I finally got around to signing the Millions Against Monsanto petition, which was one of my three "Take Action" mini-challenges for the NOFA-NY Locavore Challenge. The petition is a call for labeling of transgenetic (a.k.a. GE or GMO) foods, something almost all Americans support but our government refuses to do. Why? Because if people could choose whether to buy cereal made with transgenetic grain or not, many of them would be products with made choosing traditionally-bred ingredients. This wouldn't be good for big agribiz, which have links to the government through campaign contributions and especially the revolving door (where people transition easily to and from important positions in government regulatory bodies and the industries the said body regulates). Of course, the revolving door doesn't just happen in agencies like the USDA and FDA (Henry Paulson? Timothy Geithner? Ring any bells?), but that's a subject for another day and venue.
Anyways, I feel that I should have a right to choose whether I'm consuming transgenetic crops or not. Personally, I'm not as concerned as some about health problems transgenetic crops may cause. What first truly turned me off to transgenetic crops was the way Monsanto, which dominates the transgenetic seed market, successfully sued farmers for patent violations. To me, farmers having to choose between seed saving and risking a patent violation because of the crops their neighbors choose to plant seems wrong. Seed saving is at the heart of agriculture -- without seed-saving, we never would have had agriculture in the first place!
This leads to questions about genetic diversity. When people save seed, the crop will gradually adapt to grow best it it's microclimate over time. On the other hand, when farmers are forced to choose from only a few varieties of seed offered by a limited number of companies, the uniformity of the genetic make-up of the crop makes it very easy for a pest to mutate a bit and easily begin to have a big negative impact on a large swath of our cropland. Of course, it's also not great for farmers to have to incur the expense of buying seed they could have taken from their own fields.
Remember that pest problem I mentioned? It isn't just a hypothetical, as "superweeds" that are resistant to Monsanto's Round-Up pesticide continue to spread. This is causing farmers to turn to R, 2-D (an ingredient in Agent Orange) and other pesticides to augment their use of Round-Up. Although various studies turned up different conclusions about whether more or less pesticides have been used because of genetic engineering, the appearance of superweeds and farmers' response doesn't make transgenetic crops look to green going forward, does it?
Anyways, I could go on about transgenetic crops, venturing into topics like Bt and all the unlikely places it's shown up, but I'll let you do your own research. For me, it really comes down to this: With their track record, do I really want companies like Monsanto gaining even more control over something so vital to human life as the food supply? If you feel like I'm preaching to the choir when you read this blog post, please do sign the Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto petition. For now, the best way to avoid transgenetic products is to buy organic.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Abbreviated Days 17 to 24 of 2011, Busy and Sick but Still Eating Local
I can't believe I let myself go over a week without posting! In my defense, the past week has involved a lot of stuff for my Irish dancing, a car accident in front of our home, my mom's birthday celebration, and a get-together with friends, most of which occurred while a had a bad cold. To ease myself back into blogging, I'll just post some of the more food-related highlights of the eight days from Saturday the 17th through Saturday the 24th.
On Saturday the 17th, my mom and I ate lunch ate Farmers and Artisans after I had a dance show nearby. My mom and I ordered two sandwiches, the Tomato Basil Caprese Panine and the Apple Camemburg Panine. The former was excellent, with plenty of basil and oozing mozzerrella. Both of us hated the cheese on the latter, which I thought tasted literally tasted like vomit. With another cheese, like cheddar, combined with the crisp apple (Ginger Gold?), the sandwich would have had a wonderful flavor. It was our first meal out since the Locavore Challenge started, so in the end it was just nice to eat a meal without either of us having to cook it!
On Sunday the 18th, I had an Irish dance competition in Syracuse. We were starving by late afternoon, since all we'd eaten so far were fruit smoothies for breakfast and a packed lunch of homemade bread, grapes, and pears. It was a good thing we could go back to The Restaurant at Elderberry Pond, where we'd previously eaten after going to the State Fair on the first day of the NOFA-NY Locavore Challenge last year. Our meal started with apple cider and bread, both of which were above critique. Then we moved onto soup, with my mom choosing potato leek and me ordering squash tomatillo bisque. I'm so glad I took a risk with the soup, which really highlighted the complex spiciness of tomatillos. For a main course, my mom chose chicken in a cranberry sauce with tomatoes and summer squash, while I had fettucine with vegetables. My pasta was good, and my mom's chicken was perfectly cooked. Somehow, we found room for the unique and delicious elderberry-apple pie a la mode for dessert. Overall, it was a meal that satisfied stomach and soul.
Thursday the 22nd was my mom's birthday. For dinner, I made Swiss chard fettucine with leftover mozzerella and feta cheese instead of ricotta (garden Swiss chard, fettucine from Flour City, Tuscany on Main olive oil [Wild Card Item], farm stand onions, farmers market basil, cheese made from friend's goat's milk). I'm told it was excellent, with a flavor that was sweet and slightly spicy, but my nose was too stuffed up for me to taste too much. For dessert, I made cake (Thorpes whole wheat flour, Upstate Farms butter, homemade maple syrup, yogurt made from friend's goats' milk), and ice cream (friend's goats milk, friend's goats milk cream, homemade maple syrup). Only my dad liked the cake. As he said, it tasted "healthy," which my mom and I think a cake just shouldn't taste. The ice cream was a much bigger hit.
On Friday the 23rd, my friend Karin De La Rosa, the NOFA-NY WNY coordinator, hosted a dinner and Lakeview Organic Grain chicken feed pick-up. Diners were Karin, Karin's husband, my goat-keeping friend, the goat-maid's husband, my parents, and me. Karin provided salad and butternut squash soup made with the products of her humungous garden, as well as wine. Paula brought "The Imam Fainted," which is an eggplant dish. My parents and I brought apple cobbler (Thorpes apples, homemade maple syrup, Upstate Farms butter, egg from my hens, Thorpes whole wheat flour, honey from my dad's bees) the apple cider my dad had made from apples he and I picked from our yard and our neighbor's. There's nothing like good food and good company -- and the good feeling that my chickens are now eating quality local feed!
On Saturday the 17th, my mom and I ate lunch ate Farmers and Artisans after I had a dance show nearby. My mom and I ordered two sandwiches, the Tomato Basil Caprese Panine and the Apple Camemburg Panine. The former was excellent, with plenty of basil and oozing mozzerrella. Both of us hated the cheese on the latter, which I thought tasted literally tasted like vomit. With another cheese, like cheddar, combined with the crisp apple (Ginger Gold?), the sandwich would have had a wonderful flavor. It was our first meal out since the Locavore Challenge started, so in the end it was just nice to eat a meal without either of us having to cook it!
On Sunday the 18th, I had an Irish dance competition in Syracuse. We were starving by late afternoon, since all we'd eaten so far were fruit smoothies for breakfast and a packed lunch of homemade bread, grapes, and pears. It was a good thing we could go back to The Restaurant at Elderberry Pond, where we'd previously eaten after going to the State Fair on the first day of the NOFA-NY Locavore Challenge last year. Our meal started with apple cider and bread, both of which were above critique. Then we moved onto soup, with my mom choosing potato leek and me ordering squash tomatillo bisque. I'm so glad I took a risk with the soup, which really highlighted the complex spiciness of tomatillos. For a main course, my mom chose chicken in a cranberry sauce with tomatoes and summer squash, while I had fettucine with vegetables. My pasta was good, and my mom's chicken was perfectly cooked. Somehow, we found room for the unique and delicious elderberry-apple pie a la mode for dessert. Overall, it was a meal that satisfied stomach and soul.
Thursday the 22nd was my mom's birthday. For dinner, I made Swiss chard fettucine with leftover mozzerella and feta cheese instead of ricotta (garden Swiss chard, fettucine from Flour City, Tuscany on Main olive oil [Wild Card Item], farm stand onions, farmers market basil, cheese made from friend's goat's milk). I'm told it was excellent, with a flavor that was sweet and slightly spicy, but my nose was too stuffed up for me to taste too much. For dessert, I made cake (Thorpes whole wheat flour, Upstate Farms butter, homemade maple syrup, yogurt made from friend's goats' milk), and ice cream (friend's goats milk, friend's goats milk cream, homemade maple syrup). Only my dad liked the cake. As he said, it tasted "healthy," which my mom and I think a cake just shouldn't taste. The ice cream was a much bigger hit.
On Friday the 23rd, my friend Karin De La Rosa, the NOFA-NY WNY coordinator, hosted a dinner and Lakeview Organic Grain chicken feed pick-up. Diners were Karin, Karin's husband, my goat-keeping friend, the goat-maid's husband, my parents, and me. Karin provided salad and butternut squash soup made with the products of her humungous garden, as well as wine. Paula brought "The Imam Fainted," which is an eggplant dish. My parents and I brought apple cobbler (Thorpes apples, homemade maple syrup, Upstate Farms butter, egg from my hens, Thorpes whole wheat flour, honey from my dad's bees) the apple cider my dad had made from apples he and I picked from our yard and our neighbor's. There's nothing like good food and good company -- and the good feeling that my chickens are now eating quality local feed!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Day 16 of 2011, Weasel-Proofing
Another of my six-week-old chickens was killed in the early hours of this morning. The noise the chickens were making awakened my dad, who ran downstairs to check on them. He found a dead chick. It had been killed by a wound to the neck, just like the chick on Tuesday.
For breakfast, my mom made Flour City emmer orzo that she'd got at the Lexington Food Co-op last night. My dad and I ate ours with peach (Thorpes), while my mom had hers with frozen blueberries (frozen from a nearby low-spray farm).
For lunch, we all had last night's leftover soup with my homemade bread. It's the second time this week that my dad's brought leftovers to work and heated them in the microwave (I think the first time was ratatouille), and he's really enjoying it. He usually just brings things like sanwiches, salads, fruits, and yogurt in his lunch. By contrast, my mom and I started eating more and more hot lunches we starting homeschooling five years ago, and it's now rare for the two of us not to cook three meals a day.
For dinner, my dad made corn on the cob (farmstand) and my mom made spaghetti (pasta from Flour City, garden tomatoes, farm stand garlic, Wild Card Item olive oil from Tuscany on Main, ricotta cheese made from our friend's goats' milk). She wanted to try out on a small scale the tomato sauce recipe from The Art of Simple Food, which she's considering making on a large scale and freezing or canning to preserve some of my garden's tomatoes. It was a little bland, but will work fine as a means of preserving a lot of tomatoes for winter.
After dinner, my dad and I spent time screwing on boards over the chicken wire on the lower part of the chicken coop to provide additional protection from predators. We think the killer is a weasel, because my dad read that weasels commonly kill only one chicken at a time, leave it after attacking, and come back to retrieve the body later. This fits the pattern of the killings of our chickens, and also fits because a weasel would be small enough and smart enough to get by the electrified wire we have going around the chicken coop. Hopefully, the additional protection offered by the boards will be enough. From what heard from other people, though, weasels can be a really hard predator to deter. Weasels enjoy killing for the fun of it, and people have lost whole backyard flocks.
I really hate this assumed weasel more than other animals that have preyed on my birds in the past. At church last year, one sermon suggested that the reason why we dislike certain people so much is that we find many of their worst traits uncomfortably familiar, because we may be trying to deny to ourselves that we possess these traits. Perhaps this lesson could be applied across species. Weasels, like humans, are highly intelligent predators that will also kill for sport.
Alternately, it may be that I hate the assumed weasel so much because many of the previous losses could be taken as lesson. For instance, it was almost as if the fox was telling me to make sure I put my turkeys away as soon as dusk began to fall when I lost my adult turkey tom because we stayed too late at dinner while the turkeys were free-ranging. With the assumed weasel, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to learn. Many people, including my neighbor, let their hens free range during the day, while I've taken more precautions by keeping them in a moveable coop. Having plywood on the sides just isn't workable long-term solution, and even the electric gets to be a real pain over the long run (which is why we stopped in the first place). Perhaps the lesson from the assumed weasel is that these measures are necessary when younger chickens first go outside.
What happens though if the attacks don't stop when the chickens start perching off the ground at night, like I'm hoping will happen? Or what happens if it realizes that it would be easy to get into the barn and kills one of my young turkeys at night? What is the lesson then? I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I'm living with the fear of the unknown.
Day 15 of 2011, Like An All-Day Feast
When my mom got me up this morning, she had warm Apple-Cheese pancakes waiting on the table. She'd come across the recipe yesterday afternoon when we were looking for recipes for lunch then, and we'd agreed it would be good to try for breakfast some time. Omigod, the pancakes weren't just good, they were amazing. The titular cheese was ricotta, so it didn't really flavor the pancakes in the way a stronger cheese, like cheddar, would. Instead, this recipe really allowed the apple to shine. The recipe suggested serving the pancakes with maple syrup, which I normally would find an excellent pairing for apple, but the pancakes were sweet enough from the grated apple in every bite that no other sweetener was necessary. The only problem was that my mom had only made a half recipe, so there wasn't enough of the pancakes to go around. Both of us spent the day craving more! I think it was definitely the best new recipe we've tried all month.
Because there wasn't enough of the pancakes, I ended up making smoothies to augment our breakfast. My parents had rearranged the freezers on Sunday night to fit in all the chickens we'd butchered. I'd forgotten all about the strawberries from Thorpes that we'd frozen in June because they were in the freezer in the garage, but I rediscovered them with when the rearrangement had some of them transferred into the freezer in the kitchen. I snapped them up at the first smoothie-making opportunity, which was this morning. Just as I suspected, though, they weren't sweet enough in the smoothie on their own. I turned to trusty old peaches, my all-purpose smoothie sweetener. The mix of strawberry and peach was pretty unique, although it vaguely reminded me of strawberry-banana yogurt.
Lunchtime once again came and went without us eating, and we had a bit of an argument about food when we finally got around to figuring out what to eat. We settled on having boiled potatoes (garden), corn on the cob (farmstand), and homemade bread.
Still tense from our debate over lunch, we procrastinated on starting dinner. I had dance class again tonight, so at a certain point we had to decide. My mom was leaning towards trying a recipe for Greek pizza that she came across earlier this month, while my dad and I were more inclined towards a soup recipe I'd come across yesterday when trying to figure out lunch. My dad and I ended up working together on the soup because the Greek pizza called for mozzerella cheese, which we didn't have.
As I cooked, I made a lot of modifications to the recipe. I used Jacobs Cattle Beans from Cayuga Organics in place of red lentils, garden Swiss chard in place of mustard greens, and Delicata squash in place of butternut squash. The cookbook is called Eating Local, and I think that my modifications to use the local food available definitely fit the spirit of the book. We all liked the soup a lot, although I think I'd make it spicier next time. (Other ingredients included the Wild Card Item olive oil, various spices that were Marco Polo items, a dried red chili from Thorpes, and chicken stock that we made from the bones of one of the chickens I raised.)
While I was at dance class, my mom went to the Lexington Food Co-op to get Flour City's pasta. It seems to be the only local store stocking that pasta currently. While at Lexington, she also purchased three jars of White Cow Dairy yogurt. This yogurt, produced from the milk of local grassfed cows, is sold in these ridiculously expensive tiny glass jars. The flavors, though, are just so amazing that the occasional splurge is so worth it. My mom bought Strawberry Rhubarb yogurt for my dad and I, while she purchased Lemonberry (lemon raspberry) yogurt for herself. The Strawberry Rhubarb was almost to die for, but the Lemonberry was ten times better. What a nice late-night snack!
As we were heading home from dance, my mom was saying that she can't keep living with fighting about every meal. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration, but I know a lot of our discussions about what to eat in the past few days have been tense. We ended up eating some pretty great food today despite it all!
