Market Season Commences

Saturday was opening day for the Burlington Downtown Farmers' Market,  but I wasn't there due to illness.   It was so kind of my kids to share that with me, don't you think?  ;)

I've been mulling over how to deal with market this year.  I always end up missing out on purchase opportunities due to time and funds not coinciding.  Also, I've been wanting to get back into a 10% mindset where at least 10% of my grocery budget is local grown.  So my plan is to go to market each week with $30 cash specifically for food purchases. (For the record, I do not spend $300 per week...though I bet my kids wish I did).

The goal is to remember to post here with what I've purchased and what I make with it.  Kind of similar to when we participated in a CSA the other fall.  Best laid plans...we'll see what comes of it. 

Do y'all want to join me in this?  Did you hit a farmers' market or stand this weekend?

Long Time No Chatter!

I didn't realize how quiet I've been on the blog here.  I haven't even posted my absences during the season!  Guess maybe I forgot that though the e-newsletter links to the archive page, it doesn't actually post to the blog itself.

So...there's three Saturday's left to the Burlington Downtown Farmers' Market (thanks to the City Manager for okaying an extension to the season so y'all can get fall/winter veggies).  Then I have one Saturday off before the Studio1 Snowflake Market starts up.  This Saturday I'm going to be participating in the Burlington Downtown Corp's Kickin' Off Christmas from 1p-7p.

In somewhat unrelated news, I'm still working my way through Gut and Psychology Syndrome.  My goal is to start us on some of the things that will be new to us before cutting out the things that we're going to be skipping for the next bit.  Y'all interested in following my family's journey through this for the next couple years?  Should I post about it here like I did about our CSA last fall?

Radishes, Collards, and Beets, Oh My!

Confession:
I have at least three weeks of CSA shares in my fridge.  Well, on the stove at this distinct moment.  I'm feeling rather overwhelmed with radishes, collard greens, beets, and mesclun.  The other items I can easily utilize (kohlrabi, carrots, spinach, turnips), but these have me stumped.  The mesclun not so much, it's just that we don't eat salad frequently enough for the quantity we receive--and my children demolished my salad spinner so it's inconvenient to my lazy tendencies.

So I'm dejectedly browsing through food.com, eyes glazed over, trying to figure out how to utilize the bounty we're blessed to receive.

CSA Week 8

Hooray for kohlrabi!  I'm doing a happy jig in my kitchen because this week we received kohlrabi in our CSA share.  YUM!

We also received carrots (which will go in with the kohlrabi), mesclun (which keeps ending up in the compost because we don't get to it before it turns), swiss chard, and cilantro.

Not sure what we'll do with the cilantro yet, but we'll be enjoying kohlrabi and carrots, and swiss chard rigatoni.  Good thing I have one bell pepper left from a previous week!

And if we're on the ball we'll have a salad with the mesclun.  ;)

CSA Week 7

Another round of kale, pac choi, radishes, turnips, as well as broccoli and thyme.  I got smart and separated the radishes from their greens.  A couple of the kale ribs came with bugs (a different variation of squash bugs?) so I set it to soak in vinegar water to see if it helped loosen any of the unwanted, umm, protein so they could be washed away.  They were tenacious little buggers so the affected parts were tossed.

I made a radish green soup that I added some barley to on a whim.  None of us have tasted it yet...I'm thinking of adding more to it for a heartier soup/stew.

We revisited one of the pasta recipes from Week 4 for the kale.  I'm noticing a recurring theme of greens and pasta...yum!

The pac choi leaves were used in a fish packet recipe that we won't be making again.  I think I ended up improvising it too much.  The stems are slated for a pork fried rice recipe.

We found a pork chop recipe for the radishes...it was okay, but it won't be made again in our household.  The turnips, broccoli, and thyme are still in the crisper.

CSA Week 6

This week we had the opportunity to enjoy radishes, carrots, mesclun, swiss chard, and sweet potatoes.  Some beets were thrown in as well.  It was an interesting week and nothing was touched after it had been loaded into the fridge until over a week later.  Surprisingly, the mesclun was still hunky-dory (but it didn't last a second week of no use); the radishes, not so much.  The beet greens were unsalvageable as well.

