Lesson One - Make a List

A few of the crew on Thanksgiving at the homestead. We could call this one

Three Bald Guys and a Piece of Pie, but I don't think they'd laugh.

We did go away for Thanksgiving. We had a great trip and all was well when we got home. I did learn a few important principles on our journey, and since I said the purpose of this post would be to help minimize the mayhem of the holiday scene, I figured I’d share my discoveries with you. This exercise is meant to help keep you out of the grocery store, as much as possible, and cause you to consider what is really important to you this time of year. The theme is SIMPLIFY and learn from my mistakes, I made them for your benefit. So, here goes:

Do like Santa - Make a list and check it twice

Lists are great, they can act as a blueprint for your best laid plans. Whether your making a trip to the grocery store or to your in-laws for three days of family festivities, the list can save you time, money and grief. Once your list is made, you need to look it over critically and carefully. Contemplate the cost/benefit ratio of each item. Do you really get as much pleasure from your pumpkin-puffed-pastries as you do pain in purchasing the required supplies, unloading your purchases at home, putting all the items away, getting them all out again, assembling your recipe, waiting for it to come out of the oven, etc, etc, etc. If you can say the balance tips in favor of benefit for each item, keep it. Otherwise, ditch it.

Also, lists can provide a reality check to your pie-in-the-sky schemes - Here’s a list of food three families thought would be great for our Thanksgiving meal, followed by what really happened. Remember we were feeding 14 people the all-American meal symbolic of our prosperity and abundance, but also note, this was for one meal:
2 turkeys
1 ham
10 pounds mashed potatoes
8 streuseled sweet potatoes
4 dozen rolls
Stuffing
Gravy
Green bean casserole
Relish tray - carrots, tomatoes, celery, olives, pickles, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers
Cheese tray - cheese roll with 3 kinds of crackers
Green salad
4 pumpkin pies
2 banana cream pies
1 apple pie
1 pecan pie
1 pan of fudge
2 plates of cookies

Are you exhausted yet, because this is the scaled back version. We had to talk my mother-in-law down from the ledge when we discouraged her from including several additional items, including time-honored treats and stove-top specialties. So, making the list did help us before hand. The problem is, I didn’t put it all on one piece of paper. Our list was broken up into three, you bring this, I’ll bring that, she’ll do the other stuff. That was a mistake. Because our list wasn’t consolidated, we ended up way more than we needed. I’ll know better next time. I’m sure you’re laughing because you would have seen this coming. Just remember, there are all kinds of learners in this world, and sadly I often have to learn the hard way, but you don’t.

Here’s what happened with all of that food.
2 turkeys - we fully consumed one of them, but it took us Thanksgiving dinner and lunch the next day to do it. The other turkey was cooked, carved and sent back to the freezer, where it had begun it’s short life in grandma’s kitchen.
1 ham - I never even saw it, thank goodness.
10 pounds mashed potatoes - we actually peeled, boiled, mashed and ate all of these in one meal
6 streuseled sweet potatoes - delicious recipe contributed by my sis-in-law, sadly we only ate two of them (they were huge) and I don’t know what happened to the rest.
4 dozen rolls - these had a hard time in the high-altitude setting we were in. Still, we ate about half of them, the rest were left for other meals.
Stuffing - we made the perfect amount and had no leftovers or waste - 1 box of Mrs. Cubbisons along with croutons made from one small loaf of whole wheat bread.
Gravy - perfect amount, again
Green bean casserole - we ate about half of this
Relish tray - carrots, tomatoes, celery, olives, pickles, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers - we forgot half of the veggies for this back at home. Let’s just say that protein and starch were central to the meal.
Cheese tray - cheese roll with 3 kinds of crackers - this was a yummy before dinner snack, but we only had, and needed, one box of crackers, I brought half of the cheese roll home with me.
Green salad - I forgot the lettuce, so we didn’t have one.
4 pumpkin pies - between breakfast on Thanksgiving day (my tradition), dessert after dinner, and breakfast again the next day, we only ate two of these.
2 banana cream pies - we ate half of one.
1 apple pie - My Caleb ate about half of this pie by himself, and everyone else helped him with the rest.
1 pecan pie - I ate about ¼ of this pie, and a couple of others had a piece each. I left 2 pieces behind with longing backwards glances.
1 pan of fudge - two pieces were taken.
2 plates of cookies - who knows, I lost track of how much everyone was getting, but it did seem like there was at least one full plate of cookies left.

Alright, no more preaching, no more soap boxes. Just throw out the old adage "Make a list and stick to it." Replace it with the saying about Santa. There is wisdom in “making a list and checking it twice.” Learning to discern between what's naughty and nice for your time and money can make all the difference this holiday season.

