Posts Tagged ‘Staples’
Figuring Out Fall
Daylight peers over the horizon on a breeze of hot August air as I lay in bed contemplating the coming fall. The plans I had for getting ready for fall have been put on hold, at least while the temps push towards triple digits. With Brianne moving to college and the loss of an extra pair of hands I’m nervous that all I need to accomplish won’t get done in time. Even though we often have Indian Summers that last into October I’m still scared. But, if I know one thing it is that you reap what you sow. If I concentrate on the negative instead of the positive only negativity will enter my world, so I stay upbeat about what I have done and what I can do to get ready for winter.
So, here’s where we are. The greenhouse has a floor and windows; a door and framed sides, but no roof, at least not yet. Every day, from the break of dawn until the temperature drives me inside I work on enclosing the greenhouse using clap board I found on Craigslist. Once finished I will have all my gardening supplies in one place and will start seeds for a fall garden.
A new batch of meat birds are scheduled for early September. A replacement for the ill fated early summer batch that went to the opossums or were put down for safety’s sake.
And, if all goes well this time I’ll have a freezer full of chicken before we celebrate Halloween and eating homemade pot pies when the weather changes.
On the firewood front—I have about ½ cord laid in, but need 3 more to keep my house warm and homey during the winter months. With Brianne taking her truck with her to school the process of getting firewood and transporting it will be slow, but like the tortoise, it will get done, eventually. Labor for heat, not a bad trade-off.
I am taking stock of my pantry and supplies laid by and plan to bring in more staples before prices increase. Staples are at the top of my list and I’m hoping to trade avocados and lemons for some pork raised by a friend.
Good news! looks like my hard fought for refi will go through, finally, decreasing my mortgage by several hundred dollars. I’m also reevaluating other expenses and crunching down where I can. We’re not hard up, never really have been, but I have future plans to move to a less populated place in the country (more on that as it unfolds). Anything I can save is money that stays in the bank, to pay off my house and work towards my own freedom. It may seem like dog paddling, but my head is above water and that’s success in its own right.
All these projects are slow to progress, but they do progress. It’s all figured out in my logical head in the bright light of day, but come the darkness of night emotions and uncertainty seep in, shaking my confidence. I try not to go there. As long as I put one foot in front of the other I feel in control. Everything will be done. I know it. I have family and friends to help with the big stuff and gladly they are willing to do so. I was feeling unsure last night, but I’m not going there tonight. I have me list, my plan and a nice cup of chamomile tea to carry me through.
I’m staying the course, folks. Nothing will slow me down.
27- Days to Change the Way We Eat
I once read that it takes 27 days to change a habit, either good or bad. 27-days to stop smoking, start a diet and stick to it, or make exercise part of your daily routine. In 27 days the “new” habit has formed in the brain and becomes second nature, you do it without thinking.
So why am I telling you all this?
Because today is Day One of a 27-day family challenge to eat more locally, buy locally and consume locally. It’s a personal challenge I know, but one I hope many of our readers will champion as well. If we stop and look (or research) what is available in our county I think we would all be surprised at how many of the ingredients needed to make a meal can be found in close proximity to where we live. I have to admit that even I sometimes forget what can be found just a few miles from my home.
The challenge will mean a lot of cooking at home, eating harvested animals, shopping in the pantry (or the garden), at farm stands and Farmer’s Markets, and much more. What it doesn’t mean though is giving up on condiments, spices, tea and staples I already have on hand like flour, sugar, olive oil, rice, beans and pasta. I’ll document our progress, and be honest about the pit falls: added work of making bread on a Tuesday after work, the challenge of gardening with a full-time job and a kid in school and the sabbatical my hens sometimes go on, leaving us with no eggs for days.
It will also mean a few sacrifices (swearing off Dr. Pepper and Mint Chip ice cream for starters, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.). We’ll be eating within 60 miles of our home (the size of our county) and sometimes 60 feet from our own back door for the next 27 days; and not for the reasons you may be thinking of – supporting the local farm economy, increase in transportation costs of goods, factory farms, high intensity animal feedlots…that kind of thing. Nope, none of that.
We’re doing this for a lot of reasons, but mostly because we want to make a permanent change to the way we think about our food. We want to jumpstart our dedication to growing even more of our own food and buying what we don’t as locally as possible. I want to know how much effort it will take and how much cheaper (or expensive) it is to truly eat where we live. So, for the next several weeks I’ll be writing about all the gory details and shining triumphs, along with some of the recipes I used just to entice all of you to jump on board.
Here are a few of our ground rules:
- Shop at home first (freezer, larder, pantry, garden, barn).
- When needed, shop local farm stands and farmers markets.
- Buy, barter or trade for local meat we don’t raise ourselves.
- Bake from scratch (wheat is a CA crop, but not farmed locally. It comes from 100 miles away, but is milled into flour 50 miles away. Works for me).
- Source relatively local dairy products.
