Good Food, Small Budget, post 1B

A few more words on paring down the food budget...

Pay with cash. When I want to insure that I don't go over the budget I set, I take the money allotted for groceries out of the bank, and then leave my check card at home. This gives me no choice but to make careful, calculated purchases. And, it becomes a game to see how much I can buy with the money at hand.

When you think you can't go another day without going to the store, go one more day. Some of my most creative meals have come from the times when I think "we have nothing in the house to eat". This week is a great example of that.
Last Sunday night, I thought that I HAD to go to the store on Monday. We only had 3 eggs in the house, no sandwich bread, almost no cheese, and were low on fruit.
Additionally, I was having friends over for various meals several times during the week. I decided to make myself wait until Wednesday to go to the store, and to get creative with what was already in the pantry and fridge/freezer. Wednesday came and I decided I could wait a few more days. Now it is Sunday afternoon, and I still haven't been to the grocery store this week. I spent $31 at the health food store (kefir, bulk grains and nuts, butternut squash ravioli, toothpaste), and $2.50 at the farmer's market (mung bean sprouts). I now have 1 egg, still no sandwich bread, cheese, or fresh fruit (except for the pears that a friend brought over from their tree).
Last night, I was trying to think of a dish to make for our fellowship meal at church today. I kept thinking that I was going to HAVE to run to the store to make anything decent. I looked through the freezer and pantry several different times, waiting for inspiration to strike. In the end, I made a chow mein-like dish and some stewed pears.

Chow Mein (ish)
1 box of whole wheat spaghetti ($0.50, purchased on sale)
1 squash (free*)
1bell pepper (free*)
1 onion (free*)
mushrooms (free*)
mung bean sprouts (1/2 package, $1.25)
2 carrots ($0.25)
green beans (free*)
garlic ($0.25)

*These were all gifts from friends' gardens, with the exception of the mushrooms, which I received as a sample from a food show.
I sauteed all the vegetables (minus the mushrooms and sprouts) in a hot skillet with a little oil, just until they were warm but still crispy. After the spaghetti was cooked, and drained, I added it to the skillet of vegetables, along with the mushrooms and sprouts.

In a measuring cup, I whisked together:
1 T honey ($0.10)
2 T soy sauce ($0.10)
1 T worchestershire sauce ($0.05)
2 T garlic infused oil (free, gift)

I poured this over the mixture in the skillet, tossed, and salted to taste.
It was sooooo good and cost $2.50 to make (it easily served 6). I could have made it for much cheaper, if I had sprouted the beans myself.

In the words of Plato "Necessity is the motherhood of invention!"
Not only did I save a lot of money by staying out of the store, but I also have a yummy new dish to add to the rotation.

What are your best "make do with what you have recipes"? Do you have a dish you absolutely love, that you came up with when your pantry was bare?

Good Food, Small Budget, post 1

This summer, and the last several summers, I have given myself a very meager grocery budget. In years past, the budget was $50 a week. This year, I raised the stakes, and made the budget $40 a week for 6 people (hubby and myself + 4 boys, ages 7-1). I maintained this budget for 9 weeks over the summer.

Several friends have asked me for the nuts and bolts of how I did this, so I thought I would spend a few posts outlining how I made this work for our family.

I am happy to share what worked for us, as long as it is clear that I in no way consider myself some kind of expert, nor a mama that has it all figured out. I am not saying that you should do as I do. Nor do I believe that I am doing anything radical or new...google would turn up blog after blog and article after article, covering everything I am going to say here. However, sometimes hearing (reading) from someone who is like you, or that you can relate to, can be helpful. So, maybe some of my friends who are reading this will find it useful.

First, I would say that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a $40 a week budget for our family year-round. I choose to significantly reduce my budget in the summer, b/c we live in an agrarian area of the country, where fresh, local fruits and vegetables are available VERY inexpensively most of the year but especially in the summer. In fact, during this 9 week period, I would say that I received 90% of our produce for free from friends and families whose gardens were producing more than they could use.
During the rest of the year, my weekly grocery spending hovers in the $75-90 range.

