No More Grocery Shopping - For Real This Time

Last week, "Mom, are we doing some crazy food experiment you haven't talked to us about?" Caleb, 13, asks earnestly. 

"If we are, it's unintentional.  Between school stuff, work stuff, multiple lacrosse games and practices, and the 8 hours I spent in drs offices this week with sick and injured kids, I just haven't gotten around to grocery shopping.  Plus, it is sort of an interesting challenge, don't you think?"

"Well, I have to totally scrounge every time I'm hungry. Mostly, when I get home from school I have to choose ramen or Mac & cheese. And, now, we don't even have any milk."

"But, we do have cream and that makes awesome Mac and cheese."

"Yeah, I'd rather have milk."  He is good-natured and not as grumbly as this may sound.  

Days ago.  "Mom, are you going to go grocery shopping soon?" Caleb asks.

"Yeah, as soon as we run out of food."

"What?  How much lower do we have to go?  The fridge is full of condiments, but that's about it.  We have no milk, bread, eggs, or cheese.  We just ate the last of our salad stuff. So, other than onions, cilantro, and peppers, our only fruits and vegetables are canned or frozen.  What is the deal?"

"I don't know. But onions, cilantro and peppers would make a great salsa if you added a can of tomatoes.  I'm just trying to see how creative we can get with what we have. Think of all the stuff we've made that was good in the last two weeks."

 

"I don't really remember," he says.

"Well I kept a list," I say, referring to my list.  "We've had 

Tacos with ground meat, salsa, onions, cilantro, cheese

Pasta, salad, bread

Sandwiches

Rice with sauce, broccoli, chicken and pasta, carrots

Quinoa with almonds  broccoli, cooked carrots

Freeze dried cream of potato soup, flat bread

Brocoli cheese potato frittata, canned peaches/applesauce

That's a lot of stuff.  We also ate out on the cheap a couple of nights.  Plus, somehow you guys had lunches every day.  Chips and hummus or salsa, frozen burritos, bagels and cream cheese, peas and carrots, sliced apples, PB and honey sandwiches...all that stuff was in your lunches."

"Yeah, I just really wish we had some milk," is his reply.

Today.  "I know what we should do today," Caleb, says in a bright tone.  "We should go grocery shopping." 

"What's all this 'we' you're talking about.  You mean me.  You want me to do the grocery shopping.   Have you gone hungry the last two weeks, Caleb?"

"No, but I have to fully make a meal if I am hungry.  There are no snacks, no cereal, no sandwich stuff or even just fruit to grab."

"True," i say, "it is pushing the boundaries of our creative problem solving."

"I'm already a good problem solver."

"Yes, you are.  And so am I.  Did you see I bought eggs last night? It's because i wanted to make cake and I could get them at the corner market."

"You know what goes great with cake? Milk.  Do you think you could do the same for milk?" He asked.

"Dad could make some powdered milk tonight."

"Sick!"

"What!?!  can't we live off of our food storage?" I press.

"Can't we live off of our food storage and buy milk at the corner?  I am a growing kid!" 

"Good point.  Done.  I'll buy milk at the corner today."

"Awesome!"

And, so it goes.  Pressing the limits of my creativity and my pantry.  Saving time I don't have and money that can go other places right now.  I think this is the hardest experiment we have run.  Maybe because it was totally unintentional and unplanned for.  

Usually, I set myself up pretty well if I know an experiment is coming.  I inventory the fridge, freezer, pantry and store room.  I menu out meals and make a shopping list to prepare us for not shopping.  This time, I was just slammed by life. No prep, no warning, just a whiplash injury to a boy in a lacrosse game, and a girl who woke with shingles one Sunday morning.  That, along with performances, board meeting, end-of-year school presentations and planning a week-long camp for 60 girls and leaders.  No time for grocery shopping.  Only keeping our heads above water and staring into the depths of my freezer and food storage every night.  Sometimes, this is what it is to be prepared.  And, guess what!   Caleb made an awesome salsa to go with his breakfast this morning.

