Saving dough

Best and simple home made french fries.

2009-08-30T04:55:00.001-07:00

I love french fries. I believe everyone loves them as well. Home made fries can be a bit tricky because of our limited fryer. This is where things have gone wrong, For a long time I have tried every advice from the expert chief from Emerald to Martha Steward and everyone in between. Out of desperation, I decide to understand what was everyone doing to work for them, but no for me or you.

From the start a lots of ideas were flying around; blanch in hot water first, soak in ice water overnight , don't rise them , rise them, freeze them after the first frying, first frying at low temperature, them rise the temperature, fry only a some amount a a time, etc.... Feel free to leave your personal french fries trick in the comments, I will add it in later.

Here is what I have observe.
1/Timing don't matter it is all about what your potato are doing.
2/Temperature don't matter. Because soon as you put your potato in, the temperature will drop almost 100 F, during the first frying, and less during the second frying.
3/What do you mean by "small" amount at a time...

So here it is folks:

What you will need:

I love this gadget it works great and is worth 20 bucks giving all the money you will be saving by making your own best fries at home You can buy it at here.

A Spider untensil what is it?\
Peanut oil
Digital thermometer
Cast iron dutch oven filler half way with peanut oil
Brown grocery paper bags cut off all but a couple inches from the bottom these are my holding/draining baskets

The Process:
Bring to oil to 375-400, above 375 is fine.
Load the spider with as much fries as you can (10-14 oz on average).
SHUT OFF THE GAS if you are using gas top stove. Just in case of boil over.
Slowly lower the spider in the oil. If it looks like the oil may boil over, rise the fries out of the oil. Use the same technique as deep frying a turkey. After a few second, you should be able to drop the fries in the oil. Move the fries around slowly so they don't clump. Turn the gas back on to high. For how long you asked? well if everyone had the same dutch oven, the same stove, started at the same temperature, and used the same amount of fries, I would have an idea, but there are to many variables. So I cannot tell.

Now observe your fries, and wait until they are most all floating. This is when you know that the first frying is done.
Remove the fries and put them in the cut off paper bag. I keep my bags at a slight angle to drain the oil to one side.

Reapeat the process with the remaining fries. Use one paper bag per batch.

Once you are done with the first frying, bring the oil back to 375 plus degree. Turn off the gas, slowly empty a bag of blanch fries into the oil. Turn the heat back on, move the fries around so to browning them evenly.

Once they are nice of golden, remove the fries and put them into a large bowl lined with a paper towel. Repeat for the remaining fries. Salt, pepper and enjoy your crispy fries!

FYI THE COST, THE SAVING AND THE UGLY
Potatoes from costco :20Lbs for 9.13. Gas usage a penny. Peanut oil, had it from my deep fry turkey day. To fry up one pound of home made french fries cost me about 0.46 dollars McDonald's medium size fries serving (5.2 oz) is about 1.69 dollars or more now days

1 pound of home made fries $0.60
1 pound fast food fries $5.30
1 pound of frozen fries $1.75

How long did it take me from start to finish? about 40 minutes. Even if you drive to the fast food place say 20 minutes round trip. Wait in line 5 10 minutes. it would only be a other 20 minutes before I get my fries ready. And I save on gas...

Making some dough on your spare time

2009-06-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

If you are home alot and have an interest in crafting, you can make nylon flowers arrangements. With a low cost for the raw material, this can be sold for easy 3 to 5 times your investment. Pick up some vases from the goodwill, add some rocks and insert your nylon flowers. Looks like lot of fun as well. Take a look at this demo video from www.newsheer.com

Making some dough on your spare time

Money don't grow on trees, but it does in pots.

2009-06-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Of all the things you can grow in a pot, tomatoes is the least useful plant to grow. Beside, tomatoes are relatively cheap when in season. If I had a limited space to grow anything, I would suggest growing basil. While you can use basil wherever you use tomatoes, it can be propagated very easily. Basil, especial pesto is great with many dishes, including base for pizza, all kinds of meat, pasta, or spread it on toasted bread (home made of course). They are many recipe out on the web, use the one that you like. Just got done making another batch of pesto and got about 5 cups of pesto. Just pour it into a ice cub tray or something like it, freeze it solid. And when it is time to transfer them to your vacuum sealed bags (got a foodsaver? no get one) heat the bottom for a short time. Pop them out and put them back in the freezer for several minutes. Them pack them in the Foodsaver's bag, and freeze them. you will have pesto year around. The cost saving are worth it. I figure I saved about 15 bucks or more. It's like grow money!

Note: also look up the prunning requirment to maximized you harvest.

That's a bad, bad girl.

2009-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Now and when or once a month it seems like, I got to dump that bad bad girl. No matter how much love I have for her, she keeps on going bad. Everything seems fine at the beginning. But as times passes her smell, her taste, turns sour for what ever reason. As I watch her go down the drain with a teary eye, I reminisced the good times we spend together. She was there when I had coffee, or cereal in the morning. But now she's got to go. Time to get a new one. I just hope that the expiration date on this gallon of milk will be longer that the last one.

