I love to read recipe books and I am guessing that many readers here are the same. I can pour over them for hours. I've been that way my entire life. As a child I would sit and read my mother's recipe books the way some young people now pour over Harry Potter.

She had one recipe book that was aimed at new brides. If my memory serves it was actually a free gift to brides who registered with Carson Piere Scott in the 1950's. It was all about budgeting, meal plans for the year, what to make for holidays, what to serve when HIS folks visited, and what to serve when YOUR folks visited. It was fascinating. One of the sections was titled "The Tale of Three Chickens". It explained how three chickens could be used for a variety of meals all through the week.

I think of this often. I have entered a new stage in life, kids all grown, mid-life, in the process of divorce. I find myself living in a shared apartment on a tight budget. No longer cooking for five, but cooking for one. And I am stretching a chicken as far as it will go.

The local grocery store here sells rotisserie chickens. They are a good deal actually, for a few bucks more than a raw chicken you can pick one up hot and seasoned. Better yet is that my grocery store sells the left over chickens the next day, already cooked and cooled for half the price. There is nothing wrong with day old chicken, and at that price I find them impossible to resist.

Frugal, tasty and simple. Who could ask for anything more?

Monday night it's a cold chicken sandwich, or for an occasional change up a chicken salad sandwich. I don't do mayo, so I spread smashed avocado on my bread, or use it as the "binder" in the chicken salad. Depending on my mood, the salad might be the old standby with celery and onions, pepper and salt, or I might go poultry seasoning and cranberry sauce for that Thanksgiving flair. Or check out my spice cabinet...curry, or italian, frech provincial, mexican...the possibilities are endless!

Tues, I grab a leg and thigh. I make up a quick gravy with a powdered mix, or watered down instant hummus (if you don't know about this product you are missing out on serioulsy quick and tasty meals) or gravy made up with nutritional yeast powder. These take about five minutes to make, and are easily mixed up while the chicken nukes in the microwave. I find the best way to heat meat is to put it on twice the normal time and half the power. It heats more evenly and comes out with a better texture.

For a starch for the gravy, I use rice or grains (I usually cook up a weeks supply on Sun and just have to reheat single portions the rest of the week), or half a baked potato (another one of those things I cook up on my day off for use all week). Add whatever veggies or fruit you have handy and another great chicken based meal.

On Wed (or the next week, chicken meat freezes well) I pull apart some breast meat, season it and use it as a filler for chicken crepes or enchiladas. It works just as well in an omelet.

On Thurs, I am tired of chicken, so I eat something else, but take the remaining meat off the bones, stash it in freezer or fridge and put the carcass in a pot of water and make chicken stock. I add seasonings to my stock; garlic, celery seed, bay leaf etc. Then I drain out the bones, solids etc, and put the stock in the fridge. The next day I skim the solidified fat off the top. I can either freeze the stock (ziplock bags work just as well as snap top containers) or keep it for Friday night dinner. The stock will keep in the fridge for a few days, so it'll be just as good Sat or Sun too.

Chicken soup is an old standard. You can dress it up any way you like. A favorite of mine is tortilla soup. A Mexican spiced soup with a base of stock and tomatoes, with strips of corn tortillas in place of noodles. If I don't already have corn tortillas on hand, I make "rivels" by mixing masa harina with an egg till I have a stiff dough, and dropping small balls of this into the simmering soup. It creates small dumplings and thickens the broth at the same time. Very yummy. I serve my tortilla soup with chopped peppers, and avocados.

The stock could also be used for traditional chicken and dumplings, with some of the left over meat added with lots of veggies, and biscuit dough cumplings on top.

The stock makes a great base for a vegetable soup, either the clear or creamed version.

Any leftover meat is great pulled apart, heated with barbacue sauce and made into a hot sanwich.

And one last meal, Chicken a la King. Rich and creamy with mushrooms and a glug glug of cooking sherry, it really is a meal fit for a king!

All this from the starter of a 3.99 already cooked chicken!

If you are cooking for a couple, buy two chickens, for a family, go with the traditional three chickens.

I love old recipe books, don't you?

 

Up until very recently in human history, people ate what was seasonally and regionally on hand. Though a certain amount of food trade has been going on for millenia, this consisted primarily of things that didn't spoil, or livestock. I find myself with natural seasonal eating, craving more carbs in Winter, and passing by fresh "Summer" veggies and fruits for winter squash and sweet potatoes. It just feels right.

Part of my pagan religious/spiritual tradition is focusing on doing what comes naturally, recognizing the sacred in daily life and demonstrating gratitude by embracing it.

The term "holiday" is derived from holy day. A day set aside to observe, honor, commemorate or celebrate something that moves people's souls. Many holidays have associated foods. In America the Summer is begun and ended with a barbacue on Memorial and Labor Day. Champagne is a staple on New Year's Day, and turkey is standard for Thanksgiving. Those are, for the most part, secular holidays, and though many people have lost the practice, holy days have associated foods as well.

Food is a critical part of nearly any gathering, and has always played a role in religious practice. Many Christian churches regularly celebrate a Eucharist or Communion meal.

I think most people tend to associate holidays with feasts, with celebrations rather than observations. But not all holy days are feasts, and sometimes we find the spiritual in the quiet and solid, rather than the showy and rich. I find that this holy day, the cross quarter between Winder Solstice and Spring/Vernal Equinox, to be just such a holy day. In seasonal terms, for many of our ancestors, it was a time when the makings for a feast were running low, or had already run out. A modern equivalent would be us feeling the pinch in our budgets following the excess of Christmas. Late Winter is the time many of our ancestors lived "close to the bone". I wonder if that term refers to OUR bones, or those of the animals killed and eaten for food, since vegetables were running low!

