I am going on a holiday soon.  I am REALLY looking forward to it.  My sister Tricia is coming up next week to see Jamie and the day after my birthday, we will drive down to her little cottage in the Blue Mountains.  It's on the snow line there and although it's not snowing yet, it is cold and we'll have the stove going and wear jumpers, cardigans and gloves to stay warm.  I'm almost hysterical with excitement when I think about it.  Mind you, you would never believe it to see me, I am about the least likely person to be hysterical you'll ever meet.  But my interior conversations tell another story.  Remember the jungle monkeys.

My last holiday was a train trip Hanno and I took to Townsville in 2007, the one before that was Melbourne, by car, in 2004.  But that was a buying trip for our shop, not a real holiday.  The rest of the time, my "holidays" are spent here.  I haven't been on a plane trip for at least ten years.  I cannot justify the environmental cost to myself.  When I travel back from Tricia's, I'll be on the train, even though it's more expensive than a cheap plane ticket.

I wonder if others feel the way I do.  If it is for my own enjoyment, I will not fly.  However, if I have to fly for business reasons, for instance, to promote my book, which I've already been asked about, I will.  If I ever travel overseas again it will only be to promote the book if I get a sale in the US or the UK, then I'll go to America and to Sweden on the way home and pay a carbon tax.  Otherwise I'll stay in Australia and drive or take the train to far off places.

I was offered a trip to Singapore in 2009 when I was a finalist in a blogging thing, I refused that because it involved flying over there.  Tricia has offered to buy me a ticket to Ireland in August.  She and our cousin Susie, are going, and Tricia thought I'd like to go too.  Well I would, but I won't. 

There is not a lot written about the environmental costs of flying now but the problem hasn't gone away. I'd also like to know a lot more about carbon offsets and how the money paid in carbon taxes is used.  If you pay $50 on top of your flight fare and that money goes towards planting trees - that seems a bit weak to me. Who monitors that?  Who plants the trees and where are they planted?  It all seems a bit secretive. Is anyone else concerned about this aspect of travel?  Do your work and travel plans play a part in your simple life?

It's moving slowly towards Winter here and soon the weather will call for hot soups and casseroles.  Hanno does a lot of our grocery shopping now but I was in the IGA supermarket the other day and nearly fell over when I saw a large leg of lamb priced at $40.  I thought it was a mistake, but looking at the other legs close by, I realised it wasn't - the smaller legs were $30 - $38.  I just checked online at Woolworths, they have a large leg of lamb, cut in two, for $13.00 a kilo or $36 for the leg. Lamb cutlets, that I grew up on, are now $36 a kilo!  That is just incredible to me.

After I was shocked by that IGA leg of lamb, I talked to Hanno about buying our next meat order in bulk.  We usually use a local family butcher, who is also a grazier with his farm in the mountains near us, so we know his meat is local, grass fed, excellent value, and he kills it himself.  Instead of buying our usual mix of beef, lamb, dry cured bacon and chicken (which usually averages out at about $12/kilo), we ordered a hind quarter of beef.  The girl on the phone, the butcher's daughter, told us the cattle would be slaughtered on a certain day, that dad would hang the meat for a week and it would be ready for pick up on Tuesday, yesterday.  It was two large boxes full and it cost us $308, or $7.80 a kilo.

When Hanno brought it home, we both washed our hands and started packing it away.  Hanno cleaned out the freezer and defrosted it yesterday, so it was ready to be filled.  I wasn't sure how much our freezer would hold so I got the small hind quarter, but when we packed the meat away, the freezer is only one third full. I was talking to Sarndra on the phone yesterday and told her about this and she was interested in sharing the next order. So the next time we do this, I'll order the entire side and share it with Sarndra and Sunny.  The meat will then be $6.80 a kilo.  We might also get a side of lamb then so we have a choice of meat.  I'll buy a few chickens to have on hand in the freezer too.  Sarndra recommended Aldi's free range chicken to me and when we had some at her place for lunch one day, I have to agree, it was very tasty.  And the next time we're down on the coast, we'll get some fish from the fish co-op.  That should give us a good selection of excellent quality meat to choose from, as well as the vegetarian meals we still eat.