True Confessions

Non-food items are not groceries, right?  When we got groceries on Saturday, there were two items, totaling $3 that were not food.  Also, there was left $6.29 unspent.  today, i ran to the store (there's a reason i shouldn't do this) to pick up some things for a fun spring Break dinner.  My totalwas $8.51.  

I think I should add the $3 back to food budget since the needed items were technically not groceries.  Then,  I can cover the $8.51 I spent on sandwich stuff for tonight's dinner with this weeks $100. Or, I can fall back on the fact that we said we had $200 for 2 weeks, and I can deduct a few bucks from next week's shopping.  Which is the more honest way to go?

What? Am I Not Artisan Enough For You?

BreadIn5

Once I mastered the white bread loaves, I moved on to the whole grain variety, ushering in the resurgence of homemade bread at our table.  KC commented again.  "Now that we have gotten good at this recipe, we really should try to make it more artisan.  You know, like with a chewy crust. And big bubbles inside.  What we do is definitely practical.  It's farm bread and I like it.  But I LOVE artisan breads."

"Yeah, and I like getting it right.  The thing about artisan is that it's hard to do with whole grains.  Whole grains weigh a bread down more and make it harder to get that airy lift you get with white flour.  If I'm gonna bring bread to the table a few nights a week, it really needs to be as healthy as I can make it, and that means whole grain.  I don't know how to do both whole grain and artsy."

"We'll, can we try to shape it like a baguette?" She asks.

"Does that make it artisan?"

"More than what we have been doing."

This whole conversation is funny, because while KC is our family's pastry chef, and master of all things cake and brownie, for all the 'we' she talks about in our bread making, Gordon and I remain the primary bread makers.  That fact gets me thinking. She needs to learn to make this bread.

That night I shape my bread as a long baguette rather than a round loaf.  She is pleased with the aesthetic results.  However, despite its artsier shape, the bread is still more hardy than it is airy, more farm bread than artisan, and we learn that shape does not determine lift. So, my goal this week is to get her making the bread and see what she can do with it.

For now, here is the whole grain recipe with a link to the video and the very famous website it came from. The video is like a quick six minute cooking class on baking whole grain bread.  Don't miss it.

5 Minute Whole Wheat Artisan Bread Recipe

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (can decrease)

1 tablespoon Kosher salt (can adjust to taste or health concerns)

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) vital wheat gluten (or vital wheat gluten flour)

4 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)

1 to 2 tablespoons of whole seed mixture for sprinkling on top crust:  sesame, flaxseed, caraway, raw sunflower, poppy, and or anise

First, measure the dry ingredients into a 5-quart bucket or bowl, and whisk them together (you can also use a fork, or if it’s lidded, just shake them well).  Mixing the dry ingredients first prevents the vital wheat gluten from forming clumps once liquids are added:

Now add the water and stir to form a very wet dough.  Don’t add additional flour to dry this out. 

Cover loosely and allow to rise for two hours at room temperature. NEVER PUNCH DOWN or intentionally deflate.  The dough is now ready. Flour hands and pull a grapefruit sized dough ball from the rest of the dough.  Form into a round loaf.  This recipe makes three of those.  Preheat oven to 450* for 30 minutes.  Bake for 30 minutes at 450*. Refrigerate and use remaining dough over the next 14 days, tearing off one-pound loaves as you want them.

Click here if you want more detailed instructions on baking and storing.

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions.

Italian Cream Cheese Cake Cake - Mentors and Miracles

This is a photo of the Italian Creme Cheese Cake my mom made the other night when we had dinner with her and my sister's family.  The recipe will follow in a minute.

It comes from one of Mom's treasured mentors.
"Mom, tell me a little more about Mae Lamb when she introduced you to this recipe," I say over the phone after Mom's given me the recipe.
"Well, when I was a young mother in Oklahoma, this older sister, and her sister-in-law, Bonnie, took us in and practically adopted our whole family; me, your dad, all your siblings.  Their husbands were brothers and family was all-important, but their kids were grown so they just took us everywhere with them.  We'd go out to their farms, to the lake, on all sorts of outings.  Mae's husband Tommy could play the harmonica and make it sound like a train, coming down the tracks.  Do you remember that?" she asks.
"Yes, and it's all I can do to hold back my little southern drawl just thinkin' of the memory. I was tiny, but I remember singing songs and lots of food."
"Mae and Bonnie both were phenomenal cooks.  They had bought their homes for just a few hundred dollars during the depression and had spent a lifetime making them centers of warmth and hospitality. They were kind, gracious, loving, and most of all, SO welcoming.  They just took me under their wing and shared so much more than recipes and good food."

