Tips from a cake stall queen

Today is the southern hemisphere Imbolc. I remembered as I drove away from Dominos pizza (cheap Tuesday) and FH commented on the beautiful weather and how it was a sign of his favourite season about to come.

So the very special meal we had celebrating Imbolc was pizza from a cardboard box. Very nice it was too. I wandered round the garden and gazed out at the sea and it does feel like positive change is in the air. The first iris is out.

Tonight was the last PTA meeting before the gala. It all looks like it is going to be fabulous. If I can remember the various things I have committed to, then I too will be a good brownie and community member. This morning my Mum sent through her best fundraising baking recipes. Tomorrow I'll buy the ingredients and borrow the tins and on Thursday Brighid and I can have a bakeathon. My Mum is a cake stall queen. Even when I was a teenager and she was working almost full time, I remember getting up at 7am and finding she had been up since five and the top of the large freezer was covered with baking for whatever worthy cause was asking that week. She seems quite chuffed that a) I've asked for her recipes and b) that I'm doing the community goodness thing and not being a delinquent. She spent a bit of time when I was a teenager worrying that I would turn into a delinquent. I didn't even come close to whispering at proper delinquency, but then that's the thing about motherhood - it invokes insanity on a daily basis.

One of the recipes Mum has given me is from my Great Grandmother, a fabulous woman by all accounts, whom my Mum adored. I'll post it later in the week if indeed I find it to be failsafe as Mum has indicated. The word 'failsafe' feels a bit jinxsy.

On the subject of budgeting. I start off thinking that we need to make changes to reduce the supermarket bill. Then I think about how privileged I am compared to so many on lower incomes. Then I think I should both reduce my spending for us AND contribute more to others. This process does not necessarily occur in a linear fashion. Today I stopped and talked to a lovely potato farmer from Methven who was selling his wares outside our swimming pool. His agria spuds are superb apparently, not just cheaper than the supermarket ones (by several dollars) but better tasting. Oooh but I was tempted. So what I did, and I claim no logic for this, is I took my only just started 10kg supermarket bag of spuds down to the Sallies for their food bank and then I bought a new bag from Mr Methven Spuds for my family.

Still loving my new chooks.

Comments

Anonymous said…
perfectly logical in my understanding
~Rachael
Christopher said…
We've joined an Ooooby scheme (see www.ooooby.org) where we pay $29/wk for a box of fruit and vege, some of it grown locally.

We have noticed that we don't go to the supermarket as often, and I'm sure that overall our food budget is lower because of that.

You may want to explore the concept in Wettown.
miriam said…
I read about the potatoes, thought 'perfectly logical' and then scrolled down to see it written already. I would have done exactly the same. Looking forward to seeing some of these recipes.

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