@lazey-peaches - Tumblr Blog

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feministism

arcusant

llleighsmith

i told ya we’ve canceled discourse n we’ve moved on to homesteading skills

smartmurderation

it’s just choppin wood and harvesting vegetables and herbs from here on out

llleighsmith

amen!

barbarianarchy-deactivated20200

unironically this

pinetreeanarchism

frederick-the-ii

Please hit me with more homesteading concept drawings

saltrat88

unclebeanbag

the-aspiring-maverick

Good reference material here.

trashprinxe

I have $24 to last me til Friday, what should I buy with it?

ivy-michaels

a pallet of ramen noodles

trashprinxe

I hate ramen noodles tho

ivy-michaels

hmmmmm bees?

trashprinxe

Are you suggesting that I eat bees for a week

vanishinginthepark

This is roughly what I make sure I have in my kitchen all the time along with rough estimates of local prices (MN). I buy a lot of things when they’re on sale and stockpile them.

instant oatmeal packets with fruit in them - $3 probably and this can be breakfast all week and maybe even a lunch or dinner too since you usually get 10 packets

bag of rice - $2-3 depending on size. 1 cup dry rice makes enough for about two meals depending on what you add in. if you get cheap rice, rinse it before cooking

canned beans - usually under $1 per can - mix the can with your rice and you have a meal. chili-spiced beans will make bean tacos. Rinse non-spiced beans before adding to anything.

Tortilla - usually around $3 but you get like 8-10 of them. Tacos, wraps, and quesadillas are all fair game here

lettuce - $2 max around here, either a head of something or bagged precut depending on preference, use as a salad or on tacos

protein other than beans of some sort - probably $5-7 for meat, $2-3 for eggs. sometimes I can get bags of frozen chicken breasts in this price range and each is usually 2 meals if I add in a bunch of veggies. fry/scramble eggs and add to any of the options.

your favorite stir fry sauce - $3ish

vegetables - $5ish. literally anything that you can 1. fry in a pan and 2. you’ll eat. fresh carrots are usually pretty cheap. get frozen if it’s cheaper and you’re strapped for cash/prep time on this part.

alternative to stir fry: pasta (~$2), fresh tomatoes (~$2), cheese (~$3).

cheese and fruit if you have extra - look if your store has loyalty cards for free that you can load coupons on for cheese there’s always one it seems like.

trashprinxe

ahh thank you!!!

hagar-972

Reblogging because there’s never knowing who’ll need it.

Adding also: the single most nutritious food on earth is potatoes in their peel. Potatoes + some milk and butter = everything you need. They don’t last all that long, but they’re fairly cheap and the quickest cheat to “How do I not fuck my body up.”

(Cooked potatoes’ll last a while in the fridge. Potatoes nearing the end of their useful lives? Cook them to half-done first, figure out what to do with them later.)

Easiest baked potatoes: slice thinly but not paper-like, spread like cards, brush with oil (a silicone baking brush is totes worth the little it costs), spread salt and pepper (a little less than you think you’d like), cover with foil, stick in oven or toaster-oven at 150C for 40min. (If you have the patience, at that point click up to 180C, remove the cover and add 10-20min.) Reheats well, lasts in the fridge longer than it’ll take you to nom.

Dead-Animal-Free Whole Protein: some legumes + some grain. AKA rice and lentils, or rice and beans. (Maybe some fried onion for flavor; onion’s cheap and stays good a descent while. Fried onion makes everything taste better and keeps forever in the freezer, so frying up a bunch and keeping portions is not a half-bad idea.) (If going for the beans option - lentils are cheaper around here but fuck if I know what it’s like in your area - dump some tomato sauce and oil in; canola or soy are best health-wise, and far cheaper than olive; avoid corn.) Oh, what does instant couscous go for in your area? It keeps for fucking ever, it’s usually cheap, and it takes well to any and all added taste.

If you get to choose, black lentils taste the best and need the least soak-time (0-20min), green lentils are best for cooked stuff and red lentils are best in soups. (Red lentils + potatoes + root vegetables of choice + spices; cut into small pieces, cook, run through the blender if you wanna [stick blender’s awesome], freeze in portions.)