Thanksgiving Break

If you saw my previous version of this post, you know we have big Thanksgiving festivities going on. Feeding 14 people again, this time for three days. So, I'm going to be off line for a few days. My next post will be on how to minimize Holiday mayhem. Look for it on Sunday, if not before. I'm thankful for so many things, including all of you who help me to keep my head above water in sometimes troubled times.

Peace and plenty to you and your families.

Mariah

A Promised Recipe with Powdered Parmesan

Don't try this at home.

Here’s what happened with that meal I mentioned in a previous post. After I committed to make a meal for 14 people, I realized I was out of some key ingredients. Since my No more Grocery Shopping experiment began a month and a half ago, I have gained a healthy disdain for the grocery store. So, I was determined not to run in to town for a few items when I knew I could make do with what we had.

Well, we did make due, but I have to admit, Bren’s Famous Alfredo was somewhat diminished in it’s deliciousness because we used canned milk. The powdered Parmesan wasn’t a problem, but evaporated milk did not create the greatest flavor. However, once we mixed the alfredo with a zesty marinara, the results were surprisingly good and the meal was a success, complete with compliments to the chefs from the entire family we shared with. We’re still in search of a fabulous alfredo recipe made entirely from food storage items, but until we find it, we’ll take what we got as good enough for now. Here are some photos of the fun, and recipes to go along with them.

Powdered Parmesan Alfredo
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
½ cup powdered parmesan
1 Tbsp. flour (I would omit this)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. kosher salt (this is my favorite salt)
Since we aren’t using fresh garlic or sautéing anything, you pretty much stir this all up in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until it reached it’s desired thickness. I thought we’d need the flour for thickness, but ours ended up being too thick, so don’t do it, it will probably improve the flavor if you leave it out. Also, I think it would have been great to add some pesto spices to it, a little basil and maybe oregano, but we were going for the perfect food storage alfredo, so we stayed with our purist intentions on that.
Zesty Marinara
1 26 oz can spaghetti sauce
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 Tbsp. dehydrated roasted garlic slices (my new favorite additive)
1 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning (not pictured)
1 tsp. kosher salt (not pictured)
½ tsp. red pepper flakes (not pictured)
Again, nothing to saute. I threw it all in a large sauce pan and brought to the splatter phase. Then I turned the heat down, covered it up and didn’t look at it again much until it was time to serve. I did taste it once or twice and was thrilled at how nicely the garlic softened and flavored the whole sauce with a lovely roasted flavor. Mmm. This is a simple and tasty food storage recipe.

Here are the two sauces side by side.

The final product garnished with fresh basil.

We stirred the alfredo into the pasta and then topped it with the marinara. It was a great combination. Even though the white sauce couldn't stand alone, my family was still happy with the results and would eat this meal again.

Do’s and Don’ts of Food Storage Sharing

Alright everyone. I know some of you read this in hopes of finding something useful, only to have those hopes dashed when you find my aimless ramblings instead. But, I have to say, this blog evolves as I go. It may seem pointless and meandering at times, but I think it is all working toward one great purpose and that is helping me get straight in my self and my shelves what I need to help my family, and others, thrive in hard times. So, this week was about using my food storage to help a friend, making sure produce was a part of my life and always remembering to wear protective eye gear when playing with pellet guns. I hope you found something useful here. Here is the promised list of do's and don'ts of food storage sharing:

1. Do share what you have with friends in need.
2. Don’t try something new when the need is great, unless you are ready with a Plan B.
3. Do find creative ways to get around making one more trip to the store.
4. Don’t insist on traditional recipes tasting exactly the same once you’ve given them a food storage modification.
5. Do persist in getting it right, eventually it will be good enough.
6. Don’t keep all of your great frugal food ideas to yourself. Share them, and help the rest of us avoid a possible food storage fiasco.
7. Do borrow from other neighbors and give them a chance to help as well. (Bren would have used fresh cream for his alfredo, instead of canned milk, and it was offered, but I refused. Hmm. What did I say about those in need refusing help?)

Pellet Guns, Chicken Pox and Pasta Sauce

For health and strength and daily food we praise thy name, O Lord.

One of my best friends, Liz, had a couple of slight catastrophes this week. First, her oldest boy’s right eye had a run in with an air soft gun pellet - which, contrary to its name was not soft, so it did some moderate and hopefully temporary damage. After spending hours in the urgent care, ER and ophthalmologist’s office, she was told to bring him home and have him lay low for a week. Yeah right, try to keep a 12 year-old-boy, who isn’t really sick, still for 7 days straight. After the optical incident, her oldest daughter, also 12, woke covered in spots, chicken pox actually, and the rest of the siblings were all carted off to the doctor to update vericella vaccinations. After she spent the better part of two days in doctors’ offices I told her I’d bring her dinner.
“No way.” she protested. “No way, Mariah. There are 8 of us.”

