Survival for the Fittest: Inexpensive Nutrient Dense Survival Stores

The other day I gave my criticism of a prepper's guide to "Survival Food for the Poor." As I mentioned in my critique the biggest problem with the suggestions given in the guide boiled down to lack of nutrient density and an over abundance of carbs.

Rather than leaving you with a mere criticism I promised that I would provide an alternative list of foods to stock up on while still retaining the budgetary spirit of the original list.

My suggestions follow:

1- Water: It truly cannot be overemphasized. Water is necessary for life, plain and simple.  The minimum needed is about half of a gallon per person, per day. However, you truly cannot have too much water as, even if you have more than you can drink (unlikely) water can also be used to cook, clean, grow foods etc. I recommend storing at least 2 gallons of water, per person, per day for a minimum of 2 weeks. This sounds like a lot of water but water is very cheap. It is cheap to buy, even cheaper to bottle/can tap water. Don't forget to have an alternative water collection source beyond your stores be it access to a body of water coupled with water purification methods (tabs or filters) or even a rain barrel or two.

2- Brown Rice: This is one of the few carb rich foods you will see me recommend in this list but I do so never the less for a few reasons. First of all, rice coupled with beans will provide the range of amino acids. Not as good as meat, fish or fowl, but very good and additionally, very cheap. As I mentioned in my last post, don't let the reduced shelf life brown rice has compared to white rice trick you into opting for the latter as it literally pales in comparison. Furthermore, the shelf life of brown rice if properly stored is still about 2 years, which is more than enough. An added benefit to storing brown rice beyond the fact that it contains more nutrients than its white counterpart is the fact that you can actually plant it and expect something to grow later (given you live in a moist enough climate.) As it turns out, most places which you can buy both brown and white rice, they tend to be the same price. Well... kind of, they are the same price per pound, by per nutrient, brown rice is actually cheaper.

3- Dried Beans/Lentils: A necessary counterpart to brown rice. Together you will be getting a complex amino acid profile with a food that stores indefinitely and is tremendously inexpensive. I recommend a variety of dried beans and lentils as each provides a slightly different nutrient values, but more importantly you can enjoy a variety of flavors, textures and colors which will assist in keeping up morale. If you want to get the absolute most bang for your buck, check the nutrient labels and stick with the beans and lentils that afford the highest amount of protein and fat per unit. Typically this will be things like split peas and garbanzo beans.

4- Nut Butters: These will be a valuable source of both fats and proteins while giving a unique flavor addition to your stores. There are dried options of things like peanut butter which can store for many years, but if properly canned and stored, just the nut butters themselves can last upwards of 15 years too. My same reasoning as with brown rice (if you are still eating your stores out of necessity years from now, you need an additional food allocation plan in motion) applies with non-dehydrated nut butters. In addition, the dehydrated forms actually contain less fat and require water and preparation time and effort. When picking nut butters select options that contain as few additional ingredients as possible, particularly sugars. Instead, opt for "natural" versions which should contain nothing more than the nut in question, and salt. These will store longer, be more nutrient dense, and contain more nutrient value per dollar, even if they are slightly more expensive at face value.

5- Dehydrated Eggs: This may be slightly less palatable than the fresh versions, however they are pretty inexpensive and will provide you with the top tier protein available, even if you have to reconstitute them. Honestly, most people can't tell the difference as many of the eggs consumed in restaurants are reconstituted from dry.

6- Dehydrated and Canned Dairy Products: Most people are familiar with dehydrated milk, but you can also get dehydrated cheese, sour cream and even butter. Canned versions of each of these if you can fit it into your budget as they taste better and have more fat retained. This is where I would have ended my commentary on this category, but thanks to the wonderful world of other preppers on the internet I found viable ways to can milk,  butter and cheese so perhaps you can get the best at an inexpensive price after all just for exchanging a little bit of labor.

7- Fish Canned in Oil: Canned fish in general will be the best, and likely cheapest, source of "meat" that you'll be able to find. There are certain options which are better than others (eg. whole albacore vs. chunk tuna) but this will boil down to price and preference. Even if you get the bottom of the line versions of canned fish, the nutrients will still be very high. Canned fish will also be a source of nutrients like iodine, which will likely be lacking from the rest of your food stores. I recommend choosing oil canned fish rather than water, simply because the price is typically the same, but you will be adding additional fat content. If possible and within reason of price, try to get olive oil rather than canola oil or soybean oil, but this is about emergency rations, not ideal diet, so the fat afforded by even substandard oils such as soybean oil is still a good idea to get for your stores.