Also, another thing that made it possible to stick to our $40 a week budget is that no one in my family has any food related allergies, or any illnesses that require dietary restrictions. My children are all generally good eaters (though they could be better), and I enjoy preparing food for my family and friends. All those factors worked in my favor for keeping our budget low.

For the rest of this post, I am going to talk about how I have worked to trim our food budget DOWN, over the last few years. My current low budget is the cumulative result of small, progressive changes to the way I shopped and prepared food.

Food is a VERY important part of my life...besides the need of food-as-sustenance, I really love to read about, think about, shop for, prepare and serve food to my family.

While my food budget it small, I place a high value on purchasing foods that are local, seasonal, healthy, and fresh.
My focus is to create as little waste as possible in my food purchases.
This is fleshed out in bringing my own reusable bags, going without produce bags whenever possible, buying foods with as little packaging as I can find, and shopping from locally owned, small businesses.

Sometimes this means paying more for some groceries than I would at a big-box store. Supporting small business owners is an important value to me, and so often I am willing to pay more for certain groceries, if I have to, in order to do that. None of these values were compromised while only spending $40 on groceries.

Here is a list of some of the ways I reduced my grocery spending:

• I do not purchase disposable diapers, paper napkins, paper towels, zip lock bags, plastic wrap, etc. Instead, I use cloth diapers, cloth napkins and towels, tin foil (which I wash and reuse, then recycle), and rewash/reuse zip lock bags from several years ago. I do purchase toilet paper and wet wipes.
• I do not buy meat. 90% of our meals at home are vegetarian. Occasionally, I will cook seafood, or use deer meat (which my husband killed, and was therefore free). Sometimes my husband will grill meat. When we eat meat, he purchases it through his job (he sells food to restaurants), and it was not figured in to my $40 a week budget.
• I don't buy much dairy. If I buy yogurt, I buy a large container of plain yogurt, not the individual cartons. If I buy milk, I purchase pasteurized, non homogenized milk from a local dairy for $4.50 a gallon. I buy about 2 gallons a month. The rest of the time, we use almond milk. We do use a fair amount of butter and cheese.
• I buy seasonal produce. That means that I buy asparagus and strawberries in April, apples and sweet potatoes in October, watermelon and sweet corn in July. Not only does it taste indescribably better, it is also much, much cheaper. Probably about 80% of the produce in our house is local and in season. Other things, such as bananas and mangoes, that will never be in season where we live, I purchase sometimes.
• I make my own laundry detergent.
• I buy very, very little prepackaged foods. Occasionally, I will buy a box of crackers or cereal. It is rare that I buy anything in a can or box. I really focus on buying INGREDIENTS. 
• When something is in season, I buy a lot and either can or freeze it for later. During the summer, I fill my pantry and freezer with homemade pasta sauce, whole canned tomatoes, cream corn, green beans, blueberries, strawberries, etc. This keeps my grocery bill much lower the rest of the year, and gives us food to use that is delicious, inexpensive, and local. I didn't do much canning this year, but I did freeze a lot.
• I shop the sales cycle. When olive oil goes on sale (Buy 1, Get 1 free), I look for a coupon online, and buy enough to last 6-8 weeks, when it will go on sale again. A bottle of extra virgin olive oil that is normally $7, would then be $3.50 when it is B1G1, plus a $1 off coupon, brings it down to $2.50, for a savings of $4.50. I usually buy 3-4 at a time, for a savings of up to $18.
• I use a few coupons, maybe 4-5 a week, for items that we use a lot of, such as toilet paper, almonds, almond milk, and olive oil. I save them until I can pair them with a sale, for maximum savings. 
• I buy the best ingredients I can afford. Pure maple syrup, local free range eggs, non homogenized milk from a local dairy, blocks of parmesan cheese, sourdough bread from the bakery in town, etc. Using good quality ingredients saves me money in 2 ways. First, I am more judicious with it, because I don't want to waste it and second, it is more flavorful, and a small amount can go a long way to flavoring a dish. 
• Because my husband is in the food-sales industry, every now and then, he brings home samples. It doesn't happen that often but for the sake of full disclosure, I will mention it :)
• Sometimes, I purchase foods in bulk from my husband. This isn't something I rely on regularly, but perhaps once every 2 months or so, I will order a big box of organic spinach, or several logs of goat cheese, which saves money.
• My mom supplies me with fresh eggs from her chickens, blueberries from their bushes, and green beans that she cans for me that my grandparents grew. I know, I am a lucky girl. I am so, so grateful for those food gifts! 

