This weekend, I rediscovered the joys of thrift store shopping.
It was part necessity (serious lack of fundage) and part not wanting to spend $15 (and that's freaking CHEAP anymore) on a new pair of jeans when I plan on losing more weight.
The solution? Goodwill of course. Goodwill is a treasure hunter's paradise. You do have to go in patient, willing to sift through 100s of pieces of clothing you don't want or couldn't fit into to find that perfect item. But you can do it.
And you can do it a heck of a lot cheaper than $15 for a pair of jeans. At Goodwill (at least in Louisville) jeans will run you $3 a pair. If I'd found 'em, I could've gotten five pairs of jeans for what one new pair would've cost me at a "discount" store like Walmart (patooey!).
With my husband's help, we sifted through what had to be about 300 pairs of jeans and found five pair that purported to be my size. It took some time to find them, and in the end only three would come home with me. But he found a pair, too. Four pairs of pants: $12. While I sorted through slacks, he sifted through the used books lining one wall, and found two. At 50-cents each, our total increased to just $13.
After trying on the pants, we wandered around, winding up near a coat rack, where I found a groovy, mildly retro denim jacket that fit wonderfully. Jackets at Goodwill? $5 ($15 for leather or suede). We're up to $18.
As we worked our way back toward the front of the store, I passed a couple of sweaters on the "tops" rack that looked interesting. I tried them on, deemed them most excellent. At $2 each, our total increased to $22. More on one of the sweaters in a minute.
We wandered through the shelves of kitchen goods - trust me, you never know what you'll find (I once found a sewing machine made in the 1930s in a Salvation Army thrift store, got it for $25!) — and found a whisk. You can stop laughing. Our small whisk broke a couple of months ago, and this was a timely find, ~$1.50.
Grand total for four pair of pants, two tops, a denim jacket, two books and a whisk? $23.50. Less than what two pair of new jeans would've cost me.
We got our haul home, and started putting things in various baskets for washing, and I pulled out the heavy duty wool sweater (it'll be great for cool weather camping!!!). It's an Abercrombie & Fitch (whoopty) sweater. This sucker had to have cost about $75 new. And I got it for $2?!?!?!?
Yes, indeed I did.
And some other poor soul paid $75 plus tax for it?
Yes, indeed they did.
And then they gave it up?
Indeed.
And in so doing, we both supported a charity that helps disabled people get jobs?
Epic.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
It's all about the tomatoes
If you want to know why I CSA, I could talk your ear off about the multiple benefits going the CSA route has.
In a quick few words: it's cheaper, it supports a local farm (and farm family) instead of a national chain, the money stays local, and I know exactly where my food is coming from. I go to the farm every week from spring until late fall.
I know the fields where my salad greens, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, melons, corn, spinach, kale, onions, garlic, radishes and carrots grow (and a whole bunch of other stuff I just can't remember). I know the farmer who is responsible for the fields and the produce, and I know that he farms sustainably, smartly and with deep respect for Ma Nature.
As part of my working share, I tend to the seedlings in the greenhouse, help prepare the ground for their arrival, plant them, weed them, harvest them, pack them. I spend six months getting to know these vegetables and caring for them. It's the next best thing to having my own garden - something I simply don't have time for (but wish I did).
But really, honestly and truly? It's the tomatoes.
I could try and justify my time there with the whole reduction of food miles, exercising sustainable farming, and supporting a local family, but I tell you what - I'd do it all even if all I got were boxes and boxes of tomatoes each week.
July comes and I lose my ever loving mind for tomatoes, and for eight weeks I cannot get enough of them. Even after the roof of my mouth and tip of my tongue are raw from their acid, even after consuming dozens of tomato sandwiches (an art form in itself), there simply are not enough tomatoes to satiate me. And I will never, ever, give up my quest to figure out just how many tomatoes that will take.
