This month is all about anticipation of our CSA starting in June. We're also taking advantage of strawberry season and stocking up the freezer with yummy fresh berries. We're looking forward to restocking the freezer with berries and fresh produce this summer from our garden, the CSA, and the farmer's market.
We also have a little fruit monster on our hands, so we're having to increase our grocery budget to accommodate that as well as our desire to eat a little more healthfully (we were already pretty good before). We're planning to make fresh fruit smoothies, popsicles, and pureed soups for the freezer with our new Ninja blender. (Thanks to the in-laws for the birthday/anniversary gift early!)
We're also looking forward to the Duke intern from church joining our family for the summer later this month. It'll be another mouth to feed, but we love doing it and it's so good for little man to have someone new to interact with around the house.
You'll notice a breakfast for dinner theme in our menu. We love breakfast foods, but they're often too much work (i.e. more dishes) for weekday meals. So we reserve them for dinners. This time of year, our friends' chickens are laying really well, so we're getting lots of wonderful fresh eggs to use in meals. Breakfast eggs are easier to fix than quiche, though we love that too, and usually breakfast for dinner comes together pretty quickly, which means we can spend more time outside together as a family in the evenings.
So, without further ado, here's this month's menu:
Breakfasts: breakfast burritos, oatmeal, eggs and grits, whole wheat banana muffins, winter squash muffins with pumpkin seeds and raisins, strawberry coffee cake, egg and cheese sandwiches on homemade bread
Lunches: egg salad sandwiches or wraps, leftovers, black bean salad with barley, homemade yogurt with granola and fruit
Dinners: winter squash pancakes with eggs and fruit, dinner salads with hard boiled eggs, dried fruit or fresh, and cheese, quesadillas with refried beans and avocado, roasted turkey with broccoli and herbed rice pilaf, turkey tacos with squash and greens, french toast with bacon and fruit, roasted root veggies with barley and herb butter, tomato basil soup, meatball sandwiches with fresh fruit, breakfast for dinner (roasted potato hash browns with yummy blue and red potatoes from the farmer's market, fried eggs with garden chives, grits, and fruit or sauteed peppers and onions), beef and cheddar pie with rice pilaf
I'd love to hear from you! And a happy belated Mother's Day to all the moms, "adopted" moms, and women longing to be moms out there!
Showing posts with label farmer's market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farmer's market. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Friday, August 9, 2013
$100 a month
For groceries...$100 a month. First of all, why? Well, since our little one was born, we've decided that Benny's going to cut back his hours at work significantly to only 10 or so a week, so that he can stay home with Raygan. This means that we're going to have to trim our already frugal budget a little more. So, one place where our spending can fluctuate some is groceries. Most months we spend about $140-$160, but we're going to try to reduce this by at least $50 each month, yet still maintain our healthy, earth friendly eating.
How're we gonna tackle this? Well, we'll continue with our regular meal planning, bulk shopping, and using some helpful advice from bloggers like Mavis and The Prudent Homemaker. We'll also cut out some of the extras that we'd been purchasing, like beer from Costco and wine from Trader Joe's. While we enjoy the occasional glass of wine or beer with dinner, they're certainly not necessities and are pricier, even when we bargain shop. We're also going to be cutting back on meat even more than we regularly do, eating more beans, eggs, nuts, and other alternate protein sources which are cheaper. We certainly won't cut out meat entirely; we both enjoy a piece of bacon way too much when we have breakfast for dinner to cut it out for good. And we're going to cut down desserts, something I love to make, to one per week, so once its gone, its gone. The same is true for beverages such as juice, which Benny loves. Why do juice when water is really better for you? We'll make tea when we want something different, using herbs from the garden and black tea bags we purchase in bulk or with a coupon and on sale.
We plan to do more in terms of bulk shopping, like buying our sugar, flour, dried beans, cheese, and rice in bulk from sources like Costco. The savings here is unquestionable and we'll find a creative solution to the storage issue, such as 5 gallon buckets... hmm, wonder where I'll get those? ;)
And of course, we'll make everything from scratch that we can...bread, tortillas, soups, cookies, jam & jellies, sauces, and salad dressings. The Joy of Cooking is a great place to start if you've not done a lot from scratch.