What ways do you save money on your groceries? What is one of your biggest food-related expenses? For me, it is dried cranberries. Random, I know, but they are pricey ($4 for a small bag!) and 2 of my boys absolutely LOVE them. Also, my dark chocolate with sea salt obsession can be an expensive indulgence...especially when the boys catch me and I have to share! :)

In the next posts, I am going to talk about what I do spend my money on, and then, what a week of eating looks like around our house. 

If you want to look back, here is a post from a few years ago on the same topic:

Eating Well in Lean Times

SIMPLE FOOD, SIMPLE MEALSOccasionally, I get in a food rut. Nothing sounds that good, I can't think of anything to cook, I make the same thing over and over, etc. I usually start to feel that way around the end of January. I am tired of root veggies, rice, beans, etc. I am ready for the fresh fruits and vegetables of spring and summer. I am uninspired. When I feel that way, I know a simple, sure-fire way to get my kitchen creativity going is to head to my local bakery and produce stand. Conversations with the owners, buying foods that I am not very familiar with, and just being around the fresh, local foods always gets me excited to be in the kitchen again.
I also love to eat really simply. I gravitate towards foods that require little more seasoning than olive oil, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, maybe a little squeeze of lemon or a sprig of rosemary. If it can be made in a cast iron skillet and go straight from oven to table, all the better. Today for lunch, a baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon, a bed of spinach with apples, pecans, and a drizzle of olive oil, and a wedge of that lovely artichoke and onion focaccia, pictured above, from the bakery. Easy, inexpensive, delicious. Some other foods that have been coming out of my kitchen the past few days...

-Smitten Kitchen's Chewy Granola Bars. I substituted honey for the corn syrup and next time will probably drastically reduce or eliminate the sugar...it was a little too sweet for me but my husband and kids LOVED them. It was fun to realize (via facebook) that Aimee and I were making these at the same time yesterday. Love friends with similar food ideas!

-Roasted Brussel Sprouts. I had never had a brussel sprout in my life, until my friend Lis made a big platter of them last week. Drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt, they were almost like candy and incredibly delicious. I went to the store straightway.

-Creme Brulee is my husband's favorite dessert, but I had never made it before, until last night. With only four ingredients (vanilla bean, heavy cream, egg yolks, and a little sugar) it was a pleasure to make, and easy (though time consuming).

-Overnight french toast. Big crusty pieces of french bread snuggled up together in my biggest cast iron skillet, covered in a mixture of eggs, whole milk, and a little sugar. The tops were sprinkled with a little grating of nutmeg and cinnamon. Five minutes of time spent putting it together the night before, and into the oven this morning. A sprinkling of powdered sugar and a drizzle of pure maple syrup over the top made it delicious. It would have been really yummy with a side of stewed apples too.


And some of my friend's are cooking up...

-Raw Foods

-Simple Breakfasts

-Chocolate Avocado Pudding

-Romantic Dinner

-Roasted Beets

What are you cooking in February? Are you still enjoying winter meals or are you counting down the days until fresh fruits and vegetables come in to season?

CHOCOLATEI was never much of a chocolate lover until about six months ago, when Wilder was born. I don't know what happened then, but ever since, I have been a chocolate fanatic. This last month or so, my chocolate obsession was taken to new heights when I discovered this chocolate bar. Whoever first had the idea to put dark chocolate and sea salt together was a food genius. The love of that chocolate bar led to trying this Giada recipe (minus the cinnamon). It had to be made twice, once with dark chocolate and once with semi sweet (research, of course). So, my friend, Ellen came over and we made it together, and then made ourselves sick on it while watching (what else?) Chocolat. Ah, that movie never gets old.
Today, I made a chocolate panini, which I sprinkled with sea salt. It wasn't bad, but I am definitely a bigger fan of just straight chocolate. I mean, when you have good quality dark chocolate, why muddle it up with other ingredients? That's just a personal opinion, of course, and I am no food expert. I'm just a housewife that digs chocolate.

