Has anyone tried one of the pizza ovens (like Pizza Pizzazz)? They save energy, I know, and don't heat up the house as much in the summertime, but do they make good pizza? Thanks...
As a mother who has fallen for the disposable gimmick in the past, my original intent to abandoning the paper towels and disposable cloths were to save money -- we just couldn't choose easy clean-up over food or clothing.
Now that I've had to improvise, it has become so apparent how much less we waste. We use the same old cleaning rag for food grease (and wash it in a special load.) I'm slowly weaning off baby wipes (potty training early has helped immensely.) And while I admittedly haven't broken away from disposable diapers, we have incorporated the biodegradable diaper inserts (that can be composted) in the past. I'm trying to focus on a few areas of improvement and build up to complete independence. (It helps when your dryer is functioning -- right now we're hanging all our reusable cloth wipes in the basement near the wood stove with the rest of our laundry.)
I really think that even if you don't consider yourself "environmentally-conscious" in most of your daily life, this is one area that we all could improve upon, with little sacrifice. If you can't do it for your planet, do it for your wallet!
(And I totally agree that if paper towels are made available they WILL be used up at a ridiculous rate. Just ask my 4-year-old!)
I'm afraid I'm guilty of this offense, at least to the extent of using kitchen wipes. For most things I rely on cloth towels, etc., but the thought of using them for the counters where I handle raw chicken and other food items gives me the heebie-jeebies.
If you're lucky enough to have a cast iron dutch oven, you can use it to--guess what!--bake with, including pizza (that's why they call it an oven, ya see :-). You can also make a Most Excellent Pizza on a covered grill; the trick in either case is to have something that reflects the heat back down onto the top. I can't get more specific, unfortunately, because my husband is the pizzaiolo of the family.
Thank you for this post! We are so germ-phobic these days that we are disinfecting ourselves straight into warfare with super bacteria as we weaken our own immune systems and kill off the weaker or friendly bacteria with all this "cleaning." AND what a useless waste of resources.
I get so happy when Wise Bread posts combine frugality with ecology. Isn't this the definition of sustainability? If it's not, it should be.
There's a supermarket here that makes its own pizzas (refrigerated, uncooked) and sells them for $3.98. (Used to be $2.98 until recently when milk and cheese prices went up.)
When I'm too lazy to make my own pizza dough, I make mini-pizzas using sliced English muffins as the base.
Get small "disposable" plastic containers (ziploc or glad). They have really small single-serving sizes. You can freeze and microwave them, and also wash them and reuse them. Prep the soup, and freeze it.
Also, make your own soup. You just need a large pot, or a crock pot, and put water in it, a pinch of salt, and a lot of vegetables. The veggies break down and turn into the broth. You can even use the "inedible" or ugly parts of your veggies, and save even more money. If you want a meat soup, add the appropriate meat. You'll find that this real soup tastes much better than canned, and has a tiny fraction of the sodium.
We don't use paper napkins either, and I'm not into disposable wipes in a huge way. While we've virtually given up paper towels, we do keep one roll under wraps for dealing with grease for the occasional deep fried item, or if one of the dogs is sick and things are just too disgusting to think about cleaning off a towel I have to re-use. I say under wraps because now that we don't use them often, it's shocking to see how many of them people waste if they come to visit. It's not about being cheap, it's just that I cringe if there's a little drop of water on the counter and someone unrolls 4 or 5 towels with abandon to deal with it. Sort of like a toddler exploring a roll of toilet paper for the first time. I don't mean to sound judgemental. But seriously, take a look at the consumption rate the next time you visit someone who uses them. I'm far from being an eco-goddess, but geeze . . .
See, this is what happens when I tackle an issue before I have coffee. I get on a soap box. At any rate, great piece. I'm interested to see how the discussion unfolds.
I moved into my home 19 years ago and the Original roll of Paper Towels I bought is still under the sink unopened.
I still use the two dozen Terry Cloth Bar Towels my mother gave me before I moved in to clean up spills and anything else. Dingy and Threadbare but they still work...though I did buy another two dozen at Sam's for $9 last year.
I also don't use Paper Napkins or Paper Plates...cloth and China for me.
And the Frugal End..
The "average" family uses 2 rolls a week..lets just use 75 cents a roll average over this time period..
Its probably more than 75 cents a roll or package but it makes for easy numbers....
52 weeks times 2 rolls = 104 times 75 cents = $78.00 times 19 years = $1482.00
Assume the same price for 1 pack of Napkins and 1 pack of Paper Plates per week equals another $1482.00.
$2964.00 would have gone out in the Garbage...factor in even a modest interest rate on the money and you could double or triple the amount from putting it in savings. Somewhere between $6000 and $9000 saved.