If you have a freezer and a good butcher nearby, I recommend this to you.  You have to be sure of the quality of the meat though, before you buy it.  Don't buy cheap meat just because it's cheap.  If it is good quality it is wise economy, if it is poor quality, it's a waste. If a new butcher is recommended to you, talk to him about the meat he sells, where it comes from, where it is slaughtered, how fresh it is and if it is grass fed or grain fed.  Grain fed beef is advertised as something special but grass fed beef is better.  Grass fed means the animal lived in a pasture and had natural feed.  Click here for more information on what that means.  Try a small selection of the new butcher's meat before you place your bulk order, just to make sure it's to your taste and is the quality you expect.

Any good butcher will ask you how you want the meat portioned and cut when you place your order.  We got rump - in thick slices and thiner slices, round - thinly sliced (I will stuff and roll it), eye fillet in one piece, three corned beefs, many T bone steaks - some large, some small, lots of minced steak (ground beef), many kilos of sausages, many kilos of diced beef and the bones.  The diced beef is the gravy beef and is one I'm particularly interested in.  When you see that gristle line through it, if you slow cook that, the gristle dissolves and releases natural gelatine - it's very good for you and the meat is delicious.  I'll use the bones for soup and stock, and Alice will also have a few. Make sure the butcher gives you the option of the bones.  Please take them and use them.

As soon as you get the meat home it must be frozen.  We use freezer bags and I use the large ones so I can put the meat in the botton of the bag, twist it around, and double the bag up on itself again - giving us a double wrapped package.  This protects the meat from freezer burn.  This giant order of meat is an investment for Hanno and I and it is my responsibility to look after it and not waste one ounce of it.  Make sure you label every bag.  We used halved stickers because the marker pen usually rubs off.

When you place your order, make sure you can eat the meat in the time recommended in these guidelines.  Frozen meat will deteriorate if left too long, so it's better to share the order with a friend or neighbour if it's too much for you to eat in that time period.  If you can find a good butcher with local, good quality meat, buying meat in bulk like this will help you put good food on the table for less.  It might take a while to find a butcher you trust, but when you do, there will be no going back.

ADDITION: I've had a couple of emails asking where our butcher is - here is his website.

Sunny, Kerry and Jamie.

I've been thinking about becoming a grandmother for a long time and to tell you the truth, I couldn't get my head around it and didn't know what to expect. I knew what was expected of me, I was well aware of the responsibilities of a grandmother, but I couldn't work out how I felt about it or what my own expectations were.  I knew my identity would change and I didn't have a problem with that. I see ageing as a very positive thing, being a grandma would be another step along my long and well traversed road.  Bring it on!

I suppose my main concern was making a connection with my grandson as heartfelt and strong as the connection I have with my sons.  Anything less would be a disappointment, but could I hope for something similar, or more?  I also want to have a strong relationship with Sunny, with no feelings of intimidation or awkwardness. I want it to be easy - for both of us. I want her to love me and I want her to feel she is loved and part of our family.  I don't want to intrude on Sunny's space; I remember how protective I was of my babies as a young mother. I am a complex bundle of madness when I put my mind to it and sometimes what is perceived on the outside as a stable and dependable older woman is, in fact, the equivalent of a box full of monkeys being let loose in the jungle.  This was a huge change, who knew what would happen. Would I love him enough, would he love me?  Until I knew that I just had to walk around acting like a normal person and let nature take its course.

Sunny was resting in her hospital bed when we walked in.  She was delighted to see us and quickly showed us little Jamie all bundled up in a cot.  I asked could I hold him and she said: "of course, mum."  I picked him up; he was wearing a little blue bamboo hat I'd knitted and was wrapped like a white cotton cocoon. As I held him, his little eyes flickered for a second and then he looked up at me. I looked into those eyes wanting to see something familiar, and it was there, that easy and inescapable recognition that has connected families for thousands of years.  I still don't know what happened when our eyes met for the first time but as he snuggled in closer to me, whatever it was was permanent, powerful and undeniable.

I know that as a grandmother I am Jamie's link backwards - to the nine generations of my family who have made their homes in Australia since the 1790s, and to the others from Ireland, Sweden and England long before that.  Hanno is his link to his German family, Sunny's mother is his link to his Korean roots. I believe that being part of a family is important.  It will support and guide Jamie as he grows older and help form the person he becomes.  I know now that I changed last week and maybe that first look between us had a significance beyond that of a grandma and a grandson meeting for the first time.  It was the beginning of love and I think it melted my feelings of uncertainly and placed me well and truly deep within the heart of this family.  The grandmother who keeps it together even when the monkeys are running loose in the jungle.