During our first season with the CSA, nothing - and I mean NOTHING - made me happier than being assigned to tomato duty in the barn. That meant bagging up the multiple varieties of tomatoes for the many share holders. Sometimes, those bags weighed 10 pounds. TEN pounds of tomatoes! Every bag I helped pack that summer was packed with love and adoration for those little things. It was Nirvana for me.
Even the most disgusting, gag inducing job on the Farm I did with gusto last year, because it meant protecting thousands of pounds of tomatoes: worm squishing. In the absence of pesticides (none used on our CSA Farm), that means human labor and eyes go through rows upon rows of tomatoes hunting for perfectly camouflaged tomato worms and army worms, and dispatching them. I am PhotoGrace, worm hunter extraordinaire. R'ar.
Of all the meals we share at the Farm, my favorites are, without fail, the tomato sandwich feasts. The first one happened when each of the working shares spontaneously showed up with a loaf of bread (or two!). Last year, we held a tomato sampling, trying red, green, yellow and orange varieties - and yes, each one was different... and the bigger than softballs.
But these beautiful beasts cannot be found in most grocery stores. Those red things you find in grocery stores aren't really tomatoes. Somewhere deep down in their DNA there might be some strand of old fashioned tomato. But they cannot hold a candle to a farm/garden fresh tomato. And if you're lucky enough to get one that's still warm from the sun? Oh, I swoon.
So here it is, May. My already gnawing desire for the Farm's salad mix (just weeks away) has nearly been replaced by the need for tomatoes. Two more months. Just two more months.
I have the fever... tomato fever.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Is it really cheaper?
Thanksgiving weekend 2005, my husband did a brave and stupid thing. He ventured to Walmart on Black Friday. Later he would say now he'll never do such a thing again.
The goal? A $25 DVD player. He was successful in his hunt, and came back with said $25 DVD player, and we immediately hooked it up, and popped in a DVD he rented from Hollywood Video.
A month later it broke. For a week or so, it started freezing randomly during a movie, before finally refusing to play any DVDs at all. We only used it a couple times a week.
The cheap piece of junk was summarily hurled into the trash can and we went out and researched DVD models, bought an Emerson model DVD player for about $75, and it still works quite well five years later (as does the VCR I paid $50 for 15 years ago).
You get what you pay for. And no Black Friday deal is worth the traffic, the rudeness, the ultimate cost of something. NOTHING.
In general, we are as a nation, obsessed with getting stuff cheap. Clothes, food, cars, toys, gas. But cheaper isn't necessarily better. Cheaper may be easier on our pocketbooks, but we ignore the greater cost.
We don't even care if it's good - it's CHEAP! Sort of. That cheap good comes at a higher true cost - socially, environmentally, politically, economically (odd, isn't it?). Economically, really? Really really.
I could get my next hose at Walmart or Tractor Supply and pay less for it than what I will when I buy it at the family owned hardware store down the street from my office. But I'll also have to drive farther to get to it. I can walk over to the local place. Walk! No gas! Less money!
And the best part? Supporting a local business, whose profits stay local, and who employs local people. When I buy that hose on Friday, I'm supporting not just a local business, but the local community. And this community's been hit hard by people driving 30-40 minutes away to businesses that aren't even regionally owned, much less local, just because it's "cheaper."
I'm pretty tight with money, but I'm not cheap. I'm thrifty. There's a big difference.
I'm not afraid to pay for quality. It's why we pay $16 for a pound of coffee from local coffee roasteries. It's why we don't regret paying $75 for the DVD player we still have (but do regret paying $25 for the one that busted 30 days after it came home). It's why I'll spend more on fruit & veggies at a farmer's market or CSA, instead of getting it cheaper in a grocery store.
But a paradox does exist... while I'm not afraid to pay for quality, not all things that cost more are better (see the post about the Bread of Life), and some things that are great ARE cheap (like the tacos & burritos at this nifty little Mexican grocery on Louisville's south side).
