CSA, Now with Meal Plan!
Yesterday, I received my first box of 11 farm fresh deliveries from Two Small Farms. For anyone new, I had been gifted a four week membership to a CSA and liked it so much, I decided to continue on my own.
Starting clockwise from the back left, we have two kinds of lettuce, mei quin choy, swiss chard, italian parsley, potatoes, strawberries, honeydew and tomatoes.
I’ve decided to start sharing my meal plan for the week as well. Keeping the picture of everything I have to use right in front of me is tremendously helpful in this new method of meal planning. It used to be that I would plan the weekly menu around whatever protein was on sale at the supermarket.
Nowadays, I’m buying most of my meat in bulk, either from the rancher or a warehouse store. It keeps in my deep freeze, so the real challenge is to use up all my produce!
Thursday: Overnight Waffles w/ fresh whipped cream and strawberries
Friday: [night off, mom's house]
Saturday:
- lunch: Potato-Chard Skillet
- dinner: Tomato & Arugula Pasta w/ Spicy Cornbread
Sunday: [day off, mother-in-law's house]
Monday: Chicken Cacciatore w/ green salad
Tuesday: leftover Chicken Cacciatore w/ buttered choy
Wednesday: Parsley Pesto on linguini
Since Monday-Wednesday will feature lots of saucy dishes, I’ll probably bake some bread to go with it. Breakfasts are usually smoothies, yogurt & granola or quick breads – this week we have zucchini bread hanging around. Weekday lunches are either almond butter & jam sandwiches (my little one is over the moon for these) or soup from the freezer. I have lamb & orzo, minestrone and chicken noodle all frozen and ready to be defrosted and eaten.
There’s a number of recipes I’ve never tried before on the menu this week, so this should be interesting. I’m sure my husband will consider the parsley pesto to be blasphemy, but I’m going to give it a shot. I don’t want my parsley to end up part of Food Waste Friday again.
Place Holder.
I received some very exciting news this weekend that set my schedule all a blur. I’ll be back tomorrow with a regularly scheduled post, I promise.
In the meantime, I offer you a picture of my little one being a rascal after his bath.
See you tomorrow!
Super Mario Cross Stitch
When I was pregnant with my little one, I knew that I wanted a Super Mario themed nursery. I was in love with the Super Mario Blik and it seemed just perfect to adorn the walls of our nursery. It was a little pricey, so I knew that any additional decorating would best be handmade.
Eight bit Super Mario brothers and counted cross stitch are a match made in heaven. I started this almost a year ago and have dutifully worked on it at night, after the baby goes to sleep. It took quite awhile, both because I worked on it sporadically and because it is nearly a foot and a half long!
Cross stitch is a great hobby for crafty people on a budget. The supplies are super cheap and when you’re done, you have a one of a kind decoration to adorn your walls.
I downloaded the pattern for free from Sprite Stitch which is full of amazing ideas for the inner geek in everyone. The materials ran me no more than ten dollars. All that’s left to do is press it, frame it and hang it in the nursery.
Finally finishing up such a huge project has left me excited to take on something new. I think I will put down the embroidery needle and pick up my knitting needles. It’s been over a year and I have a collection of yarn stashed under my bed that’s just waiting to be used up.
Food Waste Friday: Back Again
In an attempt to become less wasteful, each Friday I am tracking and posting what ends up in the garbage instead of our tummies.
For a good many reasons, I broke my streak of zero food waste. Between my husband being out of town for two days and three nights, then being sick with a migraine another day… the food waste forces were conspiring against me.
Before I dive in, I want to mention something I learned from Kristen at The Frugal Girl. I’ve been refrigerating my herbs in a glass jar with some water in bottom, kind of like how florists store their flowers.
But like flowers, you have to make sure herbs have enough water to nourish them. And this is where I failed this week. It seems that parsley needs much more water than my chives did. I didn’t realize it until it was too late and my poor little parsley wilted to the point of no return.
The salsa was brought over by a friend, but since I started making my own my husband and I haven’t been interested in the jarred stuff. It’s only a couple of bites, but into the garbage it went.
Finally, there’s a lil’ Walla Walla onion that was a little too soft for my liking. I had a dozen of these little guys, so just one going to waste isn’t as bad as it could have been.
All things told, it could have been way worse. At least now I know to keep a better eye on my herbs in the fridge. Hope to see you for a pictureless Friday next week.
Found Money, Now What?