As always, this grocery budget includes toiletries and cleaning products, so we'll get creative here and use coupons, use less (by washing hair every other day and by using a lotion dispenser to control the amount we use of a product). I'll also pair down my makeup routine, which will not only save cash (although being a Mary Kay consultant saves me a bit here anyway) but also time, which is precious with a 7 month old. Since Benny will be staying home, he'll be shaving less frequently, which will cut down on the cost of razor blades and shaving gel/cream. We're already learning to be more careful with things like toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues (remember, we use handkerchiefs and rags any time its appropriate).
So join us on this journey and offer your tips in the comments. Here's to living and saving green!
How're we gonna tackle this? Well, we'll continue with our regular meal planning, bulk shopping, and using some helpful advice from bloggers like Mavis and The Prudent Homemaker. We'll also cut out some of the extras that we'd been purchasing, like beer from Costco and wine from Trader Joe's. While we enjoy the occasional glass of wine or beer with dinner, they're certainly not necessities and are pricier, even when we bargain shop. We're also going to be cutting back on meat even more than we regularly do, eating more beans, eggs, nuts, and other alternate protein sources which are cheaper. We certainly won't cut out meat entirely; we both enjoy a piece of bacon way too much when we have breakfast for dinner to cut it out for good. And we're going to cut down desserts, something I love to make, to one per week, so once its gone, its gone. The same is true for beverages such as juice, which Benny loves. Why do juice when water is really better for you? We'll make tea when we want something different, using herbs from the garden and black tea bags we purchase in bulk or with a coupon and on sale.
We plan to do more in terms of bulk shopping, like buying our sugar, flour, dried beans, cheese, and rice in bulk from sources like Costco. The savings here is unquestionable and we'll find a creative solution to the storage issue, such as 5 gallon buckets... hmm, wonder where I'll get those? ;)
And of course, we'll make everything from scratch that we can...bread, tortillas, soups, cookies, jam & jellies, sauces, and salad dressings. The Joy of Cooking is a great place to start if you've not done a lot from scratch.
As always, this grocery budget includes toiletries and cleaning products, so we'll get creative here and use coupons, use less (by washing hair every other day and by using a lotion dispenser to control the amount we use of a product). I'll also pair down my makeup routine, which will not only save cash (although being a Mary Kay consultant saves me a bit here anyway) but also time, which is precious with a 7 month old. Since Benny will be staying home, he'll be shaving less frequently, which will cut down on the cost of razor blades and shaving gel/cream. We're already learning to be more careful with things like toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues (remember, we use handkerchiefs and rags any time its appropriate).
So join us on this journey and offer your tips in the comments. Here's to living and saving green!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Meals with Autumn Abundance
I know I've been absent for a while... I promise there will be a posting on the roof by the end of the week. Life has gotten crazy for us, to say the least, and the blog fell to the back burner.
Lately, we've been taking advantage of the local abundance of produce from a variety of sources. Much of it has come from our CSA, which ended a few weeks ago, but others have been scavenged and foraged. I love fresh, local produce, and getting it for free is just an added bonus.
We were able to forage several grocery bags full of apples from a friend who has a tree that was loaded this year, since ours didn't produce this year. We've used the apples to make homemade applesauce using our food mill. The applesauce has been a great side dish for lunches, an addition to homemade breakfast breads, and a substitute for oil in baking to make things lower fat. Some of the appelsauce was turned into apple butter using the crock pot and then I canned it for gifts and to spread on toast for breakfasts this winter. The rest of the apples were sliced and peeled for apple crisp, apple pie, and were chopped with sausage and butternut squash and served over rice for a yummy supper.
I also acquired over a dozen butternut and acorn squash with an activity my students did for science class (they only harvested the seeds). So, we've been eating our favorite squash chili, pureed squash and cream sauce for pasta, and steamed squash as a side dish. I also puree it and freeze it to spread on tacos and burritos throughout the winter or put it into bread recipes in place of canned pumpkin. This is about the third year we've done this with the students, so I was prepared to make the most of the squash this year, so we didn't get sick of it before we used it up!
