Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Yes, 99.9% of our meat comes directly from a butcher. We buy a full cow and pig most years with another couple and split it between each other.
Wild rice....Um, I live in wild rice country. 
Wild rice grows native to my area....I can walk out the door and go pick some anytime it is in season.
We have several large wild rice companies based out of my area. We also have a huge Native American population that supports itself from harvesting wild rice. We live right on the Mississippi river.
Green beans...all our veggies are purchased fresh in the produce dept. The kind where you can just go and put as many or as few as you would like into a bag.
In the summer, we grow all our own veggies. Some we freeze and some we just eat while in season.
Basic spices I guess.... DH says, he uses home made beef stock, salt and pepper and sometimes he will use cooking wines or different vinegars.
Lately he has been really into making his own sauces and using the food processor to make glazes, sauces, gravies and pestos.
I am very interested in buying a whole cow/pig and splitting the costs with some co-workers. How do you do it? Is there a website that I can go to?