What have I ended up spending????
$9 on Bar Towels
$20 on Cloth Napkins
$100 back then on decent China
Laundry..not even a full load for them...say 25 cents for water, soap and the dryer...
52 weeks times 25 cents = $13 times 19 years = $247
I have used the FAFSA to help fund both my undergraduate and graduate education-- without taking out huge loans.
Federal and state aid, at least for the most part in Washington, is determined through subtracting the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) from the COA (Cost of Attendance). The remainder is one's Unmet Need. From the student's unmet need, the school's financial aid counselors will award either subsidized or unsubsidized loans, grants, and/or work study.
In my opinion, and through my current experience... you have to understand the FAFSA process before accepting any awards. Look at the interest rates of each loan offered to you, and whether or not they are subsidized. If you are planning on teaching (as I am), Federal Direct and Perkins Loans can be partially forgiven. Place yourself on a work study waiting list if you are eligible. Earnings under the work study program are not counted against you on future FAFSAs, which decrease your EFC.
The FAFSA does not award scholarships, yet some departments and scholarship donors use financial need as a basis for selecting their award recipients. Other times, schools will provide tuition waivers based on academic achievement and financial need.
The moral: There are options past checking "yes" to loans year after year! Talk to the financial aid counselors at your school. Each student is assigned a counselor whose job is to find the best option for every student on making higher education affordable.
After spending two months living completely off the grid on an ecologically sustainable property, I became aware of just how much waste we create in the name of cleanliness.
So I applaud your article - only in this part of the world do we have such disposable and wasteful ways of being clean. Ultimately I don't believe it is healthy - for our bodies or the environment. For dozens - even hundreds - of years we did it the simple way and nobody keeled over because of it. If we all thought a little more about exactly what our individual impact on the environment is, we might not buy the one-use anything again, despite its convenience.
Geez - I've been living WAY off the grid lately and haven't had access to anything but the most basic of ingredients and cooking facilities (ie: no oven).
In so doing though, I've figured out a workable pizza dough - using nothing more than flour, water, and a little baking soda! (Then season with whatever spices desired). No need for taking time to rise, but it takes a bit of trial and error with kneading and exact quantities.
We also used a cast iron skillet & olive oil (on the stove) to cook up the dough, and have had amazing results.
As I said though, it was out of necessity that we devised this recipe. If you are patient and willing to experiment, ultimately it's the quintessential "poor man's" pizza. Enjoy!
I will really look into this. I have yet to start investing, as I am putting all my spare money into paying off debt atm, but once that is done, this will deffinately high on my list of options.
My husband and I order pizza a lot from three different popular chain delivery places, and it always costs over $30. This is the average price. . for a two or three topping large pizza, plus delivery ($2.75 or $3), plus tax. Actually, with tip it usually comes to $33 or $36, depending on the order and where we get it from.
This is in Canada. I wonder if prices are that much different in America. I'm assuming you're American.
First go to a restaurant supply house and buy a bag of SAF Yeast...this is the yeast used by 95% of bakeries and it is CHEAP...last bag was $3.09 for a Half Kilo (17.5 ounces). Keeps forever in the fridge if kept dry.
Second make the Pizza Dough in large quantites..let rise once..then punch down and immediately package into pizza size balls and freeze fast...it will not kill the yeast just suspend its action.
You can do the same with Bread Dough as well forming it into loaves and freezing...just like the frozen ones you can buy in the store.
Now the trick...
24 hours before the time you need it remove a dough ball or bread loave from the freezer...place in a buttered or oiled bowl/bread pan turning to coat...cover with plastic wrap and place in the refridgerator.
Over the next 24 hours the dough will thaw and rise to the normal height for baking (bread) or to where you can punch down and roll out for pizza.
If I usually get home at 6:00 I take the loaf of bread out of the fridge then and put the next one in for the next day and bake the one I just took out...30 to 45 minutes and a loaf of bread is done..
Nothing like crisp fresh bread with whatever I'm having for dinner.
I thought I had done my research very well, having studied the site for at least 3 hours. If it's left wing to report on the negative effects of fossil fuels, factory-farming, prescription drugs and a host of other issues like this, then the site is perhaps more left than right. Today I read an article criticising Al Gore for eating meat, Home Depot (a large corp.) doing it's bit for the environment and safety concerns over energy-efficient lightbulbs. All topics that you'd more likely find on a right-wing agenda. I also loved the site's stance on the "declaration of journalistic independence" which is a manefesto that clearly outlines all the ways that the site attempts to maintain impartiality. THe sad truth is though that when you attack anything the current government does, you're a leftie. If you attack Al Gore or possible side effects of energy-efficiency, you're on the right. In the end, the old adage is true...no good deed goes unpunished. It's something that I, as a writer who does this in his spare time for pennies, come across every day for simply trying to help people out. C'est la vie.
