No Bread for You!

Last night's soup was pretty well received. Jeff even took some for lunch today without being nudged. We'll see what the kids think about leftovers for lunch.

While making pancakes this morning, I realized that we are almost out of flour. I made a dozen pasties on Saturday (the kids actually ate them this time!), six of which are now in the freezer. That should keep Jeff through the cold weather. But it ate up a lot of my flour, and being out of flour is not a good thing. If I'm going to start making bread regularly, I'll need to get more flour and yeast. I might have to pester someone with a Costco membership one of these days . . .

But for today, a quick trip to Aldi for a few things (also low on milk) should take care of us. Today's agenda holds a lot of schoolwork, a lot of housework, and a few errands. Dinner will be soft tacos.

This morning I made "maple syrup." For a while, I was buying pure maple syrup. The problem with that is twofold. First, the cost compared to the rate we go through it. Between pancakes, waffles, french toast, and granola (used to make the granola, not to eat it once it's done), we were going through a lot of syrup. Second, I can't get it at Aldi or Randazzo's, my two go-to stores. When I go to Meijer, it's to get all the stuff I can't get elsewhere, and it's an expensive trip. Therefore, I go only when I have to.

I could buy the fake stuff, but I'm not a not a fan of all the extra stuff in it. So I make my own fake stuff. Make a simple syrup by bringing a cup of sugar & a cup of water to a boil. Let it boil gently for a few minutes, then turn off the heat. Add a teaspoon of maple extract, stir, and there you go! I even sprang for a restaurant-style syrup dispenser. I was using a plastic squeeze bottle, but the lid wasn't sealing tightly, so it made a mess.

For a minor cost breakdown, you can figure that a 5-pound bag of sugar is about $2. A 1-oz bottle of maple extract was $3.63. That makes my syrup about $.26 per cup. The dispenser did cost me over $6 (which seriously killed me), but that thing had better last forever. I think that's a pretty good deal for a homemade convenience food!