I Love Thrift Stores

So, I've been floundering through the season, cheating here and there due to sickness, surgeries and other unforeseen obstacles. Birthday season and the Holidays are in full swing at my house and I have a few good things to report. Since I'm usually writing my failures, I thought I'd share the successes for a change.

1. I got Christmas for everyone from thrift stores and/or online classified ads.
2. What I bought new, I bought before our experiment started and on sale.
3. I have everything I need already in my house for my part of Thanksgiving dinner (potatoes, stuff for rolls, green bean casserole, pie goodies), but I did get a turkey today for $6.
4. I got a VCR at the thrift store and we are enjoying all of our old videos.
5. I've already made all of my neighbor and family gifts.

I just wanted to check in to let you know that we're plugging along. I always have more ambitions than I am capable of executing, thus the infrequent blog posts. I'm actually considering abandoning it for good. I have so many other projects that bring true value, that this one feels like I'm creating another chore for myself.

Not to end on a low note, I want to wish everyone a fabulous Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Celebrate as much as you can, look for quiet time too. Don't do so much that you don't have a few evenings just to sit with your family and enjoy close family traditions. This is my favorite time of year and I'm determined to get the most out of it.

Apples for Apples

I made my first microloan last week and it couldn't have gone to a more promising holiday project. If you're wondering what a microloan is, go check out my other blog where I explain in more detail. Last year I wrote about Wendy's fancy schmancy apples during the holidays. This year she's my first microloan venture as she turned her concept into a business and will be selling her apples all season long.

If you are interested in purchasing one of Wendy's awsome apples, leave me a comment or come visit us up at the Rennaissance Holiday Bizarre on Nov. 13th from 5-9. I also have a bunch of really cute applesauce ornaments you can mix and match to make the perfect addition to any tree.

As a Give Away, for each Fancy Schmancy Apple or set of Applesauce Ornaments purchased, we are donating an apple or a can of applesauce to a local food pantry. Our goal is to donate 100 apples and cans of applesauce this season.

Swine Flu

Well, my No More Grocery Shopping Spree did not factor in the flu. So, there was a trip to the store for cough meds. I've got other fever/cold/allergy preparations on hand, but cough medicine was a must, so when I went I stocked up. Other cheater items included Popsicles, Sprite and fruit juice. But, on the whole we have survived pretty well with what we have here in the pantry and food storage.

On a more positive note, I saved a ton of money last month by not going to the store for anything other than emergency swine flu supplies. Even driving a bit further for my milk and produce I still saved a lot of money. Now we're on to another month and I'm hoping to keep expenses down to the point that I can keep going for another several months on the cash we have on hand.

Sorry for the infrequent posts. I have some exciting things going on and will post about them soon. School, swine flu, business prospects, marriage and mothering tend to take up all of my time these days. Thank goodness for kids who can cook and fold laundry. Not that they do it all the time, but hey it helps to have someone pick up the slack every now and then. And I think I've already mentioned that Don is a much better home maker than I am.

Buy Nothing Meal Plan - Week 1

Sunday
Breakfast - scones, milk
Lunch - fried zuchinni
Dinner - Japanese curry rice (curry sauce from a mix)
Dessert - zuchinni bread

Monday
Breakfast - cream of wheat, milk
Lunch - fruit & crackers, cheese stick & nuts
Snack - nachos
Dinner - Spaghetti Carbonara & salad
Dessert - Cinnamon Struessel muffins (from a mix)

Tuesday
Breakfast - english muffins, hot chocolate
Lunch - fruit & crackers, muffins
Snack - pumpkin pancakes
Dinner - Chicken and Dumplings
Dessert - fend-for-yourself treats

Wednesday
Breakfast - bagels and berry jam, hot chocolate
Lunch - fruit & crackers, cheese stick & nuts
Snack - quesadillas
Dinner - hot wings and salad
Dessert - fruit smoothie

Thursday
Breakfast - eggs, fruit, milk
Lunch - veggies & crackers
Snack - nachos
Dinner - whole wheat waffles & fruit
Dessert - sugar cookies

Friday
Breakfast - cream of wheat, milk
Lunch - fruit & crackers, cheese stick & nuts
Snack - homemade fries
Dinner - Fend-for-yourself leftovers
Dessert -

Saturday
Breakfast - cold cereal & milk
Lunch - fruit & cheese
Snack - nachos
Dinner - home made french bread & salad (recipe to follow)
Dessert - ginger cookies

Hannah's Whole Wheat Waffles

Hannah got her wish to have breakfast for dinner Thursday night. She didn't make the batter, but the waffles were delicious. Brennan whipped up the batter, and Hannah and I cooked them up in our many-years-old, $10 waffle iron.