~*~
Apple-Cheese Pancakes
from Moosewood Cookbook
1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
1 heaping, packed cup grated apple (any kind but Delicious)
3/4 cup flour (you can use 1/2 cup white and 1/4 cup whole wheat)*
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs sunflower seeds or chopped almonds**
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg or allspice
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp salt**
Mix everything together except eggwhites. Beat these until stiff and fold into batter. Fry pancakes in butter on both sides until brown. Serve with maple syrup or preserves, sour cream or yogurt, fresh fruit, cinnamon sugar. (Mix and match.)
*Laura's note: My mom instead used 1/2 cup soft white whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup hard red whole wheat flour.
** Laura's note: Omitted by my mom.
Spicy Bean Soup with Greens and Winter Squash
modified slightly from "Spicy Lentil Soup with Mustard Greens and Butternut Squash" in Eating Local
2 Tbs oil or butter
1 medium yellow onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
OR at least 1 tsp ground dry ginger
at least 1 tsp ground turmeric
at least 1 tsp cumin seed, toasted and finely ground
at least 1 dried red chile, broken in half
2 c bean of choice
1 bay leaf
1 qt chicken or vegetable broth
1 qt water
Kosher or sea salt (optional)
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
2 c peeled winter squash, diced
1/3 pound greens like mustard greens, chard, or spinach, cut crosswise into 1/2-wide-ribbons
If using lentils:
Heat oil or butter in large pot over moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and chile and saute until the onion is soft. Add the lentils, bay leaf, broth, and water and bring to a simmer. Cover and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Season the lentils with salt and pepper, if doing so. Stir in the squash. Cover and simmer until the squash is almost tender but still slightly firm, about 8 minutes. Stir in the mustard greens, re-cover, and remove the soup from the heat. Let satnd until the greens soften and the squash is fully cooked, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and chile. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.
If using other beans:
Pre-cook beans. Heat oil or butter in large pot over moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and chile and saute until the onion is soft. Add beans, bay leaf, broth, water, and squash. Cover and simmer until the squash is almost tender but slightly firm, about 8 minutes. Stir in the mustard greens, re-cover, and remove the soup from the heat. Let satnd until the greens soften and the squash is fully cooked, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and chile. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.
Because there wasn't enough of the pancakes, I ended up making smoothies to augment our breakfast. My parents had rearranged the freezers on Sunday night to fit in all the chickens we'd butchered. I'd forgotten all about the strawberries from Thorpes that we'd frozen in June because they were in the freezer in the garage, but I rediscovered them with when the rearrangement had some of them transferred into the freezer in the kitchen. I snapped them up at the first smoothie-making opportunity, which was this morning. Just as I suspected, though, they weren't sweet enough in the smoothie on their own. I turned to trusty old peaches, my all-purpose smoothie sweetener. The mix of strawberry and peach was pretty unique, although it vaguely reminded me of strawberry-banana yogurt.
Lunchtime once again came and went without us eating, and we had a bit of an argument about food when we finally got around to figuring out what to eat. We settled on having boiled potatoes (garden), corn on the cob (farmstand), and homemade bread.
Still tense from our debate over lunch, we procrastinated on starting dinner. I had dance class again tonight, so at a certain point we had to decide. My mom was leaning towards trying a recipe for Greek pizza that she came across earlier this month, while my dad and I were more inclined towards a soup recipe I'd come across yesterday when trying to figure out lunch. My dad and I ended up working together on the soup because the Greek pizza called for mozzerella cheese, which we didn't have.
As I cooked, I made a lot of modifications to the recipe. I used Jacobs Cattle Beans from Cayuga Organics in place of red lentils, garden Swiss chard in place of mustard greens, and Delicata squash in place of butternut squash. The cookbook is called Eating Local, and I think that my modifications to use the local food available definitely fit the spirit of the book. We all liked the soup a lot, although I think I'd make it spicier next time. (Other ingredients included the Wild Card Item olive oil, various spices that were Marco Polo items, a dried red chili from Thorpes, and chicken stock that we made from the bones of one of the chickens I raised.)
While I was at dance class, my mom went to the Lexington Food Co-op to get Flour City's pasta. It seems to be the only local store stocking that pasta currently. While at Lexington, she also purchased three jars of White Cow Dairy yogurt. This yogurt, produced from the milk of local grassfed cows, is sold in these ridiculously expensive tiny glass jars. The flavors, though, are just so amazing that the occasional splurge is so worth it. My mom bought Strawberry Rhubarb yogurt for my dad and I, while she purchased Lemonberry (lemon raspberry) yogurt for herself. The Strawberry Rhubarb was almost to die for, but the Lemonberry was ten times better. What a nice late-night snack!
As we were heading home from dance, my mom was saying that she can't keep living with fighting about every meal. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration, but I know a lot of our discussions about what to eat in the past few days have been tense. We ended up eating some pretty great food today despite it all!
~*~
Apple-Cheese Pancakes
from Moosewood Cookbook
1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
1 heaping, packed cup grated apple (any kind but Delicious)
3/4 cup flour (you can use 1/2 cup white and 1/4 cup whole wheat)*
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs sunflower seeds or chopped almonds**
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg or allspice
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp salt**
Mix everything together except eggwhites. Beat these until stiff and fold into batter. Fry pancakes in butter on both sides until brown. Serve with maple syrup or preserves, sour cream or yogurt, fresh fruit, cinnamon sugar. (Mix and match.)
*Laura's note: My mom instead used 1/2 cup soft white whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup hard red whole wheat flour.
** Laura's note: Omitted by my mom.
Spicy Bean Soup with Greens and Winter Squash
modified slightly from "Spicy Lentil Soup with Mustard Greens and Butternut Squash" in Eating Local
2 Tbs oil or butter
1 medium yellow onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
OR at least 1 tsp ground dry ginger
at least 1 tsp ground turmeric
at least 1 tsp cumin seed, toasted and finely ground
at least 1 dried red chile, broken in half
2 c bean of choice
1 bay leaf
1 qt chicken or vegetable broth
1 qt water
Kosher or sea salt (optional)
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
2 c peeled winter squash, diced
1/3 pound greens like mustard greens, chard, or spinach, cut crosswise into 1/2-wide-ribbons
If using lentils:
Heat oil or butter in large pot over moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and chile and saute until the onion is soft. Add the lentils, bay leaf, broth, and water and bring to a simmer. Cover and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Season the lentils with salt and pepper, if doing so. Stir in the squash. Cover and simmer until the squash is almost tender but still slightly firm, about 8 minutes. Stir in the mustard greens, re-cover, and remove the soup from the heat. Let satnd until the greens soften and the squash is fully cooked, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and chile. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.
If using other beans:
Pre-cook beans. Heat oil or butter in large pot over moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and chile and saute until the onion is soft. Add beans, bay leaf, broth, water, and squash. Cover and simmer until the squash is almost tender but slightly firm, about 8 minutes. Stir in the mustard greens, re-cover, and remove the soup from the heat. Let satnd until the greens soften and the squash is fully cooked, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and chile. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Day 14 of 2011, New Recipes and New GMO's
We ate the last of the barley for breakfast this morning. My dad had his with chopped peach, my mom had hers with maple syrup, and I had mine, as always, plain.
Right before lunchtime, my mom went to get feed at J & L in Corfu while I worked on bread. The bread was a new recipe for me, Scottish Sponge Bread from The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. (Note: The recipe is too long to share below. If you haven't already, just go out and by your copy of this bread cookbook. You won't regret it. It truly is indispensable.) I decided to try this recipe I've been so busy earlier in the day that I forget to start bread lately until evening, when there's not enough time for it to rise and bake before I go to bed. Because of this, bread hasn't been getting made recently. This recipe calls for the sponge to rise overnight, which allows me to start bread in the evening.
Anyways, I had to work on my bread dough right before lunchtime. It ended up taking a while, because I had to add the rest of the ingredients to the sponge part of the dough, mix it all together, get a large stew pot washed so I had a container big enough to knead my humungous amount of dough in, and finally knead it all for twenty minutes.
My mom had arrived home while I was still working on the bread. I was shocked that the bill for a mere two bags of organic feed was $75. Just a few years ago, a bag of organic turkey feed wasn't much more than twenty dollars. We just needed a little more feed to hold my birds over until our order from Lakeview Organic Grain, a NOFA-NY Certified Organic grower and grinder of animal feed in the Finger Lakes region. We've tried out Lakeview a bit before and I've been wanting to make the switch to Lakeview for years. It finally looks like we've got our act together with a couple of friends so it will be happening for good. After seeing the feed bill today, I'm even my happy about the switch. The feed for my poultry from Lakeview will be $20 to $22 dollars, depending on the specific amounts of protein mixed in it.
It was well past lunchtime when I finally finished kneading and let the dough rise again. This presented a problem, as my mom and I were both hungry and grumpy by this point. I was getting sick of the same old dishes we've been making again and again this month, but neither of us had any good ideas. After fruitlessly looking at cookbooks for recipes using the vegetables we have handy, I remembered that I'd had an idea a few days ago that broccoli with a lemon sauce would probably be good. I googled it, and right away found this recipe at Cooks.com for Broccoli With Lemon Herb Sauce.
My mom and I agreed to have this dish (farmstand broccoli, friend's goats milk, egg from my hens, Wild Card Item lemon, Thorpes soft white whole wheat flour, Marco Polo Item dill), along with our old fall-back of boiled potatoes from the garden. I put the potatoes on, my mom cooked the broccoli, and I made the sauce. Being me, I had to modify the recipe. In this case, I didn't think it was lemony enough, so I added the juice of half a lemon. We both loved the way the broccoli tasted with the lemon sauce. My mom said it was almost like candy, but I wouldn't go that far. Still, it's now my second-favorite way to eat broccoli. My very favorite, Stir-Fried Broccoli With Ginger, doesn't fall within the Locavore Challenge parameters.
Right before my dad came home from work, I took the four (four!) loaves of Scottish Sponge Bread out of the oven. We all sat down to try the hot fresh bread and all liked it. I think I'll make the recipe frequently in the future, because it's a relatively easy way to make what's about a week's worth of bread for my family at once. I can leave two of the four loaves in the cupboard and freeze two loaves, which can be taken out later in the week.
While I worked on dinner, my dad put an electrified wire around the chicken coop with the young chickens in it. He'd just gotten it back from our friend with the goats and chickens. Once the little chickens perching on a board down the middle of the chicken coop at night they should be safe, but they're young enough that they're sleeping in a pile in the corner of the coop. This is how a predator was able to kill the chick yesterday. We're hoping that the electric wire will offer some painful discouragement. In past years, we've had the electric wire up as soon as the chicks went out and had no trouble. Last year, we never got the wire up and we got lucky. We pushed our luck too far this year, and just don't want to take any more risks after what happened yesterday morning.
For dinner, I made ratatouille (farm stand garlic, farm stand onion, Wild Card Item olive oil, garden eggplant, garden tomatoes, garden zucchini), which was served with some of the best corn on the cob I've had all summer and some of the fresh Scottish Sponge bread. We finished off almost a whole loaf of it tonight!
Speaking of corn on the cob, I received the fall issue of the NOFA newsletter, The Natural Farmer, today. My favorite part of the publication is the section that contains summaries of all sorts of agriculture-related news stories recently published. I was extremely upset to learn from reading this section of the newsletter today that Monsanto is planning on starting to sell transgenetic (a.k.a. genetically engineered or genetically modified) sweet corn seeds this fall.
The list of complaints against transgenetic crops is longing, and includes the emergence of superweeds, health concerns, and lawsuits filed against seed-saving farmers whose crops crossed with GMO's through pollen drift from neighboring farmers' fields. According to a poll conducted by MSNBC that I read about it The Natural Farmer, ninety-six percent of Americans support the labeling of trasngenetic crops. The government won't even consider it, though. Meanwhile, such crops are banned in Europe.
Until now, there were no commercially available seeds for transgenetic produce. My family been buying organic grain for years, so we've not worried too much about our consumption of transgentic crops. My dad isn't too fond of Thorpes sweet corn, so I've picked my battles and let him by it from local conventional farmers. With Monsanto's release of trasgenetic sweet corn, we're either going to have to grow our own or buy organic now.
That's not the end of the world, obviously, but I do hate to see the tentacles of transgentic crops (and thus companies like Monsanto) spread. If their transgenetic sweet corn is anywhere near as successful as their trangenetic feed corn and soy, it will easily come to dominate the market. Today, about 90% of most commodity crops grown in the United States are transgenetic.
Right before lunchtime, my mom went to get feed at J & L in Corfu while I worked on bread. The bread was a new recipe for me, Scottish Sponge Bread from The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. (Note: The recipe is too long to share below. If you haven't already, just go out and by your copy of this bread cookbook. You won't regret it. It truly is indispensable.) I decided to try this recipe I've been so busy earlier in the day that I forget to start bread lately until evening, when there's not enough time for it to rise and bake before I go to bed. Because of this, bread hasn't been getting made recently. This recipe calls for the sponge to rise overnight, which allows me to start bread in the evening.
Anyways, I had to work on my bread dough right before lunchtime. It ended up taking a while, because I had to add the rest of the ingredients to the sponge part of the dough, mix it all together, get a large stew pot washed so I had a container big enough to knead my humungous amount of dough in, and finally knead it all for twenty minutes.
My mom had arrived home while I was still working on the bread. I was shocked that the bill for a mere two bags of organic feed was $75. Just a few years ago, a bag of organic turkey feed wasn't much more than twenty dollars. We just needed a little more feed to hold my birds over until our order from Lakeview Organic Grain, a NOFA-NY Certified Organic grower and grinder of animal feed in the Finger Lakes region. We've tried out Lakeview a bit before and I've been wanting to make the switch to Lakeview for years. It finally looks like we've got our act together with a couple of friends so it will be happening for good. After seeing the feed bill today, I'm even my happy about the switch. The feed for my poultry from Lakeview will be $20 to $22 dollars, depending on the specific amounts of protein mixed in it.
It was well past lunchtime when I finally finished kneading and let the dough rise again. This presented a problem, as my mom and I were both hungry and grumpy by this point. I was getting sick of the same old dishes we've been making again and again this month, but neither of us had any good ideas. After fruitlessly looking at cookbooks for recipes using the vegetables we have handy, I remembered that I'd had an idea a few days ago that broccoli with a lemon sauce would probably be good. I googled it, and right away found this recipe at Cooks.com for Broccoli With Lemon Herb Sauce.
My mom and I agreed to have this dish (farmstand broccoli, friend's goats milk, egg from my hens, Wild Card Item lemon, Thorpes soft white whole wheat flour, Marco Polo Item dill), along with our old fall-back of boiled potatoes from the garden. I put the potatoes on, my mom cooked the broccoli, and I made the sauce. Being me, I had to modify the recipe. In this case, I didn't think it was lemony enough, so I added the juice of half a lemon. We both loved the way the broccoli tasted with the lemon sauce. My mom said it was almost like candy, but I wouldn't go that far. Still, it's now my second-favorite way to eat broccoli. My very favorite, Stir-Fried Broccoli With Ginger, doesn't fall within the Locavore Challenge parameters.
Right before my dad came home from work, I took the four (four!) loaves of Scottish Sponge Bread out of the oven. We all sat down to try the hot fresh bread and all liked it. I think I'll make the recipe frequently in the future, because it's a relatively easy way to make what's about a week's worth of bread for my family at once. I can leave two of the four loaves in the cupboard and freeze two loaves, which can be taken out later in the week.
