CSA and National Day of Action

Well, Isaac put away the veggies too quickly on Sunday for me to get a photograph and then I was too lazy to pull them all out of the fridge again.  So, here is this week's list: One head of lettuce, one cabbage, one head of broccoli, zucchini, beets, new potatoes, carrots, a bulb of fennel, and green onions. I am doing this from memory, so I may have missed something, but I think that is it. 

Isaac and I had a cooking marathon on Sunday, we made him a lot of food to take to Yellow Springs such as egg salad, cole slaw and Five Spice Beet Soup.  The soup was very easy, we cut up the beets as the recipe describes and roasted them with olive oil in a covered casserole dish in the oven at 375 for about an hour.  We decided to add some mushrooms for more flavor so we reconstituted some dried chanterelles in red wine for about an hour.  We got two beautiful red onions from Smaller Footprint so I sauted them in some olive oil. I added the beets, the mushrooms and the ginger and the vegetable broth to the pan and let it all simmer.  We didn't have pre-blended Chinese five-spice, so I "Googled" the ingredients and found that we pretty much had all the whole spices. So I ground those up in a mortar and pestle and threw them into the pan.  We didn't have any celery but we do have lovage, so I tossed in a small handful of the leaves at the end. Lovage is similar is taste to celery but a bit stronger. We use the stalks like celery sometimes as well in tuna and egg salad.  After all the ingredients simmered for about 10 minutes, I used an immersion blender to smooth everything together. I love this thing; it is much easier than moving hot liquid into a blender or food processor, but if you don't have one, you can use the others.  I ended eating the soup cold with a dollop of sour cream, it was very good. I was pretty aggressive with the spice, but I think I would still add more if I made it again. If you don't like beets, you may still like this soup, the "earthiness" of the beets and the rich texture is muted by the other ingredients. Plus it is a beautiful reddish color.

For dinner we grilled some fresh sausage and some thick slices of zuchinni that were marinated in olive oil. So simple and delicious!

I have to get on my soapbox for a moment once again, so please bear with me.  As many people know the federal budget is in deliberation in the Senate right now.  The Senate is proposing to cut "$1 billion for fiscal year 2012 to the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program.  These cuts will require USDA to break contracts with farmers who have committed to conservation practices and they are disproportionate to other spending cuts"

Please call your Senators today! Here are some talking points.

Now, I know we can expect the government to fix all of our agriculture problems.  I am a big supporter of grass roots support, where the people make choices about their food and support their local farms. However, a lot of local farms rely on some sort of government program and we can't let the government undervalue the importance of sustainable, small and local farms. I understand that this country is in a financial crisis, but there are other ways to make sure that the budget is balanced without taking steps backward when it come to sustainable agriculture.

Stepping off soap box.
Thanks for letting me add that! I will be back with more photos soon. I'm  planning on taking some pictures of the garden for an update. We will also be taking a trip to look at more land this weekend, so I hope to have an update on that as well.

CSA Week 4 and Butter!

Our CSA bag is getting heavier each week.  The fare is changing from Spring to Summer vegetables.  This week's share includes: one head of red leaf lettuce, a bunch of kale, a quart of new potatoes, snap peas, broccoli, two heads of green garlic, beets, a head of cabbage, carrots, green onions and one zucchini.  I roasted the new potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. They are yummy just like that but you could add sour cream for dipping to make it even more fabulous.  I'm planning on making cole slaw with the cabbage and the carrots that seem to be multiplying in the fridge. I like to make a similar dressing to the creamy one I mentioned in a previous post. I want it to be a little creamier than the dressing, so I may add a little sour cream to the mayo and yogurt.  I love cole slaw the best when it is fresh and crunchy.

 

We bought duck eggs last week and I am going to try them in pancakes tomorrow morning.  Apparently, duck eggs are good for baking, making cakes extra fluffy and moist, pancakes included. I may try making some cupcakes later this week so I can share them with Isaac this weekend.  Also, they will probably make it into my now becoming, weekly frittata.  Here is more information about duck eggs for you to consider until my next post.

Tonight I was feeling a tiny bit ambitious.  I have had two pints of heavy cream kicking around in the refrigerator for quite a while now-past their "expiration" dates even.  We have a friend who makes his own butter so I count him as inspiration.  For additional information, I use the book Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century by Dick and James Strawbridge.  It is a very interesting book with many different instructions to help you become more self-sufficeint-from making butter to farming to collecting and filtering rain water to making your own composting toilet. (yay!)  The section on making butter was very easy to follow with lots of photos explaining the details of making butter from cream.  One thing I didn't realize is that I did myself a favor by letting the cream sour a little as you want that characteristic for making butter. In the book, they don't really explain why so I found out more information.  I must admit that the cream I used was not grass fed or organic, it was ultra pasteurized heavy cream that I bought while it was on sale in the late winter. I plan on using more local and grass fed cream in the future, but you don't have to, the cream I used worked just fine.

I used a stand mixer, but you can use hand beaters, or even just shake it in the container in which it comes. I added the cream to the mixing bowl and turned it on medium high.  I let it beat until the cream broke down into little butter clumps and the buttermilk began to separate from the butter.  I drained the buttermilk, added a little cool water and beat until the butter began to come together.  I strained more butter milk and turned the butter out onto a wooden cutting board.  I then added more water and began to mix and knead it with the spatula.  This is called "washing" the butter.  You are removing the remaining buttermilk. When the water runs clear (about three series of kneading the butter and draining the buttermilk) add salt to the butter (the book recommends 2% of its weight, but I just threw some in there). 