When possible, get instant soup mix. Get the good instant soup mix. (The kind that’s not made primarily of sugar, yeast or both. The rest is optional.) Dump 1/2tsp (or more, but start on the low end) into couscous, or chicken, or sprinkle over potatoes being stuck in the oven. Whatever. It’ll make most cooked-food-type things taste better. And again, lasts forever on the shelf.

If you can have eggs (goodness knows they’re sometimes expensive), dump some tomato sauce in a pan (tomato sauce lasts forever on the shelf), add some oil, onion/beans to cook in it, hot peppers if you wanna, then when it’s nearly ready crack an egg or two in. Hard-boiled eggs last a remarkably while in the fridge, so when eggs reach near the end of their usable lives, just hard-boil and stick in the fridge. (Have eggs as often as you can, particularly as you have brain-shit going on. You need all the eggs, salt, and 60%-or-more chocolate you can get. Brains are made of cholesterol and salt, so folks with neuro or other brain shit need more of both. Potassium is also aces. You know what has the most potassium? Tomato paste.) Grated cheese keeps in the freezer for ever. Grated cheese will make a lot of things taste nicer. Preserved lemon juice keeps forever in the fridge. Grated cheese + oil + lemon = instant and awesome pasta sauce that’ll liven up the weeks-old dry pasta in the fridge. Slices bread also keeps well in the freezer. Try to have half a loaf or a loaf. Dry bread gets cut in cubes, mixed with oil and the aforementioned instant soup, stuck in oven at lowest until properly dry, then kept in an airtight jar to add to soups. (Over-ripe tomatoes come cheaper. They get turned into soup or sauce, then frozen in portions.)

anextremelysadmeme

this is a very good post but why are we glossing over the fact that the alternative to ramen is bees

sunreon

i have it on pretty good authority that bees are not an affordable eating alternative to ramen.

camwyn

Seriously, bees are expensive

taraljc

Trufax.

And speaking as someone who is also living off oatmeal, beans, and brown rice, if you need recipes, I have them!

Today I made 16 bean soup with chicken sausage and it was crazy good and I got 8 servings out of the one batch (froze half). I usually get the cheapest beans I can find, and GOYA bags of beans are usually $1-2. I soaked them overnight,rinsed them, and threw them in a gallon lidded saucepan with 2 boxes of chicken stock (also on sale for $2), two bay leaves, sauteed green pepper, onion, and celery, some garlic from a jar, about two tablespoons of dried herbs de provence,and the “fancy” bit was adding $6 bourbon and apple chicken sausages. You can actually sub veg stock for chicken and skip the sausage and make it vegan and it would still taste great.

Oh and I’ve been doing steel-cut oats. I don’t buy the name brand ones, I just pick whatever store brand/generic I can get for less than $4. They take about ½ an hour to make, but they’re super tasty and I make 2 cups of dried oats at a time with dried cranberries and that’s breakfast for 4 days at least.

I’ve also been making black bean soup, red beans and rice, and curried potatoes and chick peas. I got 100 quart and pint take-away containers from Amazon for $20 and they all stack neatly and are perf for one serving of whatever.

amireal2u

Additionally, depending on where you live, whole rotisserie chickens are something like $4-$7 and are easily 4 - 6 servings of protein and on TOP of that, if you stick the carcass in a ziplock bag and then the freezer you have excellent soup makings. Using bones in soup literally squeezes all viable vitamins and minerals out of the suckers. Soup made from lots of bones is great to keep around if you get sick, it’ll feed and sooth you relatively easily and as you get better you can add noodles. ON TOP OF THAT, a quarter to a half cup of soup broth added to a lot of dishes also adds those nutrients PLUS flavor.

jmathieson-fic

Here’s my “How to eat for a week on $30″ post.

geardrops

don’t forget Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4 A Day

lickmetilllicecreammmm

Yall are clutch for this lmao cuz ima need this for about the first month after I move

watts-of-dragons-deactivated201

Reblogging cause who knows what your followers are going through rn

arawynn

@imagine-assembling-the-avengers didn’t you answer a nonnie that was kicked out of their house yesterday? This post could help them with cheap food.

angryschnauzer

Tip from someone that eats a lot of beans/pulses; if you have even the smallest outside space, grow some mint. Beans etc can cause a lot of fermentation in your stomach and gut (you’ll fart enough to have your own hole in the ozone layer), but having mint tea after each meal will help solve this. Simply pluck 3 or 4 leaves, rinse, then let steep in boiled water for 5-10 minutes. Sip after your meal and if finishes it off nicely. Also if you add it to curries with some dried turmeric it tastes amazing with chickpeas.

