More bread on the Web

This must be a fine week for bread on the Web. In addition to my own post yesterday about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I came across two other relevant posts to make your home-baked bread the best it can be …

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Wrap-up: Save money with DIY, organic coupons

Some good ideas around the Web this week for saving money and living naturally:
Real Simple’s money-saving March
Wise Bread wrote about some of the ideas in this month’s issue of Real Simple for saving money. Some of them don’t seem very frugal to me (there’s absolutely no way I would consider meat that costs $5.99 a [...]

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Amazingly easy, incredible bread – and cookbook GIVEAWAY (winner named – see 3/19 post)

I own a cookbook that has a recipe titled “Best and Easiest Home-Baked Bread.” The recipe has you mix up a starter and let it sit 2 to 8 hours; make a sponge and let it rise 4 to 8 hours; knead more flour into the sponge to form a dough (by hand, mixer or food processor); let that dough rise an hour; turn it out into a bowl or basket so the loaf can rise; heat the oven to 500 degrees and put cornmeal on a baking stone; slash the loaf — and bake. The next time you want bread, do it again.

Don’t get me wrong. That makes a good loaf of bread. But I think I’ve REALLY found the easiest and best way to make the easiest and best bread — not to mention pizza, sweet rolls and other things I haven’t even discovered yet.

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Thrift SCORE!

Do you ever find such amazing things at the thrift store that you’re just dying to share?

I’ve had a few of those times lately.

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Coming right up on Cheap Like Me …

I’m juggling a super busy life this week, so I’m slow in posting, but I have a lot of great things on tap for you in the near future.

Making your own bread – easier than ever.
An update on life with the Diva Cup reusable menstrual cup, 8 months down the road.
Revisiting the world of yogurt-making.
How [...]

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Friday wrap: Cabin fever, gentle cleaner, cheaper tax deals

This week brings a group of heading-to-spring posts, from beating cabin fever, to gearing up for spring cleaning, to saving on the spring ritual of filing an income tax return.
Eco cleaner for marble and other scratchable surfaces
If you’re interested in cleaning with natural products, you probably know the most popular drill: Baking soda and vinegar! [...]

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Make your pet more frugal

A post I published last week mentioning frugal fitness garnered a couple of comments that getting a dog is not a frugal choice.

Of course, we make many decisions in our lives that are governed by more than frugality. At least, I hope so.

There are ways, however, to make pets more affordable.

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Some (sort of) good economic news

Everywhere you turn, the news is loaded with sludge: We’re in a recession. Is it a depression? Nobody knows … but it’s bad. We’ve lost 25% to 30% of the value of the stock market. Our home values have declined. Unemployment is up.

A common descriptor is “the worst recession since the Great Depression.” The problem is, that comparison makes many people jump to the conclusion that this is as bad as — or the same as — the Great Depression.

But let’s take a glass-half-full approach. We’re still much wealthier than most people in the world.

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Get thee to the garden!

Garden season is nearly upon us. What’s planned for your garden this year?

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How do you save your money?

This post over at Get Rich Slowly has drawn a lot of “me too” comments and a lot of flack for the idea being stupid. Intrigued? The guest subject pays her bills, then if she has any extra, she shuttles the money right into a savings account so she isn’t tempted to spend it.
Easy-peasy, right? [...]

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