Cheating on My Quarter Cow

Steve here.

We praying that the purchase of My Quarter Cow, and its home, the second hand freezer, will save us some money. We're still not sure we're paying less per pound for beef than if we shopped bargains at the grocery store. More on that later.

But, clearly, we believe we should spend less on eating out. Restaurant food has always been a sore spot for our family. It costs a lot. It's often unhealthy. We love it. Stuff like that.

But now there's more. Now that there's beef in the freezer, it's dawning on us that eating at a restaurant has a new layer of shame attached to it, almost like we're cheating on My Quarter Cow.


No longer is there any excuse about there being no food in the house, so our only alternative to starvation is restaurant food. Those days are gone.


Over the years we've developed some informal rules about eating out.  First, there is always shame associated with it. Especially extramarital eating out.

Second, when confessing to a restaurant meal, you make clear the cost, and you have the courtesy of making little show of falling on your sword if it was more than $5.

So tonight, when she told me about buying breakfast before a business meeting at a local restaurant, she emphasized that she ordered a highly inexpensive meal of scrambled eggs, potatoes and coffee. Cost: Under $5. And, it goes without saying, no beef.

To be continued.