Also mint is a very strong plant, it will grow in temperatures as low as -5°C/23°F, and will happily grow in a container on a windowsil. It will grow for years. If you plant it in the garden it will take over though, so its always best to grow it in a container.

casdean91

severeobjectfun

Dear teen girls,

Stop abusing your boyfriends and yes what you are doing is abuse.

Stop:

Yelling at him in front of his friends

Hitting or slapping him when he does or says something you don’t like

Telling him he doesn’t have a choice when it comes to decisions that involve both of you

Telling him he can’t hang out with friends because you don’t like him

Telling him to not talk to other girls even if they are his friend

Forcing him to spend every moment with you

Belittling him and pointing out all his flaws

Calling him stupid or making fun of him for making a mistake

Threatening to break up with him if he doesn’t do what you want

Being emotionally manipulative and crying until he does what you want

Accusing him of cheating every time he’s not with you

Blow up is phone if he doesn’t text you every five minutes

Telling him you are the must thing that has ever happened to him and no one else will love

Physically attacking him when ever you are mad

Forcing him to have sex despite that fact that he said he didn’t want to

Invading his privacy by going through his phone

Getting mad at him for changing his password and demanding he tell you what it is

If a guy did any of these things to a girl it would be considered abuse but since its the other way around its considered normal. Throughout High school I saw many girl treating their boyfriends like shit. Sometime even physically abusing them in the hallways and no one trying to stop it because its a girl attacking a boy.

Boys: If your girlfriend does anything on this list leave her. It is abuse and you deserve better.

Girls: if you find your self doing anything on this list to your boyfriend you need to knock it off because you are being abusive.

dynastylnoire

!!!!!!!! My brother was abused by his babies mom and it started like this and escalated to child abuse and neglect.

You don’t deserve to be screamed at, ignored, or assaulted.

Not showing affection when she wants or not hugging her before class) or missing a phone call doesn’t warrant getting cussed out or hit.

fvlani

Lol, I lost 5 followers from reblogging this. That’s fine, y'all can go

onlyblackgirl

Whole lot of grown women do this too.

engel-tier-deactivated20180213

Just wanna throw these in too

Being passive aggressive with him when he wants to spend time with friends or doing other things

controlling when he’s able to go out with friends

Breaking up his friendships with other girls just because you’re insecure

Making him feel like his opinions in decisions that affect the both of you are irrelevant and don’t matter

SENDING HIS NUMBER TO STRANGERS TO TEST IF HE’S LOYAL OR NOT

testing him in anyway in general without his knowledge or permission (example: catfishing! it’s manipulative and weird don’t fucking do that)

taking money/credit cards without permission to spend on things without his knowledge ( had an ex friend do this constantly to her boyfriend and she’d always condone it because “he’ll get over it” )

guilting him for hanging out with friends/family over you and making him choose between you and friends/family

telling him “you don’t love me if you *insert harmless activity he wants to do here* “

being rude or mean to him in front of others to assert dominance or power over him

downloading apps to spy on his phone activity (yes, this is a thing “”regular”” people do) or snooping on his social media to see who he’s talking to

hitting him, slapping him, punching him, shoving him. literally how do people not understand slapping your male partner is bad. people tend to find this funny in media and society and its weird. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF YOUR PARTNER WITHOUT PERMISSION.

