September 2019

Hi all:

It is the 27th of September already - time sure does fly by.  I wanted to give you all an update on what I have been up to during the month of September.

Autumn Equinox bouquet from Mark

It seems like I haven't been able to get caught up on anything this month.  Mark and I lost power for four days during Hurricane Dorian.  We prepared a bit and expected to be out of power for a day or two.  Four days without power was bit unexpected, but we didn't lose much food as we needed to buy groceries anyway.  We just lost some venison that my dad gave us from his hunting last year and a few bags of frozen fruit.  Hopefully we will get more venison this year to replace what we lost.  I know we were lucky regarding the power outage, as some in rural Nova Scotia were out for almost a week.

I also celebrated my 29th birthday this month.  We had a quiet day at home.  Mark baked me a sticky pear and ginger cake for my birthday.  He had a bit of a mishap and knocked down the pot filled with dates, sugar, butter, etc.  I am still finding sticky spots in the strangest places but it gave me an excuse to wash the cupboard doors again (and the walls, under the stove, etc.)  He also made me a roast beef dinner.  We have been making each other a birthday meal and cake every year since have been together.  Our first month together twelve years ago I started the tradition.  I remember I made him homemade chinese food and a cherry cheesecake (my mom had made the cream cheese from scratch).  I am glad we have kept this tradition.

My friend told me that a local farm was selling large boxes of tomatoes for a discounted price due to the hurricane so I bought a 20 lb box of tomatoes and made salsa, italian stewed tomatoes, and italian style tomato sauce with them.  It was my first time making tomato preserves on my own.  I used to help my mom when I was a teenager.  I even got Mark involved and there was some complaining, but less than I expected.  I look forward to processing our own tomatoes in the next years to come.

Stewed tomatoes with fresh basil

I am still not finished preserving food for the winter.  I want to make some flavoured vinegars, honeys, and oils.  I also plan to make some onion chutney, apple chutney, pumpkin chutney, and maybe can some apples and pears in the next few weeks.  I have been able to get produce for pretty fair prices so it has not made a very big dent in our food budget at all.  Nova Scotia peaches are still available as well so I am going to try to get my hands on some tomorrow.

Speaking of food budget, I would say that we haven't been too strict but have been doing very well so far.  We spend approximately $100 per week and try our best to make do with what we have.  We dined a few times this September, but overall we have eaten at home.  I have noticed that buying simple ingredients only makes us think of creative ways to use our leftovers and we have been spending more time in the kitchen together which is always nice.

My first time making jalapeno cornbread.

Random casserole I made with leftover chicken, gravy, vegetables, mashed potato, topped with stuffing and cranberries. 

For our overall debt payments, we decided to focus on paying off my credit card before saving more money.  For the month of September, we have paid a total of $1,164.99 on my credit card.  It should be completely paid by December and I will be closing it once it is paid as well.  It feels great to be sticking to our written budget and to see things getting paid off so quickly.  It makes me feel hopeful for my country life dream.

Despite all the good things happening in our corner of the world, we have had some bad news about our cat Mama.  She has taken ill and we are not quite sure what is happening with her other than a potential kidney infection.  She is not very well and we welcome any prayers and positive energy her way.

Thank you for reading and I hope you had a great September.

Jacqueline

August 2019

Good morning all:

It is a quiet Sunday here and I thought I would let you all know what I've been up to during the month of August.  It seems surreal that September is already here but I have been longing for a break from the summer heat.

At the beginning of August, Mark and I went to visit our family.  We didn't get as much time as we wanted with my parents because there was a sudden death in the family, but we got some time with them and I also got to harvest a lot of plants for medicines and skin care.  My mom also made us homemade chowder and biscuits which was lovely.  It is funny how much I hated my childhood village and now it brings me such peace.  I suppose age makes us nostalgic.  Or maybe we just appreciate the peace since we live in a city now and long to get out.

On the second day of our visit, we went to the Acadian village across the harbour for a visit since it had been years.  I loved the houses and felt I could move right in.  I will leave some photos here for you all.

I really love this quilt

We then went to my mother-in-laws for a few days. We had a family BBQ with Mark's brother and his partner Sheila.  She also runs her own business so it is nice to catch up and discuss life and business with her.  

We also got to check out a few homes that are for sale that we are interested in.  We found one we really love but it will likely be sold by next year.  We decided to mainly look for homes in Mark's old stomping ground as it is where he feels most comfortable and where we would like our children to grow up and go to school.  

I also made pickles and made our home smell like vinegar for a week or so.  I made bread and butter pickles as they are Mark's favourite, as well as beets, garlic dills, and mustard pickles.  It will be nice to have over the winter.  I still plan to make some chutney and apple preserves too.  I may also make pumpkin butter as well.  Our jam is all stocked in the cupboard too - I have approximately 16 jars of strawberry and strawberry rhubarb jam.  I was going to make blueberry but I didn't have the chance to go picking.  I think I will get some local peaches and make some peach jam this week.