8- Bone Broth: This is likely to be the most unique suggestion on this list simply because it really isn't something that you can go out and buy. Bone broth is a tremendously healthful food as it contains readily assimilated nutrients. While you can't go to the store and buy a pallet of bone broth, you can gradually accumulate it for your stores (a strategy you should employ to satisfy all of your food stores by the way). Each time you eat something with bones: chicken, ribs, thanksgiving turkey etc. throw the extra bones in a freezer bag, once it is full, boil the bones with enough water to submerge them and a tablespoon or two of vinegar for 2 or 3 days. This is most easily achieved by means of a crock pot as it will keep a low but constant heat with minimal power. After straining the bones and lil bits of leftover meat, cartilage and fat, can the remaining bone broth. Don't fret if the contents gel, that just means its good for you. 

9- Dehydrated Dark Leafy Greens: This is pretty much the only "veggie" that you'll see on my list. Part of the reason for this is that the more nutrient dense dairy, egg, and fish you eat, the less necessary many vegetables actually are.  Another reason is that most of the vegetables you consume should be sourced from your garden. However, for sake of variety and just to be certain about getting vitamins and minerals it is a good idea to include leafy greens, basically the most nutrient dense vegetable option. This is another suggestion that will require some work on your part however, but yet again, the work is minimal and affords huge pay off. You can buy greens and dehydrate them, but if you aren't yet gardening (shame on you) creating food stores may be a good excuse for you to start since leafy greens are pretty easy to grow and usually have a very high yield. I recommend in particular kale, chard and turnip greens. Each of these have an enormous amount of vitamins and minerals per unit, turnip greens in particular even offer a high calcium profile. To prepare these for storage either use a food dehydrator, or lay leaves out on a few baking sheets and leave in the oven at 200F until they are completely dry. They will be very dry and crumbly at this point, which is good because you can then crumble them into swing top jars and fill them quite densely. Try to limit the amount of stems put in as these contain less nutrients and are more bulky. To use these dried leafy greens you can just sprinkle them into soups etc. to increase the vitamin and mineral content of a meal.

10- Unrefined Sea Salt: "That sounds pretty fancy" you may be saying to yourself, and yes, compared to industrial refined iodized salt, it kind of is, if by fancy you mean "nutrient dense" that is. Unrefined sea salt contains trace minerals which will benefit you while still serving the versatile purposes of salt such as flavor modification, preservation, sanitation, and providing much needed sodium. Is unrefined sea salt more expensive than industrial refined iodized salt? Yes it is, but we're talking salt here so its still really cheap. This is a store that I really can't imagine you storing too much of either. 100 lbs of salt sounds like a lot, but remember that its cheap, versatile, and stores easily. The worse case scenario with storing "too much" salt, would be that you could use it as a much sought after trade commodity in a post-collapse scenario.

11- Honey: This could be classified as a "luxury" option. But honey is an important addition to any food store. For one its sweet, and thats actually a good thing, sometimes its good to have sweet things around to help keep up morale. However, honey is more than just empty sugar calories. It has a strong anti-microbial quality that will actually assist with immunity from disease. Additionally if you are consuming honey which was created locally, you will receive a reduction in allergy affliction.

12- Dried Spices/Teas: Again a "luxury" option at face value, but don't underestimate the importance of WANTING to eat the food that you've stored. I don't' care how much variety you've dried to build into your food stores, you will start to get a little tired of the daily fare. One way to fight against this malaise is to literally spice things up. More importantly, many spices contain additional benefits than simply flavor. Dried chile flakes and powder will provide capsaicin, a chemical which helps a variety of ailments for example. Teas are another good idea as they will give some flavor variety to your drinking options while providing additional benefits. I suggest in particular: chamomile, red raspberry leaf (particularly for women), ginger and peppermint. However, go check out your local tea selection, many of them list the ailments for which they will benefit the imbiber on the packaging.

