Current Food Sources

Boy, was I ambitious yesterday! (Saturday Feb 20 actually)

Tried cooked wheatberries (white winter wheat from CSA, not the hard red winter wheatberries I’ve bought before) with some milk and brown sugar for breakfast. It was okay. Even the overnight soaked wheatberries were still very chewy. I didn’t mind that so much but I thought they’d be a little softer. I think this would be better cooked in milk rather than just adding the milk to it after it’s been cooked in water.

I’ve had a terrible craving for something sweet like pumpkin pie all week. The pumpkin pie taste simply wouldn’t leave me alone so I made one yesterday. I had the pumpkin puree, added spices, egg and the condensed milk and used a pie shell I had in the freezer but it wasn’t homemade shell. I was so hungry for the pie I ate a 4th of it! But it satisfied my craving for that flavor finally.

Al, I made red lentil soup for the first time. It was okay but I’d want to use more veggie or chicken flavored broth with it next time. I had a recipe that used cumin, salt and pepper and some lemon juice and some olive oil on top at serving in the bowl. I think this might be a “learned flavor” for me.

And some chicken with veggies and leftover wheatberries is the last thing I cooked. The chicken was all thawed and needed to be cooked.

That leaves a lotta dishes to be washed one way or the other loaded in the dishwasher or the sink …

And notes about current Food Sources

1. CSA vegetables. These are more greens that I thought but I want to do a whole year’s worth of subscriptions to see what they grow all year around. I wish we could get a few citrus each week. I’d imagine we’d get summer squashes later on and I hope some sweet peppers and tomatoes.

2. Sprouts. This is where I get dry bulk things: flour, sea sale, cornmeal, farina, oats, sugar, rices, legumes, dried fruits, cereals to cook. I also can buy bulk spices here. Sometimes I buy some applesauce I particularly like here as well as canned pumpkin and sweet potato. I like these canned products rather than the similar ones at the grocery stores. They also have the usual food store supply of produce, meat, dairy etc. I also buy those things at this store.

3. Safeway and Bashas’ are closest grocery stores. I still buy peanut butter ( a LOT for the collapse is needed you know ;)) jams, maybe meat and dairy, fruit, maybe some veggies I don’t get in the CSA but I’m trying not to do that as long as I have the CSA membership. So far, it’s working for the veg.

4. Farmer’s Market weekly about 2 miles from here. This might be a more economical place to get fresh produce than the CSA pickup but I like the variety and figuring out how to prepare and eat the CSA veggies.

Peace, shamba

November 29

I dehydrated the green beans and bell peppers that I got at the farmer’s market last week. I certainly couldn’t have used them up with all my other produce this week.

Thanksgiving: Turkey meat loaf today.  There’s asparagus, kale and arugala for green veggies to choose from and pumpkin pie—my made with an organic pie filling—and well, I don’t know what else yet. I do have two sweet potatoes that would be great roasted, too.

S. is using the day as her day off and she does have to go back to work on Friday. She stopped by later on Thanksgiving and we had some pie together. She loves the taste of the dehydrated red sweet peppers and the dehydrated tomatoes.

No more dehydrated veggies, I ate the rest of them up the day after Thanksgiving!

Moved the herbs to the front porch. They’ll get the sun they should have there until about march or so.

Going now to bake some bread, not breadk that has to be kneaded though. right arm and shoulder are improving a lot. Injuries get old fast!

Peace, shamba

December 26th

It was a cold, wet rainy day for Christmas--Yes! itwas 14 yrs since it's rained on Christmas Day the weather man said on the primetime weather last night! I did't think it had been that long. It was a lovely day thought here. Fire in the fireplace, I made pumpkin pie, a chicken dish with veggies, whipped cream,; S. brought cranberry jelly she made herself, a spinach,arugala salad and she forgot she rolls--but that didn't matter that much! And I used cloth napkins~ LOL!

We both had a good Christmas day! I was really glad she came but I would have done the cooking and decorating and fire anyway. I thought the fire was very cheering--I haven't had a fire in that fireplace in years.

Today it's very cold and clear and sunny. High country got lots of snow this year and it was all over the state so I hope that supplies all the watershed in Arizona.

Is it soup or bread I'm making today??? Don't know yet!

cheers,
Shamba