“What on earth, Liz. It‘s not a big deal.” I said. I was surprised by her downright refusal, but determined to soften her resolve. People who need help often refuse a first offer. I know I do. I lived in Japan for a number of years, and there it’s customary to refuse any offer three times before accepting, this is not a custom I advise keeping when there is a true need.

“It is a big deal, and I don’t want you to worry about it,” she argued.

I decided to switch to Sicialian tactics, “Don’ worry about it? What’s a matter, you don’t like our cooking? You don’t believe in families helping families?” I laid on my heaviest Brooklyn accent and she laughed. I nearly had her and was wondering what might tip the scales besides my bullied insistence.

“But, there are just way too many of us here. It’s too much to cook for your family and mine.” Whatever. I think she forgot that we routinely feed at least a dozen people every Sunday in our home. I knew this was the point where I had to tell her what I was going to make that would be “no big deal.” I was thinking of my well stocked pantry and then the answer came.

“Pasta, Liz. I’m just going to make pasta. It’ll be great - quick and easy, feeds a lot of people.” My confidence was the clincher and I sealed the proposal with a promise of Bren’s famous alfredo and a mean marinara.

I’ll finish the story in my next posts. There is an important produce tie in, a couple’a frugal food recipes and a serious list of food storage do’s and don’ts. In the mean time, ponder this:

What do you have in your pantry right now that could feed 14 people on a moment’s notice?

Did I chicken out by picking pasta? Think about it and send me your comments. We’d all love the ideas.

A Plethora of Produce

I bought all of this at Sunflower Farmer's Market. It is mostly organic and mostly locally grown. I spent $21.28 cents on the whole lot. This was an excellent find and a great value. My second frugal food lifetyle tip for you is:

Learn to make produce a vital part of your daily diet.

Here are 5 No More Grocery Shopping tips for stretching your grocery budget, keeping you out of the grocery store, and placing produce in your Best Frugal Foods category:

1. Buy produce that's in season, on sale and build your menu around that - Duh. This is a no brainer. All of this was on sale, that's why I got so much of it.
2. Determine your most acceptable price per pound/item and never pay more than that - For instance, if the best price you've paid this year for apples is $0.77/pound, but a good deal is still to be had at $0.87/pound, then always look for the best deal price, but never pay more than $0.87/pound for apples. Most produce is much cheaper than meat, consider your pound for pound costs when designing your menu. This concept can be carried over to all grocery purchases and is key to stretching your grocery budget.
3. When you find your best deal of the year buy a bunch and learn to preserve it - You can freeze or dry most produce items. I'll do a tutorial later on how to best do that, just know you can and stock up when the price is right.
4. Learn to properly store your produce - Again, Ill follow up with a tutorial someday. Just know that repackaging certain produce when you get it home will preserve it's freshness longer. For instance, leafy veggies last longer when you put a paper towel in with them. This keeps the moisture off the leaves and they last longer. Some people swear by Lettuce Keeperslike the ones in this link.
5. Plant a garden - "What?" you ask. Winter is coming on in the northern hemisphere, gardening season is over. Well take a look at what my favorite tree hugger up north is doing. She lives in Oregon, so the use of special (and not necessarily expensive) lights helps supplement their lack of sunshine, but where my climate is bright even in the cold, a sunny window will work just as well. Again, look for another tutorial to come.

Bonus Tip: Join a CSA - this is Community Supported Agriculture. It's good for your budget, it's in keeping with the No More Grocery Shopping Concept, it's usually organic, it supports the environment as well as your community and has many other benefits you might not be able to reap from your own little garden alone.

And Now...The Whole Wheat Bread Recipe You've All Been Waiting For

Mike's Favorite Whole Wheat Bread Recipe - Modified
Click here to view this recipe without all the distracting photos I hate blogger's terrible formatting tools, add that to the fact that I am not a photographer and we've got ourselves a REALLY ugly post. Oh well, function over form I guess.
Here's the recipe:
2Tbs. dry, active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 c warm water
Mix together and set aside.

Use water the temperature of your skin.

