So, I'm watching CNN, waiting for the last of the home grown sweet potatoes to finish roasting and I'm watching this piece of Victory Gardens and how people are growing their own veg in an effort to save money. I think they were trying to connect this to Michelle Obama's brand new kitchen garden (Which is obviously where they got the "victory garden" nomenclature as the First Lady's is the first working food garden at the White House since World War II.) I've been thinking about growing some of my own veg this summer. A friend of mine suggested that since I already have the grow lights (for my orchids) I might as well make it an indoor/outdoor garden. This isn't a bad idea. I need to ask my building manager if she'd mind if I had large potted plants (in the corner of the parking lot, maybe?) The large pots would be so that I could move them inside and outside.
There are a number of things that can be grown on a shortened season so that you have a rotating crop that is replanted every three months or so. Many lettuces can be grown this way.
Its a good budgetary thing, being able to provide some of your own produce, because here's my thing: Money should never be a factor when it comes to getting all the nutrients you need. I know that it is, world wide, a phenomenon that people who can't afford to eat, don't. But, at the moment I'm more concerned by being able to afford to eat, just not being able to afford to eat right. That sounds stupid, right? But, when you can get all kinds of crap off of Fast food dollar menus, why spend the money on the fresh broccoli or fish or other lean meat. Especially since the things that are typically better for you are also typically more expensive. Which makes me think of the KFC commercial that says, "Hey, you can't make our bucket meal for what you'd pay for a bucket meal." They show a family flitting around a grocery store adding up the cost of a flour, spices, chicken, corn, potatoes, etc. I think this is a little unfair. I'm a baker. I'm on my second five pound bag of flour. And, with that I've made my own chicken strips, I've made a dozen cupcakes, 2 dozen scones, a dozen blueberry muffins, and lavash. King Arthur (an amazing company) sells their unbleached bread flour in a five pound bag for $4.95. Maybe I'm underselling KFC, maybe they do the math right, but I still think there's something wrong here.
Although, honestly, I have a feeling that the problem I have isn't that the better food is more expensive, but rather that I don't know how to shop to minimize spending and maximize the use of what I've got in my kitchen. Maybe this isn't a good food being expensive problem. Maybe this is a shopping/cooking knowledge problem.
