We're Jammin' -Strawberry Freezer Jam and a Surprise Jam!

This past week on my day off, we headed out to our favorite fruit picking spot-Burnaps Farm Market.  This palce is really beautiful and so much fun.

I was all excited to go and pick strawberries so that I could make some jam this week. Alas, when we got there it was 5 min to 1pm, and picking stops at 1-Who knew? If you pick the berries, they are $2 a quart but if you buy them they are $4. I was momentarily flummoxed... I wanted 8 quarts and I didn't really want to spend $32... Then, there, on a table in the front I saw "Berries for Jamming $15" That was 8 QUARTS FOR $15!!! So I ended up spending $1 LESS than if I picked them myself. These berries are RIPE!!! And we've been eating them all week long too-They are just fine for that. They are just very very ripe!

So we're Jammin'

First we made Freezer Jam. Now I've never made Freezer jam berfore. Freezing jam seems like, I don't know, cheating....at jam..

 A long time ago they didn't have freezers...

Then I reminded myself that a long time ago they didn't have running water or heat and I pretty well like those things. Just try the damn jam...

I wish I could say that I used some old time freezer jam recipe, but I didn't. I used the recipe on the Ball Freezer Jam Pectin

Small aside, does anyone else love the new ball pectin in jars so you just measure out what you want?... It's cheaper in this large size too... LOVE IT!!

My girl did a lot of the work!!!

The thing about freezer jam that is differnt from canned jam, in that you don't cook the jam. It's just fresh strawberries, sugar and pectin... This results in really really fresh tasting jam. Like summer sunshine jam...

Now I understand Freezer Jam.

Very Proud of Our Jam!

Tonight I mixed it up a little. I planned on canning my jam so today I used my cuisinart (BEST MACHINE EVER that my mom picked up from her friend's Garage Sale for $15. I woudl pay full price for this machine in a heartbeat..) Anyway, I used my cuisinard to puree many cups of strawberries so I could make and can some jam in jars.

And I had a neat idea. I was thinking about how when things grow at the same time, they very often work together well.. So I was thinking. Mint. Strawberry mint would be nice... But maybe another time.

LAVENDER.

Strawberry Lavender Jam!!!!

I used a basic low sugar recipe and added lavender during the cooking. I took the stems out before canning. A few flower petals are in there though. Just a few.

This jam is really sophisticated. You can really taste the lavender. It's just so fabulous. Though I need to find something to put it on. This is not peanutbutter and jelly jam. This is jam for people who like to eat flowers. It tastes like you would imagine it smells. It's delicate and wonderful...

Genesee Countrty Village & Museum Agricultural Fair here I come!!

Here is an awesome Jam tutorial if you need one! It's really complete though may make jam look more complicated than it really it. This is all you need to know though!

My husband also got into the act with the berries today and made grilled pork chops with a balsamic strawberry/blueberry compote. Yum!..

And yes, those are snow peas....

They are still growing...

I think tomorrow I may pick some to freeze for a winter stir fry.

Food Prices Got You Down? Check Out Your Local Farm Stands

Today I stopped by a farm stand on the way to my parents house and purchased

1 4-lb Butternut Squash-$.50
1 4.5 lb Cabbage $.50
4lbs of Apples $2.00
2 Zucchini $.50

I spent $3.50 on food that would have cost the following at Wegmans.

4 lb Butternut Squash $4
4.5 lb cabbage-$3.11
4 lbs Apples $4
2 zucchini $1.98

$13.09 or a little less than 75% more for food that is avaliable locally, now. In fact, the cabbage was from the farmer's tractor-He had just picked them. That's a huge difference. Last week I got some Delicata squash from this farmer for $.50 each-At Wegmans it's much much more.

Now I'm not anti-Wegmans or anything. Certainly I love shopping at their clean, have-ANYTHING-I-need stores and everyone needs to make a buck in the transaction, I'm not against that. But never forget for a minute that you pay a premium for that kind of atmosphere and service. If you have the opportunity, stop by that farm stand you pass all the time and see what they have to offer. This ones happens to be right on my way to my parent's house but I would drive out of my way a little if I had to for prices like this.

Certainly not all stands have this great a deal but you need to check it out. There is a stand near my home where the woman charges $2 each for her zucchini. Yes, I'm proud of my zucchini too and probably wouldn't sell it for less than $2 either, however, that is why I don't sell my zucchini.  I prefer to give them away (and I'm so stingy I won't even give it to someone unless I'm pretty sure they are going to use it and appreciate it.)