13- Vinegar: If possible, get apple cider vinegar with a mother. I suggest this because it is contains more benefits which can be easily assimilated by the body than refined white vinegar affords. The reason I suggest that you get vinegar "with mother" is that if emergency situations are greatly prolonged, you can actually make more vinegar since you have the mother culture in the bottle too. Whatever kind of vinegar you end up getting, don't skimp on amounts. While the average person may not use a lot of vinegar day to day, you mustn't forget the nutritional benefits of adding vinegar to food and drink, nor the preservative and sanitation qualities vinegar possesses. Vinegar is yet another store that should be stored in large amounts due to its versatility, inexpensive nature, and potential future as a trade commodity.

14- Cheap Vodka: Don't be confused, this suggestion is not intended to be drunk as you might think but rather to release nutrients from foods, aid in food preservation and assist in sterilization. I won't get into the non-nutritive qualities of vodka here, but there are many. I would suggest that you add a splash or two of vodka to various meals to release more nutrients from the foods. Many nutrients are water soluble (easily achieved, any meal you will prepare will contain water in some fashion) some nutrients are fat soluble (this can be achieved by use of the oil from the canned fish as well as the dehydrated dairy products) and some are alcohol soluble (these are the ones that you won't be able to take advantage of without the assistance of the vodka). While vodka is useful, even in its cheapest forms, it is still more expensive per unit than basically anything else on this list, and you could do without it if you must. Leave this as one of the final additions to your stores, after you've satisfied the rest of your needs.

15- Whole/non-gmo/non-hybrid dried seed foods: This could contain some of the above suggestions such as beans and rice. However, this category could also include: wheat berries, whole oats, quinoa, peas, sunflower seeds, whole peanuts, heirloom corn etc. I would suggest storing much smaller amounts of these than the rest of the list because they will be part of a long term food procurement strategy ie. growing your food. However, most of these dried seed foods can be bought in bulk at average grocery stores so instead of a handful of them, you could have several pounds of each on hand. If you have to eat some, there will be enough to supplement the rest of your food stores you can, but try to not eat these outright.

Party Recap- Homemade Crackers

So my attempt to not spend any money on this party didn't work out so good.  But I made a really good attempt.  And my favorite success was my homemade crackers!  I found a really good recipe here, and I tweaked it a bit for what I wanted to use it for- cheese and liver pate (which I didn't get a picture of because I forgot to put it out until after the party started).  So here's what I did-

Homemade Sweet Rosemary Crumble Crackers

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. Real Salt or kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
8-10 Tbs. butter
¼ c. water
¼ tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. honey
salt and crushed rosemary for topping
Preheat the oven to 410.

Add the dry ingredients with the spices to your food processor and pulse a few times to mix, then add the butter and process until it forms a crumb.  (If you don't have a food processor, use 2 table knives or a pastry knife to incorporate the butter to a crumb) Mix water with honey and vanilla only as long as it takes to make a dough.

Then I tried two different methods to bake them.  First, I used a pizza stone.  Actually, I used an old kiln shelf that was broken, which is made from a similar clay that commercial stones are made from.  (More on this later) I rolled the dough nice and thin out on the floured stone directly while the oven was pre-heating.  Then, using a pizza cutter, I made cuts to form square crackers.  This made extremely deliciously crispy, delicate crackers.  EXCEPTIONAL!  But there were 2 problems.  First, your stone has to be completely dry or they will stick! Mine did, and I had to let it cool and dry over night in order to get the offending crackers off. Second, if you only have 1 stone, doing the second batch can be a problem.  I perfected the technique last night, but for Monday, i had to use a cookie sheet for the rest of the crackers.  A cookie sheet gives you slightly less crispy and more doughy crackers- they have less "crunch" and more "munch".  still good, and probably ideal for something like hummus.  again, i rolled the dough out directly on the floured sheet, but couldn't get it as thin because of the sides of the cookie sheet being in the way.

To reuse your stone, you have to be super careful.  First, using a metal pancake flipper, remove the crackers a few at a time to a waiting cooling area.  the carefully remove the ROCKET HOT stone and rest it somewhere safe- I have tile counter tops and that worked nicely.  Slip the already rolled out dough onto the hot, hot stone with the spatula, and using the pizza cutter, quickly score it into cracker sized bits.  Then back in the oven  until they're crispy delicious.

I left out a time- that's because it depends on the thickness of your cracker, and the heat of the stone you're working on or the cookie sheet.  I found that with the cookie sheet, it took just about 10 minutes.  With the cold stone, it took a good 10 minutes as well, and with a hot stone it was more like 6-8 minutes.  It might take longer for your, or less time, so I recommend letting them cook for 5 minutes undisturbed, and then checking on them every minute or so until you figure out how long it will take for your oven and baking apparatus.

