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Reviving the Domestic Arts in a Slow Economy by Tera Schreiber

Our grandmothers’ generation knew how to stretch a dime by doing and making things for themselves. Lacking convenient sources for food and dry goods like we have today with our supermarkets, big-box and department stores, they had to rely on their own skills and creativity to meet their families’ needs. As for our generation, we can easily obtain the things we need for daily living by only having to pay for them. But has the price of convenience become too high?

Today’s economy might dictate the need for many of us to get back to basics and do more for ourselves to survive its current downturn. To learn how to stretch a dime like they did (or a dollar in our case, adjusting for inflation), we might want to take a lesson from our grandmothers’ generation and revive some of the skills they used. In the process we might discover that their traditional methods not only save money, they inspire our own creativity as well as connect us with our past.

And while some of the skills used by our grandmothers may no longer make economic sense, such as sewing clothing that in many cases would be cheaper to buy, many of the so-called domestic arts from our grandmothers’ era do make sense. By incorporating them into our modern lives we may find it easier to meet the economic challenges we’re now facing.

GARDENING

One of the most basic ways to lower the cost of groceries and ensure the quality of food you eat is to grow it in your own backyard. The Millers involve their whole family in the art of growing food. “Every year we plant about 40 tomato plants,” says mom, Michelle. With a family of four, the Millers can’t possibly eat all of those tomatoes fresh. So every summer they make and can 80 to 120 quarts of salsa, spaghetti sauce and plain tomatoes. The Millers also plant kale, carrots, basil and other vegetables. This saves them hundreds of dollars every year, but they don’t do it just for the cost savings. “I find it so satisfying to go into the cupboard and see my garden staring back at me all year,” says Miller.

CANNING AND PRESERVING

But tomatoes are just one of the many versatile foods that can be preserved for future use. Every summer, Ginny Heller takes her kids berry picking at a local farm. With their 15 pounds or so of fresh berries they spend the next day making jam and packing freezer bags. With berries in the freezer and jam on the shelves, Heller and her family are stocked up for the entire year, for a fraction of what jams and frozen fruit cost in a grocery store. “I didn’t plan it this way exactly,” Heller admits. “But the first time I harvested all of that fruit, I realized that I needed to do something with it!”

Despite their overflowing garden, the Millers will sometimes purchase vegetables they want to preserve but don’t have room to grow large quantities of. “Every other year we can 50 to 100 quarts of dill pickles,” explains Michelle. Rather than growing that big a crop of cucumbers and worrying about their ripening all at the same time, they buy the cucumbers from the local co-op. Even with the cost of the cucumbers, they save hundreds of dollars by making their own pickles.

But there is also more to canning than just preserving the harvest. For some women it’s part of their history. “Canning is something I learned from my mom and grandma,” says Miller. “I’m glad that our children are in the process of all this as well. Canning is easier than one thinks. For the few hours here and there you invest, you get back many times in return. Fresh, local, clean food!”

Lanae Rhoads, a Seattle mother and entrepreneur, shares this sense of tradition when it comes to canning. “I grew up with it. I watched my mom do it every year. We could only eat what we helped with. If we didn’t pick strawberries, we didn’t have any jam.” Rhoads learned from her mother not just how to preserve food, but how to be frugal with it. “I use every bit of the apple,” says Rhoads. “When I make juice in my juicer, I take what the juicer has left and I put it in pantyhose and squeeze the juice out of it. Then I use the mush that’s left after pressing the apple as a sweetener. It works great in muffins and breads.” From 450 pounds of apples, Rhoads only composts about 25 pounds of apple residue. And that goes into her garden as free fertilizer.

RAISING CHICKENS

In addition to harvesting berries, Ginny Heller raises chickens. She does this not necessarily to save money, but because she loves having fresh eggs. “I like to get in touch with my food source,” says Heller. “The chickens are also lovely pets.” Her family enjoys fresh, organically grown, free-range eggs almost daily for the cost of about $200 a year for her three hens. The chickens also help dispose of garbage by eating some of the family’s food scraps, control pests by eating bugs in the yard, and provide a regular source of fertilizer for her garden.

BAKING

High quality, whole-grain bread costs at least $4 a loaf in our area. That’s more than the cost of a five-pound bag of organic, whole wheat flour, which can yield many loaves of bread. Doing the math is easy: Baking bread at home is always going to cost less than buying it from a store. Though some are intimidated by the idea, baking bread is fairly simple, requires just a few tools and ingredients, and makes the house smell wonderful.

