How do you all handle your extra change? Not to be pretentious, but I don't personally have an extra change problem. Whenever I buy something I pay in cash and try to give exact change, and it seems to work out pretty well for me. PJ, however, doesn't have a devoted space in his wallet for change so first it piles up in his pockets, then it begins to spill out piece by piece onto the floor, and finally it is gathered up and thrown into an electric change machine that I bought him a few years ago. The change machine puts it into the paper rolls and then we bring it to the bank, which probably only happens once every year or two. I guess it's working out okay, but I'm curious to know if anyone else has a better system?
Anyway, the bank is across the street from the market we go to so we picked up some ingredients for baking. The recipe I'm posting is a variation on Lena's favorite blueberry muffins but this time I used strawberries and bananas and it was delicious! Last time I complained a little bit about how expensive the ingredients for these muffins were, but this time I had almost everything I needed leftover from last time I made them so they were practically free!
All I had to buy was the soy milk, and I'm actually really excited about having some of that left over because last time we bought it I accidentally discovered a great drink! I find it to be kind of...well...gross....when it's just plain, so I tried adding a drop of vanilla extract to it. However, I accidentally grabbed the peppermint extract instead and put a few drops in which was surprisingly delicious!
Also, I've had some questions about the new links to amazon on this blog, so I thought I'd make a note about it to clear up any confusion. I'm now adding links to amazon for cookbooks, utensils, appliances, and anything else I mention that I personally recommend. If you do choose to buy it through my link, I get a small percentage from amazon.com. But really it's just so you can get an idea of what I used for the recipe and get product recommendations if you are interested. Sometimes when I follow other people's recipes I just can't understand how it worked for them and not for me, and I suspect a lot of this has to do with the tools and appliances they are using. So if something isn't working for you, now you can check and see what I used and hopefully adjust to make it work with what you have.
All-Bran Strawberry-Banana Muffins
Adapted from Very Vegetarian by Jannequin Bennett
1 cup Kellog's all-bran cereal
1 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup soy-gurt or yogurt
1 cup soymilk or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
(or substitute all-purpose for 1/2 cup)1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4-1 cup sugar
1/2 cups strawberries, diced
1/2 cup bananas, sliced into half-moons
Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, mix the cereal, wheat germ, oil, soy-gurt, milk and vanilla. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes while you assemble the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar with a whisk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until they are blended. Gently fold in the fruit. Fill the muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins. Freezes well.
I don't buy ANYTHING in cash unless I get suckered into joining my coworkers for takeout lunch and even then, someone fronts and I pay them back. I foud that when I carried cash, I have impulse cups of coffee, $4 soups lol, etc. I guess living in a city, cash is necessary for cabs (although I bet they take cards now too!). Since Jared and I spend religiously on our card that accumulates miles so we can fly for free, I stick to that!
ReplyDeleteWhen I do come into change, I have a little box on my dresser (like a 2x2 square) that I dump it in and roll periodically. THen I bring it to the bank every few months and keep the bills in that box until I have something to splurge on. RIght now I have 2 twenties and a few rolls :)
Jared also doesn't use cash so no change problems for him really.
I knew you would like these muffins! Very versatile. I spent my snow day working on finally getting new throw pillows for our living room, and researching honeymoon ideas - I should have made muffins while researching. Ah well. Lena
ReplyDeleteI dump my change into "the money pot", which is a pottery jar with a lid on a counter above my desk. That's it. It helps that my husband magically deals with it from there (rolls it and takes it to the bank). BTW, I read an article that listed supposed characteristics of old people. They said you were old if you paid for stuff with change!
ReplyDeleteOh no! It does feel a little old-ladyish when I'm holding up the line trying to count out pennies!
ReplyDeleteAlina, I am VERY impressed with your strategy! I never even thought of just not having change at all. It seems way too obvious and easy :)
Lena - can't wait to hear about the honeymoon ideas! And I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear about the other bear gifts you bought for Matthew!
I accumulate change very slowly in a pretty little tea cup (I also usually use a card for purchases). Then I take it to the grocery store and dump it in the Coinstar machine. It's super fast and out pops a receipt for dollars that they'll reimburse you for at the store, or you can use it to pay for groceries right then. The machine does take 9%, but I think it's worth the time, not taking an extra trip to the bank, and not having to buy (or store) little paper tubes.
ReplyDeleteAlina, you're right - NYC cabs do take credit cards now.
ReplyDelete