I often did this trick on fellow drinkers to get a free drink. I would bet someone I could hold a lit cigarette between my thumb and index finger with the lit end on the finger and the filter on the thumb....and hold it there longer than they could. Before offering the trick, I would order an ice cold drink in a glass, preferably an ice slush daquiri, and hold the glass between my thumb and index finger the entire time I explained the bet. Then, I would offer to go first, puff a good red hot coal at the end of the cigarette and commence to hold it between my fingers. By the time I put the cigarette between my fingers, they were numb with cold, and it would take about 20 seconds for the ash to warm them up to where it might start hurting, and I would casually take the cigarette away and offer it to them. Usually, I would have no takers. Sometimes they would try and drop the hot cigarette immediately. Give it a try if you smoke. Now, I don't smoke any longer, so I don't do any more.
Especially since the summary suggested that the website was "neutral" info. Moreover, I feel a bit embarassed, as I just started recommending wisebread.com to friends/family. Hopefully, this is just a fluke and not a portent of things to come.
No love for Linux users, I guess. As more and more migrate to *nix (Linux/Unix/etc.)-based systems, the term "PC" (as opposed to a mac) will need to be redefined. For all intents and purposes, a mac is a PC -- personal computer, after all.
But, as I'm still learning my way around my Xubuntu desktop, I'll need to keep reminding myself that it still is a Windows-centric software world out there.
I had trouble with the pizza stone so I started using a 12" cast iron skillet. This helps keep the contents of the pizza on the pizza. Use a generous amount of canola oil to coat the skillet beforehand and you get a great crispy layer on the dough.
Pizza is so adaptable to different eating styles. To change things up, sometimes I use alfredo sauce, rather than tomato sauce. Admittedly, though, I don't regularly make alfredo sauce from scratch.
Has anyone tried one of the pizza ovens (like Pizza Pizzazz)? They save energy, I know, and don't heat up the house as much in the summertime, but do they make good pizza? Thanks...
As a mother who has fallen for the disposable gimmick in the past, my original intent to abandoning the paper towels and disposable cloths were to save money -- we just couldn't choose easy clean-up over food or clothing.
Now that I've had to improvise, it has become so apparent how much less we waste. We use the same old cleaning rag for food grease (and wash it in a special load.) I'm slowly weaning off baby wipes (potty training early has helped immensely.) And while I admittedly haven't broken away from disposable diapers, we have incorporated the biodegradable diaper inserts (that can be composted) in the past. I'm trying to focus on a few areas of improvement and build up to complete independence. (It helps when your dryer is functioning -- right now we're hanging all our reusable cloth wipes in the basement near the wood stove with the rest of our laundry.)
I really think that even if you don't consider yourself "environmentally-conscious" in most of your daily life, this is one area that we all could improve upon, with little sacrifice. If you can't do it for your planet, do it for your wallet!
(And I totally agree that if paper towels are made available they WILL be used up at a ridiculous rate. Just ask my 4-year-old!)
I'm afraid I'm guilty of this offense, at least to the extent of using kitchen wipes. For most things I rely on cloth towels, etc., but the thought of using them for the counters where I handle raw chicken and other food items gives me the heebie-jeebies.
@Nora
If you're lucky enough to have a cast iron dutch oven, you can use it to--guess what!--bake with, including pizza (that's why they call it an oven, ya see :-). You can also make a Most Excellent Pizza on a covered grill; the trick in either case is to have something that reflects the heat back down onto the top. I can't get more specific, unfortunately, because my husband is the pizzaiolo of the family.
Thank you for this post! We are so germ-phobic these days that we are disinfecting ourselves straight into warfare with super bacteria as we weaken our own immune systems and kill off the weaker or friendly bacteria with all this "cleaning." AND what a useless waste of resources.
I get so happy when Wise Bread posts combine frugality with ecology. Isn't this the definition of sustainability? If it's not, it should be.
There's a supermarket here that makes its own pizzas (refrigerated, uncooked) and sells them for $3.98. (Used to be $2.98 until recently when milk and cheese prices went up.)
When I'm too lazy to make my own pizza dough, I make mini-pizzas using sliced English muffins as the base.
Thanks!
Great recipes, and a great tip from frugalzen. A cheap pizza dinner in the inner burbs of L.A. is $25. And that's a "good deal".
Both flour quality and water quality count for a lot.