Several comments from this discussion validated my opinion on the dark chocolate-with-sea-salt combo.

And this helpful guide to organic dark chocolate has left me with several different chocolates on my wish list. I am thinking this one might be a little from-me-to-me for my birthday.

What about you? Are you crazy for chocolate? Are you a dark chocolate fan or do you prefer milk chocolate? How dark do you like it? And what's your favorite way to eat it? Straight or in a recipe?

EATING FROM THE PANTRY, 2 (pounding roasted chickpeas into flour to make socca)

I spent $85.38 at the grocery store last week, which is more than I normally spend in a week. I mostly stocked up on staples, as it was a good week for sales at our grocery store...most of the money I spent went towards stocking up on toilet paper, olive oil, peppercorns, wheat pasta, etc. as well as fresh vegetables we were running low on. I am trying to become consistent at shopping the sales cycle, so I stocked up on several items that I knew were the lowest I would find them for several months.

I went into our local produce place too, after several weeks of only shopping at the grocery store. I fell into a conversation with the owner and learned that they are perilously close to having to close shop, due to slower and slower sales. I am recommitting to spending at least $20 a week of my food budget at L & D produce...I love their local fruits, vegetables, honey, and yard eggs and want to do my part to support a great local family business. If you live in the same area as me, I hope you will shop at L & D too. We will all be missing out if they have to close and it is well worth the few extra minutes and the marginally higher cost to shop there, in my opinion.

I did well cooking out of the freezer this week and we enjoyed a nice variety of different foods. I will say though, my husband's job is to sell food to restaurants, so we do have a pretty varied stockpile. He is often bringing home samples or foods he bought on sale that can seem pretty random!
A few of the meals we enjoyed this week:

-Ostrich burgers in lettuce wraps with zucchini chips
-venison meatloaf with pureed cauliflower, peas, green beans, and corn on the cob
-socca wraps with lettuce, grilled chicken, greek dressing, and feta cheese
-ale-broth venison stew with homemade pumpernickel bread
-salad with black beans, corn, salsa, and cheddar
-salmon with a balsamic reduction, on a bed of spinach with gorgonzola and pecans (yummy!)
-homemade wheat waffles with agave (we were out of maple syrup)
-fried eggs on ezekiel bread
-green smoothies
-fruit salad (made from frozen mango, peaches, and blueberries)
-chocolate cake with icing
-oatmeal
-almond meringues ("cloud cookies")

This week, I plan to spend significantly less at the store, only buying staples and redeeming my rain checks from last week for almond milk.

LET THEM EAT CAKEAs I have said many times before, feeding my family well is something I really put a lot of time and energy into. I enjoy the process, start to finish, from meal planning, shopping, cooking, and even washing dishes. For the most part, our family eats a very balanced diet with an emphasis on whole foods and a minimum of processed items. I generally follow the advice of popular food author Michael Pollan: "don't eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food".
Today, I detoured from my normal food preferences, and really hit my stride, at least in my children's opinion. In one dish, I made their every gastronomic dream come true.

Pillsbury chocolate cake mix + Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting + multi-colored sprinkles = children's culinary delight.

I made it last night after they were asleep. I had purchased the cake mix and frosting for pennies (on sale and with coupons), with the intention of giving them to the food bank. Except that my two year old got into them when I wasn't looking and made them unfit for donation.

Their eyes lit up when they saw the cake sitting on the counter this morning. They stood by the dessert table at our church's fellowship meal, pointing out the cake and excitedly telling anyone that would listen that THEIR mom brought that cake.

It's funny, often when I am cooking, I think to myself that when the boys are grown and out of the house, they will look back fondly on the healthy, good foods I made for them. And maybe that will be the case, I don't know. Right now though, a boxed cake and canned icing makes me the coolest mom around.