Yeast mixture after 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix:
1/3 c oil & 1/3 c honey(measure the oil and honey together pouring the honey on top of the oil helps it come out of the measuring cup more easily)
1 Tbs. salt
2 1/2 Tbs. vinegar (I think this is the secret to this light, fluffy wheat bread)
2 c warm water
3 1/2 c whole wheat flour (I use white wheat another secret to light flavor and texture - also, this is only half of your flour you're going to need)

Add the dissolved yeast to the bread mixture and stir for 7min. to get the gluten working. Let rest for 10 minutes, then add:
3 ½ c whole wheat flour

Wet ingredients and salt

Add first cups of flour

Mix flour and wet ingredients.

Add yeast, mix another little bit to get gluten working.

This is what it looks like before you add the final cups of flour

Mix and/or knead for 10 minutes. Dough should still be tacky, this will make it lighter in texture. Cover and let rise in a warm place for at least 15 minutes. Roll out onto floured surface, shape into loaves. Put into greased bread pans, rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Risen dough, about an hour later.

Rolled out, getting ready to be made into loaves.

Ready to rise.

After 30 minutes.

Another 30 minutes later.

Wow! I think it was more work to document this labor of love than it was to actually make the bread. Don't be discouraged by the photos and the steps in the process. It all takes about 2 1/2 hours, but you can do lots of other things during mixing, rising and baking times. This is not a recipe that enslves, it liberates. Try it and let me know what you think. If you live near me, come over and we'll make this recipe together.

Do you have an easier recipe that still promises great results? We'd love for you to share.

And the winner is......

Vashti!

Congratulations, Vashti. You have won our very first give away prize. Wahoo!

I've actually already contacted Vashti and am in the process of getting her prize to her. She let me know it was okay to share her info with you here. I think you all would be inspired and amazed at her work in South Africa. This is from her bio, click the link to read more:

About Me
I have a fantastic husband and 2 adopted little boys, Joe is 3 and Jesse is 2. I grew up in England but now live in South Africa. This Blog is about the things that I love most in life.

These post on Vahti's blog will give you a sense of her life's miracles and mission:
http://littlefingersandfrosting.blogspot.com/2008/11/our-family.html
http://littlefingersandfrosting.blogspot.com/2008/10/me-and-mo.html

Go read her blog and leave her a congratulatory comment.

Oh, yeah. Here's her AWARD WINNING recipe. She's even converted it to measurements I can understand. Thank you, Vashti.

Yummy Pumpkin Bread

INGREDIENTS
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

The Daily Grind - Part I

When it comes to learning the ins and outs of frugal food and food storage in general, I have to say that I'm glad I've got my best friend with me on the journey. He is far more patient and persistent than I am. He is my handsome, handy husband and he inspired me to figure this process out with him. Here's how it happened.

A couple of years ago, our good friend and neighbor, Mike, brought us a lovely loaf of whole wheat bread just before he and his family moved to another state. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. I’d made whole wheat bread many times before and had never had such simple and satisfying results. All of my previous wheat bread recipes produced loaves that were heavy and hardy, with an overwhelming flavor of yeasty wheatiness. But, this bread was fair in color, light in weight and texture, and unassuming in its ability to please the palate. After receiving assurance that it truly was a 100% whole wheat bread recipe, observing our kids quickly consume it and ask for more, and contemplating our previous attempts, Don resolved to acquire the recipe, learn to make it, and add it to our repertoire of every day food storage recipes.

Don was bit by the food storage bug just before we received that blessed loaf of bread, and it made him a ready student when the teacher arrived. We had several hundred pounds of wheat in our food storage; more than we ever thought we'd need or use, and he was determined to learn to use it. So, he pulled out the wheat grinder (see below) my grandparents had used decades ago and given us as a wedding gift, dusted it off and figured out how to use it. It was a trial and error attempt, based on my misty childhood memories and his ingenuity, and it was messy at first. Remember the powdered milk pics, it was like that only with wheat flour dust, and it covered a much larger area. But, he’s persisted and perfected the process and we eat delicios bread and pastas every week as a result of his efforts. Here he is grinding wheat with Hannah and before and after pics of the process.

Begin with an empty bucket, lined with a plastic bag

Set the antique grinder on the bucket and DON'T bump it.

Pull the plastic up around the grinder. This saves ALOT of cleanup time.

Sit down in your jammies and let the grinding begin. Here's the miller and his daughter.

40 minutes later.

How do you grind your grains and what do you make with them? Do you use whole wheat in your cooking? If not, what do you use to add nutrients and substance to your food storage plan? Do you want or need a review of grinders and/or grains? Leave a comment, let me know, your wish is my command. Look for Mike’s Whole Wheat Bread recipe in the next post.

A Lifestyle Change

My next posts will be ideas on how to sustain the principles of No More Grocery Shopping year round. By following the frugal food plan I've learned in preparation for and execution of my experiment, you will reap the benefits of No More Grocery Shopping without actually having to STOP going to the store.

