About

Welcome!

We are Levi and Mary Beth, a husband and wife who want to eat as little processed food as possible on our small grocery budget while still supporting local producers.

What do we have?

We have a passion for preparing 99% of our food ourselves, or buying it from trusted local producers whose practices we feel good about. We have a thirst for kitchen gadgets and tools. We have a hugely diverse herb and spice cabinet, due in large part to the next thing we have: A massive hunger to learn all we can about international cuisine. We have an interesting challenge when it comes to eating seasonally because we live in near-rural Minnesota.

What don't we have? 

We don't have grocery story meat in our freezer. We don't have exclusively organic produce in our kitchen. We don't have boutique-brands. We don't have $20 bottles of wine. We don't have certain high-end appliances. And most of what we don't have stems from the fact that we don't have an unlimited budget. We still want to eat healthy, whole foods, however, so these are the concessions we've made. We'll write a post someday detailing how we came to those decisions.

Levi

Levi is the extremist of the two of us. About once a week he declares that he could be truly happy if he went totally vegetarian. Levi is most often the head chef around the kitchen, and he's also the family nutritionist. He keeps our protein intake high enough, especially since we eat vegetarian about 90% of the time. Levi is happiest while eating food from India and the Middle East, and occasionally the Mediterranean. He enjoys a stout Guinness, and declares that in order of quality it goes: tap, can, then bottle. He can eat an obscene amount of food. He makes an amazing dal with jeera rice, and a casual dinner at home with him can quickly turn into an outright feast. His major weaknesses: chips, store-bought cereal, and Papa Murphy's Hawaiian pizza.

Mary Beth

 Mary Beth is the one with the richer palette. She ensures that there is a ready supply of heavy cream, good block Parmesan, and wine in the home. She would do incredibly well living in France. Mary Beth is often Levi's sous chef, but she is most definitely the head baker in the kitchen. She ensures that we still have a weekly dose of that thing people call "dessert." She is happiest while eating food from Eastern Asia and Western Europe. She enjoys wine of all kinds, but most overcome her inbred snobbery in order to remain within their budget each month. She prefers rich foods in moderation. She makes great bread, whether it be risen or flat, and she can throw together a mean soup. Her major weaknesses: overeating on grapes, Pasta Roni's Shells and White Cheddar, and frozen-food-aisle jalapeno poppers. 

All images used with permission.