Like my bread. Though it costs me less than $1 a loaf, I would pay at least twice that I were buying it from someone. Because it's quality.
Or, like my CSA. Every summer, I like to take a box or two, lay out the items, and figure out what it would have cost me at the grocery store. The difference is incredible - even at the cost of a full share. BUT - if the produce in that box weren't very tasty, I wouldn't spend the money on it. AND - if it weren't produced in such a sustainable manner, it wouldn't REALLY be so cheap. It's all about true cost and true value.
But that is another philosophical discussion. :)
The goal? A $25 DVD player. He was successful in his hunt, and came back with said $25 DVD player, and we immediately hooked it up, and popped in a DVD he rented from Hollywood Video.
A month later it broke. For a week or so, it started freezing randomly during a movie, before finally refusing to play any DVDs at all. We only used it a couple times a week.
The cheap piece of junk was summarily hurled into the trash can and we went out and researched DVD models, bought an Emerson model DVD player for about $75, and it still works quite well five years later (as does the VCR I paid $50 for 15 years ago).
You get what you pay for. And no Black Friday deal is worth the traffic, the rudeness, the ultimate cost of something. NOTHING.
In general, we are as a nation, obsessed with getting stuff cheap. Clothes, food, cars, toys, gas. But cheaper isn't necessarily better. Cheaper may be easier on our pocketbooks, but we ignore the greater cost.
We don't even care if it's good - it's CHEAP! Sort of. That cheap good comes at a higher true cost - socially, environmentally, politically, economically (odd, isn't it?). Economically, really? Really really.
I could get my next hose at Walmart or Tractor Supply and pay less for it than what I will when I buy it at the family owned hardware store down the street from my office. But I'll also have to drive farther to get to it. I can walk over to the local place. Walk! No gas! Less money!
And the best part? Supporting a local business, whose profits stay local, and who employs local people. When I buy that hose on Friday, I'm supporting not just a local business, but the local community. And this community's been hit hard by people driving 30-40 minutes away to businesses that aren't even regionally owned, much less local, just because it's "cheaper."
I'm pretty tight with money, but I'm not cheap. I'm thrifty. There's a big difference.
I'm not afraid to pay for quality. It's why we pay $16 for a pound of coffee from local coffee roasteries. It's why we don't regret paying $75 for the DVD player we still have (but do regret paying $25 for the one that busted 30 days after it came home). It's why I'll spend more on fruit & veggies at a farmer's market or CSA, instead of getting it cheaper in a grocery store.
But a paradox does exist... while I'm not afraid to pay for quality, not all things that cost more are better (see the post about the Bread of Life), and some things that are great ARE cheap (like the tacos & burritos at this nifty little Mexican grocery on Louisville's south side).
Like my bread. Though it costs me less than $1 a loaf, I would pay at least twice that I were buying it from someone. Because it's quality.
Or, like my CSA. Every summer, I like to take a box or two, lay out the items, and figure out what it would have cost me at the grocery store. The difference is incredible - even at the cost of a full share. BUT - if the produce in that box weren't very tasty, I wouldn't spend the money on it. AND - if it weren't produced in such a sustainable manner, it wouldn't REALLY be so cheap. It's all about true cost and true value.
But that is another philosophical discussion. :)
Monday, April 11, 2011
Push It! Push it Reel Good!
My husband offered to cut the grass yesterday.
Not typically a major event, but it was the first time in more than four years. See, about six years ago, after I started into my quest for more sustainable, purposeful living, I took over the lawn mowing duties. To be fair, the two events were NOT related - it was pure coincidence.
The shift in duties happened because my husband’s ankle had been crushed in an accident, in July, and he couldn’t cut the grass – which was growing at an insane rate.
Then our gas powered lawn mower died a slow, obnoxious, black-smoke-sputtering death.
But I didn't want to buy another gasoline mower - if I was going to cut the grass, I was going to do it my way. So, budding environmentalist that I was at the time, I bought a push reel mower.