But first, a frugal food lifestyle suggestion for you:

Learn to make the best bread you can and make it once a week.

Maybe your best bread is tortillas, maybe it's corn bread, or a hardy farm bread. Whatever it is, perfect it. Buy your ingredients on sale, stock up so you have them always on hand, and start making your bread at least once a week.

What is your best bread?

Watch for the World's Greatest Whole Wheat Bread Recipe, coming soon.

But, before I share mine, what is yours? Send the recipe by tonight and you will be entered to win our giveaway! Or, wait till it's convenient for you and send it as a comment. If breadmaking became a vital life skill, how would you survive and thrive?

What? Who has $1000 to save on groceries anyway?

This is a $1000 bill printed in 1890, today it's worth $2.3 mil. How much is your $1000 worth?

I didn't have $1000 laying around to spend, or save on groceries, but somehow I did it anyway. I'm sorry to back track, but I have some documentation that just needs to be done. I've been reviewing financial statements and was amazed to see how much money I actually saved last month. I knew I needed to save money, robbing Peter to pay Paul is not my favorite game, so that's why I did the experiment in the first place. Before I started I figured the grocery budget for my family of 6 was about $600. Remember, I have four kids, including 2 growing boys who seem to be bottomless pits, and a husband who is all about eating lots of fresh produce. So, the first $600 I saved is a gimme. I didn't go to the store, I saved all that money. But, where did all the other money come from? Or, better stated, where did it all go in the previous months? Several places. It turns out that No More Grocery Shopping had budgetary benefits beyond my food funds. Here's what I found. Because I didn't go to the grocery store:

1. I saved an easy $100 on gas. That is comparing to the months when gas was near $4/gal.


2. I saved another $100+ on food items that didn't start out on my list but still ended up in my cart.


3. I saved $100+ on non-food items that I didn't buy because I wasn't at the store.


4. I saved $100 on stuff I might have bought because I was out-and-about.

Remember, the point isn't to never go grocery shopping again, but, what would you with $1000 saved in a month or two?

A Great Beginning and a GIVEAWAY!

So, here’s the idea. I have collected recipes, menus, shopping lists, food storage inventories and other resources over the years that pertain to the idea of frugal food and simpler living. But, I don’t feel like my knowledge alone is quite adequate. This is a time for seeking new solutions. And, in the face of a plethora of problems and social ills I want to focus on a new kind of plenty. I want to find the abundance in everyday that I experienced in my month of no more grocery shopping.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Here’s where you come in.

I want to give you the best books on my book shelf. These are books that have inspired me to live a life of abundance every day. One of the first books to help me on my path is this one -

Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two-Income Economy

I bought this book with money I found in a pair of maternity jeans I'd worn with my first pregnancy. We had recently moved into our first home, dropped one income (mine) and found out we were expecting our second baby. We were so poor…(How poor were we?)…we were so poor that we spent a significant portion of our time fruitlessly digging for change in the lower recesses of our couches and car seats so we could scrounge up enough money for a diet coke. (I know, I just blew it on the sensitivity bit again. People in poverty do not buy diet coke). Anyway, it was a huge adjustment for our family to have our household income cut in half. Maybe you know what I mean. This book gave me some awesome ideas on how to play better defense with what we did have coming in. Click the title link to read a review and get an idea of what it’s about.

Why am I telling you this?

Want to put this little book on your shelf? Send an email with your best “frugal food” recipe, I’ll compile them in the order they’re received and a winner will be chosen by a random number generator. I’ll send it anywhere in the world and will be happy to hear how you like it. Just send one recipe, I’ll be having weekly drawings, so watch for the next recipe request. You are entered to win even if I don’t immediately post your recipe. The contest ends at midnight, Mountain Time, Sunday, November 16, 2008.

Here's my email: mariahmama@gmail.com
Come out, come out, where ever you are!

Eggsperiment

This is a great article documenting egg preservation. I presented it in a previous post and sited it as sent by my sister, my favorite tree hugger up north. She found this and is having great success with her own chickens and eggs and wanted to share with the rest of us. Thanks, Katie.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/1977-11-01/Egg-Refrigeration-Experiment.aspx

You'll be amazed and relieved by how thorough it is. A ton of work you don't have to experiment on yourself. What do you think of this?

