I follow the blog, Not Dabbling In Normal, whenever I have the time.  Recently they, along with another blog site, (not so) Urban Henry, posted a challenge that I just couldn't ignore! Now, I've never participated in a blog challenge, but it's right in line with what I've been trying to do anyway.  I'm going out on a limb and am going to try to make a 100% local dish once each week.  For more information on the challenge, go to this link, and you can find the guidelines and the bloggers who are participating in your area.  It's not to late to sign up if you want to join in as well. 

From the Cupboards

I'd like to post some of the meals that are a result of stocking up for winter, although I've already realized that I'll be doing quite a bit of shopping over the winter anyway.  I wasn't expecting to be on a gluten free diet, and that's really thrown my planning for a loop.  I'm hoping to post at least 2-4 meals per month that come from my pantry, but I'll let you know if I've had to buy anything for the meal.

One thing I can make this week is Vegetarian Chili!

I had a few wilting green bell peppers that desperately needed to be used up.  My garden did great until about mid-November, but then it was obvious that I needed to pull the last of the peppers off if I wanted them before the whole plant died.  Add to the bell peppers a jar of home canned tomato sauce, a local onion from one of my boxes (my onion cup runneth over), some spices, and two cans of beans. 

Okay, everything was pretty local until the beans (and I DO have local beans) but pre-cooked beans mean I can be spontaneous about my cooking.  I'm still missing a part to my pressure cooker (not canner), so I really should have planned ahead and soaked some beans overnight.  Yep, I'm not that organized.  I'm a look in my cupboards and see what I can do kind of girl.

I'd planned on pre-cooking and pressure canning some beans before the start of winter, but I didn't get around to it.  While making this meal I realized how nice it would be to have some home canned beans, but I have no idea when that's going to happen!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving marks the spot on my calendar when I go from hoarding, to using everything up.  I didn't get nearly enough stuff put away, but then, I really didn't expect to actually succeed.  I'm not sure how I could have done better, other than to not have other things going on in my life...as if that's going to happen.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of my Thanksgiving meal.  My parents came up last weekend and we did it all early.  I can say, however, that the only things I bought fresh for the meal were the turkey, some bacon, eggs, and sausage for the stuffing (although a few things did come from my weekly box from Boston Organics a week prior).

So we had a "real turkey".  By real, I mean from the "real food" movement that I've been reading about.  Sure, we could have bought an inexpensive stand in, but I wanted a turkey from a local farm.  Real turkeys are far more expensive, and not any better tasting that the regular grocery store model, but I like to put my money where my values are.  What better time to support local farms?

The stuffing was made from my husband's homemade sourdough bread, the aforementioned sausage, and celery from my weekly box.  I made cranberry sauce with cranberries from the box (in season and local) and agave nectar I had in my pantry.  Mom made gravy from the drippings, and it came out great!

We also had brussel sprouts that I'd been holding off on cooking for a while because I wanted some veggies.  I didn't grow any sweet potatoes this year, but I did get some in my box a few weeks before hand, so I roasted them as well.  I'd also picked up some beans from our local shop, so my mom made baked beans.  I had a butternut squash, bought from a local farmer's market, that I roasted, but wasn't really ready on time so we skipped it.  Cole slaw came from our own carrots and some local cabbage.  The mashed potatoes were entirely from our own garden.  I also pulled out the homemade apple sauce I'd frozen and opened a can of home canned pickles (the cucumbers were grown in either my or my parents garden).

I made a pumpkin pie for desert...from scratch.  The pie crust had butter picked up from a local farm, but the flour was organic, stockpiled in my pantry for this purpose, but not specifically local (trader joes).  The pumpkin grew in our garden!  The eggs were local, but not in season.  I could have pulled out some frozen ones, but I think I'll save that for later.


Overall I'm feeling pretty good about our meal.  A local meal was a great way to give thanks for all the bounty of this years harvest.  I'm looking forward to making more meals out of the leftovers, and to exploring my cupboards, freezer, and pantry throughout the winter season.

Sand

According to a few web searches, the way to store carrots is in sand.  This weekend I got some sand, added some water, and played in the dirt.  Time will tell if this is an effective storage tool, but I can say, it's a fun way to preserve.  A little belatedly I realized that I'd better put the lid on the plastic bin I used...it looks a little too much like cat litter.  I'd rather not have some surprise discoveries in bobbing for carrots.  In the picture you can see that I've added some potatoes to the top row.  I've also got potatoes in an open basket, so I can compare the two to see if potatoes would do better in the sand. 

I've been sick for the last week, so not much more has been done on the path to a prosperous pantry.  I did manage to buy some tuna, beans, and flour this weekend.  I'm hoping to buy some apples this week and make apple sauce.  I'd also like to buy and can some pumpkin or squash.  I'm also thinking about eggs again. I'd just about decided they were something I would end up buying through winter, but a discussion at the Small Planet workshop at the Boston Book Fair reminded me that eggs really are supposed to be a "seasonal crop". 

