggs from a local farm at the grocery store, and I also have an aunt who raises chickens and gives me fresh eggs on occasion. I'm skipping the honey share, too, because how much honey can two people eat?

    I'm looking forward to stretching my cooking creativity, particularly when it comes to the vegetables. It's easy for me to get into a rut and only buy onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, lettuce and green beans. New veggies will make me cook new dishes.

    I particularly love the idea of the locally-raised meat, although one of the included meats is lamb, which I don't really like. I may just plan on giving all of my lamb to my dad and step-mother, unless I manage to develop a taste for it.

    The challenge will be to use everything up or figure out a way to freeze it safely. We don't eat at home as often as we should and I hope that having more fresh ingredients on hand will counter that.

    Another fun part of the whole CSA concept is that you go to the farm and work a few shifts throughout the growing season. I seriously doubt I'll be able to get my husband to go work in a field with me, so I'm sure to end up going by myself. Maybe my niece might enjoy going with me once, just to get a taste of the whole farm experience.

    I'm looking forward to seeing how my CSA products influence our eating habits. I'll be sure to report on how it goes.

  • Average Jane Auditions Drummers

    My husband's plan to retire from our band is not proceeding to his liking. The drummer with whom we replaced him has left already and now we're auditioning again.

    We had four auditions scheduled last Sunday; only two of the guys showed up. Another potential auditionee cancelled because he got the opportunity to go on tour with a band…in China.

    Last night we had one more audition and it actually went pretty well. The guy brought his mom with him, but that was mostly because they lived fairly far away and she wanted to go to the casino afterward.

    There are two drawbacks with this guy: he doesn't have a computer and he doesn't have a cell phone. Well, three drawbacks if you count the fact that he lives in Topeka. And I'm trying to ignore the fact that he resembles a psycho ex-boyfriend of mine.

    There is always at least one guy in the band at any given time who doesn't check his e-mail regularly. This drives me crazy because I am online at all times with every one of my e-mail accounts open simultaneously. I'm aware that I'm at the extreme end of the connectedness spectrum, but still…

    So it looks like we're going to see how things go with the guy from last night. It's too bad he won't be able to use our shared Google Calendar to mark his availability, but I suppose we can work around that. I'm sure my husband is keeping his fingers crossed.

  • Average Jane’s Crock-Pot Reveals Too Much

    I was getting ready to make a cheesecake this morning and had to move one of my Crock-Pots out of the way to get to the Cuisinart in the pantry. It occurred to me that for any woman of the potluck persuasion, her Crock-Pot is a dead giveaway of her age.

    You can tell I moved out on my own in the late 1980s because my first Crock-Pot was country blue and white (but for the record, the design did NOT include the geese with bonnets that were so popular at the time). The larger one I got as a wedding present in the early '90s has a vivid teal crockery liner and there's some nineties-tastic jewel-tone magenta in the design on the front of the appliance.

    Now, of course, most Crock-Pots are brushed stainless steel on the outside. I know that seems all sleek and modern, but just wait ten years. They'll come up with some new appliance fashion and all our brushed stainless will look "so 2000s."

  • Average Jane Gets Blasé About Her Blog

    I noticed that Karen from Chookoloonks is celebrating her five-year blogging anniversary and it occurred to me, "Hey, wait a minute! My five-year blogging anniversary is in February, too!"

    It turns out that it came and went on February 15th without my noticing. Oops.

    So, five long years of blogging. I used to be great about blogging every weekday, but I've gotten out of the proper mindset over the past year or so. I don't know if that's necessarily all bad, but I do feel as though it's a mistake for me to take my blog for granted when it's contributed so much to my life.

    In belated recognition of my half-decade of blogging, I'm resolving right now to go back to being a more consistent blogger. Yes, I might rely on memes and photos to get me through some weeks, but I think it's important for my blog to remain my primary headquarters in the social media world.

    Look for new posts every day this week. I'm back, folks!

  • Average Jane Slows Down

    I just woke up at 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday with a completely unscheduled day ahead of me. Hooray!

    My band played Friday night and it went quite well. I'd taken a half day off from work to run a few errands and just chill out beforehand, and I think that helped.

    Thanks again to all of my friends who came out to the gig, including Rita, Greg, Code Rigger and PrincessofWorld, as well as two other friends without as much 'net presence.

    I only got about five hours of sleep on Saturday morning before Trillian decided she was bored and needed to pounce on my hand. So I got up, washed the bar smoke out of my hair and surfed for a while until it was time for my Soroptimist Club's fundraiser luncheon.

    As soon as I got home from the luncheon, I took a three-hour nap. (I'm reporting that just for you, Kim!)

    Once I got up, I couldn't get motivated to do anything constructive for the rest of the day. My husband and I finally dragged ourselves out of the house for Thai food around 8:00 p.m., then immediately returned home and vegged in front of the TV until I got sleepy again.

    Today I think I can muster the will to cook breakfast, get some grocery shopping done and perhaps continue the Quest for the Coffee Table that would complete the furnishing of the new TV room. Or maybe I'll just lie around and read all day. It's nice to have options.

  • Average Jane Has Kids, Part II

    On my second evening of niece- and nephew-sitting, I picked up my nephew from daycare, retrieved my niece from her friend's house and went to meet up with my husband at our favorite pizza place.

    As an appetizer, we ordered mozzarella sticks. I'd forgotten how difficult it is for kids to eat them, so that provided some comedy relief. It was hard to get my nephew to eat much pizza, especially after two cute little girls came into the restaurant with their parents and he felt it was more compelling to dance for them.

    I'd asked my husband to bring my DVDs of Freakazoid Season One, which came in handy on the trip home (thank you, humongous SUV with built-in DVD player!).

    I put my nephew to bed more or less immediately. My niece and I stayed up and watched one more Freakazoid segment before both going to sleep at 9:30 p.m. Yes, I was tired. Shut up.

    I woke up once at around 2:10 a.m. and again sometime after 5:00 a.m. because my nephew yelled in his sleep, apparently from nightmares. I got up the first time to check on him, but he was fast asleep.

    When I finally woke up for good, here's what I saw at my feet:
    Morning

    Hutch, Starsky and Sooner were all chilling out at the foot of the bed. It was almost like being at home.

    My nephew woke up in a mood and was pretty much determined to resist everything I asked him to do all morning long. I sent him to daycare dressed like George Costanza sans fannypack, wearing a too-small, long-sleeved Chiefs t-shirt, a pair of grey sweatpants and white socks that I'm pretty sure used to belong to his sister. At least I got him to wear sneakers instead of the flip-flops that he picked out.

    Tonight my life is back to normal. I have a Soroptimist Club meeting, then I get to go home, play with my own cats, and watch all the TV I missed this week so far – or at least as much as I can before I fall asleep.

    I've always known intellectually how much work it is to be a parent, but I certainly have a better idea of it now. Kudos to all of you moms and dads. Man, your job is hard!