Its lunchtime and I’m sitting here enjoying a lovely cream of corn soup. It hit me when I was making this the other day that so much of it was local. There was the chicken stock made from the chickens our friends raised for us. There was corn from the freezer and stored potatoes from the summer CSA share. The cream was from the local dairy.
There are some parts that are not local… salt, pepper, bay leaf, garlic, celery. The onion wasn’t from our CSA but it was local grown.
I remember the start of 2010 and my decision experiment with local after 'experimenting' over 2009. I don’t regret it, it has turned out to be a great choice and, shockingly, frugal.
The “shocking” part of this came during my budget review when 2010 was compared with 2009 - our food costs were down about 1,000.00.
Suffice it to say if you end up paying a high premium for local produce you get quite serious fast about using every bit. That is about the only reason I can come up with on why local, premium priced food ran us less overall - because it shouldn’t have.
I was even trying NOT to be wasteful in 2009. I am going to guess either the cost per item may have been cheaper but weight per unit was less, we were eating more processed items than I realized or we didn’t “recycle/reuse” as much of the food as I thought we did. Most likely it was some random combination.
As I was eating lunch today it did start to seem plausible……
This soup I’m eating is the last bowl. This soup started as a chicken dinner, the leftover chicken made a few servings of chicken salad for lunches and then the carcass went for stock.
The stock came from spices, onions and garlic. The celery was in the freezer leftover from thanksgiving.
Corn was from summer overage in the CSA share and potatoes from the last few shares in the fall.
Sooooo………….If I figure that the chicken “cost” for this meal 5.25 (chicken cost divided over the number of meals, organic homegrown chicken isn’t cheap and it shouldn’t be), spices I’ll put in as 1.00 as the ones used are bulk purchases so the 1.00 is high, 3.14 in corn, 3.14 in potatoes (just the CSA weekly share cost divided by 7 for days… can’t figure how else to show cost), 1.00 for cream and about .20 in onion and .15 in celery. Grand total is about 15.00 for a giant pot of soup.
Again… 15.00 for soup is EXPENSIVE soup.
But if 15.00 is divided over three meals (dinner and two lunches), you are looking at 5.00 to feed all three of us…. Or 1.67 per person… Considering we still have more veggie goodies stored away… suddenly the savings make sense.
I’m sure if I followed the same principals out of the grocery store I’d save the down payment on a car. However local for us is about health, community and supporting local farmers… For whatever reason, I also can’t deny that it was a money saver.
I’m sad to be using the last butternut squash, last sweet potatoes, last storage potatoes… Getting down to just berries, corn, pumpkin and green beans in the freezer…
And we’re starting to bring in some frozen veggies and fruit from the market. I think we’ll run out in about April of all our frozen and pantry stores…..No more trips just for cleaning supplies and some staples. Sigh.
Local eats…..It was a good experience and we will be repeating it.
We’ll raise chickens and a pig with friends (or lets be honest they’ll raise and we’ll sing their praises). We will run to the local dairy and we’ll stick with a CSA for our beef and lamb. If I suggest any MUST to any person, go local for meat/dairy…all other social/political ramifications aside… it was like my childhood came alive on my tongue… I always thought my taste buds had changed…. NOPE… just the stuff on the meat shelf at your market isn’t the same…. Go local and you’ll never go back.
We’ll start our produce CSA with a spring share in March, a giant main season share (for freezing extras) and end with a late fall share to carry us through winter. I’ll repeat and increase my stock up on some hardy veggies that store well in our 1910 home that has a good old fashioned, unheated pantry.
New for 2011 is to get a bit more serious about bread and pasta…. I’ll batch and freeze if necessary. I’m going to can some fully processed foods we enjoy such as, pickles, tomato sauce and jams. I have peach jam I canned that seems to be holding out… if I eat it and don’t die I’ll give it another go :-) I’m also going to be better about having a stock scrap container in the freezer for some of our bits and parts that can still serve yet another purpose.
To sum it up: Community Supported Agriculture plus local dairy plus local meat = win.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
A dash of this...a sprinkle of that...
First of all....weather.com tells me that it is 3 degrees outside. Three. True to form, January will again be the most expensive oil month for us. We're expecting ice and snow tomorrow. Oh goody.
Arden and I had a fantastic day today. My office was closed and she was out of school. Unfortunately, Dora's day involved too many meetings for her to take the day off. We kicked off the day with her annual parent teacher conference. She's exceeding expectations and is 'well beyond her age in reasoning and logic'. I believe I may have referred to her as irritatingly logical at one point. I stand by that comment. We went to Cracker Barrel and out for ice cream to celebrate. We also spent a fair amount of time putting together puzzles today. All in all just a very, very good day.