Yes, a push reel lawn mower what our grandparents grew up with. And yes, they still make them. Check out the offerings at Clean Air Gardening.
My husband thought I was crazy.
“Do you know how hard those things are to push?”
I tossed a skeptical look at him. “Nope. And neither do you.”
Everything I’d read said that push reels are actually quite easy to push, as long as the grass isn’t too high — and even a gas powered mower can get bogged down by tall, predatory clumps of crab grass. And guess what? They ARE easy to push.
My husband was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was when it took it for a test push a few months later. But then we moved to a house that had a lawn far too large for a push reel to handle; or at least far too large to do in a reasonable amount of time.
Now we have a yard much smaller than we did even when I first purchased the mower. It takes, even with this old-fashioned Scotts Classic Push Reel (I purchased at Lowe’s in Owensboro for ~$100), 15 minutes to cut the grass. And we could probably do it while the rest of the neighborhood is asleep. Except for the light, metallic wish-wish-wishing, the push reel doesn’t make much noise (certainly nothing compared to a gas mower).
It’s one of those many things that I’m sure causes the neighbors to look at us like we are quite an oddity.
Why use that old fashioned thing when you could use a gas mower and get it done faster?
Well, several reasons, actually. Our yard is so small, the time savings actually is negligible. It would take about as long to pull-start a gasoline mower as it would to simply take the push reel from garage to grass and start walking.
I don’t need to buy extra gasoline for it! And at $3.80 a gallon now, $5 a gallon predicted by next summer... not having to buy gas for a lawn mower? Seems pretty smart.
And hey, I can still hear the birds while I’m cutting the grass.
There also are articles that indicate it’s better for the health of your grass (did you know that many golf courses use a gasoline powered super reel to cut their grass!). Apparently, the scissoring action is less damaging to the overall plant than the whacking style of gasoline-powered mower blades.
The push reel doesn’t handle leggy, flexible weeds particularly well (specifically dandelion fluffs), but if you’re crafty, you can figure that one out.
Fifteen minutes after he started, my husband walked back with the push reel to put it in the garage. He was smiling.
I think I turned my husband from a doubter to a fan.
We may actually fight over who gets to cut the grass now. And what kind of people fight over who GETS to mow the grass?
Not typically a major event, but it was the first time in more than four years. See, about six years ago, after I started into my quest for more sustainable, purposeful living, I took over the lawn mowing duties. To be fair, the two events were NOT related - it was pure coincidence.
The shift in duties happened because my husband’s ankle had been crushed in an accident, in July, and he couldn’t cut the grass – which was growing at an insane rate.
Then our gas powered lawn mower died a slow, obnoxious, black-smoke-sputtering death.
But I didn't want to buy another gasoline mower - if I was going to cut the grass, I was going to do it my way. So, budding environmentalist that I was at the time, I bought a push reel mower.
Yes, a push reel lawn mower what our grandparents grew up with. And yes, they still make them. Check out the offerings at Clean Air Gardening.
My husband thought I was crazy.
“Do you know how hard those things are to push?”
I tossed a skeptical look at him. “Nope. And neither do you.”
Everything I’d read said that push reels are actually quite easy to push, as long as the grass isn’t too high — and even a gas powered mower can get bogged down by tall, predatory clumps of crab grass. And guess what? They ARE easy to push.
My husband was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was when it took it for a test push a few months later. But then we moved to a house that had a lawn far too large for a push reel to handle; or at least far too large to do in a reasonable amount of time.
Now we have a yard much smaller than we did even when I first purchased the mower. It takes, even with this old-fashioned Scotts Classic Push Reel (I purchased at Lowe’s in Owensboro for ~$100), 15 minutes to cut the grass. And we could probably do it while the rest of the neighborhood is asleep. Except for the light, metallic wish-wish-wishing, the push reel doesn’t make much noise (certainly nothing compared to a gas mower).