On Pizza Stones

I've never owned a pizza stone, but always coveted them.  I was seconds away from buying one a few months back, when he noticed it in the cart and chastised me- "you know I can make that, right?"  It's true, baking/pizza stones are nothing but bisqued clay (meaning they didn't get all the way to temperature and are still slightly porous) that is UN-glazed. 

Then Joey mentioned to me that he had a broken piece of kiln shelf (which is what your mugs and bowls get placed on in the kiln that gets heated up to 2300 degrees!)  That is the ULTIMATE pizza stone.  The kind of clay that it's made out of has such a high melting point that only an industrial kiln can even MAKE it (Joey, how hot does it fire to?  thousands of degrees, I assume. Joey: Yea, um. something like 3,200 I think).  So it's great at retaining heat.

So if you can find an old kiln shelf- broken ones work fine as long as they're a big enough piece, great!  Just make sure that you scrap all the old kiln wash off (which keeps glazes from sticking to it) and that any glaze spots that are on it have an "off gassing" point that is well beyond your oven. Most do, they usually fire to at least 1000 degrees.

If you don't have a ceramicist husband like me, you can also use unglazed ceramic quarry tiles often found at hardware stores.  You can also special order a hand made one through our Etsy Store.  Just because he never made one for me doesn't me he wouldn't for you!  And think, he could put your family name indented on the top so that all your bread comes out with your own personal signature!  How cool!

Finally, I'm going to be playing around with this recipe a lot in the next couple of days- I'm in love with it!  But Joey and I have pretty much cut grains out of our diets except for treats, so I'm going to try making almond flour and coconut flour crackers and see how that works out!

Next- Homemade Cocktail Sauce- it's so simple you'll scream for joy!

Linking back to GNOWFGLINS Simple Lives Thursday.

Half Way There

Today is September 15th, which marks the half way point for our Spending Free Month. (See our original post with our rules and such here.)  So I figured I'd give you an honest recap of how we've been doing, and what we want to do for the next 2 weeks!

What we've spent money on:
A case (30 lbs) of pasture based butter (as explained here)- $102.25
A new saw blade for Joey's rotary saw- $10.78
Parking downtown for the art museum (of which we're members)- $5.00
Dog Food (whoops!  we ran out on the second day of the challenge!) $35.66
An Emergency Safeway run for frozen pizzas and juice when I was in bed with Strep Throat- $32.50
A few things for my Sister-in-Law's housewarming party that we didn't know we needed- $35.80
A "new-to-us" electric pottery wheel for Joey's studio (as explained here)- $525.00

Brent Pottery Wheel (not ours)

Farmer's Market- $22 over 2 weeks
Groceries for the first half of the month- $84.08
A meal for a homeless man downtown- $8.64

Without the wheel, that totals $300.91. (with, it's $825.91

Yup, way WAY over our $0.00 goal!

(By the way, this does not include our monthly bills and expenses that we can't get away without paying, such as electricity, water, our raw milk share, etc,)

However, with the exception of the emergency Safeway run, my sister-in-law's party purchases, and the homeless man's meal, all the other purchases fell within the rules.  Joey couldn't build any more raised garden beds, his goal for this month, without a new blade for his saw, and the other items fall into the category of "stupid-and-prideful not to make" (I'm not going to let our dogs go hungry, or deal with the repercussions of dumpstered food for them, nor will I pass up the butter sale that only happens 3 times a year, or the wheel deal that we've been searching for for months just because of our blog).  But, in the attempt to be completely honest, I've laid it all out for you fair and square.


So what are we going to work on for the rest of the month?

Joey is still working on raised garden beds for our yard (we have HORRIBLE soil!) and will need to find both lumber and dirt/manure/compost to fill them with.

I need clothes.  Like WHOA!  I'm loosing weight from my pregnancy like I can't believe, and I don't fit in any of my clothes right now- just that weird in between stage.  But I have a sewing machine and decent skills, so I'm going to try my hand at something like this.

I still haven't gotten my hands on a yogurt maker... hint hint, Dyno-Mom!

mmmm.... looks good, right?