She has passed along a nasty cold to me so this is the most creative post I can muster this evening. Some pictures!
Swim lessons! She's on the left sitting on the wall practicing their dive into the water position. Ironic since the pool has a no diving rule.
We spent a lot of time doing Just Dance 2 on the Wii this weekend. She loooooves it.
Lecturing me on the importance of healthy foods.
Ballerina knight?
Cracker Barrel!
Explaining the game she invented. I never grasped the concept but hey, she was happy. She's a fan of making up her own rules.
Arden and I had a fantastic day today. My office was closed and she was out of school. Unfortunately, Dora's day involved too many meetings for her to take the day off. We kicked off the day with her annual parent teacher conference. She's exceeding expectations and is 'well beyond her age in reasoning and logic'. I believe I may have referred to her as irritatingly logical at one point. I stand by that comment. We went to Cracker Barrel and out for ice cream to celebrate. We also spent a fair amount of time putting together puzzles today. All in all just a very, very good day.
She has passed along a nasty cold to me so this is the most creative post I can muster this evening. Some pictures!
Swim lessons! She's on the left sitting on the wall practicing their dive into the water position. Ironic since the pool has a no diving rule.
We spent a lot of time doing Just Dance 2 on the Wii this weekend. She loooooves it.
Lecturing me on the importance of healthy foods.
Ballerina knight?
Cracker Barrel!
Explaining the game she invented. I never grasped the concept but hey, she was happy. She's a fan of making up her own rules.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Ouch
Well, the tv weather folks were right to get excited this time....we had a whopper for a storm. We prepared last night, on the off chance this wasn't one of their normal ohmygodblizzard exaggerations. We bought new flashlights, hot cocoa makings and popcorn....necessities, you see. And, sometime in the middle of the night, Mother Nature started to dump inch after inch of snow on New England. Continue she would, until about 7pm this evening.
We are both lucky to have jobs that can be managed from home. Arden's school was closed, though we wouldn't have ventured out regardless. So a snow day it was, one that involved alternating conference calls and snow clearing.
I think final count for our neck of the woods is around 20 inches. I spent about 4 quality hours with the snowblower and shovel and managed to get us uncovered. Said activity has left me in agony. At least I burned some calories! Now we just await the morning ... and hope against hope that the plows don't come and plow us back in tonight. If they do, I very well might cry.
A glance at our day...
We are both lucky to have jobs that can be managed from home. Arden's school was closed, though we wouldn't have ventured out regardless. So a snow day it was, one that involved alternating conference calls and snow clearing.
I think final count for our neck of the woods is around 20 inches. I spent about 4 quality hours with the snowblower and shovel and managed to get us uncovered. Said activity has left me in agony. At least I burned some calories! Now we just await the morning ... and hope against hope that the plows don't come and plow us back in tonight. If they do, I very well might cry.
A glance at our day...
Monday, January 10, 2011
Girl Uninterrupted
My office had a Yankee Swap last week. Yes, two weeks after the holidays....it's just how we roll.
One of the gifts held a most magical gift....may I present....the pirate mohawk hat:
To everyone else it was a hilarious joke perched upon the yearly Swap visitor....a tin rooster. To me? A fantastic surprise for my child. So, I swapped the cookies I unwrapped for the box that held the rooster, a packet of Swiss Miss, a (fake) signed baseball and....the hat. My colleagues know my kid. The cool kid who gets them playing pirates when she comes into the office. Arden stories make them shake their heads and chuckle and warn us against what we're in for when she turns 13. Or, you know....7. She makes them pictures and sends them her last pieces of Halloween candy.
Everyone who sees the hat knows it's perfect for Arden. Well, nearly everyone. One voice piped up....criticizing my triumph, telling me that such a hat is not ladylike. (Insert jaw dropping silence) ....I'm pretty certain my face looked something like this:
She's 5. She likes transformers.
She can recreate an entire movie with markers and paper.
She likes Curious George
She likes making things....like crayons
.... and baked goods
She can rock a guitar...
She wants to be an astronaut
She likes Scooby Doo, wears boxes on her head, and insisted that Santa bring her a goat and a zebra.
She's 5. Brilliant, diverse, curious, eager, creative, stubborn, phenomenal. Ladylike? No. She's Arden.
One of the gifts held a most magical gift....may I present....the pirate mohawk hat:
To everyone else it was a hilarious joke perched upon the yearly Swap visitor....a tin rooster. To me? A fantastic surprise for my child. So, I swapped the cookies I unwrapped for the box that held the rooster, a packet of Swiss Miss, a (fake) signed baseball and....the hat. My colleagues know my kid. The cool kid who gets them playing pirates when she comes into the office. Arden stories make them shake their heads and chuckle and warn us against what we're in for when she turns 13. Or, you know....7. She makes them pictures and sends them her last pieces of Halloween candy.