Susan Black uses her bread machine to make all of the sandwich bread that her family of five enjoys. “This saves me money because I don’t have to run to the store as often, and it’s cheaper than the bread I used to buy. I can make it how our family likes it and with healthy ingredients.”

Lucy Simpson also makes her own bread, but prefers to do it by hand. “I like kneading my own dough. You simply pound the dough, which is a good way to let off steam, let it rise while you do other things, and then bake it.”

With baked goods, one of the benefits beyond economy is controlling the ingredients. “I like to bake muffins,” says April Hichens, “because I can easily adapt my recipe to accept leftovers, and because one of my kids is a vegetarian, I usually pump up the protein content via almond flour or additions of nuts, tofu and eggs. Because we know the ingredients that go into all our baked goods, we are more comfortable with feeding them to our kids.”

Lisa Sharp also enjoys baking her own bread and says, “Economics and concern over ingredients were the two primary reasons to start baking bread myself. Buying artisan organic bread became a bit of a stretch for us. And having control of the ingredients and room to experiment really appeals to me! There is also something absolutely satisfying in the entire process ... from feeling good dough against my hands to my daughter waiting anxiously for the fresh bread to come out of the oven!”

COOKING FROM SCRATCH

Convenience foods have become staples in most homes despite the fact that they are costly. Do you buy frozen pizza in a box? Do you buy yogurt in little cups? Is your pantry stocked with cans and bottles of prepared foods and sauces? While it’s hard to argue with the convenience of having prepared foods on hand, it’s easy to argue with the cost.

Jennifer Kinard suggests that “one way to save money on food is to make homemade pizza. Dough made at home is so, so cheap, and you control the quality and quantity of the toppings. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Laura Gilliam regularly makes her own sauces, granola and yogurt. For example, she makes peanut sauce from peanut butter, vinegar, sweetener and a little seasoning. She toasts oats and nuts with natural sweeteners to make a tasty granola that her family loves. For a few dollars, she bought enough yogurt culture to make eight batches of yogurt. For subsequent batches she needs only to buy the milk and use some of the yogurt from the prior batch as a culture for the next. By reusing jars for storing yogurt, she avoids the cost of packaging and saves the planet from extra waste.

She also tries to avoid outsourcing her meals even when it’s a matter of convenience. “A lot of people might get take-out when they need a quick dinner. We don’t. We make something quick at home instead, like a salad or sandwiches.”

Lynn Hooghiemstra economizes by making her own refried beans. “I often make too many beans when I cook up dried beans for a soup or chili and then the next day or so will toss those in a pan with olive oil, garlic, chili powder, a couple teaspoons of tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper, cook them for awhile, then mash them with a potato masher and let them cook till they are nice and thick and will spread into a tortilla.”

Jasmine Banducci similarly finds that the cost and versatility of beans make economic sense. “We soak big batches of beans once a month and save ends of vegetables for homemade stock. Really, eating food with less packaging tends to be less expensive and better for you.”

WILDCRAFTING

If cultivating a patch of land is not where your interests lie, you can still enjoy the benefits of harvesting what grows in the earth by wildcrafting, like Jennifer “J.T.” Thames does. Thames gathers and uses what she finds growing wild to put together meals, produce herbal medicines and make crafts. “I love searching, finding and gathering,” says Thames. “It’s a treasure hunt every time!” Thames gathers in wild places as well as friends’ yards. “I am an urban, suburban and countryside forager,” she proclaims.

What can she really find by wandering around and looking for wild plants? Her foraging has supplied the means for making things like crabapple jelly, nettle soda pop, herbal tinctures and salves, and wild-green salads. What’s more, collecting wild plants is generally free! Products made at home from wildcrafted plants are generally less expensive than comparable products purchased from a store. “I can put up a 28-ounce jar of St. John’s Wort oil in an hour’s picking on a pleasant sunny afternoon,” says Thames. “St. John’s Wort oil sold for about ten dollars an ounce last I saw at the grocery store. It sure doesn’t cost me $280 for my jar of high quality oil!”

Wildcrafting seems the perfect activity for those who are both industrious and who love to spend time outdoors. “It’s more purposeful than ‘just’ a hike,” says Thames, “though hiking is nice too, of course.” While it’s very easy to get started wildcrafting — think picking dandelion leaves for salad — it’s important that wildcrafters gather respectfully, advises Thames.

