In spite of the blight here in New England, there have been some good tomatoes. We are always more or less on a diet, and main dish salads are a wonderful treat in the summer.
I found the chicken on sale, and the tomatoes on sale, too. So far, so good. I got a shell of baby spinach, a red onion and waltzed over to the cheese department to get some feta in olive oil and herbs. I mean, it was feta. How much could it cost?
The recipe called for 10.5 ounces. 5 ounces were $5.99. Ooops! I bought one container, not two, and poured some of its oil into some plain crumbled feta from the fridge. It occured to me that I could use my own olive oil, herbs from the summer garden, garlic and peppercorns to make the pricey feta in oil.
The salad was delicious, even with half the cheese. Eat it with breadsticks and enjoy. Tonight for dinner, we're having a banana clafouti for two. Guess what? Bananas were on sale.
I find that by careful shopping and planning with the weekly specials, I can save between 20-30 per cent on my trip to the supermarket.
Cucumbers were also on sale, and we have several salads with cukes, tomatoes, dressing and chopped cilantro and parsely. Nothing beats having herbs in the garden. The green beans have been good, too. Cherry tomatoes ripening at last.
I had a disaster last sprint with the cherry tomatoes, and in bringing them home I broke off the plant from the root. Eeek! I rerooted the plant. Tried to grow the old root, too, hoping it would send out shoots. It didn't, but the plant rerooted nicely, just a month or so behind schedule.
Our Joe Pye Weed has been blooming like crazy. It's a tall perennial with purple blossoms that the butterflies and the hummingbirds love. I got a new hummingbird feeder that uses old water bottles, so I've been saving them.
Pretty soon, I'll bring in the geraniums and the rosemary and root some coleus. In the spring? Free plants. My big hanging geranium has been going in and out for six years now.
Cheese paring looks smart when the garden has lush blossoms that didn't cost a dime. The packet of nasturtium seeds also seems like a good buy.
Yours in frugality, beauty and good taste,
The Cheeseparer
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