EATING FROM THE PANTRYYesterday, I was looking at my (semi-long) grocery list and dreading going to the store. On a whim, I decided to take EVERYTHING out of both freezers, pantry, and fridge and make a list of everything I had on hand. After filling 5 (!!!) notebook pages, I decided to jump on board Money Saving Mom's Eat From the Pantry Challenge for the rest of January. There are no hard and fast rules but my personal goals for the remainder of the month are:
1. To make good meals out of what I already have on hand.
2. To spend as little as possible at the grocery store from now to the end of January.

I don't want to get to the end of January and have to do a massive re-stocking. The goal is more to use up foods that are getting close to being past their prime, make room for foods that will be coming in season in the next few months (strawberry season is just two months away!), and to challenge myself to be creative in the kitchen. I will keep a running tally on the side of my grocery spending too. I didn't keep my receipts but I think I have spent about $60 this month at the store so far. However, I am just keeping track from today through the end of January, since I am not sure.

So far, I have come up with about 20 meals that I can make without buying anything from the store and I know there are plenty more things I can come up with once I peruse some of my favorite cooking blogs.

On another note, I don't really make big resolutions at the beginning of the year but I do love the idea of having a word that really sums up your aspirations and focus for the coming year. I am still working on what I want my word to be but I do know what my main focus is going to be (I will save that for another post). I also have a list of things that I want to incorporate (or re-incorporate, as the case may be) into our year. One of them is regular blogging. I really miss it and am hoping to carve out regular time for it 1-2 times a week this year.

WINTER SUPPERWe don't eat together as a family every night. Usually we only manage it two or three times a week. Every time we do though, I sit at the table, looking around at my boys, and am sure that these are the moments I will remember. It is such a special time. Feeding my family is one of the most satisfying aspects of my life. I take it seriously and derive a lot of pleasure from it. So tonight I happily refilled their little ramekins when they asked for seconds and then thirds. It was a meal of comfort foods. Chili, cornbread crumbled in milk, and homemade applesauce for dessert. Afterwards, with the kids tucked in bed, I sat in my armchair by the fire and cozied up with a book.

**A Week of Breakfasts will finish up soon. I keep forgetting to take pictures before the kids eat!**

A WEEK OF BREAKFASTS: 3These apple pancakes tasted like a cross between a funnel cake and an apple fritter. As you can imagine, all the kids loved them! Sweet enough with just the dusting of powdered sugar, we didn't even bother with maple syrup.
A little time-consuming, considering the apple grating (though the kids loved grating the apples), these will probably be reserved for special occasion breakfasts. The recipe, which I modified slightly, is below. To see the original recipe + drool-inducing pictures, go here.

Apple Pancakes

2 eggs, well beaten
3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup of vanilla yogurt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sucanat
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated (I used fuji)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

1. Mix the eggs with the milk or yogurt in a large bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.

3. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples and whatever other flavorings you see fit.

4. Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet over low to medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and flatten it out a little (otherwise, you might have trouble getting them to cook in the center) and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.

5. Either dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately, or keep on a tray in a warmed oven until you are ready to serve them.

A WEEK OF BREAKFASTS: 2My oldest son's favorite: plain yogurt, sweetened with agave and vanilla, topped with warm granola. Pecans, almonds, raisins, mango, and cherries were the add-ins of choice for this week's batch of crock pot granola.

A WEEK OF BREAKFASTSWe are in full on apple-season mode around here and apples make their way into almost every meal...as well as being munched on throughout the day. Our family consumes upwards of 10-12 apples a day and we aren't even close to getting sick of them. That's what I really love about eating seasonally. When you wait all year for apples (or pears, or blueberries, or strawberries, or corn...) to come into season, that first bite of that first apple is LIFE ALTERING. That might be a bit of a stretch but just barely **happy sigh**.
We are especially enjoying the warm, cozy breakfasts of fall. There are not many things as nice as snuggling up in warm pajamas with a bowl of warm oatmeal. I wanted to share some of the breakfasts we are really enjoying this season at our house. So, for the next few days, I am going to be doing A WEEK OF BREAKFASTS.
What foods are you loving at your house right now?

