Finally there are no apples in my house. Whew!! But it took fierce determination and a lot of time, patience, and recipe help from some friends.

So just how many apples met their match? Well, I couldn't rightly tell you except to say that I bought 40 pounds of gala apples from my CSA - which gets them from an organic orchard near Charlottesville. Yep, I needed to debit my account quickly and large purchases like apples are the easiest way to do it.

At first I started out making applesauce and apple butter. I love both of these but Comfort and Joy won't eat either one so I don't make but so much. Some of the applesauce got repurposed into applesauce bread which I then took to a variety of social functions - a party, church, and used for a small group meeting at our house. I'm pretty sure this would freeze well but I haven't tried it yet.

But I still had a LOT of apples. So I made more apple butter and I cut several dozen into slices and flash froze them to store in the freezer for use in our Thanksgiving Apple Pie. I learned last year that a one gallon Ziplock bag of apples works for my recipe.

And yet there were more apples. I put out a call to some friends on an email loop and someone suggested apple cider and I thought they had lost their ever lovin' mind. Then I did some research - mosty confined to a quick Swagbucks search and learned that while you could invest in a press and yada, yada there was way to make apple cider in your kitchen with just items that I had on hand.

I will say that the cider doesn't taste like store bought, or even what you might get at a fair, likely because I only had one type of apple. I'll also tell you that I used the remaining 30 apples and ended up with 1.5L of apple cider. It was a great way to use up the apples and I'm glad that I have a new skill but if you're really interested in doing this you're going to need a LOT of apples. And invest in the cider press. Using the food processor worked for a small batch but if I were going to do this often I might think about something more efficient.

That's our apple adventure from this past month. Do you have interesting ways to get through bountiful produce at your house?

I'm amazed at how easy it is to make my own chicken stock. Really.Until last year I was buying it in a box or - gasp - a can. I know. Horrors. Now I use the crockpot. So easy!

The base of my stock is the carcass of our weekly rotisserie chicken from Costco. I'm pretty sure I've written about this before, but it's just one more way to be frugal and use every little bit of the bird. Especially a bird as big and convenient as the ones from Costco.

When I get around to actually making the stock I throw in whatever is in my fridge that is a 'stock like' veggie. Got some carrots that are past their prime? Throw them in. Wilted celery? Perfect.

How about seasoning? That's where I err on the light side. These rotisserie chickens already have seasonings so I throw in a bay leaf, some peppercorns, maybe some dried minced onion and call it good.

But today was a bit different. The Farmer's Market has been going on for a few weeks now so we have some great veggies in the fridge. We also have some from a few weeks ago that are definitely past their prime. And this week I was introduced to green garlic for the first time.

Making stock gave me a chance to clear out the wilted carrots - many of them - and to utilize the tops of the green garlic to add some wonderful onion-y flavor to the stock. The green tops of many veggies are often overlooked but making stock is a wonderful time to utilize them when you are able. Green garlic, scallions, and other similar stalk items would work wonderfully and impart a different flavor by using the tops rather than the bottom. It's wonderfully frugal, too, to use the entire item. And definitely a Cool Idea!

Most gardens are just beginning to push their way out of the ground but we're lucky enough to be eating more greens than Popeye right now!

How has this happened? Have I stumbled on some magnificent gardening version of the island on Lost that allows veggies to grow in variable plot lines? No, I paid a farmer to grow them for me.

Once again this year we've joined a local CSA and bought a share of a farm. Many CSAs give you a steady share of the yield all through the harvest but ours allows us to pick and choose what we want to 'buy' with our credit. I like this method because we have fewer dead veggies in the crisper at the end of the week but it does require that we stretch ourselves sometimes.

This week we went to the 17th Street Farmer's Market to pick up our veggies and Comfort announced to Farmer Charlie that she wanted rutabagas. Seriously. Now, I'm pretty sure she heard about rutabagas from watching 'Olivia' on Nick, Jr. and that she doesn't actually know what one is but she was ready to get one. Farmer Charlie said he didn't have any but he'd like one, too, and he talked to her about them while we picked out lovely heads of lettuce, bags of spinach, and a bunch of radishes. Then she points at the chives and declares that we should try them because they are pretty. And they are with their lovely purple flowers.

Finding a CSA isn't hard although at this time of the year many may not have shares left. Check Local Harvest for CSAs in your area. Also, you can also find farmer's markets listed as well. If you can't have veggies fresh from your own garden buying veggies grown locally is the next best thing and definitely a Cool Idea!

Even though the CSA season is over the Farmer's Market is still open and available and - let me tell you -the veggies are just beautiful. I took Comfort and Joy on an Adventure Girl morning to the market today and all I can say is - WOW!

We have a bag of beautiful salad mix, about 10 apples [red and greens], and about 12 peppers [carmen and bells] all for under $10. I could never have done that at the grocery store especially this time of the year.

