This is been the most frustrating season of my entire life. I couldn't be more excited for Sophie's arrival this fall, but pregnancy and I do not get along. At all. Most of my readers already know the early part of this adventure...the month that somehow vanished into thin (literally) air in a wave of nausea and overwhelming weight loss. I never expected to have to leave my job in order to survive my pregnancy, but that's just what I did. Thank goodness for the ladies of our congregation, who made homemade meals several nights a week, and my parents who managed to supplement to get us through the month. I spent the entire growing season last summer preserving food to use this winter/spring before the next harvest, and while most of it was used over the winter, the rest still sits, hoping that I will be well enough to make something delicious to eat.
But, the sad truth is that I'm just not well enough. I was able to go back to work in mid April, and I do just fine getting through most work days. Luckily, unlike with my other pregnancies, I am able to sit most of the day, and I can arrange my schedule around what allows me to feel my best. Unfortunately, by the time I get home, all my energy has been used up. I can continue to help support my family by working, but when I get home, I feel like a ghost of myself, unable to do much but lay down and mumble a few conversations. My house is a wreck, and being able to stand in the kitchen to cook is too much. Gone are the days of going to farms in the late afternoon, and spending most of the daylight hours in the garden. And, all the while, most people think that since I'm "well enough" to work again, that I am fine.
I had a brief time of hope, where I felt decent. I took my anti-nausea remedies regularly, and I was able to nurture my seedlings and get them arranged in attractive rows in the gardens out back. I've even managed to keep them alive for a month after planting. Most exciting, was that the short time I felt almost human was also strawberry season. I was able to crawl around on my hands and knees and collect enough berries to put up 10 bags for the winter. Still, during this time, I was able to squeeze out a few decent home cooked meals, but little else. My family was lucky if I was able to cook 2-3 times a week. So began our excessive restaurant visits.
The biggest problem with this period of time, is that I look and act healthy a great deal of the time. In fact, if I am sitting or laying down, I feel pretty good. I think that's why most people assume I am "back to normal." But, I'm entering the phase of pregnancy that I like to call my fainting phase. My first 2 pregnancies, because I was either caught off guard, or because of the extreme heat in the midwest, where I lived at the time, I actually fainted several times. I even fainted during the labor and delivery of my 2nd child. I don't really blame this on my pregnancy, because I've always been sensitive to extreme temperature changes. In the midwestern heat, I don't adapt well to going from a well air conditioned building to the steamy outdoors. My blood pressure bottoms out, and I can hit the floor quickly if I'm not extremely careful. Pregnancy really seems to exacerbate this condition, though. My blood vessels, whether due to hormonal changes or the pressure of the growing baby, don't seem to keep the circulation going enough to keep me going. Again, this only affects me if I stand for too long. The problem is that too long is really only a matter of a few minutes. Have you ever tried to cook with fresh produce without standing up? I can sit to chop and prepare, but most of the veggies still require me to get up and either throw them on the grill or the stovetop steamer. And forget meat dishes. I can't get past the raw meat long enough to cook it. So, what I have now is an abundance of veggies and no way to prepare them unless they are in a raw salad. If anyone wants to know what restaurants can do to an already struggling budget, just look at my bank account. The taste of restaurant food, more times than not, is much worse than what I can make at home. More than that, though, is my disappointment in not being able to feed my family in a way that I think is healthy.
Probably the saddest realization, though, comes from the fact that the effects from this will be a year long, not just for the next 4 months. In order to preserve most veggies for the winter (which in upstate NY is looooooong!), I have to be able to wash, chop, boil, and blanch them. This requires hours of standing in a hot kitchen some nights. Did I find this past winter's eating to be worth it? YES! Can I do it this year? No. I've tried, believe me, but it leaves me shaky and most often headed to my bed to rest when I'm right smack in the middle of a processing. Sometimes I push it just a little too far and I get as far as the tunnel vision and hearing loss that happens right before I'm down. I haven't finished a cooking session yet, where I felt well enough to continue on with my day as planned. Luckily, most fruits just require a quick wash, spin, and freeze. But, I'm really going to miss the taste of fresh veggies this winter. Grocery store varieties are nothing like farm picked. And, I'm worried for my kids. All you have to do to grasp the realities of what processed foods do to our taste buds is to look around at today's kids. The number one veggie is a french fry. Am I going to be able to sway my kids back to the "real" foods when this is all over, or will the processed ones win out in the end?
So, here I sit, in the heat of the summer, wishing that I could do more. My garden, while plentiful, is being ignored. Luckily, my good planning this winter seems to be keeping it alive. I just hope that I can pick what is available, coax the tiny veggies into becoming full size, and eat my fill before they go bad. I'd like to be able to stock up for the winter to come, but it looks like it's going to be a winter without the taste of summer mixed in.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
First Day of the New Harvest
While my midwestern friends have been posting about their tomato harvests, here in upstate NY we are just planting our tender crops. I spent most of the day laying out the garden, hoisting up supports, and setting out the plants I've grown from seed in a small window (aided by lights that I've been told "light up the neighborhood").
Aside from a nice sunburn, though, there's not a lot to be gained from this time of year here.
So, what's a transplanted midwesterner to do in the Northern regions?
I've learned to adapt.
There is a lot of fresh, local foods to be had here if you just know what to look for! Last Friday, at my weekly foodshed pickup there was finally some green emerging from the tops of my bags! Green garlic and asparagus along with a few tomato plants as an emergency backup for a few of my own that had a short but nasty encounter with a cold, wet morning.
Steam that green garlic and asparagus and toss it with fresh farfalle, roasted red peppers, a few chopped pieces of honey ham and a homemade bechamel sauce and I've got a great spring meal! My favorite way to eat fresh asparagus, though, is brushed with a little olive oil and grilled for just a few minutes until tender. YUM!
By the way, if you, like I once did, think you don't like asparagus, you need to give it another try. This time, though, don't buy it from the supermarket. It's worth the extra effort to get it right from the farmer on the day it is harvested...completely different vegetable.
In my garden this weekend, I harvested the first in a long list of fruits and veggies that are to come: rhubarb. Now, if you are one of my midwestern friends you may never have had an encounter with this tart celery like fruit...that is probably actually a vegetable. I have loved rhubarb since I was a kid, and was horribly disappointed to find that it would not grow in my Oklahoma garden. Rhubarb likes cold nights, which it definitely gets plenty of where my garden is now. The first summer I lived here, a neighbor gladly parted with several bags of rhubarb stalks. One of them had the tiniest root attached. I literally threw it in the garden, assuming it would compost...and now I have more rhubarb than I can use in a single season!
Today I cooked down some of it with (sadly, non-local) berries, sugar and cornstarch to make a sauce. It is great in a spring pie, but it will not likely make it that far, as I can't keep my spoon out of it!
I also managed 2 loaves of rhubarb bread that keeps bringing my husband out the door looking for a snack. Almost ready!
With the tiniest starts of the sugar snap peas and the sudden rows of salad greens and radishes that are sprouting with the past weeks rain, I know the season is on it's way. But, for today, I was happy that I had my hands in the soil, my pots on the stove and a happy family eating my real food once again!
Aside from a nice sunburn, though, there's not a lot to be gained from this time of year here.
So, what's a transplanted midwesterner to do in the Northern regions?
I've learned to adapt.
There is a lot of fresh, local foods to be had here if you just know what to look for! Last Friday, at my weekly foodshed pickup there was finally some green emerging from the tops of my bags! Green garlic and asparagus along with a few tomato plants as an emergency backup for a few of my own that had a short but nasty encounter with a cold, wet morning.
Steam that green garlic and asparagus and toss it with fresh farfalle, roasted red peppers, a few chopped pieces of honey ham and a homemade bechamel sauce and I've got a great spring meal! My favorite way to eat fresh asparagus, though, is brushed with a little olive oil and grilled for just a few minutes until tender. YUM!
By the way, if you, like I once did, think you don't like asparagus, you need to give it another try. This time, though, don't buy it from the supermarket. It's worth the extra effort to get it right from the farmer on the day it is harvested...completely different vegetable.