Everyone who sees the hat knows it's perfect for Arden. Well, nearly everyone. One voice piped up....criticizing my triumph, telling me that such a hat is not ladylike. (Insert jaw dropping silence) ....I'm pretty certain my face looked something like this:
She's 5. She likes transformers.
She can recreate an entire movie with markers and paper.
She likes Curious George
She likes making things....like crayons
.... and baked goods
She can rock a guitar...
She wants to be an astronaut
She likes Scooby Doo, wears boxes on her head, and insisted that Santa bring her a goat and a zebra.
She's 5. Brilliant, diverse, curious, eager, creative, stubborn, phenomenal. Ladylike? No. She's Arden.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Resolve
Well, it's January 4th....guess it's about time to address the whole resolution deal, huh?
I can't remember a year starting off that didn't involve my commitment to losing weight. Yet year after year (well, recently anyway), I have failed to meet that pledge. I start the year jazzed up and about 3 minutes later it's all over. This year though....this year is different. Really!
In just a mere 18 months, Bobby and Mandy will be getting married. And, I'm told, there will be a photographer there. I will not live on walls or in albums in my current state of frump. This I resolve.
As for the method by which I will whittle myself down...step one? Go back to the gym! Regularly. Not here or there...but 4-5 times a week. Step two...change the diet! And this time it won't be by way of Slim Fast and it probably won't be Atkins style either. I'm going to attempt such new fandangled ideas such as portion control and better choices and increased water intake (which, coupled with decreased soda intake should, at the very least, chase away at least a couple pesky pounds).
Yes, I am fueled by vanity, but will be rewarded with better health. I think that's what they call two birds, one stone.
I am glad to say I'm not alone in all of this. It's a family affair. For example, Annette has vowed to yell at me if I don't go to the gym, and I will return the favor if she doesn't run. It'll be just like being coached by Jillian Michaels. At some point, Dora might even be brave enough to wake me up if I attempt to hit the snooze button too many times. I'm told I'm not nice at 4:30AM. I take issue with that.
I started back at the gym today. I was back from my hour at the gym before the sun came up. I kicked this whole process off with the Couch to 5K program. Last time I did this program, I was in much better shape. That said, I did not drop dead on the treadmill this morning, so we'll call it a success. I found a Couch to 5K app for my iPhone and boy does that trump the printouts I had to use last time I did this program.
In theory, in a few months I'll be ready to run a 5K. I just might sign up for a real one come spring. Or, you know, the one in Disney World in October...just for kicks.
So there you have it. 18 months. Slow and steady...and all that jazz.
I can't remember a year starting off that didn't involve my commitment to losing weight. Yet year after year (well, recently anyway), I have failed to meet that pledge. I start the year jazzed up and about 3 minutes later it's all over. This year though....this year is different. Really!
In just a mere 18 months, Bobby and Mandy will be getting married. And, I'm told, there will be a photographer there. I will not live on walls or in albums in my current state of frump. This I resolve.
As for the method by which I will whittle myself down...step one? Go back to the gym! Regularly. Not here or there...but 4-5 times a week. Step two...change the diet! And this time it won't be by way of Slim Fast and it probably won't be Atkins style either. I'm going to attempt such new fandangled ideas such as portion control and better choices and increased water intake (which, coupled with decreased soda intake should, at the very least, chase away at least a couple pesky pounds).
Yes, I am fueled by vanity, but will be rewarded with better health. I think that's what they call two birds, one stone.
I am glad to say I'm not alone in all of this. It's a family affair. For example, Annette has vowed to yell at me if I don't go to the gym, and I will return the favor if she doesn't run. It'll be just like being coached by Jillian Michaels. At some point, Dora might even be brave enough to wake me up if I attempt to hit the snooze button too many times. I'm told I'm not nice at 4:30AM. I take issue with that.
I started back at the gym today. I was back from my hour at the gym before the sun came up. I kicked this whole process off with the Couch to 5K program. Last time I did this program, I was in much better shape. That said, I did not drop dead on the treadmill this morning, so we'll call it a success. I found a Couch to 5K app for my iPhone and boy does that trump the printouts I had to use last time I did this program.
In theory, in a few months I'll be ready to run a 5K. I just might sign up for a real one come spring. Or, you know, the one in Disney World in October...just for kicks.
So there you have it. 18 months. Slow and steady...and all that jazz.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sooo...
Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year!
We arrived home in the middle of the night last night. Our flight took a bit of a detour due to a medical emergency, so we arrived home by way of a brief stop in Buffalo. We had a fabulous week in Nevada visiting our families. Leaving always makes living so far away that much harder.
