What I'm celebrating this week:
1) Did your mom have a meat grinder like the one above? Mine did. I'm sure most of you have bought food processors over the years, but those are expensive, so this week I bought myself one of these old, hand cranked meat mincers.
Times are tough for a lot of people, and as I've been trying to cut costs, I've found myself thinking back to my childhood and trying to remember the things my mom used to make. That woman knew how to stretch a buck! I never imagined that at this point in my life I'd be grateful for knowing how to do things on the cheap, things I was actually a bit embarrassed about when I was a child.
My first adventure will be mincing chicken and making Chicken Kofta, an Egyptian dish that's a bit like meatballs only with ground chicken, tomatoes, onions, and lots of spices. I hope it turns out ok!
Do you find yourself doing things your parents did that you didn't think you'd do?
My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog
Celebrate The Small Things Linky:
Grab the Linky html-code here:
** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **
Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful for that week. It can be about writing or family or school or general life. This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! (Originated by VikLit)
Foxy's Friday Freebies!
Foxy has been nosing around the net.
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Friday Freebies posts -
- Free short stories, novellas, and novels
- Giveaways for books and swag
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Free YA Fantasy Hardcover Novel from Richelle Mead – Win Soundless, the new release by Richelle Mead, bestselling author of the Vampire Academy series. Enter via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (US only; ends Dec 18)
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Free $10 Amazon Gift Card – To celebrate the release of 29, a YA Contemp Romance about a high school girl who falls for a secretive guy classmate who’s being investigated by her brother’s military unit, author Nancy Pennick is giving away a $10 Amazon card via rafflecopter on Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 5)
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If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here! Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com
33 comments:
Oh, yes, my mother used to have one of those which you could hook under the table, but can't get anything like it now, they're all plastic and won't hook. She used to use it mostly for grinding fish, though, for gefilte fish. When she wants to make meatballs she has to buy mince now. Enjoy your cooking!
Hello :)
My mother didn't have a mincer, but definitely did a lot of things to save on pennies, as she had five children to feed and clothe. She made a lot of our clothing herself, as did her mother before her. My daughter and I have followed suit, too.
I love the sound of your delicious Chicken Kofta.
"Do you find yourself doing things your parents did that you didn't think you'd do?"
"Put your coat on, I'm cold"
I sit on the couch just like my father did.
When we were cleaning out my parents' house after my father died, we found a meat slicer in the basement. Not as fancy as what you'd see in a deli, but it was a meat slicer. I have no idea where it came from, or when, or why. As far as I know, my parents never used it.
Enjoy the Kofta!
My grandmother had the mincer. I'd never had the pleasure of using one. I've been cutting costs for a while now too!! Times aren't getting any easier. I feel sorry for my kids...
I'm a vegetarian so wouldn't use a meat mincer. I do think it's great to be more frugal and enjoy a simpler life whether you are struggling financially or doing okay. We waste so much money.
My parents came from the depression era and WWII when things were rationed. I grew up with their principles and have done without so I can save for another day. Their lessons have served me well.
I think it's really good to go back to those things sometimes. There's value in experiencing (what's usually) the harder way to do things. Sometimes I stir cookie dough by hand instead of with my paddle mixer just to try it; no wonder so many women had strong arms back then!
I definitely recognize that kind of meat grinder. I also remember watching my grandpa use his really big meat grinder. He was a butcher, so he had to have a massive one to get the job done.
My cooking uses a lot of the things my mom taught me. I also recently learned how to make a week's worth of filling potato soup for about $3.
I've never known anyone with a meat grinder, actually! But it's definitely good sometimes to go back and experience how things used to be done, =)
I don't recall my mother having one of those, but I do remember she sewed a lot. She made most of my dresses and I so wanted store-bought clothes like all my friends had.
Enjoy your grinder. I bet you'll make some delicious dished.
Have a great weekend.
Mom didn't have a grinder, but my girlfriend's mom did. I do some of the things my mom did, and I still use some of her recipes.
We didn't have one of those. But my parents worked hard to save money when they could. Now we all have to do the same. Times are not easy for anyone. I hope your chicken kofta is yummy. You'll have to give us an update next week. Have a great week!
Chicken kofta sounds delicious! I'm also trying to cook more and eat out less. It's fun trying some of my mom's recipes!
