Lately I have been forgoing the daily glass of wine in favor of saving cash. In doing so I have learned two very important things….
1) I am not an alcoholic! I can go without alcohol and not actually need it…ok, so on Friday’s I do look forward to sitting in a bar w/M and having a couple of drinks but that is really about the social aspects more than anything. He’s fun to drink with and fun to talk to so of course I look forward to the time I spend with him…but I love when we sit on his back porch with our morning coffee just as much so really, it’s not about the alcohol. In fact, since I have slowed down my drinking (it really was out of control in Atlanta as well as when I lived with my friend in Salem and the two of us would drink several glasses every evening) I am to the point where I no longer like having more than one to two glasses of wine or two to three beers. I don’t like the feeling of more than a light buzz…I’m not saying that I will never be drunk again…it happens. However, I think I have officially outgrown the over-consumption of alcohol…for the most part.
2) HOWEVER (yes of course there is a but)…I have been very dissatisfied after dinner lately. Not that the food is less delicious. In fact, I would say that lately I have been enjoying the results of my time spent cooking more than ever. There just always seemed to be something missing, that despite having had plenty to eat with the standard inclusion of grains, proteins and veggies and feeling full I still wanted…something…but I didn’t know exactly what I was longing for. Two days ago I realized…its the wine thats missing! Not so much because it enhances the flavor of the food…food is a many splendored thing and if its good it needs no help so to speak, but wine gives a meal, even pizza or hamburgers, a little something special, a little sophistication. Most of all though, I love the end of the meal when the plate is in the sink and the food is gone but I still have another ounce or two of wine to sit and savor while reading my book or watching a bit of a movie. Ten minutes of my day to relax with one of my absolute favorite foods (for, yes, wine is food). So I have determined that wine is just as important a purchase in my weekly grocery budget as bread and milk and even if I have to eat nothing but eggs and apples the last two days of the week because I have spent all my food money up, I will have wine!
July 11, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I agree – wine adds so much to the meal and yet makes one slow down just a bit to enjoy both the meal and the wine.
Living in a rural small town (located in the Bible Belt) I was approached one evening about my “drinking” and being that at the time, I was helping out at our church with the youth, it was questionable as to my abilities in teaching. ;o) I won’t go into details of the story (maybe a blog entry someday) but I found it interesting the ideas or labels given to some who choose to drink a glass or two of wine each evening with their meal.
There are so many health benefits to drinking wine (in moderation of course) but my favorite is how it compliments what we are having for dinner.
Good for you for “stepping out” and “speaking up” on a topic than some find a little bit scary when being up front and honest.
July 12, 2009 at 8:05 am
Eurochic – As far as I am concerned, a glass of wine with dinner is one of the cornerstones of civilized living. It elevates the simplest of meals ( a little bread, some cheese, a piece of fruit) into something special, somthing to savour. It forces us to slow down and appreciate what we have – which is why your cup of morning coffee on M’s back porch is also such a delightful and life enhancing experience.
Thank you so much for linking to my blog. So kind.
July 13, 2009 at 12:41 am
You talk about a budget for your food – I’m just curious as to how much you allocate. I live alone too and like you, I try and make nice meals worth having each evening. Unfortunately this often means throwing away alot of things at the end of the week, as most recipes are x4 and I refuse to eat the same thing 4 nights in a row! Sometimes I can freeze, but not always.
Do you have this same problems?
July 13, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I grew up in a small, rural town in the Bible Belt myself and went to Church with people exactly like those you have encountered. Of course moving to the city has changed the way I view everything, but I was raised that alcohol was the devil’s food!
July 13, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Julia,
I allocate $200-$250 a month, however staying in that limit is often easier said than done. Especially when Monday comes and I’ve already spent my weekly $50 and the new week doesn’t turn over until Thursday (my current payday). I am actually at that point this week and while I am tempted to overspend my budget for a recipe I want to try I am refraining from making additional purchases and utilizing what I have on hand at the moment. I actually have enough food to make meals for myself over the next few days and though it means eating basically the same foods, the challenge is to get creative and find new ways of preparing them from day to day. For example….a leftover fish dinner can become tomorrow’s fish sandwich for lunch (I have a basic sandwich using fish that I love and I always keep hamburger buns in the freezer or if I have tortillas might turn it into a fish taco).
I used to have the same problem that you have in that recipes make too much food and I didn’t want the leftovers so I ended up tossing things. I’ve changed mainly because I have to with my current budget, but also because I have realized that I used to spend a good $500/month just on groceries (that doesn’t include the additional $300 I was spending on dining out). That’s ridiculous! No wonder I could never find enough money in my budget for dining room chairs! I was spending it on food that I wasn’t even eating! So now I have developed a new rule…divide recipes in half (at least), if possible, freeze half of the finished product and don’t make a new meal until all of that one has been consumed. If you still feel like you end up with too much food, next time you make that recipe divide it even further. Also, learn to cook by hand…in other words, buy enough fish or meat for one or two meals and season it, not by a recipes ingredient allotment but by instinct. Just use an amount that feels right. If you feel that it could have used more oregano or cumin, give it more of that ingredient next time you cook it…or less as the case may be.
July 14, 2009 at 12:07 am
Thanks for that. After reading your blog I have actually started to cook half the recipe (when it calls for 4 serves), but I did wonder how you seemed to keep track of your food and budget so well, whilst also producing great meals.
I kept a tally of my food budget last month and was embarassed at how bad it was! Like you I can’t believe I spend that on food, yet can’t find the money for a coffee table. If I was eating it all I would say ok – but I’m not! So now I am determined to rein in my food budget!