Wordless Wednesday - Leftover Chicken Soup

As part of the "Cleaning Out the Freezer" effort, I present Leftover Chicken Soup.
All ingredients are from the farmer's market and/or CSA.

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Looking For a New CSA Farm

Since our last CSA Farm no longer offers the CSA option, I am on the hunt for a new CSA Farm for 2013 and beyond. Local Harvest is a great resource for farms and CSAs. I love that I can search for a CSA by zip code. I started with Local Harvest and came up with a list of 5 potential CSA farms.

As I was looking at the listed farms, I was surprised by how many of them offered meat. There were even a couple of local farms that were mostly devoted to meat, including chicken, poultry, grass-fed beef, sheep, and goats (all natural, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, pasture fed animals). I strive to buy grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and anything else local, but I never quite known how local the meats are at Whole Foods (yes, I know I could ask the employees, but I haven't). I feel somewhat satisfied and relieved to find out that there are a number of local farms that offer high quality meat. I feel like I am reaching a new level in my eco-friendly living. Eating local, pasture-raised meat is like music to my ears.

Currently, only my husband eats meat in this house. I have started slowly incorporating fish back into my diet because of specific dietary needs in the current chapter of my life, but no meat for me yet. I do eat a local, organic, pasture-raised egg every morning and consume whole fat dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.), which is either local, grass-fed, and/or made from raw milk. I like staying as close to the natural source as possible. The less processing there is, the more nutrients my body gets from the foods I eat. Of course, serving high quality, local, organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed meat to my husband, my family, and my friends is very important to me. I am currently reading a book that talks about the amazing health benefits of eating real meat, real dairy, and real fats (more to come on that in another post).

My goal for 2013 is continue to transition to locally sourced produce, meats, and dairy. Tonight, I felt like I took another baby step in this direction. I am very excited about all of the CSA opportunities.

>> What are your food goals for 2013?
 

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 7 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, and Day 6.

Day 7 (Sunday)

Breakfast
Fage Yogurt (fridge, bought last week) with the following:
   Organic trail mix (pantry, home made)
   Organic hemp seeds (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic rolled oats (pantry)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (pantry)

Lunch
N/A - went to lunch with my parents

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Creamy Avocado Pasta with the following:
   Pasta (home made by my dad)
   Organic peas (freezer)
   Organic lentils (left over from previous meal)
   Organic avocado (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic garlic (pantry, from CSA Farm)
   Extra Virgin Olive Oil (pantry)
   Organic lemon juice (fridge) - N/A since I bought the lemons today

Thoughts: Aside from my dad bringing his home made pasta and buying lemons today, I could have done this meals with what I had on hand. I have several bags of pasta in the pantry. I could have used pasta I already had, but my dad really wanted me to try his (first time) home made pasta tonight. I also could have made the creamy avocado sauce without the lemon juice. I do have lime juice in the fridge, but it probably would not taste the same. I still consider tonight's meal as successfully eating from the freezer, fridge, and/or pantry.

I found it quite interesting not being able to stop at the store to pick up an ingredient that I need. However, I am being more mindful of what I am buying and freezing. I like having items on hand in the freezer and pantry that can be made into a meal in case I cannot go to the grocery store. Although I know for the most part what I have on hand, making an inventory and keeping it up to date would help with meal planning in the future.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 6 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

Day 6 (Saturday)

Breakfast
Omelet, made with:
   Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
   Organic fried egg (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
   Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic bell peppers (left over from Thursday's dinner)
   Organic lentils (left over from Thursday's dinner)
Faye yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Trail mix (pantry)

Lunch
Bhindi Masala (left overs from last night's dinner out)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Granola bar (home made)

Dinner
N/A - went to friend's birthday party

Thoughts: Apples are the only remaining fresh fruit. Carrots are the only fresh produce. I still have some milk, eggs, and yogurt left, but I do not think I would be able to pull of a complete dinner, unless we do breakfast for dinner. I still plan on coming up with something for Sunday night's dinner. I feel like pasta, frozen veggies, and pasta sauce are an easy meal, but I cannot serve that every day. Either way, this has been a great lesson for emergency preparedness to know what types of meals I can make from what I have on hand.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 5 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

Day 5 (Friday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic pear (fridge, bought last week)
Granola bar (homemade)

Lunch
Enchilada (left over from last night)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Organic Stonyfield yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Ate out

Thoughts: Today was easy since we went out with family to dinner. I am moving tonight's dinner to Sunday night so that I can complete all 5 weeknight dinners. I am sure I have something left I can through together. LOL

Aside from tonight's dinner and a birthday party we are attending tomorrow night, the rest of the breakfasts and lunches will be out of the freezer, fridge, and pantry. I will end this week's challenge with another post summarizing what I learned (and did not learn) during this week. Although the break from grocery shopping was very nice, I did miss going to Whole Foods. I kept trying to find a reason to go there, but kept telling myself to wait until my planned trip on Sunday.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 4 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

