HANDS UP ~ ANYONE WHO CAN AFFORD TO THROW OUT FOOD!

What! There's no-one!

I went through my fridge this morning in my usual monthly purge and came across some still recognizable vegetables. 'Soup' ~ they screamed at me! Soup it was.

Presenting -- The vegetables that were crying 'SOUP' ~~~

Ok, so everyone has vegetables that have seen better days lurking in their refrigerator bins but, what the heck do you do with them after they reach this stage? If you are anything like me and are loth to throw anything that is still useable out, you will appreciate this little maneuver to avoid burning a $20 dollar bill !

Because after peeling and discarding what can't be used, these worn out veggies take on another appearance - a usable one.

And the parsnip that you'd likely throw out; take another look:

under the skin is a parsnip begging not to be tossed, but chopped and added to a soup or stew.

So, lets get going here...

Here are my  prepped, seen-better-days vegetables looking pretty good and ready for use.

Saute using spray vegetable oil, spices, garlic, onion and frozen tomato paste (more on that in a later blog).

My helpful husband pouring in the prepared broth; I prepare this in a different way as well, more in a later blog.

Here I've added slightly wilted onion greens 

Presto! Vegetable Soup for dinner on a cold and snowy evening; in from work from the blast of winter! 

Enjoy.

Catspaw

~~~ ! Here Comes The Vegetable Man ! ~~~

Veggiefella knows (the weather) 

October 12, 2009 Organic Carrots for Market Garden

                     The Veggiefella knows the weather…

He knows it’s foggy....
Because he can’t find his way to the garden.

He knows it’s sunny….
Because he can see his shadow.

He knows it’s windy….
Because his hat keeps blowing off his head.

He knows it’s raining….
Because his back is getting wet.

He knows the UV index is high….
Because his skin is turning red.

He knows it’s a clear night….
Because the big fat moon is shining on his face,

He knows when he opens his door and there is not a weed in sight....
He should close the door and go back inside, Because outside it’s far too white.

                                   Because “you know” what happened.

August 1, 2009 Organically Grown Peas for Market Garden

This was written and posted on December 9, 2009  on: http://veggiefella.blogspot.ca/  by friends of mine in Alberta, Canada who are organic market gardeners. You can check out their site, The Veggie Fella, on the right side of my blog just above my picture of Emerald. 

Catspaw

 

Innovative Ideas For Cat Treats

If you have as many cats as I do; I have four and one who adopted us as his owners, plus a variety of dairy cats that drop in from day to day... Then having a trick or two up your cat treat cupboard isn't a bad idea. 

I started out buying the little packages of Temptations, Purina Luvs and Friskies Party Mix. 

Unfortunately while my cats love them and look forward to their treat time with them, its a very small amount of treat when compared with the price so I don't buy them in the department stores and I certainly don't shop pet stores. Dollarama and other Dollar Stores that stock them is my place to shop for treats. When I started adding up my pennies, I was none too impressed with what I was spending -  

over $2 for a 60 gram pack of Luvs or Party Mix

and well over $2 for Temptations!!!   I don't think so anymore.

It was time to take action and make some innovative changes to their treats and my pocketbook!

So, what do you do?

In the past I have experimented with making my own feed for them but frankly, to do it right will cost you more than buying these treat packs. Cats are meat eaters, not vegetarians; after the research I did searching out professional vets and other people who are into the whole 'natural food' thing for cats and dogs, like catching rabbits and using them as a base food for cats because they are closest to their usual prey... Well, I found the pricing of the ingredients I would need to purchase (off island, no less), was just too expensive to even contemplate, not to mention the storage I'd have to maintain. Nor was I in the mood to set tiny traps around the house in a vain attempt to catch, then do I don't know what with, the mice and other critters that might be trapped. Besides, it would be very time consuming and if they weren't deceased I'd have to get my husband to do the deed and it would just get far to messy in the long run.

I point this out because I've reviewed many a video on Utube of people who are doing this at home and feeding their animals the most unsuitable concoctions and calling it 'homemade cat food'. Like humans, they need a certain diet that cannot and should not be 'played around' with. Its a good thing cats digestive systems are highly adaptable, otherwise they'd likely become extinct!

And yes, I do have some recipes for homemade cat treats though I have yet to discover an ingredient combination that my furry friends won't turn their pert little noses up at. So far, I've had little success in this area as well. I quickly decided against the homemade cat food and cat treat ideas in favor of re-inventing the wheel a little bit here and came up with a workable solution. 

And --- Here it is... simple, straightforward and friendly to both my feline friends and my wallet! Heck, it even works with Bluejays in a pinch.

 Look familiar?   Is you're cat like this?  Mine too.

And thus, it gave me an idea - (LIGHT BULB anybody)! I figured out the cost between the pack of treats and a bag of a little higher quality cat food and worked out that it would cost me far less to purchase a bag of the stuff than splurge on tiny packs. What an idea! If great minds think alike... I've tried several different varieties of cat foods to see which are the preferred favorites.

A 500 gram bag of Whiskas Meaty Selections works but they tire of the same old, same old. So off I went with the different varieties of Friskies Sensations, to everyone's happiness. Today I decided on something a little out of the way and purchased a 3.5 pound bag of Special Kitty Cuisine; 2 actually... worked like a charm when I got home. 

All I can say is that its worked better for us and them and if you are caught between the cat bowl and the treat dilemma, give this a try and see how it works for you. 

Catspaw