Donna Freedman - Surviving and Thriving

Tasting history with modern pumpkins.

October 13, 2021 by Donna Freedman

Linda B. clued me in to a new pumpkin pie recipe recently. Or, rather, an old recipe, courtesy of “Tasting History with Max Miller” on YouTube. Miller is an engaging young man who turned his passion for historical food and beverages into a pair of YouTube channels.

The recipe, circa 1670, featured sliced apples, currants, raisins, butter, savory herbs and dry sack, but no custard or even milk. This was to be a layered dish, not a smooth and creamy one.

Back in the day, “pumpions” were a big reason that the colonists survived. Not only is it packed with vitamins and minerals, it survived less-than-ideal growing conditions and stored well over the winter. As the old folks used to sing,

We have pumpion at morning and pumpion at noon,

If it were not for pumpion, we should be undoon.

Since we did manage to nurse two pumpkins through a weird summer, and since DF is always up for a culinary challenge, we decided to give this a try. Naturally we put our own spin on the recipe, including the peculiarly Alaska one of substituting rhubarb juice for the dry sack. (I can’t abide alcohol.)

We had no currants, because I neglected to forage for them this year, but we did have raisins. (Fun fact: They were part of a Buy Nothing Facebook food package.) Miller used the savory herbs rosemary, thyme and parsley. But I wanted to hew closer to modern flavors, so I went with cinnamon, cloves and ginger. She who makes the pastry makes the rules.

Is fine dining worth it?

October 10, 2021 by Donna Freedman

The other night I brought home dinner from Tastee-Freez: chicken strip basket for me, bacon ranch chicken sandwich for DF and curly fries for both of us. This is not most people’s idea of fine dining, but we enjoyed it immensely.

It didn’t hurt a bit that we were both pretty ravenous, but seriously: The food there is good. They get their burger meat from a local butcher, and are “proud to use” Alaskan cod, pollock, crab and salmon.

But there’s another reason. Dipping a chicken strip into the little plastic cup of honey-mustard sauce, I suggested that the reason we were enjoying it so much is that we hardly ever do it.

Once or twice a year DF and I visit a very fine-dining establishment called Kincaid Grill; one of those dinners is an annual tradition with a couple of friends. The rest of the time, “Where shall we go for dinner?” always has the same answer: “The kitchen table.”

Not just because it’s the frugal thing to do, either. We genuinely enjoy our homemade meals. (He says it’s because they’re prepared and shared with love.) In addition, we don’t have to get dressed up nicely, or even get dressed at all; we’ve eaten quite a few meals in sweatpants and T-shirt, or even in bathrobes if it’s been a long day. We don’t have to wait for a table, examine a wine list, tip a server, or figure out which ancient grain is being sauced up and marked up.

Dining out just seems like…a lot of work. I expect I’m not the only one who feels this way, especially since people have become so accustomed to DoorDash et al. bringing them meals in takeout containers.

A recent article on Grubstreet, written by food critic Adam Platt, suggests there’s another reason. Yep, it’s the pandemic, but it’s also a question of “relevance and tone.”

“(With) people struggling all over the city and fashionable tastes veering – as they have been for years – toward three-star tacos, burgers and bowls of ramen, a fancy multi-course menu feels like the opposite of sophistication to a new generation of diners.

“‘All these places try to tell a story,’ an astute young Brooklyn gourmet told me the other day. ‘But in the end, they’re all the same. …I just feel like the world has moved on.”

What was your first job?

October 7, 2021October 7, 2021 by Donna Freedman

I drove my great-niece to her first job interview the other day. They say to dress for the job you want, not the job you have, but right now B doesn’t have any square clothing.

Well, she does have a couple of skirts and a chic black-and-white dress, but the interview is for a very casual food retailer.

“I don’t want to overdress,” she said, deciding to stick with jeans.

Besides, right now the job she wants is at Hot Topic, where you can dress in all sorts of expressive ways. But she’s not yet old enough to get hired there.

Having reviewed the potential interview questions on the company’s website didn’t make her any less nervous, especially since she’s a bit shy. But she tiptoed in bravely with her fluorescent lime-green hair, septum piercing, “Prudhoe Bay Alaska” sweatshirt and white face mask.

Ten minutes later she was back out, with a fistful of paperwork. Apparently the interview went something like this:

What school do you attend?

How far away do you live?

You’re hired.

Win a $100 Old Navy gift card.

October 6, 2021 by Donna Freedman

Savings.com is at it again. This time, the coupon/deals website is giving away five $100 e-gift cards to Old Navy.

Although this is being billed as the #OldNavyFallLooks giveaway, I’m thinking “holiday shopping.” You could do quite a bit of damage with $100 at Old Navy, especially if you check the clearance racks and/or wait until Black Friday.

Then again, Old Navy is known for fun clothing and accessories that are affordable even when they aren’t on sale.

Giveaway: Alaska aurora calendar.

October 1, 2021 by Donna Freedman

As I noted recently, it’s high time you started any holiday shopping you plan for the year. Due to supply chain/pandemic issues, it’s going to be harder to find what you want and it will almost certainly cost more than you hoped.

Here’s one solution: Win your gifts!

