Green Grocery

I just, for the first time, added up how much I spend on food and house-related goods per week and was surprised to see an average $144/week (caveat: this includes low-cost prescription medicine and toiletries).

That's a lot of money. Especially for someone who prides herself on shopping wisely, buying seasonally and buying bulk, making most stuff from scratch. I know you're looking on the blog now and thinking, ricotta tart? Not exactly budgetary. But to be honest a tart is just flour, butter/oil, and something in the middle that doesn't have to be too expensive, like cheese. That fresh ricotta made two dishes with a lot of leftovers. And who doesn't have flour, oil and cheese in the pantry? So where's the money going?

One culprit is definitely multiple trips to the store. I never seem to have everything I want in one go, and so back to the store I fly (with glee--I love grocery shopping) and I inevitably end up with something not on my list. Like last week's little wheel of Spanish goat cheese and that small red wedge of Dorset. The loaf of ciabatta and the organic tomato to go with them (especially egregious given that I baked ciabatta last weekend!). The bottle of wine for Ryan's birthday party that no one drank...and stayed with Ryan.

The other culprit, much as I hate to say it, may be my food choices. I shop at Whole Foods. I do buy beans, grains, nuts, granola and some flours in bulk, but I counter that with organic produce, dairy and meat. I buy myself little yogurt containers to take to work instead of the more budget-friendly large buckets (which seem to languish in our fridge, collecting mold colonies), and I always find something to splurge on: ginger granola, asparagus, pink lady apples, buckwheat noodles. Because I don't buy packaged goods and I do cook a lot, even our sweets, I forget that even the most budget-conscious person is going to spend more for an organic, well-rounded diet. And if that person has a bread-baking habit and a subscription to Bon Appetit, well...it's hard to resist that pancetta that so perfectly tops those roasted baby leeks.

I need to make an effort to stick with one list all week and bear out the consequences. This week is shot as I have a Mother's Day Brunch to attend to (well, come one, what's lucre compared to the gift of birth?), but starting next week I will plan and implement with the fastidiousness of the most anal-retentive wedding planner. One list, one trip. If we run out of milk then we'll be the unhappiest unintentional vegans on the block. And I'll set a reasonable budget, something of an average of my usual visits: $75/week for two people, with an extra $25 for cat food, etc. Forty-four dollars saved is something, right? I probably won't stick to such orthodoxy, but I want to see what happens to my money.

I believe in eating well, and I believe that food should be a larger factor of my budget than entertainment or clothing or anything else other than rent, but I also want to live within my means. And those means ain't so much.

So farewell fair Dorset; grace another plate with your red wedgy magnificence. And pass the beans, will you?