- Cold turkey on candy, chips, sodas, fast foods, etc. (although these are not big items at our home, just the idea of it may kill Brianne).
- Eat three square meals a day, plus snacks.
- Staples, condiments, oils, spices and seasonings already on hand are allowed.
- Drink at least ½ gallon of water a day.
- Walk at least 3 miles day.
Sound like a plan? Stay tuned to see how we faire.
Souper Simple
Nothing melts away winter’s cold better than a piping hot bowl of soup. Even the smallest amount of vegetables and meat simmered in a rich broth and dotted with rice, pasta, barley or beans can make a satisfying meal.
Whatever your taste, a few simple tips will start you down the path to creating delicious filling soups.
- Break out of your box—experiment. Find a recipe that peaks your interest and tweak it to fit what you have on hand or what your nose and taste buds tell you to cook.
- Try using an immersion blender to create creamy soups without the need for high fat heavy cream. Or, blend only half the soup, leaving the other half chunky.
- Use vegetables you have on hand; root veggies in winter, asparagus in spring, tomatoes in summer and squash in fall. Soups adapt well in any season.
- Keep a well stocked pantry with staples like onions, garlic, spices and herbs, broth, rice, beans and barley, and you’ll never be far from a hearty bowl of soup.
- Cook down chicken carcasses and beef bones into homemade broth and freeze to use later as soup base.
- Garnish soups with fresh herbs, croutons or shaved Parmesan cheese and pair with a salad and some crusty home baked bread for a simple elegant meal.
Whether you fancy a roasted mushroom soup, a spicy red pepper or a smooth herbed tomato soup start your recipe search (and collection) today.
photo credit: I Believe I Can Fry
Organizing the Well Stocked Freezer
I opened the door to my freezer the other day, to get something out for dinner, and instead of finding what I wanted an avalanche of frozen meat came tumbling out and landed right onto my foot (%#@$), nearly breaking my toes. At that moment, amidst the pain and four-letter words I vowed to get my freezer organized and stay organized so something like this would never happen again.
I normally purchase frozen items when they are on sale and when I have a coupon for them. Meat from the discount bin and butter when it’s on sale at holiday time are big items. But, because they are not “planned for” purchases I usually have not made space for them in the freezer, so things are just shoved in where ever they will fit. Bad idea, as I came to discover.
So, I set out to reorganize my 25 cubic foot upright. But, how?
Easy part first – The Freezer Door: This is the warmest part of the freezer. I use it to store soup base, butter, lemonade concentrate and half-gallon milk jugs filled with water to use in the ice crest or in the rabbit hutch on hot summer days.
When the door was finished I stood there staring at four large shelves and one pull-out drawer crammed full of chicken, lamb, beef, pork and a variety of other frozen staples like flour, rice, spaghetti sauce and pre-made soups. Where to begin? I scratched my head.
I knew I wanted everything “contained”, easy to locate, with older items close to the front so they would be used before newer purchases. After standing there for a few minutes I decided to use the same approach as I had when I organized my garage, plastic lidded bins. Only this time I wouldn’t need the lids. I measured the length and width of the shelves and determined what size bins to buy. One large bin would be too heavy when full, so I decided to buy two smaller bins that could sit side-by-side. I headed off to town and purchased eight 16-quart bins that measured 11”x16”. Perfect!
Fortunately for me the day was cold and I didn’t have to worry about spoiling what was in the freezer as I pulled packages out and sorted them. Shelf by shelf I sorted meat into bins and vegetables, soups, sauces and other items out of the way as I worked my way through the freezer. Now I have an individual bin for chicken, pork and beef. Since we butchered a whole lamb last fall I needed two bins for those packages. The bins also have a slight slant to them and when sitting on the shelf provide a nice little “cave” between them for oddball items or overflow. The bottom drawer is used for miscellaneous items like odd cuts of lamb we feed to the dogs, lamb salami I had made out of our ground lamb, and large roasting chickens that won’t fit in the bins.
The top shelf is stocked with rice, flour, vegetables, fruit, ice cream, pre-made soups and sauces. At a glance I can now see if I need to purchase more of a particular item, helping me take advantage of sales and coupon specials. I can also see what I may have too much of, enticing me to find new recipes in order to use it more quickly.
My organization project also showed me how woefully lax I have been at dating my meat and freezer containers, leaving too much to memory on when it was purchased or made. In the future, I’ll be more diligent about dating and labeling what goes into the freezer so I can use the oldest items first.
All-in-all it was a well used chilly afternoon.
photo credit: Cowgirl Jules
Growing Winter Squash
Learn how to plant, grow, harvest and store a variety of winter squash
The lazy days of summer in full swing, and winter is so far off we don’t even want to think about it. But, if butternut, acorn or dumpling squash are on your list of winter staples you have to think about winter and now.
June is prime winter squash planting season and with these helpful tips about planting, harvesting and storing you’ll be enjoying squash all during the long cold winter.
photo credit: SteffanyF!
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