We had a wonderful turnout for the Midtown to Market ride this morning – 16 people out enjoying the lovely fall morning – and there was an additional crew that came from Cream and Sugar. Bikes were lined up all along the cathedral fence.
Produce was a bit on the thin side but there was still a variety of items. I saw: cucumbers, eggplant, greens, lettuce, pecans, peppers, persimmons, radishes, satsumas (early green ones), summer squash, and winter squash; also beef, goat cheese, honey, baked goods, seafood, vinegar, flowers and plants, and hand crafted items. I feel like I’m missing something.
I decided to go ahead and do my $5 Challenge meal for the week (see this previous post). I’m setting the bar low, at $2.85 per person including tax (since of course all our food is taxed here in Alabama). On the menu: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Chips, and a Green Salad.
Here’s the cost breakdown for this meal for three (two adults and a child):
EGG SALAD SANDWICH
6 eggs (local, free-range) – $2.50
.25 c Hellmann’s mayonnaise – $.39
salt & pepper – pennies
6 slices homemade seed bread – $.72
OVEN ROASTED SWEET POTATO CHIPS
1 lb 10 oz sweet potatoes – free! given to us by friends who grew them in their garden
3 T canola oil – $.09
salt & pepper – pennies
.25 c ketchup – $.25
GREEN SALAD WITH HOMEMADE MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE
1 head red leaf lettuce – $1.99
1.6 oz toasted walnuts – $.67
.3 oz dried cranberries – $.10
juice of one lemon – $.69
1 T whole grain mustard – $.15
.25 c canola oil – $.12
salt & pepper – pennies
That’s a total of $8.55 (estimating a generous $.10 worth of salt & pepper) divided three ways, for $2.85 per person. If you had to buy your sweet potatoes ($2.06) that would up the cost to $3.60 per person, still well below the $5 limit.
As you can see from my use of canola oil, I’m out of extra virgin olive oil at the moment, so that would increase the cost slightly. Normally I would also include some chopped herbs in the egg salad but my plants are recovering from the summer, and that would add only pennies, if that, to the cost.
A good object lesson – even if you don’t garden yourself you can sometimes reap the benefits of friends and neighbors who do.
Also, there was salad left that can be used tomorrow, so that will stretch even farther.
Market Update and My $5 Challenge
Produce was a bit on the thin side but there was still a variety of items. I saw: cucumbers, eggplant, greens, lettuce, pecans, peppers, persimmons, radishes, satsumas (early green ones), summer squash, and winter squash; also beef, goat cheese, honey, baked goods, seafood, vinegar, flowers and plants, and hand crafted items. I feel like I’m missing something.
I decided to go ahead and do my $5 Challenge meal for the week (see this previous post). I’m setting the bar low, at $2.85 per person including tax (since of course all our food is taxed here in Alabama). On the menu: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Chips, and a Green Salad.
Here’s the cost breakdown for this meal for three (two adults and a child):
EGG SALAD SANDWICH
6 eggs (local, free-range) – $2.50
.25 c Hellmann’s mayonnaise – $.39
salt & pepper – pennies
6 slices homemade seed bread – $.72
OVEN ROASTED SWEET POTATO CHIPS
1 lb 10 oz sweet potatoes – free! given to us by friends who grew them in their garden
3 T canola oil – $.09
salt & pepper – pennies
.25 c ketchup – $.25
GREEN SALAD WITH HOMEMADE MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE
1 head red leaf lettuce – $1.99
1.6 oz toasted walnuts – $.67
.3 oz dried cranberries – $.10
juice of one lemon – $.69
1 T whole grain mustard – $.15
.25 c canola oil – $.12
salt & pepper – pennies
That’s a total of $8.55 (estimating a generous $.10 worth of salt & pepper) divided three ways, for $2.85 per person. If you had to buy your sweet potatoes ($2.06) that would up the cost to $3.60 per person, still well below the $5 limit.
As you can see from my use of canola oil, I’m out of extra virgin olive oil at the moment, so that would increase the cost slightly. Normally I would also include some chopped herbs in the egg salad but my plants are recovering from the summer, and that would add only pennies, if that, to the cost.
A good object lesson – even if you don’t garden yourself you can sometimes reap the benefits of friends and neighbors who do.
Also, there was salad left that can be used tomorrow, so that will stretch even farther.