What a 26-Year-Old Wine Chemist Eats on $55K in Salem, Oregon (2024)

Illustration by Maggie Cowles

Welcome to The Receipt, a series documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader’s week of expenses related to groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, The Receipt reveals how folks—from different cities, with different incomes, on different schedules—are figuring out their food budgets.

In today’s Receipt, we follow a 26-year-old wine chemist who makes $55,000 in Salem, Oregon. Keep reading for her receipts.

The finances

What are your pronouns? She/her

What is your occupation? I’m a wine chemist. I formerly worked internationally and traveled a bit with the job before settling in Oregon. I also help property manage a vacation rental property in the area for some extra income.

How old are you? 26

What city and state do you live in? I just moved to Salem, Oregon.

What is your annual salary, if you have one? My base salary is $45,000. With harvest overtime and other bits and bobs, I’d say my total income is around $55,000.

How much is one paycheck, after taxes? $1,381

How often are you paid? (e.g., weekly) Twice a month

How much money do you have in savings? $10,000

What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (i.e., rent, subscriptions, bills) Around $1,700

The diet

Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? None at all.

What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? I go through the Trader Joe’s Eggplant Garlic Spread with Sweet Red Peppers at an alarming rate. I always have a pretty healthy cheese rotation going through my fridge; you can typically expect to find four to six cheeses in my fridge. I think my record is eight.

How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? I usually end up going out/ordering in once a week.

How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? Once every two weeks or so. I grew up in a village in England so dining options were limited to two cafés, a Chinese takeaway, a fish and chips shop, and an Indian restaurant (we ate there a LOT). When I got older, we moved to a smaller village with five pubs in a five-minute drive range, so we’d go there frequently.

How often in a week did your parents or guardians cook at home? Most nights we’d have a home-cooked meal. We had au pairs so they’d usually cook for us weeknights; this meant that we got to try food from a range of cultures. My mom is an excellent cook and would cook on weekends. She lived in France for many years (where my brother and I were born) and learned to cook there. I was always her sous chef in the kitchen; I loved (and still do) having that bonding time with her.

The expenses

Week’s total: $136.70
Restaurants and cafés total: $28.48
Groceries total: $108.22
Most-expensive meal or purchase: Takeout dinner from Thai Orchid, $22.50
See Also
Come On Play Me Something - ladyhoneydarlinglove - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia NationStates | Kattera Sector Board Build your expectations Saturated and Inflated ('Cause I was born to be your Favorite) - BottomByKatieMcgrath Lost Memories - Chapter 1 - pickingpixel - 原神
Least-expensive meal or purchase: Morton’s sea salt, $1.59
Number of restaurant and café meals: 2
Number of grocery trips: 2

The diary

Monday

Some of the mozzarella melts into the warm squash, so I fish out those superior bites and ponder life’s big questions, such as, “Why is melted cheese so much better than solid cheese?”

5:41 a.m. On my trudge to the bathroom to get ready, I stop to put on the kettle. I load up the French press with Trader Joe’s Wake Up coffee blend ($7.99), hoping that my brain will follow that instruction and, indeed, wake up. While brushing my teeth, I pop a slice of oat and nut bread in the toaster (Safeway’s Signature Select Bread, $3.79) and put some strawberries (WinCo, $1.48) and blackberries (WinCo, $2.56) into a bowl. I’m disappointed to find that many of the blackberries have molded overnight—I just bought them yesterday! I sort through the punnet with one hand (still brushing my teeth; it’s amazing what you can achieve in two minutes).

Once dressed and ready to face the day, I smash up half an avocado (WinCo, $3.52 for four) with salt and lime (WinCo, $1.00)and spread it on my toast. I plunge the French press, pour it into my favorite mug, and add a hearty glug of oat milk (Califia Farms Barista Blend, $5.49). Finally, at 6 a.m. on the dot, I sit down to eat and scroll through my phone. Then I begrudgingly put my dishes in the sink and skedaddle.

