Sep 9: Supermarket Sushi; Hiyashi Chūka

Lunch

Lunch came from Whole Foods during a shopping trip with Albacore Sashimi and a fresh “Spring Roll” style vegetarian roll for $9.99 per serve.

Dinner

The Hiyashi Chūka is chilled Ramen with Ham, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber and Usuyaki Tamago (thin Omelette).

  • We used the Ramen Noodles from our Shin Bowls, without the flavor packet, for 93c per serve
  • The Ham was $5.99 and we used ⅓ or $1.00 per serve
  • A Pastured Egg is 51c per serve
  • The Grape Tomatoes were $2.99 or 50c per serve
  • Add 25c for Cucumber
  • Add 40c for dressing ingredients.

A tasty dish for $3.59 per serve. Substitute Salad Greens for the Noodles and it’s almost a Cobb Salad.

Sep 8: Tomato & Swiss, Smoked Cheddar & Apple Toasties; Soutzoukakia with Dolmas and Garden Salad

Lunch

A couple of toasted sandwiches on a relatively cool day: Tomato & Swiss, Smoked Cheddar & Apple.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 74c per serve
  • Apple adds 17c per serve
  • Swiss adds 34c per serve
  • The Tomato adds 30c per serve
  • Add 40c for Garlic Spread.

Two good toasted sandwiches for $1.95 per serve.

Dinner

Since we had some Ground Lamb we decided to revisit the Soutzoukakia, but with a Green Salad (with some Feta) and Dolma’s. We get three serves from the Soutzoukakia.

  • Australian Ground lamb was $5.99 at Aldi or $2.00 per serve
  • An egg is 51c or 17c per serve
  • 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 25c per serve
  • Cotija cheese, substituting for Parmesan is $3.99 for 8oz and we shared 2 oz or 50c per serve
  • 1/4 cup and a tablespoon of red wine – halved – is 34c per serve
  • Stuffed Eggplant Dolmas were $2.79 or 93c per serve
  • Fried Eggplant (canned) was $2.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Parsley was $1.49 for the bunch, but we only used 1/4 or 13c per serve
  • Fresh mint came from our garden
  • The Garden Salad adds 80c per serve, because of the Feta.

A very satisfying and tasty meal for $6.12 per serve.

Sep 7: Liverwurst & Shallot, Smoked Gouda & Apple Open Sandwiches; Spicy Mango Ginger Soup

Lunch

We took some of the Village Bread from last night, topped one slice with the spreadable Smoked Gouda & Apple, and the other with Liverwurst & Shallot.

  • The “German Bread” was $2.99 for seven slices, and we used three, or 43c per serve
  • The spreadable Smoked Gouda came in a gift basket
  • Apple adds 17c per serve
  • Liverwurst adds 56c per serve
  • Shallot adds 10c per serve.

The Apple & Smoked Gouda worked particularly well, but both were good for $1.26 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to experiment with a Spicy Mango and Ginger Soup. We added more Ginger and Pepper Flakes than the recipe called for, which boosted the flavor.

  • Mangos were 29c each, or 29c per serve
  • Ginger adds 30c per serve
  • Add 30c for other ingredients.

This was another testament to the value of good ingredients in simple food. The 29c Mango deal from Aldi made this very tasty soup, only 89c per serve.

Sep 6: Caesar Salad with Smoked Trout; Grazing Dinner

Lunch

A heat wave made a lunch salad very attractive.

  • The Caesar Salad kit was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • We shared a $3.49 can of Smoked Trout, or $1.75 per serve.

This made a very acceptable lunch for $2.75 per serve.

Dinner

The Foodies had finished another major project and were celebrating with sparkling wine and a ‘grazing’ meal. They can be hard to calculate but average out at around $8.00 per serve.

Sep 5: Kobedeh Kabab; Spanish Style Tomato and White Anchovies Salad

Lunch

For lunch we each had a Kobedeh Kabab from Skewers Halaal for $10.94 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we tried a simple Tomato and White Anchovies Salad, in the style of a Spanish Tapa, but a much larger serve!

  • We used an entire tray of on-vine Tomatoes that we had lightly salted that was $3.29 or $1.65 per serve
  • The White Anchovies were $2.99 or $1.50 per serve.

Once again we proved that quality ingredients don’t need a lot of handling to be delicious. A simple but very tasty meal for $3.15 per serve.

Sep 4: Avocado, Sprouts & Smoked Trout; Barramundi with Mango Cucumber Salad

Lunch

Today’s lunch was again dictated by the Avocado ripening, so paired with Smoked Trout, we made some sandwiches.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 74c per serve
  • We shared a $3.49 can of Smoked Trout, or $1.75 per serve
  • The Avocado was 51c or 26c per serve
  • Add 30c for Alfalfa Sprouts
  • Garlic Spread adds 50c per serve.

A decent sandwich for $3.55 per serve.

Dinner

Foodie Greg picked up some Barramundi from Whole Foods and we paired that with a Mango Cucumber Salad.

  • The Barramundi was on special for $7.99 or $4.00 per serve
  • An Aldi Mango was 26c or 13c per serve
  • A Seedless Cucumber was 99c or 45c per serve.

