A Pictorial Status Check

November 30, 2008 at 10:37 pm (food storage, learning)
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In an attempt to make up for the lack of pictures (or other interesting perks) in the past 2 posts, I offer a pictorial status check and tour of some of my storage for local fruit/veg to use during the winter and early spring in order to sustain my local eating. Things got off to a late start this year, as I only moved into my home in late June and started the 100 mile project in the fall. No canning as preservation either, I was too late to get my act together for that during late spring. It’ll be interesting to see what the status check looks like this time next year.

A Stash of Winter Squash and Potatoes – these are being stored in a “cool dark place” aka my unheated garage and basement. I am learning that some squashes store better than others (e.g. butternut is supposed to store well) so I’ve left those kinds whole while freezing or drying others. I’ve also got almost 40 pounds of assorted local potatoes (not pictured)

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The Freezer: This is likely the most important part of my food preservation this year. I’ve gotten a full size freezer (looks like a fridge/freezer combo but works as a freezer only) and put it in the garage to help out this winter. Ha ha, my garage is more like a food storage resource than a place for my car! I’m using freezer specific containers and bags, in particular, those that remove excess air and seal around the food to help lower “freezer burn”. Most veg is sliced/trimmed and then frozen, though a good deal of soup has been made for the greens (e.g. collards, kale, swiss chard, etc). Fruit is mostly apples and pears. There is also some tomato “freezer jam” and cranberries (local source!).

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The Dehydrator: This is a recent foray. I’ve started dehydrating both fruit and veg so as to have another storage option that doesn’t take up as much space as regular storage. I use an Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator. The apples have taken up most of the dehydrator’s efforts to date – I’ve gotten more of those than I can imagine, and have been dehydrating most every day to stash them. Below is just a peak at them. Next to them you’ll see some dehydrated veg: carrots, parsnips, and turnips I think. I’m always amazed at how much veg shrivels and shrinks when dried.

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Dark Days Spotlight Week #2: Different Kinds of Thanks

November 30, 2008 at 9:53 pm (Dark Days Challenge, spotlight)
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The spotlight this week belongs to a couple dishes I made this week while my Mamma was visiting me. We both took Monday through Wednesday off from work to make a 9 day vacation (counting the two weekends, Thanksgiving, and the day-after), and had a blast! Here are two of my favorites. Even though we didn’t have a single Thanksgiving dinner per se, it was a very thankful week – and an entirely local one!

Meal #1: I chose this meal not for its drama or creativity, but rather for its simplicity. One of the things I found eating local is that it can allow the flavors of the fresh food to shine through without too much “treatment”. My family has also commented on it, just how the most basic preparations somehow “taste different” and are more special due to the quality of the veg itself.

I have an insane amount of various winter squash. Although this is by intention, as I am storing for the winter/spring, there is plenty to use on these chilly days. I took a beautiful acorn squash from George Hall Farm and split it, roasted the halves, and drizzled some maple syrup from Blue Heron Farm over the top. On the side were roasted brussels sprouts, also courtesy of George Hall. I’ve done brussels sprouts many ways, but my favorite is simply dry roasted with a bit of red and black pepper. It really develops the natural flavor in there, staying moist even without any added oil or other seasoning. There was also had some homemade wholemeal corn bread from Gray’s Grist Mill that I also dipped in that maple syrup (and used in the bread itself – I’m addicted to it!)

Meal #2: This was one of those “I don’t want to cook but have to eat” days. I got in a funk and was feeling sick on Saturday (flu-like thing) but was reminded by Mamma that I had to eat. So into the fridge it was. I had just picked up my weekly stash of veg from George Hall Farm, so there was certainly a lot to choose from, not to mention the bits from last week yet to be used. I saw some kale from last week- one of those odd veg that I love when eating but can’t convince myself I like when cooking – and decided to pair a huge mess of it with the red onions I got that day. The grains were handled by some locally made whole wheat flatbread, and the protein from beans I’ve gotten from Long Plain Farm. Not too much thinking involved.