While I worked on dinner, my dad put an electrified wire around the chicken coop with the young chickens in it. He'd just gotten it back from our friend with the goats and chickens. Once the little chickens perching on a board down the middle of the chicken coop at night they should be safe, but they're young enough that they're sleeping in a pile in the corner of the coop. This is how a predator was able to kill the chick yesterday. We're hoping that the electric wire will offer some painful discouragement. In past years, we've had the electric wire up as soon as the chicks went out and had no trouble. Last year, we never got the wire up and we got lucky. We pushed our luck too far this year, and just don't want to take any more risks after what happened yesterday morning.
For dinner, I made ratatouille (farm stand garlic, farm stand onion, Wild Card Item olive oil, garden eggplant, garden tomatoes, garden zucchini), which was served with some of the best corn on the cob I've had all summer and some of the fresh Scottish Sponge bread. We finished off almost a whole loaf of it tonight!
Speaking of corn on the cob, I received the fall issue of the NOFA newsletter, The Natural Farmer, today. My favorite part of the publication is the section that contains summaries of all sorts of agriculture-related news stories recently published. I was extremely upset to learn from reading this section of the newsletter today that Monsanto is planning on starting to sell transgenetic (a.k.a. genetically engineered or genetically modified) sweet corn seeds this fall.
The list of complaints against transgenetic crops is longing, and includes the emergence of superweeds, health concerns, and lawsuits filed against seed-saving farmers whose crops crossed with GMO's through pollen drift from neighboring farmers' fields. According to a poll conducted by MSNBC that I read about it The Natural Farmer, ninety-six percent of Americans support the labeling of trasngenetic crops. The government won't even consider it, though. Meanwhile, such crops are banned in Europe.
Until now, there were no commercially available seeds for transgenetic produce. My family been buying organic grain for years, so we've not worried too much about our consumption of transgentic crops. My dad isn't too fond of Thorpes sweet corn, so I've picked my battles and let him by it from local conventional farmers. With Monsanto's release of trasgenetic sweet corn, we're either going to have to grow our own or buy organic now.
That's not the end of the world, obviously, but I do hate to see the tentacles of transgentic crops (and thus companies like Monsanto) spread. If their transgenetic sweet corn is anywhere near as successful as their trangenetic feed corn and soy, it will easily come to dominate the market. Today, about 90% of most commodity crops grown in the United States are transgenetic.
Day 13 of 2011, The Predator Strikes
There are good ways to be woken up and bad ones. I remember being so instantly awake and excited when my mom came into my bedroom on a morning in December 2009 to tell me that Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. This morning wasn't like that. Before she had even finished saying "Good morning," I was pretty sure from her tone that one of my chickens was dead. I was once again instantly awake, but this time there was dread in my stomach.
Something got one of my chickens early this morning. Around 5:15 this morning, my dad got up because my six-week-old chickens (the ones that were recently moved outside) were making a racket. He checked on them, but it was too dark to see if there was anything wrong. He went out to the workshop, a little outbuilding at the end of our driveway that he uses as an office and for a lot of beekeeping stuff. When he was in the workshop, he heard the chickens making a fuss again. Once again, he went out to check on them, and it was once again too dark for him to be able to see much of anything. At this point, my mom also came down to see if the chickens were okay.
It wasn't until it got lighter that my dad discovered that one of the young chickens was dead. By the time I'd gotten up, the other young chickens had started pecking at the dead bird, so I had to get it out of the coop. The chick had been died from a neck wound inflicted through the chicken wire. It turned out that it was Bertie, a cockerel that I was considering keeping as a new rooster. He was the biggest of all my chicks, and seemed quite gentle. He was also gorgeous, and and his black back and white belly made him appear to be wearing a tuxedo. I guess predators appreciate quality, too.
After all the excitement about the dead chick ended, we all had barley for breakfast. My dad had his with frozen blueberries for a local low-spray farm, I had mine plain, and nobody can remember what my mom had on hers. It may have been chopped peach or maple syrup.
For lunch, I made some more spaghetti sauce and mixed it with the leftover tomato sauce that my mom had made for the pizza. I also cooked the last of the spaghetti noodles from Flour City. We topped our spaghetti with ricotta cheese made from our friend's goats' milk.
At 4:50 p.m., I realized that we needed to be leaving for my first dance class of the fall in forty minutes. We made a mad scramble to have dinner on the table in time, but ended up leaving fifteen minutes late. Dinner was only boiled potatoes, boiled green beans, and corn on the cob, but my dad had to run down the street to some farm stands to purchase the latter two items before they could be cooked. The potatoes we had on hand already, as they were from the garden.
Something got one of my chickens early this morning. Around 5:15 this morning, my dad got up because my six-week-old chickens (the ones that were recently moved outside) were making a racket. He checked on them, but it was too dark to see if there was anything wrong. He went out to the workshop, a little outbuilding at the end of our driveway that he uses as an office and for a lot of beekeeping stuff. When he was in the workshop, he heard the chickens making a fuss again. Once again, he went out to check on them, and it was once again too dark for him to be able to see much of anything. At this point, my mom also came down to see if the chickens were okay.
It wasn't until it got lighter that my dad discovered that one of the young chickens was dead. By the time I'd gotten up, the other young chickens had started pecking at the dead bird, so I had to get it out of the coop. The chick had been died from a neck wound inflicted through the chicken wire. It turned out that it was Bertie, a cockerel that I was considering keeping as a new rooster. He was the biggest of all my chicks, and seemed quite gentle. He was also gorgeous, and and his black back and white belly made him appear to be wearing a tuxedo. I guess predators appreciate quality, too.
After all the excitement about the dead chick ended, we all had barley for breakfast. My dad had his with frozen blueberries for a local low-spray farm, I had mine plain, and nobody can remember what my mom had on hers. It may have been chopped peach or maple syrup.
For lunch, I made some more spaghetti sauce and mixed it with the leftover tomato sauce that my mom had made for the pizza. I also cooked the last of the spaghetti noodles from Flour City. We topped our spaghetti with ricotta cheese made from our friend's goats' milk.
At 4:50 p.m., I realized that we needed to be leaving for my first dance class of the fall in forty minutes. We made a mad scramble to have dinner on the table in time, but ended up leaving fifteen minutes late. Dinner was only boiled potatoes, boiled green beans, and corn on the cob, but my dad had to run down the street to some farm stands to purchase the latter two items before they could be cooked. The potatoes we had on hand already, as they were from the garden.
Day 12 of 2011, Height of the Harvest
Breakfast and lunch were leftovers on Monday. We used up the leftover peach pancake batter, while my mom bought chips (Wild Card Item) so we could use up the leftover salsa for at lunchtime. For dinner, I made mashed potatoes (garden potatoes, friend's goat milk, Finger Lakes butter) and maple-glazed winter squash (garden Delicata squash, homemade maple syrup, Finger Lakes butter, cinnamon [Marco Polo item]), while my mom chopped up carrot sticks (garden).
After dinner, my dad and I went to pick tomatoes. It was mainly the hybrid late-blight resistant tomatoes that needed picking, as most of the heirloom tomato plants I planted are still heavy with green fruit. We picked about two bushels of tomatoes, so my family will definitely need to start canning soon. We also ended up harvesting a giant zucchini and sixteen pounds of potatoes.
It's so fun to harvest potatoes because I feel like I'm getting something for almost nothing. We planted our potatoes right on the bare ground and covered them in a foot of straw, as the 1959 Rodale book and Lasagna Gardening suggest. That's it. Instead of all the digging and hilling most potato growers go through, we just left the potatoes under the straw until it was time to harvest. We go through so many potatoes as a family that's it's great to just be able to grow our own with so little effort. It was probably the easiest crop in my garden this year. I'd recommend this method to anyone.
~*~
Maple-Glazed Winter Squash
adapted from Burst-of-Orange Butternut Squash recipe in Kid Favorites Made Healthy
1 lb winter squash
1/3 c water
1 Tbs maple syrup
dash in cinnamon
butter
Peel squash. Slice in half and remove seeds and pulp. Chop squash into small cubes. Put in greased 2 quart baking dish. Mix up water, cinnamon, and maple syrup, then pour over squash. Dot with butter. Bake uncovered in 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for twenty-five minutes or until tender.
After dinner, my dad and I went to pick tomatoes. It was mainly the hybrid late-blight resistant tomatoes that needed picking, as most of the heirloom tomato plants I planted are still heavy with green fruit. We picked about two bushels of tomatoes, so my family will definitely need to start canning soon. We also ended up harvesting a giant zucchini and sixteen pounds of potatoes.
It's so fun to harvest potatoes because I feel like I'm getting something for almost nothing. We planted our potatoes right on the bare ground and covered them in a foot of straw, as the 1959 Rodale book and Lasagna Gardening suggest. That's it. Instead of all the digging and hilling most potato growers go through, we just left the potatoes under the straw until it was time to harvest. We go through so many potatoes as a family that's it's great to just be able to grow our own with so little effort. It was probably the easiest crop in my garden this year. I'd recommend this method to anyone.
~*~
Maple-Glazed Winter Squash
adapted from Burst-of-Orange Butternut Squash recipe in Kid Favorites Made Healthy
1 lb winter squash
1/3 c water
1 Tbs maple syrup
dash in cinnamon
butter
Peel squash. Slice in half and remove seeds and pulp. Chop squash into small cubes. Put in greased 2 quart baking dish. Mix up water, cinnamon, and maple syrup, then pour over squash. Dot with butter. Bake uncovered in 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for twenty-five minutes or until tender.
Day 11 of 2011, Share the Harvest
For breakfast on Sunday, I made peach pancakes (Thorpes peaches, Thorpes soft white whole wheat flour, homemade maple syrup, various Marco Polo items). I used a teaspoon of cinnamon, as Betty Crocker suggests for peach pancakes, and doubled the amount of maple syrup because this pancake recipe hadn't seemed sweet enough previously. We all agreed they were the best pancakes we'd had all month.
After church, my mom and I brought vegetable donations to the home of a former neighbor. She's started a program she's calling Share the Harvest this year to collect donations from farmers and gardeners in the East Aurora area. She's bringing the food to the Seneca Street Methodist Church, which is located in a neighborhood that's a food desert, to be used to help supplement the diets of the neighborhood's many impoverished residents. I helped her out a bit in August by making some signs for Share the Harvest on the computer, and my mom and I volunteered to pick up Thorpes donation every Saturday and bring it to our former neighbor on Sunday. In addition, we always bring a few things for our garden to donate. This week, we contributed zucchini and eggplant. I would have given tomatoes from my garden as well, but Thorpes had given a big bushel basket.
I went to my friend's house again for a gathering of homeschooled teenagers. Before I left, my dad was kind enough to make some of his amazing salsa for me to bring. I carpooled with a family from Holland, and we talked about gardening and poultry-keeping all the way to Clarence. They're pretty sure that they'll get chickens next year, so I offered to show them my set-up for chicken the next time we carpool.
For dinner at my friend's house, I followed the Rule of Good Manners and partook in all the food, whether local or not. There was lasagna, salad, and peach slices, all of which may have at least been partially local as both of the contributing families belong to CSA's. For desert, there was cake and snicker, decidedly non-local but so delicious. At home, my parents had leftover potatoes and chili.
After church, my mom and I brought vegetable donations to the home of a former neighbor. She's started a program she's calling Share the Harvest this year to collect donations from farmers and gardeners in the East Aurora area. She's bringing the food to the Seneca Street Methodist Church, which is located in a neighborhood that's a food desert, to be used to help supplement the diets of the neighborhood's many impoverished residents. I helped her out a bit in August by making some signs for Share the Harvest on the computer, and my mom and I volunteered to pick up Thorpes donation every Saturday and bring it to our former neighbor on Sunday. In addition, we always bring a few things for our garden to donate. This week, we contributed zucchini and eggplant. I would have given tomatoes from my garden as well, but Thorpes had given a big bushel basket.
I went to my friend's house again for a gathering of homeschooled teenagers. Before I left, my dad was kind enough to make some of his amazing salsa for me to bring. I carpooled with a family from Holland, and we talked about gardening and poultry-keeping all the way to Clarence. They're pretty sure that they'll get chickens next year, so I offered to show them my set-up for chicken the next time we carpool.
For dinner at my friend's house, I followed the Rule of Good Manners and partook in all the food, whether local or not. There was lasagna, salad, and peach slices, all of which may have at least been partially local as both of the contributing families belong to CSA's. For desert, there was cake and snicker, decidedly non-local but so delicious. At home, my parents had leftover potatoes and chili.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Day 10 of 2011, Reflections on Butchering
We all tried the pearled barley from Farmers and Artisans for breakfast on Saturday, which my dad cooked in the pressure cooker. My mom had hers with blueberries, my dad had his with chunks of peach, and I ate mine plain. It was sort of like undercooked brown rice, only less flavorful. I think I'll try it with peach chunks like my dad next time.
For lunch, my mom made pizza. She called it "Four Farm Pizza," because the tomatoes and the shredded zucchini (the latter was used as a topping) came from our garden, the mozzerella cheese came was made with milk from our friend with the goats, the onion came from a farm stand down the street, and the wheat in the crust came from Thorpes. Unfortunately, it was kind of bland. We can't use any Parmesan cheese on the pizza during the Locavore Challenge, so the cheese on the pizza didn't have any bite. In addition, my mom followed a recipe for the tomato sauce that called for dried herbs, so the sauce lacked the wonderful flavor of fresh garlic that I always try to feature in my tomato sauce at this time of year.
We ate lunch late, so we only had a light dinner later on. We all had boiled potatoes (garden) and corn on the cob (farm stand). My dad also grilled some frozen venison steak from a deer shot next door, but only my parents ate that. I just don't like steak.
The reason my mom made lunch was because Saturday was butchering day. We had a group of ten two-year-old laying hens that were just starting to molt. Chickens lay best in their first year of laying, and egg production often falls off a lot after two years. Every year, chickens stop laying for a few weeks while they molt, instead putting all their energy into replacing all their old feathers with new ones for the winter. In my experience, egg production just doesn't justify the feed expenses after two years. So it was time to butcher these two-year-old hens.
My dad and I were hoping to get started around nine in the morning. By the time we were done setting up, it was after eleven. As my dad and I were plucking the first two chicken, our friend with the goats showed up. I sold her chicks last year and again this year, and she learned how to butcher chickens last year by helping us. When she heard last week that we were planning on doing stewing hens, she volunteered to help again.
Her offer was gratefully accepted, as we've found butchering with friends to be so much more pleasant. We end up getting so busy talking and joking that the time just flies, which isn't the case when it's just my dad and I. Between the social aspect and the fact that many hands makes light work, I'm pretty sure I've discovered why so many tasks on farms, like threshing wheat and raising barns, were often community events.
As expected, our friend's presence made the three hours it took to butcher the hens feel like no time at all. My dad never likes butchering, and always gets grumpy in anticipation. After my first couple of times butchering, I got somewhat used to the process and starting to become competent at my tasks. Since then, butchering hasn't usually bothered me nearly as much as him. Still, some days are rougher than others, and I found myself feeling melancholy after butchering.
When I was young, I was a vegetarian for about two years. Eventually, I found the lure of meat too hard to resist, and gave up on trying not to eat meat. Still, it was quite the exercise in will for a kid in elementary school.
I never did become a big meat eater, and to this day I much prefer meat as just one element of a dish (like chili) much more appealing than a big hunk of plain old meat on my plate. I started learning a lot more about factory farms when I was ten, after my dad got turkeys. I was glad the birds I was going to eat at least hadn't suffered a horrible life, but I sure didn't want to be around to help kill them.