I am struck.  Mom is the epitome of hospitality.  Her parents were, too.  But, here I have another set of benefactors to be grateful to for one of my favorite personal traits.  Every one of the miracles that Mae and Bonnie shared with Mom walks with her still, and I am thankful for the example, and the memory.

Note: The funny thing is that Mae wasn't even Italian, but we are.  I pass the recipe on to you with Mae's, and Mom's, warmest hugs and hospitality.  Enjoy!  And, before you go, please share.  What is your favorite cake mentoring memory?

Warning: This recipe is more complex than the ones I usually share.  Still worth it.

Italian Cream Cheese Cake
In a large mixing bowl, add:
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 c shortening
Cream these three together.  Next add:
5 egg yolks (set 5 whites aside)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk (you can make your own with one cup milk and 1 tbs vinegar)
Mix these all well.  In a separate bowl combine your dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Add flour mixture to wet ingredients 1/2 cup at a time.  When everything is well mixed. fold in:
2 cups shredded coconut
Now beat 5 egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold into the rest of the cake batter.

Pour batter into 2 prepared cake rounds.  Preheat oven to 350*.  Bake for 23-28 minutes.  Don't over do it. When the cakes are done and cooled, remove from the pans and cut each layer into two layers.  Your finished product will be a four layer cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 2/3 cups powder sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Cream all ingredients together and frost your cake

Top cake and press into sides:
2 cups toasted coconut
1 cup toasted almond slivers (optional)

Here's a how-to video for frosting a layered cake.  It is only 1min 30sec.

Artisan Bread In Five Minutes

This is one of our loaves.

"I love that we are making bread again.  Like all the time." Our 16 year-old, KC, says as she hands a slice to her sister.  "I love having bread in the morning or at lunch, but I especially love having warm bread with butter at the dinner table."

"I know.  I love this new recipe.  It takes five minutes to make the dough and I can store it for two weeks in the fridge.  It is the perfect solution for my adult onset a.d.d. and our crazy schedule. It think it's the easiest recipe I've ever made."

We are foodies who LOVE our carbs, Sicilians who can't resist a good al dente pasta and a crusty loaf of bread.  We have several friends who go gluten free, and have tried our hand at home made gluten free pastas and baked goods.  Some are more successful than others.  In the end, we agree most other dietary restrictions are much easier.  We eat mostly vegetarian meals throughout the week, have been known to be periodically conscientious about dairy, but don't mess with our pasta and bread - those are the staff of life for us.  But, I hate spending $3-$5 per loaf from the bakery.

Enter one of my best friends, Liz, a maven on most homemaking topics.  This time it's her Five Minute Artisan Bread Recipe.

We are on the phone:

Liz: Here's the recipe, it is so easy.  Are you ready?
Me: Yep.  I need easy.  I'm gonna make it while we are on the phone.  So, go ahead.  But, wait, is it whole grain?
Liz:  This one isn't, but I know you can find one that is.  Just try this first, and see what you think.
Me:  Okay.  I will trust the recipe.
Liz: So, here it is -
3 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon dry yeast
1 Tablespoon salt
6 1/2 cups flour
Me: That's it?  K. It's all dumped together.  Now what.
Liz:  Now you stir it.  It will be a nice wet dough.  Cover it and let it rest on the counter for 2 hours.  After that you can shape it into loaves, let them rise again for 40-90 minutes and bake in a preheated oven at 450*.  any dough you don't use can stay in the fridge up to two weeks.
Me:  Awesome!  I'm already done and it is covered and rising.

This is a video on the basic recipe.  Same rules apply for the whole grain.  It's only 2 minutes, you should watch it.  For more detail, click here.

Let me know what you think of this recipe and if you have any questions.  We are pros at this recipe.  Look for the whole grain version, next.