I used the swiss chard in a rigatoni that received high marks from all.  I made it for lunch, and they asked for it for dinner as well!  The carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes are still in the crisper.

CSA Week 5

Turnips, baby carrots, a small head of lettuce, collards, bell peppers, and cilantro comprised this week's assortment.  At the time we hadn't utilized quite all of the greens from previous weeks (I post a couple weeks after the fact) so I asked if I could swap the collards for a butternut squash.  They kindly obliged!

The turnips, butternut squash, and carrots (along with the sweet potatoes and the rest of the kale from last week) were utilized in a glorious meal called Stamppot.  I used brautwurst rather than rookwurst.  It is beyond my understanding why my husband and my middle child do not like this meal.

And we actually had salad with the lettuce.  It took me too long to get to the computer so I don't remember what meal it was with.  The cilantro was used in a pork recipe in Week 7.

CSA Week 4

This week our share included sweet potatoes, arugula, kale, bell peppers, and parsley.

The bell pepper and part of the kale were used in a very yummy sausage linguine that I made with bratwurst (and thin spaghetti because it was what I had on hand). I skipped the parmesan due to the dairy issues of the nurseling.

The sweet potatoes and the rest of the kale were used in a stamppot recipe that I made Week 5.

The arugula was enjoyed in a yummy pasta dish that everybody devoured.   I used thin spaghetti instead of fettuccine, a can of italian diced tomatoes instead of the plum/grape tomatoes, I skipped the red pepper and the half-and-half.

The parsley is still in my crisper.

CSA Week 3

Do I have to admit the relief that washed over me this week for not having a large share?  They received okra.  I'm surprised at the intensity of my emotion.

Anyway, this week we received 1.5 pounds of tomatoes, half-pound of hot peppers, a bag of mesclun (a loose leaf lettuce), one pak choy, and one bunch of basil.

We tried the leaves of the pak choi as a side dish with apples and onions.  If I ever make it again I'll use stock/broth instead of water, and I'll only try it if I have tender young leaves to use in it.

The stalks of the pak choi where crisped in a bowl of ice water and then julienned into a crockpot recipe for Peppers & Steak.  I used kabob beef from T5 Farms that we didn't get around to kabobbing (I sliced it thin and seared it with some garlic salt).  This recipe also used up the rest of the bell peppers we had from the last couple weeks of CSA and the anaheims we received this week.  I also added a chopped vidalia and minced garlic that live in my fridge as standard pantry items.  After crocking on high for a couple of hours I pulled out the stuff and thickened the "sauce" that remained with a bit of cornstarch.  I haven't eaten it yet, but the kids have been using it a bit more fajita-like for lunch.

To me, working with the fresh pak choi stalks/stems it seemed like cabbage-smelling celery.  Does that make sense?

The basil was wasted in a failed experiment with an old family standby of Oven Chicken and Rice.  It was bad enough even Grandma commented on facebook about it not working out.  But hey, now we know, right?

The mesclun is still in the crisper.  Sigh.

-JS

CSA Week 2

This week's share included asian stirfry greens, romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, cilantro, and bell peppers.  (The larger share also had turnips and butternut squash.  Yummy.)  Oh, and they gifted us with a dozen of their farm fresh eggs!

 We were going to use the greens in an impromptu stirfry for guests.  There were three, possibly four, varieties in the bag and I had removed the excess rib/stem from all of them and started the rinsing and washing process.  Then we couldn't find the lid to our salad spinner, my colander is still at my mother's (she's working on canning applesauce from apples we picked at a local farm), and we were out of time--along with not fleshing out this idea of stirfry with stirfry greens.  We ended up throwing together a hasty pot of chili (using the last of my canned beans) and the greens sat submerged in my salad spinner on the counter.  For two days (we won't discuss the chaos that was occurring).  So, the stirfry greens ended up in the compost--along with the water they were stinking it up in.