We've also enjoyed some summer preserves friends put up for us, including hot pepper jelly with goat cheese on crackers and some blackberry jam on earl grey tea rolls.
What fall dishes have you shared lately? Have the made use of local produce or an abundance of an ingredient? I'd love to hear about it!
Lately, we've been taking advantage of the local abundance of produce from a variety of sources. Much of it has come from our CSA, which ended a few weeks ago, but others have been scavenged and foraged. I love fresh, local produce, and getting it for free is just an added bonus.
We were able to forage several grocery bags full of apples from a friend who has a tree that was loaded this year, since ours didn't produce this year. We've used the apples to make homemade applesauce using our food mill. The applesauce has been a great side dish for lunches, an addition to homemade breakfast breads, and a substitute for oil in baking to make things lower fat. Some of the appelsauce was turned into apple butter using the crock pot and then I canned it for gifts and to spread on toast for breakfasts this winter. The rest of the apples were sliced and peeled for apple crisp, apple pie, and were chopped with sausage and butternut squash and served over rice for a yummy supper.
I also acquired over a dozen butternut and acorn squash with an activity my students did for science class (they only harvested the seeds). So, we've been eating our favorite squash chili, pureed squash and cream sauce for pasta, and steamed squash as a side dish. I also puree it and freeze it to spread on tacos and burritos throughout the winter or put it into bread recipes in place of canned pumpkin. This is about the third year we've done this with the students, so I was prepared to make the most of the squash this year, so we didn't get sick of it before we used it up!
We've also enjoyed some summer preserves friends put up for us, including hot pepper jelly with goat cheese on crackers and some blackberry jam on earl grey tea rolls.
What fall dishes have you shared lately? Have the made use of local produce or an abundance of an ingredient? I'd love to hear about it!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Batch cooking for fall
As I wind down my last week of summer before the kiddos come back to school, I've been doing some major batch cooking to make the first few weeks of the school year easy. I've talked about batch cooking before, but this time it has taken a slightly different twist with all the fresh summer produce available. So, here's the run down...
I've begun canning and freezing more produce. I started with jam at Michele's and have moved on to blanching green beans to freeze, making applesauce from our apples here at the house, and canning salsa and marmalade (which is working on the stove right now and smelling great). I've also done some refrigerator pickles with cucumbers from our garden which will be ready to add to sandwiches and burgers in about a month.
The applesauce is so easy it's ridiculous, as long as you have the right tools. When mom was here, she was helping me do some of the jam and thought a food mill might come in handy. She picked up one from a retailer in Hickory (it's the OXO brand), and it worked great! All you do it wash and quarter your apples and simmer them with some water until they start to fall apart. For me, this took about 20 minutes, since the apples were small. Then, you just ladle the mixture into the food mill, which is positioned over a bowl, and turn the crank. I ended up with about three gallons of homemade applesauce to use, and it was totally free! It will be a great addition to winter time meals, lunches, and a substitute in baking for the extra oil. The food mill is also nice for making other fruit purees and baby food, so I'll probably make some homemade baby food to give as gifts at Christmas.
I decided on canning salsa, since it's one of our favorite condiments and additions to casseroles, and we've had several friends give us jalapeños, and the tomatoes looked great at the farmer's market this weekend. (I don't have enough coming in from my plants to do a whole batch.) I'm using this recipe for the salsa, which sounds really easy and will give us the flavors we want. The nice thing about working with the tomatoes is that you don't have to use the pressure canner, since they have a high enough acid content (to keep out the nasty bacteria). This means that I can do this with the canning rack and pot we found while cleaning out mom's shed (I saw the same thing at Lowe's for about $60--free is so much better!). If you know you won't be doing a ton of canning, you might want to purchase one of these with a friend or borrow one to try it out. (I was a little intimidated by the canning thing at first, but it really is simple, as long as you plan well.)
We've also started a supper club, which means that my first recipe (the zucchini and ricotta tart) goes out today and we get a main dish from someone else. We've decided to do it as a once a month thing for starters, just to see how it goes, and so we have room in the freezer for the leftovers. This frees up more time for all of us involved in the long run, because it means that we don't have to worry about what's for dinner that night and we can simply make a double batch of a great recipe to share.
