Sherwin had a great suggestion about providing you readers out there with a list of things to go by, to make your kitchen more traceable.

Great idea. (hear the clock ticking)

But getting to things during this time of the year is a concept dripping with good intentions. Big 10 carat intentions.

And I'm more into this blog than I thought I'd be.  I dig it.

I like that I have this hanging over my head to make sure that my home kitchen is brimming with traceable, trustworthy food.

I'm a little impressed with myself.

Like most working people with a big NY job and a child, time is worth a lot and money is low. I've found a number of things that make it all worthwhile.

So, I think I'll post a number of these entries and hopefully, we can make a list out of it.

I think the first thing I've realized is that you can't get out of going to the farmers market at least once a week.

Non-negotiable. Okay, I take it back. You can after a few weeks.  After you get your groove down pat. Or at least after you buy a TON of stuff, cook it many different ways and freeze it.

I'm very exited each time I open my freezer and see that I have so many more options than I thought I did.  And one of those options is not shopping for a while. This also goes for keeping great dry goods.  Still have bean, polenta and oatmeal from week one.

Here in NYC, there are farmer's markets going on all week. Now I know where my favorites are, who/what is at each one and I count on this information when planning my shopping for the week.

My heart broke when I went down to the New Amsterdam Market the weekend after Thanksgiving only to find a mess of parked cars and not much else.  Do you know how that set me back????

The nerve.

Mail-order is a beautiful thing.   As I've said repeatedly on this site, traceable doesn't mean local in this case. Local would be great.  But I'm a quinoa addict and unless I'm moving to Peru or Colorado, I'm waiting for my UPS guy.

I love coming home and finding what I've completely forgotten that I've ordered after a long day at work.

OOOhhh, THAT's what that charge was on my credit card.

Beats the Home Shopping Network addiction. Whoa, they should have a traceable food hour.

And yes, I should be the sales lady for it.  The mind reels....

Let yourself change the way you look at how you spend your food money. The initial layout will seem a little heavy.  And I realize that I was heavy handed in my shopping since I was blogging and wanted to get a leg-up on what I was finding and make sure that I could keep the info coming.

All the things I'm making sure I do to keep the good food around and not have to pick up easier but less healthy options, are paying off.   Consistently, I'm spending a little more once every two weeks and much less throughout the week.

Second guess anything packaged. Doesn't matter what it says on it. Organic or otherwise. You can always either make it yourself, make a similar item or do without.

Next time, a few recipes and back with the photo show.

Here's one I found that depicts my new love for growing food on your window sill: