Super-Speedy Book Reviews

Wherein The Frugal Hostess attempts to redeem herself with the various publishing houses that have sent her review copies of books by finally actually reviewing them. 

(All links in this post are affiliate links, which means that TFH gets a tiny commission if you buy them using these links.  She also gets a commission if you use a link from this site to buy anything on Amazon, so if you're a big Amazon shopper and want to send some cash to FruHo, do that.  FYI, this is not a lucrative source of income; TFH has made, like, $.68 since she joined the Amazon affiliates program a year ago.  But you can help change that.  Ahem.)

Super-Speedy Book Review #1: Gifts Cooks Love

This book has an awkward title, beautiful photography, and at least one really cute idea that FruHo will be stealing.  It's full of homemade food gift ideas that vary in difficulty.  It really would make a great gift for a cook, although TFH must say that it reminds her a great deal of Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon.  The cute idea?  Make up little breakfast treat baskets for hostess gifts.  Fill them with coffee, muffins, homemade jam, etc.  Cute, right?

Super-Speedy Book Review #2: Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It: The DIY Guide to the Good Life by Billee Sharp

This book is so full of great ideas for saving money and living frugally that you could read it 12 times and still not absorb it all.  Luckily, it's a tiny size, so it won't take up too much space on your shelf.  This is a great thing to buy yourself if you've decided to live a greener lifestyle or just want to save money.  The tone is friendly and not at all sanctimonious, so you don't feel like slapping the author (which is so often the case with these kinds of books).  Right on, book!

Super-Speedy Book Review #3: The Frugal Foodie Cookbook by Lara Starr with Lynette Shirk

This is another cute little book that doesn't take up a lot of space.  It has recipes for making use of all your food so that you waste nothing.  There are lots of ideas for lunches to avoid eating out, and the piece de resistance is "Exponential Chicken," which is five nights worth of extremely varied menus made from one chicken poached on Sunday.  TFH loves the idea of that, although FruHubs would never, ever, ever be able to get behind that idea.  He freaks out about planning one day in advance, much less an entire week.  This would be a great gift for a recent college grad or newly-weds.

Super-Speedy Book Review #4: Mess by Keri Smith

FruHubs got TFH another of Smith's books (Wreck This Journal) a few years ago for Christmas.  It was cool: a journal with instructions on each page for taking unexpected action, like to rip the page out and tear it into tiny pieces.  FruHo never did a lot with the journal, though; it felt sort of awkward and silly.  This is another similar journal, but the instructions are better in this one (I-TFH-HO).  It also includes quotes and ideas for further research.  This is a great book for an artist or someone who needs to shake off some uptight-ness.

Super-Speedy Book Review #5: Salty Sweets by Christie Matheson 

O-TFH's-G, this is an awesome cookbook!  It is filled with recipes for things that combine - you guessed it - salt and sweet in interesting ways.  Some of most unusual are "Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Crostini," "Lavender Fleur de Sel Shortbread," and "Fig and Ricotta Pizza."  The Frugal Hostess made the recipe for dark chocolate coconut bars, and it was amazing!  If you or your loved ones are into salty sweets, definitely add this book to your shopping list.

The Frugal Hostess insists that you come hang out on Facebook. What? Like you don't already spend three hours there a day.

Frugallazy

When her friend, Miss Georgia Sugar (pictured below), asked The Frugal Hostess for help treating a dread disease, TFH knew she had to jump in. The disease is childrenitus frugalitation preventionistis, and there is at least one related strain: worktoomuchia frugalitation preventionistis. Both are interchangeably known by the street name Frugallazy. This scourge typically first strikes women in their 20s or 30s and most men at birth and/or puberty.