Of course, the bread machine keeps on whirring as I crank out zucchini bread and sunflower bread for sandwiches and breakfast toast. The machine also makes it incredibly easy to make bread for friends. (We're taking some to a family with a new baby on Thursday.)
All of this means that I'm saving money by purchasing (or bartering or growing) produce at it's best and cheapest (and local, when I can), and saving it for later. By canning my own things, I am able to reuse the jars each year, which means I save a ton on that cost. (You can also find jars rather inexpensively at thrift stores and flea markets, if you look. Your friends may also have some that they're going to recycle, so you might ask around there.) Plus, I really like knowing what's going into our food and having a connection with the people who grew what we're eating.
So, how're you continuing to use that summer produce? Are you finding time to make the minutes in the kitchen count? Are you managing to save some green while living green this summer? I'd love to hear from you!
I've begun canning and freezing more produce. I started with jam at Michele's and have moved on to blanching green beans to freeze, making applesauce from our apples here at the house, and canning salsa and marmalade (which is working on the stove right now and smelling great). I've also done some refrigerator pickles with cucumbers from our garden which will be ready to add to sandwiches and burgers in about a month.
The applesauce is so easy it's ridiculous, as long as you have the right tools. When mom was here, she was helping me do some of the jam and thought a food mill might come in handy. She picked up one from a retailer in Hickory (it's the OXO brand), and it worked great! All you do it wash and quarter your apples and simmer them with some water until they start to fall apart. For me, this took about 20 minutes, since the apples were small. Then, you just ladle the mixture into the food mill, which is positioned over a bowl, and turn the crank. I ended up with about three gallons of homemade applesauce to use, and it was totally free! It will be a great addition to winter time meals, lunches, and a substitute in baking for the extra oil. The food mill is also nice for making other fruit purees and baby food, so I'll probably make some homemade baby food to give as gifts at Christmas.
I decided on canning salsa, since it's one of our favorite condiments and additions to casseroles, and we've had several friends give us jalapeños, and the tomatoes looked great at the farmer's market this weekend. (I don't have enough coming in from my plants to do a whole batch.) I'm using this recipe for the salsa, which sounds really easy and will give us the flavors we want. The nice thing about working with the tomatoes is that you don't have to use the pressure canner, since they have a high enough acid content (to keep out the nasty bacteria). This means that I can do this with the canning rack and pot we found while cleaning out mom's shed (I saw the same thing at Lowe's for about $60--free is so much better!). If you know you won't be doing a ton of canning, you might want to purchase one of these with a friend or borrow one to try it out. (I was a little intimidated by the canning thing at first, but it really is simple, as long as you plan well.)
We've also started a supper club, which means that my first recipe (the zucchini and ricotta tart) goes out today and we get a main dish from someone else. We've decided to do it as a once a month thing for starters, just to see how it goes, and so we have room in the freezer for the leftovers. This frees up more time for all of us involved in the long run, because it means that we don't have to worry about what's for dinner that night and we can simply make a double batch of a great recipe to share.
Of course, the bread machine keeps on whirring as I crank out zucchini bread and sunflower bread for sandwiches and breakfast toast. The machine also makes it incredibly easy to make bread for friends. (We're taking some to a family with a new baby on Thursday.)
All of this means that I'm saving money by purchasing (or bartering or growing) produce at it's best and cheapest (and local, when I can), and saving it for later. By canning my own things, I am able to reuse the jars each year, which means I save a ton on that cost. (You can also find jars rather inexpensively at thrift stores and flea markets, if you look. Your friends may also have some that they're going to recycle, so you might ask around there.) Plus, I really like knowing what's going into our food and having a connection with the people who grew what we're eating.
So, how're you continuing to use that summer produce? Are you finding time to make the minutes in the kitchen count? Are you managing to save some green while living green this summer? I'd love to hear from you!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Summer Lovin'
So, I've been on a blogging hiatus for a while, mostly due to professional development and vacation. But I'm sooo glad to be back and enjoying all that home has to offer this summer! I wanted to share a bit with you about what culinary/gardening adventures I've been up to over the past week, in hopes that it might inspire you to make the most of the bountiful summer produce you find in your own garden or at the local farmer's market.
