It occurred to me while eating dinner tonight that the recipe, which called for both ramps and morels, could really only be made during a two- or three-week timeframe each spring when the seasons for those two ephemeral foraging favorites coincide. Nothing like hanging onto a recipe that's essentially useless 50 weeks out of every year!
I made the recipe to use some of my CSA bag's prolific portion of ramps. But I don't particularly like morels, especially at $60 for a large paper plate full of them from the farmers' market, so I replaced them with some white oyster mushrooms ($10 a pound at the farmers' market). Other modifications to the recipe were based on laziness - I didn't have mascarpone cheese, so I left that out and subbed Parmesan for the Pecorino cheese called for in the recipe. And I didn't have orecchiette, either, so we used cheese ravioli from Ohio City Pasta. I think the creaminess from the ravioli filling helped make up for the lack of mascarpone ... or at least that's what I'm telling myself, that and "Hey, at least you didn't have to make a special trip to the grocery store on a weekend just for one container of cheese and a bag of pasta!"
One thing I learned while making this recipe is that the leaves of the ramps really are very mild in flavor. The recipe has you separate them from the bulbs, cook the bulbs as you would onions or garlic, and add the roughly chopped leaves at the end as you would spinach or other tender greens. The cooked leaves had a delicate onion/garlic flavor, much lighter and less in-your-face than that of the bulbs. I'll definitely keep that in mind, because this time of year it's nice to have some interesting greens to throw into soup or salads.
In other news, IT'S ASPARAGUS SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously have to stop typing so I have time to drive up to Avon to buy some local asparagus, which I will store in a vase of water at work until I can come home and totally eat an entire bunch myself because Jason isn't coming home for dinner tonight .... bwahahahahahahahaha!
Showing posts with label eating local. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating local. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The wonders of moderation
I've been reading Just Food by James E. McWilliams, and I'm going to have a lot to say about it when I'm through. In the meantime, though, I'd like to talk about the concept of moderation.
People seem to view living sustainably as an all-or-nothing endeavor. "I couldn't do that, I like my Twinkies/Doritos/McDonald's cheeseburgers too much," is a common refrain I hear when I talk to people about my project. But no one ever said you have to give up Twinkies, or Doritos, or even McDonald's cheeseburgers, in order to eat more sustainably.
The key there is the word "more." I'm talking about improvements, not complete overhauls. Sure, the environment would be much better off if we all were exclusively vegan locavores who rode bikes to work at offices powered by solar energy and fairy farts, but realistically that's never going to happen. But most of us can make changes - even small changes - in our diets and our lives to move us in the direction of sustainability.
I don't think anything I'm doing this year is out of reach for the average suburban middle-class family. Sure, I'm lucky to live in an area with a vibrant food community - I can easily get everything from locally made cheese to local pasta to local hummus, right at the farmers' market - but Cleveland isn't the only place with farmers' markets and CSAs. Despite what my parents keep saying, they DO have access to both in Delaware:
Recycling is easy for most of us, thanks to curbside pickup and the proliferation of paper pickup dumpsters at schools and businesses. But recycling paper (dropoff at my daughter's school, which I have to visit every week anyway) and cardboard (curbside pickup) means that our family garbage output is now down to slightly more than one bag a week.
Composting works if you've got any sort of yard at all - or even a basement or cool closet, if you're willing to set up a worm composter. Our compost setup is terribly complex - it's a pile in the backyard that I flip around once in a while with a pitchfork. I decided not to harvest any of the finished compost this spring, keeping it instead to kickstart things for this summer's output. But when I'm ready to use it, it will be taking the place of some of the mulch in our existing flower beds, as well as taking the place of some of the soil amendments I need to buy when I make a new bed. Getting the kitchen scraps out to the compost pile is no work at all - I hand them to the kid and tell her she gets an extra 5 minutes of playing outside before bed if she takes the scraps out for me. Win/win!
One of our main waste sources used to be cat litter. But now that I'm using a flushable litter, that's dropped to zero, as has our need for plastic grocery bags to scoop stuff into. Come on, most of us keep our cat boxes in a spare bathroom or utility room anyway - is it that hard to scoop it into a toilet instead of a bag?
Choosing sustainable products for housekeeping is getting easier and easier. Even stores like Target and Wal-Mart carry brands that, while not perfect, are at least an improvement on conventional detergents and soaps. And things like soaps, lotions, and other personal care items can even be bought online from small vendors (we like several sellers on www.etsy.com, as well as local folks who sell at the farmers' market and the gift shop at the botanical garden).
Growing your own food doesn't take 40 acres or a mule. Don't tell me you don't have time, or space, or even a container. It takes five minutes to grab an old plastic tote, drill some holes in it, and fill it with dirt. Plant something in it. Stick it on a patio, put it on your front porch, leave it sitting near whatever sun you can find in your apartment. Even growing one tomato plant - or a small planter of herbs or salad greens - lets you control exactly what goes into your mouth in a way that trips to Safeway can't.
And one of the easiest ways to make a big impact on the environment doesn't involve farmers' markets or weird soap or finding a place to recycle #5 plastics, it just means making more informed choices when you plan your meals. We've gotten so used to having every food available every day - thank you, Chile and New Zealand! - that the idea of waiting until something is actually in season near you before you eat it is completely foreign to most of us. Asparagus with Christmas dinner? Sure! Strawberries in January? No problem!
There's nothing wrong with enjoying an occasional out-of-season treat, but partaking in the bounty of the Southern Hemisphere all year when there are local alternatives that support neighbors' farms and don't damage the environment as much - well, that's just wasteful. As I described it to the kids in my daughter's kindergarten class, when you go to the grocery store, you should think before you buy fruit - do you want a banana from South America, a kiwi fruit from California, or an apple that was grown in a suburb of Cleveland? There's nothing wrong with eating bananas, or kiwi fruit - but we don't need them every day. They taste that much better if they're a treat to be anticipated and savored, not a staple to be taken for granted.
Erg, this has gone on too long. I'm not done - plenty of blog fodder in my brain, at least today! - but I'll put it on hold for now.