6:22 a.m. On the drive to work, I approach the exit lane and face a decision I must make daily. A left turn takes me to work, where I’ll be slightly late. A right turn takes me to a coffee stand, which will make me very slightly late. I look at the illuminated check engine light on my car and decide my money could probably be better spent elsewhere. I turn left.

11:48 a.m. Trying to beat the rush to the microwaves, I slip out the lab and start concocting my lunch. I prepped a salad the night before: mixed spring leaves (WinCo, $2,98), mozzarella (WinCo, $3.48), avocado, spaghetti squash, and a homemade vinaigrette. I was inspired by a recipe I saw for a harissa butternut squash salad and wanted to use up some leftover spaghetti squash. I heat the squash in the microwave and add it to the rest of the salad. Then I shake up my homemade vinaigrette (olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, hot honey) and add it.

I debate whether I want to sit outside for lunch. The sun is out but it’s deceptively cold and the benches are still wet from the morning’s downpour, so I sit at my desk, incredibly conscious of stinking up the lab with my vinegar-heavy vinaigrette.

The salad is good but could use some nuts. I have peanuts at home and make a mental note to toast them up with some honey at home. Some of the mozzarella melts into the warm squash so I fish out those superior bites and ponder life’s big questions, such as, “Why is melted cheese so much better than solid cheese?” I finish lunch with a Pink Lady apple (WinCo, $1.82 for five), avoiding the bruised evidence of where I dropped it this morning.

3:42 p.m. I’m home from work and ready to get to work on my toasted nuts. While I preheat the oven, I mix the nuts with hot honey and throw them in the oven. After 15 minutes, the roasted smell fills my apartment. They’re slightly burnt and not quite as good as I was hoping, but they’ll be good enough in the salad.

As a consolation prize, I make myself a snack plate of blueberry and vanilla goat cheese (Trader Joe’s, $4.99), eggplant garlic spread (Trader Joe’s, $2.99), and seedy crackers (Trader Joe’s, $3.99). The eggplant garlic spread makes my mouth tingle, stinging as I eat it, but I put back any fears of being allergic; a life without this spread is simply a life not worth living.

5:31 p.m. I’m making a new recipe and know it’ll take far longer than the quoted 30 minutes. I try to go to the library every couple of weeks to rent a new cookbook and get inspired with something new (support your local library!). On tonight’s menu: braised coconut chicken. I start browning the chicken (Winco, $8.56) and make a mental note to get a meat thermometer—the raw chicken anxiety haunts me. I modify the recipe slightly, adding an eggplant (WinCo, $1.28) and long-stem broccoli from the bottom of the fridge drawer. I let the curry simmer and cook up some rice to go alongside.

7:07 p.m. As predicted, the recipe took a lot longer than 30 minutes. It’s ready. I dish out the curry into four portions: one for tonight and three to go in the freezer for a later day. With the same fervor as my grandad who grew up in Depression-era Nebraska, I too refuse to throw out any food. My freezer is a homage to meals past; I always keep it neatly full of meal prep containers. The curry is delicious, the coconut and lime paired indulgently with the strawberry-forward rosé I’m drinking. One of the perks of being a wine chemist is all the free wine I need.

Monday total: $0

Tuesday

My friends and I have a Google doc where we share our favorite recipes.

5:38 a.m. Once again I begin the choreographed dance that is my morning routine. Kettle, French press, toaster, avocado, berries. This routine is so well-rehearsed that I find myself sitting to eat at exactly 6 a.m. again, and out the door by 6:10.

6:39 a.m. While mouth pipetting a sample, I catch an air bubble and get my first taste of wine for the day. A Riesling, very sweet and probably the best option for a breakfast wine.

11:53 a.m. I have the same salad as yesterday. The (overly) toasted nuts are a nice addition to the salad, although they’ve all sunk to the bottom to make a few last crunchy bites. Once again, it’s raining (thanks, Oregon) so I’m fated to stink up the lab with the vinaigrette.

