Old-School Lessons: Eating Great, On The Cheap

The editors of Everyday Food magazine have put together a great issue devoted to smart savings at the grocery store. What they have also done, wittingly or not, is given modern-day credence to some time-tested philosophies that have proven successful to generations past. I outline a few of them below.

I'll never forget how thrifty my grandmother was at the grocery store, a characteristic she no doubt learned from her mother in wartime England. (When you survive financial hardship, it's hard to be lax about money.) She would not only clip coupons and watch for weekly savings in the flyers, she would also calculate, almost to the cent, how much she would spend each week on meals. The March issue of Everyday Food is the perfect refresher course on how to eat great food without breaking the bank. While the issue is packed with money-saving tips and ideas, I've selected four 'financial lessons' that really ought to be kept in mind when it comes to meal planning. 

1. Think you can plan five weeknight dinners on just $50? I didn't either until I read this article. The editors broke out their calculators and came up with five really good dinner menus that do not sacrifice taste, nutrition or facility. They also provide a carefully planned grocery list to help it all come together. Among the savory selections: vegetable frittata with roasted potatoes and garlic, creamy pasta shells with tuna and spinach and chili-braised pork with green beans and mashed sweet potatoes. It can be done, folks!

2. Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables and look for those that are among the most inexpensive. Bananas cost just pennies a pound and their sweet flavour goes a long way to enhance desserts. They are also great additions to cereal and yogurt and are sometimes the perfect snack on their own. The editors showcase this humble and versatile tropical fruit in a myriad of delicious desserts, from ice creams to cakes to tarts.

3. Another old-fashioned idea that makes good financial sense: gather friends and family and eat in large groups, with each participant contributing something to the table. The modern-day term is 'pot-luck' but it's an idea that dates back centuries. Not only is it a great way to eat wonderful food and catch up with loved-ones, sharing also reduces your spending. Make it a part of your regular routine.

4. Slow cookers are ideal for budget cooking since you can make large batches of one dish (storing plenty of left-overs in the freezer) with just a few well-chosen ingredients. Even better: the work is done for you with just the push of a button!

More saving tips from the issue: 

a) Before a big grocery shop, check your supermarket's circulars (many of them are posted online) and plan your meals around the biggest bargains. 

b) The age-old advice still holds true: don't shop when you're hungry! You will end up piling on things you are craving at the moment but did not plan to buy. Make a list first and stick to it.

c) Packaged and convenience products are often more expensive than fresh or whole foods. Select one or two favourites and make sure they are worth it to you in time savings. 

d) Use bulk bins to your advantage. Items like grains, beans, nuts and baking ingredients can be measured out so that you are buying only what you need to buy.  

Excellent Entryways

I don't know about you, but I always get a mid-winter 'urge to purge' in anticipation of Spring's arrival. The winter months are the perfect time to focus on getting your indoor spaces organized and functional, especially your entryways - the busiest part of the home with the heaviest (and dirtiest) traffic. Getting this area organized now will allow you to be fully prepared for all the activity and commotion the new season will throw your way. You'll also have plenty of time to enjoy that warm and sunny weather, not having to worry too much about keeping things in order, once a good system is in place. I've compiled some of my favourite entryway solutions from the pages of Martha Stewart Living, many of which I have adapted to my own very small (but very efficient) entryway. 

This is my all-time favourite entryway design. It is so me! A bench is such a nice addition to an entryway. It allows for seating as you put on or remove your shoes and is inviting to visitors. The bulletin board above is a virtual 'home base' for planning: schedules, notices, reminders, incoming and outgoing mail are all kept here. It's a one-stop spot for the organization of your day. I like the slate board for erasable chalk messages and the little clock. Best of all, you can hide it all behind an opaque roll-down blind in a coordinating colour that you can lift and lower as you please.  

This entrance in a mudroom or back entrance is nicely appointed with a bench, a stepping stool, baskets for storage, a boot tray and an open coat rack under a pretty, bracketed shelf. It is bright and inviting. Everything you need is visible and at the ready. (Everything you don't need is gone!)

A combination of shelves, hooks and bins ensures this entrance is kept running smoothly. Hanging "in" and "out" baskets are mounted onto wall hooks to corral mail, magazines and newspapers. Sturdy, galvanized boxes on casters slide easily under the bench and coat hooks keep everyone's outerwear in place. What is nice about this station is the colour. A strategic application of paint gives the whole area the appearance that it is a built-in unit. The bench, shelf and wall are all painted the same unifying colour. 

A bench on casters provides simple seating and storage. On the wall above an array of hooks was hung in a free-form pattern to provide a place for hanging coats, hats and bags. The wallpaper is both functional and visually energizing: you can easily wipe it if it becomes marred and it provides an enlivening mood-boost to visitors who enter the space.

This is such a great entryway: one of my favourites. It has charm and function to spare. An old bench plays centerpiece to the space. It features a lower shelf for a shoe tray to keep worn shoes off the floor. A basket proffers slippers to visitors and a thick sisal rug keeps the hardwood protected. On the wall, hooks have been installed to keep everything in place, from umbrellas to purses. A wooden mantel, backed by an appealing strip of wallpaper, allows for the display of personal mementos and photographs. Never forget to splash a bit of charm in an entryway! It will lift your mood when you enter the home and will be inviting to visitors.