It’s one of those many things that I’m sure causes the neighbors to look at us like we are quite an oddity.
Why use that old fashioned thing when you could use a gas mower and get it done faster?
Well, several reasons, actually. Our yard is so small, the time savings actually is negligible. It would take about as long to pull-start a gasoline mower as it would to simply take the push reel from garage to grass and start walking.
I don’t need to buy extra gasoline for it! And at $3.80 a gallon now, $5 a gallon predicted by next summer... not having to buy gas for a lawn mower? Seems pretty smart.
And hey, I can still hear the birds while I’m cutting the grass.
There also are articles that indicate it’s better for the health of your grass (did you know that many golf courses use a gasoline powered super reel to cut their grass!). Apparently, the scissoring action is less damaging to the overall plant than the whacking style of gasoline-powered mower blades.
The push reel doesn’t handle leggy, flexible weeds particularly well (specifically dandelion fluffs), but if you’re crafty, you can figure that one out.
Fifteen minutes after he started, my husband walked back with the push reel to put it in the garage. He was smiling.
I think I turned my husband from a doubter to a fan.
We may actually fight over who gets to cut the grass now. And what kind of people fight over who GETS to mow the grass?
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Debunking the Excuses
I can’t think of any real reason on why I sold my car nearly seven years ago except that I found it not worth the money or energy. I didn’t even buy a bicycle until two years later, but since then I have absolutely fallen in love.
When I prepare for a ride my enthusiasm is clear, but when I speak about it there seem to be two main barriers preventing people from joining me, even for a casual ride. Logistics of riding in the city/weather and a valid safety concern about cycling in city traffic. But the answers are as simple as patience, preparation, and practice.
A cyclist never cycles because they are in a hurry. The journey becomes the adventure and the destination is just a bonus. Life calms down when you start noticing all the things around you. You realize whatever lies at your destination will still be waiting for you; meanwhile you never realized there was a historical landmark there….
Planning a trip to run errands on a bicycle does take more preparation than running errands in a car, but if you consider that you will always be riding the scenic routes then life becomes a lot more pleasant. If you’re running multiple errands you will need to create a circular route and go to the furthest destination first and work your way back home. And it doesn’t matter that you’ll be cycling for over an hour to get somewhere; I’ve heard my brother say it takes him several hours to run errands in a car because of traffic. More frequently I get to a destination faster on my bicycle while enjoying the scenery of parks and residential neighborhoods instead of a bypass or traffic jam. As for picking up my groceries on a bicycle, I have a folding basket mounted on the back of my bike and bungee cords in my purse. Simple as that.
Preparing for weather isn’t really any different. If you check the weather before you leave you can always dress for it. Sometimes it’s easiest to layer and just stuff the warmer layers in a messenger bag as the temperature rises. Riding to work in the rain was difficult until I invested in rain pants, but they were worth it.
But if all of that seems too simple, cycling in traffic stops so many people from even trying. But this isn’t much different than driving really. In Kentucky, at least, bicycles are held to the same legal expectations as cars except they are not allowed on highways or expressways. But riding in the slow lane, signaling before you turn, stopping at traffic lights/signs are still expected of cyclists. The trick is to take up as much of the slow lane as you need and follow all the rules that drivers are expected to follow. Sure you will run into complications, but those situations will sort themselves out with practice. Drivers appreciate a predictable cyclist and you will have far less incidences than you imagine if you respect that.
Becoming a cyclist in the city is much easier than most people expect and far more rewarding! As long as you follow the basic principles… it’s smooth sailing!
When I prepare for a ride my enthusiasm is clear, but when I speak about it there seem to be two main barriers preventing people from joining me, even for a casual ride. Logistics of riding in the city/weather and a valid safety concern about cycling in city traffic. But the answers are as simple as patience, preparation, and practice.
