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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Five Frugal Things.

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From free sandwich makers to picnics, I’ve had a pretty frugal week – with one notable exception. Read on to learn more!

1. I received a free replacement for my breakfast sandwich maker.
I’ve been a major fan of the breakfast sandwich maker from Hamilton Beach for YEARS now – my parents got theirs first and I quickly followed suit and have never been disappointed. My beloved longtime sandwich maker finally began to show its age awhile back – the nonstick coating began to peel off, which is both unsightly and unhealthy – and so I ordered a new one. It arrived and all seemed well – until I realized the timer wasn’t working properly, either leaving my sandwiches to scald or refusing to cook them at all. I emailed Hamilton Beach and they sent me a new one right away! I shall save the cooking rings from the old one and have two backups for easy cleanup. I’m a very satisfied customer!

2. We feasted on a homemade picnic at this weekend’s outdoor concert.
In the spring, we bought tickets to see Beck play with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap here in Virginia, and the date finally arrived! While we could have either purchased a bunch of food for a picnic or gone out to a nearby-ish restaurant before the show, LeeLee and I did what we always do: Enjoyed a homemade picnic with all the fixings, including tofu-salad sandwiches (in an egg-salad style), fruit salad, hummus and more. We did splurge on beautifully crafted “toaster pastries” from our local bakery at the farmer’s market, but that was really just a matter of stimulating the local economy, no?

3. The Leftover Revolution continues.
It may not be sexy, but it’s effective: We’re still making excellent use of our leftovers, and our grocery savings are showing the results! Just this week so far we’ve enjoyed Monday-night pasta left over from Friday night’s Olympics opening ceremonies festivities; several servings of peach caflouti also left over from Friday night; fruit salad from Saturday, integrated into weekday lunches; onion rings and yellow squash from Sunday night’s cookout, also integrated into lunches; and more!

4. I’ve been more judicious about our laundry schedule.
On the heels of an awesomely low water bill, I have decided I want to push the envelope even further! As a result, I’m tightening up my laundry schedule, trying to stretch the days between washings while I’m more strategic about what I wear and when. Can I get the bill lower by another tick on the bar chart? Time will tell!

5. And, finally, a frugal fail: I paid out of pocket for my oil change. (Boo.)
I was due for an oil change – past due, in fact – this week, and made an appointment at the dealership (as my car is still under warranty) to have it taken care of. First, reader, I thought that this oil change was covered under my limited warranty, as the last one was, but I was sorely mistaken on that front. And then I realized too late that I could have used my FordPass points balance to pay for the oil change – and did not! The checkout clerk did ask if I wanted to use them, but I’ve been saving them for some rubber floor mats and so I declined. Only after I left did I realize that I have enough points for both the floor mats and the oil change. I feel foolish about it, but I won’t make that mistake again!

What frugal wins and fails have you seen this week? Let us know in the comments!

:)

Vegetarian Travel Guide: Chay Restaurant, Falls Church, Va.

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Chay Restaurant, 6351 Columbia Pike, Suite 201, Falls Church, Va.
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
Menu: https://www.chayrestaurant.com/menu
Suitable for: Lovers of Vietnamese food — and/or noodles!

Here’s one thing I find interesting about post-pandemic life: LeeLee and I don’t visit nearly as many restaurants as we used to on a weekly basis. In fact, these days it’s nothing at all for us to maybe go out once each week individually with friends or for work, but in terms of going out together? On a date?! Well. It’s a rarity, indeed, at the moment.

Some of this has to do with new habits established during the pandemic, where we were home all the ding-dang time. Some of it, too, has to do with the higher cost of dining out right now, due to rising supply prices and overall inflation. Put it all together and we just don’t go out much at all. Which is a terrible shame, when you get right down to it.

So when my birthday rolled around earlier this month, I jumped at the excuse to go out. And even better: To go out and visit a new-to-us restaurant. And even better: It was a new-to-us, all-vegetarian restaurant! And, finally, even better: It’s a Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant! I am a sucker for a noodle, I must say, and Vietnamese is one of my very favorite cuisines. So this was a win-win-win right out of the gate.

Now, one thing you need to know about Chay is that it is a rather intimate experience. This isn’t a huge dining room; rather, it’s a small, cozy place where you might share a six-top with another party if the host staff runs out of space (which happened to us – and was perfectly fine). Also, the Washington Post food reviewer Tom Sietsema reviewed Chay for his Spring Dining Guide, so the word is out – meaning, expect a wait. We arrived pretty early, around 5:45, and still had a brief wait, and by the time we left around 7, the waiting list stretched to about 45 minutes. So plan ahead.