I don't think my mother ever had one of those meat grinders, but I've certainly used them. We had a really big one in one of the restaurants I cooked it. I used enjoy using it.
I constantly find myself doing and saying things my mother used to do. It's a little horrifying to hear these things come out of my mouth because I always swore if I had kids I wouldn't say those things. But they make sense...
Yes, we had one of those meat grinders when I was a kid. My mother would grind up meat for meatloaf, and fruit for salads and sauces. I remember using it and being fascinated by how it ground things up.
And yes, I do things my parents did, all the time. Good luck with your chicken kofta! It sounds really good.
Well, i've done some things to save money that my grandparents and great-grandparents may have done, but my parents did pretty well that i remember, so there weren't a ton of "how to save money" tips used at the house growing up. Enjoy using your meat grinder!
That Chicken Kofta sounds yummy. Take care.
I only saw pictures of meat grinders - couldn't own one. Looks like fun thing to do.
Lexa, I don't remember my mother having a meat grinder. In our early marriage I had a food processor; it was big and a bother to use every time. I eventually got rid of it. When the kids came along I bought a hand grank type food processor to grind up veggies and meats to make their baby food. It saved us a lot of money and it was 100x better for them then processed, store-bought baby foods. I try to think of ways to cut corners when possible. I think that's very much needed regardless of the economy. We live in a society where we spend too much and need instant gratification. I'm sure the dish you plan to make will turn out delicious. I'll be anxious to read about how it goes for you.
My mum still has that grinder and uses it often..hehe She has a food processor, but likes doing it the old fashioned way:) Chicken kofta sound yum. I'm sure they'll turn out perfectly:) I've been trying to be more economical in our spending lately too, and I'm so glad the garden is currently growing lots of our veggies.
Yep, my mother had one of those grinders. I think my father used it to make ham salad.
There is restaurant across the street from where I live that has the best beef Kofta. The chicken would be a nice alternative. Enjoy.
That meat grinder is on my Christmas list! Now, that my 'men' are into hunting, I realized how I could really use one. Yep, stretching a buck is a great thing. Enjoy those meatballs!
Home cooking is something I love, but it always ends up at the bottom of my list (and hence suffering heavily). Your meat grinder reminded me of the pasta hand-cracked mill my parents used. They'd make home-made spaghetti and tagliatelle. Have a beautiful weekend.
Yes, my mom had one of those. It always seemed so gross to me as a child. But if I needed to use it now, I wouldn't think twice. Chicken kofta sounds very similar to chicken koobideh (Persia). Instead of balls, though, they press the meat onto specially-designed kabob skewers. So good.
Hi! The meat grinder sure brings back memories. My mom used one to grind up clams after the family had spent a long day at the ocean digging up gooey ducks and razor clams. She also froze the oysters we had collected. Mom had countless other ways to save money too and I've appreciated her lessons on frugality and how to save a dollar over the years. Nah, not embarrassed at all now. We can be proud we had relatives teach us the old ways because now we know what to do when times are tough. Nice post :)
Sounds delicious!
I'm really different from my mother, so I haven't found myself repeating any of her patterns or habits yet, but I do make a lot of her recipes. She's an amazing cook and baker.
We both read a lot, but that doesn't come as a surprise. :)
I still have my grandmother's hand grinder that's exactly like that one. I remember the left over roast beef going through that along with pickles and onions. Mixed with mayo and some other mystery ingredient, my gram produced the best lunch box sandwiches in the world.
My parents were very frugal and then I look at my own spending and think "yikes."
Like Cathy Kennedy says, my mum had a mincer for making baby food. I think it was a Moulinex. She also had a metal bean slicer that clamped on to the kitchen table and made a satisfying chuggedy-chuggedy noise as she turned the handle.
I do remember a grinder like that and my mother and grandmother did everything by hand. I learned a lot from both of them. Grandma used to buy second hand clothes and remake them into beautiful clothes. She was a quilter too! Cutting costs with meals though, we do a lot of breakfasts for dinner, and PB&J are the go to meal when funds go too low. All good. My sons know this one well. :)
Best of luck with the Chicken Kofta! I'd probably be terrible at putting together something like that, whether using a meat grinder or a food processor, LOL.
You are making me hungry with all that food talk :-)
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