Now, got grab some asparagus before the season is over!
People seem to view living sustainably as an all-or-nothing endeavor. "I couldn't do that, I like my Twinkies/Doritos/McDonald's cheeseburgers too much," is a common refrain I hear when I talk to people about my project. But no one ever said you have to give up Twinkies, or Doritos, or even McDonald's cheeseburgers, in order to eat more sustainably.
The key there is the word "more." I'm talking about improvements, not complete overhauls. Sure, the environment would be much better off if we all were exclusively vegan locavores who rode bikes to work at offices powered by solar energy and fairy farts, but realistically that's never going to happen. But most of us can make changes - even small changes - in our diets and our lives to move us in the direction of sustainability.
I don't think anything I'm doing this year is out of reach for the average suburban middle-class family. Sure, I'm lucky to live in an area with a vibrant food community - I can easily get everything from locally made cheese to local pasta to local hummus, right at the farmers' market - but Cleveland isn't the only place with farmers' markets and CSAs. Despite what my parents keep saying, they DO have access to both in Delaware:
- farmers' market in downtown Wilmington: http://www.inlittleitaly.com/events.htm
- CSA in Newark: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M38211
- Restaurants, orchards, and more: http://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=39.794276&lon=-75.534321&scale=10&zip=19803
- Tuesday - visit the local grocery store chain while my daughter is in an after-school program nearby
- Thursday - pick up CSA basket (about 10 minutes away from our house)
- Saturday - visit farmers' market and Trader Joe's, which is right next door
Recycling is easy for most of us, thanks to curbside pickup and the proliferation of paper pickup dumpsters at schools and businesses. But recycling paper (dropoff at my daughter's school, which I have to visit every week anyway) and cardboard (curbside pickup) means that our family garbage output is now down to slightly more than one bag a week.
Composting works if you've got any sort of yard at all - or even a basement or cool closet, if you're willing to set up a worm composter. Our compost setup is terribly complex - it's a pile in the backyard that I flip around once in a while with a pitchfork. I decided not to harvest any of the finished compost this spring, keeping it instead to kickstart things for this summer's output. But when I'm ready to use it, it will be taking the place of some of the mulch in our existing flower beds, as well as taking the place of some of the soil amendments I need to buy when I make a new bed. Getting the kitchen scraps out to the compost pile is no work at all - I hand them to the kid and tell her she gets an extra 5 minutes of playing outside before bed if she takes the scraps out for me. Win/win!
One of our main waste sources used to be cat litter. But now that I'm using a flushable litter, that's dropped to zero, as has our need for plastic grocery bags to scoop stuff into. Come on, most of us keep our cat boxes in a spare bathroom or utility room anyway - is it that hard to scoop it into a toilet instead of a bag?
Choosing sustainable products for housekeeping is getting easier and easier. Even stores like Target and Wal-Mart carry brands that, while not perfect, are at least an improvement on conventional detergents and soaps. And things like soaps, lotions, and other personal care items can even be bought online from small vendors (we like several sellers on www.etsy.com, as well as local folks who sell at the farmers' market and the gift shop at the botanical garden).
Growing your own food doesn't take 40 acres or a mule. Don't tell me you don't have time, or space, or even a container. It takes five minutes to grab an old plastic tote, drill some holes in it, and fill it with dirt. Plant something in it. Stick it on a patio, put it on your front porch, leave it sitting near whatever sun you can find in your apartment. Even growing one tomato plant - or a small planter of herbs or salad greens - lets you control exactly what goes into your mouth in a way that trips to Safeway can't.
And one of the easiest ways to make a big impact on the environment doesn't involve farmers' markets or weird soap or finding a place to recycle #5 plastics, it just means making more informed choices when you plan your meals. We've gotten so used to having every food available every day - thank you, Chile and New Zealand! - that the idea of waiting until something is actually in season near you before you eat it is completely foreign to most of us. Asparagus with Christmas dinner? Sure! Strawberries in January? No problem!
There's nothing wrong with enjoying an occasional out-of-season treat, but partaking in the bounty of the Southern Hemisphere all year when there are local alternatives that support neighbors' farms and don't damage the environment as much - well, that's just wasteful. As I described it to the kids in my daughter's kindergarten class, when you go to the grocery store, you should think before you buy fruit - do you want a banana from South America, a kiwi fruit from California, or an apple that was grown in a suburb of Cleveland? There's nothing wrong with eating bananas, or kiwi fruit - but we don't need them every day. They taste that much better if they're a treat to be anticipated and savored, not a staple to be taken for granted.
Erg, this has gone on too long. I'm not done - plenty of blog fodder in my brain, at least today! - but I'll put it on hold for now.
Now, got grab some asparagus before the season is over!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Saved that one.
"That's how people who make a difference think and live."
I found this today as I was reading a parenting book
, and it struck me as a good explanation for why I'm still trying to eat as locally and sustainably as I can. No, I can't singlehandedly change the food system in this country - or even in this town. But by choosing to buy local/organic/sustainable products whenever I can, at least I'm doing something. It's not as obvious as throwing a starfish back into the ocean, but when I drive past the vegetable lady's house or the farm market where we shop in the summer, I think to myself, "Helped that one."
Friday, September 3, 2010
Last week's dinner menus
Friday - went to the carnival, ate "food" that tasted really good and had no nutritional value whatsoever.