But I put this meal in the spotlight because it was one when I realized that food is for nourishment. Yeah, we know that rationally, but I really “got it” that the food was what I needed to feel better, sustain myself, and achieve all I want in my life. Without the nourishment we get from the earth via our local farmers and suppliers, where would we be? And in turn, without us as caretakers, what nourishment will we leave future generations? In the past few months, I have started to get a glimpse into food miles and the journey from earth to table, and its a journey I’d like to keep as short as possible. But more than that, eating locally has nourished my mind. I have learned so much already about my local foodshed and the planning that has to go into this lifestyle. I have made baby steps into learning about food storage, but have so far to go in that area. My mind is starting to open and ask questions I’d not have thought of 5 years ago. And that’s a good thing. So I am thankful for that meal.

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Backtrack for the Record: Local Eats from November 15 – November 22

November 30, 2008 at 9:02 pm (Dark Days Challenge, Weekly meals)
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A quick recap (well maybe not so quick…) of local eating from November 15 – November 23, 2008. I’m part of the Dark Days Challenge for 2008-2009, and wanted to record what I’d done during this week or so, even though I hadn’t started this blog yet. Poor Laura at the (notso)Urban Hennery had to go through this list to try to guess at the meal I wanted to highlight for the Challenge! Sorry Laura (blush). So I’m recapping here for my own record, as I’m sure next year I’ll look back at these first months with interest. This post is dull, I know, but hey, its a record, right? The posts will be more interesting and personal from now on – with pics too – I promise!  Bear with me….

Saturday:
Breakfast: Toast from wholemeal wheat, rye, and bran flours I made from local flour; cherry preserves from Trappist Monks (Spence, MA); apples from Silverman’s Farm (Easton, CT) ; milk from The Farmers Cow Connecticut Farmers (a dairy association of six local farms) – this is the “default breakfast” you’ll see often.
Snack: pear sauce I made from pears from Silverman’s Farm
Lunch: cottage cheese I made from Connecticut Farmers milk; carrots and parsnips from George Hall Farm (Simsbury, CT); apples from Silverman’s Farm; more bread (same as above)
Dinner: soda bread I made from same source as toast above; cooked collard greens and kale from George Hall Farm; black beans from Long Plain Farm (Whately, MA)

Sunday:
Breakfast: default breakfast
Snack: apple from Silverman’s Farm; 1/2 corn muffin I made from cornmeal from Gray’s Grist Mill (Adamsville, RI)
Lunch: cottage cheese I made from Connecticut Farmers milk; cup of milk from Connecticut Farmers; apple from Silverman’s Farm; toast (same as breakfast); roasted fingerling potatoes from George Hall Farm
Snack: other 1/2 corn muffin (same corn mill as other snack)
Dinner: roasted acorn squash from George Hall Farm; rolls I made from same source as toast above

Monday:
Breakfast: default breakfast
Lunch: huge apple from Silverman’s Farm; homemade soda bread with local flour; cottage cheese I made from Connecticut Farms milk; roasted sweet potatoes from George Hall Farm
Snack: cornmeal muffin I made from cornmeal from Gray’s Grist Mill
Dinner: mashed turnips and collards from George Hall Farm; homemade wholemeal flatbread from local flour; kidney beans from Long Plains Farm

Tuesday:
Breakfast: default breakfast
Lunch: apple from Silverman’s Farm; homemade cottage cheese; homemade soda bread from local flour; grilled brussels sprouts from George Hall Farm
Dinner: carrots and parsnips with apples from George Hall Farm and Silverman’s Farm; homemade wholemeal flatbread from local flours stuffed with Long Plain Farm kidney beans and radishes from George Hall Farm

Wednesday:
Breakfast: default breakfast
Lunch: apple from Silverman’s Farm; milk from Connecticut Farmers; leftover carrots/parsnips/apples from Tuesday dinner; homemade soda bread as above
Snack: homemade pita chips from wholemeal local flour with green tomatillos from my summer garden
Dinner: cornmeal muffins from Gray’s Grist Mill flour; stew made from Long Plain Farm kidney beans, George Hall Farm fingerling potatoes, kale, and carrots

Thursday:
Breakfast: default breakfast
Lunch: apple from Silverman’s Farm; homemade cottage cheese; homemade soda bread as above; roasted acorn squash from George Hall Farm
Snack: homemade cottage cheese with local Trappist preserves
Dinner: homemade wholemeal flatbread from local flours; roasted pumpkin from Old Maids Farm (South Glastonbury, CT) with Connecticut honey (source escapes me!)

