You, well...most of you...have been following me for a long time. My life has had it's fair shares of ups and downs. Hell, we all have. Well, the next six weeks will be a down swing for Bob and me. We'll be on a very tight, very limited budget.
A few of my friends know what's up, and I don't want to go into every gory, gruesome detail, but suffice it to say that for the next six weeks, we will be practicing "Austerity". We'll be fine...we have two packed freezers and my cabinets are bursting at the seams. We also have a safety net in place, financially, so we'll be ok.
Someone asked what "austerity" meant. It was explained that austerity means to not spend a penny more than what is necessary. We can do this. Our friends do this every single year and they look forward to it.
I'm not saying that we won't go to the store. Of course, we'll go to the store. We have a few items that we have decided that it is ok to purchase: milk and dairy products, eggs, fresh produce, coffee and our never-ending supply of bottled water. We do not drink our tap water in here because it's just...well...it tastes gross. The dogs and cats are completely stocked up for what they need, too. The only pet purchases that should be necessary are Puppa's medication that he takes daily.
I do plan to come on here in the next six weeks and prepare our most favorite recipe, to date, that I have prepared on our culinary tour of the world, with all my modifications, of course, because I have all the ingredients to do that.
This will give us the opportunity to clear out the freezers to make way for Spring's bounty of fresh produce. This will give me the opportunity to create in the galley, which, you all know, is something that I dearly love to do. I doubt I'll be doing much looking online at recipes...that always sidetracks me and I HAVE to run to the store for those two little damn ingredients that I don't have on hand. Forget it!!! Make do!!
I hope that Bob, Ralph and I enjoy this as much as our friends do.
So, I just wanted to let everyone know what was up as far as cooking around the globe...it's on hold for a short while...but I will most certainly get back to that and the next country up will be El Salvador.
So...stay tuned for what I come up with next out of the kitchen...this could get verrrrry interesting!!
PEACE!
Oh...P.S. These pictures were taken on the way to visit my brother on New Year's Day...these are of Spirit Lake Highway and Silver Lake.
Beautiful pics! I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience. Ash and I have done something similar in the past and it's amazing what you can do with what you have when you can't just run out and buy something.
ReplyDeleteI do not know if I'm looking forward to this or if I'm anxious. I'm the type that has these two freezers completely crammed full and I don't want a single thing in either one of them. It's time for....a cool change....
DeleteHello Laurrie, I stumbled upon your blog as I was searching for a recipe for cotlets the other day. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading about all of your food ventures! I have been reading some of your posts every night (trying to start from the beginning) and you are such a positive, inspirational breath of fresh air. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I really am enjoying your blog and of course all your yummy dinner ideas! I'm excited to see what you will be whipping up with your new "austerity" approach.
DeleteHi Terra! I'm always super excited when I see a new face on here!! I hope you're not a stranger and drop in and say HI every now and then. I'm not sure if prime rib, rib steaks and the like are considered "austerity" but we have plenty of that stuff out in the freezer!!
DeleteAnd cross your fingers that these water pipes of ours don't burst before they thaw...that would blow Austerity right out the window, although, it wouldn't go against austerity because we need to have water!!
DeleteThere's just the two of us but we buy in bulk and fill our outside freezer. HRH cuts up all the meat and trims the chicken and makes the burger patties and I do the packaging. My favorite shopping trip is freezer spelunking!
ReplyDeleteI hear that!! I don't mind trimming and making patties and all that. I findly, curiously, satisfying to butcher. Once you know how something is put together, it just all makes sense in the scheme of things.
DeleteWe were meant to follow each other! My husband and I also are going through a challenging Jan. For 31 days, I have to feed my family of 4 adults on pretty much what I have stocked up with. We are going from being paid once a week to a new job, that pays once a month! Ouch and our first check won't come till February.
ReplyDeleteThis is so refreshing for me, to read how others make do.
I am super glad to have you follow me!! We do get paid once a week, but my husband had an overpayment on his unemployment from last year that has to be paid back, so I'm glad we stocked up. I'm the type of person who can have two freezers completely stuffed full, and usually do, and nothing looks good and so I run to the store. Enough of that jazz...we're sticking solely to the freezers and the acceptable list of what we can purchase at the store. Don't be a stranger!!
Delete