I'm really feeling like the sand in my hourglass is getting low.  The growing season has been extended by our exceedingly warm fall, so I might have some peas and beans to put away after all.  Last weekend it got above 80 degrees and this weekend it was around 70.  Unfortunately, the farmer's market will only remain open through October, even though it could be mid-November before we hit frost.  I'll have to drive out to the farm myself.  I've still got a bunch of meat on the list, along with some fall vegetables. 

I wouldn't say what I've done so far has been particularly difficult.  Perhaps difficult in the sense of finding time, but despite a hectic fall, I've managed to do a little bit at a time.  I might actually get through most of my list.  Then we'll have to see how long the food will last!  I really hope the late fall doesn't mean winter will last a long time.  I'm operating on the principle that I could at least produce some food by the end of April (even if it's just spinach, salad greens, and peas).

The List So Far

Canned
16 (8) jars of tomato sauce
18 cans of soup
8 (4) jars of fruit pie filling
16 jars of apple sauce
16 cans of meat
8 (3) jars of tomato juice
8 jars of pickles (except we ate or gave away all but 1 jar already!)
4 jars Ghee
4 jars of creamed corn
4 jars of sauerkraut
6 jars black beans

Frozen
4 (1) dozen eggs (maybe more) for baking
4 whole chickens
16 pork chops
9 lbs ground meat (in 1 lb portions)
16 fish fillets
18 cups berries
4 cups broccoli
8 cups tomatoes
8 cups zucchini/squash mix
8 cups peas
8 cups green beans
8 cups cauliflower
8 cups corn
4 cups pumpkin puree
4 packages butter

Cellar
20 (10) lbs potatoes
4 (2)  lbs onions
10 lbs carrots
2 lbs brussel sprouts
2 lbs garlic

Pantry
10 lbs rice
5 lbs sugar
20 lbs flour
3 jars maple syrup
3 jars honey
Huge can olive oil
Large jar of sunflower oil
Large jug of vinegar
Dried milk (for baking)
Salt/Pepper
Spices

Other staples:
ziplock bags
paper towels
aluminum foil
parchment paper/wax paper

A Load of Carrots

I had a plan for carrots.  Since they're a root crop I figured I could over-winter them in the garden instead of preserving them some other way.  I'd throw a bag of leaves or hay over them and all would be well.  Of course there was one little problem.  Something, or rather somethings were eating my carrots.  I pulled a nice big one to have a bite, and discovered little bugs all over it.  I pulled another one...same thing.  I quickly realized that if I wanted to rescue my carrots I was going to have to pull them all up.  Bah, humbug. 

Now I'm looking at other ways to store them.  Many online recommendations include damp sand and a cool basement.  I suppose that's something I can handle on Saturday morning.  I've been thinking about that method for my potatoes too.  I think we did better with carrots than with potatoes this year (although I haven't weighed the carrots yet), but they will both need an easy storage method.

I have a feeling this may be the last crop I get from my garden this year.  I'd hoped to have enough beans to put aside some beans for winter, but I started a little late.  The brussel sprouts didn't sprout, the cabbage is about 2 leaves worth of plant, and the cauliflower was completely demolished by aphids.  I don't much like kale, turnips, or parsnips, so I didn't  plant any this year.  What's the point if you don't want to eat it?

So my winter planning continues...slowly.  At the rate I'm going I might last a couple of weeks without shopping, maybe.  But no worries, this is nothing that a trip to the farmer's market or the grocery store can't solve, yet.

Tomatoes

Well, I've had a few busy weekends, and a few upcoming weekends promise to be just as busy, so I'm happy to have at least gotten as much done as I've been able to (which isn't much).

I did manage to put away 9 pints of tomato sauce, 8 in cans and one in a freezer bag.  I'm planning on making and freezing pizza crusts to go with the sauce.  I'd also like to put together packages of toppings so that I can have a quick and easy option for days I'm not too keen on cooking.  I figure we can make pizza every 3 weeks or so. 

I'd like to have canned more, but our garden hasn't really produced that many cannable tomatoes.  We have a ton of yellow tomatoes (which are great too) but we can't can them.  I have put aside 2 quarts of whole tomatoes so I can make some sauce later.  So I bought a box of tomatoes for $20 at the local farmers market.  I doubt there will still be any boxes available by the time I can get to a farmers market again, so I'm not likely to put any more tomatoes away for the winter.  That's okay, they really are best when fresh.

There's not too much from the garden that we've managed to set aside lately.  I did freeze some broccoli and I've got some green peppers ready to be picked.  I also have some carrots, but I'm planning on overwintering them. Our raspberry are still doing well. I've put away a few pints of our own raspberries, along with 2 pints from the farmers market.  There'd be more in the freezer if we didn't keep eating them all the time :) 

I'd really like to start canning soups soon.  After that I'll move on to buying supplies for the pantry.