Have you made any pickles or preserves this year?

We also had our seventh wedding anniversary this past week.  I can't believe how fast time goes.  All I know is that I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful husband and he is lucky that he has a wife that feeds him. :) 

In terms of our simple living goals, I have to say that we are doing very well.  We have been budgeting.  We have discussed every purchase.  And I really understand the virtues of a budget and written meal plan more than ever because the savings are incredible.  

We have two credit cards (one each) and Mark's is completely paid off! We paid it off in two months!  I have my card to work on now but we should have it paid off by December/January.

For our savings for our home purchase plan, we save saved 10% of our goal in two months.  

It feels like it is finally all coming together.  It has been very difficult for me, I have to admit.  I feel that I should be buying or doing more all the time.  Especially autumn decor - I really want to decorate this year.  But Mark keeps reminding me that we will be in our new home next year (fingers crossed) and the wait will be worth it.  So I have taken up with a plan to organize and clean our home and keep myself busy by being the keeper of the home.

I am also working on growing the business but it has been a bit slow as orders for supplies and creativity never seem to collide at the right time.  But things are looking up and I will be making soap and skin care soon for the autumn season and hopefully reopen the shop by Mid month or at least on October 1.

Thank you so much for coming by.  

Jacqueline

Our Plan to Live Simply

Good morning reader:

It is high time I start writing on this blog again.  I have been chatting with my husband about how much I wanted to get started but felt like no one would relate to what we are going through.  You see, we currently live in a city and we have come to a big realization that we no longer want to be here.  After my surgery in April, Mark and I started our deliberations on where to plant roots.  We have been living in the city for eight years now and even though it is what we thought we wanted at the time, we have ended up with a different dream.  One of solitude rather than the chaos of traffic and high mortgages.  We do not want to live our lives in a duplex in a suburb until we die and we realized that that would be our reality.

Of course that means things really need to change - our lifestyles, finances, and general behaviour and attitude towards material goods and money.  We have always been quite modest with our spending, or at least we thought we were.  But some months our grocery bills were outrageous, I bought my lunch every day, and we had three streaming services because of course, one needs so much choice.  We barely buy any clothing and we weren't material in the typical sense of the word, but we were still living beyond our means.  All our bills were getting paid, but we were not saving as much as we could.  Our trip to New York this spring cost us so much as our AirBnb was a disaster.  We thought we had planned enough, paid off our trip and saved enough for our spending money, and ended coming home with loads of credit card debt due to needing emergency hotels and well, hotels are expensive in Manhattan.

So all of this to say that we are starting anew.  My husband and I are essentially following Dave Ramsay's plan except we are saving a bit on the side as well.  We have started with a monthly written budget, have a savings account for our home buying fund (downpayment, legal fees, moving expenses), and are paying down our debts as fast as possible.  We also have an emergency fund of course (life is too unpredictable).  We have also included a small "fun money" budget so that we are able to travel a bit around the province or go out for a coffee, but otherwise we are living on basics.  I purchased this budget book in June to get us started and we have been loving it - it keeps everything in one place.

Another big part of our plan is to shop local and eat seasonally.  We noticed how much we were spending on items that were not currently in season but we wanted anyway and that is no longer an option.  We now purchase mostly from local farmers and our meat from a local butcher.  It has been an adjustment changing to "buy whatever we want" mentality to buying what grows in our local area, but it has been worth it.  The only exception is that we do buy some frozen veg.  We are hopeful that once we settle somewhere, we will be able to grow the majority of our produce and preserve/freeze it.

I have also been packing my lunches which is a big money saver and we have been making all our food except for the occasional treat out (which we choose cheap places like Tim Hortons for a snack or light meal).

I used to make all our own preserves years ago, but stopped due to the heat in our apartment and being "too busy".  This year we picked our strawberries ($1.50 a box) and made lots of jam for the winter months.  I have made strawberry and strawberry rhubarb so far.  I will be making rhubarb ginger, peach, and blueberry before summer is over.  Jam also makes nice gifts, so it was worth the work in the July heat.  It is also nice to rekindle old skills.

I am feeling confident about our plans for our new life.  We had unexpected car expenses in July and did not even have to touch the emergency fund - we somehow made room for the extra $200 in our budget.  It feels really good to see where everything is going and even better to see how far money can go if you plan correctly.

I look forward to sharing our journey with you.

Jacqueline

Reviving the old blog

Hi All:

I've decided to revive this old blog after using Wordpress for a time and not loving the platform.

I have been cherishing all the old memories I have stored here and want to continue doing so.

Life for me continues to be surrounded by simple pleasures, good food, and my husband.  Here, we will be sharing our life, food, and adventures with you all.  I wanted to return to a more primitive form of blogging, rather than the inspirational blog life most people aspire to these days.

