Hopeful Housewife

We went down the hill today. We came back with bark for the flowerbeds, some thrift store finds, and surprisingly, without bologna. Kinda proud of the hubs.

As we were heading down I noticed that my favorite fruit stand is officially open for business. They are open for most of the summer, selling peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, nuts, and dried fruits. Ever had mango flavored dried pineapple?! Yeah, I hadn’t either and had no idea my life was incomplete before it.

Another two miles down the road and I see that another fruit stand is open for business. It’s official. Summer is here! Gosh I love tree fruit.

Then I started thinking. I bet there are people who have never seen a nectarine on a tree. I am willing to bet there are folks who have NO IDEA what a fresh piece of stone fruit tastes like. I am reminded every summer how blessed we are to live here. I will try to remember that when it is 110 degrees outside.

Heading out of our small town I took mental notes of all the things that make our community special. The fruit stands sparked it, and my favorite kind are called “honor stands”. Basically, there are stands set up on the side of the roads (or backroads if you are from here. ) with fresh produce available. On the stand there will be a locked box for you to drop your money in. Hence, “honor stand”. Its a brilliant idea. I am sure not everyone has the honor to follow the obvious rules, but overall, I think people are honest and drop their cash.

Here is one that only sells citrus up here. Citrus is mostly a late fall/winter crop, so they are not open right now.

Citrus is not in season, as I said, but the groves are so nice to look at. Here is one of the larger ones on our way home. Excuse the tall grass….I wasn’t gonna get any closer…rattlesnakes scare me.

I love this one because you can get oranges, tangerines, and sometimes lemons for 3.00 or less a bag. Buy local, save money!

We have many, many honor stands up here, but this one happened to be on the way home. Some have garden veggies, some have fruit, and some even have eggs. I really love buying from my community and especially love the money I save.

Back to my favorite fruit stand. Not an honor stand, but an amazing selection of stone fruit. Everything is .99 cents a pound, so you can mix and match whatever fruit you want. It is an incredible deal as stone fruit can sometimes be upwards of 3.00 a pound in the stores. This stand has become a big tourist attraction, so I tend to try and shop during the week, and load up while I am there.

My favorite part is their washing well. It allows you to eat a piece on your way home.

As I drove away, I spotted fruit being hauled away straight from the tree. Bet there are lots of people that have never seen what goes into picking fruit. Honestly, if people knew what went into growing and harvesting the food we eat, it would be appreciated so much more. Excuse the side mirror.

Fruit on the tree:

Grapes will be late summer:

We will likely buy corn from this farmer in a couple months:

(Doesn’t look like much, but trust me, it is an amazing variety that is worth far more than the pennies he charges for it!)

I realize that not everyone will have this type of produce at their fingertips this summer. That said, I am willing to bet there is something local that your community offers or specializes in. Check out what your neighbors are offering…see how you can support them, and save money on as well. You might be surprised by what you find.

Strawberries don’t keep very long. That’s the bad news. The good news is that you have to eat them quick. In everything. For days. Maybe that’s the bad news for some, but for me, it’s paradise.

Here is tonight’s dessert. (Good book by the way, just a bit preachy.) I bought the rhubarb at Winco for .99 cents a pound. Can’t wait to get through dinner so we can have the good stuff!

You could call it “My husband is begging for a cheat day, 5/26/12″.

He woke me up to tell me he REALLY wanted to go to town to get some bark to fill our front flower beds. Then he confessed that he also really wanted to get some bologna, white bread, cheese singles and bbq chips. He tried to pump me up about this idea, but failed. I told him I understood cravings and that he should go for it. I, myself, cannot even imagine eating bologna at this stage in the game. Not because I don’t think of it occassionally, but because I know I will feel sick after I eat it. Funny how the body adjusts to what you are eating. It seems to adjust either way. We ate crap food for years and never had an issue. Now I don’t, and I swear I can hardly touch anything cheat worthy anymore. I have to REALLY want something to make it worth the bellyache.

So we will head to town today. Get some bark for our flowerbeds (that area currently full of weeds, ugh!), get some processed cheese food, bologna, bbq chips, white bread and some free time too, as his mama is gonna visit with the kiddos for a bit. I think Our middle child is gonna stay with us. MIL is talking movie with the kids, but our oldest daughter finds the giant screen pretty overwhelming. I don’t get my kids to myself very often, so it will be nice to be alone with our sweet girl. I will likely have a jamba juice for lunch. I don’t like the idea of soy in my food (and so much of their stuff has it) but I will try to navigate their menu a bit.

We finished up breakfast a bit ago, and I am already seeing a pattern.

Kids and I had homemade oatmeal, made with a bit of milk, topped with cinnamon, butter, honey, and a drizzle of maple syrup. I ate mine with a side of fresh strawberries that the hubs brought home from a road-side stand. He brought a HUGE flat. Like 20 little green baskets huge. He paid 15 bucks. Sounds like a lot, but trust me, they are WORTH IT. Best.berries.ever.  I haven’t yet sold the kids on strawberries, but for now will enjoy the fact that I don’t have to share.

 (The milk is fine, folks…its just cream top)

The hubs had leftover pulled pork. On white hot dog buns. With habanero cheddar. And hot sauce. He misses white bread I am sure. Sometimes I don’t blame him.

Lunch for the kids will be taken care of by the MIL. I am sure the kids will make a cute face and get something kids love. I really don’t mind. Food rules are off when the kids are with friends or grandparents. We are not purists.

I will likely stick with Jamba. The hubs just might make a cheater sandwich in the Wal*Mart parking lot.

Dinner will have us back on track. Grass fed organic ground beef, seasoned and made into patties that will be served up with roasted veggies (potatoes, carrots and asparagus) and corn on the cob.

Sounds expensive. It really isn’t. Ground beef at the typical market right now is almost 4.00 a pound. The meat I bought was 5.25 a pound. I don’t see that 1.25 extra as much of an increase. Especially when you consider all the other foods we no longer buy. One pound will feed our family a few small patties each (no one really wants more than that), and with all the yummy veggies, it will be plenty. I season the meat with worchtechire (sp!?!?), salt, pepper, garlic, and a bit of half and half to keep it moist. Make into patties, pan fry in a bit of olive oil and butter (so the olive oil doesnt burn) and you are done. The veggies consist of red potatoes (1.69 for a five pound bag this week!), asparagus (1.50 a bundle) and some carrots which were .99 cents for ORGANIC this week too. Corn was 8 for a dollar at Winco here, so we are gonna feast on that too. If you count the butter we will be using, dinner is still less than $10.00.

Dessert will involve strawberries. It kinda has to.

I don’t mind a cheater day. I think we need them sometimes to remind us why we stopped eating that stuff.

Plus, sometimes you can’t beat a bologna sandwich.

Happy Cheater Day.