This morning, we had one of my middle boys' favorites: oatmeal topped with chopped apples, cinnamon, and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. I like mine sprinkled with walnuts too.

A RAINY, STAY AT HOME DAY
Baking Bread
Reading on the couch
Homeschooling
Folding laundry
Sipping Cider
Long naps
Stacks of books
Nursing
Chasing the dog
Listening to bluegrass

Just a few of the things that we are doing on this rainy, cozy, ordinary-and-lovely day at home. Lots of thoughts swirling in my head but getting them from brain to computer has been quite the challenge. We are finding a new rhythm and things are settling in. Hope to find time to write here more soon.

SUMMER FOOD LOVE
There are a few foods that I just can't get enough of this summer. I haven't tried many new recipes, sticking more with the simple, tried and true, in season, local. But, in my opinion, that is the best eating!
One simple recipe that I love is fresh bing cherries, cooked down in a balsamic-brown sugar reduction, over vanilla bean ice cream. Oh. My. Goodness. I don't really know amounts, and they aren't important anyway. Just pit a bunch of cherries and throw them in a skillet with a generous amount of melted butter. Really, do be generous. This isn't the recipe to try and cut calories. And please, whatever you do, don't use some fake nasty stuff. No margarine or Can't Believe It's Not Butter or whatever. If you are tempted to use something fake, don't even bother with this recipe.
Anyway, to the melted butter and cherries, add some brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. If I had to give amounts, I would say somewhere in the ballpark of 1/2-1 stick of butter, maybe 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 1/8 a cup of balsamic vinegar. But really, change it as much as you like. Cook it all down for awhile, maybe 10 minutes or so, and spoon it warm over vanilla ice cream. A gingersnap or biscotti would be a wonderful addition too.
Another summer staple around here has been the personal pizzas. I know, nothing earth shattering but it has consistently been making our family happy 1-2 nights a week. Making personal pizza crusts takes almost no more time than making one large crust but the fun factor is increased exponentially. I don't have a pizza crust recipe that I love yet, I am still experimenting. If you have a tried and true one you use, please share it! For now, I have been using different recipes, and often resorting to the cheap, prepackaged crusts that you just add water to and roll out. I bake them for about 5 minutes, put them on plates, and set out different toppings on the counter and the boys have a blast topping their own pizzas. We do this a lot on Mondays, when the hubby and I go on date night. Letting the boys make personal pizzas and watch a movie makes the night special for them too.
The boys typically keep it simple with sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. I love fresh spinach, feta, thin slices of tomato, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, etc. I will often top mine with whatever fresh produce needs to be used up such as squash (lots of squash this time of year!). The personal pizzas are great for quick lunches after a morning in the pool and the kids really love the chance to make their pizza just the way they want it.
We have also been enjoying lots of other quintessentially summer foods...
corn on the cob
low country boil
fresh berries
fruit and yogurt parfaits with homemade granola

What foods are you loving this summer?

TODAY FROM THE FARMER'S MARKETI didn't get much today and only spent $12. Plus, the prices had fallen on a lot of the produce, as it is becoming more abundant. People who think that fresh produce is too expensive have obviously never eaten in-season foods in an agricultural area. It is dirt cheap this time of year in south GA.

10 pounds of peaches $9 (they are only $0.50 a pound if you go to the farm and pick yourself. I will probably go in July).
8 ears of corn $1.50
1 onion $0.50
4 squash $1

I admit, I was a little disappointed in the corn this week. It was small to begin with, and once I shucked them, half of the cobs were eaten up with worms. I saw another vendor whose corn looked much bigger and better but I had already purchased this corn. Next week I will probably purchase from the other vendor. For $1.50, I am not going to get too upset about it. The corn that was left was still very good!

Caedmon was interviewed for the local news and his thoughts on the farmer's market were very cute (he said that the sweet corn is what keeps him coming back every week. That, and seeing the chickens and dogs.).