8:32 p.m. I get home late from the pottery studio and start on dinner, glad that I’d taken out a frozen meal the night before. My friends and I have a Google doc where we share our favorite recipes; tonight’s meal comes from there, a pork and pineapple rice bowl that I’d made last week and frozen. I put the rice in the microwave and prepare some bok choy (WinCo, $2.06) to steam. While everything is cooking up, I make a quick bread dough to proof overnight. The meal is as good as I remember it being the first time around, and even better while watching Below Deck. Before heading to bed, I check to see how my bread dough is rising, feeling strangely maternal over the yeast.

Wednesday

I cook the vegetables until they’re rich and jammy, throw in the spices, a can of tomatoes, and let it simmer.

5:36 a.m. I won’t bore you with another description of my morning and making avocado toast; it’s exactly the same as the days before. I shave off a minute on my personal best and have everything prepared by 5:59 a.m. Today is destined to be a good day.

6:21 a.m. My check engine light has turned itself off, which I take as a sign that I should get a coffee on the way to work. I say a quick thank you to whichever deity is in charge of car issues and turn right at the intersection. The barista at Well House Coffee greets me and asks if I want my usual—oat milk latte with hazelnut, please! Then I zip off to work. ($6.98 including tip)

11:58 a.m. Another day, another spaghetti squash salad. I’m glad that I’ve used up the last of the squash and leaves. I don’t think I can do another day of this.

4:03 p.m. I preheat the oven with my bright blue Dutch oven inside, one of my favorite kitchen possessions. While it’s preheating, I cut up two yellow bell peppers (WinCo, $1.96 for two) into matchsticks, a red onion (Winco, $0.50) into thin half moons, and crush the garlic. Once the oven is preheated, I pop my bread dough in and let it bake for 30 minutes. There’s no better smell than freshly made bread and I can’t resist cutting off a piece to eat now with salted butter.

8:47 p.m. I’m home from pottery class and start cooking up a shakshuka. I cook the vegetables until they’re rich and jammy, throw in the spices, a can of tomatoes, and let it simmer. When the sauce reduces, I crack in two eggs (Trader Joe’s, $2.99) and let it bake for eight minutes until the whites are firm and the yolks are runny. I have a lonely naan bread in the freezer that I warm up and enjoy the meal with. It is spicier than I would have liked but not impossibly so. I’ve taken home a leftover white Pinot from work that helps to cut through the spice.

Wednesday total: $6.98

Thursday

The shakshuka’s flavors have developed nicely overnight, but it’s still too spicy.

5:43 a.m. I’m out of avocados and ready to switch up my breakfast regimen. I make coffee as usual and take out a pastry from the freezer. Last Sunday, I got a Too Good To Go bag ($4.99) from Panera that included two pastries; I’d put them in the freezer for another day and today is that day. I throw a bear claw in the air fryer to defrost while I get ready. It’s as good as fresh, although not something I’d typically buy for myself.

12:01 p.m. Lunch today is leftover shakshuka, minus the eggs, with homemade bread and a Pink Lady apple. The shakshuka’s flavors have developed nicely overnight, but it’s still too spicy. I look longingly out the window, wishing I could sit outside, feeling like a school child stuck indoors at recess.

4:51 p.m. Today was a day and I’m home tired, hungry, and a little grumpy. I had defrosted salmon for tonight but (after consulting four websites regarding food safety) put it back in the freezer and decided to order in instead. DoorDash is offering me a discount and free delivery if I sign up for a free trial of its premium service, so I do and make a mental note to cancel it in a month. I order from Thai Orchid some coconut shrimp and tofu pad see ew ($22.50 total). When the food arrives, I eat too much too fast. I spend the rest of the night watching reality TV and dozing on the sofa, deciding that maybe my day wasn’t that bad.

Thursday total: $22.50

Friday

My morning was spent preparing a semi-sparkling wine for bottling, which involved hauling buckets of dry ice up and down the stairs all morning.

5:32 a.m. I have a spring in my step as I get ready for work. Today’s frozen pastry offering is a pecan braid. Out of the air fryer, the icing melts and forms a concrete as the pastry cools; it’s chewy and not particularly great. At least the coffee is strong.