Last week, while visiting with my mom, I had the opportunity to visit a few gardens in the eastern part of the state. One thing that I've found with gardeners is that they are generally very willing to share both their knowledge and their plants. So, I came home with a back seat full of perennial flowers, ground covers, and a few herbs. Most of what I planted has survived, despite the continued heat wave (it took lots of watering). The most exciting thing for me in sharing with these gardeners was to learn from them. One prides herself on her organic vegetable garden, which is totally amazing, so that really helped me out with our veggie garden here. Another is a Master Gardener (see your local ag extension office if you don't know about that program), so she shared a lot with me about saving seeds and amending soils. The last was a family friend who has always had a love of garden and has inspired me to begin collecting stones from our travels to add to our flower gardens as another layer of textural interest and a unique trip down memory lane.
When I got back here, blackberry season was in full force, so we spent several hours picking berries (and climbing into thickets or up banks others might have deemed dangerous--anything in the name of fresh summer berries!). We also found a blueberry patch a friend told us about where you can pick a gallon for $5! (Do you realize you pay that much for 8 ounces at the grocery store! Ridiculous!) So, we picked a gallon of those last Tuesday evening. This all came together beautifully when a friend volunteered to help me learn to can home grown produce, so last Friday I made my very first batch of mixed berry jam! I haven't opened the first jar yet, but we're totally looking forward to it. I'm hoping to be able to make some apple jelly or butter this fall with our apples and give some of both as Christmas gifts.
The same friend who helped me with the canning (thanks, Michele!), also has an amazing vegetable garden. Like most gardeners, theirs seems to grow a bit every year, and it seems this year it grew a little too large... so large they can't keep up with eating all the produce! That means that we get to share in the bounty. :) They've offered us tons of yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans. In addition to helping her can some of the cucumbers as pickle relish (another fun learning experience), I've experimented with some new recipes for squash and zucchini. Of course, we've steamed some in the microwave with our fresh herbs and some of the first peppers from our garden. I also discovered this zucchini tart recipe in the recent edition of the Rachel Ray magazine, which I tried on Sunday night. I'll warn you, it's labor intensive, so prepare yourself for a few hours in the kitchen. (I did use the food processor for slicing the zucchini and wouldn't hesitate to steam the zucchini first, rather than doing the salt soak thing to get the moisture out, since it's going to be cooked anyway. We also made a double batch, since we had the ingredients.) I'm also wanting to try a zucchini bread recipe, as well as a squash casserole. Does anyone have a fantastic squash casserole recipe you love?
One thing I've been doing with the abundance of fresh herbs I have is making herb butter to put in the freezer for winter, when I don't have those fresh herbs on hand. This is so easy to do and takes practically no time. First, I use room temp butter (this usually means I set it out the night before or sometime that morning to make an afternoon batch). You can use as much as you'd like, but I generally only soften one stick at a time so that I have a variety of flavors in the freezer. Then I chop my herbs (as much or little as your taste preference is). Some of my favorite flavor combos are parsley, chives, and cilantro; parsley, chives, and sage; parsley, chives, and basil; lemon balm and mint. Then, I just mix the butter and chopped herbs in a bowl with a fork or small spatula and place the blob on waxed paper. I make a roll with it inside the waxed paper, double wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and label it. Then it goes in the freezer. This is a fantastic addition to any sauté you do in the winter, as well as great for adding to burger patties (we put about 1/2 tbs. in the center of each patty before grilling and love it!), meatloaf, or spreading onto bread for garlic bread.
I can't wait for the summer tomatoes to come in later this week! They're looking beautiful on the vines right now, but I am so ready to pop one in my mouth! There's just nothing quite like a home grown, vine ripened tomato.
So, how are you enjoying the love that nature has to offer in the veggie garden and farmer's market this summer? Are you finding, as I am, that your dollar goes further for better produce at the farmer's market than the grocery store, or is it a toss up to you? Here's to living and saving green on produce this summer! I'd love to hear from you!
PS
If you're into local food and farmer's markets the way I am and haven't read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, I highly recommend it. I just started it and can hardly put it down!