I'm throwing a fancy cocktail party for some friends at the end of the month (which was planned before the month long experiment began) and I will need to procure several items somehow- including h'or d'ouvres and drinks. I'm going to try my hand at making homemade crackers and bruschetta bread, as well as try to invent a few drinks with the liquor we have on hand (not much, I might add!).  I MAY make a purchase of 2 here, like a bottle of wine, but I'm going to try and do everything sans money if I can. Anybody have any good ideas?

Joey will be explaining his 1 week rule for his "found objects", as well as showing you how he's been using the things he's discovered on his night time city explorations.

And so much more!  But all in all, we're going to be trying even harder to keep to our original plan.  As the month progresses, it's gotten both harder and easier.  I am getting super comfortable with packing lunches and snacks for the road so we don't get caught with a cranky, hungry toddler or growling stomachs, but I need to work on remembering our water bottles.  More than once have we been caught racing home to get something to drink!  I've done pretty well with my No Dryer Challenge, but some unfortunately cold, wet weather over the last week has caused me to have to plug it back in for a few days.  Otherwise we'd be naked.  If I were better at checking the weather reports and planning laundry days accordingly, I think I could do a lot better.  Also, Joey and I have both lost about 5 pounds this month- which I think is at least in part due to the fact that we haven't gone out to eat once!  THIS is our weakest point.  Even though we always try to choose the most "real food" option out there (hello, Chipotle and Sazza Pizza, I love and miss you both!), we eat out WAY too often.  We just love it too much, I guess.  But it's starting to feel more like the special treat it should be at this point.  I can't wait until Joey and I get to go on a date in October!  I'm going to pick the best restaurant ever, and know that it will be only a once in a while treat from now on!

So keep watching, and we'll keep trying to amuse and inform you.  Hopefully we're not the only ones getting something out of this blog.... hello, anybody out there? ..... We'd love all your comments with your own sage advice and honest questions and will keep trying out new ways to make a month without money both fun and interesting!

***Taking part in GNOWFGLINS Simple Lives Thursdays***

Ceci n'est pas une recipe

This was going to be my first recipe post.  But it's not.  So DON'T do what I did.
 
Neither Joey nor I were feeling very hungry tonight.  Probably a combination of getting over strep throat and dreary, cold weather.  But we have a toddler, so dinner is not optional around here.  If Charlotte doesn't eat dinner, she wakes up at 2 in the morning begging for "eat its".  Not a good midnight snack experience for anybody.  So here's my "nobody wants dinner recipe":

By the way, Dyno-mom, you may want to look away for this one!  I can hear the text messages dinging at me from the future!

"Cookies" for dinner?

Take 1 acorn squash, roast it at 400 degrees for an hour.  Turn off the oven, leave the squash inside and forget it.  Until the next day when you need to roast peanuts.  Say "whoops!" To yourself, then put it in the fridge.  Forget it for several more days.

Pull said acorn squash out on the evening in question.  Beat 3 tablespoons butter into the squash with a hand mixer. 

As you're cutting up butter, listen to your daughter fussing and whining, and allow her to eat a tablespoon of butter straight off the stick.

A pinch of salt maybe?  Think about just making acorn squash mash and adding cheese.  Decide not to because your toddler is begging you for cheese.  Add honey instead.

Now listen to your daughter beg you for honey until you finally give in and give her a spoonful.  Now you get to listen to her beg for more "honey spoon" all evening!

my pantry, in great state of disarray

The Baby will start screaming at this point, practically throwing herself out of her (very illegal) perch in the Bumbo on the counter top.   (No, really, she didn't almost fall, I swear)  Go nurse for 15 minutes or so while your husband gives water to the toddler who dumps it all over the kitchen floor.

Look in the pantry, find nutmeg, and coconut flour,  decide to make cookies for dinner.  that should appease a toddler bent on honey, right?  And healthy-ish too!

Mix squash mixture with 1 1/2 cups coconut flour, some homemade vanilla, some cinnamon, some chopped candied ginger and walnuts... sounds good, right?

While you're putting away the spices in the pantry, be sure to find the bag of REAL coconut flour.  The mystery substance you just added to your "cookies" is definitely not coconut flour.  hmmmm.... what could it be?  What did I buy recently and forget to transfer from the grocery store bulk bag?

Arrowroot powder?  Really?  Did i just put 1 1/2 cups of arrowroot powder in my child's dinner?!?!