Speaking of many-years-old, the hand mixer Brennan used to beat the batter is from our wedding. That makes it over 17 years old. It was given to us by our best man, and has served us well all these years. A few years ago I got a hand-me-down Kitchen-aid for myself as a Christmas present. I love that machine. But, I didn't get rid of my old hand mixer and it still serves us well for smaller jobs like a batch of whole wheat waffles.

Here's the recipe. We pulled it out of Betty Crocker's classic red and white cookbook, one of my favorites.

Whole Wheat Waffles

2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup veggie oil (Bren used canola)
1 3/4 cup milk (we used 2 T dry milk pdr. and 1 3/4 c. water)
1 Tbsp. sugar (we used 2 Tbsp.)
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat eggs and add other ingredients beat just until smooth. Pour by cup-full into center of iron, cook until waffle stops steaming.

So, what is your oldest kitchen appliance and how often do you use it?

Wings and Things

Brennan's meal this week was hot wings. He is a bit of a wings connoisseur and is picky about the spice and tang applied to his favorite pieces of poultry. KC and Hannah don't prefer the spice, but love a little teriyaki on their wings, so we made two batches along with a bunch of corn on the cob, free from a friend's garden.

Sorry I don't have any photos, the battery on the camera is dead and the battery pack is in an undisclosed location (in the car, in the shop, getting some warranty issues resolved - the car, not the camera). But here's what we did:

Bren's Barbecue Wings

Spicy Wings start with a dry rub - Here he used a Cajun seasoning mix along with paprika, cayenne, chili powder, garlic and salt. He dumped this generously over the wings and coated them all with the seasonings. Then he let them sit for about two hours.

Asian Wings Marinate -1/4 c. Soy sauce, 1/4 c. rice vinegar, 2 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. ginger powder. Pour over chicken, mix and marinate for two hours.

After the wings have sat in their seasoning for a couple of hours, throw them in a 500 degree oven for about 20 minutes. If you really need the crisp and crunch of fabulously fried wings, get your pan and oil heating and cook them up that way, but similar results can be had by another method. I coat the wings with a bit of olive oil (on top of their rub or marinate) and then dredge with flour (that means I coat them with flour on all sides). I still bake them, but the little bit og oil and flour creates a nice crust you don't get otherwise.

Bren likes to baste the spicy ones with a bottled wing sauce he's doctored to make even zestier and spicier. We serve them with veggies and dip. The cool of the dip is a nice contrast to the hot of the wings.

Soup Kitchen

Today, kids came home to pumpkin pancakes, a favorite fall-time after school snack. I mixed 'em up and Don cooked Here's how you do it:

Pumpkin Pancakes
Make your favorite pancake recipe and add 1/2 cup pumpkin for ever 2 cups flour. Mix and make like you would normal pancakes. Serve with syrup.

Later, Caleb (8) made Chicken and Dumplings for dinner. He cut potatoes and carrots, opened cans of chicken and chicken broth. He also measured ingredients for dumplings and added dollops of dough to the boiling broth when it was time. All-in-all, I'd say he and I spent a total of 30 quality minutes preparing dinner together. Here's the recipe:

Easy Chicken Soup

1 12 oz. can chicken breast
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 cups cubed carrots
1 can chicken broth
8 cups water
4 tsp. chicken bullion
2 tsp. garlic powder
Seasoning salt to taste

Put all ingredients into a medium stock pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Cheater Dumplings

2 1/4 cup baking mix
1 Tbsp. dry milk powder
2/3 cup water

Stir with a fork until all dry ingredients are moistened.

