Hypermiling

The turmoil in the Middle East is causing the gas prices at the pump to climb before the traditional Summer months making filling your car's gas tank even more painful.

Gas is more than $4 per gallon here now (and on the West Coast I hear) so what are you supposed to do?

Cut back on spending is the first thing. Tightening that belt and eating less helps. Then there's hypermiling.

What is hypermiling? Well, it's a way to maximize fuel consumption when you drive. I started doing it on my own (not knowing what it was called then) when I was driving back and forth visiting upstate. I wasn't thrilled about having to constantly refill the gas tank on trips when my room mate would drive (it cut into travel time and finding a gas station is like finding a needle in a haystack at times) so when I took the wheel, I would let the car coast downhill and move forward on it's own keeping up with posted speed limits by just tapping the gas pedal when needed. I'm not one for speeding and so long as you give yourself enough time to travel, you won't need to speed. Drivers with a lead foot will change their behavior as well soon with gas prices expected to hit $5 come Summer.

Hypermiling isn't so feasible in the big city when you have to constantly stop at street lights but try it when you are on the open road and see how less often you'll be refilling that gas tank.

Recipe: Arroz Caldo : Filipino Chicken Rice Soup

I made White Cut Chicken (Bak Chit Gai) the night before (recipe here) and have this lovely chicken stock left over. It's quite chilly and sleeting outside and I started craving Arroz Caldo, a thick Filipino rice soup that is inspired by the Chinese rice congee. Arroz Caldo means "Hot Rice" in Spanish and was probably given that name by the Spanish settlers in the Philippines when they discovered Chinese congee.

Since the stock is already flavored with ginger and garlic, I found it perfect for this comforting dish. I used some left-over cooked chicken to make this and sped up the process.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 2 inch piece of ginger (thinly sliced)
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 cup rice (either sweet rice or long grain or a combo of each)
• 1 pound boneless chicken meat (chopped: your choice of chicken breast or thigh)
• 6 cups water or chicken stock
• 2 tbs fish sauce (you can use salt or chicken bouillon if you don't have)
• 2 scallions (white and green part finely sliced for garnish)

Directions

1. In a medium sized pot, heat oil and cook the onion, garlic, and ginger for a minute until fragrant.
2. Add fish sauce and the chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the rice and stir until coated with the flavored oil.
4. Add the water or stock and cover.
5. Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
6. When done, turn off heat. You may need to add a little water to adjust thickness to your preference.
7. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the sliced scallions.

I'm going to the Pharmacy to buy... Groceries???

Yes! Many big name drugstores and pharmacies like Duane Reade, CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid all are starting to carry a larger selection of groceries and food. While the selection may be smaller than a grocery store or supermarket, the prices can be MUCH cheaper.

You can use manufacturer's coupons along with the store's coupon or membership card to get even better savings on your groceries! So, when you are making a trip to the supermarket, stop by a drugstore/pharmacy along the way and check them out.

My weekend ritual of perusing the online weekly supermarket circulars for sales now includes the drugstore/pharmacies!

The following are links to the the weekly circulars. You may have to enter your zip code to see the savings in your area.

Duane Reade Weekly Circular

CVS Weekly Ad

Walgreens Weekly Ad

Rite-Aid Weekly Circular