I come from a family of very forward and manipulative women and i see it in media all the time. it’s fucked and people need to not be accepting of young girls acting like snot-nosed, abusive shit heads that think they can get away with manipulation and cruelty because they happen to be girls.

alwaysbewoke

and let me add this. ABUSIVE TEEN GIRLFRIENDS TURN INTO ABUSIVE GROWN ASS WOMEN GIRLFRIENDS WHO TURN INTO ABUSIVE WIVES.

if you have an abusive teen or young adult gf right now fellas, leave. don’t let her use you to get her shit right. you’ll be so fucked up by the time she gets it together if she ever does and believe that most likely she won’t.

spoonmeb

Can i just add that ive seen young queer girls do this to their girlfriends. Girls can be abusers and you are right to leave.

purpleandpinkhouses

Women/young girls can definitely be just as abusive. I knew a young man that got ran over and had his leg broken by his girlfriend because (in her words he annoyed her) He refused to press charges. Another young lady started to hit her ex boyfriend because he wouldn’t take her back because of the abuse. He called the cops on her and they literally started laughing at him because she was very petite in comparison to him. Anyone can be abusive and I wish more people understood that.

madhattey-deactivated20211019

dammit I’d spam my blog if i reblog this more than once but dude this is really important.

ayeshapoptropica

Oh my god. This is so important.

papi-chulo-bucky

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

fivekets

someday, in the distant future, humans will once again be capable of hearing the phrase “what is love” without also feeling the primal urge to respond with “baby don’t hurt me”

megparsec

So at that point, people will say “baby don’t hurt me”…no more?

iwantasecretgarden

I tried to scroll past I really did

quousque

beautiful set up, perfect follow-through. great teamwork everyone

lumpbiscuit-deactivated20130327

my parents aren’t teaching me life lessons.

#i need some adults to TEACH ME SHIT ABOUT LIFE

flutterjedi-deactivated20140413

I’m an adult.

thatsnicebutimmarried

Some shit about life, from a bonafide adult:

even if you get along great with your family you will get along even better with them after moving out

generic is almost always just as good as name brand. But there are some things you never buy generic, including: peanut butter, ketchup, liquid NyQuil, Chips-Ahoy chewy chocolate chip cookies

just imagine the person on the other end of the phone hates talking on the phone as much as you do. Even a receptionist. I worked as one and I hate talking on the phone

at least once in your life you will go to Wal-mart to buy something under $20 like an ironing board or something and your debit card will get rejected. No one will judge. Everyone at some point in their lives has had $2.98 in their bank account.

thrift stores

everyone else is too busy panicking about everyone else noticing every tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about them to notice any tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about you

you will screw up. a lot. you live and you learn. and when you start to think too hard about that embarrassing thing that happened and how you wish you could change it, just tell yourself that what’s done is done. There’s no changing it, so just forget it and move on. It’s the only way to stay sane.

do the dishes before the sink grows its own ecosystem

you can’t put Dawn dishsoap in the dishwasher.

if you are the only one in the aisle at the grocery store, and you need to get from one end to the other without even looking at anything in that aisle, then you should totally cart-surf down the aisle. Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Hold on to the little things. They make all the difference.

never try to make cake from scratch at 3am. You end up with a topographical map of Middle Earth.

15% tip.

the best way to get money for food is to tell your grandparents about how you basically live on microwaved mac and cheese. Their horror may result in twenty bucks and orders to go out and get yourself “a real dinner”.

sometimes life sucks, and knowing that it might get better doesn’t always make it suck any less, but you’ll never get to the non-sucky days without enduring the suckiness.

no seriously, NEVER put Dawn in your dishwasher

250darkstars

Do not buy generic brand spaghetti sauce either.

Always check the type of light bulb that goes in lamps. A 60w is not interchangeable with a 40w.

Dollar store batteries work just as well as store brand.

shrineart

Reward yourself from time to time when you do things that you needed to get done. It’s a good way to remind yourself to do them. Going out to pay a bill? Get Starbucks or something you don’t get often. Rewards don’t have to be huge, they can be small things like that.

Rice, pasta, flour, sugar, cheese, eggs, milk, a pack of chicken, a pack of frozen veggies and a well stocked spice cabinet go a long way food-wise. Splurge and get the biggest container of rice you can. You don’t have to go back and buy it again anytime soon and it makes a TON of meals in the meantime.

Rice can be cooked on the stove. You don’t need a fancy rice cooker. Two parts water to every one part rice (two cups water for one cup of rice for example). Get your water boiling, add rice, put a plate or lid on it, put it on low for 20 minutes. It should be done.