A good way to stop dumping sour milk is to cook with it right before the expiration date is reached. One way is to make some crepes. It is very simple to do and can be frozen with wax paper between them. I usually roll them up with ham, parsley,white sauce (made with milk), and Swiss cheese. To reheat them, I highly recommend to use a skillet over medium low. The crepe will develop a nice crisp edge which adds another depth to the dish. Serve with a green salad, and a tall glass of fresh milk! Goodby bad girl, hellooo good girl.

Note
If frozen, thaw out overnight or use the microwave thawing option.

Easy bread, and inexpensive

2009-06-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

I had been looking for a fool proof recipe to make french baguettes that was easy and simple with little work(as opposed to a recipe that's perplexing, difficult and virtually guaranteed to fail).
Big thanks to Warren Prince recipe. I have made bread using his technique and I must say that it is easy and wonderful. The bread comes out crusty and light. I have triple the ingredients the last two times I made bread. Why make 4 loafs when you could make 12! It takes the same amount of time and effort.
After I crunched the numbers, given that you buy the bread flour(12 bucks for 50 pounds) and the yeast (4 bucks for a pound) from costco, each loaf cost about 36 cents, including the cost of baking them. I used to buy bread of similar quality for about 2 bucks. Total savings for one day baking 19.98 dollars.
Now you must wonder how can anyone eat so much bread before it goes bad. Simple, you must be french to be able to intake such large quantities of bread in a short time. Other nationalities are just not built to handle all of the bread without OD'ing.
Actually I put them in bags and freeze them(got a big freezer). I used the bags that came with the bread I bought from the store or just wrap them in plastic. They will be as delicious once thawed. Follow this video from Warren Prince.

Turning lead to gold

2009-06-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

In all of history of alchemy , turning lead into gold has been the holly grail. Even Newton dabble around that idea. What Newton and alike did not have to make this come true, was a internal combustion engine, simply put they did not drive. but you do.
I have been turning lead into gold for a long while now. The recipe is simple, take that darn lead foot of ours, lighted it a bit and enjoy your gold, or in this case your savings. I used to drive to work on the freeway at about 70 to 75 mph. When gas got pricey, I slowed down to about 60 mph. The results are as follow. On a full tank, I used to get 286 miles at 70 to 75 mph before the "idiot" light came on. Now by driving at around 60 mph I get about 380 miles per full tank... Turning a lead foot into gold? Works for me.
This is my personal experience with my vehicle result may vary. I also have a stick shift and do lots of coastings when possible. Beside, by lowering your speed, you will avoid the possibility of getting a ticket. Now that is good savings.

Mine is bigger that yours

2009-05-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

It seems that lots of people have a extra fridge in the garage. I personally find it silly, your fridge should be big enough. however, the problem is the freezer. Don't believe me, just take a look at your freezer. It's pack isn't it. I suggest you get a extra freezer, not a extra fridge. You will be able to buy extra items on sale that can be frozen, and save big time. For example, during turkey season when turkey prices are at the lowest,you could buy 3 or 4 frozen turkey for later. I have score many times on items priced for quick sale. Pork loin at 1.69/lbs or prime rib at 1.77/lbs. ground beef at 1.49/lbs. Further more you can freeze home made bread or even milk.
I personally like a none frost free upright style freezer (it uses less energy). Our freezer was on sale and is bigger that our fridge. I got to say that I don't worry about freezer space anymore. Yep, mine is bigger that yours.

Cut the middle man out... on soda water

2009-05-29T09:41:00.002-07:00

Ah summer is around the corner and before you know it, it's going to be pretty damn hot. Nothing like a ice cold sparkling drink. Soda water in my case. You can save a lot by making your own at home, Plus it is extremely environmental friendly. Reuse the same bottle, no trips to the store, etc... However, you need to use purified water. Sparkling tap water taste... no so good, the carbonation brings out the chlorine taste. Anyway, I got one of these DIY soda water contraption some time ago and still love it. check it out at http://www.sodaclub.com/

Loyalty to businesses doesn't always pay

2009-05-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

I really don't have time to write long blogs, but I will post any personal findings that is truly a money saver. I know that some people are very loyal to a company. I had been with Wells Fargo for a couple decade. But one day I got tied of the fees and looked for a alternative bank. My choose was E-Trade. So far I am very happy with them. Another area I looked was the value of the service. By switching from 21st century (car insurance) to Ameriprise (Costco's membership benefit), I lower my insurance cost by 50 bucks AND got 100/300/100 instead of 21st 15/30/5 ! everything else in the policy is pretty much the same. Go Costco!

Loyalty to businesses doesn't always pay... It blinds you!