In my garden this weekend, I harvested the first in a long list of fruits and veggies that are to come: rhubarb. Now, if you are one of my midwestern friends you may never have had an encounter with this tart celery like fruit...that is probably actually a vegetable. I have loved rhubarb since I was a kid, and was horribly disappointed to find that it would not grow in my Oklahoma garden. Rhubarb likes cold nights, which it definitely gets plenty of where my garden is now. The first summer I lived here, a neighbor gladly parted with several bags of rhubarb stalks. One of them had the tiniest root attached. I literally threw it in the garden, assuming it would compost...and now I have more rhubarb than I can use in a single season!
Today I cooked down some of it with (sadly, non-local) berries, sugar and cornstarch to make a sauce. It is great in a spring pie, but it will not likely make it that far, as I can't keep my spoon out of it!
I also managed 2 loaves of rhubarb bread that keeps bringing my husband out the door looking for a snack. Almost ready!
With the tiniest starts of the sugar snap peas and the sudden rows of salad greens and radishes that are sprouting with the past weeks rain, I know the season is on it's way. But, for today, I was happy that I had my hands in the soil, my pots on the stove and a happy family eating my real food once again!
Friday, April 15, 2011
A new life!
I've been homebound now for 4 weeks, including a week spent shuttling back and forth to the hospital for IV hydration and medication. To reflect, it is all for a good cause. I unexpectedly found myself pregnant for the third time. I have a history of having a love/hate relationship with food while pregnant, but this time I was totally blindsided with how much effort it took to keep even the smallest bit of food or fluid down. During the first week, I was horrified as I was admitted to the hospital twice and finally released with a PICC line. While I would love, under more enjoyable circumstances, to be told to stay home with my family and relax, I am currently the major source of income for our family. Without my income, we would have very little to live on, and we would be forced to use up the small amount of money we had JUST set aside for a crisis.
Even as I was fighting to stay upright without losing my lunch, though, I tried to look at the positive spin on this. While I wouldn't have total freedom, maybe that is just what I needed. For years, I've been fighting chronic fatigue and stress levels that sent me to the doctor on more than one occasion. While I started this blog, and a hopeful journey to a simplified life, I didn't realize that sometimes simplicity in life can actually cause an organizational nightmare for the one responsible for implementing it. I can, and enjoy, all the simple things...sewing, gardening, preserving and cooking food. However, I also had to maintain a full time job and be available to my family on my hours at home. As I started on this journey, I tried to do it all. Some people gave me the title of supermom, but really, I was anything but. For, really, simplifying my life should have been more about the time I have to spend with my family and relax. If I was in a situation where I could stay home while my husband works, I would venture in that direction, and save me family money in areas where I can grow or make many of our needs. But, the truth is, my family has to have health insurance. Some families can make do without, eating right and getting proper rest to avoid some of the illnesses that modern life aggravates. Our family, though, entered this journey with health conditions that have to be taken care of, and it can't be done with a healthy lifestyle alone. Not having health insurance is not optional. I don't just work for insurance, though. I truly love my job. I would still want to be involved in some aspect of my work even if I didn't get paid. If babies were only born on 2 days out of the week, I could have the best of both worlds, but for now, I spend my days in maternal/child health and my evenings and weekends with my family.
So, my unexpected time off work gave me lots of time to reflect on the past few years and how I've changed. It also allowed me to set new goals for myself, both professionally and personally. Some of my goals are going to remain private, but most of them are going to hopefully reduce some of my overwhelming stress and change my life for the better. Without this pregnancy, and without this drastic need for rest and renewal, I would never have had this chance. Everything does happen for a reason, and I'm glad I was able to see it. I would never want my family to have to go through the burden of having to pick up where I left off, but I am able to see now that I really don't have to do everything all the time.
So, what now? I plan to return to work next week. And I hope I don't fall into the trap of the supermom all over again. If you see my house, it is anything but clean. My kids are getting used to doing more for themselves. I am able to turn down activities and events without guilt. I backed out of several responsibilities without worrying about who was going to take over. And honestly, I'm glad. I hope I can find it in myself not to run so many errands, not to worry about how clean things are, and not to feel that I have to be a part of everything that happens around me. Do I think I will feel overwhelmed again? Yes. Do I think I will do too much? Yes. But, I hope that I can start to focus on the areas of life that are the most important and let other things go.
As for my passion for the simple way of doing things, I still have it. I still believe that me and my family should be eating healthy, real foods. I believe in supporting the local producers over the mass marketing. I would like to sew more and create rather than shop. But, I also realize now that sometimes simple is a process and not an immediate change that can be made.
My focus for now is to get through one day at a time. My long term goal is to rely more on my own skills and those of locals than the mass marketed products of others. The interesting thing is that it took me being knocked down to be able to look up. And I am thankful for every minute of every day that I've had to be able to rest my body and renew my thoughts again.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Balance!
Have you ever felt like it might be better just to erase it all and start over...well, me too. At least as far as blogging goes. I'm not planning to erase this blog, but I'm thinking of ending it here and starting again. Yes, my life has become more simplified, but at a cost to other parts of my life. I've had to re-evaluate and think about what I'm really striving for here.
Most people see me as a granola mom who tries to keep the kids playing outside and the food in the house wholesome and organic. Other people will say they never see my without my big pink cup of coffee (preferably from Starbucks or Holland Farms!) in one hand and my iphone in the other.
I sent my kindergartener to school with specially packed lunches for months and then, suddenly realized that for only $2 a day, she could learn to make her own choices and eat more variety. I spend lots of time trying to instill in my girls the value of reduce, reuse, recycle, and then I plop them in front of the TV so I can play on facebook.
I love to garden, and I love to cook. Due to lack of time, though, I find that most of the time I'd rather order out. And the lure of pre-chopped veggies is sometimes more than I can resist to the ones I have to harvest, wash, and prepare (although, the taste is usually second rate).
I'd love to say I walk everywhere within a mile of my house, but I'm usually packing the kids in the SUV just to drive down the hill a block to my parent's house. I preach that kids are overscheduled these days, but I overschedule myself to the very limits of my capability.
So, I've decided. What I need for 2011 is not more simplification, it's BALANCE. So what if I'm gardening with the help of an iphone app. Who cares if my daughter orders lunch at school when she's in love with fresh fruit? My youngest eats a diet that consists mostly of salad and candy. Both my daughters know how to express themselves artistically and they know almost all the words to the Glee Christmas special.
The one thing I want to express here is my true self. So, as soon as I've come up with a new blog name, feel free to join me...you may see me contradict myself, but you'll always get one thing...the truth!
Most people see me as a granola mom who tries to keep the kids playing outside and the food in the house wholesome and organic. Other people will say they never see my without my big pink cup of coffee (preferably from Starbucks or Holland Farms!) in one hand and my iphone in the other.
I sent my kindergartener to school with specially packed lunches for months and then, suddenly realized that for only $2 a day, she could learn to make her own choices and eat more variety. I spend lots of time trying to instill in my girls the value of reduce, reuse, recycle, and then I plop them in front of the TV so I can play on facebook.
I love to garden, and I love to cook. Due to lack of time, though, I find that most of the time I'd rather order out. And the lure of pre-chopped veggies is sometimes more than I can resist to the ones I have to harvest, wash, and prepare (although, the taste is usually second rate).
I'd love to say I walk everywhere within a mile of my house, but I'm usually packing the kids in the SUV just to drive down the hill a block to my parent's house. I preach that kids are overscheduled these days, but I overschedule myself to the very limits of my capability.
So, I've decided. What I need for 2011 is not more simplification, it's BALANCE. So what if I'm gardening with the help of an iphone app. Who cares if my daughter orders lunch at school when she's in love with fresh fruit? My youngest eats a diet that consists mostly of salad and candy. Both my daughters know how to express themselves artistically and they know almost all the words to the Glee Christmas special.
The one thing I want to express here is my true self. So, as soon as I've come up with a new blog name, feel free to join me...you may see me contradict myself, but you'll always get one thing...the truth!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Winter Squash Risotto
This recipe I made last night was adapted from the Winter Squash Risotto with Seared Radicchio from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors (one of my go-to-cookbooks for seasonal recipes.) Her version used seared radicchio, but I had none on hand. I used fresh sage (which is still tasty after I unearthed it from the blanket of snow covering my garden) and a small handful of pancetta to make it a one dish meal.