Friday:
Breakfast: default breakfast
Lunch: applesauce from apples from Silverman’s Farm; milk from Connecticut Farms; homemade wholemeal rolls made from local flour; leftover pumpkin from Thursday dinner from Old Maids Farm
Dinner: cornmeal muffins from Gray’s Grist Mill flour; grilled brussels sprouts from George Hall Farm with roasted apples from Silverman’s Farm on the side; milk from Connecticut Farms

Saturday:
Breakfast: default breakfast
Snack: homemade cottage cheese with local Trappist preserves; homemade cornmeal pancakes from Gray’s Grist Mill flour
Lunch: cooked apples from Silverman’s Flour; homemade wholemeal flatbread from local flours; delicata squash from Old Maids Farm; milk from Connecticut Farms; homemade cottage cheese
Dinner: swiss chard and red onions both from George Hall Farm; local flours flatbread; Long Plain Farm kidney beans

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Starting Out: Tracking the Learning Curve in a Local Zone

November 30, 2008 at 7:11 pm (learning, local farmers, my zone)
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About 3 years ago, I started eating local foods whenever I could. I want to support our local farmers and those who tend the earth in the most responsible way possible. I like to feel a connection to the land and know where my food came from, and I like to minimize the adverse impact my consumption has on the environment. Plus, I found that local just tastes better :-)

This, however, is the first year I am going “strictly local” meaning defining a zone and eating almost exclusively inside that. I made this decision in September 2008, even though I realized that winter would soon arrive and leave a new localvore somewhat stranded without a fast effort at storing food for the coming months. We’ll see how that goes soon, I guess, lol. I’ve got quite a stash (pics to follow) so I am hopeful there, and combined with what I think is a good zone with lots of fresh dairy, grains, and farmers who can supply me through January (and a few markets even beyond that) I am hopeful for success.

Inspired by all the blogs I see as part of Laura’s motivating Dark Days 2008/2009 Challenge I joined this year, I thought I’d jump in with my own. I hope this blog can track my journey (and learning curve) eating only foods grown/made within 100 miles of my home in Newington, Connecticut, USA. This tool was great to help define my area – I was surprised to learn just how much it included!

Oh, I should mention that I (and the rest of my family) am a lacto-vegetarian, meaning I do eat milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese, but not eggs, fish, poultry, seafood, meat, cheese made with rennet, etc. The one hitch in this is that I am also lactose intolerant, so I muddle through with the aid of lactaid pills. I eat “whole foods” meaning basically fruits, veg, dry beans, and whole grains without preservatives, additives, etc. This makes me very happy eating foods fresh from our fabulous local farms here in central Connecticut, and the suppliers I’ve found in Southern Massachusetts and Western New York.

I do claim a couple exemptions in the local zone:

  • spices (not herbs though) – though I try to get as much as I can locally
  • mango – this one has a history in that I’ve literally eaten a mango every day for the past 9 years. I can’t get these in CT, and they have unique importance to me (not to mention they are something my family has incorporated as part of our lives). More on this in a later post, hopefully
  • food items taken for medicinal/healing purposes – I was raised using food as a healing tool when sick, meaning things like ginger, turmeric, cumin powder, peppermint, prunes etc. for specific ailments. I’ll keep doing this, since the main goal is to get healthy at times like those, even if they are from outside my zone. The same logic will apply when I am sick and can only stand certain foods in my stomach. If what I can manage to keep down or what is sustaining me is not local, I’ll eat it anyway – I’ll need to get better.

This is what I think covers it, since I can get wholemeal flours (corn, wheat, rye, oats) from a local source at Wild Hive Farm, and beans from various local suppliers as well. I make my own breads whenever I can, and have found some local bakeries that I like to support for special treats. That said, its my first year as a full localvore, so we’ll see how I fare ;-)

I also love to grow my own veg and fruit when I can. I moved to a new house at the end of June 2008, so I was a bit late on this past growing season. Even so, I got a lovely crop of various tomatoes, zucchini, beans, kale, swiss chard, radishes, carrots, and cucumbers. I’d like this blog to also track my journey into foods I grew myself, understanding planting and planning, and learning how to get the most I can out of each area I cultivate.

So there’s the plan – now it’s off for the ride!

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