Loot from my trip up North

It's good to be home after such a nice weekend.  We really enjoyed our time with Bryce's parents.  But I always love to come back to my own kitchen--and my own projects.  I have lots of blogging to catch up on.  And I need to make some bread since we are out.

We were lucky enough to bring a few things back with us without even going to the store.

• 3 oranges, 2 apples, broccoli, and some lemon pepper bread crumbs.  My best friend Fiona was kind enough to trade these for some of my cheese sauce mix.  She also threw in a bag of Mother's Iced Animal Crackers, but those did not last long enough to make it back.
• 1 bag of very veggie salad mix, 2 tomatoes and 4 sticks of string cheese came to us by way of exchange.  Fiona's cute sister Laryssa gave them to us for another jar of cheese sauce mix.  However, none of these items made it home with us.  Kimball gobbled up the cheese sticks and the salad and tomatoes became our contribution to a Mother's Day meal.  
• 1 ham bone, a pound or so of spiral sliced ham, 5 pounds of small red potatoes, more venison and elk and a #10 can of potato pearls.  All this came from my in-laws.  They are always so generous.  The ham was from our Mother's Day meal.  I have to say that it was one of the best hams that I have ever eaten.  It was so moist, not dry at all.  I have big plans for the bone and left over ham.  

With family, kind friends and a few trades, we might just make it through 8 more weeks of no grocery shopping.  But we still have a long way to go.

Really? No one else wants to Trade?

Yesterday my friend, Megan, traded a jar of cheese sauce mix for five bananas and a bunch of green onions.  Kimball ate two bananas before I could take a picture.  I have more cheese sauce mix for whoever wants to give it a try.  This is a great chance to figure out if cheese powder is something you want to store.  You can email me at katenhansen@gmail.com if you are interested.  Or is begging better?  We can use whatever fruits and veggies you have to spare.

Wanna trade?

When I first tell people about this self-imposed grocery deprivation, their response is nearly predictable: "What are you going to do for fresh fruits and vegetables?"  I don't quite know how to respond.  For thousands of years humans have gone long periods of time without fresh fruits and vegetables; it's called winter.  It's really only been in the last hundred years or so that we have had the luxury of fresh produce year round.

While the fresh stuff is nice, I don't quite feel deprived.  We have lots of canned and frozen stuff on hand.  I have also planned on bartering for what we need.  This weekend I traded with my sister, Charlotte, for the lovely grapes you see above.  In exchange for the grapes, I gave Char some powdered cheese sauce mix.

Anyone else want to try the cheese sauce mix in exchange for something?  Fruits and veggies are good, but I would also love some chicken.  Just let me know and I will work out how to get it to you.