And as you'll notice in the example above, I actually bought zucchini today as my own zucchini was pretty stinky this year and I didn't have enough to even give away to deserving friends!

** Note-The squash is so big that I'll be able to use it for 2 meals. Tomorrow I'm making this and then later in the week I may make some butternut squash soup. Tomorrow's side dish will use:

1/2 squash-$0.25
1 apple- $0.17
2 onions from my garden $.05 (because I started them from those tiny onion sets)
A little olive oil (which I'm not going to figure out the cost of)
salt & pepper
$0.47 for a side dish for 3 people-That's $0.16 per person.  Did you think you could feed anyone, anything for $0.16????

This assumes you have olive oil (which I always do) and salt & pepper, And ok, I grew the onions but they really don't cost much so if you didn't grow anything then you could still get off cheaply (Think $.20 per person!) if you try!

Spring Herb Dressing & Garlic Scapes

Today I noticed that my garlic had scapes! (The green things on the left). I have been wanting to make my favorite herb dressing for a week now (nothing has been stopping me, I've just been lazy busy.)

The recipe I use is from The Horn of The Moon Cookbook. Jen used to make it when I would visit her in college. I never forgot the title of the book and could never find it. When I finally did I bought it just for this recipe. I bought it used. On Amazon it is $74 new.(out of print)  Used it was $3.99.

Herb Dressing-I called it Spring herb dressing because I used fresh herbs. Yes, that picture is actually my herbs!

1 C. Sunflower Oil-I usually use olive oil for salad dressing because I like the taste and usually just make a simple vinegarette where that matters, but this is SO flavorful I think you can skip that. Olive oil is expensive. I used canola oil.

2 Large Garlic Cloves (I used 3 scapes)
1/2 C Fresh Parsley
2 tsp dried dill. I have this growing in the garden so I used fresh.
1 tsp dried chives. Fresh also. This cookbook was written in 1987 a time when I don't think I ever saw a fresh herb at my house. I think it was the time period. The fresh are better but it is nice to know that you could make this in the dead of winter....
Dash of ground black pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed (I skipped this today)
1/3 C Cider Vingar. I had plain white today. It was fine.
1/4 tsp salt.

Blend it all together in the blender!

We used this on zucchini that we then grilled this evening for a side dish. This was after I planted 5 zucchini plants in the garden. That  is more zucchini than ANYONE needs. I just had some space. And some leftover plants.  I can't bear to see possible food go to waste. I guess I'll just send people home with zucchini when they visit this summer. Having zucchini tonight was just plain dumb. We also also had snow peas that I picked today stir fried with a cut up garlic scape. Don't worry, scapes are milder than garlic. I do have garlic breath right now though.

Adventures in Rhubarb

On my other blog, for the museum, I am doing a series on what is known as "Six Weeks Of Want" back in the 19th century. As part of this, I am cooking foods that would have been eaten at this time of year, when food was really still very scarce.

Rhubarb is the very first vegetable that would have been avaliable  at this time of year around here and is growing in many gardens.  I have 2 of my own plants but they are small and did not yield much this year. So when I stopped at Wegmans today I asked for Rhubarb.

They. Did. Not. Have. It.

Seriously, there are grapes from Chile and all sorts of stuff from Mexico, but no Rhubarb from down the street. (Small aside,Wegman's does do a bang up job with local produce in the summer.)

I guess people aren't using Rhubarb much which is a shame. And I'll admit I've never cooked with it either. I've been looking forward to it since I planted it last year though. But  it's a shame that a food that we once thought of as a staple, and even a treat, because Rhubarb can't really be eaten without sugar, something that we looked forward to, has been relegated to an old fashioned obscure vegetable. And what about this whole eating local movement-Here is a pretty prolific, indestructible, perennial plant that produces earlier than any other and we ignore it. I think it's kind of sad.

We (me and my dad, see post below)  stopped at a local place, Apple Annie's because I thought they might have some. The owner, introduced me to his son who was my age (not for like a date or anything....) by telling me his son was a 4th generation farmer. (Come to think of it, perhaps he was trying to get his son a date, I probably look like a woman who would be impressed by this.)  Anyway, he didn't have any cut yet so he went out back, and chopped a HUGE amount of Rhubarb for me. And charged me $2 for all of it. When I protested he asked if I had been there before (which I have) and would I be back (I will) and he went on to tell me that he likes to treat his customers like family. (hmm...This is getting more and more fishy the more I think of it-Perhaps he wanted me to join HIS family.....) He even sold me 2 more Rhubarb plants. He took a long time to cut the Rhubarb (Probably to give his son time to ask me out, which he did not do) but I did have a very nice chat with him about the 400 tomato seedlings he is growing.  The whole time my dad was waiting in the car for me. I felt like I was 14 years old.... With my dad there, and the farmer's son awkwardly hitting on me..... (kidding...)