When soup begins a rolling boil, drop dumpling dough about the size of an extra large egg (don't you love the precision of my measurements) into the boiling soup. When all dumplings (you should have gotten about 8 of them) are in the pot, turn temp. down to medium-low and start a timer for 10 minutes. Leave to slow boil, uncovered for 10 minutes. Then, cover the pot, start the timer for 10 more minutes and continue to boil. After 10 minutes remove from heat and serve.

Pasta From The Pantry

Sunday we sat down and from our master menu made a "buy nothing meal plan" for the week. Everything from here on out comes from the freezer or the pantry. Each kid chose the meal they wanted to make this week. Monday I did breakfast, kids made their own lunches and snack, dinner was made by KC (11) and dessert was courtesy of Caleb (8), both needed some small supervision from me. Here's Monday's plan:

Monday
Breakfast - cream of wheat, milk
Lunch - fruit & crackers, cheese stick & nuts
Snack - nachos
Dinner - Spaghetti Carbonara & salad (recipe to follow)
Dessert - Cinnamon Struessel muffins (from a mix)

Spaghetti Carbonara is one of our favorite pastas. It's quick and easy. It calls for cream and bacon. What more do I need to say. The eggs in the sauce itself is heated and cooked on the piping hot pasta. The heat from the cooked noodles is enough to sightly cook the eggs and thicken the sauce, but you have to work fast as everything comes together the minute you drain the spaghetti. KC made it mostly herself with a little help from me in crushing the garlic and her dad drained the pasta. So, here goes:

Spaghetti Carbonarra

1 lb. spaghetti
1 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesean
1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups precooked bacon crumbs

2 cloves garlic, crushed

drained canned mushrooms and a cup of frozen spinach are optional

Start water boiling, add pasta when you have a rolling boil. Cook according to package directions. DO NOT overcook. While pasta is boiling prepare the cream portion of the sauce. In a medium bowl mix cream, milk, eggs, cheese and salt. Set aside and wait for pasta to finish cooking. Once the pasta has less than 4 minutes left to cook, add bacon crumbs and crushed garlic to a small, hot saute pan. Saute over medium heat (add optional ingredients once the garlic has a nice golden tan). Drain pasta and immediately pour cream sauce over it. Stir quickly and follow with sizzling hot bacon crumbs, etc. Stir until mixed well. Serve steamy and enjoy.

Peaches and Potatoes

Yesterday I bought a huge supply of potatoes to add to our cold storage. I got them from a fabulous local source, alpinefoodstorage.com. The proprietors drove to Idaho the day before to pick them up as they are being harvested. The potatoes come in 50# bags with the dirt still on them. That little bit of scrubbing time is worth it because the extra dirt helps the spuds stay fresh all through the winter.


Naturally, we had to eat potatoes for dinner, so along with some other exciting items we picked up at Alpine Food Storage (AFS), this is the recipe we made. Bren (13) did the slicing, boiling stirring and sauteing and I just watched to offer encouragement and advice. Here's the recipe:

Au Gratin Potato Casserole

6 russet potatoes, sliced (about 1/8 in. thick coins)
6 slices of bacon, bite size pieces (also shelf stable from AFS)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups heavy cream (shelf stable from AFS)
1 can cream chicken soup
1 cup milk
2 cups cheddar cheese
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
Parmesan and cheddar cheese for the top (optional)

WARNING: This is not the healthiest recipe, but it is the height of fall comfort food.

Here's how you throw it together -

1. Slice and boil potatoes over med. heat. Cook until all crispness is gone, but potatoes are still firm. You should be able to stab them easily with a fork, but they shouldn't fall apart. Remove from heat and drain.
2. In a small saute pan, saute bite sized pieces of bacon along with minced garlic. Drain and set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl stir together remaining ingredients.
4. Butter a 9x13 baking pan and add potatoes. Pour cream mixture over potatoes and stir just enough to coat all the potatoes with sauce. Top with a little more cheese if desired.
5. Bake at 350F until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 min.

Honestly, Bren did this almost entirely on his own and it turned out deliciously.

For dessert we love a simple peaches and cream. We got these from the growers on the fruit belt in Northern Utah. Purchase, preserve and eat fruit in season and buy local whenever you can. These are my big sharing items right now because they are not expensive and they are prolifically available.