First of all, even if I found those items certified organic this time of the year they would be plenty pricey. And second, I'd have to drive nearly 15 miles one way to find a Whole Foods or Trader Joes that might even have them in stock. As it was, I drove across the river 1.2 miles, we got to see the magnificent, swollen, churning James River as an added bonus, and had a bevy of wonderful produce at our fingertips by buying from our local farmer.

So, check in your area and see if your farmer's market is still open. You might just be surprised. Personally, I'm excited to get some additional veggies to use for Turkey Day and what I don't use will go into the freezer. Now doesn't that sound like an awesomely Cool Idea.

I LOVE BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA! Sorry if it sounded like I was shouting but other than plain cheese pizza, BBQ Chicken is my absolute favorite. There is something about the sweet, tangy sauce and the gooey cheese that just makes my day.

We have two places here in town to get BBQ chicken pizza and neither one is very cheap so I've taken to making it when I need a fix. Sometimes it's 'good enough' and other times it's not even close. This last week I was so dog-gone close to perfection that I think angels wept.

Here's what I did:

Make your favorite pizza crust. I use a knock-off PizzaHut recipe and let it rise in the fridge overnight.

You'll need to let it come to room temperature before you use it and after you've formed it onto your baking sheet spread BBQ sauce on it. I used Sweet Baby Rays which was on sale a few weeks ago and I got the bottle for free. This was the perfect flavor.

Then the cheese. We always have on hand the mexican cheese blend from Costco. We go through so much shredded cheese that it makes sense for me to keep this on hand.

Then I used red carmen peppers that I bought at the Farmer's Market. I sliced these thinkly and then cut them with scissors so they would be easier to eat.

I had some leftover purple onion in the fridge that I nuked in the microwave for a few minutes and then sprinkled around.

Next came the chicken. DH had pulled off the rest of the meat off a rotisserie chicken and I cut it up with the scissors.

And because I like a lot of cheese I put some more on top before it went into the oven at 425 degrees Farenheit until it smelled yummy good. And it was absolutely yummy delicious. I have plenty of peppers, chicken and sauce left for many more pizzas, too. The peppers and chicken went into the freezer and I cannot wait until our next pizza night. This was definitely a Cool Idea!

Just because the weather is getting cooler, and perhaps a tad wetter, don't forget about the bounty of produce that can be found at your local farmer's markets. Of course, this will vary depending on what part of the country you live in but here in Virginia we're seeing a resurgence of the greens - beautiful lettuce, arugula, basil, and swiss chard - as well as root vegetables like beet, turnips, and radishes. Beans, peppers and onions can still be found and since these veggies that can be 'put away' in a variety of ways buy bunches of them and freeze or can them. Potatoes, sweet and white, will keep in a cool/ dry place for quiet a while so you can stock up on these items as well.

And then there are the fall fruits that are coming in with apples being our favorite! Crisp and delicious and most markets have a bounty this time of the year. Take advantage of the great deals to buy local produce and make applesauce or apple butter. I made a crockpot full of apple butter last year and we're still eating it! It was both easy and delicious!!

This is also the time of the year to think about how to extend the summertime table into the winter months. Although we don't have to think ahead like our fore-mothers due to the advent of refrigeration and a grocery store in every town we all know that 'putting away', as our grandmothers called it, is not only cheaper but it preserves the freshness of the summer months of our local produce.

Now, I don't know how to do my own canning. My best friend does and I think she said she's put away over 40 quarts of tomoto products and 20 quarts of pepper of some sort. Then she did pints. Yep, she had a bounteous garden this year but then she decided it was enough. Personally, I'm about freezing things. I dice up and freeze onions and peppers. I've even frozen whole tomotoes which I learned you could do in Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. I also carmelize onions and freeze them.
Don't forget that you can make and freeze pesto. Use a ice cube tray to get 1 oz. portions then when you have cubes pop them out into a zip top freezer bag.

Well, there you go. So many ideas to get you started and so many Cool Ideas!

Stomach bugs plagued us all a bit last week - Joy had it the worst and then I got a touch of it the day I left and DH got it Thursday and Friday. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it'll bypass Comfort all together. She does not do well when she is sick!!

And now that I'm home I'm wiped out. Exhausted from spending my days in workshops and my evenings catching up and talking with some really wonderful people. I saw some of my favorite writers and a couple of times had to sit on my hands so that I wouldn't be 'that' person who ran across the lobby to 'help' them get their luggage to the car. Yep, that just screams 'stalker' doesn't it! Instead I nodded and smiled and acted like a professional. Or at least I hope I did. Maybe the smile looked really goofy. Odds are since I know this particular author is definiely not a morning person she didn't notice anyway.