Keep a calendar on your pc of bill due dates. If your bills are set up at inconvenient times, like all of the services started on the first or something, then call up the company and find out if you can get your billing date switched to something more manageable. A lot of places do try to work with you.

There is no shame in calling a company and asking for an extension on a bill. Let them know what you can pay, pay that amount, and they arrange when the rest of the payment is required. This can stop you from having services shut off man. It shows responsibility on your part.

Take time to eat, even when you don’t feel like eating. Your body needs energy to live.

Wash or rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. It prevents gross caked on junk.

“The Works” is an excellent cheap toilet cleaner.

MAGIC. FUCKING. ERASERS. THEY WORK ON EVERYTHING JUST DON’T SCRUB HARD. I took the ring out of our bathtub with one. Also generic ones work just as well.

Keep some bleach around but if you use it for cleaning? Dillute it. There’s rarely ever a case where you need to pout straight bleach on anything. A cap full or two in a bucket of water works just fine.

DO NOT MIX CLEANERS. Chemical reactions are can be very dangerous. Here’s a good list. (Note that vinegar and baking soda can actually be a good combo for removing smells from things but it’s not very good at actually -cleaning-.)

If you drink? Don’t take meds at the same time it’s just not good.

Make sure you check the dosages on your pill bottles. No one wants to accidentally overdose on cough syrup or ibuprofen.

If you have a uterus make sure you have a heating pad and ibuprofen on hand for the pain. Hot baths also generally help and Ginger Tea is excellent for any nausea.

Buy a first aid kit. It’s worth it in the long run.

You can often do your taxes online at places like TurboTax.

Here’s some good sex ed resources because I had to explain what a yeast infection was recently.

Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) is good for chapped lips and you can get a decent sized tube or tub of it (generic brand version) for cheaper/same price as Chapstick.

KEEP TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT IN YOUR HOUSE FOR CUTS AND SCRAPES AND SORES.

~~Medications~~

Over the counter medications (stuff you can buy right off the shelf no prescription needed) have a name brand and a generic name. ALWAYS buy generic if it’s available it is literally the same thing and way cheaper usually.

Some names to remember when you’re looking for meds!

Acetaminophen = Tylenol

Used to treat pain and reduce fever. Do not take with Ibuprofen.

Ibuprofen = Advil, Midol, Motrin

Used for pain and fever, is an anti-inflammtory. Is good for period cramps because it is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).

Naproxen = Aleve, Naprosyn

Treats fever, pain, arthritis pain, gout, period cramps, tendinitis, headache, backache, and toothache. Is also an NSAID.

Acetaminophen + Asprin + Caffeine = Excedrin

Usually marketed as “Migraine Relief” as a generic.

Asprin = Bayer

Use for pain, fever, arthritis, and inflammation. Makes you bleed easily so should not be used for periods. Might reduce risk of heart attacks.\

Triple Antibiotic Ointment = Neosporin

Used on cuts, sores, and scrapes to reduce risk of infection and promote healing.

Also a general mutli-vitamin isn’t a bad idea and if you don’t get a lot of fruits or milk/sunshine in your diet you might want to get vitamins C and D specifically for daily use.

kiokushitakaa

if you do accidentally lapse and put dawn in your dishwasher, run it empty and put hair conditioner where the detergent goes. that’ll clean it out (tip given to me by dorm custodian when roommate did the thing).

if you live off ramen, add stuff to it! add veggies you like, don’t use the whole flavor packet to cut down on sodium and msg or don’t use it at all and add your own spices.

if you’re making something with potatoes in it (beans, stew) potatoes are done when you can easily stab a fork through them.

you can microwave a hotdog as long as you put it in a microwave safe container of water. microwaves work by making water molecules vibrate. also, when reheating rice leftovers, add a small amount of water, like maybe a spoonfull, so it doesn’t get hard and crunchy.

the rice cooking advice above is for long grain rice. if you’re making short or medium grain rice, a 1:1 ratio (one cup water for one cup rice) is better, so the rice doesn’t come out too mushy.

buy a few cans of chicken. wholesale club stores like sam’s, costco, or bj’s tend to carry multipacks for a good price. they’re incredibly useful for when you forget to defrost meat.