The dining room itself is super-cute, with art on the walls and a fresh, bright and airy vibe, but what we were there for most of all was the food – and it, too, outperformed.

First off, LeeLee ordered a Flower Tea Pot, having no idea what it would turn out to be. He thought it would be a pot for one, but instead it was a pot for both of us, and the dried fruits and edible (drinkable?) flowers that were steeping within the hot water added an immediate air of festivity to the evening. The menu calls it a “small tea pot,” but reader, it carried us throughout the meal.

Next, we ordered some wontons. I can’t remember the last time I had a wonton! It just doesn’t seem like something most restaurants have a vegetarian version of, and I’ve never understood why. Chay’s version was just perfect. Teeming with mushrooms, soy protein and veggies, each wonton was a little parcel of goodness, crispy and golden to perfection. We left not a single molecule.

Next up: Our entrees. LeeLee went with the shaky beef, which is a Vietnamese specialty we’d never had occasion to enjoy given the beef part of the equation. But at Chay, he was able to dig in and savor the flavors as nature intended. And the flavors were intense! At once hearty and dainty, the shaky beef was definitely a hit.

I went with the dry hu tieu noodles, a concert of flavors supplemented in part by the plethora of proteins that graced the bowl. From the vegetarian shrimp to the veggie ham to the soy protein, this bowl had it all, with a passel of noodles besides. I added a generous helping of the accompanying sauce, as well as ladles of the clear broth that also came with the dish, and topped it all with a bit of spicy sauce (more on that in a minute). Heaven!

We finished off the meal with an order of mango sticky rice – I’m a fool for it, and since it was my birthday celebration, I ordered without remorse. LeeLee and I mowed it down in short order and marveled at how it was at once sweet and savory, a perfect metaphor for life itself.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the service, which was top-notch. Though the restaurant was packed and busy, the staff always took the time to drop by, check on us, make sure we had everything we needed, and even give us some recommendations as events warranted. For instance: Don’t skip the homemade hot sauce that’s on each table for garnish. It’s the real deal! As I mentioned above, I topped my noodles with it, and we also slathered it on our wontons for good measure.

I cannot wait for my next trip to Chay; I have grand plans to systematically work my way down the menu visit after visit, trying every item along the way! The next time you find yourself in Northern Virginia, I encourage you to do the same.

:)

Five Frugal Things.

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Well, friends, here I am on my new laptop, having breathed a sigh of relief that it has arrived and my backups in the cloud were intact and safe. And in fact, despite the capital outlay for a new computer, I have been embracing some frugalities along the way as well, including my first Frugal Thing of the week. Namely:

1. I have decided to forgo purchasing Microsoft Word for as long as I can.
Now, a few days into this new laptop experience, I must say that “as long as I can” may only be  several weeks, but no matter. If I can kick the can down the road even for a little while, that’s money saved, if only for now. I use Word more than I thought I did, to be honest, but Google Docs and Pages (the latter of which I’d never used before in my LIFE until I got this laptop!) have gotten me where I need to go at this point.

2. I’ve been shopping the freezer for dinners lately.
It’s amazing how quickly random items accumulate in the freezer! So far this week I’ve pulled out half a loaf of “good” bread for pairing with (leftover) pasta; bao buns to accompany our fried cauliflower rice dinner; some veggie-bacon, for breakfast; some sandwich bread for lunches; and some Morningstar Farms breakfast sausage links, as a protein-packed afternoon snack. Not too shabby!

3. I finally treated myself to my birthday adventure – on the cheap!
I’ve always wanted to take the train up to New York City, take in a show, have a bite to eat and then head back home all in the course of a day, and one of the beautiful things about living in the D.C. area is that I can do this with relative ease. I can also do it relatively cheaply, come to find out! I purchased a discounted ticket to a Broadway matinee (“Six,” which was great!), then treated myself to 99-cent pizza for lunch, brought my own water, and entertained myself with plenty of free sightseeing before and after the show. I even used the remnants of an old gift card on some new manga from one of my favorite New York bookshops. And because of my 16-hour adventure, I didn’t have to pay for a hotel – even better! (I did splurge on dinner at one of my favorite spots, P.S. Kitchen, but since it was just me, even that was relatively inexpensive.)

