Live Small and Prosper: Gord’s Frontier Stew is a winner PT 2

[Consumers will eventually feel the impact of a 40% rise in basic agricultural commodities in the past year. “That will work its way down to the grocery stores...” Apr. 8, London Free Press]

I pay less than 10 cents for a large mug of coffee.

And that includes milk and sugar and 15 seconds of ‘silly dance’ as the caffeine enters my system whilst I stand at the kitchen counter.

I pay less than 20 cents for a healthy bowl of homemade breakfast cereal.

And that includes diced banana on top. Gotta have my diced banana. It also powers the silly dance.

But what do I pay per serving for my ever-popular Frontier Stew?

I can fairly accurately determine the cost of my latest batch. I bought a few supplies for $13.70 and added supplies I already had at home.


The $13.70 covered a can of peas, can of corn, two cans of maple-flavoured beans, two cans of five-bean medley, one Spanish onion and a boneless pork rib roast ($5.32 @ $4.49/kg; on sale). These supplies were halved ($6.85) in order to make two batches of slow-cooker stew.

From ‘on-hand’ supplies I added half a bottle of dark ale ($0.65), 3/4 cup of red wine ($1.00), seven potatoes ($1.00) and five carrots ($1.00) to each batch. ($3.65)

Total cost of one full, large pot of slow cooker stew (enough to fill two large casserole dishes) - $10.50.


["Delicious stew and photos by GH"]

Cost per serving varies, of course, depending on my appetite, but (and I’ll be honest) I’ll easily get a dozen or more meals from each batch. And when I compare my stew to even the cheapest restaurant or fast food offerings, I have to say (and I’ll be honest), Frontier Stew is cheaper - AWESOMER!

Every other day the media will announce that hard times are coming, grocery-, mortgage-, taxes-, and lifestyle-wise. I also proclaim - regularly - “reduce spending, pay down debt, save money for the tough times ahead” because I know (I’ll be honest here) they are coming.

However, here in North America we are a very capable, creative bunch. We know how to shop for deals (Oh, do we ever know how to shop!), we know our way around a kitchen, which is the most expensive and under-used room in most new houses. A little more self-reliance won’t hurt any of us at all.

If higher grocery prices move us toward (for example) our own kitchens and healthier eating, I say, the sooner the better.

In the same way, if higher fuel costs drive us toward other healthier lifestyle choices (e.g., smaller homes and less furniture, smaller closets and fewer clothing items, smaller cars and fewer driving kilometers and more mass-transit, smaller meals and fewer manufactured individual servings, etc.), I say, the sooner the better.

Okay, where’s the darn spatula?

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Please click here to read Gord’s Frontier Stew is a winner PT 1

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