Wanting nothing to do with butchering is rather human, I think. Long before the days when chicken came chopped up on meal-sized boneless, skinless pieces, five year old Laura Ingalls Little House in the Big Woods hid inside on butchering day. She didn't want to hear gun shot that kills the pig or its squeal as it dies. Laura knew that pig, once chopped up and preserved, will help keep her and her family alive through the winter. She knew this, but she still doesn’t want the pig to die.
My avoidance of butchering lasted until I was thirteen, at which point wanted to start selling turkeys. My dad said there was no way that he'd butcher all those turkeys for other people without any help. If I wanted to sell turkeys, I'd at have to start plucking feathers. I've been doing that ever since. I have expanded my resume to include scalding (a step that loosens the feathers in preparation for plucking), but I draw the line at anything that involves blood. This leaves my dad stuck with the actual killing, along with evisceration. It's something that I feel like I should at least try to learn, but I keep putting it off.
For lunch, my mom made pizza. She called it "Four Farm Pizza," because the tomatoes and the shredded zucchini (the latter was used as a topping) came from our garden, the mozzerella cheese came was made with milk from our friend with the goats, the onion came from a farm stand down the street, and the wheat in the crust came from Thorpes. Unfortunately, it was kind of bland. We can't use any Parmesan cheese on the pizza during the Locavore Challenge, so the cheese on the pizza didn't have any bite. In addition, my mom followed a recipe for the tomato sauce that called for dried herbs, so the sauce lacked the wonderful flavor of fresh garlic that I always try to feature in my tomato sauce at this time of year.
We ate lunch late, so we only had a light dinner later on. We all had boiled potatoes (garden) and corn on the cob (farm stand). My dad also grilled some frozen venison steak from a deer shot next door, but only my parents ate that. I just don't like steak.
The reason my mom made lunch was because Saturday was butchering day. We had a group of ten two-year-old laying hens that were just starting to molt. Chickens lay best in their first year of laying, and egg production often falls off a lot after two years. Every year, chickens stop laying for a few weeks while they molt, instead putting all their energy into replacing all their old feathers with new ones for the winter. In my experience, egg production just doesn't justify the feed expenses after two years. So it was time to butcher these two-year-old hens.
My dad and I were hoping to get started around nine in the morning. By the time we were done setting up, it was after eleven. As my dad and I were plucking the first two chicken, our friend with the goats showed up. I sold her chicks last year and again this year, and she learned how to butcher chickens last year by helping us. When she heard last week that we were planning on doing stewing hens, she volunteered to help again.
Her offer was gratefully accepted, as we've found butchering with friends to be so much more pleasant. We end up getting so busy talking and joking that the time just flies, which isn't the case when it's just my dad and I. Between the social aspect and the fact that many hands makes light work, I'm pretty sure I've discovered why so many tasks on farms, like threshing wheat and raising barns, were often community events.
As expected, our friend's presence made the three hours it took to butcher the hens feel like no time at all. My dad never likes butchering, and always gets grumpy in anticipation. After my first couple of times butchering, I got somewhat used to the process and starting to become competent at my tasks. Since then, butchering hasn't usually bothered me nearly as much as him. Still, some days are rougher than others, and I found myself feeling melancholy after butchering.
When I was young, I was a vegetarian for about two years. Eventually, I found the lure of meat too hard to resist, and gave up on trying not to eat meat. Still, it was quite the exercise in will for a kid in elementary school.
I never did become a big meat eater, and to this day I much prefer meat as just one element of a dish (like chili) much more appealing than a big hunk of plain old meat on my plate. I started learning a lot more about factory farms when I was ten, after my dad got turkeys. I was glad the birds I was going to eat at least hadn't suffered a horrible life, but I sure didn't want to be around to help kill them.
Wanting nothing to do with butchering is rather human, I think. Long before the days when chicken came chopped up on meal-sized boneless, skinless pieces, five year old Laura Ingalls Little House in the Big Woods hid inside on butchering day. She didn't want to hear gun shot that kills the pig or its squeal as it dies. Laura knew that pig, once chopped up and preserved, will help keep her and her family alive through the winter. She knew this, but she still doesn’t want the pig to die.
My avoidance of butchering lasted until I was thirteen, at which point wanted to start selling turkeys. My dad said there was no way that he'd butcher all those turkeys for other people without any help. If I wanted to sell turkeys, I'd at have to start plucking feathers. I've been doing that ever since. I have expanded my resume to include scalding (a step that loosens the feathers in preparation for plucking), but I draw the line at anything that involves blood. This leaves my dad stuck with the actual killing, along with evisceration. It's something that I feel like I should at least try to learn, but I keep putting it off.
Perhaps it's because the seven-year-old vegetarian is still alive and well deep inside of me. Yet it isn't just little children who find the something about idea of killing animals wrong. Hindus won't eat beef, while Jains, whose religion is an offshoot or relative of Hindusim, are such strict vegans that they even try to avoid crushing or swallowing insects.
Where is the line that separates rightful killing from wrong? Most people would easily say that that line is drawn at humans. Upon further questioning, that become much more fuzzy. There is, of course, the whole abortion debate, of whether life begins at fertilization, implantation, a certain number of weeks, or at a baby's first breath. There is a sizable percentage of the population of the United States believes that certain criminals deserve to die for their crimes, and hardly anyone would call a soldier who killed an enemy soldier in war a murderer.
So when I participate in the killing of my turkeys and chickens (for butchering is just a euphemism for what is truly going on), do I take a step closer to the class of murderer? After all, I have cared for and and even approached loving these birds. With so many of them, I've gasped at seeing their heart beat or leg kick as I candle while they're still embryos in the egg, I feel the surge of victory as I watch each new exhausted chick finally make it out of its egg, I get excited as I watch my fluffy baby chicks grow long legs and wing feathers so they can run and fly, and I feel as though I'm a mother sending her children to college when they spend their first night in the outdoor chicken coop. How can I then, mere weeks or months later, laugh with my neighbor as we pull feathers of the bodies of recently killed birds? My mind can't help but think of the genocidaires in Rwanda, who decided that their lives would be better without their neighbors.* My life is certainly better when I'm eating delicious chicken stew instead of feeding old hens who hardly lay any more. Is it a slippery slope from chicken plucker to the International Criminal Court?
I eventually pulled myself out of this train of thought, as I always have to do at some point. Moral codes in societies change over time. Who knows what we do today that will one day be viewed as barbaric? In this time, we call ourselves "civilized" for quashing our instincts to murder and rape, but we do still eat meat. If I'm going to be the omnivore I evolved to be, the only way I can do so in good conscious is to make sure my birds have the best life I can provide them. I find it ironic when people who eat factory-farmed Cornish Rocks are horrified that I'd eat an animal I've met. We each have to figure out how to live our own moral codes. When it comes to meat, I've found a way to eat that doesn't feel too hypocritical to me. Really, questioning it now and then probably doesn't hurt. If I weren't at all bothered by killing chickens, then I'd really be worried.
*I'm not trying to be cavalier about genocide here. As someone with a deep interest in human rights, such thoughts really do cross my mind. However, I must say that the mass killings of human beings really should not be compared to the butchering of a few chickens. To do so would disrespect all those touched by genocide. What I wrote about was an attempt to figure out where my moral ideals and life intersect. Trying to figure out one's ethical boundaries and duties should be something that's important to anyone concerned in human rights, which is why I wrote what I did. I was merely trying to be honest about my moral struggles, but I apologize if it came across crass. It was not my intent.
Day 9 of 2011, Buying Barley
My mom and I finished the Individualized Home Instruction Plan for New York State, the hardest state to homeschool in, on Friday. What a good feeling! We have some more paperwork for homeschooling to catch up still, but nothing with the urgency of the IHIP. This means that we have more time for food again!
For breakfast, I made peach smoothies (peaches from Thorpes fruit share, yogurt made from friend's goats' milk). For lunch, I made mashed potatoes (garden potatoes, Upstate Farms butter, friend's goats milk), my mom chopped up carrot sticks (garden carrots), and we also ate the rest of the Waldorf salad and some of the bread I'd made the night before.
In late afternoon,my mom and I went food shopping as soon as the IHIP was done. Our big goal was barley, which we'd decided we'd try as a substitute for oatmeal. We couldn't remember whether we'd seen it at the Lexington Food Co-op or just Farmers and Artisans, but we decided we'd head to Buffalo.
First, we went to Five Points Bakery, where we bought the bakery's last package of pasta from Flour City. We also purchased the butter at Five Points that we usually buy at Farmers and Artisans, in case we found didn't need to go there because we found the barley at Lexington.
Alas, a shortened shopping trip was not meant to be, as Lexington Food Co-op did not carry local barley. We were able to replenish our stock of beans, since they did offer Cayuga Organics products. We chose black beans and Jacobs cattle beans, though there were also pinto beans and some kind of red bean.
We proceeded to Farmers and Artisans, where we scooped up the only bag of barley they had on the shelf. It was tiny and only looked like it would last us a couple of days, but I guess we'll think of it as a barley breakfast trial period. We also bought all of the walnuts they had in the store, which only amounted to about one and a half pounds. Figuring that about five-eights of that weight is shell, the nuts won't last too long, either. I do love Farmers and Artisans, but the small quantities they stock of the few products they offer can make it hard to justify the gasoline and time consumed going there.
As we checked out at Farmers and Artisans, my stomach was growling in hunger. Sitting at the counter was a beautiful pear vanilla muffin. Though Farmers and Artisans is a local foods store, I knew that the vanilla could not be local. Still, it was past six in the evening, and my mom had been complaining about hunger longer than me. We caved to temptation and bought the muffin, which we shared as we sat outside Farmers and Artisans before going home. Like most muffins sold in America, I thought the muffin had way too much sweetener, but there was so much going on with the flavor that I could forgive the sweetness. The muffin turned out to be delicious and was just what my mom and I needed to make it home.
My dad had had salsa (garden tomatoes, farmers' market bell pepper, farmers' market hot pepper, farm stand onion, Wild Card Item lime) and chips (Wild Card Item) waiting for my mom and I when we got home. My dad had finally listened to what I'd been telling him all summer and put less pepper in the salsa. Because of the reduced pepper and super ripe tomatoes, the salsa was the best made dad had made since tomato season started.
After eating salsa, I made Greek salad (farmers' market lettuce, farm stand onions, cheese made from friend's goats' milk) and one of my parents made corn on the cob (farm stand). This, along with the salsa and chips, was our dinner. In my mind, it was a perfect late summer meal.
Before I went to bed, I made zucchini bread (Thorpes soft white and hard red whole wheat flour, Upstate Farms butter, homemade maple syrup, Marco Polo exceptions [baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves]). So we didn't eat loads of unhealthy zucchini bread all at once, I froze one of the two loaves for consumption this winter. It will be a nice treat on some cold night when we're all craving something sweet.
~*~
Zucchini Bread
10 oz zucchini
3 cups flour (I like 2 cups hard red whole wheat, 1 cup soft white whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking power
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
3 eggs
1 cup melted butter or oil
1 cup maple syrup
Grate zucchini. In small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In large mixing bowl, beat three eggs, then beat in butter and maple syrup. Gradually stir in dry ingredients. Pour into two greased 8.5" x 4.5" loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for fifty minutes.
~*~
Zucchini Bread
10 oz zucchini
3 cups flour (I like 2 cups hard red whole wheat, 1 cup soft white whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking power
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
3 eggs
1 cup melted butter or oil
1 cup maple syrup
Grate zucchini. In small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In large mixing bowl, beat three eggs, then beat in butter and maple syrup. Gradually stir in dry ingredients. Pour into two greased 8.5" x 4.5" loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for fifty minutes.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Days 6,7, and 8 of 2011, (Almost) Too Busy To Eat!
We've been quite involved lately in getting my homeschooling started for the year, so there hasn't been too much happening with food. Everyone's been a bit grumpy at times about the relative lack of variety and quantity of food, due to our lack of time to do a lot of shopping and more elaborate cooking. We still don't have oatmeal.
On Tuesday, we had blueberry-peach smoothies (frozen farmstand blueberries, Niagara Growers Cooperative peaches, yogurt made from a friend's goats' milk) for breakfast. Lunch, if I remember correctly, was of the potatoes (garden) and another vegetable variety. For a snack when my dad got home from work, I made round ginger loaf bread. Dinner was Swiss chard fettucine (Pasta City pasta, garden Swiss chard, cheese from friend's goats' milk), which would have been better if we had fresh basil and ricotta cheese instead of feta.
On Wednesday, my mom made cornbread (cornmeal and whole wheat flour from Thorpe's, goats milk from the friend, Upstate Farms butter, eggs from my hens) for breakfast. After shopping for grapes, broccoli, and cucumbers at nearby farm stands and the East Aurora Farmers' Market, we had leftover Swiss chard fettucine for for lunch. My mom and I made fried okra with Indian spices and sauteed potatoes, carrots, and broccoli. For dessert, I made blueberry-peach smoothies.
For breakfast yesterday, my mom made Waldorf salad (farmers' market grapes, Thorpes apples, Farmers and Artisans walnuts, yogurt made from friend's goats' milk, garden Swiss chard). Despite how much I love my wonderful fresh local produce, I found the substitution of deseeded local grapes for seedless grapes from California and Swiss chard stalks for celery actually had too much flavor and not enough crunch. Lunch was sauteed vegetables leftover from last night's dinner. We got our fruit share at Thorpes in the afternoon. For dinner, my mom made chili (garden tomatoes, Thorpes soybeans, Farmers and Artisans kidney beans). It was an excellent way to use up the soybeans we received in our Thorpes share a couple of years ago, but the chili wasn't 100% local. It wasn't until she was mostly done with dinner that she realized that the vinegar the recipe called for wasn't local, at which point it was too late and she had to add it.
A couple of notes on things commonly neglected on this blog before I finish this hurried mish-mash of a post. First, my dad has different lunches than my mom and I on workdays. I usually don't know exactly what he packed, since he's almost always already at work by the time I get up. What he brings depends on what we have in the house, but is based on a combination of homemade bread and local fruits, vegetables, and yogurt. Second, pouring a glass (or glass after glass!) of goats milk at a meal or grabbing some fresh fruit when we're hungry is something my family does without thought, so I often fail to mention such things on this blog.
~*~
Swiss Chard Fettucine
10 to 20 oz Swiss chard or spinach
1 small to medium onion (any kind) OR a small bunch of garlic scapes
plenty of fresh basil
three or four servings of dried pasta
about 1 Tbsp olive oil
up to a cup of ricotta cheese
a large pinch of dried basil (if fresh basil isn't used)
a large pinch of oregano
a large pinch of dried parsley
1/8 tsp of nutmeg
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
If applicable, separate Swiss chard stalks from leaves and chop into small pieces. Chop Swiss chard or spinach leaves as though making salad. If applicable, chop basil leaves in the same manner. Cook pasta. In large frying pan, heat oil, then saute all chopped ingredients until leaves are wilted and (if applicable) stalks and tender. In large mixing bowl, combine sauteed items, cheese, and spices. Once mixed evenly, add pasta and coat with sauce. If your locavore diet will allow it (mine won't right now), top each serving with grated Parmesan cheese.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Day 5 of 2011, Companionable Chopping
For breakfast today, my dad had zucchini bread and an egg from my hens over the last of Friday night's bread. When I got up, I made more pancake batter and my mom and I had peach pancakes.
For lunch, my mom and I went in search of a way to use up some Chinese cabbage that had been sitting in the refrigerator for at least a week. We usually stir-fry it and add soy sauce, but that isn't an option right now because of the Locavore Challenge. We ended up using the instructions for sauteing vegetables from Enchanted Broccoli Forest to saute thinly chopped potatoes (garden), zucchini (garden), carrots (garden), Chinese cabbage (farmers' market), and onions (farmstand) in a bit of olive oil. My mom and I split the work of chopping the vegetables, which was nice because I usually finds that it gets old fast. The sauteed vegetables didn't end up being my favorite meal, but it used up the Chinese cabbage and was a nice change from a boiled-potatoes based meal.