Kneading the butter

I then added chopped fresh herbs to the butter and incorporated it all together.

A combo of parsley, thyme and sage

I then rolled it up in waxed paper and put it in the freezer to firm it up a bit.  I made another batch with lemon balm, lemon verbena and lemon zest.  I plan on using the buttermilk in the pancakes and the lemony herb butter on top when they are ready to eat.  I don't have a fancy butter mold, but maybe I'll come across one someday!

Getting the most out of your food

My friend K, asks

"Do you have suggestions/comments for people like me with many mouths to feed on a small budget? Obviously, anything we can grow in our own yard is awesome but any tips you may have on where to shop or how to stretch a particular item (like using the chicken carcass) would be very helpful."

This is a very good question and I think most of us want to try and stretch our dollar and our food to its maximum potential.  I am not a food storage or economics expert, so I have found some other resources to help us, along with what works for Iz and I, and some tips that just make sense.

First of all,  if you want to try and incorporate more fresh produce, eggs, meat etc. from the farmer's market, that is great!   You also don't have to break your budget doing so.  Start small and see how it goes.  For example,  make it a goal to go to a farmer's market and budget to buy one thing.  Whatever looks fresh and yummy to you, buy it and take it home.  It will be fun to come up with a recipe for your item and you'll have invested minimum dollars and time in the process.  

If you are past this point and know you want to incorporate the farmer's market into your grocery budget for the week, month (however you budget) you can go about this a few ways.  Here is a blog post that shows one approach to budgeting for the farmer's market. There are some really good ideas that I agree with in this blog post.  To summarize:  

• Make a list 
• Prioritize what is important to you. Are you willing to spend a little more on eggs or certain produce at the market that you can budget into your grocery list?; what can you simply not give up that you buy at the store? (whether it be a time saver that you would rip your hair out if you didn't have, or if you have a picky eater, for example)
• Eat less meat
• Find some fast/easy recipes that you can make ahead and freeze or put in the fridge. (see below to get started)
• Try to grow your own herbs. This doesn't have to be fancy.  You can start herbs from seed rather easily and for about the price of a one use "fresh" herb in the grocery store. Pick which ones you will likely use the most. I recommend basil, parsley, oregano, chives, and thyme as staples. 
• Don't waste.  This can be hard! Just do your best. If your greens look wilt-y, just give them a quick saute in garlic and olive oil; if your tomatoes are a little overripe, cook them into a sauce. Also, save all of your vegetable trimmings in a freezer bag, keep them in the freezer until you have enough to make a stock. If you are a gardener, I would recommend setting up a compost bin or pile of you don't already have one. 

Here is another good blog post with a list of how to maximize your time and budget at the farmer's market. 
They mention going early or late.  This is good since it won't be as crowded. Early is good because you get a better selection. Late is better because some farmers, rather than throw out unsold produce, or take it home with them where it may not last until the next week, might be willing to give you a two for one price, or even just give you some produce.  I was talking to Isaac's cousin who's husband has a small farm in Michigan.  She said that she will just give people extra tomatoes because she doesn't want to take them home and they couldn't possibly eat the leftovers before they go bad.  This will be on a farmer by farmer basis, but if you develop a relationship with someone, it wouldn't hurt to ask.



If you are even more gung-ho about the farmer's market, I would suggest trying out a CSA.  These are weekly baskets of produce that the farmer sets aside for you.  You pay a fee in the winter (we pay ours in February) and then start picking up your basket at the designated time and place.  You really get more for your money in this case.  Our CSA, for a full share of produce (which you will start seeing when we start picking up this weekend) adds up to approximately $30.00 a week.  If you buy a lot of produce "a la carte" at the farmer's market, you may save money by joining the CSA.  The upfront fee can be large, so if you want to try it for a season, I suggest asking an interested friend or family member to share the cost with you.  We did this for the first two years we participated in a CSA and it worked out rather well. You just need to have someone available to pick it up each week.
Local Harvest is a great website to learn more about CSAs in your area. 


This post is getting rather long, and I will talk more about this in the future.  But allow me to list some cookbooks and website that you can check out at the library or on your computer to get you started.  


Time for Dinner: Strategies, Inspirations, and Recipes for Family Meals Every Night of the Week
This has some really nice time saving ideas for make ahead staples.

Everyday Food: great food fast from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living
I own this book and use it regularly. There are minimal ingredients, easy prep and cooking. It is organized by season which is nice.

Joy of Cooking
I cannot live without this book.  It is a handy reference for any type of recipe you will need in the kitchen.

Cook and Freeze: 150 Delicious Dishes to Serve Now and Later

Vegetable Harvest: vegetables at the center of the plate
I also love this book.  It goes through vegetables by season. Simple but unique preparation.


Websites:
Food & Wine: Healthy Farmer's Market Recipes
Sunset Magazine: More Ways to Love produce from the farmer's market
Food Gawker: Just type in any ingredient and you will get a list of blog posts with beautiful ideas
Epicurious.com


What are your favorite websites or cook books?