All kidding aside, it was a really nice visit. The farmers were really friendly. And generous with the Rhubarb and I will  be going back. I'm glad Wegmans didn't have it because it really was worth a side trip.

I love stuff like huge bunches of Rhubarb and Friendly Farmers....

I'll post some links to my other blog when I actually create something out of this bounty!

When Worlds Collide

If you've read my blog for any length of time or talked to me in person, you know that I'm a big proponent of eating locally, going to the farmer's market & of course, growing my own veggies.

I was moved by Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a veritable love letter to eating locally. It's well written, informative and makes you feel really good for eating locally grown green beans. (It's a tad bit elitist I think actually, but I still loved it) I've considered writing love letters to the ever brainy foodie, Michael Pollan. We've been doing the farmer's market thing for a number of years now and last year experimented with a CSA.

On another front, I LOVED the book, Freakonomics and cannot wait to read the next Installment of this, Super Freakonomics. Economics made sexy and so very entertaining! (Who doesn't want to know the hidden side of everything!?!?!)

So imagine my absolute HORROR when I found out the Freakonomics guys have a blog (Well actually I was quite thrilled to find out they have a blog) but that they have a whole host of articles on why eating locally isn't the environmental cure all, community builder that we all hope it is.

Do We Really Need a Few Billion Locavores?
Are Farmer's Markets That Good For Us?
Is Locavorism for Rich People Only?

They certainly challenge conventional wisdom when it comes to eating locally. I found the columns fascinating. Is local eating just a feel good theory? Well as with anything, you'll have to come to your own conclusions on that.

After reading and digesting the articles I've come to my own personal conclusions:

1) So what if part of going to the Farmer's Market is a feel good activity. I actually like to feel good. My girl likes going, I sometimes see people I know and have gone with my neighbors.

2) My favorite kind of eating locally is of course, from my own garden, which I will continue to cultivate, hopefully, until I die.

3) The food IS really fresh at the Farmer's Market (I also live near Wegmans who does a bang up job with local produce and fresh produce so yeah, I could skip it.)

4) Part of eating locally for me, is supporting my local economy. It's just important to me. Yes, if we ALL, ONLY bought local things then perhaps our current system would suffer but that isn't going to happen. I also love going to Target.

5) Prices are a tad cheaper. Nothing earth shaking here folks.

6) I'm a food elitist. Sheepishly, I'll admit it. I don't think it harms anything, but possibly going to a separate dairy is a little much. (And sometimes a pain in the butt so then we don't go) I like the dairy and the glass bottles and think the milk is great so I'll probably still go sometimes. But yeah, I should get over it a little.

7) People have to do the best they can with what they have. You may not have the time to go to the market on a weekly basis. Go to your grocery store and buy the best food you can afford. Don't let the localvores get you down!

Pumpkin (Squash) Side Dish

While we were on our library date, I had my favorite fall side dish roasting in the oven at home.

We call it Pumpkin with Apples but it's really butternut squash. If you call it squash my daughter will not eat it. As pumpkin, it's perfectly acceptable.

This was my veggie harvest from this afternoon. Both of the squash & the onion were harmed in the making of this blog post!

Small aside-I am SO SICK OF GREEN BEANS. I'm just blanching them now and throwing them into a freezer bag for use this winter. I just can't face them anymore.

This is a really easy recipe & everyone who eats it really likes it! I made it up myself but it's really not difficult so I imagine a lot of people make something similar.

1 large or 2 small Butternut Squash
1 Apple (I used a Sweet Tango which is a cross between my favorite Honey Crisp & Something else, generally at this time of year we get a bushell of apples so that I can make applesauce and other yummy treats but we didn't get it yet so I bought those apples at Wegmans.)
1 small onion
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Peel & seed squash. Chop the apple ( I don't peel it) and squash into cubes. Slice onion into rings & separate. Drizzle enough olive oil over it so that it coats everything nicely for your taste and salt & pepper.

Roast in a 350 degree oven for 1-1 1/2 hrs-If you like it really caramelized you'll probably want the longer cooking time. Don't try & speed up the cooking time by increasing the temperature, it won't work. Just let the slow roasting do it's job.

