Five Frugal Things -- Wild Berries & Cornmeal Pancakes
1) I drove over to my secret blackberry spot and got to work picking wild berries. It's still early in the season, so I'd estimate that just 20% of the berries have ripened, but I still picked enough to fill my milk jug.
Here it is about halfway filled:
Portland hit 89 degrees yesterday, so it was hot work. Especially noticeable as I wore thick jeans to protect my legs from bramble thorns. I probably should've worn long sleeves as well, but overheated at the thought.
Not to brag, but I also "foraged" a plastic water bottle to get that schweet 10¢ deposit! So technically . . . I made money.
It's such an idyllic spot.
2) My husband did his foraging at Whole Foods for his weekly $35 Family Meal to assemble his work lunches. (He works ten hour shifts, so only needs to prep four meals.) He chose the London broil, with green beans and orzo salad as his sides.
The London broil would be much more expensive were he to buy it by the pound.
That's a full four pounds of deli food for just $35. He absolutely loves this new routine, as it's lifted both the mental load and decision fatigue of his weekly meal prep. Plus, the food is much more elevated than what he'd normally cook for himself.
Yes, Schmeff Schmezos is an amoral putz, but sometimes you do the thing that protects your precious free time and mental health.
3) We hosted our weekly family dinner, which enjoyably included their partners. I prepared a "breakfast for dinner" meal featuring a frittata that catered to everyone's various palates and dietary restrictions. Hence the sids of bacon and pickled onions; and pepper-free portion.
Click HERE to read my "Hakuna Frittata" blog post from 2009! I had to replace the photo, as the formatting was completely wonky. I realize from reading my own recipe that I forgot to include potatoes!
I also made a double batch of the Joy of Cooking's cornmeal pancakes, although I swapped out the normal flour with gluten-free flour. This made them much fluffier than usual, which was A-Ok with everyone!
I set an enormous bowl of blackberries on the dining room table, which I somehow didn't photograph.
You can see that I've made this recipe a time or two! We added cornmeal pancakes into our meal rotation in 2002 after watching PBS's historical reenactment documentary Frontier House. (So many cornmeal pancakes in that show!) This 10-episode series set about recreating the conditions that Montana homesteaders faced in the 1880s. Three families participated and it was much more intense than any of them anticipated.
I've since rewatched it a time or two.
4) I did snap a quick photo of dessert, which was vanilla ice cream and also very blackberry forward. I added a drizzle of maple syrup, which was sublime. Very frugal dessert for six people.
5) I had a dental cleaning (with X-rays!) in the morning and walked out with a backup toothbrush and a pair of dental floss samples. You'll be happy to learn that I was deemed dentally healthy. Always a relief!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
You might consider checking out gardening sleeves. Some are hard core (and look hot/heavy) but I have a pair that are pretty utilitarian. They don't cover any part of my hands however.
I suspect black raspberry season is about over in my area. I might pick a few to snack on but the wildlife usually gets most of them.
Good to know about gardening sleeves. I've never heard of them before but I may need some if my Raspberry bushes get any thicker. I planted a single bush quite a few years ago which has spread and morphed into quite the tangle.
You can also purchase gardening pants that look like they are made of mosquito netting - you wear them over shorts. Google it.
Thanks Jean!
I received 2,500 points on Fetch for buying from Chewy. I also redeemed Fetch points for $25 to use on Chewy next time.
Made another 2 sales on EBay.
Froze basil using 2 different methods to see which I like better.
Am .20 in nickels wealthier due to a charity sending them in their mailer to try and make me feel obligated to donate. I tend to donate to charities that don’t send me multiple mailings.
Got a free badly needed car wash thanks to a surprise storm when I was in town.
Hospital husband works for is switching over computer systems which of course is a big stressful thing. Thankfully they are providing free snacks during this time, which helps a little.
Cornmeal pancakes sound delicious!
1) Continuing to make iced green tea, iced blueberry green tea and lemonade at home. Lemonade is being made with Trader Joe’s lemon juice. I ran out of frozen concentrate and thought – “This is dumb. I can make it myself!” Family’s general consensus is that we like it better too.
2) Clothes out on the line as much as possible. My max is drying four loads a day, but that period is almost over based on the angle of the sun for our clothes line. Today we are also keeping a nose out for Canadian wildfire smoke making its way to us, but the breeze is blowing hard enough that the clothes will dry fast without smoke smell.
3) Thunderstorms in our rural part of New England often mean we lose power as all lines are above ground and on tree lined roads. I have charged up all our battery powered products – cell chargers, lamps, lanterns etc and have made sure the solar ones are being charged daily. Not having to use a bunch of single use batteries is a win for me.
