lancaster, pa: where the organic chicken is the same price as the giant-brand chicken.

No lie. Greg just informed me that he buys our organic chicken from a stand in the middle of Central Market for about $3 a pound, the same as I spent today at Giant. So. . . a whole organic, grass-fed chicken for $12? Or four pounds of souped-up antibiotic- and steroid-laced chicken for $12?

For the past year and a half, we’ve been trying to create a diet for ourselves that’s healthy and as local and organic as possible. We knew that commitment might mean spending more on groceries than normal — but with vegetables and fruits, locally produced, organically produced, and affordable seem to go hand in hand. The problem has always been meat and dairy, and we resorted to not eating much of the former rather than exceeding our budget. Since we moved to Lancaster two months ago, we’ve been buying whole, organic chickens as a special treat, stewing them, and freezing the leftover meat to be used throughout the coming weeks. It’s been delicious. Slow-cooked chicken is my favorite. But I guess I never shook the idea that organic meat had to be more expensive than other meat, and that these chicken meals were a crazy splurge.

It turns out that they’re not! We could have them every week. (At least if Greg and I ate a whole chicken a week.)

I’m a little horrified that I bought chicken at Giant instead of this delicious, local, organic, affordable meat!

We all know I tend towards the frugal side, even when it comes to something important like the food we put in our bodies... But man what an all-around win our market chicken turns out to be.

Other recommendations in Central Market for the Frugally Minded:
Thomas Produce has organic, cage-free eggs for $2.50 a dozen. And homegrown potatoes for cheaper than any of those stands selling regular old Idahos that got shipped across the country. Bet you there’s no salmonella in any of their produce!

Also: today I successfully acquired a Pennsylvania driver's license, and it only took me half an hour of sitting and waiting around. Maybe Pennsylvania isn't filled with retards after all! Although their drivers licenses sure are ugly. . .

ooh, ooh! first post-grad revelation?

Today I came home from work and got really excited about making things. I started making baked oatmeal because our last few pieces went moldy. Then I thought, I'll just tackle that stupid fifth pumpkin that's been taking up half our shelf all year. Then I realized I don't have anything to take to work for breakfast tomorrow, so I make chocolate chip scones.

Why is it that I can't come home from work and be that motivated to go draw or do artwork?

Well, the kitchen is my favorite room of most houses. Granted, ours has NOT ENOUGH counter space, it's tiny, but it gets great afternoon light, it's far from the TV, and it's a radically different environment than I've been in for the rest of the day. And kitchen time is "me" time. I claim it as necessary and good time to take care of myself, to take my time and reflect, to make something delicious to feed my body with (and Greg, too). It somehow suits both my contemplative needs, my need to stake a claim to home somewhere, and my achiever needs (I tell you, I get stuff DONE in the kitchen. Except dishes).

Also it smells good when I have been baking, and I do not have to walk so far to get a snack! It is basically the perfect situation.

So I decided, why fight it? The kitchen is my best room. I'ma just draw out here. So I lugged all my stuff into the kitchen and spread out on the floor and started working with some music and some pumpkin bread with cream cheese on top.

Perfect.

send your pumpkin recipes express

Well, my lovelies, I haz a job. I actually haz 2 jobs. One is a job on Saturdays where I am a waitress. That one is kind of blah. The other job is the one where I work for a marketing company and man the phones, proofread stuff, and make other stuff in Photoshop. That one has the potential to be pretty sweet. At the moment, though, it is only 25 hours a week (moving to 29 next week). So I can't quite tell the waitressing place that I'm quitting. But soon, perhaps. This working-six-days-a-week thing is tiring, even when it still only amounts to 40 hours a week.

Also, my Messiah e-mail address will no longer be valid as of tomorrow -- so send your e-mails to my new address! Namely one kenzie.j.m at gmail.com. Of course, now I realize that it should really be kenzie.j.s, but changing it now would be silly and overly complicated.

Today I spent like two hours playing Zelda and didn't even feel guilty. What is this world coming to? Might I actually achieve balance in my life for at least a few short months?

Nah, that would be crazy talk.

Are you craving fresh vegetables yet? Tomatoes, sweet peas, lettuce, cucumber, zucchini. . . . ooh, and mint! I can't wait to make fresh mint tea or mint lemonade. mmmm. . . .

Once upon a time I read a book about how craving liver meant you were deficient in vitamins. Craving all these vegetables makes me wonder if I should be taking a vitamin supplement.

Oh, and do you want to hear a sad story? It is almost time for new vegetables, and we haven't even used up all the pumpkin we prepared and froze last fall! Lesson 1: 5 neck pumpkins is too much pumpkin for two people.