Hardware Stripping with an Arm and a Hammer

I hate buying stuff I shouldn't have to, but I live in a 96 year old house. Nothing in this home is standard. So when I was thinking I'd like to restore the woodwork and hardware, I wanted a way to do it without spending $5 per piece on new latches, handles, and hinges.
I talked to a friend about this, and he had a simple suggestion: Baking Soda.
One quart of water + 1/4 cup of baking soda + 8 window latches and handles = brand spankin' new hardware!
I have to buy new screws for 82 cents, because many of the old ones were rusted beyond recognition, but the actual hardware came out of the bath looking like they were coated in industrial stripper. After a quick once-over with a copper sponge and a pass with Brasso polish ($4.29/bottle), it looks not new, but at least restored:




The top piece is strait out of the bath, the bottom left is after a pass with the copper, and bottom right is the finished product after some polish. All told, it was a full evening's work, but it cost me all of $7 for the pot (with lead paint you don't want to use anything you'll be cooking in later - and do it with an open window), 50 cents for the Baking Soda, and 82 cents for new screws. This is versus $5 a piece for eight new window latches and eight new handles. Also, I can continue this process with door hinges, porch fixtures, etc. All for a minor outlay of cash and an evening of elbow grease!

Fried Rice Is So Easy!

I keep a few staples in the cupboard: a couple oils, a few vinegars, some basic condiment sauces. So when I find myself with leftover steamed rice from Chinese delivery, or with extra meat from the grill the night before, here's something that's easier than falling down the stairs.
Take a decent wok. I'm a packrat, and have a couple. What you need is one that heats up quickly and evenly. Get it good and hot, and toss some oil (or bacon fat) in and follow it with some chopped onion, and a little crushed garlic. Cook them until soft, and add a crushed dried chili pepper (buy them at the farmers' market in September at a bargain and string them up to dry) with whatever veggies you care for (choose two or more of the following: bell peppers, celery, bean sprouts, snow peas, julienne carrots, water chestnuts, bok choy), along with whatever leftover meat you have (chopped into 1/2 inch squares or so) and one egg.
Meanwhile, in a rice cooker (or sauce pan, or refrigerated take-out container) prepare about a cup of white rice. When all the veggies and meats are tender, add the rice and splash it with some soy, fish sauce, a little rice vinegar, and if you like it spicy, some Sambal Oelek. Man, that stuff is good. If you are of the vegetarian/vegan persuasion leave out the meat and fish sauce/egg, or subsitute tofu. However, if you leave out the fish sauce you may want to supplement the mix with more salt before it's done cooking. Stir until tasty, and serve with a cold beer for taste bud preservation. I personally added more soy and a little more Sambal afterwards, and was not at all disappointed.

Split Pea and Ham Soup for the Soul

So most of us who are of any number of religious or ethnic backgrounds have been there: After a family Easter (or any other) dinner, everyone is bloated on too much food, siblings and relations start filtering out the door, and the host will say, "Does anyone want to take the ham bone home?" Most people in the room are done thinking about food, and will politely decline. They are wrong. It turns out the tail end of a ham can turn a tiny amount of money and effort into a brand new meal (or two).
Here's what to do: Chop half an onion, and sauté (I save my bacon fat in a jar for these occasions, but if you don't, a couple tablespoons of oil works). Remove from heat and add one 16 oz bag of dried split peas, your ham bone (if you like, add some veggies too - I chose carrots), and enough water to cover everything. Simmer it under a cover until the peas have dissolved into green liquid (approx. 2 hours). Then, take out the ham and chop the meat off. Discard bone. Once you have the ham pieces (I prefer larger pieces, but it can be cut very small) back in the soup, simmer it to thicken it up, and salt and pepper to taste.
I served it with fruit salad and some baguette. All told, the ham bone was free, I had the onion in the fridge, $1.15 for the split peas, and $1.99 for the bread. I had to buy the fruit in this case, but this summer when I've got salad from the garden I'll have dinner for two and leftovers for lunch for all of $4.00. Here's what it looked like:

Cheaper than Salad bags...

I used to buy the bags of salad from Dole or whomever that came with dressing. It was a seemingly cheap way to get my greens with a meal. Here's what I've discovered since then: Dressing is the easiest thing in the world to do on your own.
For $2.49 you can get a bag of salad at Rainbow Foods that'll feed three to four people for one meal. For under $5.00 you can get a head of green lettuce or a bundle of spinach and the makings of your own dressing that will feed four people for at least four dinners.
My favorites:
Vinaigrette...
4 parts oil (Extra Virgin Olive, Grapeseed, Etc.) ---(If bacon is used in the main course I have been known to use the bacon fat as the oil in the dressing)
1 part vinegar (balsamic if using spinach, cider if serving with pork, rice if soy is involved in any way, red wine under any circumstance whatsoever)
a pinch of seasoning (basil, rosemary or garlic for balsamic, garlic or fresh ginger for rice or especially cider, just about anything green for red wine)
green onions, if you have them, or fresh chives, etc.
For creamier dressings (ranch, and such)...
1 cup each mayo and buttermilk with a teaspoon each of parsley, pepper, salt, and garlic, and add a pinch of dried onion.
This, combined with the super cheap greens from the produce department, is the easiest salad you could ever come up with. No matter what meat or pasta you do at home, a salad is so easy, it's a sin to pay for a corporation to put it into a bag for you.

Produce Bin Made Easy

So, one of the first things you learn re: Living Thrifty is eat out less, cook at home more. As a result of this, I've found myself overrun by Cub Foods' buy one get one on five pound bags of potatoes. I never thought this would be a problem, but Russets, Reds, Bakers, Sweet Potatoes, these things all need to be stored somewhere, and they can hang out for weeks and weeks, even at room temperature, before they go bad. I had so many bags on my countertop that it was starting to impinge on my culinary workspace. So I built a bin.




It was ridiculously easy, and remarkably cheap. I bought Red Oak, because I could stain it to almost match the existing counters and table top in my kitchen. One three foot 1"X18" board and two three foot 1"X12" boards later, I had all the materials I needed and they even fit in the back seat of my tiny mid-nineties compact car. I cut the front and back to exactly 18", and the two sides (notched on the bottom with stucco lattice stapled in for ventilation) to 16.5", with the 1X18 cut in half for the 18" square top and bottom of the box.
The bottom was screwed on, and the sides held together with wood glue and finishing nails, I painted the sides to match the kitchen walls and stained the top to match (as closely as possible) the nearby table top:



I went around the top with a simple router bit, but lacking a router one could leave it square, sand it down, or even carve something into the top. With cheap hardware (hinges and handle that match the kitchen drawers and cupboards totaling $5 or so), I now have a bin for potatoes and squash from my garden that keeps room-temp produce out of sight and out of the way, and it cost me all of $30.00.