I’m currently reading Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes by Belsky & Gilovich. I’m only on the second chapter but the first chapter got me thinking.
The first money mistake, according to the authors, is not treating every dollar the same. This can be a good thing, such as mental barrier that keeps a spendthrift from raiding their retirement money. Yet, it can be a bad thing, too. This comes into play most with found money.
Found money is any dollar that into our life unexpectedly. It can be a gift, a tax refund, a bonus, gambling winnings, you name it. The problem is that we are often tempted into spending that money more freely than we would our paycheck.
Changing the way I approach found money has made a huge difference in achieving financial goals. In the past, found money always justified some sort of indulgence. A nice dinner, a new dress, a shiny gadget.
Once my husband and I got serious about our finances, we were slowly able to chip away at this behavior. I’ve found that the the best method is to have a single goal in mind for any and all found money. For us, it’s paying down the second mortgage. Whether it’s $30 or $3,000, if found money crosses our path… to the mortgage it goes.
Belsky and Gilovich recommend putting all found money into a bank account for a period of a few months. According to their research, a person is less likely to frivolously spend money that they’ve mentally earmarked as savings.
How about you? What’s your approach to found money? Do you tuck it away, put it toward a goal, buy a little indulgence? Or maybe a combo of all three? I’d love to hear about it.
CSA Delivery: Pros and Cons.
My last gifted delivery from Two Small Farms arrived today! I’m sending in a check tomorrow morning so that I can continue with these fresh deliveries until growing season is over.
This week we’ve got butter lettuce, beets, zucchini, hot peppers, spinach, strawberries, eggplant and a bunch of perfect little tomatoes that almost look too cute to eat. I have no idea what I’ll be making this week, but I’m looking forward to trying out the eggplant.
Meanwhile, I’ve been doing some thinking about the advantages and drawbacks of joining Community Supported Agriculture and I thought I would share them with you.
Pros:
- Trying new foods. In the past few weeks I’ve cooked with beets, celery leaves, parsley root and fresh tomatoes. All of which have been completely new to me, but which ended up having delicious applications.
- Supporting the local economy. The produce I receive comes from only 45 miles away. Considering that the average produce travels 1500 miles to the supermarket where it’s sold, this is a vast improvement.
- Lower prices on organics. Each week, I pick up a box full of organic produce that only costs $22. Even visiting the farmer’s market, I have not been able to get such a good deal on organics.
- Heavenly tastes & smells. The scent from when I first cut into my CSA celery will remain imprinted on my memory forever. Two Small Farms makes an effort to pick everything only a day or two before they send it out & the freshness shows in the flavor and aroma.
Cons
- No control over produce choices. This is a major adjustment for a control freak like myself. I could sign up for a CSA that lets me choose, but it would cost significantly more.
- Dirt and bugs. This stuff is quite literally straight from the farm. And sometimes little critters hang on for the ride. I was particularly startled when I found a tiny earthworm crawling across my butcher block after I cut into some romanesco.
- Too much of a good thing. This relates to having no control over choices. In three deliveries, I’ve received two bunches of celery. I’m doing my best to get through it all, but it’s a challenge.
- Overhauling the grocery schedule. As I mentioned last week, my Wednesday deliveries have thrown me for a loop. Shopping on Mondays just doesn’t make sense anymore and next week I need to start in on a new system.
For me, the pros outweigh the cons. I think it ultimately comes down to trading convenience for quality. And for now, it’s a choice I’m willing to make.
The One-In One-out Rule
I have a confession to make. I am a pack rat. It’s true. I am a constant victim to the might-need-it-someday mentality. And because of this, I hang on to things way longer than I should. If I have a good memory associated with an item? Forget about it, I’ll hang onto it for years. Just ask me about my favorite jeans from high school. I still have ‘em.
A couple of months ago, I finally got tired of this behavior. I got tired of the cramped closets, the drawers that wouldn’t close. I got tired of the dread of bringing something home and wondering where can I put this? My house is only 972 square feet. That’s not a lot of space.
Earlier this summer, I went on a cleaning spree. If I hadn’t used it, seen it, thought about it in the last 6-12 months, out the door it went. Between this and purging my lolita closet, I got rid of 30+ garbage bags and cardboard boxes full of stuff.
For the first time in years I had extra closet space and empty drawers. It was a beautiful thing and I was afraid I’d ruin it before long. I decided to instill in myself a one-in one-out rule. For every new item that comes into this house, an old one must go out.
