Coulee Region excursion

My day started off slowly, with the morning sucked up by a supremely uninteresting 3 hour work meeting. Fortunately, the meeting went unusually smoothly and I didn't get out of work especially late.

There was a lunch audit available in Richland Center for $30, so I thought I would take advantage of the as-yet clear skies (snow showers were expected the next few days) and get some cash and free food for lunch and dinner. I went on Highway 154 from Loganville to Richland Center. The countryside west of Reedsburg quickly runs into the topographically interesting Coulee Region of the state. These unglaciated hills and narrow valleys all looked very attractive with the recent snow cover, and the exposed sandstone rock formations added some interest along the route.

I noticed that there was a small store in the countryside near Hillpoint (a depressingly shabby little town which makes Loganville look like a bustling metropolis). Its sign said that it was a discount store for bulk and damaged groceries, so I thought I would stop by on the way back and see if there was a good price on whole wheat flour and yeast. I've been reading the Tightwad Gazette, and even though the advice is a bit dated, the author's recommendation for buying yeast in bulk rather than the packets was probably still sound. Even at Aldi, yeast is about $0.89 for 21 g, so I thought I would check out the price difference. On the way to Richland Center, I occupied myself with doing mental calculations how much that would convert into in terms of dollars per pound. I figured that it was about $19 a pound, so I thought that even if a pound cost $10 I would save plenty. Since I make bread 3-4 times a week, I use plenty of yeast.

I did my audit and stopped at Kwik Trip ($0.03 per gallon rebate doesn't really help much with gas prices back up to $2.50 a gallon) and Goodwill. Their Goodwill is much bigger and nicer than our thrift stores in Reedsburg, even though Richland Center is more economically depressed, if anything. I think Goodwills have a regional distribution center and they must benefit from their proximity to the higher incomes in Spring Green and Madison. I will have to go back there when I'm in the mood for refreshing my wardrobe. I found 4 nice regencies in the book department. Goodwill's book prices are a little high in comparison to other thrift shops, but regencies are always resaleable on ebay (more than other pulp).

On the way home, I investigated the Valley View Discount grocery. It was easy to see that it was an Amish owned-and-operated business. The driveway was unpaved, there were no lights inside, and no heating either. Perhaps there was some heat, but it certainly was chilly inside. The roof also leaked, and they managed that problem very philosophically with a bucket underneath. Most "English" shops would have brought out the plastic tarps and set up warning signs and plastic tape blockading off the hazardous area, not to mention calling the roofers at the first opportunity! The Amish shopkeeper (complete with Amish accent; I don't know why I expected otherwise!) showed me all the different flours in the entire baking aisle. They had quite an assortment of baking supplies, including several brands of white and whole wheat flour, buckwheat flour, rye flour, pumpernickel flour, corn meal, brown sugar, raw sugar, and other items such as TVP, bulk yeast, and fancy decorating sugars for a fraction of their normal retail price. The prices beat even Yue Wah in Madison for flour, although obviously Aldi can still beat them on white sugar since that is where they get their supplies from. They also had 50# bags of oatmeal, potatoes, and other staples such as cheese and meat at bargain prices.

I got 10 pounds of whole wheat flour ($3.50), 7 pounds of rye flour ($2.79), 3 pounds of quick oats ($1.89) and a pound of yeast ($2.89). I will have to return there when I need more baking supplies.

This evening I am trying to make some pumpkin muffins with the whole wheat flour. Avinash tried it for making rotis, and deemed them a bit more tough than with Durum Atta,but "not too bad". The coarser whole wheat flour will probably make a much better-textured bread than Durum atta, but might not be best for the Indian breads.

Here is a photo of my haul today.