UK, 1949
Do you ever splurge in the kitchen? I try to keep my grocery budget in line, but I do have a few areas where I don't mind spending a little more.
One of my favorite "treats" for the kitchen is Mrs. Meyers geranium dish soap. It smells so good and anything to make doing the dishes less of a chore is worth it to me. :) I also spend more to get good, organic brown eggs. We don't eat everything organic, but I buy organic eggs and milk when I can.
Also, if you're making something like this pot roast that calls for wine, be sure and use the good stuff. If you use the cheap "cooking wine" you'll ruin it! I learned that one the hard way. No point in investing the time and energy in a meal only to ruin it with a bad ingredient.
Do you have any favorite kitchen splurges?
17 comments:
With my Blog name, I had to comment! I think the biggest splurge I can recall is getting a small waste basket with a heavy wooden lid from Longaberger Baskets in which to store my Labrador's biscuits. Those baskets are a bit pricey and this one was stored on a rolling shelf behind a pantry door. I never regretted it.
I do love a good cheese, so that is where I might splurge a bit. Some French goats cheese, or maybe a really good bleu. Yum.
I do spend to buy quality ingredients. Real butter, good flour, real maple syrup (oof, that's a splurge!).
But...I have read that if the organic milk is ultra-pasteurized there is no point in buying it. So I buy regular old pasteurized, but with no growth hormones, when I can.
Well, you've got me thinking here. I have to say, yes. I bought some gold/yellow chantal cookware at a garage sale for $35. A bargain compared to retail but much much more than I normally would have paid at a garage sale - by about $30!
I buy as good a quality food as I can.
Any thrift store find that will make my kitchen & dining table look nice.
Oh and I rent a Miss Read audiobook (£1 month) to listen too - I can stay in there all day cooking from scratch & saving money if I have Miss Read to listen to :)
Actually we did just splurge in the kitchen, I was needing a new dishwasher as the old one had died and my husband bought me a really good one :) Good Husband!
I'm a big splurger! I have very specific tastes when it comes to my food and my kitchen and I splurge on... gosh... most everything, now that I think about it!
I haven't been able to splurge recently due to money issues but I did like to spend more money on wine or ingredients for a nice dinner.
I think good quality meat is a must! For example, paying a few pounds more for somthing like steak makes the difference between having a yummy dinner and wishing you had paid a bit more!
Lots of Love
Kelly xxxx
Yep, I sure do when I can afford it.
organic eggs and milk, dirty dozen produce and some snacks for the kids, good quality parmesan cheese, fresh herbs
Then I love the Target brand cleaners that smell so yummy, drawing a blank on the name. I also buy the flavored coffee and seasonal creamers. I figure I'm saving because I'm not at buying it at the coffee shop daily.
Carey
Good extra virgin olive oil, Boar's Head deli meats, Dove's chocolate, Italian bread fresh from the bakery....
Ooooh I have several! Mine are real butter, cheese and whole milk (not low fat, etc) for recipes.
We splurge on lots of produce throughout the year. It's healthy, especially since we have chronic illnesses. Totally worth the money. We buy organics when we can.
I also buy the flavored coffee and seasonal creamers. I figure I'm saving because I'm not at buying it at the coffee shop daily.
I splurge on cheese, greek yogurt, sparkling water, and of course the occasional magazine I throw in the cart.
Mrs Meyers dish soap is my all time fave, too! It cuts grease and cleans dishes (esp plastics {yuck}, too) like no other brand.
My fave scent, though, is the Lemon Verbena.
As you can see from my blog name, I'm glad to hear that you are buying organic when you can and using more Earth friendly cleaning products like Mrs. Meyers. You should definetly try "her" other products too, the all purpose cleaner is amazing and may look a little pricy, but when you compare how much is in that bottle and the fractional amount that you need to add to your bucket, you'll never go back! I have to say that my splurge in the kitchen is being about 95% organic (could boost that a bit if Clamato came out with an organic version, nothing like a Sunday Ceasar!) but that aside I would have to agree that wine, and dairy products were definite splurges in our house until I fell in love with my grocery store about a year ago. It's a local (non-chain) grocer that carries all organic at very reasonable prices and I can feel good about supporting another local business family who take great care of their customers. (When was the last time you walked into your grocery store and were greeted with a smile by name and with tips on what's "amazing this week"?) Another way I stay on budget while buying organic is to order my organic meat direct from the farm. Its the best, I just place an order each month and it all gets delivered to my door vacuum packaged in a refridgerated truck two days later for just $5CAD delivery charge. I also buy my milk, eggs, and cream from a local dairy that uses glass bottles, after the initial deposit on the bottles ($2CAD/each) the difference in price between organic and conventional cartons is pennies. Also a good meal planning system makes it possible to splurge more often as well, I like to use KnockKnock's "5 Days A Week" paper mousepad
http://www.knockknock.biz/catalog/categories/pads/paper-mousepads/5-days-a-week-paper-mousepad/
(although my mouse has never touched it) to plan out my meals, that way I can list out any obligations for the week that may effect dinner, choose an appropriate recipe for each night, list out the ingredients, compare what I need to what I have (saves on double buying or missing ingredients), make a grocery list and EXECUTE! Then I stick it on my fridge with a magnet. (Sounds like a big task but it usually only takes about 20 minutes and I can do it while watching TV.) Why just five days a week? -leftovers-getting invited to someone elses house for dinner-hubby taking me out for dinner-going to a movie and stuffing ourselves with popcorn-etc. Somehow only planning five days always works. *okay this is probably too long, but I'm new*
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