A Plentiful Portion of Poor People Food

A new theme has overtaken me. Why the rally cry, “No more Mac and Cheese” and references to Poor People Food? I’ve had a flashback, a sense of déjà vu. I remember calling my sister, Jen, a few years ago and asking, “Can you give me your best menu ideas of poor people food? We are really scraping bottom and I need to know what you guys ate when you had no money?” We were sailing through rough seas and I was sinking in my murky musings of being consigned to a fate of mac and cheese meals sided with tater-tots and catsup. I needed crucial, creative help in the one area of our financial plan I had most control over; our food budget. Maybe it’s today’s economic climate, maybe it’s the close calls we’ve had financially in the last several months, maybe it’s the fact that I have a lot of friends, neighbors and family members out of work right now, but these days, I am inclined to recall hard times and hold them forward as talismans of faith for a brighter future. I’ve had a need for nourishment in lean times, in my childhood, in my early marriage, and in my recent past, and have seen that need arise again and again in others around me, so, I want to see if I can’t pull some resources together to fill it, at least in theory.

As I write this, and you read, I want you to know I am aware that there is profusion of true poverty and suffering in the world, deeper and wider than anything I have ever experienced personally. I don’t mean to make light of that grief in my reference to “poor people food”. Even as we get and gain, there is a glut of hunger and despair in our society. Maybe you have felt these sensations in your own life; I know I have. Maybe you are struggling through them right now. If you are engulfed in the tumult and trial of your own oceans, there is not much comfort in the fact that a lot of people are treading water along with you. When you are in over your head, it doesn’t matter who else is swimming, unless they have a life vest to throw around your neck to replace the weight that pull you down. I don’t have a life vest, but I do know how to make my clothes into a flotation device (just for fun, see here) and this might help you keep your head above water until real help arrives.

Jen and I making some our favorite frugal food; corn tortillas for tacos.

My sister had some great solutions for me when I called her all those years ago. I’d like to pass along some of what she and others have shared with me over the years. Again, great aspirations from me. The best laid plans that have so many occasions to go awry. Look for the next post to see how you could benefit from helping the rest of us.

Top 10 Things I’ve Learned This Month

10. Powdered milk is best mixed first in a pitcher, then poured into a milk jug. Click here to see why.

9. Waste is an unfortunate American way of life. I took a note from my sis-in-law’s book one day and scraped all the DEE-SCKUSTING leftovers off of everyone’s plate. The resulting pile of food was appalling, as was the echo of my mother’s voice coming out of my mouth, questioning “Do you know there are starving children in Africa?” Watching portion sizes on kids plates (as well as your own) can help keep waste (and waists) under control.

8. People are generous and willing to share - I received a gift wrapped package of dishwasher tabs from my friend Liz. My sister and brother-in-law donated, shared and loaned more items than I can list here. I borrowed onions and was given tomatoes twice. Self-reliance does not work if you don’t also rely on God and others close to you when things get really tough. For example, I was able to call Donna for advice with the morning moo fiasco and an anonymous onion and some tomatoes showed up at my door , like manna from heaven, when I had nothing fresh to add to my Mexican meal of tortillas, meat and olives.

7. Going to the store without a clear plan is like going to college without a major; it takes you a lot longer and costs a lot more than it should. Believe me, I’ve done both.

6. Cold cereal is one of the ultimate fast food, but it works optimally when you have milk to go with it.

5. Hot chocolate is the best breakfast beverage - It’s filling, covers your dairy serving for the morning, betters any breakfast food, warms you from the inside out.

4. The best laid plans often go awry. For this blog, I hoped (as I know many of you did) to post daily meal plans, menus, recipes and other useful information. Ha, ha, ha. It was too much to keep with. So, instead you got a lot of irrational rambling that persists even now. In my defense, I’m still trying to get out from under my mountain of laundry generated on our three-day outdoor survival excursion. I’m nearly there, but we keep wearing clothes, so I never seem to see the bottom of the bins.

3. If you really want to learn to live off of your food storage, on a budget, or survive during tough times there are a lot more qualified people to help you do that. Here are their blogs/websites:
http://everydayfoodstorage.blogspot.com/
http://www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com/
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index1.htm

2. Buying groceries once, at the beginning of the month and never going back (except for my previously confessed cheats) saved me several hundred dollars. Money is a definite motivator in convincing me to repeat and improve upon our experiment.

1. There are bigger and better things to do with the time saved from running to the grocery store. I was able to:

• Begin my first work of fiction (writing, not reading, but, about that…)
• Read Dracula with the kids, and
• Get to page 90 of Les Mis, only 1370 pages to go
• Learn to make focaccia, tortillas, pear crisp, powdered milk, pumpkin pancakes and more
• Teach a Leadership Education class once or twice a week all month
• Head up National Student Mock Elections for our school
• Save a full tank of gas
• Build confidence in my self-reliance skills
• Locate the holes in my home storage system
• Cultivate relationships with local growers and producers
• Discover how many people are ready, willing and able to help me learn, do and become more than I ever could on my own

Thanks for sticking around to see the end of our experiment. I went to the store but I hope not to go back again for another month. I planned to have November and December be a “No More Holiday Shopping,” focus, but I’ve altered that plan a bit. I’m still planning on that theme for December, but I have something fun cooked up (no pun intended) for November, and I‘m just trying to devise a politically correct way to present it. So, please, come back Monday to see what my new idea is, it will involve drawings and prizes so you‘ll want to stop in. Have fun, avoid the grocery store, fill your life up with better things.

