skmmping a bit in January makes us _ BUDGET BEATERS IF ANYONE ought to know the pricé of cat: food, I should. Our furry frieads “munch (politely) enough ~ sacks and tins full to keep.me in tune with the prices, ' The ‘sacks’are expensive “CD,” - special. formula. from the. vet. : Ginger Ahas an enlarged heart and .Kidney problems,’ Naturally, all the ats cat the same food.” : The ladies‘ also. éat Whis skas chicken, large tins, 78¢ at Save-On. “This week, the price jumped to -98¢; 420% increase. That’s-a lot of : money when you buy a caselot at a oo Pd sooner run. out.of people food than cat food.” And, to. make ‘the: ‘budget squeal even: Jouder, I got suckered in -by-a free sample of Whiskas’ new eat + milk product. en ' Ginger’ $.one and only. weakness ~ “is milk —.he .won't.touch any. sort of tidbit: For milk; he'll get really ‘silly — sit. staring at the fridge and . ‘doing silent meows. Problem ‘is, he j isn’t supposed, to have it.) | - So'when ‘this sample milk (sup: posed to be safe for cats) was hand- ed to me,:I'gave:-him some. How fas ‘1.t0' know I'd’ Just borrowed - meows his Fay through a box a day. os . ‘Bri necan’t resist Ginger. ri his new car he'd hand them over. “We're out of Ginger nitk!" roars infatuated husband. “How can Lieb him his nasty mother didn't get him any? Poooor Gingie!" Save-On will never know how many times I’ve fought their crowd- ed parking lot to buy my groceries just because § needed Whiskas and their price was right. Maybe I'll shop more often clos- er to home, thanks !o that 20% increase. And J warn you: don’ t get slart- ed on that Whiskas milk. [U's going to cost me the equivalent of one round-trip ticket to Hawaii this year, eee ' After { get through buying all that cat food, there's a lot less money to spend on our food. Mind you, | can’t believe how cheap it is to feed just two of us compared to the days when | fed all our daughters and all their (riends, When the girls were ail at home, ‘T made huge pots of various veg- etable soups, clam chowder, split- pea and borscht. . I'd bake home-made bread or roils, toss a big salad and bake something for dessert. Today, { do much the same thing except | make small, two-serving pots of cream soups and put shrimp in the salad. And I skip the dessert! _Cream soups are easy to make .—- and-so fast. Here's a simple . recipe that feeds four and takes only 15 minutes. co, ‘(CREAM OF CARROT OR ‘BROCCOLI SOUP 4 ‘medium carrots or 2 ¢. broc- coli pieces, including some stems lL farge enion’ 2% ¢.’chicken broth prepared from granules: _ 1c. (250 mL container) coffee cream (“haif and half”): 2 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 little cold water ‘ Cut up the vegetables and cook : until tender in the broth. Buzz in the blender until smooth. Return to’ saucepan and stir. in cream: Heat and then thicken with the comstarch mixture. . If-you like, you can make cheese and broccoli ‘soup by cutting up a 2- inch square of Velveeta cheese into with the carrot soup, se the thickened soup. Stir over tow heat until cheese melts. If you want to get very fancy eit with half a small Hiqueur glass of whip- ping cream and the same amount of dark rum. Pour the cream over the soup in the bowl and follow with the rum on the same track, Some very expensive restaurants serve the soup (plus the garnishes) in hollowed-out acorn squash instezd of bowis. Ever been on the list to bring : dessert to a meeting when you're so broke you can hardly afford to ice a cake mix? Make cream pulfs! The puffs are easy and you can mike eight big ones for about 60¢. Whipping cream is not very expensive either, And you'll fool everyone who thinks you spent a lot of time and money, CREAM PUFFS This makes 8 large puffs or 12 medium. le. water 4c. margarine (one square) Ic. flour 4 eggs In a medium saucepan, bring the water and margarine to a boil. Remove from the heat and dump in the flour all at once, stirring rapidly with a wooden spoon until all is incorporated. . Add the eggs one at a time, beat- ing thoroughly after each addition ‘with the wooden spoon. Drop the batter in 8-12 mounds on an ungreased ccokie sheet. Bake at 400°F about 45 minutes. : When they’re.cool enough to handle, cut off about one inch of the top. Remove any dough filaments clinging to the inside, Fill with sweetened whipped cream, | cream with vanilla, Replace the tops, dust with a bit of powdered (icing) sugar and refrigerate. - Tf you are making. these early in the day, don’t fill them until the last minute, To make them very fancy, drib- ble melted semi-sweet chocolate ‘on § top instead of the icing sugar. On Ladies Designer Fall Clothing & Ski Wear Ladies Furlined Micro Fibre Coats Reg. $839.00 Now $419.00 includes GST “ 447 Bellevue Ave, West Vancouver 925-9454 like to favor the whipped Speaking of whipped cream, I took a hint from a recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine but took the recipe a bit further, Try this the next time you make gingerbread or chocolate cake. 1 250-mL carton whipping erenm I small, very ripe banana I tsp. each icing sugar, vanilla Whip the cream. With the same beater, beat the banana, sugar and vanilla. Fold the banana mixture into the cream. [ made a shoricake-type combi- nation with warm home-made gin- gerbread, the cream, additional sliced bananas and a light dusting of nutmeg, COQUILLES ST. JACQUES This isn’t family fare — scallops are $14 a pound — but it’s deli- cious for a special occasion. This serves four. 1 Ib. fresh or thawed scallops ic. dry white wine feel good 4% 1b, mushrooms, sliced 4 ‘tbsp. (4 ¢.) butter 4e. four Le, coffee cream Pinch dry mixed Italian herbs 1 medium potato (vptional) Coffee cream for mashing Snipped parsley Poach the scallops in the wine just until they begin to turn white — about a minute after the wine boils. Don’t overcook! Drain, reserving the wine. Cook athe mushrooms gently in the butter until tender. Stir in the four until smooth, then add the wine and coffee cream. Season, Stir in scallops, Turn the mixture into four sprayed individual casseroles — shells are nice. ‘Traditionally, these are finished with an edging of piped mashed potato but you may omit it and sub- stitute buttered crumbs or grated Swiss cheese. Bake the scallops 15 minutes al 350°F, Garnish with snipped pars- ley. . Serve with a salad and crusty bread for lunch and add. a rice pilaf and green vegetable for dinner. Malaysian, Thai, indonesian, Indian, West indian, Chinese and Szechuan foods " plus more. Bring in this ad for a 10% discount on purchases of $5, 00 or more. *- _ PEPPER POT FOOD & SPICE CO; LTD... Lonsdale Quay Market 986- 1877 Brand New1993) Sealy Posturepedic HOME FURNISHINGS -: 1075 Roosevelt Crescent . (2 blocks behind the Avalon Hotel) OPEN DAILY: Fri. 9-9; Sun. 12-5 _ North Vancouver |