The apple adds a perfect amount of sweetness to the whole dish. At this time of year you can find a lot of roasted veggie recipes which contain maple syrup and while I like those, they sometimes seem too sweet. This is perfectly savory taste with a hint of sweetness.
I put this together right before we left for the library but sometimes I have chopped up all of the ingredients the evening before. The worst part is peeling the squash.

We served this with a roasted chicken & boy it was a nice cosy fall meal. I'm not going to lie to you people, it was a Wegmans Roasted chicken-Nobody here wants to cook on Monday night and I had a date with my girlie to keep!

My Garden Update

This past spring I started a different blog to journal my garden this year. I was pretty unsuccessful at keeping it updated (The blog, not the garden!) and found I spent more time out there working in it or watering it or just enjoying my morning coffee in it, than I did writing about it.

Suffice to say, while the blog was unsuccessful, the garden had a great year! I'm just going to merge those few posts into this blog I think.

Most mornings I would go out with my bowl and come back with a harvest like this one. It's a good thing my girlie can eat these tomatoes almost as fast as I can pick them! They never last long. Sometimes she picks them right off the vine and eats them-I feel like a good momma then.

And yes, I do always pick into this wooden bowl. It makes me feel earthy.


Look at all that green! It's hard to tell what is what. That big tower in the middle is a bean tee pee and boy have we had beans. I planted lettuce at the base and we enjoyed a lot of salads in early summer. The green mass in the front right is 9 tomato plants. See the deer fence? Worked like a charm and it really isn't all that obtrusive.


Closer up-The enormous zucchini plant that sometimes hides baseball bat size zucchini if you aren't careful.


Heirloom tomatoes. Aren't they pretty? They turn the loveliest shade of pink which I will share with you another time. The name is Old German. Who knew Germans even had tomatoes? My mom's family is German and she doesn't make one single German recipe with tomatoes. Is it even warm enough in Germany in the summer to grown nice tomatoes???? I must Google this...

Peppers, eggplant, part of my pea trellis. I grew an Heirloom called British Wonder Peas. They were true to their name and produced until the 1st week in August.
Ah my pride and joy this year. I know it doesn't look like much! But what it is is a HUGE LEEK and Potato garden. I love love love leeks and I'm going to have them WELL into the winter. It's hard to see the potatoes. This is the first time I have grown potatoes and they were SUCH a gratifying plant to grow. They get big, fast, sprout very pretty flowers and it is SO SATISFYING to dig them up. I grew a French fingerling called La Ratte. These potatoes were the BEST POTATOES ever. So tasty. All I have ever done is roast them with Olive Oil and Salt and they are divine!! (Once I threw in a leek but it was unnecessary) I only ever dig what I need for the meal and feel like a real gourmet when I do. Next year I'm planting twice as many. If you are lucky I will invite you over to share some.



I'm also getting a bumper crop of herbs this year and have been making and freezing a lot of pesto. My turnips are popping out the ground and my horseradish is taller than my 4 year old. I'm growing nice celery which I fear will all be ready at the same time (and really, who needs 6 celery heads at once?)

There are only 4 butternut squash and we've had a nice steady crop of cucumbers, not enough to make pickles though.

On the down side my broccoli did not produce at all. I choose a variety called "Romanesco" which is an Italian strain. Not unlike the German tomato question above one should wonder (If you've ever grown broccoli) How on earth Italians grown Broccoli. Is it really cold enough?-Answer is NO-This broccoli (which is a normally a cool weather crop) needs sustained 80 degree and above temps. (I didn't know this at the time!) Since this was a pretty cool summer, it never happened. My radishes and spinach never really took off and my strawberries were all eaten by squirrels.

All in all though, this has been my most productive garden ever!

Family Outings #1 & #2

This week we started our Family Outings (Or Staycation as my husband keeps calling it.) Sorry I have no pics this time around!

#1) I actually did not participate in the first one! It was raining and my daughter and husband went to a local indoor play place called Bounce It Out while I stayed home and got to clean the house with no one in my way (or calling my name-Just me and a book on tape-my own little vacation!)

Anyway-Bounce it out has these enormous indoor bouncy things (Like the kind you can rent for a party but 2 stories tall with different rooms or really big slides or obstacle courses. It was $8 to get in (children only, adults are free) and I think my husband got my daughter a $2 slice of cheese pizza and some dried fruit. I think the whole outing was $11. It probably would not seem cheap if you had more than one child but we don't.

This is one of my daughter's very favorite places to go and she'll ask for it any time you give her a choice. It is a very active place and she gets TIRED. (always a good thing.)

