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Peasant Food
Jennifer's very own cheap and nourishing recipes for moms on a budget!
Since starting this site, I have had several requests from other moms who are trying to prepare nutritious foods for their families while living on a tight budget. The myth is that it can't be done. Well, I have debunked the myth! However, in order to be successful at it, you must detox your mind first. You will have to convince yourself that frozen chicken nuggets and a bag of low-fat potato chips does not qualilfy as a decent lunch, even if you serve it with a glass of milk and an apple. You must forget about using canned vegetables and white bread, even if the label says "all natural and vitamin fortified". You can't allow yourself to be sucked into the "organic macaroni and cheese" fad, or worse yet, the "diet" or "sugar free" curse.
In a sense, you are going to travel back in time... You are going to learn from your grandmothers and great-aunties. You are looking for those generations old "reciepts" that have been hidden away in the back of your mother's kitchen cupboard. You will begin cooking with a few basic ingredients and will learn to use your imagination as you build off of those simple foods. You will discover how fun it is to be creative in the kitchen and you will be trying things that you never dreamed you would be doing...like making pot cheese!
I often refer to the meals I prepare as "peasant food". Peasants were the rural farm laborers of old. They were considered poor and simple, but they worked hard and always had some food to eat. In fact, peasants often lived to ripe old ages. They learned how to turn nothing into something and depended on gardens and farm stock to provide them with their nourishment. Peasants are not to be confused with pagan gypsies, please. They were simply poor farmers who made their living off the land and survived on what the Lord provided. Even though the foods that I suggest eating are simple, I do spice them up with sweeteners and seasonings. The peasants may have not had the luxury of doing that at all! So, if you can afford to use a bit more cinnamon...go ahead and do it, but remember that you could survive without it and thank the Lord for His goodwill towards you, because most people in this world are not able to eat as we do in this country. They survive on much less!
For those of you who are ready to begin this journey, and for those of you who are already on the journey and are looking for fresh ideas, I hope that you will find this page refreshing, enjoyable, and inspiring. I cook in the tradition of my great-grandmother...she seldom follows an exact recipe. She just "knows" what goes into each dish. So, with that in mind, you will have to excuse me if your meals do not turn out quite right at first. You will need to judge for yourself on certain things, such as if something appears too runny, add more flour. To thick? Add more milk. To bland? Add more seasoning...and so on.
Enjoy!
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