4) Trying, not always succeeding, at using up the produce from our CSA before it gives up the ghost. Today’s use for elderly mushrooms, scraggly green onions and baby bok choy was fried rice for DS. Veggies used up and consumed by him are a double win.
5) Someone mentioned “shopping at home” earlier this week and I am trying to do that first. I found just the right scoop for our dish washer powder in the laundry room.
6) Also trying to send things out of the house weekly. A bag of aspirational summer clothes went last week to the thrift store and a pile of papers from early adulthood went to recycling. I had this awareness recently that I am basically “renting” all my belongings so it makes sense to return (to the Universe) what I am not using. And the conversations about cleaning out loved ones houses resonated with me. I handled my aunt and uncle’s house and will be first up for my parents as well. I best make it as easy as possible on DS who is an only child.
Love your #6; renting from the universe is so true.
Cornmeal pancakes sound like something I need to do! I am lacking the berries, however.
1. I listed another item on eBay, and then for a while I researched marbles because I have a bag of them to sell. When my eyes started crossing I quit!
2. Someone asked for measurements on a sweater I'm selling, so I'm hoping another sale may be coming up.
3. I put holds on four more books.
4. A frugal fail -- I forgot about the grapes I had, and they were hiding in the crisper, so they went bad. It would have been so easy to freeze them, had I only remembered.
5. I called my rep at my healthcare insurance provider to make sure my dentist is included in the HMO plan. I need to make an appointment, but the receptionist doesn't seem to think my insurance is accepted there. (It's new insurance this year.). I'm pretty sure she's wrong, but I need authorization. Still waiting on the callback.
6. Heat wave continues. Today I have the AC and the fans going. There is hope that there will be rain tonight, and that will give us a break.
I never saw Frontier House, but I saw a British show called 1890s House (or something similar) and I was unimpressed with the contestants who complained about conditions that looked a lot like those in my Victorian rental at the time!
My secret blackberry patch isn’t ripe yet. Maybe I should double check it?
One recession indicator I’ve noticed is that almost every receipt I pick up in the Winco parking lot was paid in EBT! I figure that if I scan those into fetch, I might end up in fetch jail.
When at the GW bins, keep an eye out for a hickory shirt. They wear like iron and the briars don't penetrate the tight cotton. There are shark sleeves, aka cut resistant sleeves, I have a pair that I bought from a home & garden trade show 3 decades ago. Shmeshzoff has em for under $10.
My blackberries are a month off. Picked a gallon of blues and a hallock of strawberries.
Washing winter down comforters and drying in the sun.
Cabinet shop brought a dump trailer full of wood chips and shavings.
Took a cargo load of recyclables to the depot. Dropped off half of a truck bed of metal bits and bobs to the community metal collector who gives the monies to local kids non profits.
I have completed my Swedish Death Cleaning of the laundry room, pantry, mudroom bathroom, kitchen and not so formal dining hall. Next the family room and hall cupboards and drawers. It is a great hot day activity.
1. Using filtered rainwater for things like boiling pasta and eggs.
2. One of my sons is a week into a hospital stay an hour away, and we're in a routine of going down there during the doctor rounds/lunch hour time, and I finally got off my tuchus and packed a lunch rather than rely on the cafeteria. I have multiple food allergies, and not only does this save money, but it avoids me having my OWN medical crisis which we very much do not need right now, thank you.
3. We had some paperwork we needed one of DS's providers to fill out, so I took it down with me and walked it over to her office which is across the street from the hospital. Saved a stamp, time, and gas by not driving there from the hospital.
4. DH is fine-tuning our spending (anticipating his retirement this fall) and it's very freeing letting him take over what we call "logistics" (the acquisition of needed things). Plus he's excellent at it.
5. Hanging out laundry to dry, cooking outside to avoid adding heat to the house, reading library books, basically the Lather-Rinse-Repeat of frugality.
Karen A.,
If you did NOT salt the water, the water in which you boiled the eggs is fantastic for watering your plants with. Of course, you must wait until the water is cool. Not super cool; room temperature would be fine. I imagine the pasta water would be OK as well; again, it should not contain any salt.
Good to know Lisa! It never occurred to me to use the boiled egg water...not sure why it hasn't since we pay quarterly for water and sewer and we're usually very careful...but I will now. I do use the tea kettle water leftover from the previous day and the dehumidifier water for watering plants. Thanks.
