Saffron on a Turmeric Budget

Only 13 days 'til tax day!!!

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:38:20 -0400

The filing deadline for the Form 1040 is April 17th this year thanks to the weekend and a the Emancipation Day holiday! There are always tons of tax day deals so stay tuned as the day gets closer and I will post a list of restaurant and other miscellaneous 4/17 deals.

25% off at TeasEtc

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:05:40 -0500

Teas Etc is giving 25% off your entire order for today only with the promo code: LOVE. I recommend the Chai and the Meyer Lemon!

http://teasetc.com/

I needed to use the rest of my veggies (a few carrots, celery...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:45:00 -0500

I needed to use the rest of my veggies (a few carrots, celery ribs, potatoes, a yellow pepper and some cabbage) from last week and I had a leftover beef roast from last night so I decided to make a beef stew. I also found something to do with the last bit of mustard that will never come out of the container-add a little bit of water and then shake, this makes a nice addition to the stew base. Seriously, there’s at least a tablespoon that usually wont come out of the container (and you know I got the mustard for about $.24 during cookout season!). This way it’s nice and clean for the recycle bin :)

$16.38 for 7 cans of pasta sauce, 1 gallon of milk, 4 packs of...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:40:09 -0500

$16.38 for 7 cans of pasta sauce, 1 gallon of milk, 4 packs of gum, 4 boxes of cereal, 1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts and 1 package of cookies. The best part of the deal was the cereal and the milk. The cereal was on sale 2 for $5 and if you bought 4 then you got free milk plus $2 off. Then, I used 2 coupons for $1 and I doubled them both. Here’s the math (2for $5=$10, $10-$2(for buying 4 boxes)-$4(2 $1 coupons, doubled)=$4 for 4 boxes of cereal and the free gallon of milk!

I've been sick...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:22:48 -0500

But thanks to tons of tea, vitamin C and some cold medicine I’m feeling much better. I just found out that one of my favorite bloggers, the Pioneer Woman, has a show on Food Network. I like her because she lives on a ranch, cooks in cast iron, and has a huge garden. Also, every recipe that I have tried from her blog has been awesome-especially her monkey bread (see Christmas morning post). Super exciting. http://thepioneerwoman.com/

I took this one on Monday night!

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:10:33 -0500

I took this one on Monday night!

And this was taken this morning. I can’t believe how...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:51:02 -0500

And this was taken this morning. I can’t believe how quickly they are changing size!

These mushrooms increase in size very quickly-you can almost see...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:49:48 -0500

These mushrooms increase in size very quickly-you can almost see them changing when you look at them! This was taken last night.

One of my favorite things (as you may know) is the mushroom....

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:46:00 -0500

One of my favorite things (as you may know) is the mushroom. For Christmas, a friend got me a Back to the Roots mushroom growing kit and I finally have some spores! The kit grows edible Oyster mushrooms and it claims that you can grow up to 1.5lbs with one kit. http://backtotheroots.com/

$13.72 for: 3 lemons, 1 ginger root, 1 head romaine, 1...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:43:28 -0500

$13.72 for: 3 lemons, 1 ginger root, 1 head romaine, 1 pineapple, 1 head cabbage, 1 head cauliflower, 2lbs carrots, 3 avocados, 1 beet, 7 oranges, 9 apples, 9 tomatoes, 6 pablanos, and 7 jalapenos! Macpherson’s produce stand in Beacon Hill has even better deals than my Sunrise stand on 65th. Driving to South Seattle one day a week seems worth it to me!

I Love Groupons!

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:39:08 -0500

One of my colleague’s purchased a $50 groupon for Blue Water Bistro in Greenlake for $20 and it expired this week so she gave it to me since she wasn’t going to be able to use it! Nick and I got Thai wings, spinach salad topped with blackend salmon, a bbq chicken pizza and a giant Tollhouse cookie topped with ice cream for $49.72! The entire thing only cost us a $10 tip!

I have a friend who has an annual ritual called “sober...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:32:36 -0500

I have a friend who has an annual ritual called “sober January” where she doesn’t drink any alcohol in the month of January as sort of a detox from the holiday season-not to mention a detox for your wallet! Nick and I decided to give up coffee and alcohol for the month of January so I have been drinking even more tea than usual and Nick has been drinking tea everyday as well (he was never a tea drinker before). I have mostly been brewing Meyer Lemon and Coconut Almond but tonight I pulled out the big guns-using my Yixing pot, I brewed some Green Dragon Oolong which is my favorite oolong not to mention it’s elite status in the tea world. http://www.teasetc.com/details.asp?prodid=0407

Tomato sauce was on sale for $1.50 each and if you bought 2 then...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:06:09 -0500

Tomato sauce was on sale for $1.50 each and if you bought 2 then you got a free package of pasta. I bought 4 and got 2 free packages of pasta. Sadly, I paid the sale price (no additional coupon discounts on this one). I made meatballs this week and served them over my free angel hair pasta. I used the tomato sauce as a base and added diced tomatoes, garlic, onion and some other spices and made a nice marinara sauce. Tasty and cheap!

Sherbert, the sorbet of the South. I have loved sherbert since...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:01:47 -0500

Sherbert, the sorbet of the South. I have loved sherbert since I was a kid and my grandma bought those big gallon pails of it. I invented this cool drink on New Years Eve, I like to call it “Tiffosa”. It’s champagne with rainbow sherbert. Sort of a sherbert float.

I got a ton of free salad last week and I just used the...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:51:54 -0500

I got a ton of free salad last week and I just used the remainder of it tonight. Someone at my office found a great deal on organic spring mix (aka yard trash) so he bought like 6 containers of it and brought it to the office. Thank you John! Then I gave someone a ride to the airport and since they were going to be gone for a bit, they gave me their perishables-I scored two apples, a head of red leafy lettuce, and half of a container of sour cream. I love free produce!

Nick loves a cheese steak so I used the last of our leftover...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:47:02 -0500

Nick loves a cheese steak so I used the last of our leftover steak added blue cheese crumbles and Tillamook cheddar-he was very pleased.

I turned the leftover steak and veggies into delicious beef stir...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:45:55 -0500

I turned the leftover steak and veggies into delicious beef stir fry with brown rice.

Since it is the end of the month, I am using the remainder of my...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:56:45 -0500

Since it is the end of the month, I am using the remainder of my perishable grocery items that I had from December. I had sour cream, eggs, carrots and a zucchini in the refrigerator so I made roasted beef with a mustard cream sauce over fresh noodles. I didn’t have to buy any new ingredients!

Nick loves monkey bread so I made some on Christmas morning and...

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:05:53 -0500

Nick loves monkey bread so I made some on Christmas morning and we shared it with some friends at brunch. I found this great recipe. It’s extra “cinnamony”! http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/monkey-bread/

I was asked to bring the dessert for Christmas Eve dinner. I...

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:17:59 -0500

I was asked to bring the dessert for Christmas Eve dinner. I looked at what I had on hand and came up with Almond Caramel Apple Tart. I had a pie crust, two apples, and spiced cider caramel sauce. I bought cream cheese and made an almond cream cheese frosting. Shaved the apples. Drizzled with spiced cider caramel and here we are.