Sometimes this is easy and a new item comes into my life right when I’m getting rid of something old. Other times, I purchase first and then scramble to get rid of things later. Like when I bought 4 dozen mason jars on sale and then had to figure out 48 items I wanted to get rid of. That was a tough one.
Through the course of this new rule I’ve learned a few things.
- One-in one-out makes you realize what’s important to you. What makes your something new more valuable than what you already have? Personally, I love kitchen items and value function over fashion. I often find myself trading in decorative items for useful tools.
- Memories are not attached to things. If I get rid of old t-shirts and ticket stubs, it doesn’t automatically erase the memory from my mind. It’s more fun to reminisce with friends and family than to finger through dusty mementos in a bulging drawer.
- Space is extremely valuable. It’s tempting to employ little cheats to the rule. Let’s get rid of this pad of paper to make room for this giant new printer. Try to cheat the system one too many times and suddenly, you’re right back where you started, with no room for anything. Ask me how I know.
- You don’t have to own something to enjoy it. If I had to employ the one-in one-out rule every time I want to read a new book, I’d make myself crazy. Instead, I’ve learned the joys of borrowing. All the fun of using something when you need it, with none of the hassles of storing it. It’s a beautiful thing.
I’m still learning, of course. There are exceptions to every rule, especially when it comes to children’s clothing. Yet, this little rule works well for me. It lowers my spending, keeps my house uncluttered and makes me evaluate my values on a regular basis.
Thrift Store Scores.
When I was growing up, my mom always had designer purses despite her meager salary. She didn’t spend a lot to get them, she just had a simple trick. When it was time to go shopping, she drove to affluent areas and frequented their thrift stores.
I was in the market for new jeans and I must admit that as a recovering brand-slave, I wanted a nice pair of jeans. I remembered my mom’s old trick and figured what the hey, might as well go check out the Goodwill in Menlo Park.
Without a doubt, this was the nicest thrift shop I’d been to in my adult life. The racks were neat and there was even a separate section for designer names. Everything was in mint condition and a bunch of things still had the tags on them.
The prices were much more expensive than other thrift shops, but it was still a steal. I snagged a pair of brand new Lucky Brand jeans with the tags still on. As far as I can tell, they’d retail for $80 and I got them for $18. The J Brand jeans didn’t have tags but they’re in great condition. In stores they retail for a whopping $160. And I paid thirteen bucks.
I’m thrilled with my thrift shop scores. There wasn’t even sales tax charged, so for $32 I walked out with nearly $300 worth of merchandise. Name brands for 10% of the original retail value? My mom is obviously on to something here.
Food Waste Friday: Further Success!
In an attempt to become less wasteful, each Friday I am tracking and posting what ends up in the garbage instead of our tummies.
Wonderfully, I have no pictures of food waste to show you! This week, I managed to use up everything we have. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. Especially since my father-in-law sent me home with a box of tomatoes.
My lovely neighbor lent me her canning supplies and I wound up with two and a half quarts of crushed tomatoes. My husband even pitched in and helped me with the process.
This week did not have food waste because I was willing to experiment with recipes. I’ve been taking chances and substituting items that I have rather than running to the store for the exact item written. My family hasn’t noticed the difference and I’m wasting next to nothing.
The best part is the noticeable difference in my grocery bill. When I use what I have, I need to buy less. I don’t know why I made this connection with grocery shopping before. It’s just another great lesson that I’ve learned from the great Food Waste Friday experiment.
Here’s to hoping for another waste-free week!
T-1 Month to Second Mortgage Freedom.
Yesterday, I realized that in one month, we should be able to pay off our second mortgage. My husband is scheduled to receive his last stock grants of the year which we will promptly sell. Additionally, if past years serve as indicators, he should be receiving a cash bonus in September.
We also keep $5000 in what I’ve called an opportunity fund or a personal line of credit. And no, don’t worry, it’s not our emergency fund. It’s basically rainy day cash that we keep for expenses and opportunities that exceed our budgeting. Paying the balance of the second mortgage seems a great use of that money.
In the meantime, I am all jittery. We are so close. I can see the finish line. I keep punching numbers into Excel, figuring out how much different our monthly budget will be without a $704 bill. That’s an extra $8400 of after-tax money to apply toward any or all of our savings goals.
I’ve never been so eager for the end of summer. Between the second mortgage and the 100 degree weather, autumn cannot come fast enough. I’m generally not a patient person… Does anyone have any advice for getting through this last month without making myself crazy?
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