I post those e-gift card giveaways from Savings.com whenever I hear about them, in the hopes that one (or more!) of my readers will luck out. Regular readers also know that I give stuff away myself fairly often.

Lately I’ve been trying to focus on locally made items. This week’s giveaway is the Aurora 2022: Alaska’s Northern Lights calendar from Fairbanks-based Greatland Graphics.

Who’s in?

Holiday shopping hack: Unused gift cards.

September 29, 2021 by Donna Freedman

I give a lot of gift cards for birthdays and Christmas, because I like the flexibility* they provide to the recipients. Generally I get them from rewards programs, which means that most arrive as e-gift cards. I print out two copies: one to give and one as backup in case the cards get lost.

Which isn’t me being paranoid. Lost gift cards are a thing. According to a Bankrate.com poll of nearly 2,400 adults, U.S. residents have an estimated $15.3 billion in unspent spending power just lying around. The average amount is $116 per person.

On the bright side, it was $167 per person back in January 2020. That’s progress.

These numbers are sobering – and unnecessary. That’s why I’m proposing that we all go on an unused gift card hunt. Mine happened on Sunday, quite by accident.

Financial gifts.

September 23, 2021 by Donna Freedman

A fellow named Brandon, of Rinkydoo Finance, posed this question today on Twitter:

“What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you financially?”

The expected “parents paid for college” answer popped up a few times. Other responses were things I’d consider not mere kindnesses, but rather enormous advantages:

“Gave us $10k cash for a honeymoon. Loaned us $100k at 3% to refinance my wife’s high-interest student loans.”

“When they purchased my business.”

“Someone anonymously donated $13,500 to my brother’s medical fund when he was battling brain cancer. Never found out who it was. (The number was just under the gift limit for the year so they would not need to file any paperwork with the IRS.)”

Here’s mine:

When I was a 21-year-old unmarried mom, preparing to move from rural New Jersey to Philadelphia, an acquaintance took me out to lunch. He asked how I could possibly keep the baby and myself alive on my “permanent part-time” salary. So I laid it out for him: I make X dollars an hour, rent and public transit pass are X dollars a month, child care is X dollars a week, I just bought a scrub-board and we’ll eat a lot of beans.

Then I excused myself to the restroom. When I came back, he’d paid for the lunch and said, “Well, I have to be going.” After he hugged me goodbye, he put a slip of paper in my hand. Unfolded, it turned out to be a check for a month’s worth of child care. Immediately I said, “I can’t accept this! It’s too much!”

$1,500 in gift cards up for grabs from Savings.com.

September 14, 2021 by Donna Freedman

Once again Savings.com is putting some gift cards up for grabs, and once again I’m hoping one (or more!) of my readers will win. This is a pair of quick-turnaround giveaways, so please take 60 or so seconds to enter them right now.

Here’s what you have a chance to win:

Four $250 e-gift cards to Home Depot are the prizes in the #WinterPrepWithHomeDepot giveaway. Follow the link and enter before 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday, Sept. 16.

What would you do with $250 worth of buying power? Home improvement projects, holiday decor, yard care items, e-security stuff like a doorbell camera? Note: Home Depot also sells furniture, linens, cookware, dishes and other home items.

Your second shot at free scrip is with the #SaveAtSamsClub giveaway, which will award $100 gift cards to five lucky winners. Again, enter through that link by 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday, Sept. 16.

The possibilities at Sam’s Club are pretty wide-open: food, toiletries, pet care, furniture, clothing, towels, sheets, shoes, books, vitamins…If you’ve never been in a warehouse store, you’ll likely wind up a bit dizzy. And if there’s no Sam’s Club near you, just order online.

Be a frugal role model.

September 13, 2021 by Donna Freedman

A while back my cousin found out he’d accidentally encouraged someone. While he was on his daily walk, a car pulled up and its driver called out to him. Seems she and her daughter had seen him taking long strolls in the hot Utah weather.

“You inspired me to get out and walk. I’ve lost 10 pounds since February, just walking,” she concluded.

My cousin posted this encounter on social media, concluding with, “Sometimes we are unaware of the impact we have on others.”

A longtime reader, whom I’ll call V, recently reminded me that my long-ago MSN Money Smart Spending posts inspired her to pay off a ton of consumer debt. Soon after the debt was gone, V’s husband was killed in a traffic accident. Because she was otherwise debt-free, she was able to handle the mortgage on her own.

“You gave me the tools and support when no one else was there,” she says.

I pointed out that she was the one who did all the work. But I did cherish the gig of frugal role model for MSN Money. Even though I now work on my own, I still love sharing ways to get the most bang for your buck.

Judging from the comments you leave, a lot of my readers are not only frugal, but also love sharing frugal hacks. I encourage you to keep doing that. Money-saving knowledge is needed more every day in this country.

During the pandemic lots of folks cut way back on spending. Living on less was essential if you’d been laid off or had your small business hammered by lockdown. It reminded me of the recession, when people were floundering and desperate for info on how to pay their bills.

Enter personal finance blogs, which told readers how to fix cheaper meals, use coupons and take other steps to keep costs low. People couldn’t get enough of this advice until things eased up a bit – at which point some couldn’t wait to get back to business as usual. They jettisoned frugality, deciding it was no longer necessary because the good times were back.