Saturday, May 16

Getting quality and value for money


Today we went farmgating - I always come home feeling tired but jubilant - it's about 45-50 drive going direct but we made a few stops along the way today. More on that later.

The jubilation of the fresh produce at excellent prices - seeing true 'seasonal' goods is really inspiring... picked up bunches of rhubarb for $2 a bunch, roasted in the oven at the moment with basically only juice of 1 navel orange (99c a kilo - in season). I've mixed with the apples and pears I got for cheap last week and I have some desserts on top.. add crumble topping, pastry topping or just serve with yoghurt (kids' fave)

I got a load of lebanese cucumber which I intend making pickles from (2.5 kilos should do it!?) a couple using NQN's recipe (well it's her Mum's actually!) and a few doing bread-and-butter pickle recipe.

Got some more herbs for our 4th patch of the vege garden - Riverview produce sell them with roots intact, for under $1 each, so a real bargain.

Down the road in Vineyard, the local fruit barn was selling strawberries for $1.60 a punnet. Nice looking too - so more strawberry jam is in order - I have someone in mind to send it to.... over to the Abbatoir (M&A Butchery Wilberforce) and I manage to get all of our months' meat including bacon and dog bones for $93 - I think that's great value.

This is exactly what $93 gets you at M&A Butchery:

Left column from bottom to top:
2.064kg blade steak $12.40
1kg of pork loin chops (individually wrapped and in with the blade steak - hubby likes these and I don't!) $7.00
Bacon strips wrapped in lots of two in mini freezer bags (remains of .972kg bacon after short-cuts removed) $9.55
Leg of Lamb 1.2kg $8.30
Lamb breast butchered into individual ribs and in freezer ziplock bags for Dougall. .634kg $2.20

Right column:
1 ham hock $6.15
2.038kg thin sausages (in 4 lots of 500g) $10.90
2.558kg topside mince (in 4 lots of 650g) $17.40
1.638kg chicken breasts (in 3 lots of roughly 550g) $19.65
Bacon short cuts (cut from above bacon and in 2 containers at top)

So that's at least 17 meals - not including anything I might make with the bacon or leftovers! We eat vegetarian at least 2-3 nights a week and with fish once a week. So it will easily last us 30 days.

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3 lovely comments:

Arwen from Hoglet K on May 16, 2009 at 8:38 PM said... [Reply to this amazing comment]

The rhubarb was a good price, and it will be lovely as crumble with yoghurt.

Will you make pea and ham soup with your hock?

Liss on May 16, 2009 at 9:55 PM said... [Reply to this amazing comment]

Thanks Arwen! Yes I will probably make this one:
http://frillsinthehills.blogspot.com/2009/01/whos-in-charge-of-this-weather-then.html

My recipe has lots of pulses in there - barley, peas, chickpeas and kidney beans. Yumm! My recipe makes enough for 8-10 people... so always leftovers for another meal/lunches :)

Rosie on May 17, 2009 at 8:41 AM said... [Reply to this amazing comment]

I am very jealous. I used to live near where you go farmgating and was spoilt with the quality, cheap and delicious produce. I now live in the place that produce forgot.

Make me home sick.


 

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