March Madness Grocery Challenge – The Score

This is it, the last day of the month. The last day of the March Madness Grocery Challenge.

As of last Friday I had a balance of $5.50 remaining in the MMGC fund, and guess what… Go ahead, guess. I’ll wait… Did I make it? What do you think?

Yes, I made it! As of right now I still have $5.50

You know what the crazy thing is? The crazy thing is that I didn’t think about it all week. I wasn’t stressed about it. I didn’t worry about it. I just didn’t go to the grocery store. That’s it, I just didn’t go. No big deal.

At the beginning of this challenge I allowed myself $20 a week for groceries. I also thought it probably would not be horribly difficult because the pantry and freezers were full. Actually, had it not been for the gallon of maple syrup and the dinner items purchased when we were returning from our out of town trip, both of which I am completely ok with, I would’ve done even better. The Z Man would interject here that (ahem) “we also haven’t had a loaf of bread in the house the entire month” That probably has more to do with me wanting to make real bread instead of buying highly processed junk from the store.

What I take away from this challenge is that, if I’m being honest, I have a grocery store habit. It probably stems from too much Food Network, but I truly enjoy cooking. I enjoy the entire process of planning, shopping and cooking a nice meal. There is something about chopping vegetables and putting them into a pot to cook, having the lovely smell of it cooking wafting through the house and then sitting down to enjoy that meal. Well, for me, it’s more than just getting dinner on the table. It’s nice. It gives me joy.

On the other side of the coin, I hate the grocery store. Even more so now that I’m researching better ways of eating because more often than not what you think you are buying isn’t at all what it really is. Bread is not bread, cheese is not cheese. It’s mostly highly processed ingredients that are unpronounceable and indigestible.

As for the MMGC, yes I stayed in budget, and we ate from the freezers and pantry. That’s great. But, that too all comes with a price of hard work. It’s taken us several years to see our homestead flow in full cycle like it is now. It’s also taken me a long time to learn the cycle and use it as it’s meant to be used, the benefit of the price we pay. That is to say, it is time to start the process of breaking my habit with the grocery store. Or have I already started it unknowingly with this challenge?

Putting in perspective this challenge and that what I’ve learned isn’t so much about the money but more importantly about why we do the things we do, and to understand that perhaps it’s more about the habit that can be changed, and recognizing the pleasure of doing it differently.

She Goes Up… She Shoots… And… She… Scores!!!

Till Next Time,

Lori

The Right Tool For The Job

Last week I was whining about being a frugal fraud because I had made quite a few purchases lately. And I do need to rein it in and focus more on making do instead of adding to cart. But one of the purchases I made was a meat slicer, and I’ll now be adding that tool to my list of must haves on the homestead.

I had reservations about buying a meat slicer and bringing another appliance into the house, but I’m so glad I did.

We raise our own pork, which means we also process and smoke our own bacon. However, no matter how hard I tried I could not slice the bacon thin enough and consistent enough to get the texture of bacon. I mean come on, one of the best parts of raising and processing your own pork is the bacon. I was meticulous about processing and curing the bacon, so why would I not be meticulous about the finished product? I don’t know.

What I do know is that now I have a lot of perfectly sliced bacon packaged and in the freezer just waiting for us anytime we want it. Bacon that is homegrown and free of nitrates, steroids and antibiotics… the best bacon I’ve ever eaten.

Having the right tool for the job can make the difference between good and great, and it can make the job a lot easier.

Till Next Time,

Lori

Nurtured By Nature….

We Eat By The Grace Of Nature, Not Industry – Michael Pollan in Omnivore’s Dilemma

To say that Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s dilemma has made an impact on my life would be an understatement. I had an interest in this book because I wanted to learn more about clean eating. “Clean Eating” is the newest term in the food world. But I’m beginning to realize that most people including myself are utterly confused about what “clean eating” actually means. Also what I’m learning is that it means different things to different people. For me it means knowing where my food is coming from, well as much as possible. Organic as often as possible and consuming processed foods a little as possible.

The title of this post “Nurtured By Nature” has so many meanings for our homestead lifestyle. Nurtured by nature on a physical level in regards to the food we eat, but also on spiritual level for the beauty that surrounds us. I am fully aware that the homestead lifestyle was not the intended perspective for Mr. Pollan’s book, but written words take on different meanings for people. This is the effect it has had on me…..

Each day I can feel a stronger pull to live a more simple life, a more natural life, a more grateful life. Does this include my relationship with God? I can wholeheartedly say yes it does. By not forgetting to give thanks to God for the gifts he has blessed me with. A wonderful marriage to a loving husband, healthy and happy children and good family. Also a roof over our heads with a little land so we can play in the dirt and raise a few animals, but also the skills to take care of ourselves.

