tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post3989056856490534438..comments2024-03-28T18:58:47.880-07:00Comments on creative savv: Fortune-telling: Butter prices down the pikeLilihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-29392417053066998402015-07-30T11:45:03.740-07:002015-07-30T11:45:03.740-07:00Live and learn,
Sadly, I didn't grow up where ...Live and learn,<br />Sadly, I didn't grow up where bacon fat would be in the bottom of the pan for cornbread. Boo hoo! I was a deprived child. I also had never tasted biscuits and gravy until well into my adults years. Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-73317648631898969952015-07-29T15:53:31.926-07:002015-07-29T15:53:31.926-07:00Well, of course, you can't make cornbread unle...Well, of course, you can't make cornbread unless there is bacon fat in the bottom of your iron skillet. At least not where I come from. Yum.Live and Learnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13493777474885053903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-29188863162902161962015-07-29T07:59:16.521-07:002015-07-29T07:59:16.521-07:00Hi Valarie,
First off, I didn't realize your h...Hi Valarie,<br />First off, I didn't realize your husband suffered a stroke this past year. I am so sorry for you. The worry and stress must be enormous. My prayers for his continued improvement and recovery.<br /><br />We go through the same thing with what appears to be a surplus of some foods in the house. Because it looks like we have so much of something, why not use it freely? I have to remind everyone that in order to make everything last until the next sale, we do need to be prudent with our use. And I've even had to resort to "hiding" some foods. Otherwise, they wouldn't be available when we all wanted something special. I hate feeling like I may be seen as a miser to my family. But doing what I do, and how I do it, is the way for us to meet our financial responsibilities.<br /><br />I'm so glad you were able to stock up so well when butter was such a good price at Aldi! And smart of you to buy 15 lbs (and making that 15 go further by making your own soft butter). It's just the two of you in your household, right? 15 lbs can stretch quite a long time for 2 people. (Like my 30-lb purchase for 5 of us.) Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-23840735075087389752015-07-29T07:47:03.806-07:002015-07-29T07:47:03.806-07:00I also bought butter at Aldi when it was also $1.8...I also bought butter at Aldi when it was also $1.86/#. I think I bought 15 lbs, and still have a bit left. I make softened butter and use it for everything except when baking. It really stretches my butter much further, and since it was my practice to purchase softened butter with oil in the market anyway, there was no adjustment needed (except to do a happy-dance over the reduced cost to make it myself!!). My husband does grumble occasionally about all the butter in the freezer, but I point out the current retail cost in the store, and that is a good reminder of the value of my frugal ways. We have had a significant loss of income (-60%) due to my husband's stroke in February, so every saving opportunity I can find is valuable. Thanks again for your thoughtful analyses!Valarie Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-22387341087350622532015-07-29T06:41:55.673-07:002015-07-29T06:41:55.673-07:00Hi Kris,
I thought I remembered you saying you'...Hi Kris,<br />I thought I remembered you saying you'd bought butter at a good price at Aldi. That $1.89/lb was a great price for last Christmas. That's a good plan to stock up during the holiday baking season.<br /><br />I made cookies, once with oil, and while they were okay, they kept oozing oil for days. I kept them on sheets of brown paper, and with each passing day, the paper became more and more saturated with the oil. I bet, though, there is a way to use oil or particular recipes for cookies with oil that turn out well.<br /><br />I'm happy to be your friend for whatever reason, Kris!!Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-65642984038325351482015-07-29T06:17:00.100-07:002015-07-29T06:17:00.100-07:00Hi YHF,
The way I look at it, this is all part of ...Hi YHF,<br />The way I look at it, this is all part of my job as the one who maximizes our income. And I feel especially blessed to be living in a time when we have resources like the very latest gov't reports, at our fingertips, with the internet. <br /><br />Your situation is somewhat unique. In many ways, Hawaii is its own little economy, removed from the rest of the US. The Avian flu may not have as much of an impact on your egg prices, if your eggs are locally raised. But your supply/demand is tighter. If more land, there, gets developed into housing/resorts, there's less land for farming, tightening up your supply and raising prices. And if there is a climate-related shortage, you can't just reach across the border into another state, the way the states on the continent can. <br /><br />But it sounds like you're doing a great job in managing your limitations of living in Hawaii.Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-62820978255386048692015-07-29T06:14:40.988-07:002015-07-29T06:14:40.988-07:00Wow, Lili, your brain works in ways that mine does...Wow, Lili, your brain works in ways that mine doesn't (and that's a good thing!). I'm more likely to stock up on baking items around Christmas when it's cheapest at Aldi (I don't remember the exact price point, but I'm thinking it was $1.89/pound at that time--I recently bought 1 pound at our local grocer for $2.50/pound on sale, which is cheaper than Aldi's current prices). For cookies, I typically use either butter or shortening (although I do have some coconut oil on hand that I need to use more often!) and I use oil for baked goods that I bake in some sort of pan with sides to it (cookies spread, so I need a more solid fat for those, but muffins/breads/cakes don't). My pie crust recipe uses oil, not butter or shortening. And, to make my baked goods lighter, I often sub in a fruit puree, as you mentioned, above. I'm not sure I would even know where to start for figuring out the rise and fall of dairy prices--that's why you are my friend, so you can figure it out for me! :)Krisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-13129662177650659112015-07-29T06:05:02.851-07:002015-07-29T06:05:02.851-07:00Hi live and learn,
Bacon fat, as is, also works we...Hi live and learn,<br />Bacon fat, as is, also works well in cornbread. And ham fat could be used in a savory pie crust or cornbread, as well, I would think. Yum!Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-33850098039237965192015-07-29T05:26:52.430-07:002015-07-29T05:26:52.430-07:00Thanks for the awesome analysis and understanding ...Thanks for the awesome analysis and understanding of the market forces that come into play..and how we could interpret global supply and demand to tlocal price trends at home. A look at commodity prices for various food items could foretell price trends too perhaps. Also for us stuck in the middle of the Pacific, shipping and oil prices impact store pricing, along with labor costs. I guess at least knowing which way prices might go and when the lows may occur should help us decide how much to buy at any given time. I've never thought it through as you have...buying for your household is not any different than being a buyer for the grocery store. Excellent use of your free time IMHO, like doing your own taxes, it may be overkill to learn so much about taxes to do your own return, but the savings repeat year after year, day after day in the case of grocery shopping, so the dividends are huge. <br /><br />YHFAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-57090743778556104352015-07-29T04:31:43.352-07:002015-07-29T04:31:43.352-07:00You got me thinking. Non-clarified bacon fat in a ...You got me thinking. Non-clarified bacon fat in a quiche crust. Now that could be good. :)Live and Learnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13493777474885053903noreply@blogger.com