Symptoms include:
- Genetic replication resulting in one or more offspring.
- Constant and repeated compulsive need to cash pay checks, resulting in related repetitive appearances at a job.
- Exhaustion related to one of the above symptoms.
- Extreme over-consumption of shelter publications such as Elle Decor, Home and Garden, and Architectural Digest. (May also manifest as watching the same episode of any show on HGTV more than 12 times.)
- Irrational loathing of at least one Food Network personality.
- Unrealistic belief that Sundays contain enough hours to complete all of the projects the sufferer has in mind.

Sound familiar? Well, turn that frown upside-down, because The Frugal Hostess has the cure. Try one of these starter projects and see if your Frugallazy doesn't clear itself up in a flash!

Problem: I need to make cookies from scratch for my kid's class, but I have Frugallazy.
Solution: Don't! Wow, don't you feel better already? Or, you can employ a strategy TFH read about in a great book (title? fleeting...memory...gone....). The protagonist was too busy to make homemade baked goods for her child's class, so she bought some cookies and "distressed" them - broke some, jacked up the frosting, etc. to make them look homemade. Or, you can buy a bag of Chips Ahoy and a tub of chocolate icing. Spread the icing on the cookies and make little sandwiches. Half-assed, yes, but still pretty rad.

Problem: I want to have a party but my Frugallazy makes me not willing/able to be all theme-tastic.
Solution: Have the easiest party in the world. Here's the menu/shopping list: one can of mixed nuts; one jar of country olives; three hunks of cheese; and one box of crackers (TFH recommends the most delicious cracker in all the land - Triscuits. TFH does not recommend grody old Wheat Thins. Just sayin'). If you're feeling ambitious, add one package of pate; one container of cherry tomatoes; one bunch of grapes; and 12 miniature chocolate cupcakes. Invite eight friends to each bring a bottle of wine from a different country, and call it a wine-tasting party. OMG, The Frugal Hostess is starving.

Problem: I have to buy a baby gift for this girl at work but my Frugallazy is flaring up.
Solution: If the gift is given pre-birth of baby, throw together a pampering gift for the mom. Put sugar, almond or canola oil (an oil that smells good or doesn't smell at all), and vanilla extract or a good-smelling essential oil into a small jar (rub off the salsa label, lazy). Shake it up, and you have all-natural, non-toxic body scrub! If the gift is post-birth, partner with her partner to plan a night on the town, wherein the partner pays, and you babysit! Or, fill your small jar with pureed organic carrots, and call it baby food!

Problem: I need a hostess gift for this dinner thing, and my Frugallazy is getting in the way.
Solution: Bring the hostess three books you have already read, with a ribbon tied around them if you can muster up the strength. While this isn't exactly a gift, its bounty will distract, and it will be appreciated. Also vehemently compliment every dish and every thing in her house, which will make up for the ribbon that you were, after all, too slack to tie around the three books.

Look. You're cured!