One final word that will bring you countless blessings of abundance when you make a practice of always buying a little more than what you need. Share. You'll be amazed at the things that come back to you when you need them.

Staying out of the store....again

If you haven't been to my new blog, Home of Peace and Plenty, you should check it out. It's a little more philosophical than this blog, but my thoughts are still forming and there's really not an original thought there. However, the experiment proves to be interesting.

As for this blog, here's the latest in the grocery shopping realm. We decided in our family meeting last night to return to no more grocery shopping for the last quarter of the year. So, from the beginning of October until January we will not be going to the grocery store with the following exceptions (note there are fewer exceptions this go around than last time):

1. We can still visit any local producers; i.e. orchards, the dairy, the egg lady, and the farmers market (for produce only).


2. Turkeys, birthday meals, and school needs ("Mom, I'm supposed to bring 2 dozen pre-wrapped rice crispy treats to class tomorrow") are exempt.


3. If Don's out of town, we can go out to eat.

We're not stocking up a whole lot for this since we spent the last year preparing. There are some things I want to get but they are non-food items like duct tape (you can't imagine all the things you can do with that stuff from taping kids' mouths shut ; ) to making wallets and shoes, there are hours of fun and entertainment in each roll). I should also go over my list of stuff I ran out of last time to be sure.

These are the things I ran out of during my month of No More Grocery Shopping

1. Paper plates
2. Paper cups
3. Paper muffin cups
4. Paper lunch bags
5. Sesame oil (I already stocked up)
6. Lettuce (Hmm, Sunflower Farmers' Market for all produce)
7. Cilantro
8. Salad greens
9. Other fresh veggies
10. Milk (Local Dairy)
11. Cream (Ditto)
12. Hot chocolate mix - (Taken care of)

So, what would you stock up on if you weren't going to the store for three months?

New Blog In Progress

I've started a new blog to reflect the shift in our lifestyle. It goes beyond grocery shopping to a broader scope of questions to be experimented with. It's called Home of Peace and Plenty. It will have a new experiment with our personal perameters and guidelines soon. You view that blog by clicking here.

http://homeofpeaceandplenty.blogspot.com/

I want to continue to refine the No More Grocery Shopping aspect of our experiment here. So keep checking for new challenges and ideas.

Radical Ideas

Alright, I am a crazy idealist. I'm also overly ambitious (redundant, I know), but this foray into the world of limitless possibilities (i.e. unemployment) is inspiring me to discover just how much I can do with what I have been given.

Almost a year ago I started my No More Grocery Shopping experiment. If you want to know why I did it, click here. If you want to know how I did it, click here. Since then we have tried to simplify further, prepare for the uncertain yet bright future and have plans in place in case of rain.

Well, the warning came, sirens sounded, clouds rolled in and it started pouring. In a 48 hour period we lost our job, we lost our car, my sister was in the hospital, my nephew had a serious medical emergency while we were all at the pool, my youngest daughter woke up with strep throat as we were preparing to leave town and everything around me seemed to want to be part of our crisis. We were overwhelmed to say the least. I think I only cried once because I was mostly in a semi state of shock. Still, I knew things can always be worse, and most of the world lives in constant crisis, so I picked myself up

Thankfully, that all passed. I mean everything but the "we lost our job" part (why couldn't I be born a country singer and write a song about that?). Now we have a new kind of rain bringing the potential for abundance to our lives and radical ideas are flooding my mind. It feels like we have lived our entire marriage (17 years) inside the matrix, content with the conventions of corporate culture and consumerism. But now we are attempting to unplug and the feeling is something akin to euphoria.

I know, you're reading this and thinking, "She is in denial, her husband just lost his job and she is in La La Land" and you might be right. Like I said, I only cried once, and other than a couple of days of horrible headaches I've been coping better than I expected. But, I would argue that I understand (at least cognitively) the reality of our situation and I have some ideas on how to thrive despite the challenges before us.

So, here are some of my radical ideas. I'm not sure which ones we'll do. Since they all require a whole family effort we have to have a family meeting before I can commit to our next plan of action.

• Live only on existing funds as long as we can go
• Keep emergency fund for a true rainy day
• Put any new income towards savings/debt reduction (house, car, student loan)

Not so crazy so far, that's WHAT we want to accomplish. Here's the how:

• Fully embrace the adage "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
• I already know I can go six weeks without grocery shopping, why not make it a full two months.
• Learn how to go beyond "reduce, reuse, recycle" as a means of building greater peace and plenty in my life and home
• Go a prescribed period of time (one month, two months, a year) without buying anything new (except stuff like food and underwear)
• Simplify to the point of optimal satisfaction (i.e. discover what things will actually make us happier if we give them up)
• Unplug (with a few loop holes) from the grid (literally) for certain hours of the day/week; maybe hand wash dishes, air dry clothes, or only use the oven one day a week.

To get an idea of the extremes I've been studying lately go see this guy's blog, The No Impact Man, and this girl's San Fransisco Compact blog. Please understand that for me, these lifestyle change ideas are less about CO2 and more about being a good steward of all of our resources. I'm not going to their extremes, I'm going to find my own. But other people's extremes are instrumental (even if it is just for nothing morbid facination).

One of the greatest lessons of No More Grocery Shopping was that very often less is abundantly, unquestionably more. I can only imagine that taking it one step further will lead to new discoveries about who we really are and what we really need to live a fulfilling life.

This Is Not A Test.....

So, in case you haven't heard, late last month, almost a full 11 months after I began my grand experiment, Don finally lost his job. I say finally because we could see the signs and started preparing a year ago for life without an job and now the wait is over. With all the time we had to read the writing on the wall I have to say it was a relief when it finally came. Don maintains it was an answer to prayer. You can only have soul sucking dementors (see image below) following you around for so long before it really starts to effect your world view.

So, he got laid off on August 27 and we were on the road headed for the California Coast by the 30th. Because we had a company car as our family vehicle, we had to get a new one on the spot. In five hours I was able to secure a minivan that we promptly initiated with an extended road trip. This is our new car:

As soon as the purchase was final we packed our bags and our kids, finished some weekend business and drove though the night to Morro Bay, CA where Don and I spent our honeymoon 17 years ago. It was fabulous. Now, we're back and ready for real life again. This is blog is no longer a test or an experiment. It is reality. I have to learn to live outside the regular economy of weekly grocery shopping and drive-by consumerism for real this time. They say "practice makes perfect," but I believe "diligent practice makes perfect." I've had a lot of practice but I'm far from perfect and there are lots of ways I could be more vigilant about preserving my families finances. Come along for the ride and see where we end up. Thankfully, we had some warnings and we followed the directions we received during that time, so I'm glad I can also say, "This is not a true emergency..."

Tune in next time for home made jam, back to school musing and a peek at life on the social entrepreneur side of things.

Razzle Dazzle PlumBerry Jam

Photo from taste.com, I didn't have my camera handy, but of course my jam looked just like this.

So, one day this summer I went nuts and had 12 kids over for a big party and play day. Sometime during the afternoon a child managed to manipulate the remote well enough to order an on-demand movie that no one watched while two toddlers slashed in a kiddie-pool and 9 bigger kids ran in and out of my house in a grand water-storage rotation water fight. At one point I had six or seven extra sets of hands helping in the kitchen as I made what my girl KC calls "Razzle Dazzle PlumBerry Jam." Somehow we all lived. All the kids found the treasures I hid out in the yard and garage, all my water jugs got emptied and refilled and no one was cut, scalded or otherwise injured in the jam making process. The day was a success.

After distributing the jam around to a small test group (actually they were unsuspecting friends and neighbors) I had several requests for the recipe. Well, if you don't already know, requesting a recipe from me is often a hazardous prospect because I tend to alter as I go and not keep a lot of notes on the alterations. But, here's what I did as best as I can remember.

Razzle Dazzle PlumBerry Jam

3 pounds firm plums, cut into eighths, seeds discarded
2 pounds raspberries/blackberries
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
8 cups sugar
1 (3-ounce) package commercial pectin

Preparation:Place plums, water, and lemon juice in a blender and pulse to chunky state. Add to a large non-aluminum stockpot with berries. Stirring often, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fruit is soft. You should end up with about 8 cups. Stir in sugar. Return heat to high and bring back to a rolling boil while constantly stirring. Add pectin and return to a boil while stirring. Continue to stir and boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Let rest for 1 minute, then skim off any foam. Pour even amounts into sterilized jars, leaving 1/8-inch of space at the top. Wipe rims and seal with sterilized lids. Process in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove, let cool, and label jars. Store plumberry jam in a cool, dry place.

Note: I used half the pectin and my jam turned out like a thick syrup, but it still works on toast and bagels and was well recieved with the fam. Try it out and see how you like it. Let me know.

Better All The Time

I have to say, I'm getting really good at this No More Grocery Shopping Thing. I've been going once a month for major groceries along with one stop in at the Sunflower Farmers Market and one stop at the Egg Lady's and I have been feeding my family of 6 for under $500 a month. I'm saving hundreds when I compare my current budget with my previous buying habits. And, at a time of economic uncertainty, hundreds of dollars makes the difference between being prepared for a rainy day and being stuck out in the storm.

This months No More Eating Out plan has also been a success (though I have had one stop for pizza and one for french fries at a local deli). The other night Don and I had a date with another couple. We taught them to make bread from start to finish. They provided dinner, we brought all the bread fixins and dessert. When we were discussing what to make for dessert Don had a fabulous idea, a molten chocolate cake with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Who could pass on that the catch was it required a bunch of stuff from the store. So, on reexamining the question we decided not to break our No More Grocery Shopping streak, but to find something at home that we could make. We ended up with the following dessert that came from food storage and the freezer. The eggs came from the cold storage as well. Also, I'm including the fabulous salad dressing that our hostess made to accompany a lovely lettuce arrangement we had with our dinner. I've modified it a bit, of course.

Before I do that I have to thank everyone for their comments this month. I especially liked Kristen's idea. Kristen is very pregnant and has had enough of running around with little kids and a belly, so she just quit. Wanna know how to do No More Grocery Shopping, just do it. Give yourself a time table, say a week or ten days, whatever may stretch you a bit and stick with it. Start with the time limit that is just beyond your comfort zone and then make it longer next time.

I did our major shopping for February today and spent under $300. With that I got several items to restock my pantry and food storage. I have past successes that build my confidence in our ability to stick to our financial and simplification goals. Thanks for keeping me accountable. look for those recipes in the next post.

The Original Fast Foods

I just got off the phone with one of the authors of the book "Original Fast Foods." Click the link and go to their site, it is very thought provoking. Anyway, I have been pondering my experiments of late - how to better stay out of the stores and how to rely more on creativity and ingenuity in our own kitchen - and I was pointed in this direction by two different sources.

So, can we do more with whole food, learn to use them as they were intended and simplify our lives in the process? I think we can. The answer to this question gets to the crux of my purpose behind No More Grocery Shopping. Remember Thoreau and the confines he wanted to shed. I don't want to get rid all commerce and spending in my life, or my nearest and dearest food favorites, but I think I can do better than I have. It was inspiring to talk to someone who is living in line with his convictions and helping others to do so also.

Is life easier when you begin to move outside the confines of the norm? I don’t think so, but is it good? I would have to say a resounding yes. Here’s what I’m learning. A simpler life doesn’t mean an easier life. Go chew on that for a while.

A Success and a Failure

Okay, I made it through the week. This was a high-stress week and my No More Grocery Shopping plan remained in tact. I didn't buy any groceries. And, the load of leftovers we had from the weekend were hugely helpful.

This was our week to go in for our 18 month check-ups at the Moran Eye Center. My husband has a degenerative retinal disease that until now has had no treatment. About two years ago we heard of this miraculous study involving a revolutionary implant that is surgically placed into the eye. So, in July of 'o6 he had surgery to set the implant and we go back every six months for a couple of intensive days of testing, poking and prodding (on him, I'm the companion and driver). Well, we made it through and the leftovers were a huge help. Plus, the kids ate dinner at their cousins one of the nights. Anyway, I was glad I had a master menu and a plan in place, even for those crazy days and nights.

However, we got to today and I am hammered. And, I felt like I needed some time with my kids. Plus, I wanted to reward them for their good behavior all we week, so we grabbed a pizza for lunch. I spent all of ten bucks,, but I know it was a cheat.