Saturday - Tortilla pizzas made with leftover homemade pizza sauce from last week, heirloom tomato and pepper salad, sweet corn
Sunday - Chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup
Monday - Ohio City Pasta ravioli with homemade tomato sauce, German potato salad
Tuesday - Leftover roasted tomato soup, sweet corn, homemade bread with homemade jam
Wednesday - pizza from a local (non-chain) restaurant
Thursday - BLT's with homegrown tomato, CSA lettuce, organic mayo, homemade bread, local grass-fed organic bacon, local grass-fed organic cheese
Saturday - Tortilla pizzas made with leftover homemade pizza sauce from last week, heirloom tomato and pepper salad, sweet corn
Sunday - Chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup
Monday - Ohio City Pasta ravioli with homemade tomato sauce, German potato salad
Tuesday - Leftover roasted tomato soup, sweet corn, homemade bread with homemade jam
Wednesday - pizza from a local (non-chain) restaurant
Thursday - BLT's with homegrown tomato, CSA lettuce, organic mayo, homemade bread, local grass-fed organic bacon, local grass-fed organic cheese
Friday, August 27, 2010
Last week's dinner menus
Friday - CSA homemade pizza - used the pizza dough from the CSA, made my own tomato sauce from scratch with the CSA tomatoes, topped it with onion and peppers and sausage from the CSA.
Saturday - Ohio City Pasta ravioli with frozen pasta sauce from earlier this summer
Sunday - Basil burgers made with local grass-fed beef, homemade pesto, local mozzarella, and tomatoes from our front yard, served on buns from Blackbird Baking Company.
Monday - Quiche from Gray House Pies
Tuesday - went out to Aladdin's, where we shared a soup and an entree
Wednesday - leftover crab soup from before the summer, homemade bread with homemade raspberry jam
Thursday - Cabbage and noodles with ham, made with all local ingredients (except the salt and pepper)
Saturday - Ohio City Pasta ravioli with frozen pasta sauce from earlier this summer
Sunday - Basil burgers made with local grass-fed beef, homemade pesto, local mozzarella, and tomatoes from our front yard, served on buns from Blackbird Baking Company.
Monday - Quiche from Gray House Pies
Tuesday - went out to Aladdin's, where we shared a soup and an entree
Wednesday - leftover crab soup from before the summer, homemade bread with homemade raspberry jam
Thursday - Cabbage and noodles with ham, made with all local ingredients (except the salt and pepper)
Last week's shopping
Total for the week - $191, including school lunch stuff and some extra stuff we canned and froze
Two things I'm proud of this week that help offset the ghastly amount we spent on prepared food like quiche - the grapes and the tomatoes. The grapes I found at a roadside stand a few doors down from Fitch's Farm Market, and the guy was selling two-pound bags for a dollar a piece. Whoa - you can't even beat that at the grocery store for stuff that was shipped halfway across the world! And the tomatoes came from Miss Dorothy, the retired lady who has a farm stand along a busy road near our neighborhood. Her prices on produce are a little high, but it's really convenient, and she reminds me of my grandmother, so we try to throw some business her way. She's got VERY reasonable prices on what she considers "seconds," fruit and veggies that aren't up to her very high standards. We bought two of those two-quart produce boxes heaped full of somewhat cracked and spotted tomatoes for $5, and I spent all day Sunday canning them for this winter. I need to get some extra jars so I can do that again before she runs out of squishy-but-cheap fruit!
Two things I'm proud of this week that help offset the ghastly amount we spent on prepared food like quiche - the grapes and the tomatoes. The grapes I found at a roadside stand a few doors down from Fitch's Farm Market, and the guy was selling two-pound bags for a dollar a piece. Whoa - you can't even beat that at the grocery store for stuff that was shipped halfway across the world! And the tomatoes came from Miss Dorothy, the retired lady who has a farm stand along a busy road near our neighborhood. Her prices on produce are a little high, but it's really convenient, and she reminds me of my grandmother, so we try to throw some business her way. She's got VERY reasonable prices on what she considers "seconds," fruit and veggies that aren't up to her very high standards. We bought two of those two-quart produce boxes heaped full of somewhat cracked and spotted tomatoes for $5, and I spent all day Sunday canning them for this winter. I need to get some extra jars so I can do that again before she runs out of squishy-but-cheap fruit!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Last week's dinner menus
This week's cooking was a testament to improvisation, since I didn't really have all the ingredients for any of the recipes I wanted to use. So I left out the mushrooms in the chicken divan and subbed in a different type of cheese, I left out the meat in the stir fry and used a whole mess of vegetables instead, and made the eggplant dish salsa-y instead of spaghetti-y. And they all worked out really well, possibly even better than the originals.
I also canned some regular tomato salsa and peach salsa this week, and we've been snacking on the leftovers that didn't fit in the canning jars I had. Mmmm, spicy peachy goodness ....
Friday - forgot to write it down
Saturday - homemade arrabiata sauce on Ohio City Pasta ravioli
Sunday - on vacation, ate at Cracker Barrel
Monday - on vacation, ate at Wendy's
Tuesday - chicken divan from my grandmother's recipe
Wednesday - stir-fried vegetables (pattypan squash, green beans, onions) with peanut curry sauce, organic brown rice
Thursday - eggplant skillet recipe made with homemade salsa and "mexican blend" cheese (instead of tomato sauce and mozzarella)
I also canned some regular tomato salsa and peach salsa this week, and we've been snacking on the leftovers that didn't fit in the canning jars I had. Mmmm, spicy peachy goodness ....