Dinner was the leftover sauteed vegetables and, to celebrate Labor Day, peach cobbler (peaches from the Niagara Growers Cooperative, butter from Farmers and Artisans and Upstate Farms, honey from my dad's bees). The cobbler was good enough that I went back for more, but it just couldn't compare to the amazing pies and crisps my mom makes.
For lunch, my mom and I went in search of a way to use up some Chinese cabbage that had been sitting in the refrigerator for at least a week. We usually stir-fry it and add soy sauce, but that isn't an option right now because of the Locavore Challenge. We ended up using the instructions for sauteing vegetables from Enchanted Broccoli Forest to saute thinly chopped potatoes (garden), zucchini (garden), carrots (garden), Chinese cabbage (farmers' market), and onions (farmstand) in a bit of olive oil. My mom and I split the work of chopping the vegetables, which was nice because I usually finds that it gets old fast. The sauteed vegetables didn't end up being my favorite meal, but it used up the Chinese cabbage and was a nice change from a boiled-potatoes based meal.
Dinner was the leftover sauteed vegetables and, to celebrate Labor Day, peach cobbler (peaches from the Niagara Growers Cooperative, butter from Farmers and Artisans and Upstate Farms, honey from my dad's bees). The cobbler was good enough that I went back for more, but it just couldn't compare to the amazing pies and crisps my mom makes.
Hurricane Irene
Yes, I'm blogging about Hurricane Irene. Yes, I realize most people were blogging about it a week ago or more and have now moved onto Lee and even Katia. Yes, I realize many people are dealing with "Irene fatigue," sick of all the often overblown media coverage of the hurricane.
For me, though, Irene has only really hit home in the last few days. As the storm approached, I was far enough inland here in Western New York to have little to worry about besides the possibility that a bit of rain from it might drift my way and ruin my plans for going to the beach. When I heard on Monday that Irene had flooded parts of eastern Upstate New York and Vermont, my thoughts immediately went to my NOFA acquaintances. There were plenty of other things on my mind, like preparing for the Locavore Challenge, and I moved onto other things.
Then NOFA-NY's weekly e-newsletter arrived in my email inbox on Wednesday. Most of the newsletter focused on the farms affected by Irene and what to do if your farm was amongst the ones flooded. It warned not to feed crops touched by the floodwaters to livestock, let alone sell such crops to customers, due to bacterial contamination. It also suggested getting wells inundated with floodwaters tested for not only substances that would make the water unfit to drink, but also for any chemicals that could affect the organic status of crops watered from the well.
At that point, Irene became real for me. Though I still feel like a newbie to the world of organic farming and NOFA, I've been to NOFA-NY's winter conference four times now. I now recognize many of my fellow attendees. Some of them I know by name, like Elizabeth Henderson (whose book Sharing The Harvest helped launch the CSA movement in the U.S.) and Karma Glos (whose book on organic poultry care, Humane and Healthy Poultry Production, cannot be beat), while many, many others I simply know by sight.
A lot of the participants and presenters come at the winter conference come from areas hard-hit by Irene. As I think back to the beautiful pictures of lovingly tended farms I've seen in many PowerPoint presentations in the conference's workshops, my heart breaks to think of these some fields ravaged by floods. I can't imagine the task facing my fellow NOFA members as they beginning cleaning up from the hurricane and trying to figure out how -- or even if -- they can rebuild their farms after the damage they sustained from Irene.
Governor Cuomo says there was about $45 billion in damage to farms in New York State alone. In an era of budget deficits at the federal level of government in the trillions of dollars, mere tens of millions may not sound like much. To a largely rural region with lots of small farmers, $45 billion is a lot of money, though.
What really makes me upset is the way this storm has been treated. There's been so much coverage about how popular, populous places like New York City and the beach towns of North Carolina dodged a bullet with Irene. Yes, these places really did. The environmental blog Grist had an excellent article about how if the Irene-influenced high tide in New York City had been a mere inch higher, which could have happened if the storm had arrived at a different time of day or if it had been a bit stronger, it would have caused flooding within the subway system.
However, why isn't there more coverage of eastern Upstate New York and Vermont? Why the heck is Obama visiting New Jersey to see Irene's damage when the worst of it is elsewhere? Upstate New York and Vermont are places that aren't used to dealing with the threat of hurricanes, yet they didn't dodge the bullet and were hard-hit with Irene.
What coverage there is often fails to convey the severity of the situation. There was a pathetic report on NPR a few days ago talking about kids having to walk a full half mile to get a ride in other parents' mini-vans to the bus stop because of roads washed out by Irene in Vermont. Within the past century, many children in rural America had to walk much further than that to get to school. Today, many children across the developing world walk much further than a half mile to get to school, while there other other children who live completely out of walking distance of a school and thus get no education. However, NPR sees fit to try to make its listeners feel sympathy for children who have to walk half a mile until the roads are repaired to get a ride in a cushy mini-van to the bus stop. Heck, with the number of Americans who get little to no exercise today, many of the children in the story probably need to walk that half mile for their health!
To me, the NPR story about the children walking part of the way to school in Vermont because of Hurricane Irene is emblematic of the self-centeredness of the middle and upper classes in the country. The fact that nobody at NPR could step back and see how the story would sound from the perspective of a farmer in New York or Vermont who lost most or all of their crop because of Irene, let alone the children who really struggle to get to school across the world, is an extreme example of this self-centeredness.
Perhaps it's a sign of my own middle-to-upper class self-centeredness, but I wonder about how Irene will impact Locavore Challenge participants and others interested in New York State. As Grist says
Even before the storm, a lot of things produced more to the west made their way to New York City. For example, part of the reason that Farmers and Artisans currently doesn't have Flour City Pasta (which is produced about an hour and a half east of Buffalo) is that Flour City apparently sells their products at a lot of NYC farmers' markets (which are over five and a half hours southeast of Rochester).
In sum, I wish Irene hadn't been bad for farmers in New York in Vermont. I wish the media had paid more attention to those who'd really suffered in Irene. I wish that Locavore Challenge participants in the affected region find success despite Irene. Most of all, though, I wish all the best to those who have suffered real losses because of Irene, whether the damage is to a home, farm, or other business.
For me, though, Irene has only really hit home in the last few days. As the storm approached, I was far enough inland here in Western New York to have little to worry about besides the possibility that a bit of rain from it might drift my way and ruin my plans for going to the beach. When I heard on Monday that Irene had flooded parts of eastern Upstate New York and Vermont, my thoughts immediately went to my NOFA acquaintances. There were plenty of other things on my mind, like preparing for the Locavore Challenge, and I moved onto other things.
Then NOFA-NY's weekly e-newsletter arrived in my email inbox on Wednesday. Most of the newsletter focused on the farms affected by Irene and what to do if your farm was amongst the ones flooded. It warned not to feed crops touched by the floodwaters to livestock, let alone sell such crops to customers, due to bacterial contamination. It also suggested getting wells inundated with floodwaters tested for not only substances that would make the water unfit to drink, but also for any chemicals that could affect the organic status of crops watered from the well.
At that point, Irene became real for me. Though I still feel like a newbie to the world of organic farming and NOFA, I've been to NOFA-NY's winter conference four times now. I now recognize many of my fellow attendees. Some of them I know by name, like Elizabeth Henderson (whose book Sharing The Harvest helped launch the CSA movement in the U.S.) and Karma Glos (whose book on organic poultry care, Humane and Healthy Poultry Production, cannot be beat), while many, many others I simply know by sight.
A lot of the participants and presenters come at the winter conference come from areas hard-hit by Irene. As I think back to the beautiful pictures of lovingly tended farms I've seen in many PowerPoint presentations in the conference's workshops, my heart breaks to think of these some fields ravaged by floods. I can't imagine the task facing my fellow NOFA members as they beginning cleaning up from the hurricane and trying to figure out how -- or even if -- they can rebuild their farms after the damage they sustained from Irene.
Governor Cuomo says there was about $45 billion in damage to farms in New York State alone. In an era of budget deficits at the federal level of government in the trillions of dollars, mere tens of millions may not sound like much. To a largely rural region with lots of small farmers, $45 billion is a lot of money, though.
What really makes me upset is the way this storm has been treated. There's been so much coverage about how popular, populous places like New York City and the beach towns of North Carolina dodged a bullet with Irene. Yes, these places really did. The environmental blog Grist had an excellent article about how if the Irene-influenced high tide in New York City had been a mere inch higher, which could have happened if the storm had arrived at a different time of day or if it had been a bit stronger, it would have caused flooding within the subway system.
However, why isn't there more coverage of eastern Upstate New York and Vermont? Why the heck is Obama visiting New Jersey to see Irene's damage when the worst of it is elsewhere? Upstate New York and Vermont are places that aren't used to dealing with the threat of hurricanes, yet they didn't dodge the bullet and were hard-hit with Irene.
What coverage there is often fails to convey the severity of the situation. There was a pathetic report on NPR a few days ago talking about kids having to walk a full half mile to get a ride in other parents' mini-vans to the bus stop because of roads washed out by Irene in Vermont. Within the past century, many children in rural America had to walk much further than that to get to school. Today, many children across the developing world walk much further than a half mile to get to school, while there other other children who live completely out of walking distance of a school and thus get no education. However, NPR sees fit to try to make its listeners feel sympathy for children who have to walk half a mile until the roads are repaired to get a ride in a cushy mini-van to the bus stop. Heck, with the number of Americans who get little to no exercise today, many of the children in the story probably need to walk that half mile for their health!
To me, the NPR story about the children walking part of the way to school in Vermont because of Hurricane Irene is emblematic of the self-centeredness of the middle and upper classes in the country. The fact that nobody at NPR could step back and see how the story would sound from the perspective of a farmer in New York or Vermont who lost most or all of their crop because of Irene, let alone the children who really struggle to get to school across the world, is an extreme example of this self-centeredness.
Perhaps it's a sign of my own middle-to-upper class self-centeredness, but I wonder about how Irene will impact Locavore Challenge participants and others interested in New York State. As Grist says
Hurwitz [the director of a group that runs many New York City's farmers markets] estimated that 80 percent of NYC farmers market participants experienced damage, and, for as many as a third of those, the damage was exceptional.Thus, it would seem that people in eastern Upstate and NYC will have choices in food and higher prices. I even wonder if it might have an affect further west, as farm goods flood east towards higher prices to fill any gaps left in local food choices by Irene.
Even before the storm, a lot of things produced more to the west made their way to New York City. For example, part of the reason that Farmers and Artisans currently doesn't have Flour City Pasta (which is produced about an hour and a half east of Buffalo) is that Flour City apparently sells their products at a lot of NYC farmers' markets (which are over five and a half hours southeast of Rochester).
In sum, I wish Irene hadn't been bad for farmers in New York in Vermont. I wish the media had paid more attention to those who'd really suffered in Irene. I wish that Locavore Challenge participants in the affected region find success despite Irene. Most of all, though, I wish all the best to those who have suffered real losses because of Irene, whether the damage is to a home, farm, or other business.
Day 4 of 2011, The Rule of Good Manners
On Sunday, my parents had eggs from my hens on the bread I'd made on Friday night for breakfast. I'm not a big fan of eggs -- I'll use them in baking, but I'm not very fond of the taste of eggs over easy or hard-boiled or anything like that -- so I had a blueberry-peach smoothie (yogurt the milk of our friend with goats, blueberries from the farmers' market, peach from Thorpes).
For lunch, we had the leftover ratatouille and pasta. Ratatouille really is the perfect late summer/early fall dish. Everything in it is in season in August and September, like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and peppers. You can really tell the difference between a traditional dish and a modern one. Modern dishes commonly feature major ingredients that are from very different seasons and/or geographic areas, making it hard for a locavore to find a useable recipe sometimes. Traditional dishes, created long before the advent of refrigeration and supermarkets, always pair things that come into season together or can be easily preserved, making cooking much easier on today's locavore.
Dinner last night was another locavore disaster. Last year, we decided that if anyone invited us over to dinner in September, it would be impolite to turn down their non-local food. It's our family exception to the rules, which we call it "The Rule of Good Manners." I got together with a bunch of my homeschooling friends at a friends' house yesterday evening, and the hostess served bean burritos and cake for desert. I was covered by the Rule of Good Manners.
My mom, who drove me to my friends' house, stayed in the area because it's a ways from home. She got so hungry that she had to go to eat. She tried to stay within the Locavore Challenge parameters as much as she could, ordering freshly-made tomato-basil soup and lemon gelatto. She figured that there was a chance the tomato and basil was local, and lemon is one of her Wild Card Items. Still, she was feeling bad about her possible violations of locavorism...
...until I realized there were bigger problems with what my parents ate last night. When my mom and I got home, my dad had dinner ready. I only ate corn on the cob (farmstand), but my parents also had boiled potatoes (garden) and salmon. Apparently, it simply didn't occur to anyone that the salmon that my dad pulled out of the freezer was obviously not local. I didn't realize until I sat down today to record on this blog what we ate yesterday the problem with the salmon.
Both my mom and I feel awful. I just can't believe I let the consumption of something as hugely non-local as salmon escape my notice for over twelve hours. My mom, who actually ate the salmon, can only explain that she was hungry, tired (it was after 9 p.m.), dinner was already made, and she just ate the food that was in front of her without thinking.
My dad, though, shows little remorse. He's been driving me crazy with how he doesn't take the Locavore Challenge seriously at all. We'd talked about it days before the challenge started and tried to take his concerns into account. At that point, he really seemed fine with everything. After all, we'd done this last September and everything turned out fine. I've been making a ton of meals, usually local, ever since the farmers' market started in May, and my dad's always appreciated them. I guess I just really expected him have a much better attitude than he seems to about the Locavore Challenge.
I feel like I'm the "locavore police," all the time, telling him not to use to Hidden Valley Ranch or trying to convince him that we really can live without canola oil for the month. I don't want to be the "locavore police." I've told my mom that she really should have had that piece of lemon meringue pie she was dying for at my neighbor's pig roast yesterday, as it would have fallen under the Rule of Good Manners. I try to be accommodating of my parents' concerns about cholesterol and butter while still following the rules of the Locavore Challenge. I really am trying to be much more sensitive to other my parents' (and especially my dad's) feelings and needs around food, but I still feel like the enemy.
I write about my trouble with my dad not to fulfill the urge to whine. Okay, part of it is just whining. The main reason I share, though, is because I suspect other people may be in the same boat. They find that one of the main obstacles on the road to locavorism is not the industrial food system or the inability to locate certain products, but resistance within their own household. If I write my blog as if locavorism is always easy and fun within my house, it would be a lie and a disservice to others who have similar struggles to mine.
~*~
Round Ginger Loaf
slightly changed from the recipe "No-Time-To-Bake Wheat Loaf" in Great Whole Grain Breads
This is the best recipe for a simple bread. I've made it with all hard red whole wheat, all soft red whole wheat, a mix of the two, and mixes of one or both kinds of whole wheat flour mixed with all purpose flour. I've also made it with variable rising times and even once without kneading. I've yet to find a way to make it wrong. Rather, there are good ways to make it and better ones.
