31 July 2010
The Great Kitchen Stockpile Experiment
After eight weeks of blissful cohabitation, my boyfriend completed his summer research grant at USC. Last weekend, he flew home to the Bay Area for some R&R before school starts at the end of August. I am alone in the apartment for the first time since I moved in at the beginning of June, and I'm learning what it is like to live solo, full-time (at least for now). The first day or two were unsettling - it was so quiet, there was no one to talk to - but after the work week began, I got into the groove and am actually enjoying the freedom. Of course I miss him, but I can wake up when I want, spend my time doing whatever I want, make decisions and then change them, eat pasta out of tupperware and tuna mashed with celery and mayo for dinner if I so choose. I can also embark on a food project the likes of which have been unknown to my post-college life until now: I'm calling it The Great Kitchen Stockpile Experiment.
You see, I am kind of a foodie. While I earn almost nothing (for doing a good amount of work, I might add), I have expensive tastes. I like Greek yogurt, organic chicken, pasta that doesn't gum up (Trader Joe's brand, I'm talking to you), natural peanut butter, La Brea Bakery bread, sliced turkey that actually falls apart, berries in the summer... and these things add up. My grocery bill in any given week, for one person, can easily be $100 (although more like $75). And that is ridiculous. I can't eat like I'm making $50,000 for very long. At some point, something's gotta give.
So, I changed a few things. I started a worm bin outside in my little patio area. That way, kitchen scraps don't go to waste, I reduce the volume of trash I create each day, one trash bag lasts longer, and I feel less wasteful. Plus, after three months I have beautiful rich dark soil to plant things in. Or, at least, that is the plan. I got my worms 6 weeks ago, so in mid-September the compost should be ready.
The worm bin.
With the lid off. For every layer of food, you have to add a layer of shredded newspaper, or fallen leaves, or some other pulpy substance.
What it looks like a few inches below the surface. Organic, black, moist goodness. The worms are shy little guys... I haven't seen them in months.
Secondly, I joined a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) group in early June. The Silver Lake one in which I belong was only established last year, so I was lucky to get a spot without waiting. The idea is that you pay upfront for 10 or 5 weeks of veggies from a local farm. You become a shareholder in the farm's operations, and the farmer has a financial commitment to continue growing food, while customers are treated to a box of fresh veggies every week or every other week. The bounty changes with the season, and everything is organic or organic-minus-the-costly-government-certification. I figured that by paying for two months of veggies, I would no longer have to buy them at the store, reducing my weekly bill. While I still am in the habit of picking up the same handful of items every week (grape tomatoes, cucumber, romaine lettuce, apples), I am trying to better about leaving these behind at the store and being creative with veggies I have already paid for.
The last thing I did was face the cost of my luxurious summer weekday breakfasts. Let's do some math.
Trader Joe's Greek yogurt ($2.79 per small carton x 3), Whole Food's granola ($7.99), and a medley of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries totalling $15) = $32 a week. A WEEK!!! For breakfast. Five breakfasts alone were totally 40% or more of my entire grocery bill.
So, I went back to regular yogurt ($2.50 per large carton x 2), replaced granola with dry muesli ($3.50), and replaced berries with bananas ($2). I bought a bag of raw walnuts to sprinkle on ($8), but the bag lasts one month, so per day that's only about $0.25. Now, a similarly filling and delicious breakfast costs only $11 a week. Of course, going for cereal and soymilk would be even cheaper, but I like to have a filling, proteinaeous meal to start the day. I am proud of the changes I made here.
So what's The Great Kitchen Stockpile Experiment? In short, deplete the stockpile of dry, canned and frozen goods in my kitchen. Because despite the small changes noted above, I still need to put a moratorium on all (but, specifically, grocery) spending until my credit card statement closes around August 10th. My personal commitment is to pay off my CC balance in full, every month, no matter how large it is. I do not accrue interest. If I'm accruing interest, I am spending more than I earn, and that is a slippery slope. So, this month's bill is from June, when I moved apartments and found myself adopting kittens. I must admit, it's a whammer of a bill, and while I can pay it off in full it is the absolute maximum I can afford. I need to be very financially conservative until then. Also, I think I need a good kick-in-the-pants with regards to food expenses. I have a pantry and freezer full of food, as well as a new load of CSA veggies and fruits. Between these three things, I can make it another ten days without new food in the house. I last bought groceries one week ago, on Sunday July 25th. The goal is to make it until at least next Sunday, August 7th, without buying a single thing. At that point, I may need to replenish a few items. But two weeks without buying any food: a milestone in my life!
This morning I pulled my desk chair over to the kitchen, and stood on it to document all the things sitting on the top shelf of my pantry -- the canned goods area. Shall we take a look at what this cupboard looks like?
