That wasn't until almost 7pm, so I wasn't very hungry all day. Ate some rice, some strawberries, drank some soda. i think I've hit the limit of how far I can scale back on caffeine, btw- thinking is beyond scatty at this point, and the withdrawal headache is pretty much constant.
With the AC on, I won't feel so bad about real cooking and baking, or need to do it in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. Which is odd, because I'll be heating up the house with the oven, just to cool it back off with the AC. For some reason this seems "less bad" than inconveniencing the roommates with a hot house.
But what that means is that as soon as I finish making the baba (the eggplant needed to cook a bit more, I found out when I cut it open- easy fix) I can make some pita. It's super easy to make and keeps pretty good in the fridge or freezer. Pita, baba, and one of the cans of chickpeas turned into hummus is a pretty good couple day's random med-style / mid-east style cold plate. If it weren't $10 a pound, I might even hit the olive bar at EarthFare or Whole Foods for a couple kalamatas, but I don't think even 3 are in my budget.
Oh, and thanks to Laura, who reminded me of the magic of popcorn- I have it in the freezer and everything, waiting to be popped. I just need to come up with some sort of re-usable, close fitting lid for the wok. Maybe a spatter guard would work? i'm not sure though- is the lid there just to keep the popcorn in, or is it to keep the heat in too?
You can pop corn in the microwave. Just put 3 tablespoons of popcorn in a brown paper bag, fold over the opening 3 times and cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes or so. No oil or mess.
ReplyDeleteSee if you can find a salvage store that sells food. Olives are about a dollar a jar at a couple of stores I go to. I've also bought quinoa for a dollar a pound, rice at thirty cents a pound, and gourmet cheese at two dollars a pound.
ReplyDeleteA cheaper caffeine fix is iced tea - there is almost as much caffeine in tea as in coffee - sometimes more, and you don't need all that many tea bags to make a lot of iced tea, so it isn't that expensive. I make sure I add hot water from the tap to the bags in the jug I use and then refrigerate it - that way it steeps stronger and you need less bags for a decently strong tea.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow caffeine addict, there's no reason to suffer. ;)
i think the lid is just to keep the popcorn in. i use a round baking sheet when i need to cover my wok
ReplyDelete@Julia- The home-made popping bag is a great idea. By brown paper bag, I'll assume you mean the ones kids used to take lunch in, right?
ReplyDelete@laughing- I didn't think of trying them for olives. I know big lots gets them in occasionally, and jarred or canned food is usually fine from them, I've had infestation problems before with their grains and dry boxed stuff.
@Kim- I even have an electric kettle, to heat the water extra hot, extra fast. Maybe if I keep tea and simple syrup in the fridge, I can have easy, sweet tea whenever I want. Only problem I run into is that I like tea sweet, but I'm not used to eating/ drinking that much sugar. Guess I could wean myself off sweetened tea, too...
@Maureen- ooh, useful- I hadn't thought of a round baking sheet. I bet I could get one of those at the thrift shop for a buck or less.
Thanks ladies (?), these are all great help. Now I'm off to get some food. I'm starving today, but after yesterday, no big surprise, right?
I went anti-sugar a few years ago, stopped puttin it in my tea and coffee cold turkey - never even missed it. I discovered that the actual flavors of coffee and tea are pretty good, and when you put sugar in it, you miss out.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a diet coke addict, and for the sake of my budget, bought the generic grocery store label last week. It is definitely different, but not enough to keep me from buying it again. 12 cans for 2.50 is just too good a deal to pass up.