Friday - forgot to write it down
Saturday - homemade arrabiata sauce on Ohio City Pasta ravioli
Sunday - on vacation, ate at Cracker Barrel
Monday - on vacation, ate at Wendy's
Tuesday - chicken divan from my grandmother's recipe
Wednesday - stir-fried vegetables (pattypan squash, green beans, onions) with peanut curry sauce, organic brown rice
Thursday - eggplant skillet recipe made with homemade salsa and "mexican blend" cheese (instead of tomato sauce and mozzarella)
Last week's shopping
Total for the week - approximately $174
(including things like soap and light bulbs, and the beginning of stocking up for school lunches)
CSA contents (approx. value, $25):
4 Ginger gold apples
4 Paula Red apples
4 Vestar apples
2 pounds red haven peaches
1 pound organic granola
1/2 gallon milk
1 pound green beans
1 bunch radishes
1 large black opal eggplant
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1.5 pounds roma tomatoes
Farmers' Market purchases (total - about $64):
lots of tomatoes - 16.75
three dinners of ravioli - 22.50
honey puffed corn - 6
macaroni and cheese pub pie - 3
habanero pickles - 3.50
heirloom carrots - 3
broccoli - 2.50
bacon - 5
Giant Eagle purchases (total - $83.32):
conventional chocolate chips - 2.99
conventional chocolate chips - 2.00
conventional cocoa - 3.99
conventional peanut butter - 2.59
conventional pepperoni - 2.39
conventional pepperoni - 2.39
conventional wheat bread - 3.89
conventional ginger - 1.70
conventional tahini - 6.99
light bulb - 5.99
light bulb - 1.59
crayons - 2.79
crayons - 2.79
soap - 2.50
organic chickpeas - 1.00
organic rotini - 1.75
organic apple juice boxes - 2.75
organic chocolate pudding mix - 1.69
organic apple sauce - 3.39
organic fruit snacks - 5.59
organic fruit snacks - 5.59
organic raisins - 4.99
organic onions - 3.99
organic celery - 3.99
organic cilantro - 2.79
(including things like soap and light bulbs, and the beginning of stocking up for school lunches)
CSA contents (approx. value, $25):
4 Ginger gold apples
4 Paula Red apples
4 Vestar apples
2 pounds red haven peaches
1 pound organic granola
1/2 gallon milk
1 pound green beans
1 bunch radishes
1 large black opal eggplant
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1.5 pounds roma tomatoes
Farmers' Market purchases (total - about $64):
lots of tomatoes - 16.75
three dinners of ravioli - 22.50
honey puffed corn - 6
macaroni and cheese pub pie - 3
habanero pickles - 3.50
heirloom carrots - 3
broccoli - 2.50
bacon - 5
Giant Eagle purchases (total - $83.32):
conventional chocolate chips - 2.99
conventional chocolate chips - 2.00
conventional cocoa - 3.99
conventional peanut butter - 2.59
conventional pepperoni - 2.39
conventional pepperoni - 2.39
conventional wheat bread - 3.89
conventional ginger - 1.70
conventional tahini - 6.99
light bulb - 5.99
light bulb - 1.59
crayons - 2.79
crayons - 2.79
soap - 2.50
organic chickpeas - 1.00
organic rotini - 1.75
organic apple juice boxes - 2.75
organic chocolate pudding mix - 1.69
organic apple sauce - 3.39
organic fruit snacks - 5.59
organic fruit snacks - 5.59
organic raisins - 4.99
organic onions - 3.99
organic celery - 3.99
organic cilantro - 2.79
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Week Seven Shopping Details
Total for the week: approximately $116
Click on the post title to see the details of the expenses behind the jump cut.
Click on the post title to see the details of the expenses behind the jump cut.
Week Six Menus
Friday:
leftover crab soup from before the experiment
Saturday:
Disappearing Zucchini Orzo, blueberry sauce on biscuits
Sunday:
Ordered a pizza
Monday:
Baba Burgers, steamed green beans
Tuesday:
Cornmeal waffles, fried potatoes and zucchini
Wednesday:
Pork chops in yakiniku marinade, sweet corn, ravioli with tomato sauce and sauteed vegetables
Thursday:
Linguine with tomato sauce and sauteed vegetables, sweet corn
leftover crab soup from before the experiment
Saturday:
Disappearing Zucchini Orzo, blueberry sauce on biscuits
Sunday:
Ordered a pizza
Monday:
Baba Burgers, steamed green beans
Tuesday:
Cornmeal waffles, fried potatoes and zucchini
Wednesday:
Pork chops in yakiniku marinade, sweet corn, ravioli with tomato sauce and sauteed vegetables
Thursday:
Linguine with tomato sauce and sauteed vegetables, sweet corn
Monday, July 12, 2010
Week Five menus
In the interest of not repeating myself every darn week, I'm only going to list dinners here. You can assume that for breakfast the kid is probably having a peanut butter and nutella sandwich, I'm having either oatmeal or leftovers, and at lunch we're both having some sort of leftovers or salad.
Gretchen's indulgence: lunch at the bagel store
Liza's indulgence: lunch at Chick-Fil-A
Friday:
Ridiculously good cabbage rolls, German potato salad, first sweet corn of the year
Saturday:
Zucchini and tomato stew served over Ohio City Pasta ravioli, sweet corn, leftover potato salad
Sunday:
Chili**, cornbread, coleslaw, green salad
Monday:
Leftovers
Tuesday:
Chicken salad on "Like County Line" bread, misc. leftover side dishes
Wednesday and Thursday:
I forgot to write it down, so it can't have been anything that special, and it probably involved leftovers out of the freezer
** It was going to be great chili, with organic everything and local ground beef and local sausage, and then I burned it really, really badly when I was reheating it and we had to throw out an entire double recipe of it. Very frustrating, and totally a good excuse to call Domino's and get something that was actually edible to serve to our guests on the 4th of July. Pizza is patriotic, right? Right? And more than a week later, I'm still trying to soak the scorch off of the bottom of my expensive enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. Buggrit.
