100 DOLLARS A WEEK - Day 26 (Wednesday) & Something About Waste...

Because she will likely tire of it, I will mention her only one more time this week to say she told me so.

Maria told me to put the other half of those corn tortillas in the freezer, but I didn't. And as a result, my biggest waste in these four weeks:

Adios, supermoldy tortillas. Lo siento... :(

In the past four weeks, I've managed to throw away very little, really. A couple of dried up, half used limes, a little bit of leftover braising liquid, some very small scraps of produce that got too dried up to use and can no longer be sacrificed to the compost pile because we've given up that pipe dream... the serious gardening one, I mean.

And for the negligence that kept me from taking 1 minute out of my life to put them in a freezer bag and shove them in the freezer, I threw away 40 something tortillas that would have lasted at least 5 taco dinners. It's not the money because those tortillas cost all of a buck forty. Just a little disappointment in myself that I let my laziness get the better of me. But you can be sure the next time I have to bring home 80 corn tortillas because the Meximart doesn't let me buy fewer at one time, half of them are going into the freezer immediately.

BREAKFAST

More cereal.

   2 bowls of milk and cereal $1.00
+ 2 cups of coffee $0.40

BREAKFAST: $1.40 total, $0.70/person

LUNCH

For me, the rest of that pasta. With kimchi, even. Why does pasta sauce taste that much better the day after and the day after? I have some theories, but whatever the reason, lucky for me it does.

For the Man, a cheddar, bacon and caramelized onion omelette.

   2 eggs $0.35
+ 2 slices of bacon $0.20
+ half an onion $0.10
+ some cheddar cheese $0.50
+ some milk, S&P, and oil $0.10

= LUNCH: $1.25 total.

DINNER

Not being able to locate the saffron I thought I had, I opted out of paella and made something similar: arroz con pollo (ahRROHSS kkohn POHyoh) - literally, rice with chicken - with some super sweet roasted red bell pepper and some broccoli and cauliflower tossed in a little olive oil and roasted until the florets had crispy edges, almost as if they were deep fried.

Some homemade aioli (ayOHlee) (something very much like mayonnaise) to go with it all, and a bottle of semi-dry cava to wash it down.

Bubbles make happy. They make you forget
all about all the passive-aggressive, paranoid,
guilt-tripping and crazy-making person
in your life...

   5 chicken drums $2.00
+ onions, peppers, garlic and seasoning for chicken $0.75
+ broccoli & cauliflower $1.50
+ 1 egg, some oil, some lemon juice and some garlic for aioli $0.75
+ 2 cups rice $0.80
+ 1 bottle of cava $5.00

= DINNER: $10.80 total, $3.60/serving for 3 servings.

Saturday:  $18.15
Sunday:  $17.30
Monday:  $11.20
Tuesday:  $7.75
Wednesday:  $13.50

$70.00 spent with two days left to go.

I am trying really hard today not to let my empathy for someone who pretty much makes *LOCO* out of everyone who spends any appreciable time with them get the better of me. There are two sides to every coin, and contrary to some popular thought, compassion can be as much of a weakness as a strength.

Wish me luck.

shinae