Pantry Update
This week I got my second delivery from Noris Dairy, and I’m a happy customer! I’m combining orders with a friend who stops by my house after work to pick up her items from the cooler on my front porch. We did this to more easily reach the $18 minimum purchase amount, and it means only one stop for the driver. We also decided against a fixed, weekly delivery and instead just place an order every two weeks.
We take care of the whole transaction online. I can place the order through their website and pay via Paypal, and then I send my friend an e-mail with her total, and she reimburses me via Paypal as well. Very convenient and quick! No rummaging around for checks, which I really like.
So far my husband and I have tried the 2% milk, chocolate milk, Monterey Jack cheese, and regular salted butter — all are fantastic. He commented that he never knew milk had an actual flavor, and that it tastes good!
I’m thrilled to knock another product off our grocery list. I no longer have to go to a grocery store to buy:
- eggs
- beef (unless we want a specific cut we didn’t get with our 1/4 cow, but it hasn’t come up yet)
- milk
- half-and-half or heavy cream
- yogurt
- sour cream
- certain cheeses
- butter
Very soon, I’ll be able to add pork to that list. Some friends and I are going to split a pig from Wood Family Farm in Turner, OR. We’ll each take a third… I’m curious to see what kinds of cuts we receive and how much.
The next thing I need to figure out is where to start getting chicken. After raising our own and seeing their little personalities, I just don’t think I can keep buying chicken from the grocery store. I don’t want “innovative chicken products” (via Ray’s Food Place), I just want some chicken that was allowed to live a little, you know?
Finally, I’ve been unsuccessful in tracking down any available turkey from local farms for Thanksgiving. From what I am reading online, most places sold out already and have waiting lists. I’ve made a couple of calls, but am not having any luck getting a response. I think Ray’s sells turkey from a somewhat local farm, though, so I’m going to check that out again this year. Then again, maybe we will break with tradition this year and do something other than turkey.
Think I can cut out grocery shopping altogether by this time next year? (She asks hopefully…)
(photo credit: nickwheeleroz on Flickr)
Surprisingly enough, we've found free-range organically raised turkeys at Fred Meyer's the last few years. Not exactly heirlooms, but cruelty-free and tasty!
I am going to sign up for Noris deliveries, I think… but probably only once every three weeks or so. Thanks for the tip. When I first moved here, Dari-Mart actually delivered. I loved it, and there was no minimum, so it was perfect.
That's great. And they take PayPal? That's even better. I found out that Walmart.com takes PayPal the other day. The more people who accept PayPal, the better.
And if you get eggs, it's even better than that.
Wow! Milk delivery. I didn't even know that still existed. I am going to check it out.
I have purchased free-range chicken from Rays. At least, that is what the package said. I hope it wasn't a lie. And speaking of chickens – my husband and I have been discussing what happens to our chickens once their egg laying days are over. Do we leave them as pets to eat garden pests (my choice) or do they become soup?
Bald Hill Farm carries Afton Field Farm free range chickens in the farm store, which are very good. This year we will have heirloom Heritage Bronze free range turkey's just before Thanksgiving, which some are still available. And we also have FREE RANGE EGGS too. Check us out.