Make It Yourself Monday on Tuesday: Booze Treats

The Frugal Hostess had a busy weekend, so busy that she forgot to post this yesterday! So, please enjoy a special Tuesday edition of Make It Yourself Monday.
Fair Reader, you may remember that The Frugal Hostess mentioned making vanilla and vinegar for holiday gifts. This, along with comments from reader Liza's, set TFH off on a bender of booze-making. Here are some of the things she made:
1. Vanilla: Nothing could be easier. Buy the cheapest vodka you can find. Pour some out into a jar. Shove in a bunch of vanilla beans. [Vanilla beans are expensive, but this is the cheapest place to get them - only $20 per pound!] Use a funnel to fill the bottle up with as much as you can of the vodka you poured out. Stick in basement or back of closet for a few months (four to six). Decant into little bottles, make cool labels, and give as gifts. This is really the best vanilla you will ever taste.
2. Vinegar: Save all of the dregs of your bottles of red wine. TFH understands that you usually drink all of your wine and doesn't blame you. However, you might try pouring half a cup into a jar for a few weeks (days? You wino!). When you have a good amount, cover the top with a coffee filter, paper towel, or piece of cheesecloth and hide in basement or dark closet. After six months, you will have vinegar. Please note that you won't want to add more wine after you've started, as it will prolong the amount of time it takes to vinegar-ize. Just keep saving the wine in a different container, and start a new vinegar when you have enough. A jar or crock with a spout is good for making vinegar, since you can use the spout to pour off what you need. Also, The Frugal Mother recommends filtering one's vinegar through a coffee filter, but The Frugal Hostess is just rebellious enough to have ignored that advice. This is another thing that is cool to bottle and give as gifts.
3. Limoncello and other infused boozes: Also super easy. TFH followed a recipe for the limoncello and then modified it to make other stuff. It will be ready in about six more weeks, so stay tuned for an update. Essentially, you put your flavoring agent (lemon zest, leftover limes food-processed to death, and dried apricots are currently brewing) into a jar of cheap, nasty vodka. Let these sit for two weeks, shaking daily. After that, make simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar boiled into a syrup), and add to vodka that has been drained of flavoring agent. You can also add flavors to the simple syrup, such as lemon juice for the limoncello. Time will tell if this turns out to taste good!
4. Ginger beer: Beer is a stupid name for this, in The Frugal Hostess's humble opinion. It is non-alcoholic and has no bubbles. In fact, it tastes sort of like poison until you mix it up, at which point is turns delicious. But TFH gets ahead of herself. Peel a bunch of fresh ginger. This is supposedly an easy thing to grow, but TFH hasn't tried yet, so she bought about two pounds of it. Once peeled, cut into uniform pieces (you know, just so they'll fit in the Cuisinart; don't kill yourself over it). Put in food processor with one cup of water and process like crazy. Then, and this is the messy/annoying part, scoop the pulp into a mesh sieve positioned over a bowl. Using a plastic scraper or spoon, press down on the pulp to push out all the juice, which is - strangely enough - bright yellow! It smells so good, too. You should do this two or three more times (process with cup of water, squeeze out juice). You'll get a lot more juice than you expect, so have a large container for it. (TFH filled a handle-sized vodka bottle and a large jar.) Add one cup of fresh lime juice and three cups of sugar, then shake it up. You're done! However, it will be very strong, so here is TFH's recommendation for consuming. Fill a tall glass with crushed ice. Pour in a quarter cup of ginger beer, and add two ounces of dark rum. Stir, then fill the rest of the glass with soda water. Garnish with a lime. Enjoy!

Ginger beer recipe modified from "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It" by Karen Solomon.
Photos by The Frugal Hostess.

Friday FREAK OUT! -- Gifts

The Frugal Hostess knows what it's like to freak out. Her paramour, The Cheap Host, once announced that his parents were visiting for the weekend - a weekend that included Valentine's Day - on the Thursday before they arrived. Thus, Friday FREAK OUT! Every Friday, The Frugal Hostess will provide you with tips on how to deal with last-minute nonsense without freaking out.



The Last-Minute Gift


The Frugal Hostess does not care for surprises. Well, that's not entirely true - she loves it when The Cheap Host surprises her by making dinner or getting her a present. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that The Frugal Hostess is not one for spontaneity. She plans out her planning sessions, during which she makes detailed plans for each plan. She does not care for last minute developments.


Unfortunately, all of the planning in the world can't prevent every short-term occurrence, and The Frugal Hostess knows, because she has attempted the completion of all of the planning in the world. Either someone decides to celebrate his birthday at the last minute, or someone else throws together a cookout celebrating Flag Day. What's a well-mannered girl to do?


Enter The Regifting Closet. (Wait. No need to actually enter it. Not a huge fan of the closeted.) OK, OK, The Frugal Hostess knows that some people consider regifting a little tacky, and she herself is torn. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and all that, so let's get on with it.