4. My downgraded Row House membership is actually making me more faithful in my attendance!
As you might remember, a couple of months ago I downgraded my gym membership to Row House, taking myself down from the unlimited plan to the eight-workouts-a-month plan and saving $30 a month in the process. An interesting thing has happened as a result: I’m actually much more faithful now in attending eight workouts a month! Amazing what happens when you pay for a specific number: I don’t want to lose even one class worth of registration fees, and so there you’ll find me, two hours a week in the gym, rowing away.

5. I’m still uploading all my receipts into Fetch.
This is decidedly not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it takes five seconds to upload my receipts, and I’m working my way toward a $25 Safeway gift card as a result. The time I put into it is definitely worth that!

What kinds of frugal wins (and losses!) have you had lately? Tell us in the comments!

:)

Five Frugal Things.

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From new laptops to unlimited popcorn, frugality has come in many different forms in our house this week! Here’s what we’ve had cookin’.

1. I pulled a lot of gift cards together to defray the cost of my new MacBook Air.
OK, so the purchase of a new laptop is never frugal per se – though I’d like to point out that I generally go a good 7 years between purchases, and this time was no different – but I defrayed the cost to the tune of $400 by pooling various gift cards (as well as some rewards I’d earned at work), and taking advantage of Apple’s Back to School sale. And for another bonus: My purchase also earned me another $150 Apple gift card after the fact, which we’ll tuck away for when LeeLee needs to upgrade his computer (and reader, that time is a’coming!).

2. LeeLee and I redeemed two free unlimited popcorns at the movies!
I think I mentioned that I had a birthday last week, and I’m still very much enjoying the celebratory rewards that various companies are bestowing upon me! We went to see the 1933 original “King Kong” at one of our favorite movie theaters – the Angelika Film Center – last night, and I marched confidently up to the concessions counter and redeemed my free popcorn. The wonderful person working the desk gave us each a bag to enjoy, and we munched our way on through the movie. We each had more popcorn left over by the end, so we took it home and put it in an airtight container, and LeeLee enjoyed it again today!

3. We canceled our AppleTV subscription.
We’re still in a bit of a mini-austerity mode at the moment, always looking for ways to cut back on the things we don’t use much, and Apple TV found its way onto the chopping block this week. That’s another $9.99 saved per month, and we won’t even notice it’s gone. If we DO need to watch something that streams on Apple TV, we can bring it back briefly; otherwise, it’s out of the budget!

4. I gave some leftover macaroni new life in a soup!
Have a look at the main photo above and you’ll see my handiwork for this one. I inadvertently made too much macaroni over the weekend for my picnic pasta salad – the recipe called for half a box, and I just spaced out and poured the whole box into the boiling water instead! – so I decided to make good use of the remainder with some good old chickpea noodle soup. There are a plethora of recipes for this out there, but I love Cookie and Kate’s; it’s never let me down! And the best part is, now we have leftovers for the leftovers, with enough soup to enjoy another meal this week.

5. I “splurged” on a new-to-me puzzle from the library.
Even though I paid not one dime for this puzzle, I still say I splurged because I have waaaaay too many jigsaw puzzles to work through at the moment. However, when I was at the library recently, I swung past the puzzle swap section and this lovely avian design spoke to me! So even though my “to be finished” pile of puzzle boxes is way too high, I brought it home as a little treat and am already enjoying putting it together. Side note: With extremely few exceptions, I simply refuse to pay for a jigsaw puzzle. Between the library and my Buy Nothing group, the options are endless!

What have been your frugal wins (or losses) this week? Let us know in the comments!

:)

Five Frugal Things.

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Between my birthday and the remainder of last week’s holiday festivities, this was an especially festive week around here! But we found a great many ways to save in spite of the frivolity.

1. I used my free birthday Starbucks reward to get a latte!
Let the season of free birthday surprises begin! I brought my Starbucks app right on into my local shop this week and redeemed my gift for a free grande iced vanilla soy latte. I can’t remember the last time I had one, which made it all the sweeter! And on a hot day like the Mid-Atlantic has been coping with this week, it was a welcome respite indeed.