In the adjacent theme of electricity saving (and mostly, just my impatience): I've begun putting my hot water from the kettle straight into a thermos in the morning. It stays hot all day so I don't have to reheat the water every time for my inevitable 4+ cups of tea.
Great idea. I do this during blizzards in case we lose electricity (I need my hot tea) but it's nice to have hot water available quickly on an every day basis too.
"Amoral putz?!" I nominate you the queen of quirky insults! But it's difficult to read while you're laughing...
Frugalwise, it's been a bust -- but for a good reason. We had to make an emergency visit to see a friend in hospital two hours drive away. Thankfully, she's recovering.
Will have to use my microwave in a different way as the punch buttons on the left side no longer work. So instead of 30 sec or 1 min intervals, I'll have to set it at 3 minutes then stop it when the 30 to 60 sec are up. Why, oh why, don't manufacturers use dials and sturdier parts that don't wear out? (Can we say planned obsolence, boys and girls?)
My cleaning lady/friend had to postpone coming yesterday because I had a migraine headache. So, bless her heart, she brought me a plate of soul food: a pork chop, green beans and fruit salad. Love that home cooking! I had a very delicious free lunch today!
Used a sample tea bag I was given. Made a cup of chai tea. Very tasty! Will be buying a box in the near future.
I loved the Frontier series and the 1890s house (a British production) so much that my son made me promise to never sign us up for anything like that.
Today I shampooed, conditioned and brushed out both our dogs, which probably would have cost $45 per dog done at a salon, but did get a $12 car wash. I have had to make some concessions to worsening spinal arthritis and have budgeted for a monthly car wash. Ditto for getting my hair cut, as it's now too difficult for me to trim up the back of my hair myself now that arthritis has fused my thumb. That I did yesterday and enjoyed the senior discount price.
Had leftover tuna casserole for lunch today with a side of sale watermelon. Found a penny on the self-checkout tray at the grocery store.
Ruby,
There used to be a computer game called the Oregon Trail, and IIRC, players had to equip themselves to travel the trail much like 19th Century pioneers would IRL. If you liked those shows, I bet you'd like this game. Not sure if it is still available, though.
In the 1970's we played Oregon Trail on the computer at school. Connected to a computer several hundred miles away (at the University) via a phone modem (rotary dial phone) No graphics, list of supplies and resources left after each decision you made was printed out on the teletype . Very high tech for a tiny little school with a math and science teacher interested in computer science. And, yes, I think I could still make a basic program with punch cards or paper rolls. I always have to remember that all computers can only "read' two things - off or on (1 or 2) and you can never have better data out than data in.
I didn't encounter a computer in school until maybe 11th grade, when I took a "computers" class. Otherwise there were zero computers in my classrooms.
Ruby, I hear you about the arthritis. So far, my spine is OK, but I can definitely feel it in my knees and hips. All of a sudden, those senior jokes about being in bed with Ben Gay and Arthur Itis don't seem so funny any more. 🙁
Auto-immune arthritis runs on both sides of my family. I don't have it yet, but the rhumetologist has greatly increased the frequency of my visits for him to see how far things bend because they just aren't doing that well.
As I sometimes say to DH: " This getting old is for the birds." Well, in spite of that, I'm glad I'm still above ground and happy that Tylenol is an arm's reach away!
After joint replacements I say I'm not in my golden years I'm in my titanium years.
I watched all those shows! Edwardian house was also good, although the participants didn't take it seriously enough.
FFT, Odds and Ends Edition:
(1) The basket I bought at a garage sale on Saturday for $1 has already found its use: It's perfect for transporting dried herbs from my attic to the dining room, where I grind the herbs and put them into reused spice bottles (McCormick, Spice Island, Penzeys, etc.; my regular "customers" know that I always appreciate the return of the empties). I'm spending this week of beastly hot days largely indoors, catching up on indoor things, of which herb processing is one.
(2) I applied $13.90 in NY State deposit container returns (three bags full) to Monday's tab at Wegmans, bringing it down from $62 to $48. And I found 15 cents in the coin return machine.
(3) I also found some Reduced for Quick Sale turkey thighs at Weggies, which I roasted Monday afternoon so as not to have to cook anything on Tuesday (which broke several local records for heat).
(4) On discovering that my annual mammogram is almost 6 months overdue (either my PCP's office or the imaging office slipped up here), I've called both offices and scheduled myself a mammo. My family history of breast cancer is as long as my arm, so I don't take this lightly.
(5) And I haven't just had to shell out $5.6 million (FINALLY!) to a woman I groped several years ago and have been fighting in court ever since. Three cheers for E. Jean Carroll!
