Thursday 9 October 2008

Some Things Are Worth Paying For

There are some things that even I, the reluctant spender, will pay for. I will try and find the most cost effective way to acquire those items, but they are worth it ~ to me.

Butter: We use all butter ~ no margarine. It costs me $1.09 for a 250g block (1/2 lb) and I use about two to four a week between cooking, sandwiches & toast. I buy the store brand version as it's a fraction of the price of Western Star.

Olive Oil: I love olive oil. Something that I can use in cooking and salad dressings without cluttering my pantry with extra items (and the expense of buying extra!) is a good thing. It is well known that olive oil is also good for you. Again, I buy the store brand.

Whole Egg Mayonnaise: This is a more recent item for me. We started using it because Miss Sunshine had a period of time where she had to be dairy free. This mayo from Praise is dairy free and suited our needs perfectly. I have discovered that it is indeed a superior mayonnaise from the very vinegary tasting mayo's that are the standard fare. I always said I'd never pay good money for mayo, but this is worth it in my book. My potato salads taste soooo much better!

Ansell Rubber Gloves: I cannot live without rubber gloves. Not because I just love wearing them, but they protect my hands from the real possibility of very painful dermatitis. I used to buy the 49c store brand gloves but I don't like the Safeway ones much and they don't last long ~ a week, maybe two. The Dermo Plus gloves are not latex at all really, but they're strong. They last forever (two months!) and they are very easy to slide on and off. They are absolutely worth the money considering their life span and the pain they save me.

Apparently I'm not as stingy as it might otherwise appear!

6 comments:

Left-Handed Housewife said...

I'm definitely with you on butter and olive oil. My husband keeps trying to bring margarine into the house, but I find ways to make it "disappear."

I'm trying to think what I'd add to your list. Oh, eggs. I buy the expensive cage free, organic ones (though I know that cage free doesn't necessarily equal a great life for a chicken) when I don't pick them up at the farmers' market. I can't wait until I can have chickens of my own--hopefully next summer!--and then I can get cheap eggs out back.

Frances

Tracy said...

Yes to the butter, olive oil, and mayo. I don't use rubber gloves, though I probably should!

Tracy said...

I have no egg morals...none whatsoever. Much as I love fresh eggs from our friends from time to time when they are over run, I'm not willing to pay $5+ per dozen to have my eggs from happy chooks. Funny thing is, we had chooks once and I love 'real' eggs....

There ya go...one thing I'm not willing to pay for!

Tracie said...

I love real butter and olive oil, we are lucky enough to have an Olive farmer at our local farmers market who refills bottles, the olive oil is devine, you could eat it on toast, I don't wear rubber gloves, but I love eggs, and the same olive farmer has chooks so I buy my eggs from them, they are so fresh and yummy. The whites are like little mountains in the pan, they make all baking so yellow.

Tracie

Unknown said...

Do you know that you can make your own mayonnaise? I have been making my own for over half my life. I recently taught my 12 yo son to make it with great success. If you want a good recipe, drop me a line. It is delicious and has all the good stuff in it - failing that look on the internet.

Nicola in West Australia

Tracy said...

Tracie, you are incredibly blessed to have fresh olive oil close by like that. Enjoy a little for me!

Nicola, welcome!! I've only made my own mayonnaise once and was less than impressed with the taste so I probably used the wrong kind of oil (I was substantially younger than I am now and not so wise about these things). I also haven't been in a hurry to make it because it doesn't last as long. But you know, I'd love a good recipe to try out and see what happens, if you wouldn't mind sharing it with me.