#2) Since our own farmers market is closed this week because the town hall is getting ready for the 4th. We picked up my mom today and went to the one in her town. (Keep in mind I count any activity that doesn't involve TV or a trip to Target or Wegmans as a family outing) Ok perhaps that is an exaggeration but really, any time you break out of your normal mold or invite someone along I think it makes it special. No cost at all except for the food but we buy that anyway. And it was different and I think, a little cheaper.

Tonight my girl is sleeping at my parents because my Dad is having hip surgery Monday and she won't be able to stay there for a while. Never underestimate the power of grandma sleep away camp ;-) I employ that one regularly though so I won't use it as part of my list!

Staying Close To Home!

Oh my, I have not posted since June 7th! What have I been doing exactly? I don't know but I sure have been feeling busy. A little of this and a little of that and before you know it you have a lot of stuff going on!

Anyway, normally at this time of year my school teacher husband is off from work and we plan a trip to see friends/family. Then we plan an end of summer 2 week vacation. Last year we found 2 weeks was a little too long so we are cutting that down to one week and pretty much staying close to home and not doing a road trip anywhere else. It feels a little strange not leaving for another locale right now but it also seems like we have the whole summer stretched out in front of us which is nice.

So, wanting to make the most of the time we have off together, over dinner the other night we came up with at least 20 different places we would like to go around town for family outing days!
We'll start next week! Most are free or low cost and I'll share them as we do them!

Actually I started this week and my mother-in-law and I took my girl strawberry picking! We picked 10 quarts in a relatively short amount of time. They ended up being $2 a quart, which is half of what we are paying at the farmers market this year!

Head on over to my other blog and you can see what I did with them!

Farmer's Market Update

I just have to post an update on the Farmer's Market last Thursday.

We purchased
-1st Strawberries of the season
-A beautiful bunch of green onions
-A huge bunch of really delicious fresh spinach
-Some gourmet pasta
-Bread from The small world Bakery, who are new sellers at this market this year. It was $4 which is the same as the sprouted grain bread I buy BUT WAY more than the bread I can make.
-AND, EGGS. Free range eggs NOT from the surly woman with high prices and low personality (as well as supply!!!) A competing egg seller! A family with a bunch of young girls who all looked the same and were as tickled as I was that they were making their very first egg sale!!! I told them I would be back if they would be! I'll be seeing them this coming Thursday!

It was so nice to be buying fresh local food!

Don't Buy Mexican Tomatos

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you'll know I'm a strong proponent of buying locally, whenever possible. (In the interest of full disclosure I have been unable to find a substitute for, or way to curb my lust for the banana!)

Sometimes locally means from my hometown, sometimes it means, from my country. I try very hard NOT to eat something from another country when the very same thing is available from my own country AT THE SAME TIME.

Tomatoes.

There are tomato farmers in Florida plowing under perfectly good tomatoes because they can't sell them. The recession has hit them hard as a tomato isn't seen as a necessity. Along with that, DIRT CHEAP tomatoes are coming in from Mexico. Because of this influx, tomatoes have been selling for $4-$6 a box. It costs $10 to grow them.

I realize people want to get the most for their money-I certainly do. I realize in hard times people have to make choices, I do too. But we need to realize that buying dirt cheap veggies from other countries does more to hurt our overall economy than it does strengthen our personal pocketbooks. Not only are more and more farmers being forced out of farming. But now those people are less likely to contribute financially to their own communities. I'm guessing that tomato farmer isn't going out to his local restaurant any time soon. I'm guessing that restaurant may not need to hire your college age daughter this summer because demand is down. And I'm guessing your college age daughter is going to have some trouble paying for her books next fall. It's all connected.

In scary economic times we need to do what we can to support ourselves but we need to try and manage that in a way that isn't detrimental to others, and in the long run, to ourselves as well.

In many parts of the country the growing season is quickly getting underway-Please consider buying locally gown fresh food. It' s better food, it's fresher, it has not traveled thousands of miles to reach you, and you will be helping your own community.

The Obamas Eat The View!

You may remember when I posted back in January about eattheview.org. This website and online petition urged the Obamas to plant a Victory Garden on the White House lawn. In doing so, encouraging eating locally, fresh, homegrown & organic food. (not trucked in from thousands of miles away!)

Well it looks like the petition worked!

From The Washington Post: (click link for complete story)

Today, first lady Michelle Obama will host a groundbreaking for a White House kitchen garden on the South Lawn. She will be joined by students from Bancroft Elementary in Northwest Washington, , whose participation in the project will continue past today, as they help with planting in the coming weeks and harvesting later this year.