Day 4 (Thursday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (freezer)
Organic coconut date roll (pantry, previously bought)

Lunch
Pasta with veggies (left over from last night)
Organic green figs (fridge, bought last week)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Fage yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Enchiladas, made with:
   Organic bell peppers (freezer, from our CSA farm)
   Organic onion (left over from last week)
   Organic lentils (pantry, previously bought)
   Organic sour cream (fridge, left over from last week)
   Organic cheese (fridge)
   Organic salsa (pantry, previously bought)
   Sweet corn salad (pantry, canned by dad's friend)
   Organic whole wheat tortillas (freezer)

Thoughts: My original plan for tonight's dinner was some type of casserole. However, I was really struggling with what type of casserole to make. I was thinking something like Veggie Divan (a vegetarian take on Chicken Divan), but it did not sound appealing. I was really struggling all day trying to think of what to cook with the ingredients I had on hand. While driving home in traffic and listening to Classical music to relax, vegetarian enchiladas popped into my mind (thank you Tchaikovsky). I remembered that I had a package of frozen tortillas. A cup of peppers, some onion, sour cream, cheese, and salad and I have enchiladas. They were delicious!

My advice is to think of what you have on hand and get creative. Take a previous meal or meal idea and see how you can recreate it. If all else fails, just type your ingredients into Google and see what recipes come up.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 3 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2.

Day 3 (Wednesday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Mostly organic granola bar (pantry, home made)

Lunch
Organic pear (fridge, bought last week)
Pizza (homemade, left over from last night)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Stonyfield organic yogurt (fridge, case of yogurt bought last week)

Dinner
Pasta with veggies and salami, including:
   Organic whole wheat pasta (pantry)
   Eggplant (freezer, left overs previously frozen, home grown)
   Roasted peppers (freezer, left overs previously frozen)
   Kale (freezer, previously frozen fresh)
   Organic balsamic vinegar (pantry)
   Uncured Sopresata salami (pantry, previously bought)
   Whole grain bread (freezer, previously bought)

Thoughts: Breakfasts and snacks have been pretty easy because they are standard for us. For lunch, we are eating left overs from the night before (another standard practice in our household). Dinners are proving to be the most challenging meal. I was thinking that if I just buy tons of meat/fish and freeze it, I could do this challenge all the time. However, my freezer would be stuffed full (of meat) and nothing else. Then again, I do not eat meat, so maybe 50% meat, 50% veggies. LOL

I decided to do the challenge through Saturday since I will be going to the grocery store on Sunday. Saturday night, we are going to a birthday party, so that meal is out. I am left to plan meals for two more nights, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. I am not going to cook with any more meat, so it will be vegetarian from now on. I do not think that my husband would like to eat pasta with veggies for two more nights, so I might have to bake some type of casserole. I have some sour cream and milk left over from last week. Surely I can come up with something!

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 2 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1.

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Honey (pantry, local)
Organic pear (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (freezer)

Lunch
Sauteed fermented cabbage (left-over from last night, previously fermented with my dad)
Organic quinoa with dried herbs (left-over from last night)
Coconut date roll (pantry)

Snacks
Stonyfield organic yogurt (fridge, case of yogurt bought last week)
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Pizza, made with:
   Trader Joe's pizza dough (freezer)
   Organic chicken, left-over from Monday's meal
   Za'atar seasoning (pantry)
   Organic onion (fridge, left over from last week's meal)
   Organic tomato (grown in our garden)
   Organic Serrano peppers (grown in our garden)
   Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)

Thoughts: The second day was not too bad. Now the challenging part comes. In terms of vegetarian eating (me), I have enough grains/rices, frozen veggies, and cheese to make some good meals. The challenge really begins with cooking meals with meat (for my husband).

The two remaining meat items in the freezer are a whole chicken (you can see it in the photo above, top middle) and bacon. Defrosting the chicken will take at least 2 days and I am saving it for a big meal with our friends. I usually have bacon on hand for some rare reason that I need or we have guests for weekend breakfast. I buy bacon very rarely, so I do not see myself cooking with the bacon just because I want to create a meal with meat (my husband will just have to eat one or two vegetarian meals this week).

I did discover uncured sopresata salami in the pantry (and it is nearing expiration), so I will look up some recipes tomorrow. I am thinking pasta with veggies and chunks of sopresata. (Yea, my husband was not really sold on this idea either, but I promised him I would find a delicious recipe.)

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 1 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer.