We had big plans for the cilantro...salsa, or fish tacos, or something.  But the same chaos that wasted the stirfry greens on the counter, created a similar fate for the cilantro in the fridge.  It would have fared better if we hadn't simply tossed the bunch on the shelf...but that's as far as it got.  Notice a theme this week??

The tomatoes and peppers were utilized in a Stuffed Pepper Soup that is going into our collection of yummy soup recipes.  We didn't make it quite per recipe, instead we did two cups cooked ground beef mix (we call it Meat Mix), two cans beef broth, four heirloom tomatoes (cubed/chopped), one cup long grain rice (uncooked), three red bell peppers (diced/chopped), two tablespoons brown sugar.  The kids made cornbread (with rice milk) to go with it for a hearty lunch.

The lettuce is still in the crisper, and the spinner lid still has not been found.  Ugh.

-JS

CSA Week 1

I jumped in with both feet and am participating in a local CSA this autumn.  We received our first CSA share September 22nd and it contained one pound bell peppers, one pound hot peppers, half-pound okra, 3/4 pound tomatoes, and a bag of basil.  I would argue that it was at least two pounds of okra.  LOL.

The tomatoes and part of the basil were utilized in Ontario Bean Soup.  I ended up making it late night so didn't have any, but DH enjoyed it and a co-worker of his said it smelled good when he took a second serving for lunch.  It will be made again.

The bell peppers are slated for some beef kabobs, if they don't head south before we get to grilling.

The okra was used in a Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya.  I'll be making the recipe again, without the okra.  I haven't found a dish yet that allows me to enjoy okra.  More proof that I'll never truly be Southern.

The rest of the basil was used in Peach Basil Chicken.  Rather than immediately serving over the chicken per the recipe instructions, I popped the chicken breasts back into the pan on top of the "slop" and let it stew for another twenty minutes or so as I was prepping some crockpot oatmeal for the next morning.  The flavor is FANTASTIC!!  This is going into regular meal rotation and I will continue the accidental practice of stewing it to help infuse the flavors further.  YUM!

The hot peppers consist of poblano, anaheim, jalapeno, serrano, and fish varieties.  I don't do spicy foods---it took me YEARS to be able to handle the red sauce Taco Bell puts on their burritos.  DH enjoys chile relleno occasionally so I prepared my mother-in-law's recipe with the poblano and anaheim peppers.  What to do with the others??

Meal Planning: The Pantry

As mentioned previously, I tend to keep a stocked pantry that aligns with the meals we tend to utilize.  My pantry is wall-mounted adjustable shelving DH had assembled for me in 2000 and a 17cf upright freezer (manual defrost).

My pantry shelving holds modest quantities of canned and packaged foods, I shop to replenish what I use out of it.  My freezer holds freezer jams we made with last year's harvest of peaches and blackberries, this year's harvest of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and peaches.  My grains and flours, bulk meats, bulk cheese, breads, and leftovers are also in the big freezer.  The freezer that is with the fridge holds pre-cooked meats, frozen veggies, and shredded cheese.

I buy ground beef in quantity and cook it down with onion, garlic, oregano, and black pepper.  Then I package it into one-cup increments and toss into the freezer.  When I need ground beef (sloppy joes, spaghetti, etc) I toss a package in the microwave for a minute and then go on with meal prep.

When chicken breast is on sale I toss it in the crockpot with some broth and chopped green chiles to cook down.  After draining and shredding I pack it into the freezer in one-cup increments for use in makeshift pasta dishes, quasadillas, etc.  Again, a quick nuke and moving on with meal prep.

(Though, if I'm on top of my game, I defrost the pre-cooked meats in the fridge so I'm not utilizing the microwave.)

When we do bacon, any leftovers are tossed into a baggie in the freezer for use on sandwiches or served alongside breakfast dishes.  Or as a snack.  I don't reheat the bacon, I eat it frozen. 

I keep shredded cheese in the freezer.  It makes it easy for me to use it and doesn't mold.


Do you do any shortcuts in your pantry to make meal prep or meal planning easier for your household?

