Tonight, we had dinner at home.
We’ve been carefully growing a prize head of broccoli (well, it’s a prize to us!) – an errant seedling from our punnet of sprouting broccoli which grew into a large, old-fashioned cluster. After carefully removing the five cabbage moth caterpillars, we broke the head into florets and cooked it with anchovies and a clove of garlic, and then served it with our homemade pasta.
As we sat down together for dinner, I commented to Small Man that life is all about swings and roundabouts. The meal tonight cost us almost nothing – the broccoli came from the garden; the pasta was homemade using eggs from our lovely ladies. All up dinner for the four of us would have been about $3.
I tried to explain to the boys (and they politely refrained from rolling their eyes) that it’s all about finding a balance – we had the most wonderful dinner at La Casa last week, but eating out isn’t something we do all the time. That certainly doesn’t mean we deprive ourselves – furthermore, not dining at restaurants every night makes the occasions when we do go out special!
For us, frugal living isn’t about penny-pinching; rather it’s about making conscious choices about how we spend our money, reducing waste, and most importantly, appreciating what we have and being content with the lifestyle we can afford.
Our philosophy is this: no matter what our circumstances in life, everyone of us has finite resources, and wanting…lusting…for more than we can afford is a sure path to misery. So we’ve always worked to keep the bar low – we try to find excitement and joy in simple things, rather than lamenting the expensive luxuries we can’t afford. And as I pointed out to the boys tonight, we were having a meal that we just couldn’t buy at a restaurant – where else could you dine on broccoli less than an hour after it’s picked, or pasta made with eggs that were laid that morning?
. . . . .
For I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.
Philippians 4:11b
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Great sentiment Celia (and lovely looking dish).
Thanks Sarah! I’ve been following your kitchen reno in your Kitchen Bites – good to hear it’s all going well! But you must be sick of cooking on the camp stove! :)
That’s a breath of fresh air to read, Celia.
Oh, Celia, I really like this post!
and the pasta and broccoli, of course.
But the idea of moderation and conscious choice as an addendum to your home produced meal- priceless.
Grilly, thank you! :)
Heidi, thanks! My poor sons have to listen to me blabbing on at meal-times; thankfully they’re very gracious about it. :) But it’s a big thing for me – living within our means doesn’t mean being a scrooge, it’s about choosing how to spend the resources we have, whatever they might be. And truly appreciating the things we do have – after all, those of us who live in the first world are so incredibly blessed. If we can pass that thinking on to our sons before they leave home, then hopefully they’ll be better equipped to live happy adult lives.
Your words remind me of that song that begins
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free….
I used to have a crush on a tv show called Alias Smith and Jones, starring Pete Duel and Ben Murphy and one of them sings this song in one episode ..now I had to look up their names, but the song and the feelings in it I remember to this day. I just googled them and here it is. – This is so spooky ! http://www.asjcollection.com/current/sounds/simple.wav
It’s an old Shaker dance song, much adapted and amended, so the tune is familiar but it was originally by Joseph Brackets. You don’t have to post this comment, it is just one of my rambly rambles. Your posts trigger all sorts of stuff for me, some of it quite unexpected. Thank you!
Joanna! I adored that show, and was so sad that it only lasted one season until Pete Duel’s death. To this day, I still have a crush on Ben Murphy. Thanks for the reminder, love… :)
Celia, the lesson continues…
I can attest these are not mere words but your faith in the power of being content. Being content has so many benefits. It is calming, it is humbling, greed makes way for giving, giving one’s time, one’s self, one’s thoughts and ideas, sharing passions, sharing recipes, sharing the joys of chickens,
Content = you
Moo, you are our very dear friend, and if anyone understands how to live life to the fullest, it’s you and Jane! Thanks for being a part of our lives, we have the best time when you’re in town! :)
Absolutely Celia, it’s about being thankful for the little things and appreciating even tiny gestures! Lovely post :D
Thanks Lorraine! I think I appreciate the little gestures the most of all! :)
I completely agree here and love everything about this post. Pasta and broccoli is one of my favourite meals so from what I can see there is nothing frugal about what you are doing – you are lucky to have such beautiful things in your garden to make these amazing meals.
You are also trying to instill in your kids how to be grateful and appreciate what you have. Some of my favourite food memories are the home made pizzas and pastas that my nonna would make when we would visit them. I remember those meals much more than any restaurant dish I have eaten lately!
The more I read your blog the more excited I get about cooking, growing and eating. Thanks for sharing the love
Vita, thank you for your kind words – how happy would I be if my kids grow up with fond memories of our homecooked meals and homegrown produce! They’ll certainly remember the eggs if nothing else – the chickens have had a biiig impact! :)
Celia those kind of meals are truly the most satisfying. It’s like the meal has an aura of love around it. Leaving everyone’s belly and soul feeling nurtured after eating it together. Those boys of your yours will thank you in time to come, and hopefully pass on that love to others.