Friday:
Ridiculously good cabbage rolls, German potato salad, first sweet corn of the year
Saturday:
Zucchini and tomato stew served over Ohio City Pasta ravioli, sweet corn, leftover potato salad
Sunday:
Chili**, cornbread, coleslaw, green salad
Monday:
Leftovers
Tuesday:
Chicken salad on "Like County Line" bread, misc. leftover side dishes
Wednesday and Thursday:
I forgot to write it down, so it can't have been anything that special, and it probably involved leftovers out of the freezer
** It was going to be great chili, with organic everything and local ground beef and local sausage, and then I burned it really, really badly when I was reheating it and we had to throw out an entire double recipe of it. Very frustrating, and totally a good excuse to call Domino's and get something that was actually edible to serve to our guests on the 4th of July. Pizza is patriotic, right? Right? And more than a week later, I'm still trying to soak the scorch off of the bottom of my expensive enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. Buggrit.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Week Five shopping details
Weekly total (including pre-paid CSA produce): about $175
(This includes additional produce and meat items needed to feed my parents, who are visiting for the week, and some friends who came over on the 4th)
(click on the post title to see the details after the cut)
(This includes additional produce and meat items needed to feed my parents, who are visiting for the week, and some friends who came over on the 4th)
(click on the post title to see the details after the cut)
Friday, July 2, 2010
Week four menus
Friday breakfast:
Scrambled local free-range organic eggs
Friday lunch:
Ate out at Botanical Garden (their cafe uses as many local sources as possible for ingredients, and we both had vegetarian meals)
Friday dinner:
Nicoise salad with local lettuce, local green beans, organic potatoes, local organic cheese, and organic salad dressing; cornbread made with all local ingredients except for the salt and baking powder
Saturday breakfast:
Cornbread from Friday, various leftovers
Saturday lunch:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen: various leftovers
Saturday dinner:
Whole wheat spaghetti with local chard
Sunday breakfast:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen/Jason: Cornbread from Friday, homemade blueberry buckle
Sunday lunch:
Leftovers
Sunday dinner:
Ate out at Crop Bistro, a local restaurant that focuses on seasonal and local foods
Monday breakfast:
Liza: apple
Gretchen: homemade blueberry buckle from Sunday
Monday lunch:
Ate out at Olive Garden (Liza's indulgence)
Monday dinner:
Salad; local gnocchi and pesto from Ohio City Pasta with fresh local peas
Tuesday breakfast:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen: homemade blueberry buckle from Sunday
Tuesday lunch:
Leftovers
Tuesday dinner:
Pasta salad made with local pasta with tons of whatever local veggies I had in the fridge, as well as local organic cheese and local salsa
Wednesday breakfast:
Leftovers
Wednesday lunch:
Ate out at Chipotle (Gretchen's indulgence)
Wednesday dinner:
Breaded local pork chops, tomato zucchini stew made with local zucchini and tomatoes and basil from our garden, leftover pasta salad from Tuesday
Thursday breakfast:
Liza: organic fruit bites
Gretchen: cheese quesadilla made with local cheese from Miceli's and local lavash bread
Thursday lunch:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery, organic raisins
Gretchen: leftovers
Thursday dinner:
Leftover cassoulet from before the experiment began, local tomato salad with Ohio City Pasta pesto and Miceli's parmesan cheese, local dinner rolls from Sarah Jane's bakery, local sweet corn from Fitch's.
Scrambled local free-range organic eggs
Friday lunch:
Ate out at Botanical Garden (their cafe uses as many local sources as possible for ingredients, and we both had vegetarian meals)
Friday dinner:
Nicoise salad with local lettuce, local green beans, organic potatoes, local organic cheese, and organic salad dressing; cornbread made with all local ingredients except for the salt and baking powder
Saturday breakfast:
Cornbread from Friday, various leftovers
Saturday lunch:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen: various leftovers
Saturday dinner:
Whole wheat spaghetti with local chard
Sunday breakfast:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen/Jason: Cornbread from Friday, homemade blueberry buckle
Sunday lunch:
Leftovers
Sunday dinner:
Ate out at Crop Bistro, a local restaurant that focuses on seasonal and local foods
Monday breakfast:
Liza: apple
Gretchen: homemade blueberry buckle from Sunday
Monday lunch:
Ate out at Olive Garden (Liza's indulgence)
Monday dinner:
Salad; local gnocchi and pesto from Ohio City Pasta with fresh local peas
Tuesday breakfast:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen: homemade blueberry buckle from Sunday
Tuesday lunch:
Leftovers
Tuesday dinner:
Pasta salad made with local pasta with tons of whatever local veggies I had in the fridge, as well as local organic cheese and local salsa
Wednesday breakfast:
Leftovers
Wednesday lunch:
Ate out at Chipotle (Gretchen's indulgence)
Wednesday dinner:
Breaded local pork chops, tomato zucchini stew made with local zucchini and tomatoes and basil from our garden, leftover pasta salad from Tuesday
Thursday breakfast:
Liza: organic fruit bites
Gretchen: cheese quesadilla made with local cheese from Miceli's and local lavash bread
Thursday lunch:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery, organic raisins
Gretchen: leftovers
Thursday dinner:
Leftover cassoulet from before the experiment began, local tomato salad with Ohio City Pasta pesto and Miceli's parmesan cheese, local dinner rolls from Sarah Jane's bakery, local sweet corn from Fitch's.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Week Four shopping details
CSA Contents: (approximate value, $25)
One bunch beets with tops (I gave these to a friend)
Two green zucchini
Two summer squash (straight-neck variety)
One slicing cucumber
One sweet onion
One pound green beans
One bunch "Red Lights" Swiss chard
One head red oakleaf lettuce
Two pounds dark cherries
Two pounds organic cornmeal
One half-gallon milk
Heinen's (total: about $26)
Local white dinner rolls, $2.99
Local wheat bread, $3.19
Local lavash bread, $3.29
Local ricotta cheese, $2.79
Local milk, $3.59
Organic chocolate bar, $2.99
Conventional rapid-rise yeast, $2.98
Conventional walnuts, $4.49
Farmers' Market: (total: $77 )
One dozen local organic eggs, $3
Two pounds local organic butter, $8
Two huge local tomatoes, $7
One peck local apples, $6
One half-gallon local cider, $3
Local pasta (two meals) and pesto sauce, $15
Two local organic chicken breast halves, $7
One pint local black raspberries, $5
One piece (4 ounces?) local feta, $6
One local hot pretzel (breakfast), $1.75
One local cookie (breakfast), $1.75
Pick-your-own blueberries, $13 for about two gallons of them
Fitch's Farm Market: (total: $9)
Some vegetable I don't remember, $1.25
Cherry tomatoes, $3.50
Green pepper, $0.50
Cherries, $3.69
Restaurants: (total: $18)
Cleveland Botanical Garden cafe, $18
** We also went out to dinner at Crop for our anniversary, which cost $71, but this was a once-a-year expense, not a standard grocery purchase, so I'm leaving it out of the total for the week.
That's a total of about $155 including the amount we prepaid for the CSA.