The 1,100-square-foot garden will include 55 kinds of vegetables, including peppers, spinach and, yes, arugula. (The selection is a wish list put together by White House chefs.) There will also be berries, herbs and two hives for honey that will be tended by a White House carpenter who is also a beekeeper. The chefs will use the produce to feed the first family, as well as for state dinners and other official events.

The White House will use organic seedlings, as well as organic fertilizers and organic insect repellents. The garden will be near the tennis courts and be visible to passersby on the street. The whole Obama family will be involved in tending the garden, White House spokeswoman Katie McCormick Lelyveld said.

How neat this is!! I hope they really make a big deal out of this and become an example to millions of people across the country in growing & eating locally and sustainably!

Oh Honey!

While staying at my in-laws during the bathroom re-model, I noticed that their Wegman's honey is from Argentina & Canada!

Argentina? Do you know how far that honey had to travel to make it to my tea this week! How much fossil fuel was wasted in this effort?? That honey earned more frequent flier miles than my whole family on a recent trip to Florida!

Honey, unlike anything else I can think of (perhaps Milk) is just about the easiest thing you can get locally. Every state has honey bees.

If flowers & crops are growing then bees are making honey somewhere in your neighborhood. It is also comparable in price. (In the summer I get a big quart jar at the farmers market for under $10, so it's much cheaper!)

Eating local honey also helps allergy sufferers (it needs to be local to work!) and helps local agriculture and local beekeepers (many of whom are also farmers) and your local economy.

I think local honey has a better flavor than the run of the mill stuff that you can get in the plastic Sue Bee bear which seems tailored to the lowest common denominator. Whever I go on vacation I try to bring some home with me because I know I can't get that EXACT same product where I live. (It also makes a cheap and clutter free trip souvenier.)

You can probably also find a larger variety of honey, from mild Wildflower to the darkest Buckwheat honey if you get it from local sources rather than your grocery store.

Where to find local honey? Almost any good farm market, farmers market, public market, some gift shops, food co-ops, small grocery stores. It's easy to come by and really embodies the character of your surroundings!

The Home Dairy Continues

We've been rocking the homemade dairy products as of late!

My husband's new health elixir of choice is Kefir, available at my grocery store for $4 per Quart-Yup $1 a cup! He drinks a cup a day. And wants me to put in smoothies for me and my girl! He did his research though and found you can make your own MUCH cheaper.

So we ordered Kefir grains online and have been fermenting milk on the counter ever since. Yup, ON THE COUNTER. It was kind of crazy at first. Basically you put the Kefir grains in the milk and leave it for a day. Then you strain and refrigerate the Kefir and use the grains to make more. This goes on and on.... And the Kefir grains expand so you can make more and more. Seriously, if anyone local to me wants to make some Kefir let me know and I'll give you some grains. (apparently for hardcore Kefir lovers giving the grains away is the most authentic way to pass the kefir along-Sorry we had to buy ours the first time around!)

Using the milk from the Dairy it is $.29 a cup! BIG Difference!

From the same place I got the Kefir grains, I also purchased a starter for Finnish Yogurt called Viili. Knowing my love of all things Finn, I needed to try this out. NEAT! I've made yogurt before but this was (also) made on the counter with no heat source or refrigeration. SCARY. But we've all eaten it and lived to tell. It's a bit more stringy than traditional yogurt but also not as tart. Again, if anyone wants some Finnish yogurt culture please let me know.

We can eat 2 Qts of plain yogurt a week (It would be 3 but I cap it at 2) That costs us $7 a week. Making Villi, I can make the same amount for $2.35. They had a bunch of different yogurts to make from all over the world and I just know I need to go back and try another.

I'm also holding out for the Gourmet Home Dairy from The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Where you can make a whole host of dairy products!

One thing I know for sure, no one in this house is going to suffer from a calcium deficiency!!

Another nice benefit is that the milk comes in glass bottles that are returned each week and the kefir and yogurt are made in large glass jars (leftover huge pickle jars from Sam's) so we save 4 plastic containers a week this way!

Grow Your Own Food!

With the financial crisis that the country is currently experiencing, one thing I'm urging friends and family to do is to consider growing some of their own food.

Not only can this defer food costs for you, but it will also get you outside to enjoy the beauty in our world without a constant barrage of bad news. (Can you tell I actually need that distraction the most right now! And with 10 degree weather I'm just not getting it)

Now I'm not telling you to go out and start a farm in your yard if you've never grow anything before. Start small. Buy a patio tomato and a pot of basil. If you've done that already find a spot in your yard you can grow some of your favorite herbs. (Herbs being just about the easiest thing you can grow.) Do you have a chain link fence, cover it with peas and beans.