And when I got home the kitchen was a wreck. Veggies that I got at the farmer's market Tuesday afternoon were worse for wear so I chopped them and put them in the freezer. I took the trash out and emptied the dishwasher. I scrubbed the sink and swept the kitchen floor. Oh, there's much left to do but hopefully this will make walking into the kitchen tomorrow morning a little less scary.

And the blog will return to it's usual topics as well. In fact, coming up will be a week-or-so long series. Hope you enjoy it!

Kinda sounds like the election cycle doesn't it? I assure you that it's nothing so prolonged.

Remember at the beginning of the month I thought that maybe I could go this whole month without grocery shopping except for perishables. I promised check-ins for accountability so here I am.

I did add to the stockpile a bit last week and here's everything I bought:

• Worcertershire sauce was on sale/ with a coupon for something like $.54 for an 8 oz. bottle. That'll last us for many cookouts and through our winter of homemade barbecue brisket.
• Also, there was a great deal on Huggies at Kroger. I snagged as many as I had coupons for - which I think was 4 packs of diapers.
• We also bought 4 gallons of milk, 1 double pack of eggs, and some bananas at Costco.

So, this is all that we've bought. We do continue to go to the Farmer's Market to make our weekly CSA pickup but this isn't new money spent. This was money spent last year.

Sure another trip to Costco will happen this weekend for milk but that's life with two toddlers. In fact, DH will be making that trip this week since I'm going out of town. They'll probably get a rotisserie chicken while they're there or grab a hot dog but I'll cut them the slack.

Stay tuned for more about our month of little or no shopping. We're half way there!

It's been a while since I've checked in with how I've been doing on my resolutions. There's just been so much else to talk about. I hope you've been able to see how it all connects though. But, in the spirit of accountability, here is a point-by-point post:

Here, again, were my resolutions:

1. Do a better job with coupons and pantry stockpiling.
2. Continue to find creative ways to cut expenses
3. Meal planning/ smart planning
4. Increase my income as a stay-at-home parent
5. Find ways to live smarter in the balance between frugality and the environment
6. [not sure yet but I feel like there's something still there to be explored - so I'm leaving room for one more]

So, #1: I'm still using The Grocery Game and according to the Kroger check out slip I'm averaging 45-50% off of my bill using coupons/ in-store discounts. It's not as great as seasoned, hard-core couponers but it's working for us right now. As for stockpiling we're doing great on Goldfish crax, TP, canned fruit, canned tomatoes, canned beans, and other assorted items we used less frequently.

#2: Cutting expenses has been harder since we'd already done a good job weeding through expenses in the past year but Cable gets nixed this month. The weather is nicer an we'll be spending more time together as family so no sense paying for staying in and watching TV. That'll save us $80/ month. I did notice that my newspaper subscription went up so I need to check out alternatives and see if there's a less expensive option. If not, decide if the savings at the grocery is worth the expense of the newspaper.

#3: Meal Planning/ Smart Planning: We definitely don't go out at the drop of a hat any more. I'm proud of that. I still don't have a handle on finding foods that Comfort and Joy will eat on a regular basis - other than pasta, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, quesadillas, etc - but then again they are toddlers. I've even toyed with putting the weekly menu plan here on the page so that it keeps me honest but then I'd really have to be ready each week and some weeks it's just not that well planned out;)

#4: This month I've had several good Mystery Shops!! I just finished 2 grocery store shops this week so I got some free groceries!! Two weeks ago I had a different kind of shop. It was a revealed shop, where I went in and checked out how the store had the products placed. I made under $10 for 15 mins work but it all helped. Also, I cashed in some points from My Points and Opinion Outpost. The survey points paid in cash and it was enough for the babysitter the day I got my haircut. The MyPoints paid in gift cards so I'll have enough for a good book from B&N and lunch at Panera. These are the ways that I've traded my time for money. Time I have while I sit with the kids and money I need:)

#5: It turns out that I think I'm more in tune with things in the environment than I thought I was. This isn't a bad thing. I've enjoyed the seasonal shift that meant that I had more time to do laundry and I've enjoyed that the Farmer's Market is open and the CSA is providing us with yummy good stuff. This week we opted for carrots that had gotten caught in a freeze. They aren't pretty since they split open but they'll taste just as good in a salad and they were half off. Comfort and Joy are pretty easy to please when it comes to things like this.

And now we're in the middle of May. Books are being read. Dinners are being cooked. Kids grow up. School is almost done. It's all amazing and definitely Cool. Hang on with me because we're almost half way through the year.

"Fridays at the Farm" is a short documentary by writer/ director Richard Hoffman about his family's experience when they joined a community-supported farm. The documentary is part of the Green Series on the Sundance Channel. To take a look at this 24 minute film enter the password fridaysscreener. And if you're still looking around for a way to get involved with locally don't forget about Local Harvest.