Respectful gathering includes following a set of ethics. Always identify a plant before picking it. Respect the ecosystem by gathering minimally, and take only what you personally need. Leave plenty behind. Ask permission from property owners before gathering. And know your sources. Know whether pesticides have been sprayed or whether the local beach has a sewer outflow pipe. Finally, “you can often leave your gathering area cleaner and better maintained than you found it,” says Thames. She encourages all wildcrafters to take the role of stewardship seriously.

In order to be a satisfied and safe wildcrafter, Thames has learned both where to find the plants she seeks as well as what plants are appropriate for the uses she intends. As a result, she feels confident about the health benefits of her wildcrafting lifestyle. “I love feeding my kids wild foods in season to help them stay healthy and strong. And I love making herbal medicines for myself and my community. I feel that what we need for good health grows right near us, and it’s awesome to tap into that. It’s wonderful to understand that there are safe, effective, natural options at hand when your child has a fever at 3 a.m.”

In the spirit of wildcrafting, Lanae Rhoads has found that she can obtain free fruit in her own neighborhood while offering a hand to her neighbors. When she noticed that several neighbors had apples falling from trees that they didn’t have the time or inclination to harvest, she asked if she could pick the fruit herself to help them out. “People were thrilled because they didn’t have to pick up a mess in the yard and I got free fruit!” Rhoads says. “I picked 450 pounds of apples this year just from three small trees in my neighborhood.” Not only was this a great use of resources that would have otherwise have gone to waste, it was a great way for these neighbors to support one another.

SEWING AND KNITTING ON A BUDGET

Without a doubt, mending one’s clothes rather than ditching them when they begin to sport some imperfections is the most economical way to go. Laura Gilliam does this. “A lot of people toss things out with a button missing or a tear. But there is still a lot of life left in most of those clothes,” she says.

Shannon McClendon agrees and suggests that a little preventative care will extend the life of your wardrobe. “Clothes last a lot longer if you stitch up a small hole before it gets big, or reinforce buttons that are getting loose before they fall off and get lost and you can’t find a match!”

Likewise, there are tremendous bargains to be found in secondhand stores because people often donate things that only need a little mending. McClendon notes, “Secondhand clothes are much cheaper when they have flaws or slight damage. It’s so quick and easy to replace a button or mend a seam, and can save you a bunch!” McClendon has found and revived some wonderful treasures from thrift shops, such as a beautiful duvet cover for only $8, some designer sweaters and a tailored fleece peacoat. “I could tell a bunch of stories about getting clothing for almost nothing that I simply couldn’t afford new,” she says.

Elly Winner has found enjoyment in sewing by making simple items. “I make many of the kids’ pants,” she says. With only about 15 minutes of effort and a fit tailored to her kids, it’s easy to see why she would rather do that than rummage through racks in a store. The bonus is that her kids love to pick out their own fabrics.

While the cost in time and fabric may be prohibitive for fashioning an entire wardrobe, and the price of yarn too high to justify knitting all of your own sweaters, there are some clever ways to feed a passion for these crafts if you’re trying to conserve.

Amelia de Bie creates fine garments for friends and family on a surprisingly small budget, so she gets creative when it comes to obtaining her fibers. Her blog, www.bollewangenhaptoet.blogspot.com, features a beautiful cardigan she made from yarn she unraveled from a sweater that cost less than seven dollars at a thrift store. She even repurposed the buttons from another garment for the sweater. She regularly combs thrift shops for items that she can unravel, cut apart or otherwise repurpose into unique, high quality items.

“I am overwhelmed by the amount and the quality of the stock at the local thrift stores,” says de Bie. So she makes use of it and has even taken knitting groups on field trips to her local thrift shop to teach them how to find the best sweaters to unravel. “You can easily find cashmere at the thrift store. For ten dollars you can get a hundred dollars worth of yarn.”

She also recommends keeping the crafting stash organized and thinking carefully about using every bit of things, to stretch the budget. “I saved a zipper today,” she laughs. “I am the sort of person who loathes throwing anything useful away. I can’t stand to do it.” Her other best money-saving tip for crafters is to use the local library for patterns and instructional books. Better even than the thrift store, the library is free!

So, whether you do something as simple as making your own bread or as involved as mixing your own herbal remedies, there are myriad ways to revive the domestic arts our grandmothers mastered out of necessity. While you may be motivated to do this from a desire to save money in the current economy, you may also find that mastering some of these skills can be both economical and satisfying.

