eloisel
Forever Empress E
I used to plow my own fields, barter with my neighbors for seed, plant my own wheat, then harvest and thresh it and mill it it into flour. Had my own chickens and cows and corn and alfalfa fields too. I often bartered the butter I churned myself for some pumpkins one of my neighbors grew as a cash crop and we both traded with another neighbor for spices from her gardens.
Alas, those were the days.
Then, a friend of mine lost her farm and she had to go to work at the grocery store bakery in town. I'll never forget her first day on the job. She came to my house right after she got off work, busting with exciting news that she could hardly contain. She told me that the store bakery used all the same ingredients we used at home to make our pies and they didn't have to raise any wheat or cows or grease any chickens for blue bugs or anything.
It took a minute for it all to register but when that light bulb in my head turned on I was as excited as my friend. I was free - free at last. I could go to the store and buy my ingredients or I could by my pies already baked at the store. My work load dropped immensely. And, the cost of pies went from about $1,000 a piece down to about $5.00. I'll never go back to making my own pies - not as long as there is a good bakery around. Plus, I am doing my part to keep people working.
Do you have a good bakery in your town or do you have to make all your pies from scratch?