buy meat on sale and put it in the freezer. buy vegetables on sale, and put them in the freezer. frozen veggies are often as flavorful and good as fresh ones, keep longer, and often come in microwaveable bags or with microwave directions.

soak ink stains in milk to help get them out or at least lighten them.

soak blood stains in water as soon as possible, with a bit of detergent or stain remover. scrub at them. use cold water, heat binds proteins to fabric. tbh, there’s no real need to change the washer from cold-cold setting unless the thing you’re washing says to wash in warm water.

acetone, found in most nail polish removers, dissolves super glue.

cloningmycat

YOU’RE ALL DOING GOD’S WORK BLESS YOU

lifelovebooksnshit

Takes pictures, have prints made and put them in photo albums. Be IN the pictures, have someone take pictures of you and your friends. Get over not looking perfect in thw picture. Someday that friend might be gone and those pictures might be all you’ll have, you will want to be in them. I made that mistake with my best friend, i always felt weird asking for a picture together… he died of cancer January of 2014 and now i have no pictures of us together. Its my only regret in life.

boasamishipper

This is really helpful, thank you all!

batsandhatsinunderland-deactiva

I’m the newest of new adults but I’m gonna throw these little tips in there. IF YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR:

-coolant or water if your car overheats (coolant is preferable cause it won’t hurt the engine in the long run but hey i know money is tight)

-flashlight in case you break down at night and need to check under the hood and your phone is dead

-SPARE TIRE.

-jumper cables.you will at some point leave your lights on. you just will.

AAA or any other road side service is never a bad investment i swear. (try to mooch it off your parents as long as you can though)

shipperqueen93

Know how to change a tire. You’re going to need to do it at some point in time and you can’t always rely on someone else to do it for you.

Don’t be afraid to go to your local food bank. They are there for a reason.

Don’t be ashamed to ask for help period. Life is hard, everyone needs help occasionally.

woodelf68

You can put a LOWER wattage bulb in a lamp that says it’s for a higher one, but don’t put a HIGHER wattage bulb in. Also, watts refer to the amount of electricity used. LUMENS refers to the amount of light put out, and can vary quite a bit between brands, even though the wattage is the same. Look for the one with the highest lumens unless you actually want a slightly dimmer bulb in a certain location. Those dollar store batteries? Fine if they’re alkaline. “Heavy-duty” batteries, however, won’t last nearly as long. You can microwave a hot dog and bun simply by wrapping them in a toweling for a minute, less if you don’t want them scalding hot.

blue-pixiedust

Reblogging to save lives.

faranae-moved

Two adulting (kitchen-related) tips from me!

1. Buy a roll of parchment paper from the cooking shit aisle. A big roll will last you for-fucking-ever. Pretty much any time you’re using a baking pan you can line it with that stuff and save yourself A: food sticking to the pan and B: it’s a quick rinse and it’s clean.

2. Bread can get fucking expensive, so make your own. A bigass bag of flour and a bag of active dry yeast (store it in the friiiiidge!!!) works out a FUCK of a lot cheaper than buying bread at the store, and you can do so much more with it. Bread, pizza, rolls, cinnibuns, homemade pizza pockets. It seems intimidating but it’s stupid easy.

Seriously. It’s stupid simple to make, and most of the “3 hours” to make it is sitting around surfing the internet or doing whatever the fuck you want while the dough rises. If you have an afternoon free once a week to sit and play video games or surf the net, you have the time to make your own bread on the cheap. Here’s my simple-as-fuck recipe:

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (You can buy a bag of this stuff CHEAP in bulk stores, the little packets are hella stupid priced) 1 cup warm water (think a hot bath) 1 ½ teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons oil (any kind works for the most part) 2 ¼ cups flour 1 teaspoon salt

1. Stir the yeast, water, sugar, and oil up in a bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. It will foam up VERY high, this is the yeast getting happy! If it doesn’t get all foamy, the water may have been too hot or not hot enough. Remember, Yeast is alive! Treat it like a nice girlfriend!