These days it's easy to get our hands on all the fresh foods that we enjoy in any other season. Yes, we will pay a premium for cantalope and blueberries, but they are nearly always in the produce section, no matter how much snow may be on the ground outside. Still, the bins are full of seasonal bounty, and the prices reflect what is available in abundance.

This crossquarter goes by many names, religious and secular. Imbolc, Groundhog Day, candlemas, Lupercalia to name some of the more common ones. Each religion and culture has noted this day in it's own way. In the Northern Hemisphere this is traditionally a day of scarcity with hope. We don't have a variety and abundance on our tables, the we are looking towards Spring and the early signs are there. Imbolc refers to the fact that the ewes are dropping lambs and beginning to give milk. And of course some of that milk finds it's way onto the table.

In my faith, this day starts the Season of Austerity. It sounds a lot scarier than it is. It is a recognition that resources might be running low in a physical sense, but our needs are met and we look forward with hope. It is a good time to discern what are wants and what are needs in our lives. And though it is not a holy day or season of feasting or fasting, food is, of course, involved.

In the Christian tradition this is about the time Lent begins, 40 days (in my faith the season lasts six weeks as well, due to celestial forces) and it is a season of fasting and delving into the spiritual. It's not hard to imagine how fasting became a tradition, not all of it was self imposed. In order to get people through the rest of Winter with needs met and hope sustained encouraging them to wisely budget their remaining supplies, that their physical needs might be bet was a blessing, not a sacrifice. Some people associate Lent with giving up something well loved, as some sort of penance. Really it's an opportunity. If nothing else, whenever we pass on the thing we want, and instead reach for what we need, we are reminded of the spiritual aspects of the season.

So, how does this play out in a pagan faith? Simple. In a word, simple. Use what is on hand, to meet our need, and let ourselves get a sense of what is want. Make use of more seasonal food, and less luxury food. Pass on the blueberries and reach for the sweet potatoes. Simple. Eat what has been collecting in the pantry and freezer. Use up what we've stored before heading to the store.

Also consider what are nutritional needs are. We know what we want, but are we getting what we need? There is a little book titled "God's Diet" by Dr Dorothy Gault McNemee. It is not a religious book, but an introduction to a simple diet, a daily diet, not one focusing on weight loss. The very simple premise is this. If it didn't grow on a tree, come out of the ground, get picked off a plant or walk or swim, don't eat it. Cut out refined foods. If God didn't make it, don't eat it.

There is no calorie counting, deprivation or hand wringing involved. Eat what you want, as long as it's still recognizable as food. This little book, and it's good common sense seriously changed the way I eat. For some, it might feel like deprivation at first, and as much as I like this way of eating, there are times when I still eat refined foods. But for the most part I follow the simple guidelines. During this season, I am going to follow them more closely.

I don't find the Season of Austerity to be a buzz kill. I look forward to it. It makes things simpler, actually takes a weight off of my life. When I am not running about chasing down wants, I am better able to enjoy and appreciate getting my needs taken care of. Meals become easier to prepare. I have permission to stop watching reruns on TV, and get around to watching the movie I've been meaning to, or read a book, or talk a walk. The closets get cleaned, the pantry becomes less cluttered. In six weeks I will be very ready for Spring.

Over the next six weeks I will share some recipes and eating ideas that are appropriate for the season. Making use of winter crops and veggies, or what we have stored in the back of the pantry. Many of them will follow God's diet, and most of them will be appropriate for Lent, if that is your way of navigating these last weeks of Winter. For today, here is a suggestion that is perfect for Imbolc, incorporating winter crops, milk and cheese. Cream of Brocolli Soup.

You can find 1000 recipes on line, give it a Google.

And Happy Ground Hog day! Everyone is poised, hoping for Spring.

 

Traveling season is fast approaching, when day trips, cross country adventures, camping and hiking call us to stretch our winter weary muscles and air out our cabin fevered minds.

When I travel/camp/hike, I have a few food situations that call for creative handling. Cost, space, health, and keeping properties without refrigeration (I don't have one of those mini auto fridges)

Here are a few of MY on the road food ideas.

As you drive, it's just as easy to stop at a grocery store as at a convenience store. You can use the rest room, wash your hands, and pick up fresh fruit, yogurt, or heck, even a rotisserie chicken. I keep paper towels and plastic ware in my car at all times. This is cheaper and healthier than rest stop and convenience store offerings.

Nuts, seeds and dried fruit, are healthy, portable and require no refrigeration. The same goes for hard cheeses.

Boxed cereal, is good eaten out of hand.. It's cheaper than most granola if you are on a budget.

Peanut butter and bread..jelly if you roll that way

I drink water and refill my bottles whenever I stop.

If I am traveling with someone who doesn't want water...powdered lemonade, sports drink or tea is quick and cheap.

I like to nibble while I drive. I keep a pint of fresh berries in the drink holder, way healthier for me than chips, and when you do the math, they don't cost much more.

Yogurt keeps in the trunk even when it gets pretty warm. (I always use plain, I can't vouch for the keeping capacity of fruit yogurt)

Hard boiled eggs keep a day or two, and are very portable. The boiling essentially sterilizes them, I know that the sanitation gurus will lynch me for this, but I've tried it, and it works. I wouldn't recommend it in blazing temperatures, but they are great for a day hike, or to supplement breakfast the second day on the road.

I've lived out of my trunk for many a long weekend without ever once stopping at a restaurant. I make a creative challenge out of eating healthy and cheap when I travel. I start the day with a stop at a grocery store for fruit and veggies and go on from there.

What smart traveling/camping/hiking food tips do YOU have?