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup cooked winter squash
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup diced pancetta (optional)
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for garnishing
1. Heat the stock and simmer on the stovetop before beginning the risotto. Melt the butter in a seperate large stockpot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until wilted and golden in color, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, stir to coat and cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat to high and add 2 cups of the simmering stock. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When all the liquid is absorbed, begin adding 1/2 cup of stock at a time, stirring constantly. Once you've added 4 cups of the stock, stir in the squash, sage, and pancetta. Continue cooking, stirring, and adding liquid until the rice is tender and the sauce is creamy.
2. When the rice is done, add the Gruyere cheese and stir until melted in. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in large pasta bowls with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup cooked winter squash
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup diced pancetta (optional)
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for garnishing
1. Heat the stock and simmer on the stovetop before beginning the risotto. Melt the butter in a seperate large stockpot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until wilted and golden in color, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, stir to coat and cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat to high and add 2 cups of the simmering stock. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When all the liquid is absorbed, begin adding 1/2 cup of stock at a time, stirring constantly. Once you've added 4 cups of the stock, stir in the squash, sage, and pancetta. Continue cooking, stirring, and adding liquid until the rice is tender and the sauce is creamy.
2. When the rice is done, add the Gruyere cheese and stir until melted in. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in large pasta bowls with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The lean, green cleaning machine
So, after my last post, I decided it was time to switch the focus of my efforts. The weather is not cooperating much for outdoor garden work anymore, and the veggies coming in are storable in their original form (winter squash, potatoes, carrots, garlic) or ready to be eaten right away (cold weather greens). Unfortunately, my dancing girls keep me hopping to dance practice several nights a week, so my time to get organized is still minimal. So, I talked it over with my super fabulous boss (hi, Deb!) and set aside this weekend as an extra long weekend away from work. Today is spent with family, being thankful for what I have. Tomorrow, my oldest daughter's birthday, will be a mixture of family and planning. Then, for the next 4 days, I have non-stop plans to declutter, organize, and clean. I want this house whipped into shape before I head back to work on Wednesday. I want to come home and have a space to relax in that isn't strewn with endless amounts of papers, unopened books, and little tiny pieces of toys. I want LESS STUFF! Really. Of course, the buyer in me still read all the black Friday ads. I decided that the only things worth getting were the storage tubs, so that must really mean I'm ready to do this! (And, no, I will not be at Walmart at 3am for a storage tub...not even if it is less than half price!)
So, with a bottle of all natural cleaning spray and a few empty boxes under my arm, I'm off to see what I can free myself of this weekend!
(P.S. If you have any mad cleaning or organization skills, feel free to give me a call! I can use all the help I can get!)
So, with a bottle of all natural cleaning spray and a few empty boxes under my arm, I'm off to see what I can free myself of this weekend!
(P.S. If you have any mad cleaning or organization skills, feel free to give me a call! I can use all the help I can get!)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Being simple is not always simple
I haven't posted anything in over a month, and it's not that I've deviated from my path. I just became overwhelmed and a little disillusioned by what my daily life had become. My passions are the same. I strive to feed my family on pure, whole foods. I still maintain a large garden (two actually) where I produce bowls of salad and fresh veggies every day. Those foods that I don't grow myself, meat, eggs and dairy, I find from local sources so I know the farmers that produce them and the standards from which they came. My problem is that I have a serious lack of time in which to do anything with these glorious foods. I love the gardening season in which I dig my hands into the rich earth, seed my heirloom veggies and watch the grow. I love the early stages of the harvest from late spring to mid summer, when I base our meals on what is ready for harvest in the garden. I started getting more than a little overwhelmed this fall when I had a massive bounty in both my backyard and from the farmers in the area. I just couldn't pass up the veggies that were arriving and I had plans to fill my deep freeze with bags of flash frozen veggies for use all winter.
There were a few weekend that I did nothing but stand in the kitchen all weekend and wash, chop, and blanch vegetables all day. I made sauce, I prepared salsa, and we ate many fresh from the garden meals. The only problem is, this is my side venture. I still have to work Monday through Friday from sun up to dinner time. The only time I have to do all this work is on those precious weekend days. When I started this endeavor, I worked night shift 12 hours. I had 3-4 days off each week to spend doing these tasks that can take up large chunks of time. Now I have a few hours.
I am still glad I did what I did. We have veggies to last for months. Everything is healthy...grown locally, preserved with no added ingredients, and without pesticides or hormones. We will continue to eat well for many months while snow blankets our upstate NY land. Sadly, though, I feel that it came with a price. Not monetary, in fact we saved a great deal of money this summer. But, I feel that I missed a lot of time I could have spent with my family. My oldest one morning asked me why I liked cooking better than her. That was the last weekend I spent in the kitchen all weekend.
So, the challenge this winter is to figure out how to make a compromise. It's fine to say you want to live a simple life, but when it makes life more challenging at the same time, is it worth it? I'm not willing to give up my lifestyle principles of less stuff (which, if you saw my home you would know is my biggest hurdle to a more simple life) and more local support. I'm also not willing to give up my job to be home more (my job requires the hours that I work and I'm lucky to have a job that I really really enjoy...even on those tough days). So, how do I blend the two and not lose my mind or the time I have to spend with my family? I have my mental work cut out for me this winter while I figure that out. In the meantime, I'm going outside to enjoy the sunshine and then find one of those yummy bags of produce to heat up for dinner!
There were a few weekend that I did nothing but stand in the kitchen all weekend and wash, chop, and blanch vegetables all day. I made sauce, I prepared salsa, and we ate many fresh from the garden meals. The only problem is, this is my side venture. I still have to work Monday through Friday from sun up to dinner time. The only time I have to do all this work is on those precious weekend days. When I started this endeavor, I worked night shift 12 hours. I had 3-4 days off each week to spend doing these tasks that can take up large chunks of time. Now I have a few hours.
I am still glad I did what I did. We have veggies to last for months. Everything is healthy...grown locally, preserved with no added ingredients, and without pesticides or hormones. We will continue to eat well for many months while snow blankets our upstate NY land. Sadly, though, I feel that it came with a price. Not monetary, in fact we saved a great deal of money this summer. But, I feel that I missed a lot of time I could have spent with my family. My oldest one morning asked me why I liked cooking better than her. That was the last weekend I spent in the kitchen all weekend.
So, the challenge this winter is to figure out how to make a compromise. It's fine to say you want to live a simple life, but when it makes life more challenging at the same time, is it worth it? I'm not willing to give up my lifestyle principles of less stuff (which, if you saw my home you would know is my biggest hurdle to a more simple life) and more local support. I'm also not willing to give up my job to be home more (my job requires the hours that I work and I'm lucky to have a job that I really really enjoy...even on those tough days). So, how do I blend the two and not lose my mind or the time I have to spend with my family? I have my mental work cut out for me this winter while I figure that out. In the meantime, I'm going outside to enjoy the sunshine and then find one of those yummy bags of produce to heat up for dinner!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Fall Harvest Lasagna
I've been waiting all year for this glorious fall season to arrive. Summer is great with it's bounty of veggies, but the ones I really like wait until fall to be seasonably ready. Fresh, crisp apples and pears top my list of go-to-snack foods. I also love the rich flavor of the hefty 3 pound tomatoes that aren't ripe until fall in my part of the world. My onions have reached a flavor that infuses every dish with a spicy sweetness, and garlic is abounding from all sources. I have already received 11 varieties of garlic this early fall from farmers in the area. Each variety has a different flavor to enjoy. My absolute favorite fall veggies, though, are the squash. I love butternut, acorn, and pumpkin, which are the usual ones. I also love banana, delicata, carnival, and sweet dumpling. I love pumpkin soup, butternut squash ravioli, and acorn squash cassoulet simmered all afternoon over a low heat.
Tonight, I satisfied my craving with a hearty fall veggie lasagna. I used a recipe from Keith Snow, author of Harvest Eating Cookbook. It's not for the weak cook, as it requires a lot of steaming, slicing, dicing and shredding and a homemade white sauce that is heavenly to taste. But, since I love to cook, this recipe is one of my fall favorites. It has lasagna noodles layered with steamed kale (another favorite of mine), thin sweet potato slices, leeks, garlic, and onion. Layer that with the cream sauce, fresh mozzarella, and some grated Gruyere cheese and you've got ooey-gooey deliciousness! Alayna happily munched through most of her bowl. Jeremy ate all but a few bites of kale (really, I just don't understand how anyone can not love kale like I do!?). I happily ate those last few bites for him. Kira plowed through all the noodles and sighed happily with each bite. She isn't the biggest veggie fan, but she had no trouble with the sweet potato and kale tossed with cheese! I had an extra large helping, making up for my delicious, yet not hearty salad I had for lunch.
