Well, I did not get as much done yesterday as I had planned.  I burnt some beans, which I think I recovered enough to can them up for baked beans with a smoky flavor some time.  I made some of the beans into ham and bean soup which I also canned this morning.  I also roasted a pumpkin and canned that this morning.  They are all in the canner now.  I got enough menu planning done to go to the grocery store and finish the shopping.  I also visited the fabric store and got a few items there.  I spent the late afternoon helping my husband clear debris from the fire.

Today we will clear the fire site some more and inventory the shop where most of the stuff was that was lost.  We have decided on a new barn design.  We are going to go with a Gambrel style with attached sides similar to a lean-to.  On the right will be a shop with an open wood storage behind and on the left will be three animals stalls.  The main barn structure will be for hay and farm equipment.  This barn will be about 300 square feet bigger than the one that burnt down, which was 1800 square feet.  It will have all the same elements but will be laid out differently in order to have the fire wood closer to the wood furnace and the animals closer to the pastures.  It will also mean that when you look from the road or drive in the driveway it will look tidier.  The old one had open equipment bays and storage area in the front which was visible from the road.  My husband told the insurance lady, "I'm not much of a farmer without a barn," so he is anxious to re-build as soon as possible.

Yesterday I did my grocery shopping at a nearby health food store.  At the beginning of the year I moved to buying all organic, which has almost doubled my food budget.  So now I am looking for ways to cut back.  We butcher most of our meat ourselves so each week I buy some bacon and some sausage, as we haven't raised and butchered some pigs yet.  I buy some butter, because even though I make my own it does not cover all of our baking needs for a week.  I buy fresh fruits and vegetables and bulk baking goods like honey, flour, and maple syrup.  I also buy two snack items for the kids.  This is running me about $150 per week, or $600 per month.  Milk I buy locally from a farmer, eggs we get from our own chickens, I have lots of my own canned goods to supplement and I bake many things from scratch.

Spending this much is something new to me, although if I was a betting woman I would bet that food costs have significantly increased over the past month.  Even during trips to the regular grocery I was shocked by the totals.  I have done some positive things towards cutting down on the cost of eating organically.  First, some of the local farms are not certified organic but they don't use pesticides and use organic methods.  Buying from them is less than the certified organic farms, but you have to know and trust the farmer to be sure you are getting pesticide free food.  Second, we raise our own meat so we know where it comes from.  Third, we buy in bulk when possible.  However, food costs are still higher than I would like.

Here are some of the strategies I am going to use in the coming months to see if I can cut back our monthly groceries to $450 per month for our family of five.  This includes all personal hygiene and household items for our family.  First, I am going to take a good look at the receipts and see which items are costing the most.  Second, I am going to get some lettuce and spinach in the ground and growing so I can cut back on fresh vegetable purchases.  Third, I am going to try and go to a different town that has a co-op instead of the health food store.  The prices at the co-op are less, but it is in a different town that I don't always go to unless I do a little more planning.  Fourth, I am going to push the kids to eat more canned and frozen fruit and cut back on fresh fruit.  We are doing fine to make it to summer on what we have even if the kids eat more from the items in storage and less fresh items.  Maybe I'll work on making some fruit leathers for them in my dehydrator.

My longer term strategy is to get a bigger variety of things canned and frozen this summer and to just get more of them put up.  Some of the things that come to mind are peas, broccoli, spinach, applesauce, and pears - all items that I did not put up in any significant amounts last year.  Another strategy will be to eat more in season.  Finally, this year we will be doing more cold storage of food.  This year we put pumpkins, spaghetti squash, and banana squash in storage.  I have not done a good job of using these items.  Next entry I'll talk more about our cold storage strategy. 

For now I need to get to the baking. 

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Posted by farmgirlshelley

If you don't have The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery I would suggest that you get that. Then I would try to join an organic food co-op. It is the best way to save on food. We are still phasing out all non-organic food, and we pay 180 per week on average for five of us. It is expensive but most definately worth every penny.

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Posted by bayleysmom17

I have to say that I have found the same thing when buying more organic foods. I have just started making the switch and while I love the benefits and the way I feel after the change of food, I am not liking the prices. I too, will be having a garden and trying to put some of it away for a later date.

I'm also sorry to hear about your barn, however it sounds like you are making the best out of it and it's so great you will be able to re-build soon. I really enjoy reading your blog, it's always so interesting and we share a lot of the same ideas. I look forward to more postings.
Have a great week, fellow Oregonian!

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Posted by Becca

Hey, let me know when you want to go to the co-op, I'll go with you. Did you get my email? Oh, what's your sourdough bread recipe? I'd love to have it!
Becca

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