the great loaf

Quick off the mark, our first meal of meatloaf. Such an evocative symbol of economical home cooking. Good for a meal and three lunches at least. Delicious, really. Sadly we devoured most of it before I gained the presence of mind to take a photo. I'll get the hang of this blogging thing soon. More importantly, what of the math of the meal?

I used
500gm regular mince, $6.48 from Safeway. (Having scanned the catalogues this morning, this is not cheap mince. At current prices, I could have paid $2.20p/kg less.)

Boosted with one large onion (.12c),
one wilting carrot from the bottom of the vege bin (written off a week ago),
one zucchini from Dad's garden (free, with love),
one egg (.50c, free range),
1/2 cup breadcrumbs from the back of the cupboard (.05c)
and some secret herbs, spices and seasoning.
Grate veges, mix everything gently but thoroughly, 'enloaf' in a lined tin and bake at 180C for about an hour.
Total cost: $7.15

In a salute to the Country Women's Association and their gem of a leaflet 'Mince Matters', from where I drew inspiration, I served a baked potato and lightly boiled pumpkin and peas. Splodge of sour cream and some great relish on the table and a grander meal was never had.

Feeding two people for four meals, the cost per person, per meal is .89c. That is pretty good, I'd think. But you have to watch the add ons. Potato, pumpkin, peas, sour cream and relish all add about another $2 each to the meal, pushing the cost to $5.80 for the two of us. And I ran the oven for and hour and the stove for 20 mins. So we are in the realm of $6 for dinner for two. For dessert we broke into the chocolates that we received for Christmas, so the cost was not increased further. Phew!

Since I promised the baker I'd cook my way through 'Mince Matters' this year, you can look forward to some mystifying dinners. There's a dish called Stroganoff requiring mince, a can of tomato soup, a cup of rice and a pot big enough to boil it in. For CWA recipe lovers, yes, there's a dish requiring a tin of apricots. I'll have to work up to it. Bon Appetite