New Experiment - Keeping Up with the Fralicks

2 Families, 2 Weeks, $200

Time for a new experiment that just got under way yesterday.  A new set of Fralicks recently moved in to our basement and we are inspired by their frugality.  These particular newlyweds are seriously thrifty in their planning and purchasing habits, so keeping up with them is a fun and creative challenge.  Also, pair liking the idea of eating on the cheap with the fact that we were just hit with the double whammy of 1.) the tax-bill of our lifetime, and 2.) a corrected medical bill from Gordon's surgery last year, and necessity begins to outweigh liking the idea of a great many things. 

The Parameters

Family #1 - The Older Fralicks - 2 adults, 2 teenagers, 1 little girl, 9 chicks (we feed them all the produce scraps)

Family #2 - The Newer Fralicks - a newlywed couple and their cute pets

$200 (total) for 2 weeks of grocery purchases for all of us.  12 at home dinners per family, breakfasts and lunches according to the plan.

The Plan

Because dinner is our biggest, most involved meal of the day (by most involved I mean we spend 30 minutes making it), I have our dinner menus here.  We are planning, and executing, one week at a time.  To see what we do for breakfasts and lunches, or to check out our grocery list with prices, go to the Extra Notes at the bottom of this post.  The point of showing you the plan is so that you can see that eating on the cheap does not have to be tasteless and crappy.  We eat well, and with careful planning, we never feel deprived.

Dinners for Week 1

Fam # 1

Indian Curry

Veggie Burritos (peppers, onions, rice & beans)

Penne pesto & Salad

Panini

Fam # 2

Enchiladas

Whole Grain Pasta & Salad

Massaman Curry

Stir Fry

Both Families

Tabbouleh salad, hummus and naan

Homemade Chinese Dumplings & Rice

The Strategy

Phase 1A - Pair up with someone else in our planning to enhance accountability. Accountability is the thing I need most to keep me on track with my budget.  My daughter-in-law and I make our menus and then the shopping list, together. 

If you aren't lucky enough to have a freshly married frugal couple living in your basement, don't worry.  You can still create a successful grocery shopping strategy. It will just require finding someone else to do your planning with.  In the past, my little sister and I have conferences on the phone, making our menus and lists together.

Phase 1B - Next to each item on the list, we guestimate the price we'll pay for each item.  After 22 years of shopping for a family, going to the same stores, and watching for sales, I am a pro at guestimating prices. You can be, too, just by tracking what you spend, writing down your best sale prices on each item over time, and aiming never to spend greater than that amount ever again.  

Phase 2 - Send the newlyweds to the store.  If i can stay out of the store, impulses are not purchased.  The words, "Oh, i was going to make this, too," are never uttered.  And, "Maybe we need some mint filled oreos," is said to no one, because our favorite bride doesn't even like those.  And, with an exact amount of cash on hand, and an intrinsic sense of financial discipline, our newlyweds stick to the plan better than I ever do.  

Again, if there is no one available to do your shopping for you (only since my kids have gotten so big has this become a possibility for me) don't despair.  Take your list and ANYONE else who can read/understand what is on the list.  Tell them before you go in, "we are only buying what is on the list," and then, stick to it.  Maybe that is why my son is a decent shopper.  My kids always know this truth, "We will get a treat on the way out the door of the store IF we stick to the list." That's a generation old strategy with a story of it's own, and another way we are able to keep impulses to a minimum.

Now, before you start to wonder; no, sending our newlyweds to do the shopping is  not like sending your husband alone to the store.  These two, our little bride particularly, are pros at finding the best ingredients at the lowest prices.  Today is no exception.  They should actually contemplate hiring themselves out for this job.  

Execution

This week's stores of choice are 1.) Winco - an employee owned, low price supermarket leader, and 2.) Smith's - where Tillamook cheese and Barilla pasta are deeply discounted today.

They go in for the week's groceries with $100 cash on hand, along with a detailed list - guestimated prices included.  They buy for both families, ours and theirs, purchase 51 items including 11 lbs of pasta, 7 lbs of cheeses, 20 lbs of produce, plus a bunch of other stuff, and come out with $6.71. Well done!