If you want a GREAT resource for local, seasonal food recipes, I highly recommend getting this book. I use it more than all the rest, and it even highlights the season with symbols for each recipe (just in case you are new to the seasonal food plan).
Here's the video for the recipe, and I'll try to highlight more fall recipes to come!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Reflections on a dream
This is going to be a little off topic for me, but nonetheless interesting for a glimpse into your own lifestyle. I think it fits into the goals of my simple little blog quite well. I'm going to veer away from the foodie aspect of simple lifestyle and into a side of life that is often controversial, yet the most important part to think about. Dealing with children. Don't worry...I'm not going to get into the natural vs. traditional discussion. I'm also not going to tout the benefits of homeschooling over sending children off to school or vice versa (I can see benefits to both, if you are curious!). I just want to reflect on the factors that might motivate or discourage a child, and how this lasts a lifetime.
Today, I spent my morning in a Youth Consortium sponsored by our local perinatal network. I went into the meeting thinking I would be learning how to talk to teens and make them more aware of their need for health care. I came away with a whole lot more. The leader of the group this morning gave us teaching tools, motivational keys, and gave us a lot of opportunity to reflect on ourselves. Why this in a discussion about teens? If you don't know your own culture, and you don't look past it to a teen culture, how can you relate to them in a meaningful way? True in all generation gaps, don't you think?
The most interesting thing I left with was a glimpse into why I am the way I am and how I got to be this way. Interestingly, as I focus in my career on motivating others, I find myself often discouraged by the lack of desire for change and low levels of passion in people. I am easily motivated. I am excited by change, and I love to learn new things and apply them to my life and my work. I just didn't understand why everyone else didn't have the same fire.
The question put forth to the large group was this: "think of an adult in your life whom you felt disrespected you and how it made you feel." Ok. For most everyone in the group, discussions were still filled with the frustrations of the past. But, as I sat there racking my brain, I couldn't come up with anything. Was my life filled with nothing but positive adventures? No. Did I ever feel disrespected? Probably. Did this shape the way I am today. Most likely. But, when I looked back on my teen years, I had a different picture from most of the adults in the room.
After sitting and listening to the discussions, I felt lucky. I can't recall any moments where my dreams were squashed. I don't remember anyone ever telling me that I wasn't good enough, or that something "just wasn't in the cards" for me. I was never told that I couldn't do something I wanted to do (aside from the usual random teenage requests). In fact, I always felt that no matter what I wanted to do, I would be supported.
Interestingly, this led me to be a very well-rounded person. I never felt I had to choose between my art classes and my honors classes at school. Even my peers were respectful of my choice to be a part of both "crowds". My teachers were all good at letting students learn in their own way, and I was thankful to be a part of a school system that included multiple languages, art, music, various physical education opportunities, and a slew of the typical classes at a variety of levels. I even took a course in interior decorating in high school, and my phys ed requirement was satisfied with a non-typical aerobics class.
Yet, nearly everyone else in the room this morning had a different story. Each person that spoke had a story about an adult in their life who had, at one time, told them they were not good at something. Many of these adults were deeply scarred. Some grew to hate the thing they were told not to do. Others were resentful of someone else taking their dreams away. Still others find that they are not able to try new things as easily today.
You can ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am a woman of many hobbies. I like to dabble in this and that and really find what I like to do. I love to garden, I like to cook, and you will rarely find me without a book to read. I am passionate about the production and use of local foods. I have knowledge, skill, and motivation to help the pregnant woman and her family. I knit, I sew, and I scrapbook. I am not afraid to join a new group or connect with others that have common interests. As a result, I have many passions. I have lots of goals and dreams, and I never feel held back from my dreams. I was always told to reach for the stars, and there was always another galaxy out there if I wanted to try something new.
Why am I including this in a blog about simple life? Simple. I want my children, my husband, and my friends and family to feel the same way I do. No one should tell you not to go for your goals and dreams. Everyone should have passion for life. Work toward a common goal with those people you connect with. Be the person who gives someone else a boost. Help pick someone up who has taken a fall and help them find another way to climb to the top. Most important: don't ever squash someone else's dreams. Watch over your children and let them discover for themselves who they are and then help them find ways to make and reach their goals.
My parents supported me when I wanted to be an artist just as much as they supported me when I wanted to be a nurse (and all the other dreams in between). I was never told "you can't do that" or that I should focus my energy on something else in my life. It was always "if you really want it, you can find a way."
Take a look back at your own life first. Can you list 3 things you are passionate about? Can you name 3 topics you have knowledge in? What are 3 skills that you have? Do you have at least 3 distinct groups or connections in your life? If you can't complete this, then it's time to start with yourself first. Then, think about how the other people around you might stand to gain for your motivating them with the answers they might have. Truly, someone who is living their passion, using the knowledge they have with the skills they obtain and utilizing the connections they have is living a simple (and happy!) life.
Today, I spent my morning in a Youth Consortium sponsored by our local perinatal network. I went into the meeting thinking I would be learning how to talk to teens and make them more aware of their need for health care. I came away with a whole lot more. The leader of the group this morning gave us teaching tools, motivational keys, and gave us a lot of opportunity to reflect on ourselves. Why this in a discussion about teens? If you don't know your own culture, and you don't look past it to a teen culture, how can you relate to them in a meaningful way? True in all generation gaps, don't you think?
The most interesting thing I left with was a glimpse into why I am the way I am and how I got to be this way. Interestingly, as I focus in my career on motivating others, I find myself often discouraged by the lack of desire for change and low levels of passion in people. I am easily motivated. I am excited by change, and I love to learn new things and apply them to my life and my work. I just didn't understand why everyone else didn't have the same fire.
The question put forth to the large group was this: "think of an adult in your life whom you felt disrespected you and how it made you feel." Ok. For most everyone in the group, discussions were still filled with the frustrations of the past. But, as I sat there racking my brain, I couldn't come up with anything. Was my life filled with nothing but positive adventures? No. Did I ever feel disrespected? Probably. Did this shape the way I am today. Most likely. But, when I looked back on my teen years, I had a different picture from most of the adults in the room.
After sitting and listening to the discussions, I felt lucky. I can't recall any moments where my dreams were squashed. I don't remember anyone ever telling me that I wasn't good enough, or that something "just wasn't in the cards" for me. I was never told that I couldn't do something I wanted to do (aside from the usual random teenage requests). In fact, I always felt that no matter what I wanted to do, I would be supported.
Interestingly, this led me to be a very well-rounded person. I never felt I had to choose between my art classes and my honors classes at school. Even my peers were respectful of my choice to be a part of both "crowds". My teachers were all good at letting students learn in their own way, and I was thankful to be a part of a school system that included multiple languages, art, music, various physical education opportunities, and a slew of the typical classes at a variety of levels. I even took a course in interior decorating in high school, and my phys ed requirement was satisfied with a non-typical aerobics class.
Yet, nearly everyone else in the room this morning had a different story. Each person that spoke had a story about an adult in their life who had, at one time, told them they were not good at something. Many of these adults were deeply scarred. Some grew to hate the thing they were told not to do. Others were resentful of someone else taking their dreams away. Still others find that they are not able to try new things as easily today.
You can ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am a woman of many hobbies. I like to dabble in this and that and really find what I like to do. I love to garden, I like to cook, and you will rarely find me without a book to read. I am passionate about the production and use of local foods. I have knowledge, skill, and motivation to help the pregnant woman and her family. I knit, I sew, and I scrapbook. I am not afraid to join a new group or connect with others that have common interests. As a result, I have many passions. I have lots of goals and dreams, and I never feel held back from my dreams. I was always told to reach for the stars, and there was always another galaxy out there if I wanted to try something new.
Why am I including this in a blog about simple life? Simple. I want my children, my husband, and my friends and family to feel the same way I do. No one should tell you not to go for your goals and dreams. Everyone should have passion for life. Work toward a common goal with those people you connect with. Be the person who gives someone else a boost. Help pick someone up who has taken a fall and help them find another way to climb to the top. Most important: don't ever squash someone else's dreams. Watch over your children and let them discover for themselves who they are and then help them find ways to make and reach their goals.
