Beauty of Farmer's Market

While I'm ever at the quest for the most affordable, local and healthy options for my precious family, I always come back to a particular farmer's market in the area.

It's the people whose parents were adults in the Depression...and a few farmers are grandchildren of the Depression-era. There aren't many vendors - maybe five regularly, although it can be as many as nine or 10 in the summer months.

I'm always greeted with warmth and smiles (even when it's in the 20s!).

There is laughter and good conversation - leave your small talk at home (alleluia!).

And the quality: SUPERB.

The service: UNMATCHED.

The prices: FANTASTIC.

Carrots 1.50/bunch

Napa cabbage 1.50/ lb

Parsley 1.50/bunch

Traditional cabbage 50 cents/lb

Red potatoes 1.00/lb

Everything pictured: 10.50

I'm aiming to implement Jeff Yeager's, the Ultimate Cheapskate, principle of paying 1.00/lb or less for all items. This week I purchased no meat, since we have some in our deep freezer. 

Aiming for 1.00/lb or less has been rotten a few times. Literally. Like the food is not quite as fresh or crunchy or maybe it's just "too crendy" as Rita says. Crendy = ????? (no true translation). She has called my hair (on a bad hair day) "crendy" and something this is strange tasting or not to her liking is also "crendy." Best. Kid. Ever. Anyway, the 1.00/lb "rule" has been mostly good, so I do my best to stick to it for produce by purchasing what is in season rather than mark-downs, if that makes sense. I've made it a point not to buy any meat over 3.99/lb, which allows us red meats on sale and always poultry. Some weeks I splurge with bacon, I probably average that splurge once a month. We save so much by cooking at home. I want to cook what we love to eat, hence bacon monthly.

My PSA:

Please visit localharvest.org to find a farmers market near you or if a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) works for you then sign-up! A CSA is usually just a simple pick-up and drop-off system. I enjoy stocking-up on what I can by attending market. But with a baby expected to arrive in April I am considering (although, not too seriously, because sometimes a momma outing is just what I need) a CSA just for this spring (about $10/week for a full brown grocery bag of produce-mostly veggies).

7in7 D-O-N-E!!!

NOTES:

• Hooray to getting the draft count down and to sharing some posts I didn't want to lose and to finally cranking out Jo's birth story - 'cause another is on the way! 33 weeks! Can't go more than a couple days past 41 weeks - I feel like this is the home stretch!

• Happy Happy Sunday and have a happy Mardi Gras! The kiddos have leaky faucet noses so we are laying low, and this momma is happy about that!

• Probably not keeping-up the posting on a daily basis - but going to keep you updated as we await our very active bambino, who happens to LOVE when I eat PB&J.

Thinking About Grocery Budgets, Chickens and Travels

Etsy search: "Red hen painting"

So I've been thinking about grocery budgets lately, and it is just this CONSTANT tug-of-war within me.

I totally agree with this article, written by Haley of Carrots for Michaelmas, yet we aren't consistent with local, sustainable purchases.  Mass-produced meats really really bother me, and while Tyler agrees, he is also an advocate for lowering our food budget.  Some weeks we do awesome with local food, and honestly, some weeks there just isn't as much meat available, I guess this is a good introduction into the true rhythm of famine and feast, so to say.

$15 for a chicken is a good bit of money, and while I am able to glean LOTS more from local chickens (fat for cooking, the organ meats, carcasses that produce a VERY hearty stock), it still is hard to rival the conventional chickens at $5 a bird and the "sorta" organic birds at $8 a bird.  We usually (90% of the time) stick with the "sorta" organic birds.  It's really frustrating for me.  I don't like making compromises on our food, as we have both come to agree with Hippocrates, who said, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," but I ultimately feel like until we get our car payed-off, it is easier to justify less than great consumer purchases.

Thankfully, we owe just a bit above $3,000 on our car.  So, so, so close (we started with $12,000+ in January 2012).  If we can manage to have it paid-off before filing taxes, than any refund can be geared toward our next goal.
Speaking of birds, our chickens started laying eggs! And the day we learned that they started laying is the day that one of the laying hens died.  Ironic!

I had placed a piece of a tree branch in the hen house and apparently it wasn't secure because one of my sweet, beautiful Rhode Island Reds met her death beneath the thoughtfully placed branch, when it fell and crushed her.  I cried like a baby.  We didn't eat her, and I sort of felt better about that.  Not quite at the point of raising meat birds on our own yet.  How spoiled am I that that isn't a necessity?!  My great-grandmother HAD to kill a chicken, if she was to put meat on the table at night.  What a woman!

We are hoping to take a vacation in October, which is due to sweet friends of ours getting married in North Carolina.  Here is the catch...Tyler will have half, .5, of a vacation day left.  Flying is out of the question, unless there is some crazy awesome way to get plane tickets for $200 a piece.  So, train or car?  Is it worth taking unpaid leave (seems so crazy!)?  We briefly thought of going sans children, but Jo is still my cuddly nursling just a few times a day, and if we bring Jo, well, I just feel terrible leaving our princess behind.  Is driving through the night, alternating shifts, totally crazy talk?  Could we actually get sleep on a train?  And for the record, will my husband's boss even approve unpaid leave?!?! Well, I think our work is cut-out for us; we should start with finding-out if unpaid leave is ok, and how much might be allowed.  But please still share your thoughts!

Making this wedding will set-back our goals for car-payoff but I know in my heart of hearts that this wedding is important.

PLEASE share any tips or ideas about traveling with kids...and to come full circle, any opinions on temporarily eating crap-ishly in order to pay-off car debt sooner.

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"

Hippocrates

Blessings to you!!! Have a wonderful week!