“Large family” car shopping

We own a two door teal green 1991 Honda Civic hatchback.  And I love this car!  It fits our family of four nicely and we rarely have to refuel more than once a month since we work from home.  (To be honest I drive around feeling rather smug about how little we pay a month for gas.)  We were given this car by my brother and his wife when we arrived in Seattle three years ago and since then the only repairs we’ve had to do are basic wear and tear problems (tires, etc…).  However all of this is about to change.

We are expecting our third child and our Civic is going to be too small. So we’re in the market for something bigger.  Also, due to the fact that my husband Eliacin and I share one job between us, we happily live on a limited budget.  So car payments need to stay small, really small.  I sincerely believe in high fuel efficiency and going as green as possible and that’s where we hit a dilemma.  What type of car do we get? Here’s some of the questions I’ve been asking myself:

• How many seats do we need?  Five? Six?
• Do we get a mini-van or a wagon?
• What are the most fuel efficient cars that actually have five or six seats?
• Should we get a car loan?
• How much can we realistically pay down?
• How much money can we get for our old car?

I’m really struggling balancing the ideological beliefs I have against the practicalities of our life.  To live simply means many times to live on less.  Most of the times this falls right in line with my environmental goals as well.  However without the buying power the money brings buying a hybrid is out of the question and there aren’t that many that will fit our growing family anyway.  So what do we do?

I’ve done a lot of research and the thoughts I have are so far are these:

• We need to buy a car that we can AFFORD.
• We need to buy a car that gets some of the best gas mileage in it’s class, be that mini-van or wagon.
• We need a car that will fulfill our needs for the next 7-10 years.
• And, we need to use that car judiciously, no short runs to the store.

So now, only time will tell, but if sometime next spring you see me driving a mini-van to our local store on a sunny day you have my permission to ask me what’s up?

Bread and Yogurt

In the last post I talked about making bread and yogurt and one of my friends has suggested that I give the recipes for these on my blog so here they are.

WHEAT BREAD

1 1/2 c. warm milk

2 T. oil or melted butter

2 T. sugar

1 t. salt

2 c. bread flour

2 c. whole wheat flour

 2 T. wheat gluten (opt. this helps it be less crumbly)

1 1/2 T. yeast 

I put this in my bread maker on the express bake cycle in exactly this order and it usually comes out great! A couple of things.  This is a lot of yeast, but I think it’s because it’s on the express cycle.  If you are trying it for the first time, just keep an eye on how fast it’s rising.  I know from experience that bread machines should not be left completely alone to cycle.  Even a recipe you’ve used many times could rise too high and cause it to overflow and burn.  As long as you’re in the house you’ll know. 

 

BASIC YOGURT

(To do a gallon, just quadruple this recipe.)

1 qt. milk (any type)

1/4 c. dry milk powder for a thicker product (opt.)

AND, OR

1 T. thickener; such as carrageenan, pectic, or gelatin (opt.)

2 T. plain yogurt with live cultures or 1 packet yogurt starter

 

1.  Combine the milk, milk powder (if using), and thickener (if using).  Heat the mixture to 180F.

2.  Let the milk cool to 116F.  Add the starter; mix well.

3.  Keep covered, at 116F, for at least 6 hours, or until set to the consistency of thick cream.  (For this step I pour it into old glass peanut butter jars with metal lids and put it in a preheated oven that I’ve set around 150F or so.  I then wrap it in towels and set it in a pan all wrapped up and turn OFF the oven.  Every two or three hours I remove the jars, reheat the oven, turn it OFF again and put the jars back.)

4.  Refrigerate and serve cold.  This will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

5.  Remember to save some of the old yogurt for your next batch!

I got most of this recipe from a book by Ricki Carroll called Home Cheese Making.  If you want to try out something fun someday with kids or friends try making her 30 minute mozzarella.  The banner at the top of my blog shows our community doing exactly that!