Quickly add 1 cup of real coconut flour, but not in time to save the first batch of cookies that's already baking in the oven.  Oh dear.

During the second batch of cookies, find the REAL arrowroot powder in the pantry.  You KNEW you didn't buy 5 pounds of it!  Still unsure of the mystery powder floating in your pastry thick cookies, you turn to your husband.

mystery flour cookie

"Oh, that's the white flour we keep around to thicken sauces and stuff."- he must have forgotten to put the label tag thingy back on.










Well, this is no longer a healthy dinner then i guess.  But maybe they'll turn out ok?

OH!  Whoops, you forgot an egg!  I bet you could add it to the 3rd batch, right?

3 batches- first one on the left with just the mystery powder, second in the middle with added coconut, 3rd with an added egg.

In the mean time, heat up the leftover cheesy brown rice you made a few days ago for the fussy, hungry toddler.  Give her a few spoonfuls, along with a "cookie".

Charlotte is offered a cookie

Now, take a guess what Charlotte had for dinner?

She picks the rice over the cookie

And I heated up the leftover Salmon Chowder we had for dinner the night before.

The "Cookies" will now be relabeled "Dog Treats".  That is, if THEY will eat them!


***Linking up with Real Food Wednesdays with Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Day one-Butter and Grapes

As I write this, Joey is off on his first dumpster exploration.  We watched this video on dumpster diving the other day, and he's been itching to see what's out there being thrown away.

Today was actually surprisingly more difficult that I imagined it would be.  I went to the grocery store to pick up my butter (the 1 item I told you about yesterday).  It only goes on sale a few times a year, and otherwise it's too expensive for us.  We love it because it's pasture based, which makes it rich and delicious as well as full of good vitamins and omega-3's.  The regular price is $6/lb, but they have a perpetual sale that brings it down to $5.  However, every few months it goes on sale for $4/lb, which is reasonable. 

Going into the store I was more than temptation then I thought it would be.  As I walked in, the first thing I see is a beautiful display of veggies.  Let me tell you, I am a sucker for delicious veggies!  But I had just harvested a skirt full of kale and tomatoes (the only things that like our garden, other than the giant turnips I harvested and lactofermented a few weeks back), so I just kept that in my head.  When I got back to the dairy department, I noticed that they had added a new whole milk unsweetened kefir to the shelves that was so much cheaper tham the other brand!  Joey loves kefir (water and dairy)!  But I resisted.  I got my 30 lb case of butter and started to the checkout without even a detour.

There were several lines open, but I chose my favorite checker, Maria, specifically because Beatrice had woken up and Maria has been pining to see her eyes.  We chatted for a minute as she was figuring out how to ring up the box, and when ishe told me the total I thought maybe I'd heard her wrong.  $4/lb time 30 lbs should be around $120, and I was prepared for that, but the price she gave me was $102.  But then I looked at her checkout moniter and realized what she did... she'd given me her employee discount (15% off!).  Those baby browns really paid off today!

This was my last real purchase for a whole month, so it was a little bittersweet saying goodbye to my favorite store.  But I'll be back soon!

Later this evening, Joey suggested last minute that we go visit his little sister at her new house!  She'll be a senior in college this year and this is her first time living all by herself.  Joey brought a machete and a bow saw to trim back the grape vines that at keeping her from opening her back door, and I brought dinner. Usually, on an event like this, we would have ended up grabbing a bite on the way there to save time, but I was determined to give my family good nourishing food from what I already had on hand!  So I took brown rice, the kale and tomatoes from the garden, along with an onion and a green pepper, some chicken from the freezer, and what was left of a can of coconut milk, plus spices, and we had chicken coconut curry on the fly!  And in a kitchen without any knives or cutting boards!  My sister-in-law had a list two dry erase boards long of all the things i'd discovered she didn't have by the time dinner was done!

But today was amazingly fruitful!  The only money spent (other than the butter, of course) was my $15 copay at the doctor's office.  And for free, we came home with a giant box of concord and champage grapes to make jelly out of!  And there're plenty more for harvest when we go back to visit again!

By the way, here's a shout out to Dyno-Mom for mentioning us and posting such a cure picture of Bea!  Also, I'll be borrowing her yogurt maker tomorrow to try my hand at raw milk yogurt from scratch!  For those of you who don't know, Melissa's one amazing woman and my husband and I bought a house on her street entirely so we could eat her food.  And I'm only half kidding!