Getting your first apartment alone, or with a partner, is very exciting and if you are reading this blog, we hope that this new home is with the Farrell family. Our spacious one-bedroom units are a great place to settle in and start a new chapter in your life. So, if that is you, welcome. If you are still looking for a superb one-bedroom, please visit us at farrellpropertiesvt.com and we will get you on your way to a great new home where you can cook your heart out!
If you are like many of us right now, housebound and working from home, you are probably cooking more than ever since eating out, is out of the question. Now is the perfect time to hone those cooking skills and try new recipes while sticking to a budget.
Here are a few tips to help you with that.
1- Make a menu. Decide which recipes you will make for lunch and dinner.
2- Plan your meals around foods that are on sale. Check store flyers and be sure to buy and plan for foods that you like so that they don’t go to waste.
3- Plan at least one meatless meal a week. Legumes (beans, lentils, dried peas), eggs, tofu, peanut butter, and canned fish offer great tasting protein at a good price. Lots of recipes online.
4- Check your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. Look for recipes that use those foods and ingredients.
5- Enjoy grains more often. Grains such as rice, pasta, barley, and couscous are inexpensive and can be used in many different recipes.
6- Look for seasonal recipes. Vegetables and fruit are cheaper when they are in season. And the season in NOW!
7- Cook with a plan for using the leftovers in another recipe for those days when you don’t feel like cooking or shopping. You can freeze just about anything and there is plenty of information on how to do that online, so check before you toss something.
Invest in a crock-pot or slow cooker, you can use less expensive cuts of meat and get great results.
There are plenty of slow cooker recipes for everything from oatmeal to bread and everything in between – online, of course.
Another great option is to go to the Farmer’s Markets – they are all slowly opening back up (remember to wear a mask and stay safe). You will get great deals on local produce, meats, honey, and all kinds of other great food, and help our local farmers as well as the local economy, and given our current situation, those are all good things.
Here is a link to NOFA VT (Northeast Organic Farming Association of VT). You will find all the information about which markets are opening and their protocols for staying safe.
https://nofavt.org/find-organic-local
Fear not, you may never have your own cooking show, but you just might become the chef you always wanted to be. So, on your marks, get set, COOK!