2. Mix your flour, salt, and the yeast concoction up in a bowl.

3. Knead that shit for about 5 minutes. It will start sticky as heck, but will come together into a nice dough. If it’s still super sticky, toss in a bit more flour. Here’s how to knead it:

4. Put your dough in a covered, lightly oiled bowl and leave it someplace warmish for an hour. At that point it will have roughly doubled in size, give it a gentle punch to release the gasses that have built up inside. Cover it again and let it sit for a bit longer.

Boom. You have bread dough. Here are some baking times and uses for ya:

Optional egg-wash: Just crack an egg into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and mix the bejeebus out of it with a fork. Brush (or if you’re like me, goop it on with said fork) that shit thinly on bread before baking for a nice crust.

Pizza: Stretch it on a pan, stab the fucker all over with a fork, add toppings, bake 425*F 15-20 minutes.

Bread Sticks: Make snake-shapes, let rest on pan 10-ish minutes, bake 400*F 10-20 minutes.

Dinner rolls: Make ball-sized (yes those balls) balls. Place on greased pan, let rest 10-20 minutes to rise. Egg-wash and bake 375*F 25 minutes.

Bread: Lightly score (cut) the top, let sit for 20-ish minutes on/in whatever you’re using to bake it, egg-wash, bake at 375*F for 20-ish minutes. It’s done when it sounds hollow if you knock on the bottom.

You bet your ass you can deep-fry this shit for cheapie yeast doughnuts. Roll that shit in sugar or dip it in whatever, it’s fucking tasty.

Bagels: YES. YOU. CAN. Form bagel-shapes out of the dough and boil them in salty water for about 2 minutes. Egg-wash them and bake them at 400*F for 10 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls: Roll that shit out into a rectangle. Brush it with a mix of butter, cinnamon, sugar, and a pinch of salt (no exact amounts here, do it to your taste). Roll it up into a log, and cut it into discs. Let them sit 20 minutes in a pan and then bake at 375*F 15-17 minutes.

You can add whatever you want to the dough for some variety, just if it’s dried spices remember you really only need 1-ish tablespoons. I personally like making bread with about 1 tablespoon of dill in the dough. Roll it out flat, sprinkle it with cheddar, roll it into a log, squeeze the ends shut, and bake it like a regular loaf of bread. Cheesy dill bread OMNOMNOM.

*ahem* That got a bit long. But yeah. Bread’s expensive, yo. Save your wallet.

(Also it’s ridiculous amounts of therapeutic to bake, for me anyway)

tempestcaliban

Being able to bake your own bread is pretty awesome, if you got the time for it.

mostly10

this post is already obnoxiously long, but it’s full of good thing and as An Adult, I have a few small points to contribute:

it’s more important to eat, than what you eat. don’t stress out about organic, fair trade and healthy if you’re struggling to afford even just basic foodstuffs or just simply hate cooking. buy frozen pies, chips/fries, frozen readymeals, freeze-dried soup (costs next to nothing and is really nice with some warm bread), frozen baguettes (they look awful but are delicious when warmed up with butter) – anything that’s cheap and will fill you up is good enough, and just having a warm meal in your belly will make everything else feel easier.

defrost your freezer once a year, it will help it last longer - if you live somewhere cold, do it in the winter and you can put the frozen stuff outside while you defrost to avoid waste.

it’s okay to throw things away. don’t hold on to chipped plates and glasses out of habit. don’t wear shoes worn through if you can help it. throw them out and get new ones.

potatoes are cheap and good in pretty much any form. sliced, diced, mashed, boiled, fried, baked – pair it with an onion and some cheap minced beef/hamburger meat and you’ve got yourself a combo that can be varied almost infinitely.

if you can’t afford to buy a car - consider renting a cheap car every now and then and go on a road trip. even if it’s just to the next town over to buy food, it’s an adventure most people who have jobs can afford.

also? treat yo self. I know that’s from a tv-show and it seems silly and frivolous - but it’s very important. find ways to treat yourself and then do it. not all the time, but sometimes.

maevemauvaise

@amberlyinviolet there’s stuff about bread making!