I love this storage unit built into a nook of an entrance. The cubbies provide storage areas for each member of the family. There is a section for each person's coat and hat topped by a smaller cubby for that individual's accessories, such as baseball mitts, soccer balls and cameras. A bench allows for seating and easy shoe removal and three large drawers hold seasonal items. A wall-mounted key corral keeps keys in place while a hook keeps dog leashes from becoming tangled. 

ENTRYWAY MUST-HAVE: The boot tray is a "Good Thing" I have loved since its debut in the magazine in the mid-1990s. It is essentially a tray with a very high lip where you can place your wet and muddy boots when you enter the house. Many retailers sell these in various materials, from stainless steel to rubber. Williams Sonoma sold one a while back, as did Smith and Hawken's. Home Depot and other hardware stores sell them. Or, you can convert old cookie sheets and baking trays into boot trays, layering them with pebbles to allow the dirt and water to filter away from the boots so that they are not standing in a pool of melted muck. 

I hope you've found these ideas helpful and inspiring. I turn to them again and again for inspiration and guidance. A new camera is on the way and by next week I hope to share some of my own photographs of my home, my projects and my favourite things. My current camera, after 6 years of very good service, just isn't doing the trick anymore. So, stay tuned!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! XO, Etsy from Etsy on Vimeo.

A Cornucopia of Valentine's Day Ideas

Quite simply, there really is only one source for the best Valentine's Day ideas: Martha Stewart Living. Okay, I'm a bit (a lot) biased, but don't you think it's true? I honestly can't think of any other outlet that provides readers and viewers with such an array of creative concepts for this special holiday. From crafts to treats to flowers, Martha Stewart gives us endless inspiration and instruction on how to create something special for our loved ones.  Click here to get started on some last-minute ideas. 

A Successful (and fun!) Trip

When my friend Cindy and I planned a little excursion to Buffalo, the closest U.S. city to Toronto, we had our destination firmly in mind: Walden Galleria. We had heard from friends that it was a great mall with a lot of stores and restaurants we do not yet have in Canada. We started with lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, a really delicious restaurant that is as American as it gets. 

We wanted to visit the new Anthropologie store that opened there a few months ago, as well as the new Free People store (a division of the Anthropologie brand that skews a bit younger than Anthropologie's demographic) and, of course, Macy's! Since we took the bus and did not have a vehicle with us, we could not overdo it with our spending. Without a trunk to stow our merchandise in, we had to carry it all by hand. This was wise, because, believe me, we were tempted to break the bank! I had a budget of $250, not including meals. I went slightly over, but that's okay. More than half was spent on clothing (I'm a sucker for J. Crew) and the rest was spent at Macy's. Speficially, on Martha at Macy's. I got a couple of the things on my list, which I blogged about a couple of days ago. (See the following post.)  You can see my latest Marthaware, below.

I got this set of five ceramic mixing bowls from the Martha Stewart Collection. I think they are so beautiful and modern. I love the pops of colour and they are very heavy, sturdy and well made.

I also got sets of Martha Stewart Collection measuring cups and measuring spoons. They are really heavy (a sign of good quality) and have comfortable handles. Not shown is a novelty item I could not pass up: a child's wooden rolling pin with the Martha Stewart logo around the side. I'm saving it for posterity. (It didn't photograph well.)

Guess Who's Going to Macy's

This Friday I will be venturing south of the border with a friend of mine to the great Walden Galleria in the city of Buffalo, New York, where there is a lovely Macy's department store. Living in Canada, and therefore being deprived of some pretty fantastic US stores, including Macy's, this is a big treat. I really don't know why we don't have Macy's in Canada. I'm sure it has something to do with NAFTA and the competition bureau, but so be it. We Canadians will make the trip - especially with our dollar doing as well as it is. A Martha Moments reader, Trellis Smith, sent me this terrific Macy's ad featuring Martha. I was so impressed by Martha's magic (and her legs) that I decided to let you in on some of the things I'll be looking for at Macy's this Friday.

My favourite class of merchandise from the Martha Stewart Collection is the kitchenware. I love the styles and varieties available - and I especially love the use of colour. My preference in the kitchen is for neutral and light colours with pattern kept to a bare minimum. What the Martha Stewart Collection has always done is to use colour in bold but small doses, which lends to the modern impact of the design. 

I love this set of five ceramic mixing bowls that are white on the exteriors and painted beautiful shades of primary colours on the interiors. The nesting design helps with efficient storage.

I love, love, love these food storage containers that are based on a vintage design. Each tin canister holds up to 16 cups of ingredients.

This 9-piece cutlery set has all the essentials a chef needs to slice and dice. Each tool has a soft, ergonomically-designed handle in retro shades and a precision blade. The honing steel and kitchen shears are nice additions.

I like the idea of keeping all your measuring cups and spoons together on a single ring when you store them. These ones are stainless steel with extra-long handles for reaching into canisters and jars. When you use them, you can remove them from the ring and get to work.