I thought I had started this week’s post, but I can’t find a draft. I start the post on Saturday because Saturday is farmers market day. I’m still buying and eating Brussels sprouts and kale each week. Will I always eat Brussels sprouts and kale? No. When will I stop buying Brussels sprouts and kale? When there are other things at the market to buy. Today there was purple sprouting broccoli — I didn’t know what I would do with that so I didn’t buy any. Total spending: $17.00. I didn’t buy a treat today and I’m doing less cooking and eating the same things over and over because I’ve been busy with protests.

When I got home, I made kale salad with lemon-tahini dressing and ate shortcake and tea.

Saturday breakfast: baked French toast with blueberries, coffee; lunch: kale salad, mixed berry shortcake, black tea; dinner: pasta with Brussels sprouts and pesto.

Sunday I had a Zoom meeting after breakfast and went to a noon protest: I carried a bag of crackers, cheese, dried cranberries and almonds with me, but did not eat it there. I stopped off at the health food store on the way home for staples: half and half, frozen blueberries and dried sour cherries. Total spending: $23.04 Sunday breakfast: baked French toast with blueberries, coffee; lunch: crackers, smoked cheddar, cranberries, almonds, kale salad, mixed berry shortcake, black tea; dinner: homemade bean burrito with salsa and sour cream.

Monday breakfast: French toast with blueberries, coffee; lunch: kale salad, homemade pizza with arrabiata sauce, kalamata olives, roasted peppers and Italian sausage. After Monday lunch I wanted to use some shortcake biscuits, so I made them into faux scones with cream and jam: I split a shortcake and put it in the oven that was warm from baking the pizza. Then I whipped plain cream. I spread the warm shortcake with lingonberry jam and topped it with whipped cream. There is a controversy whether you apply the jam or cream first to a scone (or faux scone). I like the jam on the bottom — if you put the cream on the bottom of a warm pastry, it melts. I like biting through the cool cream into the jam and biscuity base. I wanted something different for dinner tonight, so I sauteed half of an Italian sausage, some orange bell pepper and scallions and added a couple of scrambled eggs. I ate that wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with a dash of Cholula and followed it up with an orange — breakfast for dinner, always an option if you like breakfast food.

Tuesday breakfast: last of the baked French toast with blueberries, coffee; lunch: kale salad, pizza, black tea; snack: shortbread with jam and cream; dinner: refried beans, salsa, corn tortillas.

Wednesday breakfast: pumpkin pancakes with blueberries, coffee; lunch: kale salad, pizza, black tea, pumpkin blondie. I wasn’t hungry at dinner, so I just ate some almonds and dried sour cherries.

Thursday breakfast: pumpkin pancakes with blueberries, coffee; lunch: kale salad, pizza; snack: shortbread with jam and cream, black tea; dinner: pasta with pesto and Brussels sprouts; snack: chocolate.

Thursday I stopped at Grocery Outlet for some basic supplies. Here’s what I bought: a gallon of whole milk ($3.99) five pounds of all purpose flour ($2.49), salami ($9.99), pizza crusts ($3.79), pasta ($2.38), lemons ($2.76), canned pumpkin ($3.79), canned sour cherries ($3.98) and toilet paper ($5.99). Total for groceries: $33.68.

Friday breakfast: pumpkin pancakes with blueberries, coffee; lunch: kale salad, pizza (arrabiata sauce, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers and salami), black tea, coffee shortbread; dinner: pasta with pesto and Brussels sprouts; snack: candied almonds.

Another frugal week starts tomorrow with a visit to the farmers market, and a Hands Off protest and then I will tackle a new topic: in hard times What Do You Need to Be Happy?