1 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1/8 tsp ginger
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 1/2 cups flour (any combination of wheat flours you desire)
Scald milk. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and immediately add ginger and maple syrup. Once milk has cooled some and the yeast mixture has sat for about five minutes, add milk to yeast mixture. Gradually mix in flour. Knead for about a minute or so, adding more flour as needed. Spread into 8 inch circle on greased baking sheet or place into greased round 8 inch cake pan. Ideally, let rise for half an hour or so before placing in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. However, rise time can be reduced or eliminated if the baker is in a rush. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. Once cooled, I generally cut it into wedges to serve, although it can be sliced.
For lunch, we had the leftover ratatouille and pasta. Ratatouille really is the perfect late summer/early fall dish. Everything in it is in season in August and September, like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and peppers. You can really tell the difference between a traditional dish and a modern one. Modern dishes commonly feature major ingredients that are from very different seasons and/or geographic areas, making it hard for a locavore to find a useable recipe sometimes. Traditional dishes, created long before the advent of refrigeration and supermarkets, always pair things that come into season together or can be easily preserved, making cooking much easier on today's locavore.
Dinner last night was another locavore disaster. Last year, we decided that if anyone invited us over to dinner in September, it would be impolite to turn down their non-local food. It's our family exception to the rules, which we call it "The Rule of Good Manners." I got together with a bunch of my homeschooling friends at a friends' house yesterday evening, and the hostess served bean burritos and cake for desert. I was covered by the Rule of Good Manners.
My mom, who drove me to my friends' house, stayed in the area because it's a ways from home. She got so hungry that she had to go to eat. She tried to stay within the Locavore Challenge parameters as much as she could, ordering freshly-made tomato-basil soup and lemon gelatto. She figured that there was a chance the tomato and basil was local, and lemon is one of her Wild Card Items. Still, she was feeling bad about her possible violations of locavorism...
...until I realized there were bigger problems with what my parents ate last night. When my mom and I got home, my dad had dinner ready. I only ate corn on the cob (farmstand), but my parents also had boiled potatoes (garden) and salmon. Apparently, it simply didn't occur to anyone that the salmon that my dad pulled out of the freezer was obviously not local. I didn't realize until I sat down today to record on this blog what we ate yesterday the problem with the salmon.
Both my mom and I feel awful. I just can't believe I let the consumption of something as hugely non-local as salmon escape my notice for over twelve hours. My mom, who actually ate the salmon, can only explain that she was hungry, tired (it was after 9 p.m.), dinner was already made, and she just ate the food that was in front of her without thinking.
My dad, though, shows little remorse. He's been driving me crazy with how he doesn't take the Locavore Challenge seriously at all. We'd talked about it days before the challenge started and tried to take his concerns into account. At that point, he really seemed fine with everything. After all, we'd done this last September and everything turned out fine. I've been making a ton of meals, usually local, ever since the farmers' market started in May, and my dad's always appreciated them. I guess I just really expected him have a much better attitude than he seems to about the Locavore Challenge.
I feel like I'm the "locavore police," all the time, telling him not to use to Hidden Valley Ranch or trying to convince him that we really can live without canola oil for the month. I don't want to be the "locavore police." I've told my mom that she really should have had that piece of lemon meringue pie she was dying for at my neighbor's pig roast yesterday, as it would have fallen under the Rule of Good Manners. I try to be accommodating of my parents' concerns about cholesterol and butter while still following the rules of the Locavore Challenge. I really am trying to be much more sensitive to other my parents' (and especially my dad's) feelings and needs around food, but I still feel like the enemy.
I write about my trouble with my dad not to fulfill the urge to whine. Okay, part of it is just whining. The main reason I share, though, is because I suspect other people may be in the same boat. They find that one of the main obstacles on the road to locavorism is not the industrial food system or the inability to locate certain products, but resistance within their own household. If I write my blog as if locavorism is always easy and fun within my house, it would be a lie and a disservice to others who have similar struggles to mine.
~*~
Round Ginger Loaf
slightly changed from the recipe "No-Time-To-Bake Wheat Loaf" in Great Whole Grain Breads
This is the best recipe for a simple bread. I've made it with all hard red whole wheat, all soft red whole wheat, a mix of the two, and mixes of one or both kinds of whole wheat flour mixed with all purpose flour. I've also made it with variable rising times and even once without kneading. I've yet to find a way to make it wrong. Rather, there are good ways to make it and better ones.
1 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1/8 tsp ginger
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 1/2 cups flour (any combination of wheat flours you desire)
Scald milk. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and immediately add ginger and maple syrup. Once milk has cooled some and the yeast mixture has sat for about five minutes, add milk to yeast mixture. Gradually mix in flour. Knead for about a minute or so, adding more flour as needed. Spread into 8 inch circle on greased baking sheet or place into greased round 8 inch cake pan. Ideally, let rise for half an hour or so before placing in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. However, rise time can be reduced or eliminated if the baker is in a rush. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. Once cooled, I generally cut it into wedges to serve, although it can be sliced.
Days 3 of 2011, Don't Spoil Your Appetite
Saturday, September 3rd was a rough day for me food-wise. My parents and I had pancakes from Friday's leftover batter, then my mom and I had peach smoothies and my dad had yogurt with fruit. My dad and I spent a while packing our lunches, as we were driving to a dance competition in Canada and wouldn't know where to get local food. Unfortunately, I left my lunch on the kitchen table. My dad offered to share his lunch, but he was so hungry that I only ended up taking an apple.
It was dinnertime when we got home from the dance competition, and my dad and I were both starving. We both had a snack (for me, it was the bread I'd made the night before and some of the wonderful grapes from the farmers' market) A neighbor was hosting a pack llama event, and she had invited us to join her and the llama people for a pork roast. My dad really wanted to go over to the pork roast, but I don't like pork. We agreed that my parents would go over to the neighbor's for a little while and have some pork while I made ratatouille, then we'd sit down as a family and have ratatouille together.
The first step in making ratatouille is to saute onion and garlic in olive oil. From there, the cook adds all the other ingredients and lets them simmer and get soft. I couldn't get the bottle of olive oil open, though! I tried and tried and tried, then tried and tried and tried later, then tried and tried and tried even later. It finally came open when my parents had been gone for an hour and a half. I'd long since chopped all the vegetables, and so I quickly cooked them down into ratatouille.
By the time the ratatouille was ready, my parents were home. They'd had pork (from a pig raised by a local 4H kid for the county fair), green beans, and corn. My mom, who'd been the one who really wanted ratatouille, was too full to eat. I was furious! It was after 8 p.m., and I'd only eaten breakfast and a snack at that point. My head was hurting, probably from the lack of food. I'd gotten so stressed out that I wouldn't have dinner for my parents when the olive oil wouldn't open, and I'd worked frantically to get dinner ready once it did finally open. I could see why "Don't ruin your appetite" had been the mantra of mothers everywhere when confronted by hungry children in the hours leading up to dinner. Every cook wants to feel appreciated.
My dad ended up having a bit of room still for ratatouille, which made me feel better. The ratatouille (Wild Card Item olive oil, farmstand garlic, farmstand onion, garden eggplant, garden zucchini, garden tomatoes) turned out well. I served it over Flour City 100% Emmer pasta, which my dad and I both loved. It was flavorful, with a wonderful nutty aftertaste.
~*~
Ratouille
slightly modified from Moosewood Cookbook
4 cloves garlic
1 medium (fist-sized) onion
1 Tbsp or so olive oil
1 small (or 1/2 large) eggplant
6 tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp oregano
dash of ground rosemary
3 Tbsp water or dry red wine
2 tsp salt (optional)
black pepper to taste
2 small, 1 medium, or 1/2 zucchini or summer squash
2 medium bell peppers (optional)
freshly-chopped parsley (optional)
Peel garlic. Chop onion. Peel and chop eggplant. Chop two tomatoes and juice in blender. Heat olive oil in large pot. Crush in garlic and add onion; saute. Add eggplant, tomato juice, water or wine, and herbs. Stir and simmer for ten minutes or so. While eggplant is simmering, chop zucchini or summer squash and, if including, slice bell pepper into strips or cubes. After the eggplant has simmered for allotted time, add zucchini and (optionally) pepper. Simmer another ten minutes. During this time, chop the rest of the tomatoes. After the ten minutes is up, add tomatoes and, in including, salt and pepper to pot. Continue to simmer until all vegetables are tender, usually five to ten minutes. Serve with bread or over polenta, pasta, or rice. Top with parsley, if including.
It was dinnertime when we got home from the dance competition, and my dad and I were both starving. We both had a snack (for me, it was the bread I'd made the night before and some of the wonderful grapes from the farmers' market) A neighbor was hosting a pack llama event, and she had invited us to join her and the llama people for a pork roast. My dad really wanted to go over to the pork roast, but I don't like pork. We agreed that my parents would go over to the neighbor's for a little while and have some pork while I made ratatouille, then we'd sit down as a family and have ratatouille together.
The first step in making ratatouille is to saute onion and garlic in olive oil. From there, the cook adds all the other ingredients and lets them simmer and get soft. I couldn't get the bottle of olive oil open, though! I tried and tried and tried, then tried and tried and tried later, then tried and tried and tried even later. It finally came open when my parents had been gone for an hour and a half. I'd long since chopped all the vegetables, and so I quickly cooked them down into ratatouille.
By the time the ratatouille was ready, my parents were home. They'd had pork (from a pig raised by a local 4H kid for the county fair), green beans, and corn. My mom, who'd been the one who really wanted ratatouille, was too full to eat. I was furious! It was after 8 p.m., and I'd only eaten breakfast and a snack at that point. My head was hurting, probably from the lack of food. I'd gotten so stressed out that I wouldn't have dinner for my parents when the olive oil wouldn't open, and I'd worked frantically to get dinner ready once it did finally open. I could see why "Don't ruin your appetite" had been the mantra of mothers everywhere when confronted by hungry children in the hours leading up to dinner. Every cook wants to feel appreciated.
My dad ended up having a bit of room still for ratatouille, which made me feel better. The ratatouille (Wild Card Item olive oil, farmstand garlic, farmstand onion, garden eggplant, garden zucchini, garden tomatoes) turned out well. I served it over Flour City 100% Emmer pasta, which my dad and I both loved. It was flavorful, with a wonderful nutty aftertaste.
~*~
Ratouille
slightly modified from Moosewood Cookbook
4 cloves garlic
1 medium (fist-sized) onion
1 Tbsp or so olive oil
1 small (or 1/2 large) eggplant
6 tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp oregano
dash of ground rosemary
3 Tbsp water or dry red wine
2 tsp salt (optional)
black pepper to taste
2 small, 1 medium, or 1/2 zucchini or summer squash
2 medium bell peppers (optional)
freshly-chopped parsley (optional)
Peel garlic. Chop onion. Peel and chop eggplant. Chop two tomatoes and juice in blender. Heat olive oil in large pot. Crush in garlic and add onion; saute. Add eggplant, tomato juice, water or wine, and herbs. Stir and simmer for ten minutes or so. While eggplant is simmering, chop zucchini or summer squash and, if including, slice bell pepper into strips or cubes. After the eggplant has simmered for allotted time, add zucchini and (optionally) pepper. Simmer another ten minutes. During this time, chop the rest of the tomatoes. After the ten minutes is up, add tomatoes and, in including, salt and pepper to pot. Continue to simmer until all vegetables are tender, usually five to ten minutes. Serve with bread or over polenta, pasta, or rice. Top with parsley, if including.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Day 2 of 2011, A Salsa Slip-Up
Well, today's been a much less eventful day, food-wise. I tried out a new pancake recipe for breakfast, as the Betty Crocker recipe we used to used was always too thin and the one we've been using more recently calls for rolled oats. Today's recipe (whole wheat flour from Thorpes, milk from our friend with goats, butter from Farmers and Artisans, and my chickens' eggs), which was from the wonderful book Flour Power, was the first pancake recipe I've ever used that was intended to be made with 100% whole wheat. The pancakes were fine overall, though they definitely took a while to fry and I think I'd actually put in a little more sweetener into the batter itself. I added a cup or so of the blueberries I picked at Thorpes to the pancakes, and my parents topped off theirs with homemade maple syrup.
Lunch was a hurried affair after my dad I and went beach, just some pieces of old homemade bread and smoothies. I've been making my smoothies a little differently this year than last. The yogurt I'm using is made from the milk of my friend's goats, and it's a lot thinner than what I'd been buying at the store. Because the yogurt is rather thin, there's no need to add milk to the smoothies. Because there's less liquid going into the smoothies with the elimination of the milk, the fruit flavor is able to shine more. In fact, I've found little need to add sugar at all this year. That's useful this September, because sugar isn't one of my family's Wild Card items, and I don't really like how maple syrup or honey can overpower the fruit flavor.
When I went to make smoothies at lunch, using blueberries was the obvious choice because we still had a lot from picking at Thorpes on Thursday. I was worried, because I've always found I've needed to add tons of sugar to blueberry smoothies in the past. Lo and behold, after blending the berries and yogurt, the smoothies weren't sweet enough today. I decided to go out on a limb and try adding peach for sweetness, because I've had no problem making sugar-free peach smoothies this year. The peach solved all my problems, and I was it made the flavor much more interesting than a plain blueberry smoothie. I never would have guess how much one ripe peach could flavor a smoothie containing three cups of blueberries.
For dinner, we had boiled potatoes from my garden, boiled wax beans from the farmers' market, and salsa with chips. We had plenty of tomatoes from my garden, and we also had the onion (farmstand), olive oil (Wild Card item, purchased at Tuscany on Main), hot pepper (farmstand), and bell pepper (farmers' market) that the recipe called for. My dad, who makes the salsa, went to the grocery store to get two Wild Card items we needed for the recipe, chips and limes. I got so involved thinking about what we needed for the recipe, I completely forgot it was September and had my dad get cilantro at the store as well. Imagine my horror when I realized my mistake after he came home with the forbidden cilantro! I didn't want it to go to waste, though, so I failed the Locavore Challenge on the second day and had my dad use up the cilantro in the salsa.
In better news, I discovered on the blog Land of Peapodriot last night the there will be a Potluck Across New York event in my area. The Potluck Across New York is the potluck NOFA-NY is encouraging people across the state to host for nearby Locavore Challenge participants on September 25th. According to Annie, the potluck will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo on Elmwood from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday the 25th. Locavore Challenge participants should bring a local dish to pass and are also encouraged to bring food, particularly local food, for the church's food donation basket.
So now can head off to make bread for tomorrow's lunch with the assurance that I will make it to a locavore event my my area, thus meeting one of the mini-challenges in the Join the Movement category of the Locavore Challenge.
~*~
World Class Pancakes
slightly modified from the recipe in Flour Power
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (preferably from a hard wheat, like hard red winter)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. (or more) sweetener (I used maple syrup)
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. oil or melted butter
1 cup fruit (optional)
In large bowl, mix dry ingredients. In smaller bowl, beat eggs. Ad other wet ingredients. Gradually mix wet ingredients to dry ones, but do not overmix. Stir in berries or chunks of fruit if you're using them. Heat a bit of butter or oil in large pan, griddle, or iron skillet to medium-hot. Spoon batter into dollar coin-sized pancakes or larger and fry, turning pancakes at least once until cooked through.
Basic Table Salsa
slightly modified from Feast of Santa Fe
2 large, firm, ripe tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 a hot pepper, with seeds removed
3 green onions (scallions), cleaned and cut into 1-inch lengths
OR 1/3 cup chopped onion, preferably red onion
1 bell pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice or red-wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup ice water
small handful chopped cilantro (optional)
Blend in food processor or blender. If using blender, use low speeds and stir frequently.
