...And we're back

In case you've been in a coma for the past 6 months and this is your first stop on waking (and if it is, thanks, but I hope you'll reconsider your priorities in light of your recent near-death experience), here's a quick recap of significant events that happened while you were out:

1. The US elected a new president.
2. The world economy is in the shitter.

In this post, we'll talk about Number 2.

Thanks to unprecedented levels of greed and stupidity in developed nations, we collectively find ourselves in more straightened circumstances than one year ago. Companies are downsizing, people are losing jobs, and governments are spending unimaginable sums of money in an effort to prop up their national economies.

All of this has been going on for a while, of course, but what prompted me to finally get off my ass and get back to posting was an article in today's Telegraph about Starbucks' economy contracting too. Yes, the home of £3 coffee-scented hot milk is actually closing some shops.

Here in the UK, we've dubbed the current economic crisis the 'Credit Crunch'. This delightfully alliterative moniker, which has given rise to all sorts of cute expressions (credit crunch lunch, anyone?) just paints a smiley face on a voracious beast with a very long tail. The icing over of the global capital markets isn't a short term problem, and it's not a problem that governments can fix by lending money to banks, or even by guaranteeing the loans they make. I'm not talking about mortgages here. If you don't already own a house, you're screwed for a while, but chances are you'll either stay where you are, or maybe find a squat in Mayfair. I'm talking about the corporate financing that makes it possible for businesses to continue their operations. When large numbers of otherwise solvent companies can't borrow and can't sell their equity, it's just a short trip to consumerist Armageddon.

This news has a bright side for me, though: we'll now have to learn to live within our means. It may surprise you that I've never been much good at managing money. It's not because my family was wealthy - I grew up eating chuck steak and drinking powdered skim milk - but because I've always had a job, and always had about as much money as I wanted. A plot of my earnings over the past 24 years would show a general upward trend, so if my attitude was always that if I didn't make enough this year, I'll make more next year. Demand always roughly equalled (and sometimes exceeded) supply. In short, my savings are Lilliputian considering how long I've been working and how much I've earned over that time.

For the moment, I'm still employed. That's more than many people can say, so I realize how fortunate I am. For the first time, though, I find myself having to really budget my money. This is not necessarily a Bad Thing.

One side effect of this is that I've become much more conscious of what I spend my money on, and whether I'm actually getting good value for money. A few weeks ago, several of us had 2-for-1 coupons for a restaurant near the office, so we decided to treat ourselves to a nice lunch on a Friday. The food, when it eventually arrived, was cold, overcooked and not actually what we'd ordered. Normally, I'd have shrugged all this off, complained to my friends and when the waiter asked how everything was, nodded sullenly. Not anymore, though. A complaint to the manager resulted in replacement meals and a free lunch on our return. Result! (A few days later, a different restaurant, a paper towel found in my salad, a similar complaint and a similar result...I may start bringing a bag of dead mice with me to lunch).

One problem with trying to save money - it seriously curtails your social life if that life is based on going out. This year, we're trying some alternatives, for example, entertaining more at home. Our first Credit Crunch Dinner Party was last weekend, and was a brilliant success. We had some friends from the kids' school round to ours; the kids had fun, the grownups had fun, and the whole thing (including wine) cost less than it would have for the two of us to have a decent meal out. It was also a nice way to show our appreciation for some folks who've been extremely nice to us since we arrived, wide-eyed and friendless, on these sunless shores.

At work, I try to go to as many management presentations as I can. They are sometimes boring, sometimes baffling and occasionally farcical, but lunch is provided and I almost always come away knowing something I didn't know before. In one recent talk, a senior manager discussed the notion of paradox in management and how the more senior you become, the more paradoxes you face. A junior manager may be mandated to cut costs without sacrificing quality. That's hard. But a senior one is expected to reduce costs and improve quality. That's paradox.

"Do more with less" is hackneyed to the point of caricature, but it may apply equally to personal life: can we cut our costs while continuing to enjoy the things we enjoy? We'll find out...

Credit Crunchy Pork Loin
serves 6, plus enough leftovers for about 3 nights
2kb (4.5lb) boneless pork loin, with skin
2 tbs cider vinegar
500g (1lb) sauerkraut
2 pears
3 apples

Score the skin (have the butcher do this if you can). At least 8 hours before cooking (preferably the night before), place an over rack over the sink with the pork on it, and pour about 1 liter of boiling water over the whole thing. This helps open up the skin. Pat dry with a towel and brush on the cider vinegar. Refrigerate, uncovered until about an hour before cooking.

Dry the roast well and place directly in a roasting pan. Core and cut the apples and pears into chunks and mix well with the sauerkraut. Distribute the mixture evenly around the pork.

Roast at 165C (325F) for about 90 minutes. Stir the sauerkraut mixture occasionally. Since ovens and loins vary, use a meat thermometer and take the roast out when the thermometer reads about 68C (155F). Cover the pork with foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Put the sauerkraut in a bowl in the hot oven (turn the oven off first...).

The skin won't quite be as hard as proper British crackling because the sauerkraut will steam the pork a bit, but it's still reasonably crunchy.

Total cost: about £26 (food prices are different in the US, so a conversion to dollars isn't really appropriate. I reckon it'll be under $30, though).