As a matter of philosophical observation I have these comments concerning my little slip. When Thoreau went into the woods to live off the land for 2 years, two months and 2 days, he had many who criticised his methods and means. They felt like he failed in some of the details, like he didn't perform his experiment perfectly enough. He had weekly goody drops from his sweet mom who lived a couple of miles away. He went to town too often, he paid too many visit and had too many visitors. My view of my experiment is as his was about living at Walden. It is not about being perfect, it is about being aware and consciously deciding your coarse in life, rather than just letting life happen to you. We make a hundred little trips and errands because we can. But, what if we decide we don't want to live the life of the perpetual errand runner? Then we step back, assess our steps and choose a better way. Maybe we can't, and maybe we shouldn't, eliminate all the confines of our complex society, but we can live deliberately on our own terms if we will chance a start.

I'm making muffins and soups and sauces that all freeze and come out when we need them. It's allowing me to indulge my love for nurturing my family with good food, and meeting my need to have cheap and easy fixes when things are crazy.

So, how are you living more consciously this year?

Four Fabulous Sucesses to Report

So, I chose dine-in (my home) over carry-out on the following recent occasions:

1. Friday night we had 11 kids (including ours) over for dinner and a movie and kept 10 of them over night. We ate pasta, garlic bread, salad and a veggie side. We went through two loaves of Italian bread that Don had garlicked up and closely watched as it broiled; it was a hit. We also went through almost 2 lbs. of pasta. Still, the whole meal for 13 people only cost us about $6. Amazing, I know. Way cheaper, and more delicious than any of my local fast food establishments.
2. Saturday we went to my daughter KC's amateur photography debut. She won second place in a local photography contest. Usually, we would celebrate by going out for ice cream or something fun like that. Well, we did go to the show where her photo was displayed, and we got to admire her image along with other entries. But, when we finished we came home for treats. I think it cost us about $2 for all of us to drink our fill of chocolate malts.
3. Saturday evening was date night. We planned an outing but needed to eat before we left. I made a delicious masaman curry with saffron rice. I'll share the recipe later. The kids were thrilled that I made enough for them as well. They ate in the basement in front of a movie (they were ecstatic because that is a rare treat in itself) and we ate by candle light at the dining room table. I made food for all 6 of us with leftovers to feed us another entire meal. Again, this meal came in under $6.
4. We fed another family along with ours for Sunday dinner. Now, I don't know that I should count this in my not eating out brags yet, because we never eat out on the Sabbath. But, we did experience a miracle with this meal and I wanted to share it. Don made a great Sicilian soup. Bren and I made Penne Fra Diavolo (penne with a spicy sausage sauce), we served it all with home made Italian bread (whole wheat), corn, salad and KC made a fancy sparkling beverage (cranberry juice and sprite). The amazing thing is not that we that we had enough food for 10, but that we had enough left overs for two additional meals, one of soup and one of pasta. I'll need to make more bread, but what we had was enough to supply kids with lunch today. Amazing, huh. And, the price tag on this mondo meal is somewhere around $6.50.

Tune in later this week to see how all these leftovers are going to help me with my no more grocery shopping goal, keep me out of restaurants and fast food joints and further bless my family. It's going to be great.

This is KC's winning photo, Autumn Rose, minus the matting and frame she artfully chose that made this picture stunning.

No More Grocery Shopping PLUS

I'm out of the grocery store again. I examined my master menu, compared it with my master shopping list, checked off the things I needed to make every meal on that menu and went to the store. I spent just under $300 for the needed items and don't plan to go back again for a month. I will stop at the Sunflower Farmers Market if I need produce in a couple of weeks, but since my garage has turned into a big just-above-freezing refrigerator, my produce is staying very fresh outside, and hopefully I won't need to go.

Now, in addition to NO More Grocery Shopping I am also doing No More Eating Out this month. Eating out is one of my favorite past times. I could go on and on about why I love it; from not having to cook and clean to having so many awesome options and getting to try new things. But, this month I have a few goals I want to accomplish with my budget and my creativity so I'm taking a closer look at my expenditures outside of the grocery store. Eating out, for our family, is the next big drainer of resources after grocery shopping. Let's consider it.

