Anatomy of a
Meal
Tonight’s
dinner: pork carnitas w/ cooked grains and veggies
on whole-wheat/buckwheat tortillas, steamed artichokes,
green salad.
So,
where did the pork come from?
I found it on
sale about a month ago for $.89/lb. I’m making 2.5lbs of it
tonight, enough for five dinners (ie, the whole family’s
dinner tonight) and at least five individual lunches.
So,
where did the cooked grains and veggies come from?
Last night we
had chicken soup w/ barley, split peas and potatoes and
snap peas from the garden. With the leftover soup, I
strained out the solids to use for more filling, and
slow-cooked the pork in the broth overnight and into the
next day until it was fork-tender. (Now the broth is being
re-purposed once more for bread.)
So,
where did the tortillas come from?
My sourdough
starter was near-dead, so I made up a batch of dough for
tortillas. I keep the grains whole on hand (cheaper, more
nutritious, keeps longer), and just grind them up with an
ear-splittingly loud electric mill when I need flour.
So,
where did the salad come from?
A couple of
months ago, forecasters predicted a week of rainy weather,
so I planted Simpson’s curled lettuce, broccoli, carrots,
New Zealand spinach, Swiss chard, beets and snap peas. I
can now pick my salads minutes before we eat them.
So,
where did the artichokes come from?
About three
years ago, my local hardware store was selling these
pathetic, root-bound plants in pots for half price. I took
pity on them. They thrived. Now we have artichokes every
spring.
How
much effort did this take?
Of my time
tonight, about 20 minutes. Another 30 minutes made enough
tortillas for at least 5 meals yesterday.
How
much did this cost?
We used a
pound of the pork, so that’s $.89. The batch of tortillas
with the 2 lbs of two different whole grains came to about
$1.60, so one-fifth of that is $.32. Other filling, $.50.
Artichokes and salad, about $.50 in seeds and water. The
kids had milk, the adults tea, so $.75 in beverages. Salad
dressing and some cheese, $.55. Butter and mayo: $.50
Energy to slow-cook and pressure-cook the artichokes, no
more than $.25. Total: $4.01, or $.80 per person.
Did
you skimp on nutrition?
Nope. This was
really healthy.
Is
this a typical meal for you?
Oh yeah. Low
effort, reusing leftovers, harvesting from the garden.
That’s what we eat.
What’s
for dinner tomorrow night?
The chickens
have been busy this week; I’m thinking something with eggs.
And the bread I just made. And more salad. I picked too
much tonight.
Thanks for all the thoughtful answers I’ve gotten so far in
my Frugal Questionaire. If
you’d like to add your insights to help me make my next
book so much more interesting and readable, please fill
it out!
