Money Saver

Sure, I'll try punching down the bread.

Joaquim is always reading books about how to save money.  

The latest tip he shared with us is that once a month, instead of doing your regular grocery run, try to eat from your house.  

Be sure to check your fridge, your freezer and your cupboards. If you are the type to hoard treats, also check your usual hiding spots.  Well, that part wasn't in the book.

Thus, we are trying to use up everything in the beer fridge, which includes multiple varieties of cheese.  

So I tossed together some pizza dough for lunch and then was lucky enough to have Marcia, Audra and the boys drop by. 

 “Yes, I want to try to punch down the dough,” said Zach.

This isn't how I thought it would feel.

The idea of getting into the bread dough is much more fun that the actual task.

... unless having something sticky on your hands is your idea of fun.

I finished off the pizza later – home made sauce (well, I just jazzed up some bottled sauce), artichokes, sundried tomatoes, green peppers, Chinese mushrooms and parmigiano romaniganio cheese sprinkled right to the corners.

Trying to use up everything in the fridge works when the item to use up is naan.  

Knowing there was Indian bread put the idea of other Indian recipes into my head: dahl, rice and peas (lot of fennel and onions in the mix) and chicken korma.

Oh it is great to have lots of good food in the freezer to use.  We have been thawing the raspberries to put on the summer waffles with whipping cream and slicing the strawberries to add to the ice-cream.

The contents of the first barrel garden were a donation from a long-time Salmon Arm gardener, living in the same cul-de-sac as David's friend. Bonnie  now has spearmint growing in the herb garden and the lemon mint is growing even taller. She cautions, "Be careful when complimenting someone's garden.  You may just come home with some mystery plants."

There must be some good recipes for those herbs -- those identified and those yet to be identified.