-----------------------------

It seems to me that some women have this slinging match over who has the higher ground.  Don't go there, you're better than that.  Support other women, and expect support back from them.  It is not acceptable to criticise anyone for not going out to work, or for going out to work and neglecting their house work.  It's stupid and mean.  Be the friend you hope to find.  Be the woman/man you want your daughter/son to be.  I don't understand where the guilt comes from.  Some women have to work and feel guilty for not being at home with their children and not keeping their home as they would like it.  Other women feel guilty for staying at home and not helping with the family finances.  And some women are made to feel guilt when they're criticised for the choice they made - either to work outside the home, or at home.

A couple of ladies have asked how to answer the "what do you do?"- type questions. We should all start from a position of grace and respect.  When I'm asked, I always presume they want to know the truth, so I tell them about making pure soap or the most delicious bread in the world or that we just dug our latest crop of organic potatoes or that I just put up the summer tomatoes or some peaches - and how doing those things makes me feel.  I usually tell them I have a very good recipe for laundry liquid/orange cake/slow cooked italian beef casserole and ask if they would they like me to write it down for them.  Even if the "what do you do" question was not asked with the best of intentions, sharing helps break down those barriers and shows an open heart.

I know there are many readers here who are homemakers, many who work outside the home, and some who combine both.  I have respect for everyone who, like me, is doing their best and working towards a better future, no matter where their workplace is.  Mutual respect and acceptance will go a long way  towards creating caring communities for us all to live in, so when you are asked about what you do, be ready to smile and write out a recipe.  Generosity is sometimes contagious.

Another email has me writing today about homemaking. It's popular topic here, mainly because it is valued, but also, I believe, because there are too few mentors around who will guide and encourage young people towards a domestic apprenticeship.  Those young people, and some who are older, are looking for guidance. The skills of homemaking are seen as menial and not worth much, and often women who work at home, raising children, baking, sewing and cooking are ridiculed as being old fashioned, lazy or "just a housewife".  That is a narrow view of what housekeeping is because if you let it, your home will transform you and is capable of giving you the power and confidence to do anything.

The email comes from a reader in the UK, I'll call her Kate, who says in part:

"Of course, I have plenty of things to do around here and gardening is one of my passions. But I didn't want to be "just a housewife" or "spend my days cleaning". The only role models I have are a couple of other mothers, one of whom employs a cleaner and the other whose chief occupation seems to be acquiring status symbols.

Now, of course, I have discovered you! You seem like a heaven-sent mentor and I love your views on being a homemaker and how it is a viable, creative, fulfilling occupation. Young women, I think, find it harder to embrace this role as their peers can sneer. However, I now feel this is a way I can contribute as much as my husband to the home and I'm very excited!

I appreciate you receive many emails and are very busy (hopefully cuddling a newborn!) but if you do have time to reply I'd like to know if you would still live this life if you had a large family? One loaf of homemade bread lasts ten minutes so I feel a bit daunted at how I would be able to keep up with all these young appetites/soap making etc. Or do you think it's doable, no matter the size of family?"  (Kate also says in the email she is the mother of five children and the youngest has just started school.)

Yes, she gets it!  Housewifing, homemaking, SAHM, WAHM, or whatever you care to call it can be a rewarding career that will help you to contribute as much to your home as your partner does.  Of course, it's not a competition but everyone wants to feel their time is being spent in a worthwhile way and that what they do is indispensable, appreciated, important and meaningful.  Women want to make a significant contribution to their families and when they do, they feel valued and confident.  There are many ways to go through life but I believe one of the best ways is for one partner to earn money while the other partner manages that money to enable the family to spend less than they earn.  No matter what the income is, spending less than you earn is the key.

So how do you get to that place of feeling like your work in your home is important and that it makes a difference?  You have to take charge of it, you need to identify what it is you need to do, and then carry out those tasks to the best of your ability.  When people feel they're in control and are making a contribution, they do their best work.  And when you're raising children, it is in everyone's interests - yours, mine, the community's, that you do your best work.  Children raised well will make our future brighter.  We need to raise givers and doers, not takers and layabouts, our countries depend on it.