Peace and plenty to you all.

Love,
Mariah

Food Storage Planner

Here's another cool tool I found online. Something to help you organize.

It's a food Storage Planner. It helps you track your inventory and gives you a clue of what you have and how quickly, or slowly you go trough it.

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_500.pdf

This is just a starting point. Look it over to inspire your own great ideas.

Election Day Liberation

So, I went to my favorite local super-club-shopping store today. Here’s what I got:

Milk
Egg Nog - I promised KC I'd get some as soon as I went back to the store
Cream
Butter
Eggs
Bagels
Bananas
Clementines
Limes
Lettuce
Spinach
Onions
Olives
Hot Chocolate Mix
Cat Food
Rotisserie Chicken

Here’s what I did not get:

• Any cool Costco convenience foods - the rotisserie chicken was priced the same as if I had bought it raw and cooked it myself, so here, I saved myself and my home a few hours of energy output
• Delectable ready-to-serve desserts that would have made a tempting addition to my Election Evening Festivities - I had my eye on the All-American chocolate cake, but I passed it up knowing anything I made at home would be a tenth of the cost and just as satisfying, well, almost just as satisfying
• Paper goods - I hate doing so many dishes, but love not spending dollars on stuff we just throw away without being nurtured by it
  

The liberation I felt while I was in the store did not come from being able to be there without wondering if someone was going to snap a photo of me cheating on my own experiment. It didn’t come from having an array of choices before me, many of which were open to the possibility of my purchase. It came from knowing that I was in control of what I walked out of the store with and that all I planned to procure was truly all I required. I felt free to stick to my list and not be enticed into buying things which do not add to the value of my family’s existence.

I want to share with you a story of something that happened while I was in Costco today. I ran into a friend and fellow shopper who was also carefully making her selections. She and I got to talking about our recent experiences. I told her about my month long experiment and some of our highs and lows culminating with this morning’s breakfast (read previous post.) She shared with me her family’s recent experience of struggling through rough economic waters. As I listened to her story I was impressed by her thrift, strength and ingenuity. I was humbled by the outcome of my silly experiment, I had felt so proud of myself for making it through to today. But, what stuck me in our conversation is that while my experiment gets to end, hers is ongoing. She doesn’t get to choose an end date. I know trials come and go, and for her, this too shall pass, but neither she does not get to determine when that is. Still, she was optimistic and hopeful. She spoke of how careful and conscious her consumerism has become. In the face of her need I was aware of every item in my cart, and glad I had not chosen too many less-needful things to fill the space.

This conversation speaks to the heart of what I’ve learned this month. We can thrive with much simpler fare and fodder than we think we can. Fewer choices can actually be quite liberating, as long as you still have the ability to choose. Self-reliance and others-reliance can be a beautiful balancing act. When it comes to sustenance and nourishment, it's not the ease of acquisition of a particular goal or item, but it's the thought, time, trial and error that are the best part of the process.

Losing It

Okay, first let me describe our final “no more grocery shopping” breakfast. As my kids would say, “It was dee-scusting.” So, I ran out of eggs from the egg lady. Since that is a very planned purchase, I couldn’t just go pick some up last night when I discovered my lack. I’ve also been out of milk for about 10 days, and while no one minds me cooking with the morning moo, the kids will neither drink it straight, nor pour it over cereal. Additionally, our Halloween adventures depleted the last of my hot chocolate stores. We went through the better part of a #10 can that night and as we served up over 150 cups of hot cocoa. I did have a free loaf of bread acquired from the bread store. I decided this bread and some “from scratch” hot chocolate along with some cut fruit would be breakfast.

I put the bread on my baking stone and put it in the oven to toast. Then I poured several cups of morning moo into a pan and started it simmering. I’d give you my food storage hot cocoa recipe, but it was awful, so it might be best if we wait till I perfect it. I added cocoa powder and sugar, then some vanilla and cinnamon. I don’t know if it was the vanilla or the cocoa powder, but that was the worst hot chocolate ever. Bitter and bad, everyone left all but a first sip in their mugs. The toast was eyed suspiciously by all (except Don, of course) “Why do they always have to put all those grainy, seedy things into it?“ one child questions. “Your bread is never like this. You don’t leave chunks of stuff in it, Mom,” another remarks while scrutinizing her meager meal. When it came time to serve the fruit I realized all my pears were ready for a pear crisp, the apples were wrinkly (probably from hanging out with the flaccid pears too long) and the plums were looking more like mushy prunes that they should, so I scratched the fruit plan.