Aside from possible nutritional concerns, the only draw backs I see to eating out are first, the budget drain and second, the creativity cop out. The first requires no explanation. You eat out, you spend money that might more wisely or benevolently be spent elsewhere. Enough said. The second is a little more subtle. This is my experience. The two reasons we eat out are these:

1. I have no grace under fire. If we have a very busy day and I am unprepared to feed the masses, I have a tendency to cave in to carry out.
2. Eating out is our automatic, first and favorite way to start our date.

On closer examination here's what we find. If it's a crazy day I generally cop out to take out. In so doing I rob myself and my family the creative opportunity of planning ahead and devising cheaper and easier meals for my family. The fewer of these meals I plan, the fewer I have in my repertoire for the crazy days I'm hoping to improve. It's a vicious downward spiral (I say with a smirk, because as far as vicious downward spirals go, this one could be considered quite benign). Honestly stated, the less I prepare, the less prepared I am if times get tough or I wise up and I don't want to be dependent on the local grab-n-go joint to bail me out for dinner. So, this month I want to kick my creativity into a higher gear and learn some kind of presence under pressure.

As far as date nights go, I'm a little stumped. We don't usually splurge and only spend about $20 on a date night meal. I generally consider this money well spent. We get to go out, away from our beloved brood and reconnect weekly without kids clamouring for needful things. How can I meet this need to get away/reconnect and reach my financial/creative goal of making something better for us? I don't know the answer yet, but I do know that one of my most romantic dinners ever was made by my husband and served in my bedroom at a little table set by the kids. They got to see us light the candles, plate our food and then shut the door. They still remember it, too.

Anyway, I have one more reason for wanting to save the money this month. My husband has a business trip to Amsterdam. Usually when he goes abroad he goes for a long time and is hopping from city to city. This time he has one meeting and is only going to be there a few days. He called me, asked if I'd accompany him (how could I turn him down), bought my ticket (his flight, food and hotel are all paid for, I get to tag along for the price of airfare) and we are set to go. In order to stay within budget we need eat in and eat frugal.

What are your best eat-in suggestions, or date-night ideas beyond eating out? I'm dying for ideas.

Prep for No More Grocery Shopping - Part 2 - Cleaning Out the Spice Cupboards

Hey there. Sorry I missed my Thursday post, it was New Year's Day and we were thick in the fun of organizing our home and getting ready for late holiday guests and New Year revelries. Perhaps I'll post on that next. And, about my posting schedule, I'm moving to periodic posts, rather than a set schedule. Some weeks Tuesday and Thursday are great days to post, others I feel pressure to get other stuff done, and still other times I have something to say another day. So, I am now at a point where I want to say "periodic posts," and if anyone cares to check periodically, they may find something new.

Enough about that. Now to my spice shelves and how having a plethora of well-organized spices blesses me at meal making times and my family when it's time to eat. First, some photos.

Savory spice cupboard before and after. Both are pretty crowded, but now I know how to find everything savory. This is where I keep season salts, garlic, spicy sauces, pepper flakes, and a whole lot of other kinds of good cookin' love.

The sweet spice cupboard used to hold all sorts of items besides sweet stuff. Now I can see what I'm looking for and if it's something like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, honey or malt, I go to this cupboard.

It may seem like I've got too many condements and additives. But honestly, if I have to live off of plain rice, pasta or potatoes for a while because there's severe winter weather, a job loss, or some other unexpected event, I know these spices are going to be my sanity. If you want to find some great blends and prices on bulk spices and mixes, go to San Fransisco Herb Company and check out their offerings. Atlantic Spice is a sister company and is more condusive to east coast ordering. Both offer high quality products for a lot less than grocery store prices. One more list of items to permanently erase from your grocery shopping list.

Now, here's a great document or two on spices I use that gives my family the variety we need in our life and diet. Always something new and surprising, often good enough to enjoy again. I've included some of my favorite spicy recipes.

Mariah's Spicey Suggestions

Regional Recipes

What are your best spice strategies and recipes? How do you use spices to liven up your meals and menus? Please share, we could all use a little spice.