A cyclist never cycles because they are in a hurry. The journey becomes the adventure and the destination is just a bonus. Life calms down when you start noticing all the things around you. You realize whatever lies at your destination will still be waiting for you; meanwhile you never realized there was a historical landmark there….
Planning a trip to run errands on a bicycle does take more preparation than running errands in a car, but if you consider that you will always be riding the scenic routes then life becomes a lot more pleasant. If you’re running multiple errands you will need to create a circular route and go to the furthest destination first and work your way back home. And it doesn’t matter that you’ll be cycling for over an hour to get somewhere; I’ve heard my brother say it takes him several hours to run errands in a car because of traffic. More frequently I get to a destination faster on my bicycle while enjoying the scenery of parks and residential neighborhoods instead of a bypass or traffic jam. As for picking up my groceries on a bicycle, I have a folding basket mounted on the back of my bike and bungee cords in my purse. Simple as that.
Preparing for weather isn’t really any different. If you check the weather before you leave you can always dress for it. Sometimes it’s easiest to layer and just stuff the warmer layers in a messenger bag as the temperature rises. Riding to work in the rain was difficult until I invested in rain pants, but they were worth it.
But if all of that seems too simple, cycling in traffic stops so many people from even trying. But this isn’t much different than driving really. In Kentucky, at least, bicycles are held to the same legal expectations as cars except they are not allowed on highways or expressways. But riding in the slow lane, signaling before you turn, stopping at traffic lights/signs are still expected of cyclists. The trick is to take up as much of the slow lane as you need and follow all the rules that drivers are expected to follow. Sure you will run into complications, but those situations will sort themselves out with practice. Drivers appreciate a predictable cyclist and you will have far less incidences than you imagine if you respect that.
Becoming a cyclist in the city is much easier than most people expect and far more rewarding! As long as you follow the basic principles… it’s smooth sailing!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The bread of life
There's not much on this planet I love more than a slab of hot, fresh bread with pats of cold butter on it.
See, the mix of cold creamy butter melting on bread that's so fresh from the oven it's steaming is a piece of heaven to me. Doesn't even matter what kind of bread it is.
But you can't get that with a loaf of bread from the store. The only way you can get it is to make your own.
I make my own bread for many reasons: It tastes better. It's cheaper. It's fun. It's good exercise for your arms! It connects me to the food I put in my body. And it makes the house smell fantastic.
When I talk with people about making bread, most will lament that they wish they had that kind of time, usually after asking me what kind of bread machine I use (no bread machine here other than my hands).
Making bread involves, at most, about 20-25 minutes of actual, hands-on work - depending on the recipe and how many times you want to let dough rise. The yeast and your oven do 95 percent of the work, leaving you to do whatever you want or need while the bread rises or bakes.
In the interest of full disclosure, I don't always have time to make bread, either. Certainly not every week. I work an average of 50 hours a week, and spend a day on my CSA's farm from spring through fall. So I usually pick one day a month, after I've pulled the last loaf from our freezer, and make two batches on a Saturday or Sunday. Leave one loaf out, put the rest in the freezer.
But here's the great thing about homemade bread: it's CHEAPER!
My standard bread (Oatmeal Bread), at last check, costs me $1.83. And that's for two loaves. So, that's 81.5 cents a loaf. And I use organic flour. With regular flour, it's probably in the neighborhood of 65-70 cents a loaf. You're lucky if $1.83 gets you one loaf of white bread (patooey!) in a grocery store, and you certainly won't find anything under $1 - unless you go to a bakery thrift store.
The best thing of all? Homemade bread flat out tastes better.
Oatmeal Bread
(adapted slightly from More With Less)
Makes two loaves
1 cup of oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP salt
2 TBSP butter
2 cups boiling water
Mix in a big bowl and let cool to about 110 degrees (depending on how warm your kitchen is, this takes about 20-25 minutes... just stick a thermometer in and keep an eye on it).
