March 23, 2011

The $34.27 Challenge: Making Do and Making Mayonnaise

It's only a few days into the first week of our two week challenge to spend only $34.27 on groceries, and already we've had to make a few compromises.

The (overly-detailed) menu called for tuna melts on Monday night, to accomplish the triple goal of:

    A) eating cheaply from the pantry,
    B) using up a leftover tomato, and
    C) feeding my kids tuna out of a can, just so I can get over it and stop using it as my one joke.

Of course, this meant making English Muffins. Using Kristen's recipe.


 It also meant having to do one of the scariest things I've ever done in the kitchen (cue ominous music):

Make mayonnaise. (Bah, buh, BAAAAHHHHH!)

Ordinarily, I would never attempt any recipe that includes the instructions: "Don't try to make if a thunderstorm threatens or is in progress", but Mrs Tidy-Numbers over here just couldn't bear to use up her last few grocery dollars on a whole jar of something she only needed a few tablespoons of.

So, I give you (drumroll):


Looks like real mayonnaise, doesn't it?

Doesn't taste like it.

I've got my fortune-telling turban on, and I can just about make out what's going into the trash on Food Waste Friday...

Yesterday was Spinach Pasta night, which also let me use up the whipping cream (left over from a chocolate caramel pecan tart that Mr made for our Buffy Party a week ago).


 It will not be a contender in this week's Food Waste Friday. That is all.