The Barramundi was pretty good and the salad a great combination for $4.58 per serve. Someone forgot to put the card in the camera!

Sep 3: Ham & Apple Sauerkraut Salad Sandwiches; Dry Aged New York Strip Steak with Slow Cooked Broccoli

Lunch

Since we had some the the Apple Sauerkraut Salad left over, we added Ham and made sandwiches.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 74c per serve
  • Black Forest Ham is $3.29 per pack, or 66c per serve
  • The Apple was 79c or 10c per serve
  • The Artisanal Kraut is $3.29 per packet and we used about ⅛, or 21c per serve
  • Add 40c for Garlic Spread.

A pretty good sandwich for $2.11 per serve.

Dinner

Being Thursday night our ‘steak’ was a Dry Aged New York Strip that we seared in our high tech wok and served with Slow Cooked Broccoli. The wok gets an excellent sear on the outside of the steak, and uses a lot less energy than heating the grill.

  • The NY Strip Steak was $20.18 or $10.09 per serve
  • The Organic Broccoli was $2.79 or $1.40 per serve
  • Shallots and Garlic add 25c per serve
  • The Valbreso Feta was $10.99 but we used 1/6 each or $1.83 per serve
  • The Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used about ⅓, or 55c per serve.

It’s hard to go past a good steak, perfectly cooked, for $14.12 per serve.

Sep 2: Smoked Trout and Avocado Sandwich; Beer Bratwurst with Apple Sauerkraut Salad

Lunch

Today’s lunch was dictated by the Avocado ripening, so paired with Smoked Trout, we made some sandwiches.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 74c per serve
  • We shared a $3.49 can of Smoked Trout, or $1.75 per serve
  • The Avocado was 51c or 26c per serve
  • Add 30c for Alfalfa Sprouts
  • Garlic Spread adds 50c per serve.

The Garlic Spread and Sprouts are key to this sandwich. The Garlic Spread for flavor, the Sprouts for a little crunch. A good sandwich for $3.55 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we repeated a favorite: Beer Bratwurst with Apple Sauerkraut Salad. The Salad makes four good serves.

  • Beer Bratwurst were $4.49 or $2.25 per serve
  • The Apple was 79c or 10c per serve
  • The Artisanal Kraut was $3.29 or 42c per serve
  • Add 30c for Dressing ingredients.

The Beer Bratwurst and the Apple Sauerkraut Salad are a good combination for $3.07 per serve.

Sep 1: Gyro; Soba Noodle Broth Bowl with Miso Butter Mushrooms

Lunch

A shopping trip had us near our favorite Gyro outlet New York Chicken and Gyro where we picked our Gyros for $8.17 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Today was our swapped-out Meatless Monday, and we had Soba Noodle Broth Bowl with Miso Butter Mushrooms.

  • The Mushrooms were $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
  • Edamame was $2.29 and we used half or $1.15 per serve
  • Broth was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • An egg is 51c per serve
  • Soba Noodles are $3.29 and we used about ⅓ or 55c per serve
  • Add 30c per serve for other ingredients.

This turned out really well. The Mushrooms became quite meaty and the broth flavorsome. A good meal for $5.51 per serve.

August 2020: Summary and Observations

Pandemic isolation continues so there was no eating out, but we did take-out for an evening meal. This was the first restaurant prepared evening meal since March. We chose Gus’ BBQ because we figured BBQ would travel well for the 10 minutes it took to get it home and on the table.

We have narrowed our range of take-out meals to those that travel well enough to not be compromised. We added Mr Fish and Chips in Simi Valley because we can merge it with an Aldi trip. In vented containers the Fish and Chips weren’t significantly compromised.

The averages for this month:

  • Lunch prepared at home $2.71 ($2.71 in July)
  • Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $8.47 ($8.47)
  • Dinner eaten at home: $5.71 ($4.71)
  • Dinner prepared in a restaurant $17.70 (NA)

Our lunches at home average in a fairly narrow band and this month’s average is slightly down, but within normal variation.

We ate six lunches and one dinner, of 64 meals in the month, that were prepared outside the home. 

Our most expensive meal of the month was the  Dry Aged New York Strip with Slow Cooked Broccoli at $14.12. Our evening meal average cost is right in the middle of the expected range.

Although Gus’ BBQ intended it as a meal for one, we shared our single take-out meal for $17.70 per serve with tax and tip.

This month, lunches at home cost 23% of the cost of eating lunches prepared outside the home. Our evening meals prepared in the home are 32% of the cost of Gus’ BBQ.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $295.12 per person in June. We actually spent $55.59 for lunches at home plus $27.11 for lunches purchased or eaten out:  $82.70 in total, which is even lower than our usual low total cost.

If every evening meal cost us the same as our one this month, it would be $548.7.0 We actually spent $170.03 for dinners at home and $17.70 for dinners out, or $188.00 in total.

This month’s savings from preparing most of our food at home is now hard to calculate, but we definitely save by cooking for ourselves, and we had a lot more control over what we eat.

Over the month we prepared 23 different recipes for evening meals.