Happy Birthday, Your Majesty

I’m not a monarchist.  I didn’t watch the celebrations this week to mark the jubilee.  I managed to avoid the wedding last year (although my love of kitsch compelled me to purchase a souvenir mug from eBay) and I’m not even sure how old Elizabeth 2 is turning this year.  But I do love the Queen’s Birthday weekend.

In previous years, long before LSH and S&H, it was probably the biggest social weekend of the year.  The happy day would be celebrated the Sunday night prior, along with a couple hundred gay men in tight shorts/leather pants/sleeveless T shirts, dancing to a creative mix of techno, disco and maybe some Petula Clarke.  Bring out the bubble machine and pass the amyl.  Woot woot!

As I write this, all that is a distant memory.  The sun is streaming through the back of the house, warming the kitchen and giving the five loads of washing on the line a last chance for the day.  The house is warm and bright; it’s been a wonderful winter’s day.

After three days away from home, it has been great to have this day to do all the things that need to be done.  Bags unpacked, washing done, grocery shopping undertaken, clothes for work tomorrow sorted.  LSH and S&H are making bolognaise sauce for later in the week and the smell of frying garlic and onions is mesmerising. We are calm, all the jobs have been done and we are thankful for this time together.

But I'm not sure we would be this organised if we lived in a Republic.

The Pantry Reconfiguration Part 4

Week 3 - The Epic Finalisation
OK, so Week 3 of the Pantry experiment has been and gone.  A week ago, in fact.

The week itself started out like the previous two, with some menu planning based primarily on what I could rustle up out of the Pantry (and maybe the freezer) as the basis for meals. Things were looking pretty good for the week. I even got back on the tuna pony (insert mildly disturbing visual image here…)

Week 3 Menu

	LUNCH	DINNER	FROM THE PANTRY
SATURDAY	Scrambled eggs on toast	Home made veggie soup	Veggie from market Tinned tomatoes, chicken stock from Pantry
SUNDAY	Brunch: French toast	Brussel sprouts and bacon	Sprouts from the market Bacon from supermarket Brunch from Pantry/fridge
MONDAY	Tuna and Salad (me) Left over soup, fruit and cake (S&H)	Left over veggie soup and toast	Toast and cheese from Pantry and fridge
TUESDAY	Cheese and salad (me) Packed lunch (S&H)	Fried Rice	Veggies from market Eggs, soy, rice from the Pantry
WEDNESDAY	Cheese and Salad (me) Packed lunch (S&H)	Home made baked beans and poached eggs on toast	Eggs, beans and bread from Pantry Bacon and tinned tomatoes from supermarket
THURSDAY	Tuna and salad (me) Left over baked beans, fruit and cake (S&H)	Pea and Ham soup (courtesy LSH)	Split green peas, onion, garlic, stock from Pantry Bacon from supermarket
FRIDAY	Cheese and salad (me) Packed lunch (S&H)	Char grilled octopus with balsamic dressing and salad	Octo from the market Veggies from supermarket

All good.  Imagine then, my surprise and (predicated) embarrassment when I realised that the grocery bill for this week was higher than the previous two.  We had spent almost half again of the amount spent in Week 1 and Week 2. WTF?!

A couple of things became immediately apparent on reflection (and by “reflection” I mean shouting at LSH and accusing him of taking food out of the Pantry behind my back). First, the Pantry is actually running low and there were a number of things, like tinned tomatoes, golden syrup, porridge oats etc that had to be purchased.  This week was in fact the “tipping point” where I had to buy more than I had in stock to put together a meal.  Second, we also “lashed out” and bought ingredients for meals we felt like, rather than just meals we were able to make – a prime example was the octopus (did you spot it on the menu above?!) that we bought on a whim at the market – it’s from Stanley and was prepared by the Cable Station restaurant. Absolutely delicious. But, not on the budget planners shopping list.  Also, this was the first week in three that we did not purchase any meals out, or take advantage of the generosity of others.

All three factors seem to explain why we had the increase in expenditure.  So I’m not the perfect domestic goddess on a budget.  Sue me.  I’m HUMAN.  And I have two XY chromosomal units who like to eat, a lot and often.  J

This is where the formal experiment ends.  I made the observation that we could probably live off the Pantry contents for three weeks, and we gave it a good shot.  At the end of it all, here is what I have learned:

• The shelves of the Pantry actually have pretty patterned lino covering them.  I know this because I can actually SEE the shelves now.
• No one, NO ONE needs eight tins of tuna at one time (or indeed, at all).
• S&H likes jelly.  A LOT.
• Menu planning is my friend.  Sure, it’s another step down the slippery slope to the routine and certainty of old age, but it actually helps save money.  And saved money means I get those Country Road boots sooner J.
• We can actually eat well, and quite healthily, on a budget.  This is a bit of a revelation to me and I am already planning the veggie garden supreme for spring to make this reality even cheaper, and more delicious.  Maybe I’ll blog about it. J