Julie Grimes - $10 Dinners: Delicious Meals for a Family of 4 that Dont Break the Bank

Introduction

I spent my first decade living in Seagraves, a tiny West Texas town. My dad and granddad were farmer-ranchers, and our house was on the very edge of town. Just out back was a cattle pen. Thats where my big sister, Christy, kept her prized 4H calf. Beyond that, our family farm stretched into the distance until the dusty red clay field met the sky.

Though Dad and Popa grew cash crops (cotton in the summers, wheat in the winters), there was always a veggie garden. My sisters and I picked okra and green beans from the small plot, piled them into a laundry basket (to measure a bushel) and stuffed paper grocery bags (for half-a-bushel). Then wed load our red wagons and head out to sell our harvest. My younger sister, Catharine, and I served as Christys cheap labor and made pennies on the dollar from our efforts. At least thats how I remember it. Christy says, Yall didnt work or get paid. Catharine says, Christy paid us fair.

Popa, a red-haired Texas-Irish man, had a wicked sense of humor. My grandmother, Nanny, was often the butt of his (mostly) good-natured jokes. Agnes is so tight, shell squeeze a dollar bill til the eagle shits in her palm, hed often brag, always with a proud chuckle.

In my opinion, Nannys virtues were too many to count. Her frugality figured somewhere below her patience, kindness, and unending love for family. I always wanted to be just like her. A tall order, no doubt. And although I know I fall short of her grace in manyif not mostregards, I credit her for teaching me to cook. And how to be a tightwad.

Now that youve met most of the family, I have to give my mom her due. God bless her, she somehow managed to raise three rowdy daughters on her own, supporting us on her teachers salary. Meanwhile, she also went to night classes and earned a masters degree. Oh, and shes not a cook. Hates it, actually. So thanks, Mom, for letting me do the cooking when I got old enough.

$10 DINNERS

Delicious Dinners for a Family of Four that Dont Break the Bank

JULIE GRIMES

CONTENTS

(Entertaining Menus)

SECRETS OF A SUPERMARKET TIGHTWAD

I learned my first lessons in economics and budgeting while working on our family farm harvesting and selling our home-grown veggies and later walking the rows of cotton with a hoe, chopping weeds in the blazing Texas sun. We got paid about a quarter per row. Nanny, Queen of all Tightwads, was usually there with us too. What follows are many of her pearls of wisdom. Ive picked up a few more pointers in the years since my days on the farm, so theyre added in the mix also.

1. Plant a Garden

Or a fruit tree. At the very least, start a container garden with your favorite fresh herbs or small seasonal veggies.

Although Ive been a city girl for all my adult life, Ive always had a passion for growing my own food. I planted a fig tree in my backyard about the time my son Matthew was born. Later, Matthew and I planted a peach tree together. Now, years later, we still marvel each year as we wait anxiously for the fruit to ripen, so we can make ice cream and grill some fruit or sit together on a summer day and enjoy a bowl of peaches and cream, just like I used to do at Nanny and Popas house back in Texas.

Another year on Mothers Day, Matthew and I created a raised bed and planted a backyard garden with eggplant, zucchini, several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, corn, and more. Some things thrived, while others, namely the corn, struggled, but tending that garden and watching Mother Nature work her magic filled us with wonder and gave us a mission each morning. And our meals were abundant and fresh.

At my business, Black Sheep Kitchen, Ive upcycled an old ice bin into a small seasonal garden, so we have signs of life in the store and a few fresh ingredients to clip in a pinch. You can plant your fresh herbs in mason jars or portable pots, so you can pull them indoors during the winter months and still enjoy their fresh flavors year-round. If you buy fresh herbs in -ounce bags at the grocery (at $2.29 or more a pop), the savings add up quickly when you cross those off your shopping list. Not to mention theres less waste.

2. Go to the Source

Small farms, roadside stands, and farmers markets are the best places to buy local, seasonal, fresh produce.

I remember a small peach orchard a few miles west of Seagraves. There werent any U-Pick signs like you see at such places these days, but it was the same type deal. Every summer we piled into the car and drove out there while the trees were heavy with juicy, ripe, tangy-sweet peaches. We picked as much fruit as we could haul every trip. Once home, it was cobbler- and pie- and homemade ice cream-making timea race against the clock to make good use of the precious summer bounty.

Thats how I learned the importance of the fragrant smell of a ripe peach. Later, I realized that peaches, picked underripe and allowed to ripen off the tree, can eventually look and feel just like the ones we used to bring home from the orchard, but theres no way to fake that telltale scent.

I have no idea what we paid for the fruit we picked ourselves. But I know for a fact it was cheaper than the rock-hard, tasteless peaches on sale at the local grocery. Those were probably from California, picked before they were ready, and shipped all the way to Texas. Transportation and storage, thats what you pay for at the grocery, not flavor and fresh goodness.

Another benefit of going to the source is that you can build a relationship with your favorite farmers and support those who embody the ideals you believe in. The payoff here goes beyond your budget. Your new farmer friends can show you how to spot the best watermelons, and teach you that crowder peas are starchy, while lady peas have a delicate, almost sweet flavor. Its the best way to identify the sweetest local variety of peaches or plums and learn the exact window when theyll be at their best.

3. Shop in Season

Fresh produce is more expensive when its sold out of season. Buy berries or figs in December, and youll pay at least $1 more per pound. And like those California peaches that were sold in Texas, the winter berries and figs will be flavorless imposters with little likeness to glorious local summer fruits. Heres a chart to help you remember the natural growing season for a variety of fruits and vegetables.

SEASONAL FOOD GUIDE

SPRING: Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Carrots, English Peas, Fava Beans, Lettuces (arugula, spinach, watercress, and many greens are cool-weather crops), Mushrooms (especially morels), New Potatoes, Radishes, Ramps, Rhubarb, Spring Onions, Strawberries

SUMMER: Beans (string beans and shell beans), Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Field Peas, Figs, Melons, Okra, Peaches, Peppers, Plums, Plumcots (Pluots), Raspberries, Summer Squash, Tomatoes, Zucchini

FALL: Acorn Squash, Apples, Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Cranberries, Grapes, Kale, Lettuces, Mushrooms, Pears, Pumpkin, Spaghetti Squash, Sweet Potatoes