The Recession Kitchen

"Just wait until they're sitting under three inches of snow."

It was only about 10 days ago. The warm glow of the sun, the Red Sox assignment of future stars to minor league camp, the bursting forth of herbs from their long (too long) winter naps. Spring was here.
I grabbed my shovel and seeds and I headed out to the garden to plant. "It's too early," I was told. "Just wait until they're sitting under three inches of snow."
"Ha!" I scoffed, sipping my beer after a long day of digging in the dirt, just as the pangs of muscles I hadn't heard from in months let me know that they, too, were back in action.
And the warmth stayed. From Saturday to Sunday and on through the week. In fact, Thursday my onion sets arrived, and I scurried to get them into the ground. After all spring had arrived, and if my onions were to get a full season of the sun's rays and earth's nutrients, I'd better get 'em planted at once. Not to mention, after their long trek from Maine, my little guys deserved some fresh air.
I should acknowledge that I had seen Tom Skilling's seven day forecast. I was aware of the blustery threat that weekend rains might just change over to snow. But I discarded them. We'd already passed the threshold of meteorological spring. We'd already blasted into astronomical spring. The days were too long for snow. We'd suffered enough of the white stuff. It was nearly April.
Then came Sunday morning. My herbs were buried. The few sprigs of lettuce that had decided to germinate early were covered as well. My glorious daffodils were doubled over by the twin-fisted assault of cold and snow, and my onions, all 107 of them, lined up like toothpick soldiers, had been enveloped by winter's return.
"It's poor man's fertilizer," my mother assured me. "This time of year, it doesn't last."
She was right. By evening most of the snow had gone, and my onions perked up again. But those lettuce sprouts had receded. My daffodils remained limp. And my cockiness had been tempered.
Sunday will be April 4. That night the first game of the Major League Baseball season will pit the World Champion Phillies against the Atlanta Braves. The boys of summer will be back on the field. And here, in Chicagoland, the forecast is rain, possibly changing over to snow.

USDA: Family of Four Spends $819.40/month on groceries

Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran a story that included a rather stunning statistic attributed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture: that the average U.S. family of four spends $817 a month on groceries. I immediately attempted to track down this stat, but what I found was a bit more complicated than the Tribune story would have readers believe.

For the last century, the USDA has developed food plans based on cost. According to the agency, these plans are used in a wide range of applications. For example, bankruptcy courts use them to determine how much individuals need to spend on food, family courts use them in determining child support payments, and the military uses them to estimate expenditures on feeding service members.

Currently, the data is issued by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), which develops four separate food plans.  These plans are based on cost and nutrition, and comprise a "Thrifty Plan," a "Low-Cost Plan," a "Moderate-Cost Plan" and a "Liberal Plan."

Each plan offers a breakdown of what the agency calls "market basket choices" by 15 age-gender groups. For example, under the 2007 Low-Cost Plan, the most recent posted on the site, a 2 to 3 year old would consume 3.25 pounds of vegetable per week, while a 19-to 50-year-old-male would need to consume 9.39 pounds of veggies, and a 19-50-year-old woman would get only 7.13 pounds of veggies. Under the Liberal plan, the toddler gets 5.31 pounds of vegetables, while dad gets 12.26 pounds, and mom gets 12.18 pounds. (I wonder if the Liberal Plan requires some of that to be arugula.)

Once each basket is put together, the CNPP then determines an estimate of what the weekly and monthly food bill would be for families under each plan. These projections are released monthly and can be found on-line going back to 1994. The most recent projections were released in January 2009, and found that under the Low-Cost Plan a family of four, with one child 2 to 3 and another 4 to 5, spends $153.30 a week and $664.20 a month on food, while the same family on the Moderate-Cost Plan spends $189.10 a week and $819.40 a month on food.

Consider for a moment that the average weekly unemployment check in the United States is $293 a week. Under the USDA's Low-Cost Plan for a family of four with two young children, food alone would eat up half of that check. By the way, under that Low-Cost Plan, the adult male would eat less than a pound-and-a-half of beef, pork, veal, lamb and game a week, and would get no coffee or tea.

In the coming weeks, I am going to attempt to shop based on the Low-Cost Plan*. I want to determine several things:

1. How difficult is it to apply the plan to real life?

2. How much time does it take to apply to real life?

3. How does it affect quality of life?

4. How much does it challenge one's culinary abilities?

5. How much will it satiate my hunger?

* This week, I spent $44 on groceries. Admittedly this number is misleading because I'll be using several items purchased in earlier weeks in my cooking, but I am skeptical of the $153.30 number, and believe I may be able to do better, and have coffee.

Here peas shall grow!

With winter's grasp finally loosening, and the blessing of glorious sunshine and temperatures in the mid-60s, the family spent a fair chunk of time getting dirty this weekend. After all, as true as brown bread and stew or corned beef and cabbage, St. Patrick's Day is northern gardener's cue to get those peas into the ground. And with the first round performances of Boston College and the University of Illinois, we had no real reason to stay indoors.
"It's a bit early for planting," I was warned, by more than one with good intentions. "They'll be buried by three inches of snow," declared another.
But peas are a hardy treat, as is spinach, and so too early varieties of lettuce and carrots. So, we were were busy, turning over earth, stunning fat earthworms who'd burrowed themselves in the warming soil.
Signs of spring are everywhere, not only in the flower beds where the purples of native violets tickle the bright yellows of swaying daffodils. It's not only the flowers that rejoice. The birds have returned from their winter hiding spots full of vigor. The robins dance across the yard, brazen cardinals call at us, just making sure we know the silver maple is theirs, not ours, and the Cooper's hawk makes a daily check for napping doves.
The herb garden has shaken Jack Frost as well. Bright greens now explode across the faded mulch. The tarragon has used the cover of winter to spread its roots across the bed, and now sends up jade envoys alerting us to their arrival.  The oregano peaks out from under last year's remains, it's spring sprigs offering a peppery bite to that classic pizza spice. And the chive, now well adapted after being freed from its clay captivity on my kitchen windowsill two years ago, has sent up a thousand curious fingers to beckon the rays  of the sun, as if to say, "it's too nice to stay indoors, come out, come out, come out!" Already we've taken the opportunity to snip a fistful to toss it into a potato salad.
Grilling season is upon us, and with the real chance to cut back on food costs. Sunday night the family feasted for just under $12. Three bone-in chicken breasts, grilled asparagus, and potato salad, as I mentioned, with fresh chives. Bridget and I each had a homemade Irish Red Ale as well. And a toast to springtime. Soon here will be peas!

Budget cuisine the hot plate

Looks like I'm not the only one looking to save in the kitchen. A New York Times story  takes a look at how cheap eats have become the trendy cuisine. Who knows maybe this means good things for The Recession Kitchen, where I try to keep all my dinners under $15, while maintaining a level of deliciousness that will keep you looking forward to dinner time.
I've got some good stuff coming up, so be sure to keep checking back. And if it's not too much to ask, support my supporters by clicking an advertisement while you're here.