12:03 p.m. Another rainy lunch inside, eating shakshuka and an apple. I’m trudging through a book that I’m not particularly interested in but have come too far to give up now. My morning was spent preparing a semi-sparkling wine for bottling, which involved hauling buckets of dry ice up and down the stairs all morning, a Sisphyean task if there ever was one. So I appreciate the chance to sit mindlessly for half an hour.

3:16 p.m. My wine tasting group is meeting tomorrow so I stop by Trader Joe’s on the way home to pick up supplies for making appetizers, plus some other bits and pieces for the weekend. I’m planning on making blinis, one with smoked salmon (Trader Joe’s, $13.99) with crème fraîche (Trader Joe’s, $2.99) and one with strawberries (Trader Joe’s, $3.49) and cream cheese (Trader Joe’s, $2.99). I scan the aisles repeatedly for crème fraîche but don’t see any. I consult Google to ask if you can buy crème fraîche in America and am disappointed to see that it may be hard to come by. I opt for sour cream instead. I’d taken some leftover mini wine bottles from work and now buy some hyacinths (Trader Joe’s, $6.99) to arrange in them; at home, the smell spreads through the apartment and makes it feel like spring. ($64.19 total)

7:53 p.m. I decide to make the blinis tonight. Once they’re cooked up, I make myself crepe-style pancakes for dinner. In England, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated with pancakes; I celebrated this past Pancake Day by introducing a friend to it and realizing that pancakes for dinner can be an any-time-of-year affair—this is adulthood at its finest. I make myself two pancakes and roll them up with Swiss cheese (Trader Joe’s, $2.84) and turkey slices (Trader Joe’s, $3.69). I have enough batter for two smaller ones, so I make lime-sugar pancakes for dessert.

Friday total: $64.19

Saturday

We blind taste 15 different wines over the course of the evening.

8:08 a.m. The kettle whistles angrily as I rush over to it to make a coffee. Once that’s ready I call my mom to catch up on English village life—their French bulldog has been playing shepherd and managed to round up six sheep; their sheep dog watched on unfazed. I warm up a frozen tortilla and add some scrambled eggs and cheese for a breakfast burrito.

3:42 p.m. I’m meeting some friends at Varnum Vintners, a wine shop and club where we’re members, for a Cinco De Mayo–themed pick-up party. The wine is good, the price is great, and the place’s motto is easy to follow: “Wine made to drink, don’t over think.” We sip through new releases, including two non-alcoholic options, and eat chicken tacos. The rain outside adds to the ambiance of the cozy little tasting room as all the patrons vye for the store cat’s attention. I pick up my biannual allocation of 12 bottles that I’d paid for the week before ($282).

6:13 p.m. Next up on the agenda is an evening with my wine-tasting group up in Portland. May’s theme is “May the Forced Carbonation Be With You.” We blind taste 15 different wines over the course of the evening and try to identify what’s been force carbonated. I bust out the blinis and add them to the spread of many other appetizers. We pay attention to the first round of wine being poured, most of us only getting half of them right, but observations start to fade as the night goes on and we settle on enjoying good wines and good company.

Saturday total: $0

Sunday

I feel like I’ve had my own Carrie Bradshaw moment, but instead of expensive shoes, cosmopolitans, and a string of lovers, I’ve had expensive wine.

9:22 a.m. I wake up at my friend’s house after staying the night along with a wine intern at her company. She makes us all coffee and a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. We gossip and catch up before I head back home.

3:13 p.m. I plan out my meals for the week and head to Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. My freezer is pretty full so I just buy enough stuff to pad it out and get fresh produce. ($44.03 total)

6:29 p.m. I pull out some frozen cheese and potato pierogies from the depths of my freezer (unknown origin). I chop up a green cabbage (Grocery Outlet, $2.94) and braise it. Then I boil the pierogies and throw the sliced kielbasa in the air fryer. I eat while watching reruns of Sex and the City, reflecting on my week as a journalist. I feel like I’ve had my own Carrie Bradshaw moment, but instead of expensive shoes, cosmopolitans, and a string of lovers, I’ve had expensive wine, more expensive wine, and the stray cats I try and claim as my own.

Sunday total: $44.03

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit