Does anyone else out there remember The Frugal Gourmet? With only five network channels to watch growing up, I watched a lot of PBS, a few episodes of this show included. Not a lot of it sticks in my mind, to be fair. But I do remember the day Jeff Smith decided to teach his audience about the meaning of frugality.

He was making something with extra virgin olive oil – a favorite ingredient of his, as I recall – and he said something to the extent of, “Now, I have viewers who write in to me and say that olive oil’s not cheap, so how can this be the Frugal Gourmet?” He went on to explain that frugality didn’t necessarily mean using cheap ingredients, but ingredients that were valued at what they actually cost. Olive oil was worth its weight in gold, in Jeff Smith’s world.

This is something that’s been on my mind lately as I’ve taken on my no-restaurant challenge. (11 out of 11 days so far!) Instead of going out to eat for our anniversary on Monday, my husband and I decided to recreate one of our favorite meals at home: veal saltimbocca. Our ingredients included four thin veal cutlets, a 1/4 lb of imported prosciutto, Fontina cheese, and a bottle of white wine. In other words, we were purchasing luxury food items.

Was it an inexpensive choice? No. But frugal? I’d say yes, for a couple of reasons:

  • We were eating at home, for one, and paying less per serving than a comparable meal at an Italian restaurant. The veal cutlets were so thin that they probably were less than a pound all together, and we got two meals out of them.
  • We bought the veal, prosciutto, and cheese at a local butcher shop (Butcher Boy in North Andover, MA), thus supporting local businesses. (Admittedly, you could argue we were doing a Very Bad Thing by purchasing veal in the first place, but I’ll save that for another day).
  • The chardonnay (Valley of the Moon) was inexpensive and purchased at our supermarket, but was rated highly by Wine Spectator.
  • The sage – one of the key ingredients in the veal’s topping – was picked from our own plants in the yard.
  • I’m sticking to my goal. That gives me a definite sense of satisfaction, a feeling which didn’t fade once the meal was over.

The meal was spectacular. Whatever else you want to say about my boy, he knows how to deglaze a pan. We sat at the table in our sunroom – he in the suit he was married in, I in my work clothes – holding hands when we could, and discussing how long we’d been together. Burnbright, one of our cats, sat across the table from us, peaceably watching.

Ultimately the reason why you’re spending has to be in line with your goals. I enjoy sensual pleasures – smelling a good perfume, sitting in bed on a rainy day with a book and a cup of tea, eating a good meal with someone you love – and it was certainly in line with that. One could argue it fostered my relationship with my husband; that it instilled me with confidence by sticking with my goal.

… I’d say that was some of the most frugal veal saltimbocca I’ve ever eaten.

Related link: How Can a Frugal Person Buy Expensive Items: A Deeper Look at Frugality at The Simple Dollar.

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