Day 1 (Monday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Mostly organic granola bar (pantry, home made)

Lunch
Organic oatmeal (pantry)
Organic fresh green figs (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (freezer)

Snacks
Stonyfield organic yogurt (fridge, case of yogurt bought last week)
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Organic chicken, baked (freezer)
Sauteed fermented cabbage (fridge, previously fermented with my dad)
Organic quinoa with dried herbs (pantry)

Thoughts: So far, so good, but I am only one day in. I am grateful that I bought extra bananas and apples last week, a new container of milk, a case of yogurt on sale (Whole Foods gives a discount on cases), and had my husband pick up a dozen eggs from the CSA farm. When these items were purchased/picked up, I was not planning on not grocery shopping this week. However, because I have these items on hand, this week's breakfasts, lunches, and snacks will be easier to put together.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer [#CTWW]

I am NOT going to the grocery store this week. WHAT?!?!? Can I really go a week without grocery shopping?!?!? Yes, I can! I decided that I am going to eat out of the freezer, fridge, and pantry this week. My freezer and my pantry are full. I buy stuff when it is on sale and "store for later." Then, I do not really go through it and some of it is nearing expiration/best buy dates. Plus, I thought it would be kind of fun to see what kinds of meals I can come up with. I remember there was a Change the World Wednesday challenge just like this, so I will have to read up on the participants' experiences.

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. I am stocked up on dairy products and fruits, so I should be able to last this week with no additional produce. My freezer is also full of frozen veggies, from the store and from our SCA farm. Yes, this is going to take more planning ahead of time, but not too much.

I have the next couple of dinners planned out below based on what is in the freezer and fridge. I also want to incorporate pantry items like grains, beans, and pasta sauces into some of the meals this week.

Monday's Menu:
Organic chicken, grilled or baked depending on weather (frozen)
Cabbage, sauteed, from CSA farm (previously blanched and frozen)
Quinoa (pantry)

Tuesday's Menu:
Pizza made with Trader Joe's pizza dough (frozen), chicken from Monday's dinner, onion left over from last Thursday's dinner, peppers from SCA farm (frozen), oven made sun-dried tomatoes from SCA farm (frozen), and chives from our garden (frozen).

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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From Farm to Jar [Canning]

I completed my second canning endeavor. The first time I canned (last year), I canned one jar using the water bath canning method. It is not recommended to can only one jar (you should have the recommended minimum number of jars in the water bath to safely can). This time, I had a bigger and better pot and more produce to can. As you read in my post on Final Thoughts About This Year's CSA, I had almost a full bag of peppers. Since the majority of the peppers were hot peppers (chili, banana, jalapeno), I decided to can those instead of freezing them since my freezer is already stuffed full.

My initial plan was to water bath can with the EcoZoom Zoom Versa Stove, but the rain prompted for Plan B. Plan B included canning inside on the glass top electric range with a porcelain enameled pot. The pot I used had a flat bottom and did not exceed more than 1 inch in diameter over the burner area. The water took about 30 minutes to come to 180 degrees, which is what is required for what I was canning.  I placed the jars inside and waited for the water to come to a rolling boil, which only took about 10 more minutes. I had no issues canning on the glass top electrical range with a flat bottom porcelain enameled pot using the water bath canning method.

The prep work took a little bit of time. I chopped the chili peppers and put them in the smaller jars. The banana and jalapenos went into the big jars as whole peppers. I did stuff one jar prior to cleaning to figure out how many peppers would fit. For quart jars, I estimated about 26 jalapeno peppers. I want to say it was around the same number for the banana peppers.

Recipe used for hot peppers: http://www.simplycanning.com/pickled-peppers-rings.html

Recipe to try next time: http://www.simplycanning.com/pickled-green-tomatoes.html

Water bath canning method: http://www.simplycanning.com/water-bath-canning.html

There are many great resources for canning available through the Ball Blue Canning Books as well as online resources. Do your research before your start canning so that you can safely can and safely enjoy your efforts for years to come.

>> Did you can anything this year??
 

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Final Thoughts About This Year's CSA

I wanted to write a little bit about our CSA experience this year. Although we had a difficult growing year because of the extremely hot weather and the lack of rain, I still felt great about buying local (within 15 miles) and organic produce. My husband and I expected more from the CSA, but we did accept the risk with the Farm and it was "one of those" growing seasons. Either way, I am hooked on local farms. Forgot the farmer's market. I want to go straight to the farm!

A few weeks ago, the CSA completed their weekly pick-ups, but opened up the fields for "you pick." So, I went picking! Twice already! To tell you the truth, I would have rather done the you pick all season. Being out there in the field, looking for something green, red, or purple is very exciting, but also very relaxing. No one else is around (unless you have friends or family with you). There are not shopping carts. No announcements over the loud speaker. No one else trying to get in line at the farmer's market. Just peace and quiet! You really learn a lot of about how to pick produce at the right time.