DON'T SPEND A LOT OF MONEY. You don't need to get fancy here. As with any hobby there is the potential to get spendy pretty quickly and that would quickly negate any potential savings to you. Don't do that. If you don't feel like digging get some used containers from someone (trust me, if you know anyone who gardens, they have some plastic pots somewhere they aren't using.) Grow some lettuce. Grow Arugula. Grow something. Try something new. Even if you fail you'll have a greater sense of what the people who produce your food go through.

Learn a new skill. Except for seeds that I direct sow (peas, beans, lettuce, turnip,) I usually buy transplants rather than starting seeds inside. Tomorrow I'm starting Romanesco Broccoli and Onions. I hope to gain the experience to do more in the future. Anything you can do on the road to helping yourself is a bonus and will repay you in much more than the cost of your tomatoes.

If you really want to feel inspired (or intimadated!) head on over to The Little Homestead in The City for the story of a family of 4 who grow 6000lbs of food a year on their 1/10th of an acre city lot! Amazing!

Local Organic Milk Goodness

If you know me or have read this blog for any length of time, you know I have a thing about eating locally produced food and organic gardening.

At this time of year I'm finding it a struggle to find locally produced food and I'm not gardening at all!

And I'm cheap. You probably all remember that.

So I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't always eat organic vegetables. I do the best I can with the money I have. I try my best and sometimes it's organic, sometimes not. Sometimes the cost difference is minimal and sometimes it is not.

One thing that I'm a pretty big stickler on is organic dairy products. Hormones in our milk are probably my number one concern food-wise. Especially for my 4 year old. I'm not backing down on this one. I'll forgo something else on my list so that we can have quality milk and yogurt. I will pay $6.29 a gallon for milk. (which is the Wegman's organic which is actually quite good, much better than the $8 gallon Horizon that I think is WAY over pasteurized tasting)

Last summer we went to The Pittsford Farms Dairy. They have awesome quality delicious local organic milk. Since my husband drives by on the way home from work it is an easy stop. However, for some reason, we've been lax about it and have been relying on Wegman's. I've also been operating under the assumption it is the most expensive milk we can get. Well I called this week and much to my surprise, they charge $4.75 A GALLON (heck, that is only $2.10 more than normal milk! The first time you need to pay a one time $1 deposit for the glass bottle) and $1.65 for organic 1/2 & 1/2 (as opposed to $3 at Wegman's) .

Sometimes you have to sacrifice price or quality or locale based on your circumstances. I get that and I live that. I'm always making value decisions based on what I feel is best for my family, sometimes that best is determined by price and sometimes by quality. I really scored a home run on this milk thing though!

If you live around me and have not tried the Pittsford Farms dairy I urge you to. If nothing else, it's a great education on local eating. If you don't live near me, investigate additional places to get your food than what you are used to, you just may be surprised!

Eat The View!

Here is something everyone can get on board with no matter what your political leanings!

The other night while looking up urban homesteading (a fascinating subject actually!) I came across EatTheView.org.

What is eat the view all about!

From the Website!

"Eat the View!" is a campaign to urge the Obamas to replant a large organic Victory Garden on the First Lawn with the produce going to the White House kitchen and to local food pantries. "Eat the View" is coordinated by Kitchen Gardeners International, a Maine-based 501c3 nonprofit network of 10,000 gardeners from 100 countries who are inspiring and teaching more people to grow some of their own food.

Ok who can argue with that! Would this not make a great statement to the American people and the world at large about eating locally grown sustainable food? The proposed garden would provide food for the White House as well as local food pantries in DC. You know there are gardeners at the White House, why not put them to use doing something (food) productive!

I recently read that the food for the president and family (not including state dinners and the like) is actually charged to the President and comes out of his yearly salary. This would be a great message in how growing your own can help defray some of your food costs.

There is also a great deal of history in this idea, including Woodrow Wilson's flock of sheep trimming the white house lawn and Eleanor Roosevelt planting a victory garden that inspired millions!


So sign up and urge the Obamas to Eat The View!

Despite Frost, Eating The Food Less Travled....

This past Thursday, in 10 degree weather, my girl and I headed out to the Farmer's Market!

In January!!!

This year, for the first time, in a neighboring town, they are experimenting with an indoor market once a month through May. It's called the Long Season Market and the idea is to encourage eating/buying locally through the winter months.