After we left the farmer's market, we made a spontaneous trip to my parent's house where everyone pitched in to pick me at least two days worth of blueberries (1 1/2 gallons) while I stood at the bushes and ate them as fast as I could pick them. :)

I love Saturday mornings.

LOVE FOR MY DADDYMy daddy just made my night. Possibly my week. There are two things you should know, before I tell you what amazing awesomeness he did for me tonight.

1. No one in my family "gets" my daddy like I do. He is not naturally verbally affirmative, he drives everyone crazy asking a 1,000 seemingly meaningless questions, works hard, and grins like the Cheshire cat when embarrassed. In a word, he is me. Or should I say, I am him.
In my mind, he can do no wrong. He asks lots of questions because he is analytical and needs more information before he can form an opinion about something. He loves us but has a hard time communicating it in words. He shows love for us through his ACTIONS. He works hard and provides well for his family. He went to all our baseball and soccer games. He comes to my sons' sports games. To me, his love is readily apparent. To other members of my family, especially the ones who receive love best through VERBAL AFFIRMATION, they just don't get him. But I also show love through DOING and so for me, it is easy to see the myriad of ways he loves and serves his family.
Also, if he were to read this, he would be embarrassed and would act like I was crazy.
One of my favorite things about him is that he grins from ear to ear when he serves communion at church, or during a baptism, and throughout my entire wedding. He tries not to but he can't help it. And I grin when I watch him.

2. The second thing is, I love blueberries. They are my #1 favorite food on earth and I anxiously await blueberry season every year, pestering daddy about the bushes every time I see him, wanting to know how much longer, has he been watering them enough, will it be a good season this year (the 1,000 questions!).

Tonight, he showed up at my door with a bag of the very first blueberries of the season. He had just picked them for me moments before. And then, he got in his truck and drove them to my house. And he grinned when he handed them to me.

Now, an hour later, I have an empty bag, a tummy full of blueberries, a lump in my throat, and big silly tears rolling down my face. Because my daddy just made me awfully gosh-darn happy tonight.

*Creative commons image from lepiaf.geo on flickr.com

LIVING LOCAL
Today's Farmer's Market Purchases

Peaches $9
Blackberries $7
Sourdough Bread $3
Lettuce $4 ($2 per head)
Corn (6 ears) $1.50
Pole Beans (1 pound) $1.50
TOTAL: $26

I absolutely love going to the farmer's market. It is a recent addition to our town, this being only the second year it has been regularly held. And it is wonderful. It brings me immense amounts of happiness to spend Saturday morning with my family at the Farmer's Market. Being out in the sunshine, handing my money to the people that grew the food I am purchasing, discussing different recipes is pure heaven. The kids ran around, petting dogs, blackberry juice dripping down their chins, sometimes with their own purchases in their hands. This morning, we ran into 7-8 families that we knew. The kids played around our feet while the adults discussed when certain crops will be in season and how much we paid for the sweet corn. It was pure local happiness.
After we left the farmer's market, we had breakfast at the donut shop just down from our house. The owner lives in our neighborhood and my husband sells him the ingredients that he uses in his restaurant. As we ate, we chatted with the older lady at the table next to us. She also lives in our neighborhood and walks her dog by our house every day. She has had many conversations with my children as they play in the yard. As we finished up our breakfast, a family walked in who's daughter is getting married next Saturday. I am directing the wedding. We discussed a few wedding details before we left.
I love living a community oriented life. It really enriches our day to day interactions and gives value to the quotidian.

For more (lots, lots more!) on the importance and impact of eating locally, I suggest reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

EXERCISES IN AWARENESS, #3 (today's lunch)

Record everything you eat in a day. Also, the time you ate it, what was going on around you, your emotional state, etc. How did the foods you ate affect your well being that day?

**I thought this would be a good exercise for me to do today, after a week of mindless eating at the beach. I notice that just the act of practicing awareness helps me make better food choices. I don't want to write down that I had a moment of weakness and ate half a bag of marshmellows, so therefore, I am less likely to eat them!**

FOOD JOURNAL FOR TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

10:15 AM: Very hungry. Kids have already been fed, so I am cooking just for myself. I am intentional about focusing just on the food I am eating, resisting the urge to turn on my cell phone or computer, or open a book, or make a to-do list. Instead, I sit at the table and force myself to eat slowly and really enjoy it. It feels a little weird but is relaxing.