“We eat by the grace of nature, not industry” These words that Michael Pollan wrote in the Omnivore’s Dilemma rang such a chord with me that I had to replay it over again at least three times. (As I mentioned in an earlier post I’ve been listening to the book on cd in my car)

We eat by the grace of nature, and we are blessed with nature by the grace of God. It made me wonder if I have been honestly linking these two most important facts together. Perhaps I have been thanking for the ability to drive to the grocery store and buy groceries, or the skills to cook those groceries into a meal, I don’t know. And I’m not implying those aren’t worthy things to be thankful for, they most certainly are. I’m just saying for me, I haven’t been truly aware of the depth of my blessings or even honestly understanding what I’ve been thanking God for.

Going forth I wonder if I will make a conscious effort to focus on where the food that is nourishing our bodies is coming from and will that give me thankfulness of more specific meaning. The fact that I’ve recognized this and the lack in which I have shown my gratefulness in my blessings, I simply can not see how it couldn’t. I also expect that I will gain more pleasure in the processes of living a more simple wholesome life. I did not expect this book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma to have such a strong impact on me in areas of more than just food. It’s shocking really, because there are no glaring religious tones in the book.

It left me with a look inside, a reflection of the bigger picture, which for me will always include God.

In the spirit of being fed by nature, which is created by God, and if I’m being honest also in the spirit of Michael Pollan’s writings leading me to a further appreciation of our blessings and our food, I have made the decision that our Easter meal will not only be a celebration of the life of Christ, but also will be made from foods we have harvested in one form or another. A celebration of God’s love for us.

Till Next Time,

Lori

Butter

Butter – the everlasting delight of the gourmand, the faithful ally of the culinary arts, the constant symbol of good living.

Through time and across the globe, butter has had a sacred quality. From the ancient Fertile Crescent to the present day, butter has symbolized the powerful, life giving and sacred, the good, the happy, the healthy and pure. It has sustained lives, cultures and civilizations for millennia.

Butter is a culinary treasure as old as King Tut’s tomb. “She brought forth butter in a lordly dish” (Judges 5:25). A jug of wine, a loaf of bread – and butter!

From – Butter Through The Ages.

About a month ago my Mother called and was so excited that she had just made homemade butter and how easy and good it was. I’m sure the ease of it was most of the amazement and surely reminded her of being the very young child witnessing the butter being made. Making butter back then was not an easy process, not unlike so many of the other great things that take time and effort to accomplish. Butter is one of the GREATS!

Fast forward 100 years to imagine me standing in the dairy section at the grocery store needing butter. How things have changed…. But as I was standing there I remembered Mother’s conversation and decided to make my butter. While I wish we did, we in fact do not have a milk cow or goats on our homestead, so my choice for cream (and milk) is Homestead Creamery. I feel it’s the best choice for us and also I believe you get what you pay for.

Being on a tight grocery budget this month, some would wonder why I didn’t just buy the 99¢ fake, yellow, plastic, artificially flavored stuff, and well, that is why… As Michael Pollan says “we are what we eat, and what we eat, eats”

The question I asked myself in the grocery store was, do I spend $6 on butter and $3 on the milk that I wanted, or do I spend $6 on cream to make butter which would also net me some sweet cream milk after making the butter. I chose the cream.

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Making butter is as easy as can be, however I will advise not to over fill the food processor as it will leak out all over the counter, making a huge mess. Yes, that happened.

All you do is pour the cream into the food processor and process for about 5 minutes then separate the butter from the buttermilk.

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The buttermilk can be refrigerated for later use. Then you want to rinse your butter with ice cold water to help preserve it. Pour ice cold water over the butter and press with a rubber spatula to extract as much of the liquid as possible. I saved the water I used to rinse the butter and added a little dry milk to it and then added it to the buttermilk I extracted from the cream. What I ended up with was a full quart of sweet cream milk that I can use in other recipes or just drink.

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I was so excited about the butter that I had to make something to spread it on. I made some butternut banana muffins and some cornbread. Those muffins with fresh homemade butter are out of this world good. One of those Y-U-M moments. And a glass of sweet cream buttermilk and cornbread… the only thing missing is a front porch swing and a breezy summer evening.

This was a fun experiment and I’m glad I did it. While it didn’t take me hours to hand churn my butter, it did give me a little nostalgic feeling of living back in the day when things seemed better. I’ll keep making our butter because the best part of it was the taste, so fresh and clean, which is the ultimate reason for doing it.

As for MMGC, if you’re keeping track, I’m now down to $10 to last me the rest of the month. YIKES! But, we have some great butter and pure maple syrup.