Lunch was a hurried affair after my dad I and went beach, just some pieces of old homemade bread and smoothies. I've been making my smoothies a little differently this year than last. The yogurt I'm using is made from the milk of my friend's goats, and it's a lot thinner than what I'd been buying at the store. Because the yogurt is rather thin, there's no need to add milk to the smoothies. Because there's less liquid going into the smoothies with the elimination of the milk, the fruit flavor is able to shine more. In fact, I've found little need to add sugar at all this year. That's useful this September, because sugar isn't one of my family's Wild Card items, and I don't really like how maple syrup or honey can overpower the fruit flavor.
When I went to make smoothies at lunch, using blueberries was the obvious choice because we still had a lot from picking at Thorpes on Thursday. I was worried, because I've always found I've needed to add tons of sugar to blueberry smoothies in the past. Lo and behold, after blending the berries and yogurt, the smoothies weren't sweet enough today. I decided to go out on a limb and try adding peach for sweetness, because I've had no problem making sugar-free peach smoothies this year. The peach solved all my problems, and I was it made the flavor much more interesting than a plain blueberry smoothie. I never would have guess how much one ripe peach could flavor a smoothie containing three cups of blueberries.
For dinner, we had boiled potatoes from my garden, boiled wax beans from the farmers' market, and salsa with chips. We had plenty of tomatoes from my garden, and we also had the onion (farmstand), olive oil (Wild Card item, purchased at Tuscany on Main), hot pepper (farmstand), and bell pepper (farmers' market) that the recipe called for. My dad, who makes the salsa, went to the grocery store to get two Wild Card items we needed for the recipe, chips and limes. I got so involved thinking about what we needed for the recipe, I completely forgot it was September and had my dad get cilantro at the store as well. Imagine my horror when I realized my mistake after he came home with the forbidden cilantro! I didn't want it to go to waste, though, so I failed the Locavore Challenge on the second day and had my dad use up the cilantro in the salsa.
In better news, I discovered on the blog Land of Peapodriot last night the there will be a Potluck Across New York event in my area. The Potluck Across New York is the potluck NOFA-NY is encouraging people across the state to host for nearby Locavore Challenge participants on September 25th. According to Annie, the potluck will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo on Elmwood from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday the 25th. Locavore Challenge participants should bring a local dish to pass and are also encouraged to bring food, particularly local food, for the church's food donation basket.
So now can head off to make bread for tomorrow's lunch with the assurance that I will make it to a locavore event my my area, thus meeting one of the mini-challenges in the Join the Movement category of the Locavore Challenge.
~*~
World Class Pancakes
slightly modified from the recipe in Flour Power
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (preferably from a hard wheat, like hard red winter)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. (or more) sweetener (I used maple syrup)
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. oil or melted butter
1 cup fruit (optional)
In large bowl, mix dry ingredients. In smaller bowl, beat eggs. Ad other wet ingredients. Gradually mix wet ingredients to dry ones, but do not overmix. Stir in berries or chunks of fruit if you're using them. Heat a bit of butter or oil in large pan, griddle, or iron skillet to medium-hot. Spoon batter into dollar coin-sized pancakes or larger and fry, turning pancakes at least once until cooked through.
Basic Table Salsa
slightly modified from Feast of Santa Fe
2 large, firm, ripe tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 a hot pepper, with seeds removed
3 green onions (scallions), cleaned and cut into 1-inch lengths
OR 1/3 cup chopped onion, preferably red onion
1 bell pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice or red-wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup ice water
small handful chopped cilantro (optional)
Blend in food processor or blender. If using blender, use low speeds and stir frequently.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Day 1 of 2011, Of Breakfast and Butter
We had the muffins I made late last night for breakfast this morning. If it can be avoided, don't cook when you're exhausted. The food that results sometimes just isn't worth the effort. By the time I made the muffins last night, I couldn't have cared less how they turned out. I just wanted to be done so I could go to bed (as you may have picked up from yesterday's post). I knew that the muffin batter seemed too thick, but I just threw them in the oven anyways. The result actually could have been worse, but the muffins texture was rather lumpy and weird.
After a busy morning, my mom and I finally managed to settle down for lunch around 2:00 p.m. We had boiled potatoes from my garden, sauteed okra from my garden with Indian spices, and salad made from farmers' market lettuce, farm stand cucumber, and garden carrots. My mom topped her salad with tomato from my garden, while I used two of my Wild Card items, olive and and lemon, to make a dressing for my salad.
Later in the afternoon, we picked up our fruit share at Thorpes, which consisted of plums, two kinds of apples, peaches, and red raspberries. I must admit that I've already managed to eat most of the raspberries, as they're my favorite fruit -- along with strawberries, peaches, and apples. I have a lot of trouble deciding which fruit I like the very best! I think I'm a big part of the reason our fruit share usually only lasts about half a week.
After going to Thorpes, I started making tomato sauce for dinner. When my dad got home from work, he took over supervising the sauce's simmer, while my mom and I went to Five Points Bakery to get rolled oats.
We went through way too much butter last September during the Locavore Challenge, and my parents and I resolved we'd be much better about our butter consumption this time around. I simply couldn't figure out where all the butter had gone. I quickly figured it out last night as I melted half a cup of butter for a recipe that made twelve muffins! It was obvious that having baked goods for breakfast simply wouldn't be acceptable if we wanted to limit our butter consumption.
So we went in search of rolled oats with a real sense of urgency. Unfortunately, the list of products for sale on the website of Five Points Bakery apparently hasn't been updated lately, because the woman working there told us that they'd stopped selling rolled oats a while back.
Besides the fact that I really wanted rolled oats, I was disappointed because I'd been excited about the opportunity to support Five Points Bakery if we were to start getting our oats there. Five Points is located in a poor neighborhood on the West Side of Buffalo, and is certainly the only business of its kind in the area. It shares a building with Urban Roots, a small community garden center that sells plants and gardening from its indoor space and neighboring lot, which it keeps up beautifully. Between the bakery, garden center, and the nearby urban farm of the Massachusetts Avenue Project, the food enterprises give the neighborhood a unique and, I believe, hopeful feel.
Thankfully, our trip there wasn't for naught. They did have four or five packages of Flour City pasta, the local pasta that Farmers and Artisans said they wouldn't have in stock for weeks. We bought three packages of the pasta at Five Points, but I'm afraid we should have taken them all. The woman at there said they probably wouldn't be selling the Flour City pasta for much longer, because people hadn't been buying it. I suspect that when we run out of pasta, Flour City will have stopped stocking it and Farmers and Artisans won't have any more in yet.
Because we were so close to the Lexington Food Co-op (located in the more upscale, trendy Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo), we stopped in there to check for local foods. I'd remembered how disappointed I'd been with their local selection (or lack thereof) when we'd been shopping for the Locavore Challenge last year, so I was prepared for disappointment.
Walking through their produce section when we entered the store, the only local organic items I noticed were two kinds of squash and red leaf lettuce. Seriously? Western New York has is chock full of farms (Genesee County, I believe, has either the most farms or the most farm land in the state) and the ever-expanding number of organic farms, but that's all the local organic produce the Lexington Food Co-op could locate? I blood practically boiled as I walked past (non-local) cabbage wrapped in plastic while thinking about all the beautiful cabbage I'd seen in local fields and at the East Aurora Farmers' Market.
My mom inquired about origin of the rolled oats that were for sale, but it turns out they came from Saskatuen (a Great Plains province of Canada). In the process of finding out about the oats, she talked to a couple of employees of Lexington about the Locavore Challenge. Neither of them was very knowledgeable about it, though. The Locavore Challenge is advertised at Lexington, and in an apparent effort to appeal to any shoppers from the challenge, the store has set up a shelf full of Cayuga Organics products under a large sign about buying local food. We our pancakes from scratch, grind our own polenta, and have plenty of beans, so we didn't have a need purchase any of those products. Still, the beans were a better price than Farmers and Artisans, so we may end up buying beans at Lexington next time we need them. My mom did end up purchasing Equal Exchange Organic Darjeeling tea, because she didn't like the flavor of the fair trade tea she'd purchased at the supermarket yesterday.
After surveying the store, my mom came to a conclusion with which I wholeheartedly agree: Lexington doesn't stock food for us. We just don't eat much in the way of processed foods, which Lexington devotes a majority of its store for us. Just because TV dinner is "Certified Organic!" or "Natural!" doesn't make me think it's good for me, or even make it appealing in any other way.
On the way home, my mom remarked that it seemed like we were the only people doing the Locavore Challenge. I countered that there were 5,000 who did it last year, but there probably wouldn't be too many people in WNY doing it if the participants are spread throughout the state proportionately.
There is at least one other local person doing it, as I've discovered through the NOFA-NY website. Annie at The Land of Peapodriot is doing it, and on a much tighter budget than my family. It's pretty humbling to read her blog, which I highly recommend doing.
Once home, I scrambled to finish dinner. I made whole wheat pizza dough (local ingredients Thorpes whole wheat and homemade maple syrup, along with exception items of yeast and Tuscany on Main olive oil), which my mom rolled out while I struggled to grate the mozarella. Our friend with the goats had made it earlier and frozen it, and she said she'd heard it's easier to grate frozen. It isn't. The coldness is hard on the hands the the hardness makes grating slow going. I wouldn't mind using frozen mozarella on pizza again, but I'd definitely let it thaw before grating.
I digress. Anyways, I assembled the pizza, threw it in the oven, and added some leftover fried eggplant part way through the baking. Served with goats milk from our friend, it was a good dinner. My dad loved the eggplant topping, which my mom and I were less fond of. Still, it was a perfectly fine way to use up the leftover eggplant.
I'm disappointed that I didn't get any blueberry or apple done today, and I've got so many other things I've got to do tomorrow that fruit-picking probably won't happen. My mom and I did make it to Thorpes, Five Points Bakery, and Lexington Food Co-op, so at least it isn't like I didn't get any locavore stuff done today. Oh yeah, and I did of course keep my family in local food all day!
~*~
Tomato Sauce
for spaghetti or pizza
6 medium tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon oil or butter
lots of basil
Core and chop tomatoes. If you want to remove skin or seeds, do so at this point. I don't find it necessary. Peel garlic. Heat oil or butter in frying pan. Once hot, crush garlic into pan. Immediately add tomatoes and begin boiling down medium heat. Chop basil (as much as you'd like, whether it's four leaves or half a cup) and add to sauce. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce thickens to desired consistency. Serves three to four.
The recipes for muffins and pizza crust can be found at the bottom of the post Day Three, Feasting on... Pizza? from last year.
After a busy morning, my mom and I finally managed to settle down for lunch around 2:00 p.m. We had boiled potatoes from my garden, sauteed okra from my garden with Indian spices, and salad made from farmers' market lettuce, farm stand cucumber, and garden carrots. My mom topped her salad with tomato from my garden, while I used two of my Wild Card items, olive and and lemon, to make a dressing for my salad.
Later in the afternoon, we picked up our fruit share at Thorpes, which consisted of plums, two kinds of apples, peaches, and red raspberries. I must admit that I've already managed to eat most of the raspberries, as they're my favorite fruit -- along with strawberries, peaches, and apples. I have a lot of trouble deciding which fruit I like the very best! I think I'm a big part of the reason our fruit share usually only lasts about half a week.
After going to Thorpes, I started making tomato sauce for dinner. When my dad got home from work, he took over supervising the sauce's simmer, while my mom and I went to Five Points Bakery to get rolled oats.
We went through way too much butter last September during the Locavore Challenge, and my parents and I resolved we'd be much better about our butter consumption this time around. I simply couldn't figure out where all the butter had gone. I quickly figured it out last night as I melted half a cup of butter for a recipe that made twelve muffins! It was obvious that having baked goods for breakfast simply wouldn't be acceptable if we wanted to limit our butter consumption.
So we went in search of rolled oats with a real sense of urgency. Unfortunately, the list of products for sale on the website of Five Points Bakery apparently hasn't been updated lately, because the woman working there told us that they'd stopped selling rolled oats a while back.
Besides the fact that I really wanted rolled oats, I was disappointed because I'd been excited about the opportunity to support Five Points Bakery if we were to start getting our oats there. Five Points is located in a poor neighborhood on the West Side of Buffalo, and is certainly the only business of its kind in the area. It shares a building with Urban Roots, a small community garden center that sells plants and gardening from its indoor space and neighboring lot, which it keeps up beautifully. Between the bakery, garden center, and the nearby urban farm of the Massachusetts Avenue Project, the food enterprises give the neighborhood a unique and, I believe, hopeful feel.
Thankfully, our trip there wasn't for naught. They did have four or five packages of Flour City pasta, the local pasta that Farmers and Artisans said they wouldn't have in stock for weeks. We bought three packages of the pasta at Five Points, but I'm afraid we should have taken them all. The woman at there said they probably wouldn't be selling the Flour City pasta for much longer, because people hadn't been buying it. I suspect that when we run out of pasta, Flour City will have stopped stocking it and Farmers and Artisans won't have any more in yet.
Because we were so close to the Lexington Food Co-op (located in the more upscale, trendy Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo), we stopped in there to check for local foods. I'd remembered how disappointed I'd been with their local selection (or lack thereof) when we'd been shopping for the Locavore Challenge last year, so I was prepared for disappointment.
Walking through their produce section when we entered the store, the only local organic items I noticed were two kinds of squash and red leaf lettuce. Seriously? Western New York has is chock full of farms (Genesee County, I believe, has either the most farms or the most farm land in the state) and the ever-expanding number of organic farms, but that's all the local organic produce the Lexington Food Co-op could locate? I blood practically boiled as I walked past (non-local) cabbage wrapped in plastic while thinking about all the beautiful cabbage I'd seen in local fields and at the East Aurora Farmers' Market.
My mom inquired about origin of the rolled oats that were for sale, but it turns out they came from Saskatuen (a Great Plains province of Canada). In the process of finding out about the oats, she talked to a couple of employees of Lexington about the Locavore Challenge. Neither of them was very knowledgeable about it, though. The Locavore Challenge is advertised at Lexington, and in an apparent effort to appeal to any shoppers from the challenge, the store has set up a shelf full of Cayuga Organics products under a large sign about buying local food. We our pancakes from scratch, grind our own polenta, and have plenty of beans, so we didn't have a need purchase any of those products. Still, the beans were a better price than Farmers and Artisans, so we may end up buying beans at Lexington next time we need them. My mom did end up purchasing Equal Exchange Organic Darjeeling tea, because she didn't like the flavor of the fair trade tea she'd purchased at the supermarket yesterday.
After surveying the store, my mom came to a conclusion with which I wholeheartedly agree: Lexington doesn't stock food for us. We just don't eat much in the way of processed foods, which Lexington devotes a majority of its store for us. Just because TV dinner is "Certified Organic!" or "Natural!" doesn't make me think it's good for me, or even make it appealing in any other way.
On the way home, my mom remarked that it seemed like we were the only people doing the Locavore Challenge. I countered that there were 5,000 who did it last year, but there probably wouldn't be too many people in WNY doing it if the participants are spread throughout the state proportionately.
There is at least one other local person doing it, as I've discovered through the NOFA-NY website. Annie at The Land of Peapodriot is doing it, and on a much tighter budget than my family. It's pretty humbling to read her blog, which I highly recommend doing.
Once home, I scrambled to finish dinner. I made whole wheat pizza dough (local ingredients Thorpes whole wheat and homemade maple syrup, along with exception items of yeast and Tuscany on Main olive oil), which my mom rolled out while I struggled to grate the mozarella. Our friend with the goats had made it earlier and frozen it, and she said she'd heard it's easier to grate frozen. It isn't. The coldness is hard on the hands the the hardness makes grating slow going. I wouldn't mind using frozen mozarella on pizza again, but I'd definitely let it thaw before grating.
