Most of my bread is homemade. It’s cheap. About 77¢ a pound. I can mix up a big batch of dough and decide what to do with it later. Bread, pizza, English muffins, pitas, garlic knots, whatever. Since most of my meals are a mix of how much energy I have to cook, how much back pain I’m in and cravings it’s nice to have very flexible staples on hand that I can make things from.

I’ve had people look through my kitchen and complain there is no food. Just stuff you make food from.

Anyway there is a huge difference between the wheat based diet of 9000 years ago and my diet. I’m mixing things up with rice, potatoes and bread. They were literally surviving on bread alone. And “man can not survive on bread alone.” I’m pulling in bits of protein and yard clippings.

A lot of homesteaders get this idea. They’re going to grow 80% of their calories or more. I can’t do that. Calories are expensive to grow. They’re cheap to buy. I grow my flavor and buy my calories. You’re going to spend more per pound on basil than you will steak. I can grow basil. I can’t grow steak. Even though cows outnumber people on my block.

I am trying to grow more calories this year though. I’ve planted over 200 seeds in the last week. When I don’t know is if any of it will survive our hot summer or our chickens. But at least the chickens will give us eggs in exchange for eating my fruit and veg.

And that’s not including the 100 onions I planted earlier this year. I spent a lot of money on onions so I’m hoping this works out. Those are protected from the chickens.