6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 7, 2015
Cook's Corner
Back to basics with dining dollars
BY BETTY KAISER
For the Sentinel
Traditionally speaking, Janu-
ary is the month of beginnings.
A time of hope. In reality, it is
a time when New Year’s reso-
lutions are made and broken.
Ambitious exercise plans are
initiated and then forgotten.
Low-calorie meals are consid-
ered and discarded and money
matters are agonized over.
At our house, January is bud-
get-crunch time. Where did we
spend too much money in the
previous year, and why? And
how can we stop the drain? Last
year, every category of spending
seemed to escalate—especially
food expenditures. I’m not an
accountant, but I estimate that
my groceries and household
supplies cost at least 25 percent
more than I budgeted. It’s time
for me to plug the holes.
Our government may believe
that there’s no infl ation, but I
beg to differ. I know what things
cost today, yesterday and the
years in-between. Regardless
of the economy, prices go up.
They don’t go down. I remem-
ber what food cost in the early
1960s. I could feed a family of
fi ve, put gas in the car, pay the
milkman and go to the movies
once a month on $20 a week.
Times have changed. Our
family take-home income at
that time was about $75 a week
or $4,000 a year. According to
the U.S. Census 2008, the aver-
age Oregon yearly income was
$61,945. Department of Justice
bankruptcy fi gures beg to differ.
They say that today $45,435 is
the norm. That’s probably clos-
er to the truth.
Whatever your income, you
have to eat. So, I wondered,
what does it cost today to feed
a family with young children?
According to the USDA Food
Plan, a Thrifty Plan to feed a
family four costs about $131
dollars a week. A Low Cost
plan is $166; Moderate cost is
$206; and a Liberal plan is $255
per week. Remember, these are
government fi gures. Extreme
coupon clippers and the very
frugal can eat on much less, but
they are not the norm.
Let’s face it—food is expen-
sive, and when you shop, you’d
better have a plan. Shopping is
the one thing we have control
over. Planning is key. Without a
plan, I spend too much on junk.
So I’m back to basics (but not
boring!) with my dining dollars.
They are:
1. Make a seven-day meal plan.
2. Check the pantry and freezer
before I buy.
3. Never shop without a list.
4. Buy products on sale.
5. Buy the basics fi rst (bread,
eggs, milk, fruit, veggies, meat)
6. Go easy on junk food i.e.
potato chips, empty calories.
7. Divide my budget into four
segments and shop weekly.
There are two other vital
components of meal planning:
“Make it yourself” and “Planned
leftovers.” Once a week I bake a
whole chicken or cook a small
roast so we can have a couple of
dinners and lunches out of one
meal. It’s amazing how good
chicken salad sandwiches taste
instead of lunchmeat.
We also usually have a stir-
fry once a week. Onions, cel-
ery, carrots, broccoli and a little
meat over rice are an economical
meal. We always have a pasta
meal, and if I make a big pot of
chili, stew or soup, I freeze half
of it. I seldom buy a dessert if I
can make myself. It only costs
me a couple of dollars versus
a $20 bill at the bakery. I save
that for weak moments when a
cream puff is calling.
FYI: Health note. One other
advantage of making it yourself
is that you don’t have to worry
about the fi llers and chemicals
in pre-made food. If the prod-
uct’s ingredients take up the
whole back of a package you re-
ally don’t want to eat it!
Today’s recipe will smell
wonderful and taste like a mil-
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF
4 FOUJOFM
Our Community Newspaper
lion dollars. It came from a
friend who loves freshly baked
gingerbread—with a twist—
thin slices of pears that bake
right into the batter. It bakes up
sticky on the outside and steam-
ing and moist in the center. So,
save some money, eat well and
enjoy!
WARM
GINGERBREAD
WITH PEARS
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-
purpose or pastry fl our
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 ounces melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped crystallized
ginger
1 cup boiling water
2 medium ripe pears, cored
and cut into thin slices
Jelly, powdered sugar,
whipped cream or lemon curd,
for serving (optional)
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a medium bowl, stir to-
gether fl our, ginger, cinnamon,
baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, com-
bine molasses, corn syrup,
brown sugar, melted butter, eggs
and crystallized ginger. Stir to
blend well. Gradually stir in
fl our mixture.
Carefully add boiling water, a
little at a time, until you have a
sticky and glossy batter.
To make individual ginger-
bread desserts:
Butter and fl our 12 to 16 ov-
enproof ramekins and fi ll each
about 3/4 full. Place 2 to 3 slices
of pear on top, pressing them
gently down into the batter to
anchor them. Bake until a skew-
er inserted in the center comes
out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Brush the tops with melted
jelly or sprinkle with powdered
sugar and serve with whipped
cream or lemon curd.
To make one cake:
Butter and fl our a 9- by 13-
inch baking dish and spoon in
the batter. Arrange slices of pear
over the surface, tucking them
down into the batter slightly to
anchor them. Bake until a skew-
er inserted in the center comes
out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
Brush the top with melted
jelly or sprinkle with powdered
sugar and serve with whipped
cream or lemon curd.
Keep it simple and keep it
seasonal! Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s
Corner is dedicated to sharing a
variety of recipes that are deli-
cious, family oriented and easy
to prepare. Contact her at 942-
1317 or email bchatty@bet-
tykaiser.com
T OGETHER
Continued from page 1A
years, said that experts there
have seized on the potential of
grafted vegetable plants and
have been growing a new com-
bination for about fi ve years —
a plant that combines, through
grafting, the roots of a potato
plant with the stem and leaves
of a tomato.
Yes, you read that right —
one plant that produces both to-
matoes and potatoes. It’s called
Ketchup n’ Fries by TomTato,
and Log House and SuperNatu-
rals Grafted Vegetables, LLC
will be offering the new com-
bo using help from, who else?
— Territorial Seed Co., which
will offer the plant exclusively
through its mail-order system
for two years.
Despite their own work graft-
ing unique combinations, Doyle
said Log House took notice of
the success a Dutch grower had
marketing TomTato in England,
where about 40,000 examples
of the early-season tomato/late-
season potato plant were sold
last year.
“We decided that since
they’ve been so successful in
England, we’d utilize their track
record, though we continue to
do our research on different va-
rietals of tomatoes and potatoes
that could graft well together,”
Doyle said.
Doyle called Ketchup n’ Fries
a “way to have fun with gar-
dening” but cautioned that the
plant’s ability to produce both
tomatoes and potatoes should
not be overlooked.
“Its more of a gimmick in-
volving grafting than anything
else,” she said, “but it still pro-
duces a lot of fruit and a pretty
good set of potatoes, whether
it’s planted in the ground or
grown in a container.”
The plant can produce about
fi ve pounds of potatoes versus a
typical two-pound output, Doyle
said, and it’s creating quite a
buzz in the gardening world.
Ketchup n’ Fries was even fea-
tured on the Colbert Report in
2013.
“We keep getting calls,” she
said. “There’s been a lot of in-
terest already, and we think it’s
going to get new gardeners in-
terested in growing their own
vegetables this spring, which is
what we like to do.”
Doyle said her company has
had nothing but success work-
ing with Territorial Seed and is
excited for this new foray.
“Territorial does a wonderful
job naturally,” she said. “We’ve
never had one complaint on any
of their shipments, and this will
be a fun project to work on to-
gether.”
Territorial owner Tom Johns
agreed.
“This is going to be a real fun
thing for people,” Johns said.
“It’s already immensely popular
in England, and we’re excited to
have the exclusive here in Amer-
ica. It’s fun for Territorial, and to
have Log House’s involvement.
We’ve worked closely together
on things with a national scope
before, so it’s really interesting
that we’re located in the same
town.”
Johns said that, since Eng-
land’s climate is a lot like ours,
Ketchup n’ Fries could fi nd
a welcome home in Oregon.
The plant can be grown in the
ground or a container, though
Doyle cautions that the contain-
er should be at least 18 inches
in diameter to accommodate the
plant’s healthy rootstock.
Both Doyle and Johns hinted
that their companies have only
yet scratched the surface of pos-
sibilities for grafting vegetable
plants.
“Tomatoes and potatoes are
of the same genus, so you could
graft peppers, eggplant, toma-
toes — we’ve done it before,”
Doyle said.
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Calvary Baptist Church
77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290
Pastor: Riley Hendricks
Sunday School: 9:45am
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420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565
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1200 East Quincy Avenue
541-942-4771
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6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373
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Sunday School &
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Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur
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trinitylutherancottagegrove.com
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195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822
Pastor: Aaron Earlywine
Youth & Families Pastor: Seth Bailey
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Christian Education
Nursery for pre-k - 3rd Grade
www.6thandgibbs.com
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334 Washington • 541-942-3033
Pastor:Jerry Steele
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Adult & Sunday School: 9:00am
Comm. Dinner (Adults $3, Kids Free)
Mon. 5-6:30pm
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United Pentecostal Church
100 S. Gateway Blvd. • 541-942-2061
Pastor: Dave Bragg
Worship: 11:00am Sunday
Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday
www.hopefellowshipupc.com
“FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE”
Non-Denominational
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1041 Pennoyer Ave * 541-767-0447
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Sunday Bible Study:10:00am
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www.pennoyeravecoc.com
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050
Rev. Lawrence Crumb
“Church with the fl ags.”
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
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522 E Whitaker • 541-942-6842
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Youth Group Bible Study:
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467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612
Pastor Rulon Combs
Sunday School All Ages 9am
Worship & Childrenʼs
Church 10:30 am
“The Bridge” Saturday Evening Service
6:00pm
Youth ABLAZE: Wednesday 6:30pm
Childrenʼs Breakout Class:
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33761 Row River Rd. • 541-942-4851
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and St. Philip Benizi
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1025 N. 19th St.
541-942-3420 / 541-942-4712
Pastor: Roy L. Antunez, S.J.
Euch. Liturgies; Sat. 5:30pm
Sun. 10:30am
St. Philip Benizi, Creswell:
552 Holbrock Lane • 541-895-8686
Sunday: 8:30am
Seventh-day Adventist Church
820 South 10th Street
541-942-5213
Pastor: Kevin Miller
Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am
Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40 am
Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 6:45
pm
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Cottage Grove
700 Gibbs Ave (Community Center)
Rev. Bobby Lee
Meets Sunday 3:00 p.m.
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