Get small "disposable" plastic containers (ziploc or glad). They have really small single-serving sizes. You can freeze and microwave them, and also wash them and reuse them. Prep the soup, and freeze it.
Also, make your own soup. You just need a large pot, or a crock pot, and put water in it, a pinch of salt, and a lot of vegetables. The veggies break down and turn into the broth. You can even use the "inedible" or ugly parts of your veggies, and save even more money. If you want a meat soup, add the appropriate meat. You'll find that this real soup tastes much better than canned, and has a tiny fraction of the sodium.
We don't use paper napkins either, and I'm not into disposable wipes in a huge way. While we've virtually given up paper towels, we do keep one roll under wraps for dealing with grease for the occasional deep fried item, or if one of the dogs is sick and things are just too disgusting to think about cleaning off a towel I have to re-use. I say under wraps because now that we don't use them often, it's shocking to see how many of them people waste if they come to visit. It's not about being cheap, it's just that I cringe if there's a little drop of water on the counter and someone unrolls 4 or 5 towels with abandon to deal with it. Sort of like a toddler exploring a roll of toilet paper for the first time. I don't mean to sound judgemental. But seriously, take a look at the consumption rate the next time you visit someone who uses them. I'm far from being an eco-goddess, but geeze . . .
See, this is what happens when I tackle an issue before I have coffee. I get on a soap box. At any rate, great piece. I'm interested to see how the discussion unfolds.
I moved into my home 19 years ago and the Original roll of Paper Towels I bought is still under the sink unopened.
I still use the two dozen Terry Cloth Bar Towels my mother gave me before I moved in to clean up spills and anything else. Dingy and Threadbare but they still work...though I did buy another two dozen at Sam's for $9 last year.
I also don't use Paper Napkins or Paper Plates...cloth and China for me.
And the Frugal End..
The "average" family uses 2 rolls a week..lets just use 75 cents a roll average over this time period..
Its probably more than 75 cents a roll or package but it makes for easy numbers....
52 weeks times 2 rolls = 104 times 75 cents = $78.00 times 19 years = $1482.00
Assume the same price for 1 pack of Napkins and 1 pack of Paper Plates per week equals another $1482.00.
$2964.00 would have gone out in the Garbage...factor in even a modest interest rate on the money and you could double or triple the amount from putting it in savings. Somewhere between $6000 and $9000 saved.
What have I ended up spending????
$9 on Bar Towels
$20 on Cloth Napkins
$100 back then on decent China
Laundry..not even a full load for them...say 25 cents for water, soap and the dryer...
52 weeks times 25 cents = $13 times 19 years = $247
So 9 + 20 + 100 + 247 = $376.00
Not bad and Eco Friendly too!!!!
~ Roland
I have used the FAFSA to help fund both my undergraduate and graduate education-- without taking out huge loans.
Federal and state aid, at least for the most part in Washington, is determined through subtracting the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) from the COA (Cost of Attendance). The remainder is one's Unmet Need. From the student's unmet need, the school's financial aid counselors will award either subsidized or unsubsidized loans, grants, and/or work study.
In my opinion, and through my current experience... you have to understand the FAFSA process before accepting any awards. Look at the interest rates of each loan offered to you, and whether or not they are subsidized. If you are planning on teaching (as I am), Federal Direct and Perkins Loans can be partially forgiven. Place yourself on a work study waiting list if you are eligible. Earnings under the work study program are not counted against you on future FAFSAs, which decrease your EFC.
The FAFSA does not award scholarships, yet some departments and scholarship donors use financial need as a basis for selecting their award recipients. Other times, schools will provide tuition waivers based on academic achievement and financial need.
The moral: There are options past checking "yes" to loans year after year! Talk to the financial aid counselors at your school. Each student is assigned a counselor whose job is to find the best option for every student on making higher education affordable.
After spending two months living completely off the grid on an ecologically sustainable property, I became aware of just how much waste we create in the name of cleanliness.
So I applaud your article - only in this part of the world do we have such disposable and wasteful ways of being clean. Ultimately I don't believe it is healthy - for our bodies or the environment. For dozens - even hundreds - of years we did it the simple way and nobody keeled over because of it. If we all thought a little more about exactly what our individual impact on the environment is, we might not buy the one-use anything again, despite its convenience.
Geez - I've been living WAY off the grid lately and haven't had access to anything but the most basic of ingredients and cooking facilities (ie: no oven).
In so doing though, I've figured out a workable pizza dough - using nothing more than flour, water, and a little baking soda! (Then season with whatever spices desired). No need for taking time to rise, but it takes a bit of trial and error with kneading and exact quantities.
We also used a cast iron skillet & olive oil (on the stove) to cook up the dough, and have had amazing results.