My parents supported me when I wanted to be an artist just as much as they supported me when I wanted to be a nurse (and all the other dreams in between). I was never told "you can't do that" or that I should focus my energy on something else in my life. It was always "if you really want it, you can find a way."
Take a look back at your own life first. Can you list 3 things you are passionate about? Can you name 3 topics you have knowledge in? What are 3 skills that you have? Do you have at least 3 distinct groups or connections in your life? If you can't complete this, then it's time to start with yourself first. Then, think about how the other people around you might stand to gain for your motivating them with the answers they might have. Truly, someone who is living their passion, using the knowledge they have with the skills they obtain and utilizing the connections they have is living a simple (and happy!) life.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
A blip in the blog
Of course, right as I started blogging my local food week, my laptop decided to take a long nap. I am pretty sure it won't be waking up again, but I'm stealing a quick moment on a borrowed computer to type a note.
I'll try to fill you in more completely on the week later, but for now, you should know that it wasn't perfect. But, it did teach me a lot about what I'm actually striving for when I'm living as a locavore.
First, I didn't find the challenge to be too difficult. After all, I already try to eat local most of the time and I have lots of good connections and sources. But, the "all" local restriction was...well, a bit restricting. I didn't mind the no eating out. I didn't mind the meat, veggies, fruit, and grain coming from local sources. I didn't mind substituting local ingredients for other ingredients that can be locally sourced. But, when faced with recipes for foods that just can't be turned all local, I felt discouraged. I discovered the following about myself:
1. I will eat only local when local is available. Luckily, I live in an area where I can get local fruits, veggies, grains, maple syrup, honey, meat, cheese, milk and more. But, if I really want certain ingredients, like sugar, olive oil, or peanuts, I have to look a little furthur away. But, by limiting myself to only those ingredients, I am drastically reducing my carbon footprint.
2. If I know I will want non-seasonal ingredients for ingredients I can find at some point in the year, I will learn to preserve them. I have filled an entire deep freeze to the brim with veggies and fruit to enjoy all year long. Luckily, I don't have to store local meats, as I can get them year round from local farmers and the foodshed buying club.
3. If I can't find a local ingredient within 100 miles, I will search out 250 miles. If I still can't find it, I try to source it from the New England region and keep my search within 500-600 miles. I get fresh frozen seafood from Maine, organic real butter from Maine, and some of the fruits that are grown more easily in the slightly more Southern state of PA.
4. If faced with a local, non organic ingredient and a slightly further away organic source, I will take efforts to decide which choice is more ethically and environmentally responsible. For example: I can get local butter here from many sources, but I can't get organic local butter without taking a long drive to a far-reaching local source. I choose not to use the energy in my car just to get a small package of butter. I also choose to use butter from cows raised on grass and given a better life.
5. I choose to use the freshest ingredients in the growing season and preserved ingredients when those are not available. I eat yogurt with fruit and granola almost every day. During the summer, that fruit is whatever is in season: strawberries in June, blueberries in July, and peaches in August. I switch to eating frozen berries when those are not available and eat fresh apples as a mid-afternoon snack.
6. When buying products like pasta, bagels, and bread, I look first to those who use local ingredients. When not possible, I at least use producers that are local or family owned businesses. I mostly make my own bread, but sometimes I buy specialty bread from Rosemont Inn, and I love the bagels from Bagel Grove. Pasta can also be found from local producers.
So, there are my rules. I will continue to live by them. I will let you know how well my week went and what I fell down on in the next blog!
I'll try to fill you in more completely on the week later, but for now, you should know that it wasn't perfect. But, it did teach me a lot about what I'm actually striving for when I'm living as a locavore.
First, I didn't find the challenge to be too difficult. After all, I already try to eat local most of the time and I have lots of good connections and sources. But, the "all" local restriction was...well, a bit restricting. I didn't mind the no eating out. I didn't mind the meat, veggies, fruit, and grain coming from local sources. I didn't mind substituting local ingredients for other ingredients that can be locally sourced. But, when faced with recipes for foods that just can't be turned all local, I felt discouraged. I discovered the following about myself:
1. I will eat only local when local is available. Luckily, I live in an area where I can get local fruits, veggies, grains, maple syrup, honey, meat, cheese, milk and more. But, if I really want certain ingredients, like sugar, olive oil, or peanuts, I have to look a little furthur away. But, by limiting myself to only those ingredients, I am drastically reducing my carbon footprint.
2. If I know I will want non-seasonal ingredients for ingredients I can find at some point in the year, I will learn to preserve them. I have filled an entire deep freeze to the brim with veggies and fruit to enjoy all year long. Luckily, I don't have to store local meats, as I can get them year round from local farmers and the foodshed buying club.
3. If I can't find a local ingredient within 100 miles, I will search out 250 miles. If I still can't find it, I try to source it from the New England region and keep my search within 500-600 miles. I get fresh frozen seafood from Maine, organic real butter from Maine, and some of the fruits that are grown more easily in the slightly more Southern state of PA.
4. If faced with a local, non organic ingredient and a slightly further away organic source, I will take efforts to decide which choice is more ethically and environmentally responsible. For example: I can get local butter here from many sources, but I can't get organic local butter without taking a long drive to a far-reaching local source. I choose not to use the energy in my car just to get a small package of butter. I also choose to use butter from cows raised on grass and given a better life.
5. I choose to use the freshest ingredients in the growing season and preserved ingredients when those are not available. I eat yogurt with fruit and granola almost every day. During the summer, that fruit is whatever is in season: strawberries in June, blueberries in July, and peaches in August. I switch to eating frozen berries when those are not available and eat fresh apples as a mid-afternoon snack.
6. When buying products like pasta, bagels, and bread, I look first to those who use local ingredients. When not possible, I at least use producers that are local or family owned businesses. I mostly make my own bread, but sometimes I buy specialty bread from Rosemont Inn, and I love the bagels from Bagel Grove. Pasta can also be found from local producers.
So, there are my rules. I will continue to live by them. I will let you know how well my week went and what I fell down on in the next blog!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
A Day in my Tiny Kitchen
I used all colors in the sauce today, so it looks a little funny in the picture, but it was quite tasty!
My tomato soup is one of my favorite summer recipes. I take 4 large tomatoes (I especially like yellow and red in this soup) and simmer them with 4 cups of tomato juice. Today, with all the tomato processing I was doing, I collected enough juice for 2 batches of this soup. No more canned tomato juice for me! When it has simmer about 30 minutes, I cool it and put in (in batches) in my blender with about 1/4 cup of fresh basil. When I'm ready to eat it, I heat it back up with about a cup of milk and about 4 ounces of cream cheese, some salt and pepper to taste. BEST SOUP EVER!!! I loooooooove this soup with a toasty grilled cheese sandwich on homemade bread. Now that's a local meal to die for!
While all the tomatoes were simmering, I also managed to bake a loaf of my homemade wheat bread (yes, all local ingredients down to the flour!). The smell of homemade bread is one of my favorite things. And then, since the oven was warmed up and the air outside was cool, I baked 2 of the sugar pie pumpkins I picked up at the Rome farmer's market last week. The pumpkins gave me about 6 cups of pumpkin puree, which I packaged up for later use. Then, I took the seeds and sprinkled them with a little kosher salt, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and olive oil. Then into a 250 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Oh, so delicious! And now my house smells like fall!
So, I decided this would be my first local food day after all. I may have to have a cheat meal or two thrown in to avoid conflict at a couple of gatherings, but I've decided that I can still spread the word without being a rude guest!
Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, milk
Lunch: fresh edamame, leftover pasta with broccoli, garlic, and tomatoes, slice of homemade bread with local honey, cider
Snack: pumpkin seeds and a little cheese
Dinner: kale and potato soup, local wine
Dessert: pears sliced thin and poached in apple cider and maple syrup!
I don't feel restricted at all by a day like this! Hopefully I can continue the week with such luck!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wild Cards...what would you choose?
Although I hated to send Kira off to school today without a mommy-made lunch, she had a great learning experience going through the lunch line and made the choice of an apple as her side dish! Make mommy proud, honey!
While we are talking about choices, I've been prepping myself for my week-long local food challenge. I was hoping to start this weekend, but with a weekend breakfast gathering and my 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, I'm opting to start next week. Hopefully bypassing the first week of evening dance class shuttle will keep me better on track, too.
This week, I made a goal of myself to see what items I was having the most trouble replacing with local foods. According to the challenge, you can have 5 wild cards to use within reason. It wasn't too hard for me to see what mine would be after the week: coffee (I do use fair trade coffee), Parmesan cheese, nuts, olive oil and butter. I had really hoped to have mozzarella cheese as my 5th, but I had trouble with the butter. I'm not the only one, either. My friend who is writing the blog for the local paper was also challenged by this. I had a few scounts out and about, and no one could find a good, easily accessible and also organic butter. Yes, there is a (by definition) local farm that could have possibly been a source, but the amount of travel required didn't justify the purpose of buying local foods to me. So, off with the mozzarella and on with the butter. Also, I am allowing myself locally made pasta, even if I can't source the ingredients.
If you can leave me a comment here or on my FB page, I'd love to hear what items YOU would choose as wold cards. Remember, spices don't count (they are freebies!) as the cost to transport is minimal. Most people I've talked to are choosing things like chocolate (I like chocolate, but I'll be just fine for a week!), coffee (a must for me!), citrus fruits, and sugar. I use small amounts of citrus in cooking, but at the amount I use, I call it a flavoring and lump it with spices. And if you want to know how I'll manage without sugar, you should know that I haven't used any sugar in cooking or baking in the past several months. I go through honey by the pint and maple syrup by the half-gallon, but one small bag of sugar lasts forever in my pantry now. What about my coffee? If you haven't ever sweetened coffee with maple syrup, you should really give it a try!
Honestly, I won't be making too many changes, although every day I manage to sneak a few non-local goodies onto my plate. This challenge is really helping me see how much we take our foods for granted. But, I am finding that I can still eat great food and have the variety that my family and I enjoy.
For example, I cooked scrumptious new pasta dish tonight full of veggies, but with a twist. I won't take the credit for this fabulous dinner. I got the recipe from our CSA farmer, Nancy Grove on our newsletter this week. Farfalle with Gorgonzola, Broccoli, and Cherry Tomatoes. I don't know what 5 items you would choose if you had to eat only local foods with the exception of 5 wild cards, but pasta tops my list. Although I usually buy locally made pasta, I haven't tracked the source of the ingredients. I took a pound of cooked farfalle tonight and tossed it with 4 cloves fresh minced garlic, 2 cups lightly steamed broccoli, and 1 cup mixed cherry tomatoes. Top that and toss with a slowly heated blend of 1 cup milk and/or cream (I used half of each) and 1 cup of gorgonzola cheese. I used some kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and topped with sprinkles of fresh grated Parmesan cheese (another of my wild cards...I LOVE Parmesan cheese!). Everyone loved it and again had second helpings! :) My only cheat here was the gorgonzola (although I am sure any semi soft cheese would be delish, I had gorgonzola on hand). It was super fast to assemble, and all the veggies came from my garden or from Old Path and Walking Clover Farms. Mmmmmmmm!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave me your wild cards if you can!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Holy Heaping Vegetables!
This is my Old Path Farm pick-up day. We head right to the farm after work to get our surprise gathering of vegetables. Today, I was less than enthused. It is chilly here and rainy, too. Spending my afternoon in my warm house sounded better than traipsing through a field to pick beans.
However, sometimes the gloomiest of conditions bring to us the most glorious goodies. I left the farm with my usual array of canning tomatoes, a pint of cherry tomatoes, a few beets, two huge onions, and some broccoli, but add to that 3 of the biggest fat heirloom tomatoes and some delightful golden beets and I was happy. And that wasn't the end. There are also often "help yourself" veggies at the end. These are often "seconds" or slightly blemished goods. Today, though, I walked off with an extra fennel bulb and a bag full of mixed braising greens. And there were also my new favorite vegetable...roma beans. These were a u-pick item left on the vines and picked by the consumer. Top all that with several large cuttings of edamame that we are to harvest ourselves at home.
Of course, thinking that the veggies were going to start coming in a little slim, I had stopped at an orchard on the way home. Here, I grabbed a dozen ears of sweet corn, a large bag of paste tomatoes, apples, peaches, some dried fruit, and two pints of sweet raspberries.
Don't forget I also have a garden in my backyard that is starting to thin out, but still hands over a pint of cherry tomatoes a day, hot and sweet peppers, cucumbers, carrots, onions, winter squash, pattypans, and white heirloom pole beans.
Oh, and my foodshed pickup is tomorrow afternoon. I ordered a 5 pound bag of mixed onions, a bunch of red russian kale, pingtung long eggplant, 1 pound of chesnok garlic, an heirloom zucchini, French heirloom green beans, and 14 pounds of heirloom tomatoes for canning.
I'm also staring at 3 sugar pie pumpkins waiting to be cooked into puree on my kitchen desk.
Did I mention I have a tiny kitchen? :)
Luckily, I share my CSA share with my parents, but it was still a trunk load of food! Tonight I was at least able to preserve most of the farm vegetables. I blanched and froze the corn, Roma beans, and mixed greens. I harvested the edamame for blanching tomorrow. I blanched and slipped the skins of the paste tomatoes before I chopped and froze them. Then I poured out most of the rasberries into a single layer for a quick freeze. I wrapped and chilled most everything else. Lots of salsa will be eaten at our house this weekend, and I'll be trying to can tomato sauce for the first time. (I'm running out of freezer space!)
On top of that, I did have time to make a home cooked mostly local dinner tonight. For those foodies looking for local ideas, here is what I made:
Stir fry beef and Vegetables
I chopped up Sunnybrook Farm's minute steaks and stir fried them in some olive oil and crushed garlic. Then, I added chopped mixed color sweet peppers and an onion. After they softened, I added a head of heirloom broccoli florets and two heads of bok choi. I did season it with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and some ginger, but as flavorings, they are wild cards! My one downfall is that I served it with rice and a few cashews sprinkled on top. Both my kids ate their bowls and Alayna asked for more! Jeremy loved it, too! This meal was so yummy and I'll be eating the leftovers over pasta noodles this weekend!
However, sometimes the gloomiest of conditions bring to us the most glorious goodies. I left the farm with my usual array of canning tomatoes, a pint of cherry tomatoes, a few beets, two huge onions, and some broccoli, but add to that 3 of the biggest fat heirloom tomatoes and some delightful golden beets and I was happy. And that wasn't the end. There are also often "help yourself" veggies at the end. These are often "seconds" or slightly blemished goods. Today, though, I walked off with an extra fennel bulb and a bag full of mixed braising greens. And there were also my new favorite vegetable...roma beans. These were a u-pick item left on the vines and picked by the consumer. Top all that with several large cuttings of edamame that we are to harvest ourselves at home.
Of course, thinking that the veggies were going to start coming in a little slim, I had stopped at an orchard on the way home. Here, I grabbed a dozen ears of sweet corn, a large bag of paste tomatoes, apples, peaches, some dried fruit, and two pints of sweet raspberries.
Don't forget I also have a garden in my backyard that is starting to thin out, but still hands over a pint of cherry tomatoes a day, hot and sweet peppers, cucumbers, carrots, onions, winter squash, pattypans, and white heirloom pole beans.
Oh, and my foodshed pickup is tomorrow afternoon. I ordered a 5 pound bag of mixed onions, a bunch of red russian kale, pingtung long eggplant, 1 pound of chesnok garlic, an heirloom zucchini, French heirloom green beans, and 14 pounds of heirloom tomatoes for canning.
I'm also staring at 3 sugar pie pumpkins waiting to be cooked into puree on my kitchen desk.
Did I mention I have a tiny kitchen? :)
Luckily, I share my CSA share with my parents, but it was still a trunk load of food! Tonight I was at least able to preserve most of the farm vegetables. I blanched and froze the corn, Roma beans, and mixed greens. I harvested the edamame for blanching tomorrow. I blanched and slipped the skins of the paste tomatoes before I chopped and froze them. Then I poured out most of the rasberries into a single layer for a quick freeze. I wrapped and chilled most everything else. Lots of salsa will be eaten at our house this weekend, and I'll be trying to can tomato sauce for the first time. (I'm running out of freezer space!)
