Chris Odeen

We just bought a place in the country; as we've been working on the house, which is hopefully going to be registered on the Historic Registry, neighbors and other curious folks have been stopping by to see the renovations (we're putting the 1909 back into the Bungalow!). Well, one neighbor plowed our driveway all winter long; other neighbors brought us surplus garden produce, since we weren't able to put in our own garden last year; I, in turn, repaid the favor with the products I prepared with the produce (i.e., zucchini bread; homemade tomato sauce, etc.). We heard a neighbor's son died of cancer, and brought meals over to him. Part of what is neat about the exchange is that on our property is a history Creamery, built in 1906. Folks stop by with memories of working there, purchasing butter and cheese from there, even one gentleman whose relatives lived in our house, back in the 1940s! Our taking on this MAJOR renovation and restoration has brought the little community of Disco closer, so we're doing our best to contribute to that. It's just been super cool! We're hopefully moving to the home next month, and I look very forward to investing in more of that!

Honestly, it does not surprise me. I try to be very intentional with my meal planning so that leftovers don't just sit as boring leftover, but get repurposed into entirely new meals. As an example, if I make spaghetti sauce, I make a large batch. Leftovers get a few new spices and become Greek in profile, perfect for Moussaka or Pastitsio, or to serve with orzo. I also created a table document where I list the meal and everything I need to make it by category (canned/dairy/meat/boxed/frozen/vegetable, etc. including a low-carb substitute of some kind for my husband). Then, I take the list and go through the fridge, freezer, pantry, etc., and put a check mark by everything I already have. Everything left over is my shopping list. I just bring the list to the store and check off every item as I put it in the cart. Easy-peasy. It would be easy enough to replicate on a phone but I'm more of a hold-it-in-my-hand kind of gal! :)

We purchased a house out in the country that we are remodeling; moving next month. One of the first things we did when clearing brush off the neglected property was to start a compost pile. While living in our rental, in the meantime, we've been saving scraps and bringing them out there when we work on the house. Further, a number of years ago, my daughter started a worm bed for an ag class; even though she gave it up after a year or so, we've kept it going for years, so we send appropriate scraps (egg shells, coffee grounds, produce and banana peels) to the worms!