It wasn’t a stellar morning for quality family time either, usually we get at least 15 minutes to sit together, eat and read. Today, I think we had five minutes. The kids have worked past complaining about our meals of late, but I knew this one left a lot to be desired by the looks on their faces. Breakfast was cut short because we were searching for shoes, one of my least favorite mom activities. I read one verse of scripture and our favorite car pool arrived, horn honking. Caleb was still looking for his shoes. My first, second and third response was frustration as the car pool patiently waited. Then, I remembered, we all lose things. On Halloween, I lost my brand new digital camera. I’m still praying and searching to find it. In my searching I’ve found lots of other things that I, the mom, have lost over the last little while, some of them important things. Some of the things I’ve lost, and found include:

1. My extra set of car keys which miraculously showed up on an end table
2. A coupon for a sale (found the day after the sale)
3. An antique song book, lent to me by a friend (boy was I glad to find that)
4. My very special scouting sweater that holds all of my scouting mom pins (I didn’t even know it was missing, but I found it in the lost and found at school)
5. My favorite purfume that I searched and searched for and finally found today in a place I've looked many times before

Realizing my hypocrisy I immediately apologized to Caleb. I sent him to school in sandals and told him I’d bring his shoes when I brought Hannah for kindergarten. As they all pulled away, I went back into the house and into the kitchen, there, on the floor in a corner were his shoes. Sometimes things don’t show up until you’ve learned what you needed while that thing is gone from your life. I think that applies to the lessons of my “no more grocery shopping” experiment. Just as I’m learning to get along without my weekly trips to the store, the experiment is over and I can get on with life as usual. But, once you’ve found your truth, do you ever really go back? I don’t know, it will be interesting to see. Stay tuned to my top ten lessons learned.

Master Menu

Click the link below to view Mariah's Master Menu.

Master Menu

Cheating Cheaters

Okay, true confession time. I already told you I had to go to the grocery store for dry ice. Well, then Hannah's teacher put in a request for a mini-pumpkin at the last minute. Also, we were having a Halloween Extravaganza in our cul-de-sac and I had planned ahead for everything except the paper cups to serve hot chocolate in. Once I was in the produce section to choose our mini-pumpkin, I thought it would also be cool to get a bunch of strange root vegetables to carve like they did in the old times. So, I grabbed jicima, rutabagas, parsnips and turnips; not groceries, strictly speaking, because I wasn’t planning on eating any of them, just decorating, but boy, did my list grow as I justified the breaking of my first rule. Once I got into the store I could hardly keep myself from buying a bunch of unnecessary stuff….But I did fight my daemons and came out with everything I just confessed, nothing else.

I told you, it’s an addiction for me, buying groceries. It was truly intoxicating just walking down the aisles. To add to my euphoria, there were people in every department offering Hannah and I candy (it was Halloween, remember) and reinforcing my habit with a chocolate reward at every turn. I felt like one of Pavlov’s dogs. I shudder to think of what I could have done if I hadn’t restrained myself and remembered my purpose. As it is, I spent $57 (I bought 10 packages of paper cups that were 10 for $10, and rare root vegetables are not cheap) and I have to confess my lapse right at the end of my experiment. Hopefully I can retain enough dignity and self-control for the next few days to relay the fascinating lessons learned.

Before I sign off for the night, I have to say that my purchases were well worth the cheat. Am I applying moral relativism to the situation? Do the ends justify the means? I don’t know. But at school I ran the rotation that was voted most exciting and engaging by KC's whole class. We did an array of experiments with dry ice that were exciting and engaging and involved all five sences. Our little booth attracted the attention of all the students, faculty and parents of the wing we were set up in. And, that evening we ladled up 150 paper cups of hot chocolate on a cold, drizzly night - serving friends and strangers alike. We were like a little Halloween Haven where all the witches, ghosts, princesses, and superheroes along with their parents enjoyed a bit of respite from the chilly night air. That’s why I did it, that’s why I always do it, groceries make people happy, right? Or, maybe it was all for the praise and attention of others. To quote a favorite line, from a favorite musical, "Maybe that's all good deeds are when looked at with an ice cold eye." Maybe. And that dry ice was colder than ice cold. Hmm. Ponder, ponder. Now I’m just wondering, do you think they have some sort of anonymous 12 step program for cheating cheaters like me?