Arden enjoyed yet another Christmas vacation being the center of everyone's world. Oh how rocked her world will be when she is no longer everyone's only grandchild. And no, that is not code that she is going to have a sibling...sorry Mary!
I am happy to say we missed Blizzard 2010, and were lucky enough to have a couple of 60 degree days in December melt nearly all of the snow. Our driveway is dry as can be, thank goodness! Unfortunately the blizzard grounded Mandy's plane and she couldn't come out this year. Talk about disappointment! There's always next year.
There are many more pictures to come, but here is a taste of our trip (for the three of you who read this blog that were not actually present in NV). ;-)
At the airport on the way to Vegas.
I really, really liked having Annette and Bobby on the plane. She spent half the flight between Annette and me and the rest between Dora and Bobby. We're quite good at sharing.
We arrived home in the middle of the night last night. Our flight took a bit of a detour due to a medical emergency, so we arrived home by way of a brief stop in Buffalo. We had a fabulous week in Nevada visiting our families. Leaving always makes living so far away that much harder.
Arden enjoyed yet another Christmas vacation being the center of everyone's world. Oh how rocked her world will be when she is no longer everyone's only grandchild. And no, that is not code that she is going to have a sibling...sorry Mary!
I am happy to say we missed Blizzard 2010, and were lucky enough to have a couple of 60 degree days in December melt nearly all of the snow. Our driveway is dry as can be, thank goodness! Unfortunately the blizzard grounded Mandy's plane and she couldn't come out this year. Talk about disappointment! There's always next year.
There are many more pictures to come, but here is a taste of our trip (for the three of you who read this blog that were not actually present in NV). ;-)
At the airport on the way to Vegas.
I really, really liked having Annette and Bobby on the plane. She spent half the flight between Annette and me and the rest between Dora and Bobby. We're quite good at sharing.
Representin', even in Vegas!
She decorated Grandma and Pops' tree (which was nice since her parental failures didn't put up the tree this year). Name that tree topper! One of these days Joe will be the victim of an untimely death. Battle of the tree toppers is a running theme at Chez H.
Arden discovered the encyclopedias this year. I'm pretty sure they looked through each one.
"Arden, Santa doesn't come for girls who won't smile for their mothers" - of note, that works particularly well when he's just steps away.
Grandma Mary and Nonno's home is one of many traditions. It's how the Italians roll. There was a bit of .... competition this year. See, Grandma Mary's tradition involves the gingerbread house. 
While Nonno's involves the raviolis. I say next year ... storebought for both!
Arden got a couple of gifts for Christmas this year. The post office will no longer be in the red after all our shipping costs each way!
It's exhausting being the center of attention.
But then the energy returns and has to be bounced out.
I'm so glad my parents bought a house with a view for my enjoyment at holiay time. Behold, the famed Las Vegas NYE fireworks show! It's really a perfect view, this iPhone picture certainly doesn't do it justice.
Arden cajoled (ha) Grandma Mary into gambling. Standing at what we thought was a safe enough distance away from gambling Grandma. We learned a few minutes later that it was not far enough away when the man with the earpiece came up to me and told me to move. Arden was not thrilled.
The last morning of the trip involved cutting up the Christmas tree. For whatever reason the tree was unstable toward the end of the week, so de-Christmasing happened by January 2nd.
The view in in daylight. The dessert does have its beauty.
She decorated Grandma and Pops' tree (which was nice since her parental failures didn't put up the tree this year). Name that tree topper! One of these days Joe will be the victim of an untimely death. Battle of the tree toppers is a running theme at Chez H.
Arden discovered the encyclopedias this year. I'm pretty sure they looked through each one.
"Arden, Santa doesn't come for girls who won't smile for their mothers" - of note, that works particularly well when he's just steps away.
Grandma Mary and Nonno's home is one of many traditions. It's how the Italians roll. There was a bit of .... competition this year. See, Grandma Mary's tradition involves the gingerbread house.
While Nonno's involves the raviolis. I say next year ... storebought for both!
Arden got a couple of gifts for Christmas this year. The post office will no longer be in the red after all our shipping costs each way!
It's exhausting being the center of attention.
But then the energy returns and has to be bounced out.
I'm so glad my parents bought a house with a view for my enjoyment at holiay time. Behold, the famed Las Vegas NYE fireworks show! It's really a perfect view, this iPhone picture certainly doesn't do it justice.
Arden cajoled (ha) Grandma Mary into gambling. Standing at what we thought was a safe enough distance away from gambling Grandma. We learned a few minutes later that it was not far enough away when the man with the earpiece came up to me and told me to move. Arden was not thrilled.
The last morning of the trip involved cutting up the Christmas tree. For whatever reason the tree was unstable toward the end of the week, so de-Christmasing happened by January 2nd.
The view in in daylight. The dessert does have its beauty.
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