What is it with scraps/leftovers? It seems that every time I get some new fabric, I tend to come home and create a new quilt primarily out of scraps I already had on hand. Some of my best quilts come from my ever-growing scrap boxes. Having to work with less seems to ignite my creative spirit to see how far I can stretch things. Yes, the new fabrics eventually get used but that just renews the scrap boxes and . . .
The same goes with my cooking/baking. My most memorable meals or baked goods have come from those before pay day weeks when I have to make do with what I have on hand. I guess it just shows that no matter how little it seems I have on hand, you can come up with a warm meal or a warm quilt!
I read about a man who loved to quilt. It was during either the Depression or a war so he had to be extremely thrifty in his use of fabric. He would cut postage-sized pieces of fabric and come up with the most beautiful quilts. A yard of fabric in his hands certainly went a lot further than it does in mine . . . even with my scrap collection.
I suppose that idea of thrift and care for what we are blessed with seeped into my ideas about cooking/baking. I enjoy the times I have to forage through the freezer and cupboards to produce a meal. Knowing that the lean times do arrive rather frequently, I watch my use of food in the 'abundant' times!
We love roasted chicken but I never throw away the carcass. It goes into the freezer and, eventually, makes a great pot of broth. The same goes for roasts and pork bones. Sometimes, I have an extra boneless chicken breast left. It is amazing how a pot of soup comes together with the broth, the finely chopped up chicken leftover, a few carrots, and some pasta or dumplings. Thrift and love . . . they seem to come hand in hand when it comes to providing for the family!
One of our favorite, thrifty snacks was 'invented' by my husband.
4 cup all- purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon salt
Enough cool water to form a workable dough
Enough oil for frying
Stir the yeast into about a quarter up of cool water. Add this to the flour and salt. Mix in water gradually until you have a workable dough. It shouldn't be too firm but you don't want loose and sticky either.
Roll out pieces of the dough and cut into strips. A pizza cutter works great. Drop them into the hot fat (I use a large, heavy frying pan for this) and fry until golden. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with either powdered sugar or a cinnamon/sugar mix.
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