Find a shelf in your house. The Frugal Hostess uses the top shelf of the closet in her office, above the fray of ballgowns and winter coats. You will need open space, but you'll probably also need a medium-sized shopping bag and a shoe box. Into this area, put all of the random items you accumulate. Include used gift bags and tissue. Then, when you're faced with a last-minute event or birthday you forgot, you can peruse the regifting closet for a suitable item, pop it into a color-coordinated gift-bag-with-tissue, and voila!


Here's a partial list of what The Frugal Hostess has in hers:

1. miniature pedicure kit received by husband in swag bag at fashion show he was dragged to by TFH
2. free pack of note cards and envelopes received with purchase at stationer's
3. promotional deck of inspiring words of wisdom for women, with promo label discretely removed
4. box of assorted teas purchased for someone but never given
5. colorful luggage tags bought for $0.38 each because they were on sale
6. lotion samples from various retailers and beauty practitioners
7. 1.7 million pens and other Cheap Plastic Crap (CPC) - this is what the shoe box and shopping bag are used to corral.


A note on CPC: while you would certainly never give your BFF's BF a Viagra-emblazoned pill case for Christmas, The Frugal Hostess strongly suggests that you hold on to all the random junk people give you for free. You can do two things with it.

1. Christmas Stocking: Make an agreement with your family that all stocking stuffers must be items collected for free through out the year. This is often hilarious, and, at worst, cheap. TFH's entire makeup collection is comprised of free samples she got from her grandmother in this way.

2. Rainy Day Box: Once, when TFH was a wee lass, The Frugal Mother gave her a wondrous surprise. It was a box filled with assorted treasures, saved up over the months just for The Frugal Hostess. There were Mardi Gras beads, perfume samples, and even the wishbone from a turkey. In all, it was one of the most magical experiences of TFH's young life, and she encourages you to use your CPC to make the same kind of magic for your child. If you don't have children, consider sending your young nieces or neighbors a rainy day box filled with all of the things that are too stupid to use but too nice to throw away.


The Frugal Hostess encourages you to get busy on your regifting closet this very weekend. Meanwhile, she will be finishing up a Rainy Day Box for two little girls she knows.


photo by Kitten

Blogwarming Party

In honor of the new blog, The Frugal Hostess offers some ideas to help you with housewarming:

Menu:

Think comfort foods that remind you of home.*

Tomato Basil Soup

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Pickled Vegetables

Ice Cream Sandwiches Ahoy

Arnold Palmers - iced tea and lemonade

Arnold Palmeroskis - iced tea-flavored vodka and lemonade

*leave a comment if you'd like the recipes.

Easy Decorations:
U-Haul chic - use what you have.

- Turn your yet-to-be unpacked boxes into tables by covering with cloths.
- Twist brown paper packing wrap into abstract blossoms. Tie with colorful ribbons and stick into wide-mouthed glass vessels.
- Fill tall glass cylinders with packing peanuts; arrange in sets of three.
- Tie up napkin rolls with twine.
- Use duct tape and Sharpies to label cups.
- Stack small boxes in groups of two and three down the middle of your table, broken up with candles in different colors.


Housewarming Gift Ideas:
Cheap but thoughtful gestures of welcome.


Condiment Kit - One of the worst things about setting up a new house is that you're missing all of the condiments you built up in the fridge over time. Fill a basket, bucket, or box with four or five condiments from the grocery store - frugal, and appreciated!


Cleaning Certificate - For a twist on your childhood standby, offer your friend two hours of your time for organizing, laundry-folding, sweeping, or whatever you do best/hate least. Write down three specific dates and times for him to choose from so that this gift actually gets used. A nice variation: take her kids for two hours so she can get something done without interruption.


Neighborhood Scoop - For someone new to your hood, type up a page of tips and suggestions with phone numbers, websites, directions, etc. Include library, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. After you do this once and buy a few nice folders or envelopes for it, this is an easy, ready-made gift that takes very little extra effort.


photo of box by ahhyeah; condiments by corporatemonkey