Top shelf:
Black beans x3
Kidney beans x3
Pinto beans x3
Pomodoro pasta sauce
Plum tomatoes x2
Pumpkin
Corn
Coconut milk
Tuna x5
Satay peanut sauce
Thai red curry sauce
Masala simmer sauce x4
Madarin orange chef sauce
Tahini
Second and third shelves:
2 boxes of cereal
Steel cut oats
Muesli
Raw nuts: walnut, pecan, slivered almonds
Pack of coffee
1 bag brown rice
2 bags basmati white rice
1 box couscous
1 box mac 'n cheese
5 packs of pasta
And the CSA this week (more sparse than usual, due to a change in suppliers):
Turnips
Corn on the cob
Romaine lettuce
Watermelon
A honeydew-like melon
1 large tomato
1 lemon
Already in the crisper/fruit bowl:
More romaine lettuce
Grape tomatoes
1/3 of a cucumber
Celery
Onions
Garlic
Baby carrots
Red bell peppers
Baby Jazz apples
1 small banana
Lemons and limes
As for the freezer... mostly meat and frozen vegetables. Some chicken, a piece of fish, some meatballs. A fair amount of animal protein. The fridge has all the basics. Milk, cheese, butter, eggs, peanut butter, pesto, kalamata olives, deli turkey, some bread.
Enough to feed a small army, as they say. And I'm one gal... without even the boyfriend around to share the burden with his manly appetite.
My first foray into "using up what I have" happened spontaneously last night. I was content with leftover pasta and hummus+carrots, but I needed to at least cook up the boneless, skinless chicken breast I had thawed in the fridge. I get weird about dying from fresh chicken left too long.
My problem is, I have trouble sauteing chicken in a pan on the stove without setting off the smoke alarm. I think the pan gets really, really hot, the olive oil gets really hot, little bits of the chicken blacken and start smoking... and then I've got terrified kittens, worried neighbors, a boyfriend balancing on the sofa to quiet the bleeping plastic alien on the ceiling, and a studio apartment (thus, my entire room) hazy with smoke. The chicken doesn't taste half bad, but in order to cook it through all the way it's gotta stay on the stove top for a LONG time, inevitably burning.
I have resorted to sauteing it a bit and then sticking the entire pan in the oven to roast for 30 minutes. But last night, I didn't want to deal with any of that and decided to find a better way to cook a piece of chicken. I googled "how to cook a boneless, skinless chicken breast" and quickly decided to poach it. This sounded appropriately hunter-like. The actual act was far less sexy than I thought - put chicken in pan, cover with water or broth, bring to boil, simmer for 2 minutes, turn off stove and let sit for 20. My chicken breast was thick, so I had to do it twice. But it worked. The same page that graciously disseminated how to poach also suggested using poached breast in Mulligatawny, a sort of soup. I'd never made it, but I had all the ingredients and thought, "Ha! stockpile reduction, day one!". I found another Mulligatawny recipe by Emeril that called for three times the ingredients and would have been more tasty, but I decided to stay simple. I sauteed onion, celery and carrots in butter, added curry powder, salt and pepper, chicken broth from the poaching, diced chicken breast, heavy cream left over from making chocolate mousse 3 weeks ago, cooked up some brown rice to thicken the soup and voila. A delicious dinner, with leftovers for two more meals.
Blogging about this experiment will hold me accountable, and let me document the project. I may not write about everything I make, but I will check in often. I'm excited to see how well I do. I love a good challenge, and I like succeeding. Who doesn't?
In other domestic news, don't the kittens look good?
The last photos I posted of them showed the stubborn remnants of their upper respiratory infections from the shelter (gunky eyes and noses, Klaus had black stuff in his ears... plus the coughing and sneezing). After a visit to the vet, a round of antibiotics and eye ointment, as well as more good-quality food, they are looking fantastic. They are both healthy, have boundless energy, and are at the appropriate weight for three months. I'm one proud mama. (It's impossible to take a photo of them not moving and looking at you without seeming intensely serious, dazed or confused, just fyi).
It's a gorgeous, 75-degree day in sunny Los Angeles.
Life is good.
10 July 2010
fur babies
So, meet the kittens.
Klaus, and Bella.
Klaus is a momma's boy by day, mini ninja by night. He pounces on anything that moves. An expert napper at ten weeks old.
Bella is an independent little woman - it's her terms or none at all. Stalker extraordinaire. Also loves a good belly rub.
They are brother and sister, from the same litter. I adopted them from the city animal shelter closest to my apartment, three weeks ago. I grew up with dogs, and I never thought I'd want cats, but these little guys are too much fun. They came to me slightly worse for wear, and after plenty of good food, ample space to play in and some love, I think they're doing just fine.