I also didn't have to pay out 5.6 million dollars.
The cornmeal pancakes sound good. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
1. DH cooked pancakes outside in our screened in breezeway. The electric griddle really makes the house feel hot so he cooked them outside.
2. I went to Aldi to grab some produce and dairy products. When I checked out my groceries were placed in another cart. When I tried to return it I discovered it didn't have a quarter in it. I went back inside and the checker gave me a quarter.
3. A neighbor shared some excess summer squash.
4. We stopped at a local bookstore and donated dome books we didn't want. We also brought along some puzzles for their puzzle exchange. We came home with some new to us puzzles.
5. We stopped into a consignment shop that reopened after a fire. DH made an appointment with the owner to bring in some items in October.
Katy, Avoiding the cyclosporiasis outbreak is definitely a frugal win — those local berries are extremely unlikely to be contaminated!
A question about the meal prep from the store-bought meals: Does he freeze and reheat? Or is the food really still good (not spoiled) on Day 4? My personal limit for leftovers is 3 days (Ex: cook it on Monday, still willing to eat it Tues Wed, maybe Thurs lunch, but prefer to freeze whatever’s left on/by Thursday.) If he’s buying this meal on Sunday, is it still “good” on his 4th day of work?
He buys the food Tuesday afternoon and eats it until Saturday. He says it keeps fine and so far has not suffered any ill effects.
Loved Frontier House and love cornmeal pancakes!
1. I went to Dollar General after court and bought pickles, tp, paper towels, $1 birthday cards, and something else I am forgetting. I also got a coupon for the weekend to continue buying what I have run low on during my recent belt tightening.
2. I walked an hour this morning.
3. I ate leftover chicken and more
of the cucumbers my neighbor gave me.
4. I washed my dress after court and hung it up to dry.
5. I am watching the incoming lightning storm for entertainment. I am inside with the windows shut.
All those PBS House shows I found on DVD at tns library
Day 6 of stomach bug. I'm not going anywhere except to ER last night for fluids and antibiotics. My copay for ER was waived because my doctor's office was supposed to get me in for an IV in the office and the staff did not get it done.
A friend dropped off a chunk of salmon that he had caught. Dh will eat it for dinner tonight.
I sold an item yesterday and today on fb marketplace, and one on ebay.
That's about it for me!
Poor you...I hope you feel better soon
I'm so sorry to read that you're under the weather, I hope you get better soon.
Those blackberries look delicious.
1. DH found .11 on the ground today.
2. With the wildfire smoke drifting down from the north, I wasn't able to hang laundry outside today and with the forecast being the same for tomorrow, I'll hopefully be able to hang it outside on Friday. In a positive light, I'm getting a little break from laundry.
3. I love Susie's Daughter's comment about renting our belongings from the universe. It makes donating or selling our items easier to do. And I've long loved the idea of someone else finding a use or need for things I no longer want.
4. I have 3 books on hold at the library, two of which were written by my favorite cozy mystery writer Alexander McCall Smith, author of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency series.
5. There is a Paul McCartney tribute show tomorrow night at the library, free. I plan on going and hopefully a friend or two will be there, too.
I would love to see a Paul McCartney tribute show! Some years ago I went to a Beatles tribute show, and it was very good!
Are you in Massachusetts? Or northern Connecticut? Meet me at the library!
Wouldn't that be fun? Alas, I am in the Chicago area.
We left our vacation rental in northern Minnesota today as planned, which is a good thing since wildfire smoke woke me up this morning. It's bad.
We were planning to go out to eat twice during our vacation, but didn't go either time. We wanted to stay at the cottage that we paid so much for, plus we had A LOT of food from home.
Now I'm home and back on frugal ground, although I may have taken my share of free coffee, tea and cookies at the lodge.
I’m working my gig in So California. My friend upgraded my ticket to first class on one of the flights.
I did carry on to avoid baggage fees. Packed my water bottle and ate the airline provided snacks.
Enjoying my “jobcation”
Since you guys do go to Whole Foods, you might see if they do the Too Good to Go App. I know by me they do like five separate entities, baker, meats, etc. And are priced very reasonable. That would also be a way to get variety into lunches, etc. Lots of other businesses may be participating in your area as well. I like to make a game of it sometime to see how many I can get in one day.
I've seen that, but the pickup time is around 9:30 P.M. and I'm pretty much tucked at that time of night.
Just wanted to say that I searched and found Frontier House free on Netflix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ev4XULGng&list=PL72jhKwankOhv7Km9MnrvKrfZ8hhHnpAc&index=1