uvlocalvores : field notes

When I committed to doing the Pennywise Challenge I was not
anticipating the difficulty; I thought I could just add up my
grocery receipts. But what’s the cost of the green beans, basil and
tomatoes that I grew in my garden and froze? How do I figure the
cost of that splash of maple syrup in my coffee each morning or the
sprinkle of nutmeg on my dandelion greens? How do I price the veggies I’ve received monthly from my Luna Bleu Farm winter CSA
share? (It’s been a wonderful bargain - I paid about $70 for my
quarter share which brought me 6 months of farm-stored organic
vegetables: beets, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic,
cabbage, celeriac, rutabagas, winter squash, some herbs and spring
greens and spinach . . . but how to figure the cost of one potato
or carrot?!)I’ve decided not to worry about the cost of spices, salt, and tiny
amounts of things like mustard or baking soda. I’ll compute my CSA
share as one sixth of $70 (ie. one month) divided by 4 (one week)
to say that all the CSA veggies used this week cost me $2.90. To
that amount I will add what I spent on locally-roasted organic
coffee ($3.64) and local organic milk ($2.99) for the week.($2.90 +
3.64 + 2.99 = $9.53) For the rest, I will try to itemize each
meal’s ingredients. My exceptions or “wildcards” are coffee, black
tea, spices, salt, leavening agents and Hellman’s mayonnaise.
**********************
Monday April 23

Breakfast: coffee, potato pancakes with homemade applesauce and maple
yogurt

organic potato and onion - CSA
1 egg $.28
T. local organic whole wheat flour .02
1/2 cup organic maple yogurt .50
2 T. homemade maple-applesauce .15 ?
Baking powder, salt, pepper -
—–
$.85

Lunch: grilled cheese sandwich with homemade mustard, homemade
pickles, carrot sticks, cider

Grafton Cheddar cheese $.50
homemade mustard -
2 slices honey wheat bread
(made with locally grown flour) .40
homemade maple bread & butter pickles .10 ?
1 organic carrot - CSA
1 cup cider .29
____
$1.29

Snack: Mint tea from foraged mint - Free

Dinner: Sauted tempeh in cider/maple syrup marinade, wheat berries
with onions and celeriac, buttered beets, cider

Organic tempeh (locally grown soy beans) $ .93
organic onion, celeriac, beets - CSA
butter .10

2 tsp. maple syrup .10
1 cup cider .29
______

$1.52

Tuesday April 24

Breakfast: Coffee, hot cream of cornmeal cereal with milk and
maple syrup

1/4 cup organic cornmeal $ .06
1 cup organic milk $ .75
1 T maple syrup $ .16
______
$ .97

Lunch: Gypsy Soup, grilled cheese, maple seltzer, maple ice cream
with syrup

Gypsy soup with organic carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, rutabaga,
celeriac from CSA and frozen green beans, tomatoes, basil from my garden.
There were so many green beans from my one packet of seeds - cost
incidental. What is the cost of one tomato from my garden? $ .20?
The recipe made about 4 servings so I’m going to say that the
tomato, basil and green beans cost .10 per serving beyond the cost
of the CSA veggies.)

Gypsy Soup .10
cheese $ .50
2 slices bread $ .40
maple seltzer $ .68
local organic maple ice cream $1.25
1 T maple syrup $ .16
______

$ 3.09

Dinner: Black bean-wheat berry chili with sprinkling of cheese,
foraged dandelion greens sauted with onions, buttered toast, mint
tea

black beans $ .25
organic wheat berries .10
1/2 tomato (from my garden) .10 ?
organic carrot, onion, garlic - CSA
herbs & spices -
1 T. cheddar cheese .10
2 slices honey-wheat bread .40
butter .10
foraged dandelion greens - Free
foraged mint - Free
________

$1.05

Wednesday, April 25

Breakfast: French toast with maple syrup, coffee

2 slices honey wheat bread $ .40
1 egg .28
1/2 cup milk .38
2 T maple syrup .32
butter .10 ?
coffee (at hospital) .75
____
$2.23

Lunch: Egg salad sandwich, pickles, cider

2 eggs $ .56
chives (from pot on windowsill) - Free
2 slices honey wheat bread $ .40
1 T mayo .10
homemade bread & butter pickles .10 ?
1 cup cider .29
_____
$1.45

Dinner: Butternut burger, mashed potatoes, dandelion greens sauted
with onion, buttered beets, black tea

Butternut burger (recipe made 2 servings):
Local butternuts $ .50 ?
1 slice bread .20
carrot, onion CSA
1 egg .28
2 T. cheddar cheese .20
dried thyme (from my herb garden) - Free
$1.18 for 2 burgers

1 butternut burger $.59
potato, beets CSA
butter .10
foraged dandelion greens Free
black tea .10
______
$ .79

(The running total for these 3 days is $22.77 and includes the
week’s supply of coffee, milk and CSA veggies.)

