Yes, you read the title correctly. While I pared down the grocery shopping so that I didn’t have much food left over to throw away before we closed up our house and migrated north, meals were getting rather interesting.

Two weeks before we left, we ran out of coffee creamer. No matter how much or loudly I pleaded that we needed to buy some, my husband insisted that we’d have to make do. I figured someone surely has been in that same position and must have posted recipes on the internet. The internet did not disappoint. There were tons of recipes but all were calling for sweetened condensed milk. I had none but I did have a can of evaporated milk and some sugar and about a tablespoon of vanilla extract. In the end, I created a really good substitute which actually improved with age. This homemade creamer lasted for the duration of our stay and I only threw about 2 tablespoons away.

However, we ran out of milk 3 days before we left our Arizona home which meant I’d have to eat my morning cereal dry or finish off the eggs and toast for breakfast.

I did convince my husband to buy a quart of strawberries so that the last few pieces of angel food cake could be eaten in style. Earlier in the season strawberries were 3 quarts for one dollar so I was surprised he splurged for the last one since it cost a whopping 77 cents!

And that brings me to breakfast on the morning that we left our winter home earlier this week. There was no milk, no eggs, and no bread in the house. The only thing left to eat was the Angel food cake with strawberries and the remaining ice cream. I think I planned it all quite well.

What I Learned Today:

1. Closing up a house takes much longer than one thinks or plans.
2. Saying goodbye to the sun, friends, and cheap fruits and vegetables is hard to do.
3. Saying goodbye to one fabric stash is almost impossible (which is why I am sneaking a few pieces home) but I am excited to say hello to the other one waiting for me.
4. Home seems so far away.

Question: Do you make an angel food cake from scratch, buy it already made, or purchase a good box mix? I’ve come to the conclusion that angel food cake must be a regional item. Finding any brand of angel food cake mix in the Phoenix area is practically impossible. After looking for two winters for my favorite brand (Food Club—no affiliation) and not finding it, I bought and carted down several boxes of the mix with us last fall.