I hope you come back to see us soon.

Jacqueline

The truth about good food..

I just read a post on another foodie's blog of the hate she is getting from eating real food, and how people are being shamed for eating meat, dairy and gluten. I feel like I have to address the subject of what "good" food is to me.

I know everyone has their own definition of what "good food" is.  Some people love home-cooked meat and potatoes, pies, take-out, chips and hamburgers, and all of the above.  Are any of those foods really bad for you?  In moderation, I say no.  I think you can eat a hamburger and not feel like you are going to turn into a cow afterwards.  I believe in butter, cream, and eating chocolate.  However, moderation is the key, isn't it?

I think one of the terrible things today is that people have this deathly fear of food: fear of eggs, say, or fear of butter. Most doctors feel that you can have a little bit of everything.
-Julia Child

I think sometimes the picture of "healthy" food gets confused with the picture the media portrays of "healthy food".  Calorie-wise dressing is not healthy.  It is full of chemicals, and is literally putting extra shit in your body.  Olive-oil based dressings that you whip up at home may have "fat", but it is actually a whole, real food.  You know what all the ingredients are.  I'm not saying you can't have your bottled dressing, I'm just saying that we need to be more concerned with what we put in our bodies.

Eating regular "whole" fat cheese is much better than the crap that has been overly processed to make it low-fat.  If you are that concerned about needing low-fat cheese, you probably shouldn't be eating it.  The same goes with milk, and I do not drink milk but I think that if you need skim milk, because regular milk is too fattening, you should look at your diet more closely.  I'm sure that the ritz cracker calories you eat a day have more calories than you using regular or 2% milk in your coffee!

“As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists.”

- Joan Gussow

I think great cooks like Julia Child, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, and many more prove to us that you can eat deliciously, without processed crap.  I think everyone should have a balanced diet, with meats if you eat meat, fish, vegetables, dairy and carbs.  I see so many people go off  carbs because they are so evil, and lose a shit load of weight, and guess what happens?  After three months of no carbs, no dairy, no sugar and starving yourself, you binge eat and gain twice the weight back. 

I do not believe in deprivation for weight loss.  I believe that you can eat your dessert, and you can make just as good desserts with less calories if you need to without adding chemicals to it.  You just need to use your head.  What is the point of living if you deprive yourself of something good?  Something that you're meant to enjoy?

There are also the people shaming you out of eating wheat, or dairy because it makes you fat or only eating raw foods so you stay youthful.  I think those people are full of shit to be honest.  If you have to eat gluten-free because you have an allergy, that's perfectly fine.  My mother is gluten-free because she needs to be, but do not tell people they must eat gluten free because gluten will kill you, it makes you older, it makes you fatter, whatever.  Bread was one of the first foods ever eaten in the world.  I think it's the processed excuse for bread that is the only bad thing for you.  If you eat a whole loaf of bread every single day, well then you might have a problem.

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?”
― Julia Child

I know some of you are probably reading this and saying, "Well she isn't even thin, why is she giving people this advice, or she doesn't know anything about food or diets?"  Well, the truth is, I am giving my opinion because I am sick of hearing about people telling people how to eat, and how to live.  If I went to France, I would eat cheese, and I would not feel guilty about it.  If I went to Italy, I would eat pasta everyday and there is nothing wrong with that, but I am so tired of people telling other people they must eat a vegan diet because meat is bad, or gluten-free because you'll die fat.  I do not care about that.  I care about good food.  The kind that doesn't come from containers. I love farm markets, unprocessed meats, and bakery fresh bread, and I hope you guys do too!

I apologize for the rambly-ness of this post!

Until next time,

Jacqueline

Meatless Monday: Easy Curry

Mark and I have been doing Meatless Mondays off and on for about a year or so.  We really enjoy trying new meatless meals, and I thought it would be a great way to bring a new twist to the recipes I usually post.  This recipe for easy curry is one of our favorites.  If you aren't a fan of meatless meals, you could always add chicken instead of beans.  I hope you enjoy!

For this easy-peasy curry, you will need:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp chili flakes (you can add more or less, I usually add more, and if you don't like spicy at all, omit them!)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced.
2 heaping spoonfuls of good curry powder
1 can of white beans or chickpeas
5-6 tbsp ketchup
Bit of water
salt and pepper

Cook onions in oil until softened, 6-7 minutes.
Add ginger and chili flakes, stir around for 30 seconds or so.
Add garlic and curry powder,  stir around for 1 minute.
Add beans, coat with curry mixture, and cook for another minute.
Add ketchup, and stir well.  Thin out with water.
Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes more.  Serve over basmati rice.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as Mark and I do.  Also, I'm not exactly sure where I found this recipe online, so if you find the source, let me know.  I'm not claiming this to be my own recipe!

Until next time, 

Jacqueline