Welcome to Stirred: shop and cook on a budget
Freezer Cubes from vegetable scraps and Apple Cider Vinegar Coleslaw
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Welcome to my food section Stirred
I grew up in Switzerland but have strong roots in Italian cuisine. I live in Canada and my children’s family have links to Latvian/Baltic cuisine. I merge all my culinary knowledge into my cooking.
In this food-related section I will be posting all things food, from shopping and cooking on a budget to eating to sampling. Yes, I am that person at the table or in the restaurant who takes photos of her food. #sorrynotsorry
A little background:
I spent my formative years in Switzerland (near Zürich) but was actually born in Canada. I was 2 when we went to Europe and 11 when we came back to Canada. But I have strong roots in Italian cuisine; my father was Italian and my mother’s paternal side of the family is Swiss-Italian. My children’s paternal family have Latvian roots.
I cook Canadian, Italian (Mediterranean), Swiss and Latvian/Baltic food but also love Asian, Fusion and especially Mexican.
Note: I have a very exciting trip coming up in April and will be posting food from that culinary adventure. You don’t want to miss that, so stay tuned and tell your friends to subscribe!
What is Stirred?
I wrote a short introduction about this section and posted it to my Digital Content Shop on gumroad (a platform). This PDF is free to download and read. Simply enter 0 in the price point (zero) and follow the prompts.
Click the image to download and read the PDF.
Food prices and shrinkflation
Food prices are through the roof since the pandemic was officially (?) declared over. Have you noticed this? Trying to select good quality food over highly processed ‘discount food’ has never been more challenging.
I don’t want nor do I need four boxes of heavily processed crackers no matter how steep the discount.
One day in early February I went to Sobey’s, a major grocery chain in my region of Canada, and discovered they sold baguettes in half the size from their usual length. The tops of these long, crusty bread sticks no longer poked out of their paper sleeve.
I glanced at the price; same as before. And not on sale, either. Not even ‘buy two get the third at half price’ which has become more and more the norm, particularly for the heavily processed food items.
Ridiculous.
Feeding the family in times of shrinkflation
Cooking for a family under these shrinkflation circumstances has led to an influx of creativity in my kitchen. Although, I must say, I’ve always been creative in the kitchen when it comes to stretching food in the name of economical budgeting. I’m just saying I’ve been even more conscientious about it lately.
For instance, each time I chop veggies, I notice there’s quite a lot of waste: broccoli stems, kale, Swiss chard and rapini stems, the outer peel of fennel, carrot and celery tops and bottoms, scooped-out parts of tomatoes, mushroom stems, the stems of certain herbs… I could keep going.
We compost the veggies for the little veggie plot in the backyard, but I still didn’t like throwing so much food away.
Instead, I now keep a container in my fridge in which I store the discarded veggie bits.
Why?
Because I make these Freezer Cubes.
I like making a variety of flavours, although sometimes I get lazy and mix all the produce together.
Would you like to follow step-by-step instructions on how to make these Freezer Cubes? Click the button below.
Seasonal food in Canada’s winter months
Another way to save on food costs is to purchase in-season items or those that store well which are relatively cheap and provide plenty of sustenance. For instance, we have a lot of cabbage varieties available at this time of year (winter) here in my region in Canada at very affordable prices.
I know what you’re thinking… Cabbage? She wants me to eat cabbage? What am I, a rabbit?
Well, here’s the thing. I’m not a huge fan of cabbage either, but I did experiment a little with coleslaw. I find the ready-to-eat stuff at the stores not particularly appetizing, so I devised my own recipe. It looks like this:
The colour comes from three different types of cabbage plus radishes and carrots. And sometimes apples.
Coleslaw dressing
Did you know Apple Cider Vinegar has health properties none of us should ignore? For one thing, it reduces acidity in the body, so if you drink coffee or wine, or eat processed foods even occasionally, chances are you are acidic. Meat, especially beef, and cow’s milk dairy can increase your acidity levels as well which in turn can decrease well-being.
Here’s an explanation about your body’s pH:
The term ‘pH’ stands for ‘potential of hydrogen,’ which is the measure of a solution’s hydrogen ion concentration. It is a measure of acidity or alkalinity on a scale of 0 to 14.
0 (zero) means extremely acidic, 14 extremely alkaline and 7 is neutral.
source: https://www.theholistichealthapproach.com/blog/finding-ph-balance
Apple Cider Vinegar properties
Apple Cider Vinegar has long been named a super-food by holistic practitioners. We have a naturopath doctor who swears by its health benefits. For me, it’s a bit of an acquired taste; drinking it in a bit of water is icky. I’d rather squeeze fresh lemon into my water which has a similar effect as Apple Cider Vinegar on the body’s acidic levels but tastes much better.
Tip: squeeze fresh lemon into a glass of water before you drink coffee. If you can stomach it, try some diluted Apple Cider Vinegar but for me, lemon water is more palatable.
A good quality Apple Cider Vinegar - preferably organic with the ‘mother’ in it - can easily be added to recipes, especially salad dressing.
Don’t let the look of the ‘mother’ disturb you. It may look a little odd and gives the vinegar a cloudy look, but it’s the part that gives the Apple Cider Vinegar all its health benefits.
But back to the cabbage…
I use Apple Cider Vinegar for the dressing in my coleslaw. I like the taste and I especially like the health benefits.
Would you like to follow step-by-step instructions on how to make Apple Cider Vinegar Coleslaw? Click the button below.
Looking forward to my mysterious trip
As I look forward to my culinary adventure trip, I’m trying to curb my appetite a little now. I want to be able to feel free to sample local food at my destination and not worry about tight clothing… Which is easier said than done. It’s hard during Canadian winters when comfort foods and steaming hot cups of tea with a tasty pastry beckon.
Thank you for reading my post in my new section Stirred. I look forward to entertaining you with my food adventures in the coming months.
And stay tuned for news about my trip!
Meanwhile, I’m still writing, and blogging, and stocking my shops. All my content is streamlined on my website, including my archives from my substack, so fee free to check it out.
To access my recipe collection, click the button below:
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Those short baguettes are ridiculous. It’s a sad state of affairs with the groceries.