Gloom and doom everywhere. I need a happy place!...

[Phentex]

Every decade thinks they are the ones going to hell in a hand basket. Yet, the world hangs on somehow.

Sure food prices are through the roof. But we still have to eat! I just stocked up on some pasta as my old standby. It's something my whole family loves and never seems to get enough of.

We grilled yesterday and that will make a couple of meals.

We have a teeny tiny break in the heat (high of 88) so I might feel like cooking again this week. :)

And for some reason, the ice cream is on sale at nearly every store. That makes my termites veeeeery happy.

I just finished the book Unbroken (the POWs were starving!) so I'm feeling pretty good about what we are able to eat these days.

What's cookin' at your place? Are you feeling the pinch? Are you adjusting? Are you gardening?

[kestrel91316]

1. The tight economy has forced me to toss my personal standards

(eating local, organic whenever possible) and go for low-budget a lot of the time. Hence, I shop at 99c Store for eggs (yes, 1 dz large for 99c), bell peppers, romaine and spinach, canned tomatoes, dry pasta, and some herbs/spices.

I know, it's a comedown, but $4.99/lb for bell peppers? IN SEASON??

Actually, saving on a few items in this way allows me to keep buying other produce at the better stores - I just don't want to compromise on quality in my summer fruits, for instance. A mealy peach is worse than none at all.

I buy meat about twice a month and stretch it out (I am single so probably 8 dinners a month have meat).

[Warpy]

2. I'm still doing low budget organic even though I don't really need to

I did pick up some Pacific cod at Costco a few days ago, and I'll be eating that over the next month. Other than that, it's been a steady diet of posole verde, corn pasta with tomato sauces of various descriptions, and salads.

I've also noticed the bulk pintos and rice in the local supermarket turning over a hell of a lot faster these days (this is a poor area in a poor state, so the market has always sold those in bulk).

I think the winter will bring tamales, more cheap fare, until that particular pot gets rechristened as a dyepot.

I got out of poverty just as everybody around me was going into poverty. I seem to be living in poverty out of sympathy. Or maybe I just no longer know any better.

[grasswire]

3. can't imagine that for bell peppers

although ours aren't priced by the pound, but rather $1.25 each for red/yellow/orange. Green bell peppers are 79 each.

The trouble I have with peppers is my own doing. I use half, and then the other half goes bad. I need to discipline myself to chop the second half and throw it in the freezer ASAP.

I envy those who can eat carbs in this economy. I can't use that to fill up or bolster a meal.

[kestrel91316]

4. Granted, the 99c Store bell peppers, at twofer, are a bit thin-walled and

sometimes blemished, but they still beat grocery store prices hands down. They are better for cooking than eating fresh, IMHO.

[EFerrari]

7. Bell peppers at Safeway are about $4.00 a pound but at the farmers' market

Mom got four for a dollar yesterday. They are a little smaller than Safeway's.

[Denninmi]

5. Always gardening. But frankly, I have no enthusiasm for life in general right now.

I see it all spiraling downhill from here on out, so you're right, we do need to find those little pleasures that make us happy.

[beac]

6. Me too, on both counts.

Yay for gardening, boo for the fact that even green things can't pull me out of my funk some days. Especially when it's been so hard to grow things properly this year.

Good thing it's too damn hot to run the oven, so no temptation to stick my head therein. Alas, many dinners lately feel like going through the motions instead of joyful creation.

I'm startng to think the Aztecs might have had it right about 2012. :(


(BAD mood today, can you tell?)

[Tesha]

8. Happy place?

You know the other day someone asked about camping cooking, and
in my searching my memory I came up with sounds and smells of breakfast
- and of the feel of "summer morning in the woods" on my skin...

That's my happy place these days, I find a memory that is rich with emotion, overwhelming with "happy"
and everything is put back into perspective.

[canetoad]

9. I'm hanging out for a banana

Since the Queensland cyclone last year(?) they have been around $13 kilo. Fortunately, Imperial mandarins are in season in Southern Hemisphere winter and they are plentiful.

With spring only a couple of weeks away, I'm ready to start composting and scattering seeds around. Don't have vegie beds per se, but grow herbs, leaves, radishes, tomatoes in odd spots around the garden.

[Lugnut]

10. I enjoy the farmer's markets.

Homegrown produce is at its peak right now where I live. We plant a small garden that's producing tomatoes very nicely. The local farms are overflowing with fruits and veggies that are very inexpensive. I've packed a lot of fresh sweet corn in the freezer and will be roasting tomatoes for the freezer next week. Sliced fresh peppers from the market will be added next week. I have bunches of garlic hanging up in the basement to use over the winter.

Right now we are eating a lot of things that include fresh tomatoes. Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches are delicious. Chopped fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil tossed with cooked pasta is a staple in this house. I love this time of year and we save a lot of money with the big upright freezer in the basement.

[trud]

11. I love farmers markets

it was not so long ago that they hardly existed.

I have been able to cut my spending by about 10% this year, but it's by the "do I really need that" method and growing more veggies. I have not given up organic. I do save a lot on food by being a vegetarian.

Good news:

Grizzlies come back near Yellowstone, and people behave responsibly about it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/science/16grizzly.html


Sea area recovers:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/12/marine-reserve-sets-new-standard-recovery/

[SalviaBlue]

12. I have a garden for the first time in a long time this year.

For years I didn't have enough sun. In my small lot tract home neighborhood, my neighbors beautiful huge tree provided too much shade.

Last year he chopped it down :mad: I was so mad... there was absolutely no reason for killing that tree except that the new owner didn't like to rake leaves.

But, the upside is that I have sun now. :) So I have tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, pole beans,carrots, potatoes, and herbs.

Today for lunch my meal was almost 100% homegrown. That makes me happy.