Omg. This is amazing. I have some questions. For the tofu and green beans stir-fry, how much tofu are you using in that meal and where do you get it? Also, can Mark tell me how to make Moroccan squash stew? I remember him being so calm, quiet, and fast in the kitchen and suddenly there’s the most perfect buttercream frosted blueberry lavender cake from the blueberries we picked. Hashtag goals.
We have the space, so we have a separate freezer in the basement and a farm share for 9 months of the year. I do a lot of batch cooking (mostly soups, stews, pasta sauce, pestos, beans, gratins, muffins) to save money and have something fast to heat up and have with a quick side salad. We don’t grocery shop as much as we used and eating seasonal local produce has really changed how I cook and work with what we have. The fish, tempeh, eggs, and tofu have gotten much more pricey though.
I LOVE this level of detail. Especially as I am wondering what to cook tonight. We, too, cook every meal at home (and eat from the same Dwell Studio placemats!!). Thanks so much for posting all of this. I tend to feel alone as a New Yorker that almost never eats out.
Yes, we track all our expenses on an excel spreadsheet (since we were engaged 25+ years ago). Now, we can look back at what we spend on groceries (in detail!) 20 years ago. We are around $750 per month for a family of 5, which feels like it works. Similar to your lives, we are both self employed and pay our own retirement and health insurance (gah!!) and though we make more now, we are trying so hard to stay in the budget frame of mind. We have "outer dinner" (the kids started calling it that when they were little and it stuck) once a week, and everything else at home - which we love, too. Simplicity and restraint are values we are (not always perfectly) trying to incorporate more in our daily lives. I often fill a cart with clothes or ceramics online, then close the browser tab. It works (most of the time). We will check out Jinny's Kitchen. My girls love all things K, even though they are half Indian (dot not feather) - go figure! Also, I love that you casually dropped that you guys know V - my girls would go bananas (they are 7 and 9). As always, thank you for sharing!!!
We have also recently started cooking at home more and I am the resident "cook". It's a great exercise in saving money. And I find that we're eating fresher, healthier food with less chemical additives. I absolutely would love a "Mark's recipe" article here and there!
Omg. This is amazing. I have some questions. For the tofu and green beans stir-fry, how much tofu are you using in that meal and where do you get it? Also, can Mark tell me how to make Moroccan squash stew? I remember him being so calm, quiet, and fast in the kitchen and suddenly there’s the most perfect buttercream frosted blueberry lavender cake from the blueberries we picked. Hashtag goals.
We have the space, so we have a separate freezer in the basement and a farm share for 9 months of the year. I do a lot of batch cooking (mostly soups, stews, pasta sauce, pestos, beans, gratins, muffins) to save money and have something fast to heat up and have with a quick side salad. We don’t grocery shop as much as we used and eating seasonal local produce has really changed how I cook and work with what we have. The fish, tempeh, eggs, and tofu have gotten much more pricey though.
I LOVE this level of detail. Especially as I am wondering what to cook tonight. We, too, cook every meal at home (and eat from the same Dwell Studio placemats!!). Thanks so much for posting all of this. I tend to feel alone as a New Yorker that almost never eats out.
Yes, we track all our expenses on an excel spreadsheet (since we were engaged 25+ years ago). Now, we can look back at what we spend on groceries (in detail!) 20 years ago. We are around $750 per month for a family of 5, which feels like it works. Similar to your lives, we are both self employed and pay our own retirement and health insurance (gah!!) and though we make more now, we are trying so hard to stay in the budget frame of mind. We have "outer dinner" (the kids started calling it that when they were little and it stuck) once a week, and everything else at home - which we love, too. Simplicity and restraint are values we are (not always perfectly) trying to incorporate more in our daily lives. I often fill a cart with clothes or ceramics online, then close the browser tab. It works (most of the time). We will check out Jinny's Kitchen. My girls love all things K, even though they are half Indian (dot not feather) - go figure! Also, I love that you casually dropped that you guys know V - my girls would go bananas (they are 7 and 9). As always, thank you for sharing!!!
Thank you so much for your post in all its detail! I have been eating mostly at home and
cooking budget friendly meals from scratch all my life. With the inflation and the ensuing
cost of living crisis in Europe at the moment, we also have to be more and more careful where and what we shop, so a lot of coupon saving,
penny pinching and studying of prices at supermarkets is a weekly routine.. how lucky to have your in house chef who is so creative in the kitchen! :)
We have also recently started cooking at home more and I am the resident "cook". It's a great exercise in saving money. And I find that we're eating fresher, healthier food with less chemical additives. I absolutely would love a "Mark's recipe" article here and there!