While that's cooling, take one packet of yeast (or 2.25 tsp if you have it in a jar), and mix with a pinch of sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Let that proof 10-15 minutes or so.
Once the bread cools, mix the proofed yeast in with the bread batter, and gradually add 5 cups of flour. At some point, and only you can best determine when that is, turn the bowl onto a lightly floured surface, and work the remaining flour into the dough.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth & elastic - this can take 5-8 minutes, depending on your flour, but only takes me about 3 or 4. Grease up a large bowl (I use melted butter), cover with a towel and let it rise in a warmish place until doubled in bulk (1-2 hours).
Once the dough has risen, punch it down (in the bowl) and knead it again. Divide in half and place in two greased/buttered bread pans. Cover with a towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk (1-2 hours).
Set your oven to 350, and once it's done, pop the bread pans in for 30 minutes. Once they're done baking, remove to a wire rack, brush with melted butter (gives it a softer crust). Let 'em cool or start carving!
--
Bake on!
See, the mix of cold creamy butter melting on bread that's so fresh from the oven it's steaming is a piece of heaven to me. Doesn't even matter what kind of bread it is.
But you can't get that with a loaf of bread from the store. The only way you can get it is to make your own.
I make my own bread for many reasons: It tastes better. It's cheaper. It's fun. It's good exercise for your arms! It connects me to the food I put in my body. And it makes the house smell fantastic.
When I talk with people about making bread, most will lament that they wish they had that kind of time, usually after asking me what kind of bread machine I use (no bread machine here other than my hands).
Making bread involves, at most, about 20-25 minutes of actual, hands-on work - depending on the recipe and how many times you want to let dough rise. The yeast and your oven do 95 percent of the work, leaving you to do whatever you want or need while the bread rises or bakes.
In the interest of full disclosure, I don't always have time to make bread, either. Certainly not every week. I work an average of 50 hours a week, and spend a day on my CSA's farm from spring through fall. So I usually pick one day a month, after I've pulled the last loaf from our freezer, and make two batches on a Saturday or Sunday. Leave one loaf out, put the rest in the freezer.
But here's the great thing about homemade bread: it's CHEAPER!
My standard bread (Oatmeal Bread), at last check, costs me $1.83. And that's for two loaves. So, that's 81.5 cents a loaf. And I use organic flour. With regular flour, it's probably in the neighborhood of 65-70 cents a loaf. You're lucky if $1.83 gets you one loaf of white bread (patooey!) in a grocery store, and you certainly won't find anything under $1 - unless you go to a bakery thrift store.
The best thing of all? Homemade bread flat out tastes better.
Oatmeal Bread
(adapted slightly from More With Less)
Makes two loaves
1 cup of oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP salt
2 TBSP butter
2 cups boiling water
Mix in a big bowl and let cool to about 110 degrees (depending on how warm your kitchen is, this takes about 20-25 minutes... just stick a thermometer in and keep an eye on it).
While that's cooling, take one packet of yeast (or 2.25 tsp if you have it in a jar), and mix with a pinch of sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Let that proof 10-15 minutes or so.
Once the bread cools, mix the proofed yeast in with the bread batter, and gradually add 5 cups of flour. At some point, and only you can best determine when that is, turn the bowl onto a lightly floured surface, and work the remaining flour into the dough.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth & elastic - this can take 5-8 minutes, depending on your flour, but only takes me about 3 or 4. Grease up a large bowl (I use melted butter), cover with a towel and let it rise in a warmish place until doubled in bulk (1-2 hours).
Once the dough has risen, punch it down (in the bowl) and knead it again. Divide in half and place in two greased/buttered bread pans. Cover with a towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk (1-2 hours).
Set your oven to 350, and once it's done, pop the bread pans in for 30 minutes. Once they're done baking, remove to a wire rack, brush with melted butter (gives it a softer crust). Let 'em cool or start carving!
--
Bake on!
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