Little Old Lady Recipes: Classic Frugal Cooking

Meg Favreau — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:36:18 +0000

Today I'm thrilled to announce release of my new book — Little Old Lady Recipes: Comfort Food and Kitchen Table Wisdom, published by Quirk Books. It's a collection of simple comfort-food recipes; sassy advice; and photos (by the excellent Michael Reali) of wonderful women in their kitchens.

The recipes in the book came from several different sources, including my own grandmother, the women whose photographs are featured in the book, and bygone cookbooks like the 1921 Atlanta Women's Club Cook Book. But no matter what their source, one thing that I love about all of these these recipes (well, besides the fact that a lot them call for real butter) is that classic "little old lady" cooking is more than simple and tasty, it's also darn frugal. Recipes like chicken and dumplings aren't just aiming to pair delicious chicken soup with bready dumpling goodness, they're using those dumplings to stretch a little bit of meat into an inexpensive, filling meal. Vegetable scraps and leftover meat bones aren't trash, they're what you make fragrant soup stocks out of. And a good weekend pot roast, well — that will serve you convenient leftovers all week long. (See also: Stretch Your Food at Every Meal)

One of my favorite recipes that I had the pleasure of including in the book is my family's baked bean recipe, one of my personal favorite comfort foods. The beans can be made in a crock pot, or they can slowly cook over several hours in the oven (if you use your oven, make this recipe in the fall or winter and turn your house heat down accordingly while cooking so you're not wasting energy). In the evening, you're rewarded with rich, not-too-sweet beans that are great served with another money-saving powerhouse — coleslaw made from that super-cheap vegetable, the cabbage.

The beans are also fantastic served with Boston Brown Bread. I've included both recipes from the book below, and I very much hope you enjoy them.

Baked Beans Deluxe

1 qt navy beans

1/2 lb salt pork

1/2 tbsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp molasses

3 tbsp sugar

1 onion, chopped

Baked beans are best served with brown bread; save your empty coffee cans to steam it in. Although thrift is always a virtue, do not skimp on the salt pork. It's what adds the majority of flavor.

Cover beans with cold water and soak overnight. Drain. Pour into a pot or casserole dish with the rest of the ingredients. Add enough water to cover the beans. Cover and bake in a 250°F oven [or crock pot] for 8 hours. Serves 4 to 6, and tastes great with coleslaw.

Boston Brown Bread

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 cup sour milk

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 3/4 cups graham flour

Between baked beans and this moist, molassesy bread, they're doing something right up in Boston.

Beat eggs, add sugar and molasses, and then the rest of the ingredients. Mix and place in 3 greased 1-pound cans. Cover tightly. Steam 1 to 2 hours by placing on a steamer over boiling water, letting the water go about halfway up the can. Basically, you just don't want the can touching the bottom of the pot you're boiling in. (You can also steam the bread in a deep oven-safe pan in the oven itself. Just make sure to replenish the water if needed.) Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean. Makes enough to sop up a lot of delicious bean juice.

What are your favorite frugal "little old lady" recipes? Share in the comments!

This article is from Meg Favreau of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Ways to Make Your Own Ice Cream (and Other Frozen Treats)

Meg Favreau — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:24:48 +0000

When I was in elementary school, the last day of school was always exciting. Not just because of the whole end-of-the-school-year thing, but because we got to do two things: One, have a squirt gun fight on the bus, and two, get a soft-serve ice cream at the local ice cream spot, Mr. Pizza.

Since those young years, ice cream has always been one of my favorite summer treats. But seeing as I live by myself and I try (although don't necessarily succeed) to not eat too many sweets, I'm not one to keep a pint or quart of the stuff in my freezer. Recently, however, I have become obsessed with making my own ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. I get to control what goes into my frozen treats, make exactly what I'm craving, and choose between going whole hog with an elaborate recipe or just whipping up an easy, one-ingredient stand-in. (See also: 5 Awesome, Easy-to-Freeze Meals)

When the weather's hot (or you're just craving a frozen treat), follow one of these 10 methods to reach homemade ice cream bliss.

1. With an Ice-Cream Maker

I'll start with the most obvious of options. If you eat ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt, or sherbet regularly, an ice-cream maker might be worth it. I purchased a mid-range Cuisinart ice-cream maker a couple of years ago, and it has served me well through several batches. All you need to do is add the ingredients and let it spin for a bit.

2. In a Plastic Bag

While many modern ice-cream makers use containers that you keep in the freezer, old-style ice-cream makers use a combination of ice and rock salt to get your cream good and cold. But you don't need an ice cream maker to follow the rock-salt method — a couple of Ziploc-style bags can work as well. Check out this ice cream in a bag recipe from About.com's Guide to Chemistry, Anne Marie Helmenstine. Not only does she tell you how to make the ice cream, but she explains the science behind it as well.

3. Crafting a Freezer Sorbet

Sorbet — the frozen fruit treat that doesn't feature any dairy products — can easily be made by blending together a few ingredients, putting them in the fridge, and stirring occasionally. PJ Hamel at King Arthur Flour has great step-by-step instructions for freezer sorbet, including a store-bought vs. homemade cost comparison (homemade is less than half the price!).

4. Making a Semifreddo

This frozen Italian dessert (the name means "half-cold" or "half-frozen") includes several of the same ingredients as ice cream — sugar, heavy cream, etc. — but is simply mixed and frozen until it sets. I'm particularly entranced by this recipe on Epicurious for Meyer lemon semifreddo with summer berries, as well as the even easier (and very elegant looking) raspberry semifreddo torte.

5. With Bananas

This awesome post from The Kitchn about making ice cream with just one ingredient — bananas — has been linked around the web again and again, and with good reason. Creamy, sweet, and easy to add to (chocolate chips, anyone?), this frozen treat is also super-healthy. Just don't leave the bananas in the freezer too long.

6. Adding to Existing Ice Cream

If you don't want to make your own base, consider buying an inexpensive chocolate or vanilla ice cream and adding your favorite mix-ins like cherries, pretzels, chocolate syrup, brownie bits, and so on.

7. Making Your Own Ice Cream "Novelties"

Similar to adding ingredients to existing ice cream, you can use homemade or store-bought ice cream to make your own versions of ice cream "novelties" (I always thought that was a ridiculous name for them). Check out recipes for homemade Drumsticks, ice cream bars, and ice cream sandwiches.

8. Putting Yogurt in the Freezer

It seems almost too simple to be true, but making frozen yogurt can be as easy as...well, freezing yogurt. Put a single serving of your favorite yogurt in the freezer for approximately two hours. Then simply open, stir, and enjoy. Just be careful not to let this sit for too long — as with the bananas, it's best when it hasn't quite reached a deep freeze.

9. Making a Raw Key Lime Pie

For a while, one of my very good friends was eating a raw diet, and I joined in on her raw adventures. One of my favorite recipes was raw key lime pie. The filling ingredients — avocado, lime juice and zest, agave, and coconut oil — might not sound like what you want for dessert. But trust me, this treat is cooling, sweet, and rich all at once.

10. Throwing Together 5-Minute Ice Cream

Frozen fruit, cream, sugar, vanilla, and a blender or food processor are all you need for a quick ice-cream fix with this fast ice cream recipe.

Do you make your own ice cream or other frozen treats? If so, what method(s) do you use? Share in the comments!