-2 eggs, scrambled (eggs from my mom's chickens, seasoned with some of my new sea salt and pepper).
-1 piece of Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted cinnamon raisin bread, toasted with butter and local honey
-Large glass of ice water (3rd for the morning).

1:45 PM: Slightly hungry. Feeling a little frazzled, and am glad it is Bauer's nap time. Used the computer while I ate.
-A personal pizza of sorts. An Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain tortilla, topped with tomato sauce, fresh spinach, onion, and a little feta cheese. Heated through. Yummy.
-Large glass of ice water (5th of the day).

6:45 PM: Gnawing-off-my-arm -hungry. While fixing dinner for the family, I wolf down...
-Matt's Japanese left-overs from the night before (rice, zucchini, onions, chicken).
-Handful of yellow raisins
-Large glass of ice water (glass 8 or 9 for the day). Eating all this quickly leaves me with awful heartburn.

8:15 PM: Greatly anticipating my dessert for the evening. Enjoyed with much gusto and lip-smacking.
-Small cup of Strawberry Lemon Love Coconut Bliss ice-cream.

9:30 PM: Settled in with a book (rereading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver) and wanted something sweet.
-1 cup of frozen grapes. Yummy. Perfect ending to the day.

HARVESTING SEA SALTI was turned on to the idea of harvesting sea salt from the wonderful River Cottage Family Cookbook, which I first read about here.
This last week afforded the perfect opportunity, as we vacationed with our family at Fripp Island, off the coast of South Carolina.
The process was as simple as lugging a stock pot full of sea water back home and straining it (we used a kitchen towel and coffee filter in lieu of cheesecloth), then boiling it down for several hours. It reminded me of making butter. For the longest time, nothing seems to happen and you think it isn't going to work, and then, within just a moment or two, bam!, you have butter (or in this case, sea salt). It happens very quickly. It just looks like a pot of water for several hours until all but about an inch of water has boiled away. That is when you start to notice salt crystals forming on the surface of the water. One stock pot afforded about 7 heaping tablespoons of salt.
The men/critics of our group refused to touch our "toxic waste sea salt" but after copious amounts of googling, it seems that my sea salt is just as safe to eat as any I could buy. Even Fleur de Sel is harvested by a sea town, as is most salt, apparently.
I think harvesting sea salt will become one of my annual beach traditions.

FIRST STRAWBERRIES OF THE SEASONA farmer gave my daddy a flat of strawberries yesterday and he shared them with me. They are (or should I say, were) the most beautiful, deep red color. I wanted to put them in one of my old blue and white Spode bowls, but they never made it that far. When I was carrying them inside, late yesterday afternoon, the boys ambushed me on the kitchen steps. We ended up having an impromptu strawberry-eating party. I probably say this every year but I am pretty sure these are the best strawberries ever. Even relatively local strawberries from Florida don't hold a candle to true local, still-warm-from-the-sun berries. I am dreaming of all the things I am going to do with the strawberries we will pick later this week.
Fresh strawberries, eaten right away.
Cut up over scones and just-whipped cream.
In smoothies.
In fruit salad and cereal.
Homemade strawberry ice cream and popsicles.
Jam.
Cobblers.
Ah, the possibilities are endless. And this is just the first fruit to come into season!
Is it strawberry season where you live? What are you planning to make with this yummy fruit?

PANCAKES
I tried a new, healthier pancake recipe this morning and was really happy with it, so I thought I would share it. I slightly modified this recipe. The kids all loved them, and apparently they are much more filling than the pancakes I normally make, b/c they were stuffed all morning and there were plenty left for the freezer.

Wheat Germ Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup applesauce
2 cups buttermilk (I used 2 cups milk and 2 T. lemon juice)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In a medium bowl, mix eggs with applesauce and buttermilk. Stir in baking powder, wheat germ, salt and flour; mix until blended.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides, turning once.