I sometimes wonder what life is like in other people's homes

And I know that you sometimes wonder how I do things, just out of curiosity, even if you have no intention of doing some of the things that I do in my home. I think that is just normal curiosity.

So, I thought I'd share one of the "hows" to what I do in the kitchen.

In the comments section, one day, someone asked how I decant mayonnaise from the large jars.

I've only bought 1-gallon jars of mayonnaise three times now. But these large jars are often the most economical-per-unit size of mayonnaise. A 1-gallon jar will last our family about 5 to 6 months. The quality remains good for us, for that entire time.

But the large size could be prone to spoilage and/or bacterial contamination, if not handled properly. For these three jars, this is how I've made it work for us.

So, commercial mayonnaise is fairly high in acid (vinegar and lemon juice). This combined with the salt content, makes an unfavorable environment for bacterial growth (http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/Literature/Mayo%20brochure.pdf).

Age-related spoilage of the product is not my primary concern. According to several sites, commercial mayonnaise can keep for up to 6 months, refrigerated, once opened. With this in mind, my aim is to reduce the chance of premature spoilage.

The biggest enemy to commercial mayonnaise is contamination from other sources, such as unclean hands or utensils. I avoid cross-contamination through some common sense practices, such as washing hands when cooking, and always dipping a clean utensil into the mayo jar.

So, to minimize any food-borne illness risk, I decant 1 cup of mayo at a time, from my 1-gallon jar. I use a freshly-sanitized *, 1/2-pint jar and large spoon, each time I decant another portion. 1/2 pint of mayo lasts our family not quite 2 weeks. By using such a small jar at a time, we reduce the risk of losing product due to spoilage, from contamination. (*I sanitize jars either in the dishwasher on the high-temp setting, or in a pot of water on the stove, as I'm sterilizing jars for homemade yogurt or preserves.)

To keep the 1-gallon jar in its best condition possible after opening, we store it in the kitchen refrigerator (as opposed to the garage one) where the temperature control is digital and very accurate.

And I use a sheet of plastic wrap, over the top of the jar, under the cap, to minimize air infiltration, from a poor-fitting lid. After decanting a portion, I scrape down the insides, then lay the piece of plastic wrap over the jar opening, before screwing the cap back on.

We do commercial mustard in a similar fashion. I buy it in 1-gallon jars, and decant small amounts at a time. Because mustard is very high in acid (vinegar), I decant into newly sanitized, 1-pint jars (instead of 1/2 pints), 3 jars at a time, so that it's easy for someone to grab a fresh jar as needed.

So, that's how I deal with those 1-gallon jars of condiments, that you read about in my grocery spending journal from time to time.

Wanting to go out for ice cream one hot evening . . .

If the 5 of us went to Menchie's (self-serve frozen yogurt), we would spend about $35. Yikes! That's a whole lotta cash for a bowl of frozen yogurt, each.


Every month, we set aside a small amount (I mean small, about $5-10 depending on what's leftover after the budget is made out), for doing fun things with the family. We don't always use this money, so it builds for a couple of months. But we try to use this money wisely.

We could save for several months, and go to the movies. Or, we could spend $1 and rent a recent release from Redbox. Or, what we most often do, we can hang on to the money and borrow dvds from the library.

We could save for many months, and go out for dinner. Or, we could save for one or two months and get fast food for 1 night. Or, we could buy some special foods to have at home or take to the beach, for a nice dinner or special treat, with far less expense.

In June and July, we made plans to use some of this "family-fun" money to enjoy time together, with special treats.

Last Saturday, my daughters came with me on an errand in the AM, and we were talking about how it would be the perfect day to go to Menchie's as a family. It had been hot for a few days, and Saturday's forecasted high was to be the hottest day of the week. So, a bowl of frozen yogurt or ice cream sounded especially appealing.

We talked about our various options. We could all go to McDonalds after dinner for their sundaes, at a cost of about $6, total. Okay, but as it's ice cream made with milk, it wouldn't be the best for me. Then we talked about Menchie's. A better option for me, as I can get non-dairy fro-yo there. And everyone gets to customize their own dessert. But at a price of about $6 or $7 each, for a whopping $35 for 5 of us. That's when the thought of going to Fred Meyer and picking out ice cream (and sorbet for me), plus toppings was thrown about.

The more we discussed this, the better a home sundae bar sounded. We talked about a price limit on how much we should spend, out of our "family-fun" savings. $15 sounded about right, for a special treat for 5 people.

So, after a lot of walking about the store, checking out our options, we chose some slivered almonds, from the bulk bins, a few gummy worms and chocolate caramel peanut clusters from the Brach's bulk bins, a snack-size package of Pepperidge Farms Mini-Chessmen shortbread cookies, a bag of dark chocolate-covered pretzels, a bottle of dark chocolate Magic Shell (chocolate sauce that hardens on the ice cream, something my kids had once at a cousin's house but never since), and a 1-gallon pail of Neapolitan ice cream, (plus that pint of raspberry sorbet for me). At home, I had strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in the garden to add to our sundae bar. In total, we spent $11.39. And, we had enough of all of the supplies to have sundaes both Saturday and Sunday after dinner. Plus, there's half a pail of ice cream and almost half a pint of sorbet remaining for future family-fun nights. None of this had to come out of the regular grocery budget.

Later this month, our family will be doing our annual fish and chips, beach-front dinner. We do this once per summer, and have a fun fish dinner together, at the beach. Waterfront dining at it's best!

In previous years, we bought our fish and chips from the Ivar's seafood bar at the beach (the beach which now charges for parking). We had been talking about going to a different Ivar's and bringing our fish and chips to one of the free-parking beaches in the area.

As good fortune would have it, frozen cod fillets are on sale at Cash & Carry this week, for about $18 for a 5-lb box of 2-oz fillets (a good size for fried fish strips). In previous years, we have spent about $30 on fish and chips for the whole family at Ivar's. A 5-lb box of cod fillets is enough fish for the 5 of us, for 4 nights of fish and chips, at a cost of $4.50 for a family dinner of the fish. Add in the batter and oil for frying and some potatoes for chips, and we're up to about $6 for our annual fish and chips at the beach dinner. I'll make the fish and chips at home just before we leave, then take the dinner to the nearest beach (5 minutes away).

I know that we could have fun without any expense. But sometimes, a little expense is worth it. And this is a way that fits within our budget -- and that makes me happy! (And the treats made my family very happy!!)