Procurement, prepping and putting up - or tossing out *sigh*

What?! Are you kidding?  The weekend is over??  But I didn't even digest the week yet!

Seriously, this working full time business is tiring.  And much more tiring when one is attempting to manage a two year old and four CSA's.  The food procurement, prepping and putting up is about doing me in.  It was before my hours got bumped up, but now...  I'm just trying not to let things rot or otherwise go to waste.  At least it's going to the compost and not into a landfill, but still, not ideal.  We have to rethink some of this business.

The fish went to waste last week.  There was just too much.  They made a mistake and had packaged the portions too small, so they gave us two packages of ... whatever it was last week, I think it was haddock.  Very good, but just too much - even with having company over.

Today I put another 7 or so lbs of apples into the dehydrator - only lost three or so pounds to rot.  Have another 10 lbs that we got on Wednesday.   If I'm still standing at the end of the day tomorrow, I may make more sauce.

But the veggies.  Oh, Lord, they are going to waste.  Two eggplants, a squash, three tomatoes (the last of the season - oh, come on!), two heads of lettuce... the list goes on, I'm sure, with things haven't yet unearthed.

The meat, thank goodness, all comes frozen.  And it does seem to be just about the right amount for what we use.

The bright side for the week/end? I've gotten into the swing of things with my kefir production.  So much so that I have frozen some grains and am drying some. Yesterday I learned how to make sauerkraut - if I can just get to that cabbage before it turns.  I made mayonnaise today.  And ranch dressing with that mayonnaise and kefir (in lieu of buttermilk).

I do not have the work I was supposed to get done for work done this weekend, but I feel a bit justified as I worked two and a half hours over on Friday and the task for this particular project was very late in the getting.  So here I go.  Off to another week.  I've a feeling 5am will be coming all too soon...

Hard Core

Or something like that.  They don't actually have cores anymore!

See, that's what TW said when I presented her with a dinner plate.  Nothing special: chicken salad sandwich,  bread and butter pickles, and a couple dried apple rings.  As I left (she was in the bedroom with dim light due to a migraine), I pointed out that I'd made the chicken salad, the pickles were made by a friend, and not only did I dehydrate the apples, but that they are the very apples that we picked last weekend.


On Sunday evening I peeled, cut and froze enough for two pies.  By the end of it my hands were cramping and I still had about 20 lbs left...

Enter two very handy tools.  I took to Amazon and ordered a dehydrator and ran off to Wilson's (our local department store - the oldest continually running one in the country) to get the apple peeler/corer/slicer.

I'm in the middle of my second batch of tasty treats now.  Mozart loves them.

But I'll definitely need to package up the rest of that 20 lbs, because it keeps on growing.  Seriously, picking up a bag or two of fruit every week...

Now that's hard core.

Eat more kale, they say. A follow-up.

We are on the upswing with kale at our CSA again.  Awhile back, I wrote about a new-to-me way to prepare kale.  In salads, but massaged, or tenderized.  I tried this several times, and the best recipe I've found so far is as follows, with a few tweaks of my own.  I printed this out some time ago, and panicked this afternoon when I couldn't find it.  I did, finally, so I figure I'll share it and then also have it at my fingertips anytime I want instead of having to search for a piece of paper (I suppose, I could put it on a recipe card and file it, but this is more fun).

So this recipe is attributed to Kathy Gusnst.  I did not print out anything saying anything more about her, so I can't tell you who she is, really.  Only that she makes an excellent kale salad.

Kathy's Kale Salad

Ingredients:
3 Cups raw Kale, cored and cut into thin slices or ribbons
Sea Salt and pepper, to taste
About 1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 Tablespoons of vinegar (I used apple cider)
1/3 cup of raisins
1/3 cup of pine nuts or walnuts (I doubled this)

Toss all ingredients but nuts and let sit for a minimum of 30 minutes before serving.  Kathy notes that the salt and vinegar will tenderize the kale and soften in.  I do massage it a bit for good measure as well.  She mixed the nuts right in for the sitting period, but I roast them and then serve on top of the salad after it has tenderized.

Yum.

Back to reality...

Ah, vacation.  It is good.  Alas.  It is over.