2. My New York day trip was canceled. (Boo!)
For a while now I’ve had a fun little adventure planned, just for me: A day trip to New York City, whereupon I’d taken in a Broadway matinee (with a discounted ticket, naturally!), enjoy some 99-cent pizza and head on home. That adventure was supposed to have taken place yesterday, but alas! On Tuesday, while LeeLee and I were enjoying bagel sandwiches for lunch, I got a text from Amtrak informing me that not one but BOTH of my trains had been canceled. The nerve! So that has saved me some money right off the top. But it is a temporary savings: I’m plotting a re-do in the next few weeks. Film at 11! ;)

3. We used a Prime Video coupon for movie night.
When having Amazon orders shipped to the house, I often opt for the slow-boat option, which usually comes with a little thank-you gift in the form of a digital coupon. I redeemed one of these on Saturday night, when LeeLee and I wanted to rent “Tea With the Dames” to watch. Four complimentary dollars later, we were in business! (And the movie is great.)

4. It’s like Grand Central Station at the library these days!
I tell you what, it’s not a normal week if I haven’t visited the library at LEAST once, usually more. This week I brought home four new books (two of which were cookbooks), returned another I’d just finished reading, AND downloaded an audiobook via the Libby app! One of these days I’ll have to tally up the total yearly savings I get from the library – I’m sure it’s substantial.

5. The Leftover Revolution continues.
LeeLee and I have made light work out of meals like Bisquik Chik’n Pot Pie, leftover salad fixings, and, yes, more breakfast tacos! We save so much money (and time) with this – and it’s a thrill, I must say!

:)

Five Frugal Things.

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Breakfast tacos with leftover fajita fixings — a great addition to the Leftover Revolution!

Happy Fourth, friends! I apologize for the quiet times around here this week – a holiday week always brings out the summertime frenzy in me! But I did want to pop in and share some of my frugal wins – and tragic fails – that have taken place this week. Ready? Here we go.

1. I completely ruined my home laptop (but blessedly had a spare waiting in the wings).
Let’s cut right to the chase here – this is by far the biggest news of the week, so no sense burying it down at No. 5. Yes, it’s true – I have destroyed my beloved home MacBook, a faithful friend of mine since 2017. In short: Last Friday near the end of the workday, I was working from my living-room sofa in order to enjoy a little sunlight (my office is in the basement and it sometimes gets a bit dreary!), and had both my work and home laptops out because I had some personal work to do right after the workday was over. I decided to treat myself to a fizzy water, poured it in my favorite glass, got up to put the can in the recycling bin outside and somehow managed to completely forget about said water upon my return. I swung my arm around and in slow motion it all happened at once – the glass tumbled to the floor, the water spilled out across the coffee table, and both my laptops were in the way. I snatched both up, but the home one, closest to the spill, was soaked before I could even get to it. I did everything “they say” to do – powered it off, dried it out with a fan, etc. – but it will barely turn on. A (free) visit to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store confirmed its fate.

Blessedly, I DO have a backup laptop, which I am typing to you on right now. My old work computer got decommissioned, so I am using the one our IT folks sent back to me as my home laptop for the moment until I can decide what to do. Do I buy a new-new MacBook Air this summer, while there are some back-to-school sales? Or do I try to hang in there with this new-to-me 2019 machine? We’ll weigh the options and proceed accordingly.

I’m especially angry at myself because I take SUCH good care of my things, but as the techie at the Apple store said, we’re all due one mishap like this in our life. Sigh. The best laid plans.

2. I sold my running shoes on eBay!
Those shoes I listed just last week sold right away, for a good price that’s fair to both parties, and are already winging their way across the country to start a new life! Now I’m waiting on my cycling shoes to sell – all in due time!

3. Our Leftovers game is strong at the moment.
I’m very proud to say that our Leftover Revolution is still in full force! Our fridge has never been so clean and tidy – leftover meals that grace the shelves are gobbled up in days. Just today at lunch, we enjoyed the remainder of last night’s pizza (enhanced with a “pizza bagel” to fill the plate out), and I am confident that tonight’s July Fourth festivities will also bring about some leftovers. I can’t wait!

4. I redeemed some Marriott points to reserve a hotel room for an upcoming trip.
I keep meaning to write a post about how to explore NYC on the cheap – don’t worry, it’s still coming! – but in the meantime, I’ll just say that LeeLee and I have our eye on a trip up to the Big Apple in a few months and I’ve gone ahead and redeemed some of our hotel points to pay for it. Having free lodging is a major money-saver on any trip, but especially to a high-cost area!

5. I’m continuing to scan every single receipt into Fetch.
This is definitely not a high-yield activity, but it only takes seconds, so who cares? I’ll soon have a $25 Safeway gift card, which isn’t chump change in this economy!

Have a great holiday! Hit me up with your frugal wins (or failures – can you top mine?) in the comments.

:)