Tera Schreiber is a frequent contributor to Seattle Woman.

RESOURCES

For information on canning safety: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/communicable/diseases/botulism.

To learn more about raising chickens or planting your own garden, even in the smallest of urban spaces, check out classes offered by Seattle Tilth, www.seattletilth.org.

Traditional baking and cooking:

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon

Wildcrafting:

www.learningherbs.com
earthwalknorthwest.com
ravencroftgarden.com

Blogs of select domestic divas:

www.bollewangenhaptoet.blogspot.com
www.soulemama.com
www.angrychicken.typepad.com

RECIPES

Tooth Powder
Courtesy of Teresa Christianson

Mix equal amounts of baking soda and finely ground sea salt.

Add ground sage for whitening.

If you have a small cup attachment on a blender or a clean coffee grinder, grind the powder until it has a soft texture.

Dip in a damp toothbrush and brush your teeth.

Quick Dandelion Salad
Courtesy of Jennifer Thames
(Dandelion leaves are chock-full of vitamins, including A and C, and minerals including iron and calcium.)

Gather as many dandelion leaves as you and your family wish to eat. I collect mine from the yard just before dinner. Be sure to choose smaller leaves from the plants that have NOT sent up a flower stalk yet. Bigger, older leaves will likely be too bitter.

• Vinegar or lemon juice
• Tamari or soy sauce
• Olive oil

Shake together vinegar, tamari and olive oil in the proportions you like. Pour over greens. Enjoy! This is also nice with a little Parmesan cheese on top.

Homemade Ricotta
Courtesy of Jen Witsoe

1/2 gallon whole milk
1 cup cream
7 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix everything together and heat slowly in a sturdy pot to 180°F (about 30-45 minutes). Don’t stir more than once or twice, as the curds will become smaller the more you stir. Turn up the heat a little until the milk gets to 220°F (about 10 minutes). The milk should start bubbling like a volcano. Turn off the heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Then drain for 30 minutes (longer if you want drier cheese, shorter if you want moister cheese). Makes about 1 pound ricotta.

Some ideas for eating ricotta:
• Eat warm drizzled with honey.
Mix with melted chocolate chips and optional extra sweetener for chocolate "moose."
• Mix with fruit purée and optional sweetener and chill (also good topped with whipped cream).
• Make a quick cheesecake by mixing with 2 beaten eggs, roughly 1/2 cup sweetener, and a tablespoon of vanilla. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
• Make lasagna by mixing with 2 cups puréed cooked greens, salt and a little water or stock for pasta sauce; add 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and layer in lasagna noodles with tomato sauce, vegetables and Parmesan cheese.
• Mix with chopped herbs, olives or diced sun-dried tomatoes in oil (drained) for a spread.
• Make an Italian torta by mixing with a cup of shredded Parmesan, 2 beaten eggs, a cup of puréed greens and optional 1/2 cup sautéed mushrooms or diced sun-dried tomatoes in oil (drained) for a two-crust pie. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
• Use instead of sour cream or yogurt in dips, spreads and smoothies.

Bread & Butter Pickles
Courtesy of Amy Riggs

3 pounds of 3–4-inch pickling cucumbers
4 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Ball 100% natural canning and pickling salt
6 cups water
3 cups cider vinegar, 5% acidity
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
Bag of ice

Wash cucumbers and remove 1/16-inch from blossom end. Cut into 1/4-inch slices and measure 10 cups. Combine cucumbers, sliced onion, pickling salt and water in large container. Top with a couple paper towels and place ice on top of towels. Cover and let stand for two hours.

Prepare jars and lids per packaging instructions while vegetables rest in water. Make sure you have everything you need ready: a storage tray for jars, hot pads, tongs, washcloth for wiping jars, etc.

After two hours, lift ice and paper towels off vegetables, and drain salt water. Refill with fresh water and drain one more time.

With your jars and lids ready to go, combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a 6–8 quart pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Add vegetables to vinegar and return to boil. Pack hot pickles and liquid into jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles (a chopstick works well for this) from jar. Wipe jar rim clean and seal per canning jar directions. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Tips:
• Ball's magnetic stick for removing lids from the hot water is very handy, as are canning tongs. I would not pickle without them.
• Open your windows. The vinegar gets pretty strong.
• If you think you may can more than once, keep a journal of what you do, what works, what you liked and what you didn't. You will be so glad to have this information available when you do it again.

©2009 Caliope Publishing Company