On top of that, I did have time to make a home cooked mostly local dinner tonight. For those foodies looking for local ideas, here is what I made:
Stir fry beef and Vegetables
I chopped up Sunnybrook Farm's minute steaks and stir fried them in some olive oil and crushed garlic. Then, I added chopped mixed color sweet peppers and an onion. After they softened, I added a head of heirloom broccoli florets and two heads of bok choi. I did season it with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and some ginger, but as flavorings, they are wild cards! My one downfall is that I served it with rice and a few cashews sprinkled on top. Both my kids ate their bowls and Alayna asked for more! Jeremy loved it, too! This meal was so yummy and I'll be eating the leftovers over pasta noodles this weekend!
Lunch Kebabs
This one was a little too time consuming for the normal morning rush. Luckily I got up really early and had a few minutes to spare. I took extra skinny straws and cut them to make skewers that wouldn't injure and harmless kindergarteners. Threaded them with cherry tomatoes, small rolls of ham, cubes of mozzarella cheese, cooked tortellini, and served with watermelon chunks. I put in a side of ranch for dipping, but Kira said "mom, it was so yummy, I didn't even need the dip!" Another lunchbox returned empty! Yay!
Oh, and I'm taking a break tomorrow. Kira heard it was pizza day at school!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Veggie Overload!!!
All I do to make yummy, fresh tasting pasta sauce is peel garden fresh tomatoes, squeeze the extra water and seeds out and heat them until mushy. Add some fresh herbs (whatever I have on hand...tonight was thyme, rosemary, basil, and oregano with a touch of parsley. I ALWAYS add chopped onion and spicy garlic. Then simmer on the stove until thickened. A sprinkle of kosher salt, a crank or two of the pepper mill and it's done!
***TIP*** ***TIP*** To quick peel tomatoes with no mess: Boil a large pot of water. When boiling, drop the tomatoes in and blanch for 45-90 seconds. IMMEDIATELY remove from the boiling water and plunge into a bowl of ice water. The skins then slip right off. Use this tip to peel peaches, too!!!
Second day of fun lunches!
I hear I have a few followers just to peek in at my lunches, so here's day 2! I toasted some organic mini-waffles and layered them with homemade strawberry jam and natural peanut butter. They made cute little sandwiches! I gave each girl 2 of them and then added a small cup of granola, raisins, and cinnamon chex. Add a piece of fruit (pear for Kira and an apple for Alayna) and a bottle of milk and call it lunch! Kira loved it and Alayna ate all but half her apple! Success (and it really only took 5 minutes to assemble!)
I can't get the picture to post right side up...sorry!
I can't get the picture to post right side up...sorry!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Love you lunch
Speaking of creative...I managed to dish out a healthy and fun to look at lunch for Kira today. She requested a ham and cheese sandwich with apple slices. I grabbed one piece of white bread and one piece of wheat bread and cut heart shapes out of each and swapped them. So easy! Layered with ham and local cheese. I filled a reusable silicone heart cupcake baker with local new crop apple slices (dip them in lemon juice to prevent browning). Filled in the spaces with grapes and multi-colored cherry tomatoes (which she reported back that all the kids wanted to try!). I included some cake chunks and a drink, too.
I just hope that tomorrow, when I actually have to get up and go to work before she wakes up that I can manage to get a creative meal ready to go!
I just hope that tomorrow, when I actually have to get up and go to work before she wakes up that I can manage to get a creative meal ready to go!
Breakfast of Champions
A big request from my girls is breakfast for dinner. Add the above with some homemade hash browns (garden fresh heirloom colored potatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic and mix in a little homemade salsa for kicks. Delish!
So, don't stick to the same old yogurt and fruit for breakfast...venture out and see what the local foods have to offer up and get creative!
Recipe: Originally passed down to me from one of my Lamaze students/labor patients and refined over the past decade to this:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use local flour from Cayuga Organics in Ithaca when I can!)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp real maple syrup
Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the wet ingredients. Stir until combined. Pour onto hot griddle greased lightly with additional butter. Add fresh or frozen blueberries by sprinkling onto the tops of the cooking pancakes before you flip them. Serve with real butter and real maple syrup. A real treat! :)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Back to School with Bento
Anyone who knows me knows that I've long been passionate about food. My food obsessions have ranged forward from the unhealthy (900 calories a day, anyone?) to gourmet (yummy, but time consuming) to trendy (30 minute meals) and everywhere in between. I often think about the past food paths I've taken and how each one fit into my life at the time. Right before I got married, I set out to write a cookbook. I researched and collected hundreds of recipes and tested them all out on my very happy (and full!) boyfriend. I must have done it right, because he did marry me! Then, during my pregnancy, I had a nesting phase which led me to cook and freeze 42 casseroles for use during the up-all-night baby days. After both girls came along and I was forced to increase my hours at work due to restructuring, I entered the 30 minute meal era. When I moved to New York, I came to realize that regional cooking was interesting and fun...and this NE region is quite different from my mid-western fare. I easily made the switch from tacos and spicy barbeque to riggies and greens! Most recently, as I've read about and researched the commercial food industry, I made the switch to local, seasonal cooking and food preservation.
I thought my food culture was here to stay, but over the past couple weeks, I began another shift in my food thinking. This shift came about as the first day of kindergarten began to approach for my oldest daughter. I watched Jamie Oliver's show about school foods and I've read menus of our local school cafeterias and I know that I want my daughter to be eating healthy foods that will keep her energy up all day long. I'm just not sure the school food is what she needs. So, I headed to the store, let her pick out a new lunch box with water bottle and thermos. But, as I should have predicted, this was not enough for food obsessed mama! I came across a book with creative lunches packed in the Japanese Bento style. Lots of healthy choices in a creative presentation for the enjoyment of the eater. I am hooked. Of course, being a locavore isn't just about food, and I just can't bring myself to order a bunch of cutsie food storage from Japan. I am hoping I will find it right here at home. Most importantly, I've discovered a huge array of healthy food choices for lunchboxes that will leave the plain-Jane pb&J in the dust. I do have to consider that my 5 year old is a rather p-i-c-k-y eater, but I'm hoping that with her help, we can find some good lunch ideas.
Lucky for me, I read cookbooks like they are novels. I love to hear the idea behind the food and peek into the life of the creator. I am armed with a few lunchbox books and lots of motivation. Hopefully the time to create a healthy lunch each morning before I leave for work at 6am will come.
Stay tuned, and I'll let you know the good, the bad, and the returned-home-uneaten food stories as the weeks go on!
I thought my food culture was here to stay, but over the past couple weeks, I began another shift in my food thinking. This shift came about as the first day of kindergarten began to approach for my oldest daughter. I watched Jamie Oliver's show about school foods and I've read menus of our local school cafeterias and I know that I want my daughter to be eating healthy foods that will keep her energy up all day long. I'm just not sure the school food is what she needs. So, I headed to the store, let her pick out a new lunch box with water bottle and thermos. But, as I should have predicted, this was not enough for food obsessed mama! I came across a book with creative lunches packed in the Japanese Bento style. Lots of healthy choices in a creative presentation for the enjoyment of the eater. I am hooked. Of course, being a locavore isn't just about food, and I just can't bring myself to order a bunch of cutsie food storage from Japan. I am hoping I will find it right here at home. Most importantly, I've discovered a huge array of healthy food choices for lunchboxes that will leave the plain-Jane pb&J in the dust. I do have to consider that my 5 year old is a rather p-i-c-k-y eater, but I'm hoping that with her help, we can find some good lunch ideas.
Lucky for me, I read cookbooks like they are novels. I love to hear the idea behind the food and peek into the life of the creator. I am armed with a few lunchbox books and lots of motivation. Hopefully the time to create a healthy lunch each morning before I leave for work at 6am will come.
Stay tuned, and I'll let you know the good, the bad, and the returned-home-uneaten food stories as the weeks go on!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Locavore Challenge Month!
It's finally September, and although it didn't bring with it any cooler temperatures yet, it always brings change to our lives. Jeremy started back to school last week and Kira's kindergarten orientation was today. Next week, she starts to school, and the week after I send Alayna to her last year of preschool. As for me, September always brings about a lot of change in the garden. Out with the old, droopy plants and in with the new fall crops. It takes a lot of work (and in this heat! ugh!), but come the colder days it is worth it when we still have fresh salads and root crops from our own backyard!