"That was awesome, guys! You spent almost exactly what we projected and got every thing on the list," I tell my newly weds as we are reviewing the receipts together.

"Yeah, I don't know how you did that guessing part" my daughter-in-law says, "but the prices you wrote down next to each item on the list were right for most of the things.  Some you were a little low, and some you were a little high, but it came out really close to what you projected."

"And you guys did a great job finding all the deals that matched the prices we hoped to pay.  So great!" I reply.

Extra Notes: 

Breakfast

Fam # 1

Weekdays - hot chocolate and/or toast - every single school day

Weekends - sweet rolls, hash browns, eggs, etc.

Fam #2

Soy milk, breakfast shake, vitamins 

Lunch

Fam # 1

Homemade bread and butter, fresh fruits and veggies, a tiny treat

Cup-o-noodles

Leftovers

Fam # 2

Gussied up leftovers

Brunchy food

The List

Produce 

Bananas $1.50

Strawberries $3

Broccoli $2.50

Cauliflower $2

Cabbage $0.75

Salad greens $5

Avocados $3

Onions $3

Scallions $1

Mushrooms $1.50

Dairy

Sliced cheeses $10

Shredded cheese on sale $10

Cream $3.50

Whole milk $2.50

Sour cream $3

Cottage cheese $3

Eggs $2

Canned goods

Beans $1.50

Water chestnuts $0.50

Olives $1

Pickles $2

Enchilada sauce $2

Dry goods

Brown rice $1

Pasta $10

50/50/50

Okay, we've had the weekend and now we have a name for this quarter's experiment. It is the 50/50/50 Plan - in which we each month's grocery budget of this final quarter diminishes by 50%. It's good timing because of the holidays and the wedding we are hosting. Who doesn't need to tighten their belt this time of year? Plus, everyone gets a little of what they want - I will stay out of the grocery store, kids will get to spend time shopping, planning and creating together, and Gordon will see the savings he's looking for, along with a well stocked pantry.

So this month we will spend 50% of October's grocery funds storing up our food storage (we haven't done that since we went through it during a one year stint of "self employment"). The other 50%will be split 50/50 between cash for kid planned and executed meals, and reserves for Bountiful Baskets/ Dairy&Herbs. Kids pocket any cash they don't spend on meals and I put any cash I don't use into a giving jar. Also, tomorrow is my last day to go to the store for the month. Kids are big enough to do the shopping, and after listening to conference this weekend, i decided I am going to let them.

Next month, our budget will decrease by 50%. Kids will get half of the cash to plan and prepare meals, and keep what they don't spend. The other portion will be used for Bountiful Baskets/Dairy&Herbs.

Finally, December's food budget will be cut to bare bones. We should have plenty of what we need, and if we've planned well, we will even have our favorite foods for Hanukkah and Christmas. The wedding lunch and dinner are not included in the regular grocery budget as I am not sure what we will be doing there, and that one day's needs will come from another category, like our life's savings or something. .

It looks like this:

October Grocery Budget for 7+ people $600

50 % Pantry Prep - $300

50 % Everything Else - $300

             (Kid meal planning - $150)

             (Bountiful baskets produce - $100)

             (Dairy, eggs, bread, herbs - $50)

November Plan - $300

              Kid meal planning $150

              Bountiful baskets - $100

              Dairy, eggs, bread, herbs, turkey - $50

December Plan Until Christmas

              Bountiful Baskets - $100

              Online grocery allowance - $50

Finally, Hannah planned her first meal.  I can't say she made it herself, but she did contribute.  It was Tomato Bisque and here is the recipe:

Tomato Bisque

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 bunch basil

2 cups soup stock

1 cup cream

1/2 cup grated hard cheese (Parmesan or Romano)

1 4 oz. can tomato paste

Salt to taste and pepper generously

In a medium stock pot, over medium heat, sauté garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Pulse tomatoes and basil in food processor or blender and add to stock pot cooking.  Add remaining ingredients, stir until cheese and tomato paste are incorporated.  Serve with croutons, basil and grated cheese as garnish.