Not sure I mentioned that we were going - it kinda snuck up on me, and then it was a whirlwind getting ready and we were off on our way.  We went to the Cape and it was awesome, awesome!  I might do another post with photos.  Ok, I will do another post with photos - I finally got that new SD card for my phone and I took many, many photos.  So, so wish I had a real camera, but I just know I'll be getting one for my birthday *hint*  *Hint*  *HINT*

We got back last Saturday evening and were immediately tossed back into reality.  Prancer's birthday (um, who gave that kid permission to turn 8?) was Sunday and we generally hold a party for him, so not wanting to fail on that count, we put our birthday hats on and pulled a party together.  I spoke with him the night before to see about what kind of cake he might like (should have done this weeks before, but everything seems to be very sneaky these days).  He said Neapolitan - to match his requested Neapolitan ice cream.  Ok - THAT, I can pull together in a heartbeat.  I did use a box mix and store-bought frosting, but I used some of my freezer jam and thickened it up for the filling.  I went to the store in the morning got the above-mentioned, hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, potato chips, candles, plates, napkins and balloons.  Came home and put the cake in, thickened the sauce, sliced tomatoes, onions, washed lettuce, made chip dip, and cut watermelon, and set up the backyard with balloons, streamers, presents and food ~ Thank GOODNESS for good weather!   TW ran to get a tablecloth that I'd forgotten and a couple extra chairs, made some punch, then set up the music. I stuck the cake in the freezer as TW went off getting Prancer and his dad, and Cake Master and Lashes showed up with more presents.

Prancer was ecstatic!  He climbed up on this little play structure we have and announced, several times, that this was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!  Now, he says this every year, but it still feels good.   While I was disappointed that I didn't have the cake ready for his arrival, he was thrilled because that meant he was able to help put it together, "And sample everything along the way."

After we'd eaten, Prancer helped me place the candles and questioned whether they would stay lit. I said, that of course they would.  Hehe.  Of course they didn't, but he had a great time making a big show of pretending to blow the candles out, which was probably more fun.  And then FINALLY he got to eat the cake and ice cream properly, which, of course, meant that he could get to the business of his presents!  Ah, the bliss of an 8 year old.

Neapolitan Cake - vanilla cake, strawberry filling, and chocolate frosting.

Later that afternoon, I went over to my first Lia Sophia party - I won't go into the details, but let's just say that it was a bit more excitement than I thought I was getting into!  I did end up winning a lovely necklace, and ordered another for TW *SHHHHHH!* and then it was home to bed, and up for work.

But the excitement wasn't over because right after work we got to see Peanut!!  Her family comes out to visit the area quite often to see relatives and, thankfully, us and the foster parents of her brother as well.  We had such a wonderful time seeing her.  She is 9 now.  And if I can hardly believe that Prancer is 8, it is even harder to grasp that she is 9 and becoming quite a lovely young lady.  Once again she said that wants to come and live with us - that's always hard.  But now what I think she'd like is for all of the people to just live in one giant house.  Her parents really are doing an excellent job raising her up.

So after our visit with Peanut, then life really did get back to the normal work, food procurement, and food processing.  Tuesday we got milk from the farm.  Wednesday we got our fruit CSA.  Thursday we our veggie CSA.  Today, I made cantaloupe popsicles, apple sauce, and roasted beets.  I found a recipe for Moussaka that I think I'll try - sounds soooo good, and aside from the olive oil and spices can be entirely locally sourced!  Reality is pretty good sometimes, too.

Eat more kale, they say.

And I finally figured out how!

I have known for some time that kale is good for you.  That we should eat more. Loaded with anti-oxidants and all that.  And last summer I was turned on to kale chips, which was fine and all, but I find that they become fairly intolerable if not eaten fresh. And who wants to turn the oven on in the middle of summer to bake them - even if it is only at 275...  Globetrotter came up with the idea of storing them with the freshness packets (silica, I think) found in vitamin jars and seaweed snacks.  I've yet to try it, but I have some hope anyway.

Today, I think I came upon a winner, though!  I can't take credit for the idea (the thanks goes to a random lady at our CSA pickup), and I've yet to tweak the dressing to perfection, but this worked so well, even Mozart ate his entire serving!!  And there was NO COOKING involved.  Not one hot burner or pot holder to contend with on this ninety degree day.  I did not take pictures - somehow I've managed to take the allotted 1500 photos my SD card will hold (again), so I need to download the good ones, and delete the others so I can start over.

Basically, you wash it, cut the hard spine out, and then massage the raw kale until it loses its chalky appearance and turns bright green. Rip it into bite size pieces, toss with your dressing and enjoy as you would any salad.  I used sesame oil and lemon juice, which was quite tasty, but I didn't measure and it could have used a bit more zing, so I'll let you experiment with your own dressings - and do let me know if you find one that works well!

We will be having this again.  And I am no longer afraid that nearly all of our kale from the CSA will go to waste as it has done every year in the past.  Nor will I avoid it like the plague if it is one of the offerings!

Happy Independence Day!