I guess you could go two ways. You could see housework as dull and dreary, do as little of it as possible, complain that you're bored, watch TV or play on the computer all day, then open a packet of something for dinner and wonder why life has let you down.  Or you could do what I would do.  If I were a young newly married woman now, I would dive into my new career of being a homemaker.  I would establish a budget and take over every financial transaction relating to the home.  I would challenge myself to get the best value for every one of my dollars/pounds spent.  I would talk to my partner about future children, a future home and work out, with him, how we would work towards what we both wanted.  We would have many deep and meaningful conversations, we would write down our goals, and then we would both work towards them; him by going out and earning a a wage and me by using that money wisely and by creating the best home possible within the boundaries of my budget.

I would buy the best quality we could afford, I'd learn how to cook from scratch as well as how to make and preserve jams, sauces, relish and fruit, I'd learn how to make a good loaf of bread and try to keep out as many preservatives and artificial colours and flavours out of our food.  I would do that because I would have identified that keeping the family in good health can often come down to the simple things like preparing wholesome, unprocessed food.

If you take on any job and believe when you're told that it will be boring, tedious and difficult, you can either believe that, or you can question the motivation behind such statements and find out for yourself.  I prefer to believe that anything I spend my time on, particularly when it involves my family, has the potential to be enriching and meaningful.  If you're just starting out, or coming to this way of life a bit later, I encourage you to dive right into your job as if it's a struggling small business that will evolve into a great success if you understand what you're doing, put time in to skill yourself and work hard.  Once you take that challenge it will give you many wonderful reasons to get up every morning and the more things you want to do, the more you teach yourself, the better you'll feel about homemaking and yourself.  You'll realise then that women make most of the buying decisions in the home and that gives you the power of the dollar/pound.  Use it.  If you don't like the service you receive, if the goods you buy are faulty or inferior, complain.  When we're assertive, shopkeepers listen.  They're not stocking an ingredient you need?  Ask for it.  Shopping is best done with a happy mindset, it's not an exercise of walking behind a trolley picking up products and dropping them  in.  It's much more involved and active than that.  Read labels, know what you're buying, ask, know your products and where to get the best deals.  Shopping is our battlefield.  We want good quality and the best value for our money, the shopkeepers want you to take what is in the shop at the advertised price.  Sometimes getting what you want  takes time and it might involve changing the way you shop.

And in answer to Kate's question, yes, if I had a large family, I would live like this.  I think my children would be happier and I believe it to be the best way to live.  Not just as a retired couple, but from the time you walk through the door of your first home as a committed couple.  If you're making bread for a large family, you'd make 5 - 10 loaves at a time, then freeze some.  On the days you don't bake bread, you might bake biscuits/cookies, muffins, cakes or scones for snacks to supplement the large bowl of fruit on the bench.  Soap making takes less than an hour and the soap lasts for a couple of months.  Making your own cleaning products doesn't take any time at all, the cleaning takes the same amount of time but with a large family you'll do it more frequently.  You'll be doing your laundry in the same way to everyone else, but you'd make your own laundry liquid (it takes less than 30 minutes to make enough for several months), and you'd be hanging the washing on a line instead of using a dryer.  It's much cheaper and healthier, to cook from scratch for a large family because there are so many crock pot/roast/casserole/soup recipes out there and you aren't relying on packets of soup or convenience foods to feed them.   I'm sure there are many readers with a large family, please chip in here and help Kate understand how a large family works.  

And don't forget to model the behaviour you want to see in your children.  Not just today or tomorrow afternoon, but all the time.  As you go about your everyday work, your children are watching and learning how to be when they're older.  If you want them to cook and bake, show them that you do it and teach them how to.  Let them help you while they're young.  Show them how to make their beds, put their toys away, take their dirty clothes to the laundry, feed the dog, put away dishes, sew on a button, how to repair a ripped shirt, mow the lawn, plant seeds, water the garden, clean the car, clean their shoes, watch over their siblings and to be a good citizen.  Everyone of those things will enable them grow in confidence, help them as they grow and help you in your daily work.

Don't listen to anyone who wants to put you down, no matter what you're doing. If you have friends who demean you, tell them it hurts you and you would like them to respect your lifestyle choice.  If they don't, walk away, they're not friends. Believe in yourself, know that homemaking is a valuable way to spend your time, and do your best. What you do in your home will improve your quality of life, even in the most humble home.  It's a great investment in your family's future and one you can be proud of.  Those "friends" who say housework is dull don't understand its potential. It not a series of mind numbing chores, it's active and enriching work that helps a family be their best.  Sure, you'll have days when you wished you could leave it all behind but from my experience, those days are far outnumbered by beautiful days that make you realise there is no better way to live.