One bunch beets with tops (I gave these to a friend)
Two green zucchini
Two summer squash (straight-neck variety)
One slicing cucumber
One sweet onion
One pound green beans
One bunch "Red Lights" Swiss chard
One head red oakleaf lettuce
Two pounds dark cherries
Two pounds organic cornmeal
One half-gallon milk
Heinen's (total: about $26)
Local white dinner rolls, $2.99
Local wheat bread, $3.19
Local lavash bread, $3.29
Local ricotta cheese, $2.79
Local milk, $3.59
Organic chocolate bar, $2.99
Conventional rapid-rise yeast, $2.98
Conventional walnuts, $4.49
Farmers' Market: (total: $77 )
One dozen local organic eggs, $3
Two pounds local organic butter, $8
Two huge local tomatoes, $7
One peck local apples, $6
One half-gallon local cider, $3
Local pasta (two meals) and pesto sauce, $15
Two local organic chicken breast halves, $7
One pint local black raspberries, $5
One piece (4 ounces?) local feta, $6
One local hot pretzel (breakfast), $1.75
One local cookie (breakfast), $1.75
Pick-your-own blueberries, $13 for about two gallons of them
Fitch's Farm Market: (total: $9)
Some vegetable I don't remember, $1.25
Cherry tomatoes, $3.50
Green pepper, $0.50
Cherries, $3.69
Restaurants: (total: $18)
Cleveland Botanical Garden cafe, $18
** We also went out to dinner at Crop for our anniversary, which cost $71, but this was a once-a-year expense, not a standard grocery purchase, so I'm leaving it out of the total for the week.
That's a total of about $155 including the amount we prepaid for the CSA.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Today's adventure - blueberry picking!
I set the alarm for an early Saturday morning, actually managed to get out of bed when it went off, and poured the kid into the car, all so that we could drive down to Martin Blueberries to take advantage of their early-bearing bushes. I had never picked blueberries before (well, not since I was a kid and a friend and I snuck into her neighbor's yard to snitch from her giant blueberry bush), so it was a new experience for both of us. Liza got into it right away, "tickling" the clumps of berries so they'd fall off into her bucket.
Row after row of bushes - hundreds of bushes, acres of bushes - of maybe a dozen different varieties that mature from now until the end of August. The place is huge, but really well-organized and well-maintained, and picking there was a true pleasure. No reaching into thorny bushes (yes, I'm talking about you, raspberry picking!), no constant bending over to the ground to search for hiding fruit (yes, I'm talking about you, strawberry picking!), no dodging wasps or stepping on squishy windfalls that seep into your sandals (yes, I'm talking about you, apple picking!) - just tickling berries that were right out in the open and eating nearly as many as we got into our buckets.
Row after row of bushes - hundreds of bushes, acres of bushes - of maybe a dozen different varieties that mature from now until the end of August. The place is huge, but really well-organized and well-maintained, and picking there was a true pleasure. No reaching into thorny bushes (yes, I'm talking about you, raspberry picking!), no constant bending over to the ground to search for hiding fruit (yes, I'm talking about you, strawberry picking!), no dodging wasps or stepping on squishy windfalls that seep into your sandals (yes, I'm talking about you, apple picking!) - just tickling berries that were right out in the open and eating nearly as many as we got into our buckets.
We were there for less than an hour and managed to fill up a 2-gallon bucket without hardly breaking a sweat. That's about $15 of blueberries, which translates to quarts and quarts of them. I'll be washing them up tomorrow and getting some ready to freeze, while some will end up in muffins (and on our cereal ... and eaten out of hand) right away. And I'll probably have them all used up and be ready to pick more by next weekend. After all, cherry season is almost over, and a girl's got to overdo it on some kind of fruit each week, right?
Week Three menus
Week 3 -
Indulgences: Liza - Cheetos; Gretchen - Quizno's meal
Friday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade bread with butter
Gretchen - French toast made with homemade bread, local eggs, local milk
Friday Lunch:
Big salad with whatever was left in the fridge
Friday Dinner:
Liza - ate at a friend's house
Gretchen - leftover pappardelle pasta from previous week; local cherries
Saturday Breakfast:
Baked goods from the farmers' market
Saturday Lunch:
Liza - Local sliced turkey, local mozzarella cheese, local fresh peas
Gretchen - Local quiche (purchased at farmers' market from Gray House Pies)
Saturday Dinner:
Liza - Cheetos (indulgence alert!); local apple, local strawberries, local cherries
Gretchen - Soup made with homemade chicken broth from previous week, dill, and a variety of veggies
Sunday Breakfast:
Clafoutis made with local organic eggs and local cherries; leftover quiche
Sunday Lunch:
Ate out at Treehuggers Cafe
Sunday Dinner:
Leftover sweet potato from last week, big salad, burgers made with local organic ground beef, local cheese, local burger buns from Blackbird Baking Company.