-JS

Meal Planning: Foundation

A childhood friend messaged me today, asking how I meal plan.  I've touched briefly on it elsewhere before, but figured it would be an interesting topic to delve into further here to tie into the Real Food Fridays that I have not been posting (innocently whistling sheepishly).  Meal planning is ever-evolving around here--we have to work around a slew of food reactions, within a budget, and still live life.  One of these days I will get back to more scratch-cooking and our microfarm will be full-tilt, but until then...

 I try to meal plan all meals and snacks, and I meal plan for the entire pay period.  DH doesn't like having similar things too close together so I can't do chicken two nights in a row, or pasta two nights in a row, etc.  I created a framework to cut down the brain power required:

• Roasts
• Soup/Salad
• Breakfast for Dinner
• Mexi/pseudo-Asian
• Rice/Pasta
• Grill
• Miscellaneous

I plan dinner first--on a good week I also plan sides--then I plan lunches, breakfasts, and snacks.  Some things we have standing each week, like animal crackers for our snack coming home from church on Sunday.  When I have an opportunity to be crafty, I want to update my menu-planning menagerie to something similar to this.  I like the idea of the primary ingredients list being on the back so you can quickly build your grocery list.  At the same token though, I keep a pantry and tend to shop to replenish the pantry rather than shopping for specific recipes.

Also, we have fail-safe meals that don't go into meal plan rotation that we fall back on during those crazy days where nothing goes according to plan.  They include:

• Spaghetti
• Alfredo (though not all of us can eat it)
• Sloppy Joes
• Rotini (a family recipe)
• Chicken and Stuffing
•  and we have a few boxes of Hamburger Helper from when it was free due to couponing

There are some options for those that do not wish to do their own meal planning, that don't involve take-out.  Fresh 20, e-Meals, and Menu-Mailer are all paid-for weekly menu plans that include shopping lists and recipes. Or, there's also the concept of Entre-Vous or Dream Dinners; better yet, if you're in the vicinity of Wilmington, Raleigh, or Chapel Hill you can take advantage of the awesomeness that is Custom Fit Meals.


How do you plan your family's meals?

-JS

Pause for a spot of gratitude

Expressing gratitude is good for the heart and the soul--and I must express some gratitude!

In May 2008 our family had a run-in with a hatchling snapping turtle.  In June 2008 the article I wrote about that incident was published in the inaugural edition of the short-lived Crunchy Carolina e-zine.  I have to admit that I have a sense of pride regarding that article, though I can not give any specific reasons why.  In 2009 I allowed AlamanceMommies.com to publish it in one of their monthly newsletters.

To shorten a longer story, I discovered this week that my article was published on a number of The Mommies Network chapter blogs across the nation but it was only credited as having originally appeared at AlamanceMommies.  No author or byline. I was fully aware that it could appear in other chapters, and I am happy to allow TMN to utilize my article, but it's nice to have your work also have your name attached to it.  When I queried how to resolve this I was contacted by Noel.

I feel a need to bake this fabulous woman a pan of brownies or some decadent treat!  Through our email conversations regarding this over the last two days she has only been gracious, courteous, and kind.  And tonight, when I once again Googled for my article, my heart puddled a bit.  The blog team did an awesome job with its presentation, and the pics they posted with it are incredibly sweet.

My sincere thanks and gratitude to Noel and the other volunteers for their efforts and consideration! 

 

-JS

Pause for Real Food

Food has been a challenge in my household lately.  We have a number of food reactions to work around, a budget to work within, and life to navigate through. So it's feeling pretty providential that 100 Days of Real Food was mentioned at a recent playdate.  The timing was spot-on as we're working towards a more wholesome and self-sufficient lifestyle; even the kids are studying farm-to-table.

While Mrs. Leake's family did a 100-day pledge, a 100-day pledge with a defined budget, provide an opportunity for a 10-day pledge, and also 100-days of mini-pledges--we're going to be doing our own variation of a Real Food quest during this market season, one week at a time.  Perhaps it will set us up for next season's Dark Days Challenge.

This week's goals: soda-free afternoons and taking snacks or meals with for us for outings (to prevent a desperate drive-thru dash).

-JS