ADDITION:  7.30 am, Sunny and Kerry have just gone to hospital for the birth.  :- )

10.00 am, Sunny is in very early labour.  They were given the opportunity to wait at home so they've gone back home in the hope that Sunny can rest.  She's been awake since 3am.  They have hourly checks to do and instructions on when to return to the hospital, which is only 10 minutes away.

Thank you all for your good wishes for them.

I've had a couple of emails lately asking about washing up.  I've written about this in the past but its over a year now since we got rid of our dishwasher so I thought it would be interesting to write about going back to washing up by hand.

In November 2009, I decided I no longer needed, nor wanted, a dishwasher and asked Hanno to remove it from the kitchen.  Today, I wanted to give an evaluation of the water and electricity saved by not having a dishwasher but we've changed both our electric and water companies in the past year and with price fluctuations and different pricing structures, it was too difficult to calculate.  Suffice to say we're saving electricity but probably use about the same amount of water. I know there is a common belief now that hand washing uses more water than machine washing.  I have seen figures of 63 litres mentioned for washing up by hand.  That is a lot of water! My washing up sink holds about 15 litres, my rinsing sink holds about 10 litres.  Even if I filled them both to their capacity I'd use 25 litres. As it happens, I use  less than 10 litres, twice a day.  I explain how below.

But water and electricity aren't as much of a concern to me as the chemicals used in dishwashers are.  Not only are they very expensive, they're highly toxic and corrosive.  Before I gave up my dishwasher, I tried a couple of homemade versions of dishwasher detergent but was never happy with the result.  I realised I could not continue using them and still say I cared for the environment.  And please, I am not accusing anyone of anything here, I'm just relaying my feelings.  The last day I used those chemicals in my home was a happy one. When we sold our machine, we gave the lady all our dishwasher detergent too. I was really glad to see it go.

Another cost that's often overlooked in the hand versus machine washing debate is the cost of the machine's manufacture, freight from the place of manufacture to where you buy it, and then to home.  Add to that the waste they become when they break down or wear out. All these costs have to be weighed up and considered.  If you have a large family, work outside the home and have little home time, you'll probably decide you're willing to pay the various costs.  If, like me, you're in a small family with occasional large family groups, you might think the cost is too high and hand wash.  Either way though, it's a private decision for all of us.  As always I don't expect you to follow what we do here; I expect you to do what suits you and the way you work and be proud of that.

For me, there is nothing like hand washing dishes.  It is a homemaker's task that hasn't changed in many a long year.  What I do is what my grandma did, and her grandma before her.  It's so simple and gentle on the dishes, it's relaxing, quiet and satisfying.  Just me and a sink of hot water with either liquid soap or dish detergent, a dishcloth, dish mop, stainless steel scourer and brushes, and a sink of warm water for rinsing.  I don't dry, I set the plates and cups on the drainer and let them air dry.  Hanno wanders along later and puts everything neatly back in its place.  

There is a line of thought that says the dishwasher washes cleaner, and I believe that is true.  Dishwasher water is so hot and the detergent so corrosive, you'd not be able to put your hands into it.  I have found that hot water you can put your hands into, cleans effectively, and easily, and we've never had an instance of food poisoning in our home.  I've written about over-cleaning before.  Cutlery and crockery you use every day needs to be clean,  it doesn't need to be sterile.  

This is how I wash up.  After breakfast the plates are scraped, but not rinsed, unless we've had eggs.  Eggs stick and will need scrubbing later if you don't pre-rinse it.  The plates and cups are stacked in the sink.  The morning tea cups and a plate are added and I wash up after we've had lunch - usually another couple of plates and glasses or cups.  If I do any cooking or preserving/canning, this is an extra and will be washed up as soon as I'm finished.  As I prepare dinner, I wash up as I go, so I add hot water to the sink, wash graters, paring knives, measuring jugs, strainers etc as I use them and leave the water in the sink ready for the dinner plates.  After dinner, all I have to do is finish off our two plates, cutlery, water jug and glasses and I'm finished.  Everything sits in the drainer to dry.  I fill my sink with about seven litres/quarts of hot water, and in a second smaller sink, about two litres to rinse, twice a day.  The soap, brushes, scourers, dishcloths, are mostly handmade and used repeatedly, with time out for cleaning or soaking in oxybleach or peroxide.