Monday Breakfast:
Liza: Scrambled local eggs, Cheetos
Gretchen: Leftover clafoutis, leftover homemade muffin
Monday Lunch:
Liza - Noodles with butter and salt, local apple, peanuts
Gretchen - Local pita with local organic hummus from Judy's Oasis stand at the farmers' market, roasted local vegetables, local cheese; leftover sweet potato
Monday Dinner:
Kale and potato soup made with local kale and local chorizo; local pitas with hummus; organic carrots
Tuesday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade toast with butter
Gretchen - Leftover egg pitas from last week
Tuesday Lunch:
Ate out at Quizno's (indulgence alert!) at the zoo
Tuesday Dinner:
Sesame noodles with chicken and cabbage (click for link to recipe post)
Wednesday Breakfast:
Liza - Local apple
Gretchen - Homemade muffins left from last week
Wednesday Lunch:
Liza - Local lavash with Nutella; organic carrots, local peas
Gretchen - Leftover burger patty (from Sunday) and grilled local vegetables with organic local hummus on local pita
Wednesday Dinner:
Leftover sausage spaghetti sauce from a previous week, served over local whole wheat pasta from Ohio City Pasta
Thursday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade bread with butter
Gretchen - Leftover kale and potato soup from Monday night; homemade bread with local cheese
Thursday Lunch:
Liza - Local lavash with Nutella; organic carrots, local peas
Gretchen - BLTs made with homemade bread, local bacon, local tomatoes, and lettuce from our garden; homemade pickles
Thursday Dinner:
Miscellaneous leftovers from the fridge and freezer
Indulgences: Liza - Cheetos; Gretchen - Quizno's meal
Friday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade bread with butter
Gretchen - French toast made with homemade bread, local eggs, local milk
Friday Lunch:
Big salad with whatever was left in the fridge
Friday Dinner:
Liza - ate at a friend's house
Gretchen - leftover pappardelle pasta from previous week; local cherries
Saturday Breakfast:
Baked goods from the farmers' market
Saturday Lunch:
Liza - Local sliced turkey, local mozzarella cheese, local fresh peas
Gretchen - Local quiche (purchased at farmers' market from Gray House Pies)
Saturday Dinner:
Liza - Cheetos (indulgence alert!); local apple, local strawberries, local cherries
Gretchen - Soup made with homemade chicken broth from previous week, dill, and a variety of veggies
Sunday Breakfast:
Clafoutis made with local organic eggs and local cherries; leftover quiche
Sunday Lunch:
Ate out at Treehuggers Cafe
Sunday Dinner:
Leftover sweet potato from last week, big salad, burgers made with local organic ground beef, local cheese, local burger buns from Blackbird Baking Company.
Monday Breakfast:
Liza: Scrambled local eggs, Cheetos
Gretchen: Leftover clafoutis, leftover homemade muffin
Monday Lunch:
Liza - Noodles with butter and salt, local apple, peanuts
Gretchen - Local pita with local organic hummus from Judy's Oasis stand at the farmers' market, roasted local vegetables, local cheese; leftover sweet potato
Monday Dinner:
Kale and potato soup made with local kale and local chorizo; local pitas with hummus; organic carrots
Tuesday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade toast with butter
Gretchen - Leftover egg pitas from last week
Tuesday Lunch:
Ate out at Quizno's (indulgence alert!) at the zoo
Tuesday Dinner:
Sesame noodles with chicken and cabbage (click for link to recipe post)
Wednesday Breakfast:
Liza - Local apple
Gretchen - Homemade muffins left from last week
Wednesday Lunch:
Liza - Local lavash with Nutella; organic carrots, local peas
Gretchen - Leftover burger patty (from Sunday) and grilled local vegetables with organic local hummus on local pita
Wednesday Dinner:
Leftover sausage spaghetti sauce from a previous week, served over local whole wheat pasta from Ohio City Pasta
Thursday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade bread with butter
Gretchen - Leftover kale and potato soup from Monday night; homemade bread with local cheese
Thursday Lunch:
Liza - Local lavash with Nutella; organic carrots, local peas
Gretchen - BLTs made with homemade bread, local bacon, local tomatoes, and lettuce from our garden; homemade pickles
Thursday Dinner:
Miscellaneous leftovers from the fridge and freezer
Recipe - Sesame Noodles with Baby Bok Choy and Roast Chicken
We had this for dinner this past week, and it was incredibly easy and tasty! We didn't have bok choy, so we substituted the kaboko cabbage from the most recent CSA basket, and we used local whole wheat linguine in place of the Asian noodles - and it still worked wonderfully.
Sesame Noodles with Baby Bok Choy and Roast Chicken, from Eating Local by Janet Fletcher.
1 pound baby bok choy (about 8)
1/3 cup peanut oil
Kosher or sea salt
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles or dried udon (Japanese wheat noodles)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese chile oil, or to taste
1 cup thinly sliced green onions (white and green parts)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 cups hand-shredded roast chicken or duck, with or without skin
Sesame Noodles with Baby Bok Choy and Roast Chicken, from Eating Local by Janet Fletcher.
1 pound baby bok choy (about 8)
1/3 cup peanut oil
Kosher or sea salt
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles or dried udon (Japanese wheat noodles)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese chile oil, or to taste
1 cup thinly sliced green onions (white and green parts)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 cups hand-shredded roast chicken or duck, with or without skin
- Separate the bok choy leaves, with ribs intact, from the central core. Discard the core. With a paring knife, separate the leaves from their ribs. (You can leave the smallest inner leaves with ribs whole.) Tear large leaves in half lengthwise. Cut the ribs crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Pat the leaves and ribs dry.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the bok choy, season with salt, then stir to coat with the oil. Cover and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally with tongs, until al dente. In a small bowl, stir together the fish sauce and the chile oil.
- Drain the noodles in a sieve or colander and return them to the hot pot. Add the bok choy, green onions, cilantro, peanuts, sesame oil, chicken, and fish sauce - chile oil mixture. Toss well with tongs and serve immediately.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
click ... click
As you may have noticed from my book list, I did a lot of research before I started this whole project. One of the books I read talked in depth about canning, about how even on the 100th batch of stuff you process you still listen expectantly for the little "click" the jar lids make as they successfully seal themselves shut. Right, I thought, like I'm going to sit around a hot kitchen processing food and then spend even more time in the hot kitchen listening for a vacuum to form. As if.
I've never canned anything, but I figured with the glut of produce we're getting this summer (and the lack of fresh local produce I anticipate for the winter) it might be a good time to try. Friday I had the brilliant idea to make pickles (thank you very much, Fitch's, for having the cucumbers in stock and giving me the idea in the first place). So I bought a canning pot and some jars, got everything washed up, and started to research recipes.
I settled on making a half-recipe of bread and butter pickles using this recipe from the University of Georgia. These pickles take the better part of a day, what with all the soaking in brine and all, so I started them in the morning and didn't process them until Jason started putting Liza in bed. Being a modern kind of gal (and also one whose printer is on the fritz), I had the recipe open in one tab on my laptop, my generic canning instructions open in another tab, and a draft blog post open in a third so I could record what was going on as it happened.