I digress. Anyways, I assembled the pizza, threw it in the oven, and added some leftover fried eggplant part way through the baking. Served with goats milk from our friend, it was a good dinner. My dad loved the eggplant topping, which my mom and I were less fond of. Still, it was a perfectly fine way to use up the leftover eggplant.
I'm disappointed that I didn't get any blueberry or apple done today, and I've got so many other things I've got to do tomorrow that fruit-picking probably won't happen. My mom and I did make it to Thorpes, Five Points Bakery, and Lexington Food Co-op, so at least it isn't like I didn't get any locavore stuff done today. Oh yeah, and I did of course keep my family in local food all day!
~*~
Tomato Sauce
for spaghetti or pizza
6 medium tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon oil or butter
lots of basil
Core and chop tomatoes. If you want to remove skin or seeds, do so at this point. I don't find it necessary. Peel garlic. Heat oil or butter in frying pan. Once hot, crush garlic into pan. Immediately add tomatoes and begin boiling down medium heat. Chop basil (as much as you'd like, whether it's four leaves or half a cup) and add to sauce. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce thickens to desired consistency. Serves three to four.
The recipes for muffins and pizza crust can be found at the bottom of the post Day Three, Feasting on... Pizza? from last year.
250 Mile Diet
It's now it's now the firs hour of September 1st, the beginning of the Locaveore Challenge, my family isn't all set with registration for it yet! There's more to it than just signing up to eat local for a day, week, or month, including three levels of commitment. I've always loved challenging myself, so I'm doing the hardest level, the Feast-Sized Challenge. My dad feels that he does enough be eating a primarily local and organic diet most of the year and agreeing to be a complete locavore in September, so he won't officially be participating in the Locavore Challenge. Frankly, as long as he has a better attitude about locavorism than he did last September, it's fine with me if he doesn't register. Right now, I'm waiting on my mom to decide whether she wants to do the Bite-Sized or Meal-Sized Challenge.
Despite our lack of registration, we still needed to prepare for a month of local eating. Just like last year, local still means food produced within 250 miles of where the participant lives, and participants are still allowed five exceptions ("Wild Card Items"). On Saturday, my parents and I sat down over a lunch of Swiss chard fettucine (made with Swiss chard from my garden, basil from the farmers' market, and ricotta cheese from a friend), and talked about our five Wild Card items. We agreed that we'd share four wild card items (olive oil, lime, lemon, and chips), while my dad's fifth wild card item would be fair trade coffee and my mom's fifth wild card item would be fair trade tea.
Despite our lack of registration, we still needed to prepare for a month of local eating. Just like last year, local still means food produced within 250 miles of where the participant lives, and participants are still allowed five exceptions ("Wild Card Items"). On Saturday, my parents and I sat down over a lunch of Swiss chard fettucine (made with Swiss chard from my garden, basil from the farmers' market, and ricotta cheese from a friend), and talked about our five Wild Card items. We agreed that we'd share four wild card items (olive oil, lime, lemon, and chips), while my dad's fifth wild card item would be fair trade coffee and my mom's fifth wild card item would be fair trade tea.
I wish organic canola oil and all-purpose flour could have made the list, because all-purpose flour give me more options with baking and I've never found a local oil with a flavor I like that I can use in place of canola oil. However, I'll have to make do with just using whole grains in baking and olive and and butter in place of canola oil for a month.
My dad's big sacrifice is almonds. Having nuts to bring to work for lunch was a non-negotiable for him, and my dad nearly gave up on the Locavore Challenge before it had begun because he couldn't have almonds. Thankfully, my mom remembered seeing local walnuts for sale at Farmers and Artisans, and my dad agreed that he could live without almonds for a month if we could find some local nuts for him.
Today (August 31st), my mom and I went shopping for the foods we need to stock up on before the Locavore Challenge begins. The local items on our list were nuts, oatmeal, butter, and pasta, while olive oil and fair trade tea were the wild card items needed.
After I took care of my poultry this morning, my mom and I did our rode our bikes around our large country block, which goes through three townships and is about eight mile trip. We've been trying to do this before we go to the farmers' market every Wednesday and Saturday, so we can get as much of our food as very locally as possible. We ended up only getting bell pepper and cucumber today.
We then proceeded to the East Aurora Farmers' Market, where we purchased broccoli, wax beans, lettuce, and -- joy of joys! -- the first grapes of the year! I've been anxiously waiting for local grapes for a couple of months, and was it was so worth the wait. I've decided that the hard, flavorless things from California and Chile have absolutely no right to call themselves grapes. The grapes we purchased today were a purple grape called "Fredonia," which comes in before the famous Concords do. They've got the sweetness of the purple grape, along with a hint of the tartness of the green grape. I do believe that they're the best grapes I've ever had.
On the way home from the farmers market, we stopped first at our town's supermarket to purchase fair trade tea. I was surprised that there actually was a decent selection, from which my mom chose to try the organic and fair trade Numi Breakfast Blend.
Next, we stepped at Tuscany on Main, one of two (two!) new olive oil stores on Main Street in East Aurora. We ended up purchasing the Organic Estate Fratoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which we both thought was the best after sampling about eight different options. It had a strong but not overwhelming flavor and a distinct aftertaste, neither of which we were accustomed to from the olive oil we've purchased from the supermarket.
After a stop at home for lunch (potatoes from my garden, broccoli from the farmers' market, and green beans from a nearby farm stand), we went blueberry picking at Thorpes, the organic farm from which we get our fruit share. The blueberry season is definitely winding down, and the blueberry field was full of the gigantic poke salad weeds. (As my mom said, it was as though the it were a poke salad field with a blueberry weed problem.) Still, we managed to pick over four quarts of berries, and we had enough fun doing it that we plan on doing it again tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday.
We brought the blueberries home and headed out again after my mom finally got to take her shower. We purchased a birthday present for my younger cousin, then went to Farmers and Artisans in Williamsville. I was disappointed due to Flour City Pasta moving to a larger facility, they won't have any local pasta until the middle of September at the earliest. How I am supposed to live without pasta in the middle of tomato season for at least two weeks? I've have to work on figuring that one out in the coming days. Thankfully, we were able at least able to get local walnuts and butter from grassfed cows.
Once home, I stir-fried bok choi with soy sauce, which we at for dinner over rice my dad had been kind enough to cook prior to our arrival home from Farmers and Artisans. We went out for ice cream, as it was our last opportunity to do so for a whole month. By the time we got home from getting ice cream, I was ready to flop into bed from the busy day, but I had some other non-food related things to get done. Then I remembered something local for breakfast, so I just took whole wheat blueberry muffins out of the oven.
I can finally go to bed and rest of for my first day of the challenge, which promises to be just as busy. Possible activities include apple picking, more blueberry picking, CSA share pick-up, and an expedition to Five Points Bakery in Buffalo to get local rolled oats. I feel even more tired (if that's possible!) just thinking about it!
After I took care of my poultry this morning, my mom and I did our rode our bikes around our large country block, which goes through three townships and is about eight mile trip. We've been trying to do this before we go to the farmers' market every Wednesday and Saturday, so we can get as much of our food as very locally as possible. We ended up only getting bell pepper and cucumber today.
We then proceeded to the East Aurora Farmers' Market, where we purchased broccoli, wax beans, lettuce, and -- joy of joys! -- the first grapes of the year! I've been anxiously waiting for local grapes for a couple of months, and was it was so worth the wait. I've decided that the hard, flavorless things from California and Chile have absolutely no right to call themselves grapes. The grapes we purchased today were a purple grape called "Fredonia," which comes in before the famous Concords do. They've got the sweetness of the purple grape, along with a hint of the tartness of the green grape. I do believe that they're the best grapes I've ever had.
On the way home from the farmers market, we stopped first at our town's supermarket to purchase fair trade tea. I was surprised that there actually was a decent selection, from which my mom chose to try the organic and fair trade Numi Breakfast Blend.
Next, we stepped at Tuscany on Main, one of two (two!) new olive oil stores on Main Street in East Aurora. We ended up purchasing the Organic Estate Fratoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which we both thought was the best after sampling about eight different options. It had a strong but not overwhelming flavor and a distinct aftertaste, neither of which we were accustomed to from the olive oil we've purchased from the supermarket.
After a stop at home for lunch (potatoes from my garden, broccoli from the farmers' market, and green beans from a nearby farm stand), we went blueberry picking at Thorpes, the organic farm from which we get our fruit share. The blueberry season is definitely winding down, and the blueberry field was full of the gigantic poke salad weeds. (As my mom said, it was as though the it were a poke salad field with a blueberry weed problem.) Still, we managed to pick over four quarts of berries, and we had enough fun doing it that we plan on doing it again tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday.
We brought the blueberries home and headed out again after my mom finally got to take her shower. We purchased a birthday present for my younger cousin, then went to Farmers and Artisans in Williamsville. I was disappointed due to Flour City Pasta moving to a larger facility, they won't have any local pasta until the middle of September at the earliest. How I am supposed to live without pasta in the middle of tomato season for at least two weeks? I've have to work on figuring that one out in the coming days. Thankfully, we were able at least able to get local walnuts and butter from grassfed cows.
Once home, I stir-fried bok choi with soy sauce, which we at for dinner over rice my dad had been kind enough to cook prior to our arrival home from Farmers and Artisans. We went out for ice cream, as it was our last opportunity to do so for a whole month. By the time we got home from getting ice cream, I was ready to flop into bed from the busy day, but I had some other non-food related things to get done. Then I remembered something local for breakfast, so I just took whole wheat blueberry muffins out of the oven.
I can finally go to bed and rest of for my first day of the challenge, which promises to be just as busy. Possible activities include apple picking, more blueberry picking, CSA share pick-up, and an expedition to Five Points Bakery in Buffalo to get local rolled oats. I feel even more tired (if that's possible!) just thinking about it!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
My Relationship With Food
*trigger warning for discussion of an eating disorder*
My mom and I had rice, stir-fried broccoli (from a nearby farmstand) with ginger, and corn on the cob (from the same farmstand). As we sat down to eat, my mom commented that she'd just been reading how corn and peas should be counted as servings of grains instead of vegetables because of their high starch content. This caused a slightly heated discussion about counting food.
You see, I was anorexic when I was younger. I never got to the point where I had to be hospitalized or anything, and since it was never diagnosed it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I'd suffered from an eating disorder. My doctor, my mom, and possibly my dad suspected it at the time, but it wasn't until last spring that I told anyone about what I'd gone through five years before.
Because I obsessively counted calories when I was in the grips of anorexia, any counting associated with I eat makes me feel closer falling over the cliff back into the freefall of anorexia. Thus the mention of counting servings of food groups made me a bit on edge at lunchtime.
My philosophy today towards food comes from the cookbook Laurel's Kitchen. In it, the authors, including Laurel Robertson, a dietician, say:
Why is any of this relevant? Well, if it weren't for my eating disorder, I wouldn't be on the path I am on today. I started baking bread, cooking meals, and eating more vegetables while I was anorexic. At that time, it was because it made my control over what was going into my body even more rigid.
As I began to recover, my interest in food didn't go away. When I was anorexic, I'd found not only control in making food, but also enjoyment. Relaxing my control over what went into my body was very hard, even scary at times, and it took months and months. As I pruned away the obsession with every calorie, I found the joy in making food, particularly in baking bread, was still there. I think I found it reassuring, I didn't have to get rid of everything I had become since my anorexia began. The calorie-counting girl had to go, but food-creating girl could stay. I was only losing part of myself, and that gave me a foothold as I clawed my way back up the cliff towards a more normal relationship with food and my body.
I cannot say that I'm glad that I suffered from anorexia. I am glad that I was able to find value in my suffering, to turn things that I hurt myself into an interest in good food that I will hopefully be aspects of helping myself, my family, and my community for the rest of my life.
As a coda, it occurred to me that a person complaining about counting food like I did in this post is an awfully strange person to be embracing counting food miles. Perhaps because they don't pertain as directly to health and weight, food miles don't scare me as much as other things that get counted with food. All that I know for sure is that when locavorism makes me proud, but it doesn't bother me to make a chocolate cake (with obviously non-local chocolate) for my dad's birthday or order a salad with my meal at a restaurant in January. While suffering from anorexia, every calorie I ate was a failure, but sometimes I just failed worse than others (bran muffin = bad, second helping of spaghetti with lots of Parmesan cheese = very, very, bad). Locavorism is positive for me, a self-affirming path of personal growth. That doesn't scare me in the slightest, so I can feel secure as I count my food miles this September.
My mom and I had rice, stir-fried broccoli (from a nearby farmstand) with ginger, and corn on the cob (from the same farmstand). As we sat down to eat, my mom commented that she'd just been reading how corn and peas should be counted as servings of grains instead of vegetables because of their high starch content. This caused a slightly heated discussion about counting food.
You see, I was anorexic when I was younger. I never got to the point where I had to be hospitalized or anything, and since it was never diagnosed it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I'd suffered from an eating disorder. My doctor, my mom, and possibly my dad suspected it at the time, but it wasn't until last spring that I told anyone about what I'd gone through five years before.
Because I obsessively counted calories when I was in the grips of anorexia, any counting associated with I eat makes me feel closer falling over the cliff back into the freefall of anorexia. Thus the mention of counting servings of food groups made me a bit on edge at lunchtime.
My philosophy today towards food comes from the cookbook Laurel's Kitchen. In it, the authors, including Laurel Robertson, a dietician, say:
-Move to a diet (not a reducing diet!) of low-fat whole foods
-Take up a program of daily aerobic exercise
-Withdraw your attention from food and its consequences and absorb yourself in activities that really deserve your interest -- activities where you have to give yourself to something truly worthwhileWhen I read the above section of the book while anorexic, it was revolutionary to me. It was so contrary both to how I was living my life and to how American culture expected people, especially girls and women, to treat food and weight. The basic sentiment of the passage, to eat whole foods, exercise, and not worry, has stuck with me ever since, though I'm not completely sold on the low-fat part today.
Why is any of this relevant? Well, if it weren't for my eating disorder, I wouldn't be on the path I am on today. I started baking bread, cooking meals, and eating more vegetables while I was anorexic. At that time, it was because it made my control over what was going into my body even more rigid.
As I began to recover, my interest in food didn't go away. When I was anorexic, I'd found not only control in making food, but also enjoyment. Relaxing my control over what went into my body was very hard, even scary at times, and it took months and months. As I pruned away the obsession with every calorie, I found the joy in making food, particularly in baking bread, was still there. I think I found it reassuring, I didn't have to get rid of everything I had become since my anorexia began. The calorie-counting girl had to go, but food-creating girl could stay. I was only losing part of myself, and that gave me a foothold as I clawed my way back up the cliff towards a more normal relationship with food and my body.
I cannot say that I'm glad that I suffered from anorexia. I am glad that I was able to find value in my suffering, to turn things that I hurt myself into an interest in good food that I will hopefully be aspects of helping myself, my family, and my community for the rest of my life.
As a coda, it occurred to me that a person complaining about counting food like I did in this post is an awfully strange person to be embracing counting food miles. Perhaps because they don't pertain as directly to health and weight, food miles don't scare me as much as other things that get counted with food. All that I know for sure is that when locavorism makes me proud, but it doesn't bother me to make a chocolate cake (with obviously non-local chocolate) for my dad's birthday or order a salad with my meal at a restaurant in January. While suffering from anorexia, every calorie I ate was a failure, but sometimes I just failed worse than others (bran muffin = bad, second helping of spaghetti with lots of Parmesan cheese = very, very, bad). Locavorism is positive for me, a self-affirming path of personal growth. That doesn't scare me in the slightest, so I can feel secure as I count my food miles this September.
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