Sunday, May 20, 2012

Home Economics

May 20, 2012

Did anyone take home economics in middle or high school?  I took two semesters in middle school, in which I learned (among other things) to bake a cake from scratch (no cake mix from the box), sew a hem onto trousers, and perform a manicure.  It was absolutely hilarious watching the football players giving each other manicures. I am so glad that they were taught the value of having healthy cuticles.  

While these are awesome skills to have, one thing I don't remember is the economic part of home economics, also known as how to run your household on a budget or how to cut costs from your existing budget.  That lesson did not come until 11th grade Economics class, and it seems to have taken a worldwide recession and part-time work to really drive the points home for me. 

In my ongoing pursuit of physical fitness and having to cut household costs before moving to Europe, I have gotten very creative about where I find the calories that I eat (see my post about foraging).  I'm trying to get the most nutritious bang for the buck, and have been pleasantly surprised with the results.  I wanted to show you that you CAN eat healthy, local and gourmet food on a reasonable budget, but you have to do some work and be open to trying new foods.

BUT.... you often also have to sacrifice something.  This may mean that you have to give up 15 minutes of TV time to chop up your own veggies, or just cut back on your $25 foie gras burger a week habit. (Sean, nothing can replace the Red Fish kobe beef foie gras black truffle cheeseburger, but, a girl's gotta do something!)

There unfortunately comes a time when the weekly luxurious dinner treat is no longer economical or good for you.  It actually was never either in the first place.

Doug and I together have cut our food budget down in a huge way by doing three things.  
1. We "eat out" 1 night a week, and it's usually around $10 per person. 
(Think Chipotle, falafel cart or Chop't)
2. We prepare and cook everything else from scratch at home. You can control the salt content, and know exactly what's in your food.  It may take 30-60 minutes each night to cook, but, it's worth it for me. It helps me to wind down from the day and relax.  
Short on time?  Dust off your CrockPot or cook and prepare on the weekends.
3. Eat. More. Beans.  Yep.  They're cheap and there are a thousand ways to cook them. When paired with rice or quinoa, they provide complete protein.

90% of the food we buy comes from the Arlington Courthouse Farmer's Market.  Everyone thinks that farmer's markets are super expensive, but it's not!  You will soon see why.....

Below is $85 dollars worth of groceries, all from the farmer's market.  
This is 90% of what we eat in two weeks. I'm serious. 



What is all this? (10 dinners, 10 lunches and 10 breakfasts!)
- broccoli - enough for 4 stir-fry portions
- fennel bulbs and fronds -  4 portions 
- onions - goes into everything we cook
- turnips and greens - 4 portions
- 16 oz of honey
- 1 pound bag of spinach - 4 portions
- 1 pound of asparagus
- kholrabi - 4 portions in stir-fry
- lettuce - 4 large portions
- 1/2 pound heritage breed Maryland grown pork tenderloin
- 1 pound heritage breed Maryland grown pork mexican chorizo 
- 2.5 pound Virginia grown bison shoulder roast - 8 portions!
- dozen free-range eggs
- 1/2 pound of aged Monterrey jack cheese
- 4 tubs of local 0% Greek-style yogurt
- a chocolate chip cookie and a pain au chocolat  :)

The veggies vary from week to week, depending on what's in season.  In January I was having to get creative with all the kale, sweet potatoes and apples we had to buy week after week....

We also try to buy veggies that produce little waste after cleaning. This saves you money too!
100% of the leaves and stems of the broccoli, turnips, fennel and kohlrabi are cooked and eaten.

Last week we planned ahead and spent $35 extra on 4 weeks worth of strawberries to put in the freezer, which we thaw and put into our yogurt every morning. That's $1.45 per person - 5 large strawberries each. 

We spend about $20 a week on other foodstuffs at the regular grocery or Whole Foods.
What do we buy there?  The Staples: milk, flour, yeast, raw nuts, lemons, spices, fresh ginger, dried beans, canned tomatoes, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, stone-ground grits, oats, brown rice.
No soda. No chips. No frozen ready meals. No booze (beer has it's own separate budget in our house).

For two people, that is a total of $100-120 per week.   
That's $5 per meal ($2.50 per person!) for healthy, super fresh, locally grown food.  
You can't spend $5 at Chic-fil-a and get the same kind of nutrition or value.
I don't think you can buy a Lean Cuisine for less than $5 in DC.
I know that this is a great way to lose weight, eat healthy, and support local agriculture.  
How?
Since August 2011 I have lost 17 pounds and am wearing clothes I have not seen since college. 
I have lost 3 dress sizes since 2008.
Local eating a win-win and you just can't get the same benefits from Diet Coke and Ramen noodles. 

What can you do?  Find a Farmer's Market, local CSA or road-side stand.  No farmer's market?  Every town has a Costco or Sam's Club!  Buy your veg in bulk and it really cuts down on cost, especially when you buy citrus and poultry.  You CAN have a healthy and ecological diet without breaking the bank and I promise - it will change your life.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Spring Foraging

May 19, 2012

Ah, yes. Spring.  Warm weather, longer days, and things are blooming!  In this kind of weather, I take my daily anti-histamine and start walking all over the roadways, trails and off the beaten path.  I am a huge fan of foraging for edibles in our environment, not only because it's FREE, but they are also interesting to cook with. In the past I've written about finding blackberries and pecans in South Carolina, but Virginia has presented me with more interesting options!

Straight away, I must thank my mother Ginny Summerour Barber, both grandmothers (Ruby Messer Barber and Mary Lynn Morris Summerour) and my cousin Buddy Cook for teaching me about wild edible plants and flowers in the Southern United States.

My two latest finds have been right here in the heart of the city, within a mile of my apartment and where I least expected to find something edible. This spring's "foraging" has taught me two important things: 1. weeds and trees are everywhere.  2. most people don't know what they have growing in their own yards.

Almost every day I walk past the Arlington fire station 10 here in Rosslyn.  They have a lovely herb garden between the sidewalk and their front door and currently, their chives are in full bloom. These beautiful, tiny purple flowers are dainty and add a nice mild onion burst of flavor when you add them to your food.  After asking permission from one of the firemen to collect a few flowers, I recently took several home and added them to my tempeh sweet potato curry.  It was such a pretty, gourmet touch to my cooking - and it did not cost me a thing!  The firemen thought I was crazy, and I am, but it was also a teaching moment, I think I convinced them to sprinkle some chive flowers on top of their next batch of alfredo pasta before serving.

Tempeh sweet potato curry with chive flowers


Last weekend, Danger, Doug and I were walking along the C&O Canal in Georgetown, when I noticed a few familiar berries smashed into the walkway, and hanging from a tree above - a type that I remembered picking in my grandmother's Atlanta backyard during my childhood.  No, it was not the blood of Pyramus. I had stumbled upon a mulberry tree.
In the last two weeks the little tart pink berries are ripening and the birds are going crazy for them.  As you can see in the picture below they look kind of like an oblong blackberry, but the taste is very different.  Their flavor is a little lemony with a mild sweetness. Mix them into your morning yogurt or sprinkle on top of vanilla ice cream. WOW!

Unripe and ripe mulberries on a mulberry leaf. The ring is a size 5, for scale.


I like to write about foraging to encourage you to be more aware of your surroundings, and spark further interest in the natural world.  Foraging is so much fun, and another way to get you and your family out of the house, exercising and learning about nature.  

Here are some educational resources on foraging and edible flowers:





*Just because it is "natural" and came out of the woods does not mean it's safe to eat! Please confirm your plant identification and/or consult a trusted naturalist before digging in!*