8:26pm - Water and jars are in canner and heating to a boil; pickling solution is heating on the stove. Made the executive decision that in the absence of mustard seeds, a smaller quantity of powdered mustard would do. Lids are going into the warm water bath, cucumbers are draining in the sink.
8:29pm - Pickling solution boiling, ten minutes starts now.
8:40 - Cucumbers into the pickling solution; canning water still not boiling.
8:45 - Damn, that really doesn't look like enough pickling solution to cover the slices in the jars. What can I add? More vinegar? Did I forget the water? No, there's no water in the recipe, what else can I ... oh, fudge. I forgot the sugar. Post-adding 2 cups of sugar is allowed, right? It better be.
8:46 - That's better. Now there's actually liquid in there, not just yellow cucumbers.
8:47 - Canner is boiling! Huzzah! Ten minutes of jar sterilization starts now.
After that, it was all a blur that involved way too much turmeric-colored water all over everything for me to get anywhere near the laptop. Suffice it to say, yes, I managed to have enough brine to cover the pickles in two quart jars (plus a few extra slices I stuck in a plastic container in the fridge), and yes, I managed to get the jars drained, filled, and back in the water without scalding myself. I had most of the dishes washed up while the jars were processing on the stove, and by the time they were ready to come out, I was more than ready to go sit down somewhere cool.
I pulled the first jar out, and as soon as the lid hit the cool air, it went "click." I was extremely smug - see, how hard can canning be, if I got it right the first try, even with screwing up the recipe a little bit! Then I pulled out the second jar, and it didn't click. I sat it out on the rack to cool and finished cleaning up the kitchen, keeping an ear out all the while for the sound of the lid sealing. Did I have a little pickle juice on the lip of the jar? (wash wash wash) Did I get a bad lid? (dry dry dry) Did I not screw the band on tight enough? (attempt to scrub turmeric stain off of countertop) Click, damn you! I will not tolerate a 50% failure rate on my first attempt at canning!
I stomped off to the family room and found something meaningless to watch on tv (and only sneaked upstairs a couple times to poke at the lid and confirm it was still unsealed). Jason went to bed, and I stayed up to read for a while. Poke, poke - nope. I will not be happy if I have to use up a quart of unsealed bread-and-butter pickles this week, because I've also got the other two quarts of refrigerator dill pickles I already made that have to be used up soon, and these were supposed to be for later ... grump grump grump.
Then, finally -
click.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Week Three shopping details
CSA Contents: (approximate value, $25)
One pound whole wheat linguine
One stalk green garlic
One head kaboko cabbage
One bunch kale (gave half to a friend)
One bunch collard greens (gave all to a friend)
One bunch mustard greens (gave all to a friend)
One piece raw-milk "Swiss Havarti" cheese
One pound red cherries
One pound white cherries
One half-gallon milk
Heinen's (total: about $64)
Local shredded Parmesan - $3.29
Local pita chips - $3.29
Local "mexican" cheese - $3.00
Local mozzarella cheese - $4.29
Local milk from pastured cows - $3.59Organic apple juice - $2.89
Organic ceasar salad dressing - $2.79
Organic carrots - $2.00
Organic lemons - $1.33Conventional peanuts - $2.49
Conventional canning salt - $1.49
Conventional tamari - $2.99
Conventional Diet Pepsi - $2.59
Conventional garlic - $0.84
Conventional onions - $2.99
Conventional pectin for canning - $5.48
Toothpaste - $4.49
Shampoo - $7.99
Meat thermometer - $4.79
Farmers' Market: (total: $47 )
Local green onions - $3
Local cilantro - $3
Local chorizo -$5.50
Local bacon - $5
Local organic strawberries - $5.50
Local pasture fed organic eggs - $3
Local hummus and pitas - $6.25
Locally made quiche - $12
Locally made cookie - $1.75
Locally made scone - $1.75
Fitch's Farm Market: (total: $28)
Pickle cucumbers - $5.50
Dill - $3.00
Peas - $2.85
Cherries - $6.18
Four finger-sized zucchini - $0.93
Tomatoes - $1.48
Two quarts of sour cherries - $8
That's a total of about $164 including the amount we prepaid for the CSA.
One pound whole wheat linguine
One stalk green garlic
One head kaboko cabbage
One bunch kale (gave half to a friend)
One bunch collard greens (gave all to a friend)
One bunch mustard greens (gave all to a friend)
One piece raw-milk "Swiss Havarti" cheese
One pound red cherries
One pound white cherries
One half-gallon milk
Heinen's (total: about $64)
Local shredded Parmesan - $3.29
Local pita chips - $3.29
Local "mexican" cheese - $3.00
Local mozzarella cheese - $4.29
Local milk from pastured cows - $3.59Organic apple juice - $2.89
Organic ceasar salad dressing - $2.79
Organic carrots - $2.00
Organic lemons - $1.33Conventional peanuts - $2.49
Conventional canning salt - $1.49
Conventional tamari - $2.99
Conventional Diet Pepsi - $2.59
Conventional garlic - $0.84
Conventional onions - $2.99
Conventional pectin for canning - $5.48
Toothpaste - $4.49
Shampoo - $7.99
Meat thermometer - $4.79
Farmers' Market: (total: $47 )
Local green onions - $3
Local cilantro - $3
Local chorizo -$5.50
Local bacon - $5
Local organic strawberries - $5.50
Local pasture fed organic eggs - $3
Local hummus and pitas - $6.25
Locally made quiche - $12
Locally made cookie - $1.75
Locally made scone - $1.75
Fitch's Farm Market: (total: $28)
Pickle cucumbers - $5.50
Dill - $3.00
Peas - $2.85
Cherries - $6.18
Four finger-sized zucchini - $0.93
Tomatoes - $1.48
Two quarts of sour cherries - $8
That's a total of about $164 including the amount we prepaid for the CSA.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Gosh, I love my neighbors
I see this by the side of the road:
I screech to a halt, follow the signs, and find this:
No wonder my kitchen counter looked like this yesterday afternoon:
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