I've said before in this blog how I love eating local food and this was an awesome way to do it.

When we walked in to the Artisan Church we could smell the wonderful aroma of quiche, chicken and a myriad of hot food items for sale. I was so sorry that my husband was home making dinner at that moment!

There was a local winery, a bunch of various vendors and a band.

We bought
-2 Buttercup Squash
-2 Bunches of Hydroponic Arugula-My favorite green!
-A loaf of hearty multi-grain bread
-Crispin Apples
-Apple Cider Molasses
-Some molasses cookies from a man named Brian who claims to make delicious cookies with quality ingredients-And he's not lying! Those were the best molasses cookies I ever had-It's a good thing we bought the 3 pack rather than the dozen because they would have been gone just the same today. I think I'll be going back just because of Brian!

It was much smaller than a traditional Farmers Market but it was intimate and the people there were just so happy to be there-The feeling was nice, cosy and happy. The veggies actually did not look like the ones in the picture because there was a lot of squash, apples and root crops.

After we walked around we sat (well I sat and my girl danced) and listened to the Wild Root String Band. It was so funny because most of the people there were really crunchy-I mean only die hards are going out in 10 degree weather to buy local squash-I told Jacquie that I am SURE I was the only person there with a child wearing Disney Princess Boots!

Free Food Grab-Where I Find Out I Am No Farmer

Today Kristin and I went to our CSA, Windy Meadow Farm, where they had "open pick tomatoes" Which is basically a chance to go, at no extra charge, and pick as many tomatoes as you like. AS MANY AS YOU LIKE. How psyched was I over free food! When we got there they told us that we could pick corn and peppers as well. ALSO AS MANY AS WE WOULD LIKE.

And boy did we pick. We picked a lot of food. And carried a lot of food. It was tiring and we wore shorts and our legs got scratchy. We also had never picked corn before so there was a small learning curve there! Holy cow, I could not help but wonder HOW they harvest all that food each week with any sort of expedience. Two hours of picking was enough for me. I was tired when I got home. My legs and feed were dirty and splashed with tomato guts. We discussed how we were so glad we were picking today and not yesterday when it was 90 degrees.

We met the farmers who were really nice and my appreciation for those farmers grew exponentially today. It was neat to see all of the veggies growing. I bought some organic eggs and some sunflowers from the farmers children.

I brought a lot of beautiful food home which I started to preserve today.

I've often thought in a parallel reality I should live on a farm. Today I realized I'm a gardener, not a farmer.

Localvores

Gas is nearing $4 a gallon, that is no secret.

Did you know the average salad travels 1400 miles to get to you? That's a lot of gas.

You can grow salad in your backyard VERY cheaply-A pack of seeds is under$2.

Why are we eating 1400 mile salads? Why are we surprised when the cost of out of season produce (our own season that is) costs so much?

One of the reason is because we've come to expect things like salad whenever we want, rather than when salad is in season in the place that we live. Sometimes we don't even know what is in season in the place that we live.

Another reason is that some people don't want to grow their own salad. I get that. Some people, left to their own devices growing food would starve.

Everyone though, can start eating a little more locally.

During the past year, I've been becoming increasing interested in eating more locally. It makes sense to me on so many levels:

-Food is Fresher and tastes better-Who hasn't eaten a crappy tomato in January?
-Food is (marginally) cheaper
-The environmental impact of your food traveling to you is considerably less
-Less packaging, less waste.
-You are supporting your local economy
-Supporting locpal farms keeps ever single inch of your world from being taken over by suburban sprawl or in other words, by buying foods grown and raised closer to where you live, you help maintain farmland and green space in your area.
-You become more in touch with the seasons. You appreciate the juicy strawberries of June and the tart apples of fall.
-You can meet the people who grow your food

There is a current movement of people calling themselves Localvores-People who try and only eat things that originate within 100 miles of them. Barbara Kingsolver is just one of those people and she's written an incredible book, "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral," about her year of eating locally with her family. Nothing I can say can convince you as well as this book can. Read it! You'll thank me! It's a truly enjoyable read too!

Eating locally isn't as hard as it sounds. Start with your vegetables. Go to your local farmers market, join a CSA, grow your own garden. I also happen to live by a Wegman's, and in the summertime I have to say, for probably the past 10 years, they have been doing an excellent job of showcasing local produce. So for some of us, it's as easy as making good choices at the supermarket.

It's not more expensive than what you already do, it's just more fun, better for you, and better for our world!