Brown Sugar and pickles

No, even I did crave anything quite that weird when I was pregnant. I'm not now either but it was a title that connected the two random things I'm writing about tonight.

I am considering making a batch of garlic dill pickle spears tomorrow or Sunday afternoon depending on my cucumber yield and a friends. I've never done pickles before but there's always a first time... I will be keeping you posted as to how it goes.

Something I've been doing over the last year or so is making my own brown sugar. It's so easy and it has saved me a trip to the store many times. It's molasses and white sugar, that's all it is. 1 Tablespoon molasses to one cup sugar (use more molasses if you like yours darker) mix together in a bowl using the back of a spoon or fork to get out all the lumps. Easy and done before you could get your car out of the driveway.

I think we are doing fairly well with the grocery challenge. The only thing non canning related I've purchased since the grocery trip on the first have been rubber gloves (for me an essential for dishes) and laundry detergent an bananas. I know I have made laundry soap before many times but I am only one person and I'm at about my max level now! I've decided not to count the $34 of canning jars, lids, pectin and peaches in my total for the month. This doesn't seem logical since we did spend the money this month but we will be eating the batches of jam and jars of peaches all year so for the purposes of this month I've opted to not count them in my total spending. The savings of canning tomatoes and jams will save us twice as much as I spent (easily) throughout the year so I'm ok with this investment.

We did go out to eat once more bringing our total to $50 for two meals out! Yikes I'm not feeling really good about that. Today though I would call a big success. We went to an event called Art in the Park. It is the big fundraiser for our local art museum, lots of artisans and food vendors. We left there at 5:30pm - very temping to go out. Instead we drove home and ate leftovers and it was all well and good!

I'm going to have to give an exact amount on my spending when I can get downstairs for my receipt. Currently, I'm tired and leaning toward the bed - night!

The alarm is set and I'm in bed!

What alarm you ask? Oh THE most frugal one one the planet, it's not going to call the emergency crews, nor will it wake the neighbors with it's shrieking sounds, but it will not let an intruder out at least not without them getting into a heap of a mess.

Pretty much anyone who would dare to enter my house tonight would find a few 'Home Alone' type encounters.

For example my kids have pretty much trashed the place over the last two days while I've been canning peaches and batch after batch of jam. So if the intruder didn't first trip over a shopping cart or a couple baby dolls they would most likely slip on a tiny car. After the ride into the kitchen they would be stuck to the sticky peachy goo the the dog didn't even lick up and be trapped like spiderman's webbing. Forget about the laundry snairs. Giving us ample time - and warning of his presence.

I'm giddy and tired and my feet are like jello. Pasta and pesto and peaches for dinner, hopefully pesto counts as a veggie lol!

Oh The Blessings!

Alternately titled, Random happenings in our crazy house (mostly in the kitchen)in the last 24 hours!

Last night I made a new recipe I found for chocolate chip cookies, mmm. I needed chocolate chip cookies to get through today!

This morning is when things got busy, it was my first canning day of the season, usually I've canned something by now, not this year though. I have frozen a bunch of stuff, corn, pesto, and two batches or roasted tomato and garlic pasta sauce. So, some of the garden is put up. The list that follows, is not complete, merely things I jotted down throughout the day once I realized I was in a marathon!

Woken by my daughter's soft cry for 'milk please' (it's her cup o'joe) at 6:45am. Opened my eyes to my five year old's return gaze at 7:05am. Actually got out of bed at 7:50 after pestering everyone to be quiet so I could get just ten more blessed minutes of sleep.

Granola (from Mary's book) with yogurt for breakfast, prepared Adam's lunch, got him out the door and made a batch of grape jelly all processed and done by 9:30am.

Everyone dressed for a long walk/bike ride to the park followed by a long swing and park play. Home by 11:20.

My son spread almond butter and jam on tortillas for us for lunch while I started getting stuff ready to make my next batch of raspberry/peach jam. Meanwhile after lunch, the kids played campout in the baby crib and with train tracks and served me crazy smoothies they made in their kitchen. All processed and done my 1:35pm

Ahhhhh, quiet time. My baby nurses to sleep for her second real nap all week, praise God! My son has some Grandma story time (Babar) while I process a batch of tomatoes. Baby awakes at 3:15pm

Prepared and processed a batch of peach jam while the kids watched Prima Princessa presents the Nutcracker! And finally poured out the canning water at 4:50pm.

After the movie the kids chalk painted on the back patio for nearly an hour. My daughter figured out that the chalk gets really pretty when you dip it in the dog's water dish so they had a blast and were entertained while I cleaned the kitchen and prepared dinner.

Threw a peach crisp together with the leftover peeled peaches and prepared dinner. A quick chicken salad with leftover chicken tenders, chopped with an apple, celery, grated carrot, some mayo and salt and pepper. Sliced a mango and carrot sticks and pulled out the leftover Asian Noodle Salad (yup Mary's book again!)from dinner last night and viola dinner was on the table by 6pm.

All dinnered and full of crisp we sang and danced while Adam played the piano a bit and then we opened a box my son has been waiting since his birthday for. Caterpillars! He sat and observed them for quite some time, concerned that they weren't moving, then the big one moved it's head! Yippeeeee! Now we could go upstairs, get washed and ready for bed. There's a Wocket in my Pocket. Prayers. Bed. 8pm. Done!

Heading down to spend some QT with my man and then a shower and my pillow sounds great! The chalk foot/paw print, peach stickiness covered kitchen floor can wait until tomorrow!

So...

Well, I've failed and succeeded already. Yesterday we all went shopping as a family and it went mostly well. $160 for a lot of staples and fruits - two bags of peaches to make jam with and $20 worth of rice milk all included in that. I'm figuring the rice milk will last most of the month but I'm not really happy about how expensive it is.

I've always known the price and always look to see which carton has the best price per ounce. It's funny but the store I buy it from (Winco) changes the prices a bit every month or so and every other time the smaller cartons are cheaper and then the larger ones are, it's so silly.

Another thing about Mary's book that is really opening my eyes has been starting a price book. There was something about coming back home and writing that price down, really taking ownership of my purchase so to speak, that drove home just how much money I save on months when I make my own. I think I know most of the best deals on what we use but for some reason just the sheer price of rice milk is hitting me hard today. I mean paying $5.14 for 62oz is really expensive.

I have made it from scratch before and I think my cost is about $1 for the same amount. It tastes a bit different but the savings, oh, the savings. I thought about making it this month for a fleeting moment before stocking my cart. Then I remembered the canning of tomatoes, peaches, jam and decided it was an ok indulgence.

I also totally jinxed us because someone came to look at our house last night right at dinner time. After a quick tidy and putting away groceries we went to a pizza place down the road that has "toss up Tuesdays." I gave up really trying to go frugal at this point, got both the kids their own pizza's because they let them put the sauce and cheese on it at the table and then watch it go into the brick oven. Adam and I each got our own and in the back of my mind I hoped we'd win the coin toss to offset it. And we did! So we got one pizza for free! Plus the kids and I ate the leftovers for lunch today. $30 (((ouch))) on dinner out, a pretty pricey day.

Tonight's dinner was a summer pasta with garlic, basil, tomatoes, olive oil and a tad of balsamic vinegar. Sliced cucumbers, salami and tomatoes with cheese as sides. Since the garlic, tomatoes, basil, and cucumbers were all from the garden there was a very small price tag on today's meals! Phew, hopefully I can pull a month more days like this together!