downwarddnaspiral

Another add-on from me. I’ve been adulting for 24 years: Peroxide. Use this for blood. Even when it has had the chance to dry. It won’t work as well if you rinse the blood first. Pinto beans are a cheap protein. You can get a good-sized bag for about two bucks in the ethnic food aisle. Soak them overnight, or do a “quick soak” by boiling them for a half an hour and letting them sit for another hour. Rinse them, cover them with fresh water, cover and boil for about two to three hours. Keep adding water to keep them from drying out. They are done when the broth is thick and they no longer taste gritty. A pot of beans will give you two to three nights of dinner. Don’t store tomatoes or peppers in plastic bags. They sweat and spoil in the fridge after about three days. Store your brown sugar in the freezer to keep it soft. If you are anemic, cooking with a cast iron skillet will increase your iron levels. For medical stuff: If you have to go to the ER and have no insurance, you can ask the billing office for a payment plan. If your medical bills for the year are greater than 7 percent of your income, you can claim them on your taxes as a deduction. That isn’t much comfort, but it’s worth noting. I used to work in a billing office. If you are insured through your parents, keep a copy of your card. Once you reach 18, you are considered the guarantor for your bill. If you don’t have your card when you go to the ER, call it in to the billing office or take them a copy after your discharge. Do it within the first month of the date of service. If you can’t afford your bill, you may be able to apply for a community grant through your hospital. Clothing: You can un-shrink a sweater by rinsing it in cold water and hanging it to dry.

thisislostinlace

My big sis above is amazeballs and brillant. She gives the best advice.

I just want to advise some quick things i learned myself.

FRENCH BREAD/ITALIAN BREAD- my preference is the French bread. It makes the best everything: sandwhiches, pizzas, crustinis, croutons, SANDWICHES, PIZZAS and its cheaper than buying reg fancy bread or ordering pizzas

KNIVES: please invest in a great super sharp or self sharpening set. You can hurt yourself with a dull knife and it will save you money if you can cut up your own food

FEBREEZE: get some. If you don’t have laundry access inside, dont feel like doing it, too depressed, too tired, too busy, nobody saw you where it…blah blah, you wont regret the investment. Relax everybody does it

Ginger, green tea, a tea kettle, chicken soup, iodinized salt, pepper black and red, garlic, drinkable water, fill those ice trays up regularly, furniture with two uses or have storage, more attractive storage, a place for shoes…all things you will need HARD while adulting.

notophelia

If you don’t have time to knead the bread as outlined above and/or don’t find it therapeutic the way that commenter does? Bread machines are apparently passé, and I don’t remember the last time I didn’t see at least one any time I looked at the kitchen section at the thrift store. They’re usually about $6. It probably won’t come with the manual, but that’s what Google is for. Put all the ingredients in the pan, hit the appropriate buttons (varies slightly by model of machine), and in 3 hours you will have bread. Just make sure the yeast and water are both room temperature. Cold or expired yeast will result in very dense and bizarrely shaped bread, though most of it will still taste pretty good.

And seriously, THRIFT STORES. Not just for clothes. Furniture, kitchen stuff, picture frames, housewares, toys, bicycles, yarn, random office supplies… If you need it and it’s not perishable or edible, you can probably find it. You might even find it brand-new. Many retail stores have taken to donating merchandise that doesn’t sell on clearance. Cheaper than warehousing it, better PR than dumpstering it. If you need something particular or unusual, the tradeoff is time spent hunting, but for some of us that’s a feature rather than a bug. ;-)

lionesshathor

Another few tips:

Baking soda is an effective fire extinguisher. Grease fire? Dump the box on that shit. NEVER pour water on or chuck ice cubes at a grease fire because IT WILL SPREAD. Ice in fire literally explodes.

If you live alone, you might shave a few bucks off your utility bill by being a tad sloppy. Use the light of one room to illuminate as much as possible. Don’t flush the toilet until morning. Pour the water from your spaghetti and shower–putting a bucket under the steam until it gets hot collects perfectly drinkable water– onto any plants you have. Freeload Wi-Fi and power from libraries and fast food places. A box of Borax can make your detergent stretch a bit further.

nezclaw

A crockpot is great. Anything you can make on the stove you can make in a crockpot, and without as much worry. Toss some ingredients in before bed or before you leave for work and you’ll have a ready meal when you get up/home.

Great for oatmeal, soups, stews, chili, beans…