There is one small part of the dishwasher that I do miss - the ability to stack the dishes out of sight until they're washed.  But it's not enough of a reason for me to put up with the downsides. In the space the dishwasher once stood, I now have extra storage for recycled jars and bottles and my spare dish drainers.  I don't have a door there, it's a red and white check curtain.  I'm very happy with this arrangement, it suits my kitchen and the way I work and I'm pleased the dishwasher has gone.  It's nothing fancy, but neither am I.  All I need is an effective method that suits the way I work, and after shuffling around I finally have it.

The yarn is plant dyed, organic and fair trade cotton from Peru.  It is, without doubt, the softest cotton I've ever used and just perfect for our first grandson, who is due to arrive this weekend.  I got it from Eco Yarns and will have more information about it next week.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Thank you for visiting me this week.

I have been reading through my book, The Thrifty Kitchen, and in there is a very good guide for oven processing small amounts of fruit - page 153.  All I need now are some recycled jars, sugar syrup and a bit of time, oh, and the plums.

The Thrifty Kitchen recipe calls for 2kg|4.4lbs of any stone fruit - peaches, nectarines, apricots or plums to make one litre|quart of fruit. Preheat the oven to 120C|250F, wash your jars thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinse in warm water and place them in the oven, opening upwards, for 20 minutes.  Then,

We were vegetarian for quite a few years, maybe seven or eight, and went back to meat after reading Nourishing Traditions.  When I started buying meat again I was shocked at how expensive it was so I've tended to stay with the cheaper cuts or we eat fish or chicken, along with our favourite vegetarian dishes.

I really like meat with the bone still in it.  Either as a roast, chops or in a casserole.  The meat seems sweeter and more tender, and the bone gives an added depth of taste.  One of my favourite pieces of meat is a pork shoulder.  When it's cooked well, the meat is tender and delicious, and it's cheaper than a leg or anything from the middle section.  

I encourage you to buy meat from your local butcher, not the supermarket; it's usually cheaper. The butcher will know where the meat comes from, so ask him about each cut while he's wrapping it for you. When the butcher knows you're interested in your food and want to know about it, he'll probably be more careful about giving you good quality meat. You can ask the butcher to trim the fat off, to slice thin or thicker slices, or to dice up or mince a slice for you.  It's all in the service they offer you - service you'll never get from a supermarket. There was a time when every housewife knew the various cuts of meat, now it seems very few do.  I encourage you to know as much about your food as possible.  Learning which part of the animal the various cuts come from is a good start to learning about meat.  I've found some good guides to meat cuts.  Some cuts are the same in all countries, some are different.  The lists are below:

AUSTRALIAN MEAT CUTS

UNITED KINGDOM

We had this shoulder of pork as a hot roast with baked purple sweet potato, onions and green peas on Sunday.  On Monday we made sandwiches with the shoulder, last night's dinner finished it off.  I stripped the bones of the good meat and the scrap meat - that with too much fat on it - and gave that to the chooks as an added treat.  Chickens are carnivores and love meat.  The good meat and some of the roasted bones went into a pot for a very nice pork and vegetable casserole. The bones gave a lot of added flavour to the dish.  The shoulder fed us well for three days.

When you buy a shoulder - you can also buy lamb shoulders instead of legs for a delicious roast lamb meal - you can ask the butcher for it to be boned, if that is how you want it.  A boned shoulder is easier to cut and you can lay it flat and fill it with stuffing before rolling it back up again and securing it with cooking string.  If you do have the butcher bone the shoulder for you, ask him for the bones, because when you roast the meat you can roast the bones at the same time, then make stock with them - and freeze it.  But as I said, I like meat with the bone still in so that is how I buy it.  There is quite a bit of fat in pork and lamb but if you cook it slowly for a long time, much of the fat will render out, and if you eat it cold the next day, it's very easy to cut the fat out.

You can either buy the expensive cuts like T-bone steak, rump, legs of lamb, pork chops or fillet, or stay with the cheaper things like sausages, neck chops or minced steak|ground beef.  But there is a middle ground.  In between those two extremes there are the cheaper cuts that tend to take longer to cook, but have excellent flavour and give you delicious nutritious food, for much less money.  With rising costs, this is one way to keep meat on the table while staying within your budget.