I appear to be entering a stage of mothering where I have great difficulty in getting anything done on the computer. Luckily for us, the money I make from writing is all extra, and we’ve been able to live entirely on Chad’s income.
I’ve discovered an obvious fact: if I spend less, I have more money in my wallet, which right now is a heck of a lot easier than working to get more money. My new favorite motto is “The best way to make money is to not use it!”
A not-obvious way of spending less is cooking more, and cooking outside the box. Making things I don’t normally cook keeps me interested in my own food and helps quiet that desire for eating out.
Because of my new friendships with raw foodies (they eat raw AND vegan), I’ve been exploring some raw recipes. Here’s one that was a great hit with even the omnivores at Christian’s birthday picnic. It’s call Not Tuna Pâté from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. Once you get past the initial strangeness of soaking your nuts, this recipe is super fast and easy. I soak my nuts all for the same amount of time and in the same bowl. If I can’t get to them right away (within 8 hours I mean), I rinse them, put them in fresh water and put them in the fridge until you can use them.
Not Tuna Pâté
1/2 c soaked raw sunflower seeds
1/4 c soaked raw raw almonds
2 T water
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 T minced celery (didn’t use this as I didn’t have any on hand)
1 T minced onion (I used more)
1 T minced fresh parsley (I’ve made it without, but people seem to prefer the taste with parsley)
Blend all together in the food processor. (The original recipe calls for stirring in the celery, onion, and parsley separately, but it was easier and faster to do it all at once – I also added more fresh lemon juice and salt to taste without measuring.)
Serve with … something raw, like carrot sticks. If you’re not a raw foodie, this recipe tastes great on crackers too.