Last week, while visiting with my mom, I had the opportunity to visit a few gardens in the eastern part of the state. One thing that I've found with gardeners is that they are generally very willing to share both their knowledge and their plants. So, I came home with a back seat full of perennial flowers, ground covers, and a few herbs. Most of what I planted has survived, despite the continued heat wave (it took lots of watering). The most exciting thing for me in sharing with these gardeners was to learn from them. One prides herself on her organic vegetable garden, which is totally amazing, so that really helped me out with our veggie garden here. Another is a Master Gardener (see your local ag extension office if you don't know about that program), so she shared a lot with me about saving seeds and amending soils. The last was a family friend who has always had a love of garden and has inspired me to begin collecting stones from our travels to add to our flower gardens as another layer of textural interest and a unique trip down memory lane.
When I got back here, blackberry season was in full force, so we spent several hours picking berries (and climbing into thickets or up banks others might have deemed dangerous--anything in the name of fresh summer berries!). We also found a blueberry patch a friend told us about where you can pick a gallon for $5! (Do you realize you pay that much for 8 ounces at the grocery store! Ridiculous!) So, we picked a gallon of those last Tuesday evening. This all came together beautifully when a friend volunteered to help me learn to can home grown produce, so last Friday I made my very first batch of mixed berry jam! I haven't opened the first jar yet, but we're totally looking forward to it. I'm hoping to be able to make some apple jelly or butter this fall with our apples and give some of both as Christmas gifts.
The same friend who helped me with the canning (thanks, Michele!), also has an amazing vegetable garden. Like most gardeners, theirs seems to grow a bit every year, and it seems this year it grew a little too large... so large they can't keep up with eating all the produce! That means that we get to share in the bounty. :) They've offered us tons of yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans. In addition to helping her can some of the cucumbers as pickle relish (another fun learning experience), I've experimented with some new recipes for squash and zucchini. Of course, we've steamed some in the microwave with our fresh herbs and some of the first peppers from our garden. I also discovered this zucchini tart recipe in the recent edition of the Rachel Ray magazine, which I tried on Sunday night. I'll warn you, it's labor intensive, so prepare yourself for a few hours in the kitchen. (I did use the food processor for slicing the zucchini and wouldn't hesitate to steam the zucchini first, rather than doing the salt soak thing to get the moisture out, since it's going to be cooked anyway. We also made a double batch, since we had the ingredients.) I'm also wanting to try a zucchini bread recipe, as well as a squash casserole. Does anyone have a fantastic squash casserole recipe you love?
One thing I've been doing with the abundance of fresh herbs I have is making herb butter to put in the freezer for winter, when I don't have those fresh herbs on hand. This is so easy to do and takes practically no time. First, I use room temp butter (this usually means I set it out the night before or sometime that morning to make an afternoon batch). You can use as much as you'd like, but I generally only soften one stick at a time so that I have a variety of flavors in the freezer. Then I chop my herbs (as much or little as your taste preference is). Some of my favorite flavor combos are parsley, chives, and cilantro; parsley, chives, and sage; parsley, chives, and basil; lemon balm and mint. Then, I just mix the butter and chopped herbs in a bowl with a fork or small spatula and place the blob on waxed paper. I make a roll with it inside the waxed paper, double wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and label it. Then it goes in the freezer. This is a fantastic addition to any sauté you do in the winter, as well as great for adding to burger patties (we put about 1/2 tbs. in the center of each patty before grilling and love it!), meatloaf, or spreading onto bread for garlic bread.
I can't wait for the summer tomatoes to come in later this week! They're looking beautiful on the vines right now, but I am so ready to pop one in my mouth! There's just nothing quite like a home grown, vine ripened tomato.
So, how are you enjoying the love that nature has to offer in the veggie garden and farmer's market this summer? Are you finding, as I am, that your dollar goes further for better produce at the farmer's market than the grocery store, or is it a toss up to you? Here's to living and saving green on produce this summer! I'd love to hear from you!
PS
If you're into local food and farmer's markets the way I am and haven't read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, I highly recommend it. I just started it and can hardly put it down!
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