(That wasn’t meant to sound quite as hippy-esque as it may have…)
Hahaha…you can be as hippy-esque as you like here, Brydie! Girl, if you lived closer, I’d be delivering eggs to your door, you know that, don’t you? :)
celia, i’m back. and with a positive outlook, too! very uncharacteristic of me, but i’ll try anything once. i’ve been sick and busy and feeling very overwhelmed, until i realized it’s not about today, and the way i feel today. it’s about the goals we set for ourselves. it is absolutely about the choices we make. we already do a lot of stuff with zhara though she’s not 3 yet – she has a lot of fun in the garden. yesterday we unearthed all the carrots. she was filthy head to toe, and laughing uncontrollably each time my husband pretended to fall pulling them out. we shared a moment we could have never gotten buying them at the market. it is all about the choices we make – but if we save a buck in the process, all the better.
i missed being here. i don’t think i skipped any of your posts, i just couldn’t get myself to form a coherent thought. all my love to you and yours.
Oh Dana, I’ve missed you! I kept checking to see if you’d posted, but I knew you were busy and didn’t want to email and hassle you. How nice to have you back! :)
I can just imagine that wee angel of yours pulling out carrots! I hope you took photos, and you’re so right, these are moments we/they might never get otherwise, and we’re blessed to be able to experience them. Today we pulled lots of lettuce from the garden – as novice gardeners, we planted them waaay too close together and didn’t thin them out, so we have small, but very fresh, little lettuces. Too much to eat, but it was such a pleasure to be able to walk around the neighbourhood with a box and offer them to friends..
This is such a lovely post & you are absolutely right in what you say,..
Your home made pasta with the brocoli & other ingredients looks just so tasty too!
…it’s the little things that we need to be grateful for…and turn things around and look at the positive side of things, yes it’s raining today but I have a roof over my head and warm clothes to put on..somedays grocery shopping is a chore,but I have money in my purse to buy the comfort things.I have the space for my veggie patch, and the health to walk outside, and breathe fresh air…A wonderful post and a great” homemaking” dinner…Yvette x
Your broccoli looks like a work of art and your pasta looks like something my friend from Milan would whip up. You are living The Good Life (without Margo the pig!) no – I mean literally.
Sophie, thank you! :)
Yvette, I knew you’d understand, and you’re absolutely right, it’s all about how you look at life! :)
Anna, now wouldn’t that be lovely? Yes, we really are living the good life and feeling very blessed! :)
Ah that is a delicious meal in its own right. That it was mostly home grown and prepared with love makes it more special. The value of a meal is not made up of the cost of its ingredients, yes? A very good sentiment and approach to life. If only we could all be more wise about these things.
Indeed, SG! Thanks.. :)
I really love this post! It has such a great thought!
Homemade pasta and broccoli looks really good especially with the fresh broccoli from your garden… :)
I’m so glad you feel that way and are teaching your children as well. You can be rich without money, but in attitude and love.
I might choose to use a piece of wagu steak at $58 a kilo to make a steak sandwich, but fill it chock ful of home grown salad and it will cost about $10, but if I stopped and got MacDonalds (not that I would) it would cost the same and be rubbish. My littlej will have gone and picked the biggest, nicest fattest tomato from the vine, grated her bumpy carrots, and plucked the prickly cucumber as well for our sandwich, and that sense of pride and self satisfaction is not something she would find at a drivethrough.
Keep up your wonderful work and encouragements!
Tes, thank you! :)
Chef, you really have understood what I’m trying to say! It’s all about choice – and realising that most of us have choices is very empowering! :)
I hear you, oh, yes, I really do! Music to my ears, Celia. I love it when people ‘get’ why some of us do the things we do. No explanations needed, they just ‘get’ it. Thankyou :)
Chris, you’re a kindred soul, thanks for understanding so intuitively what I was trying to say. :)
Wonderful post to read…. loved everything about it, and as usual, the great photos of your garden and “the girls” – Queenie must have a little bit of Jack Russell Terror in her ;-)
Thanks Sally! Queenie – yes – she’s very bossy! Did you see the way all the others had to lower their heads in submission? :)
Celia, what a wonderful gift you are giving your boys. These are treasures that are only truly appreciated when you strive to recreate them yourself. Every bowl of soup that I make is a tribute to my mum, who would wrap up comfort and love in every bubbling pot. Your homemade pasta and freshly grown veges will be the benchmark against which others will be measured.
Chris, thank you for the lovely thoughts – I hope my boys will look back on their childhood and remember the food they ate with great fondness, much as I have with my mum’s cooking! :)