Two out of the four remaining fields have already been mowed oven, but there are still some items left: cherry tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, hot peppers, mustard greens, arugula, and greens. I hope to get at least one more picking in before they mow over the remaining fields. Please enjoy the photos below from my last two "you picks."

Trip 1 - red cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, zinnias



Trip 2 - Tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, greens, arugula, mustard greens

   

>> If you were part of a CSA this year, how did it do? If you were not part of a CSA, would you ever consider joining?

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Wordless Wednesday - Eating Local

Tomato from dad's friend's farm

Basil from our garden

Mozzarella from TFM

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Crazy Weather Affecting CSA

For those of you who are part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) -- have you been affected by this crazy hot weather? Our CSA has been struggling because the heat has affected pollination, which means that means that we have been getting produce less than expected. However, I know that we accepted the risk along with the farm and we are in this together. Nothing beats local, organic produce, no matter how much of it you get each week. The awesome thing is that the farm also raises chicken and is trying to get members to recommend other ways that the farm can provide for them. It is so good to know that the farm cares about the members just as much as we appreciate all of the fresh, in season, organic produce that they provide us.

>> How has your CSA been this season?

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Confession: Does Organic Produce Spoil Faster?

I have a confession to make! I do not use organic produce (from the CSA Farm or the grocery store) in a timely manner. I have a habit of letting stuff sit in the fridge for at least one week before I even think about using it. Obviously, produce begins to wilt, soften, and spoils. I composted about 1/3 of the organic cherries yesterday because they were moldy. Organic cherries are expensive. I felt bad that I let 1/3 of them spoil.

Is this left over from my pre-organic days where food would last 2 weeks before it started showing signs of wilting/spoilage? I do not know. Is it because my husband and I have both been working crazy long hours and we do not cook as often anymore? Probably. My head is so full of work, chores, and everything else that I do not have time to craft yummy dishes to utilize the perfectly in-season produce that I buy or pick up from the CSA Farm.

At least I ate a decent breakfast this morning...

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Wordless Wednesday - 100% Local Meal

I finally, FINALLY, can say that I prepared a meat that was 100% local!  Salad from the CSA, local meat bought at Whole Foods!

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Affecting Change in My Community [#CTWW]

This week's challenge comes from Reduced Footprints.

This week, watch the following video. Then share it in some way ... email it to a friend, share it on a social network, post it to your blog, etc. AND THEN ... consider how you might affect change in your community. Of course ... we want to hear all about it!

This video reminded me of our recent focus on buying local produce and meat. The CSA that we joined is a great way to support an organic and heirloom farm located right in our city! I also realized that I do not have to go to farmers markets to buy local, I can find local produce and meat at Whole Foods. I feel empowered to affect positive change in my community.

>> How are you supporting your local community?
 

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Scrambled Eggs with Garlic Scapes [Recipe]

One of the treats in our weekly CSA pick-up was garlic scapes. I have never seen garlic scapes, nor have I heard of them. I did a quick search online and found that you can do just about anything with them, from adding chopped scapes to pastas and omelets to making pesto. This morning, I made scrabbled eggs with chopped garlic scapes. They were a little awkward to cut, but the results were delicious.

Raw scapes have a slight garlic taste. Cooked scapes reminded me of asparagus. Here is the simple recipe that I followed. Za'atar was used as a seasoning.

Ingredients
Handful of garlic scapes, chopped
Eggs

Directions
1. On medium heat, sautee garlic scapes in butter for about 5-10 minutes until tender and browned.
2. Add egg mixture and preferred seasonings and cook until eggs are cooked through.

You can also incorporate chopped garlic scapes into an omelet.

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Wordless Wednesday - Going Back to the Start

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Dreams of Joining a CSA

For 2012, one of my goals is to write more posts about our attempts, successes, and fails at living an eco-friendly life. We have been talking with another family about joining a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). A CSA is a group of individuals who pledge to support a local farming operation where the growers and the consumers share the risks and the benefits of food production. A CSA consists of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and/or fruit.

I have been wanting to join a CSA for several years, even before I become "green." Honestly, I have been overwhelmed and did not know how to approach deciding on which CSA to join. So many options, so many decisions. How much of a share do we get? What produce will we get and eat? When and where do we need to pick up the box of produce? Do we need to put in a certain number of hours on farm? I decided to throw out all of the decision criteria and analysis I always do and just go with it!

We choose a CSA based on a convenient schedule and pick up time and because they use organic growing practices. The first year will be trial and error as we figure out what works and what does not work for us. I am excited about eating local and organic produce because the flavors will be out of this world! Our next step is to write a check and submit the application. I pray that this will finally be the year my CSA dreams will come true!

If you are interested in identifying CSAs in your area, check out Local Harvest (this is not a sponsored post, Local Harvest is a good resource).

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