This September, I also discovered that there was a challenge put forth in central NY for eating local. I took the idea to the foodshed and then on to the reporter who is researching local foods and reporting it out to our local community. The challenge is simple: eat only local foods grown or produced within a 100 mile radius of your home (250 miles optional for some harder to find ingredients). This includes ingredients to make any foods purchased. Some are challenged to eat this way for 30 days, others a week, and those new to the concept can join the 1 day challenge.
Although I already eat primarily local foods, I've never limited myself this completely. I'm going to do the week long challenge (I'd do 30 days, but not in the same season that our family is already in upheaval!). I'll let you faithful followers know when I start and how I do, but for now, I want to help out those who are already in the challenge. Most of my home-cooked meals are completely local, and I thought I'd spend the next month or so sharing them with those who are interested. One thing I've noticed a lot in reading about the local food journeys of others is the lack of variety, which is essential to my style of cooking (and eating!). It won't be my usual bantering about my not-so-simple life, but I hope it helps!
When possible, I'll include locations where I bought the ingredients or cooking tips...
WARNING! Do NOT read if hungry!
I'll start with my birthday dinner from this past Sunday:
I really wanted a local birthday dinner to welcome in my next year of life, so in my usual tradition, I cooked for myself. Don't feel bad...I love to cook! Ask my old friends from Oklahoma. Every year come my birthday, I'd invite all my friends over for a big party and cook all day to feed them all! I miss those days. Anyway...
This year, I decided to grill some steaks. I started with grass fed sirloin bone-in steaks from Sunnybrook Farm in Deansboro, NY. I've never grilled steak before, but I had a "new" grill that I stole off the curb when my neighbors moved and left it behind (with a paper sign on it that said "works" but was missing a wheel). So, I made a marinade with a little olive oil (not local, but will always be one of my wild cards!), apple cider vinegar (from a local orchard), and some Backyard Bullweed rub from Walking Clover Farm that I purchased through the Foodshed Buying Club in Utica. I left it in the fridge most of the day while I celebrated my birthday by making pickles and putting up a huge harvest of veggies in the freezer.
When the grill was ready and our stomachs were growling, I seared the steaks over high heat and then cooked them on the grill for about 10 minutes to get them to medium well.
I had just harvested a heap of white heirloom pole beans from my garden, so I steamed those and tossed them with a dab of butter (from Maine, but the closest to local I had on hand) and any fresh herbs I had in the garden (I think it was thyme, oregano, parlsey, and chives!). These beans were sent to me by a friend in Oklahoma who had inherited the seeds from her grandmother. I have no idea what the variety is, but I love them!
I also had a nice box of baby potatoes that I harvested about 2 weeks prior. I noticed a little yellowing of the leaves before I went on vacation, so rather than have my Dad (gardener while I was away on my vacation) stress over the keeping of my potatoes alive in case of fungal disaster, I decided to early harvest them. I was delighted to find a huge array of multi-colored potatoes under the dirt. I had several large potatoes ready for storage, and bowls full of the tiny, velvety, almost sweet new potatoes. I tossed these new potatoes with a little olive oil and some thyme and rosemary then slow roasted them while the rest of the dinner cooked. The kids were delighted with the purple ones, and I heard remarks from both kids and husband on how good they were!
On Thursdays, I stop by Old Path Farms and pick up my weekly box of CSA veggies. This past week, we had a bunch of braising greens. First, I fried some bacon from Sweet Grass Farms. I drained off most of the bacon grease; chopped up a few of the Sweet Alisa Onions from my garden, added some spicy Danube Rose garlic cloves again from Walking Clover Farms, and heated them slowly in the same pan with a little olive oil. When everything was soft and carmalized, I wilted in the greens and simmered them for a few minutes.
Last, but not at all least, I grabbed one of the quarts of cherry tomatoes resting on my counter after being picked in the cooler morning sun. I popped them in a hot oven until the skins popped. Ooooooooooo! They were so sweet and concentrated that they were like candy! I grow several varieties of cherry tomatoes: chocolate cherry, yellow pear, honey bunch, sungold, sprite, super sweet, and more...
The meal, of course, was highlighted for the adults with a wine from Three Brother's Winery in Geneva, which I picked up on my way home from a site visit for work.
Hungry yet???? Keep reading this month for more!
This September, I also discovered that there was a challenge put forth in central NY for eating local. I took the idea to the foodshed and then on to the reporter who is researching local foods and reporting it out to our local community. The challenge is simple: eat only local foods grown or produced within a 100 mile radius of your home (250 miles optional for some harder to find ingredients). This includes ingredients to make any foods purchased. Some are challenged to eat this way for 30 days, others a week, and those new to the concept can join the 1 day challenge.
Although I already eat primarily local foods, I've never limited myself this completely. I'm going to do the week long challenge (I'd do 30 days, but not in the same season that our family is already in upheaval!). I'll let you faithful followers know when I start and how I do, but for now, I want to help out those who are already in the challenge. Most of my home-cooked meals are completely local, and I thought I'd spend the next month or so sharing them with those who are interested. One thing I've noticed a lot in reading about the local food journeys of others is the lack of variety, which is essential to my style of cooking (and eating!). It won't be my usual bantering about my not-so-simple life, but I hope it helps!
When possible, I'll include locations where I bought the ingredients or cooking tips...
WARNING! Do NOT read if hungry!
I'll start with my birthday dinner from this past Sunday:
I really wanted a local birthday dinner to welcome in my next year of life, so in my usual tradition, I cooked for myself. Don't feel bad...I love to cook! Ask my old friends from Oklahoma. Every year come my birthday, I'd invite all my friends over for a big party and cook all day to feed them all! I miss those days. Anyway...
This year, I decided to grill some steaks. I started with grass fed sirloin bone-in steaks from Sunnybrook Farm in Deansboro, NY. I've never grilled steak before, but I had a "new" grill that I stole off the curb when my neighbors moved and left it behind (with a paper sign on it that said "works" but was missing a wheel). So, I made a marinade with a little olive oil (not local, but will always be one of my wild cards!), apple cider vinegar (from a local orchard), and some Backyard Bullweed rub from Walking Clover Farm that I purchased through the Foodshed Buying Club in Utica. I left it in the fridge most of the day while I celebrated my birthday by making pickles and putting up a huge harvest of veggies in the freezer.
When the grill was ready and our stomachs were growling, I seared the steaks over high heat and then cooked them on the grill for about 10 minutes to get them to medium well.
I had just harvested a heap of white heirloom pole beans from my garden, so I steamed those and tossed them with a dab of butter (from Maine, but the closest to local I had on hand) and any fresh herbs I had in the garden (I think it was thyme, oregano, parlsey, and chives!). These beans were sent to me by a friend in Oklahoma who had inherited the seeds from her grandmother. I have no idea what the variety is, but I love them!
I also had a nice box of baby potatoes that I harvested about 2 weeks prior. I noticed a little yellowing of the leaves before I went on vacation, so rather than have my Dad (gardener while I was away on my vacation) stress over the keeping of my potatoes alive in case of fungal disaster, I decided to early harvest them. I was delighted to find a huge array of multi-colored potatoes under the dirt. I had several large potatoes ready for storage, and bowls full of the tiny, velvety, almost sweet new potatoes. I tossed these new potatoes with a little olive oil and some thyme and rosemary then slow roasted them while the rest of the dinner cooked. The kids were delighted with the purple ones, and I heard remarks from both kids and husband on how good they were!
On Thursdays, I stop by Old Path Farms and pick up my weekly box of CSA veggies. This past week, we had a bunch of braising greens. First, I fried some bacon from Sweet Grass Farms. I drained off most of the bacon grease; chopped up a few of the Sweet Alisa Onions from my garden, added some spicy Danube Rose garlic cloves again from Walking Clover Farms, and heated them slowly in the same pan with a little olive oil. When everything was soft and carmalized, I wilted in the greens and simmered them for a few minutes.
Last, but not at all least, I grabbed one of the quarts of cherry tomatoes resting on my counter after being picked in the cooler morning sun. I popped them in a hot oven until the skins popped. Ooooooooooo! They were so sweet and concentrated that they were like candy! I grow several varieties of cherry tomatoes: chocolate cherry, yellow pear, honey bunch, sungold, sprite, super sweet, and more...
The meal, of course, was highlighted for the adults with a wine from Three Brother's Winery in Geneva, which I picked up on my way home from a site visit for work.
Hungry yet???? Keep reading this month for more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)