Thursday April 26

Breakfast: Coffee, cornmeal pancakes with maple syrup.

1/2 c. organic cornmeal $ .13
1/4 c. organic w.w. flour .06
1.egg .28
1/4 c. organic milk .19
1 T butter .24
baking powder/soda, salt -
3 T. maple syrup .48
—-
$1.38

Lunch: Butternut burger, lettuce, bread & butter pickles

butternut burger (see Wed. Dinner) $.59
organic lettuce - CSA
mayo .10
2 slices toasted bread .40
homemade pickles .10
—
$1.19

Dinner: Black bean wheat berry chili with cheese, cornbread with butter, cider, maple ice cream with maple syrup

Black bean/wheat berry Chili recipe (made 4 servings)
black beans $2.00
wheat berries .25
carrots, celeriac, onions garlic CSA
tomatoes (my garden) .20 ?
herbs and spices -
—-
$2.45 for 4 servings 1 serving= $.61

Cornbread Recipe (made 4 servings)
1 cup organic cornmeal $.25
1 cup organic w.w.flour .25
1 egg .28
1 cup organic maple yogurt 1.00
baking soda/powder, salt -
2 T. maple syrup .32
2 T. butter .48
___
$2.58 for 4 servings = $.65 per serving

1 serving chili $.61
Grafton Cheddar .10
1 serving cornbread .65
1 T. butter .24
apple cider .29
organic maple ice cream 1.25
maple syrup .16
—
$3.30

Friday April 27

Breakfast: Coffee, chive and cheese omelet, buttered cornbread

2 eggs $.56
3 T. Grafton cheddar .30
chives - Free (from perennial pot on windowsill)
butter .24
1 serving cornbread .65
—
$1.75

Lunch: Chili with cheese, buttered cornbread, black tea

1 serving chili $.61
1 T. Grafton cheddar .10
1 serving cornbread .65
1 T. Butter .24
—
$1.60

Dinner: Gypsy soup topped with cheese, apple

1 serving Gypsy soup $.10
1 T. Cheddar .10
apple .47
—
$.67

Saturday April 28

Breakfast: Coffee, cheese souffle, buttered toast, midmorning tea

1 egg $.28
1 T. organic w.w. flour .02
1/4 cup organic milk .19
4 T. cheese .40
salt, cayenne -
1 slice toast .20
1/2 T. butter .12
black tea .10
___
$1.31

Lunch: Chili topped with cheese, buttered beets

1 serving chili $.61
1 T. cheese .10
organic beets - CSA
1/2 T. butter .12
—
$.83

Dinner: Sauteed tempeh sandwich with chives and dandelion greens, gypsy soup with cheese

Organic tempeh $.93
2 slices bread .40
chives, dandelion greens - Free
mayo .10
1 serving Gypsy soup .10
1 T. Grafton cheddar .10
——
$1.63

Sunday April 29

Breakfast: Coffee, potato pancakes with maple yogurt

organic potato and onion CSA
1 egg $.28
T. local organic whole wheat flour .02
1/2 cup organic maple yogurt .50
Baking powder, salt, pepper -
—-
$.80

Lunch: Gypsy soup, sauteed slices tempeh

1 serving Gypsy soup $.10
tempeh .93
—
$1.03

Snack: Tea, apple slices, cheese and 1/2 slice chocolate cake (an exception) at friend’s house - Free

Dinner: Birthday celebration at restaurant - Wild card exception!
Margarita ($2.00!), hot rolls with herbed olive oil, Caesar salad

$11.00 with tax and tip included.

4 day total Thu - Sun = $26.49 + previous Mon-Wed $22.77 = $49.26
I measured my bottle of local sunflower oil prior to the start of the Challenge and calculate I used about $1.00 of oil during the week for a grand total of $50.26 for my own food expenses.

I had a guest to lunch on Tuesday and and another to dinner on Thursday - if I add the lunch ($1.29) and dinner ($3.01 - no cider) my grocery bill for the week is $54.56.

Doing the 100 Mile Diet in April in northern New England is a challenge if one wants greens - I was fortunate to have had the first lettuce from my CSA and dandelions cropping up in my yard! Keeping track, calculating and typing this up has felt quite obsessive . . . but, having done so, it is evident that one can eat local (and mostly organic) food well-within the norms of the average food budget for one person. ( $68/week)

Pat McG