As I said though, it was out of necessity that we devised this recipe. If you are patient and willing to experiment, ultimately it's the quintessential "poor man's" pizza. Enjoy!
I will really look into this. I have yet to start investing, as I am putting all my spare money into paying off debt atm, but once that is done, this will deffinately high on my list of options.
To "guest":
My husband and I order pizza a lot from three different popular chain delivery places, and it always costs over $30. This is the average price. . for a two or three topping large pizza, plus delivery ($2.75 or $3), plus tax. Actually, with tip it usually comes to $33 or $36, depending on the order and where we get it from.
This is in Canada. I wonder if prices are that much different in America. I'm assuming you're American.
First go to a restaurant supply house and buy a bag of SAF Yeast...this is the yeast used by 95% of bakeries and it is CHEAP...last bag was $3.09 for a Half Kilo (17.5 ounces). Keeps forever in the fridge if kept dry.
Second make the Pizza Dough in large quantites..let rise once..then punch down and immediately package into pizza size balls and freeze fast...it will not kill the yeast just suspend its action.
You can do the same with Bread Dough as well forming it into loaves and freezing...just like the frozen ones you can buy in the store.
Now the trick...
24 hours before the time you need it remove a dough ball or bread loave from the freezer...place in a buttered or oiled bowl/bread pan turning to coat...cover with plastic wrap and place in the refridgerator.
Over the next 24 hours the dough will thaw and rise to the normal height for baking (bread) or to where you can punch down and roll out for pizza.
If I usually get home at 6:00 I take the loaf of bread out of the fridge then and put the next one in for the next day and bake the one I just took out...30 to 45 minutes and a loaf of bread is done..
Nothing like crisp fresh bread with whatever I'm having for dinner.
~ Roland
I thought I had done my research very well, having studied the site for at least 3 hours. If it's left wing to report on the negative effects of fossil fuels, factory-farming, prescription drugs and a host of other issues like this, then the site is perhaps more left than right. Today I read an article criticising Al Gore for eating meat, Home Depot (a large corp.) doing it's bit for the environment and safety concerns over energy-efficient lightbulbs. All topics that you'd more likely find on a right-wing agenda. I also loved the site's stance on the "declaration of journalistic independence" which is a manefesto that clearly outlines all the ways that the site attempts to maintain impartiality. THe sad truth is though that when you attack anything the current government does, you're a leftie. If you attack Al Gore or possible side effects of energy-efficiency, you're on the right. In the end, the old adage is true...no good deed goes unpunished. It's something that I, as a writer who does this in his spare time for pennies, come across every day for simply trying to help people out. C'est la vie.
I often did this trick on fellow drinkers to get a free drink. I would bet someone I could hold a lit cigarette between my thumb and index finger with the lit end on the finger and the filter on the thumb....and hold it there longer than they could. Before offering the trick, I would order an ice cold drink in a glass, preferably an ice slush daquiri, and hold the glass between my thumb and index finger the entire time I explained the bet. Then, I would offer to go first, puff a good red hot coal at the end of the cigarette and commence to hold it between my fingers. By the time I put the cigarette between my fingers, they were numb with cold, and it would take about 20 seconds for the ash to warm them up to where it might start hurting, and I would casually take the cigarette away and offer it to them. Usually, I would have no takers. Sometimes they would try and drop the hot cigarette immediately. Give it a try if you smoke. Now, I don't smoke any longer, so I don't do any more.
Especially since the summary suggested that the website was "neutral" info. Moreover, I feel a bit embarassed, as I just started recommending wisebread.com to friends/family. Hopefully, this is just a fluke and not a portent of things to come.
No love for Linux users, I guess. As more and more migrate to *nix (Linux/Unix/etc.)-based systems, the term "PC" (as opposed to a mac) will need to be redefined. For all intents and purposes, a mac is a PC -- personal computer, after all.
But, as I'm still learning my way around my Xubuntu desktop, I'll need to keep reminding myself that it still is a Windows-centric software world out there.
I had trouble with the pizza stone so I started using a 12" cast iron skillet. This helps keep the contents of the pizza on the pizza. Use a generous amount of canola oil to coat the skillet beforehand and you get a great crispy layer on the dough.
Pizza is so adaptable to different eating styles. To change things up, sometimes I use alfredo sauce, rather than tomato sauce. Admittedly, though, I don't regularly make alfredo sauce from scratch.
I just hang up on them...
That's exactly what we're doing tonight. Wheat crust, chicken, pesto, mushroom and parmesan pizza. Yeah, baby!
Thursday, I think you've started a pizza brainstorming avalanche here.