I'm a little late to wish you well on this 4th of July, but I figure better late than never.

I gotta say, spirit of the holiday aside, I am feeling really, REALLY grateful to care for myself independently today.  I feel somewhat human for the first time since last Saturday when I put my back out for the umpteeth time.  It was on its way out for a couple weeks - the beginning of strawberry season does not do this body good.  But since I love strawberries, I kept picking every chance I got and last Friday that entailed 3 hours of picking with a total of 8 quarts of strawberries.  I was certainly sore afterwards, but not too sore to attempt  to move a gigantic, albeit huge, bookcase that the neighbors had given us from their house to ours.  And it was all good until the very last foot of the move.  It tilted.  Did I mention it was huge.  A good foot taller than me.  So I compensated for the tilt with my position and *TWINGE* <-- yep, THAT put my back out.  TW had to step in to move it the rest of the mere 12 inches.  I held it together until the neighbors said their goodbyes... Then I promptly went upstairs, medicated myself, and hobbled - very slowly - into bed.  Where I stayed the remainder of the weekend with only 1-2 hour stretches out of bed.

As you can imagine, it was a long week for as short as it was.  I cut out of work at 1:30 on Monday, managed to stay the day on Tuesday, and took a respite in the middle of the day yesterday.  Each day I saw the chiropractor or a craniosacral therapist.  I love them both.  Truly.

Today I took it slow in the morning and we just hung around the house most of the day, but had to get to the farm to pick up our veggie share.  I did not pick strawberries.  (!)  TW and Mozart did pick peas and hunted for a time for the remaining strawberries.  I had my share of picking with the quart of basil that was allotted, and then read in the car and waited.  

On arrival home I put the basil into vodka for an infusion.  One of my favorite all-time drinks is The Legal Herb - a basil infused vodka martini that was served at this long ago fabulous restaurant in Minneapolis (can't remember it's name just now or I'd give it props!).  What with the strawberry vodka and now this basil vodka, I imagine you are thinking we are quite the drinkers!  No so, I'm afraid.  I did have a sip of the strawberry spirit to taste, and it was lovely, but it has remained untouched since.  I am just happy to have proper options to serve people (or us) when the mood strikes.

I also had an idea that I put into motion. It will either be brilliant as the week goes by, or I will have done the work for nothing.  I'm voting for brilliant: I took out my mandolin and sliced up zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, and onion and then filled several mason jars with said ingredients.  I'm hoping that this will get us to eat more of the veggies we get from our share.  One of my most-loved breakfasts is sauteed veggies with eggs and this will make it easy :D  And The Boy loves cucumbers, so he will always have some for snack or side-dish.  I'll try to report back and let you know if this planning worked out.

Broccoli, Stock, and Vodka

This evening has been very productive.  I always like to write after having bouts with great production involved.  We picked up our first meat CSA today from Chestnut Farms.  We've got to be there between five and six, and it is halfway to Riverland, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to make our pick-up days there on Thursdays rather than Saturdays.  I just found that by the time I went to the Farmers Market, picked up our Fish CSA, came home tossed the fish in the fridge, went to Riverland and selected our share, did the u-pick, and came home, I barely had enough energy to get The Boy, me and the veggies in the house, much less process it in any timely kind of way.  Granted, I have done a fair amount of strawberry freezing, but beyond that, I can hardly keep up with the greens and things from the farm.  Now, if I pick up on Thursdays, even if I'm exhausted that night, I'll have Fridays to process as I've got the day off. And then the weekend to enjoy the fruits of my labor, rather than running to try to catch up with my tail.

So this evening: I got the meat for the first time.  They had whole chickens and eggs for sale, and stock and marrow bones for the taking.  I came away with our 10 lbs of various meats (6 chicken breasts, two steaks, two lbs of hamburger, breakfast sausage, and hot Italian sausage) along with three good size soup bones.  At the veggie farm we got four fennel bulbs, three heads of broccoli, a fair amount of salad greens, a large bag of chard, several garlic scapes, a zuccini, and two pickling cukes (the latter two items were carefully selected by Mozart).  As dinner time was nearing we did not do our U-pick, but just visited the strawberry fields and had a couple berries each (tomorrow, I think I'll go back and get our 8 quarts of strawberries, and - was it 3 or 5 quarts of peas).  On arriving home, I turned Mozart over to TW and I started a beef stock, ran to the store (out of onions - very important), came home, finished setting the stock to simmer for the night, strained the strawberry vodka I started last week, and cut, blanched, and froze 6 heads of broccoli (three from last week that were left over), and collapsed onto the couch where I am now writing this and too exhausted to even get myself a tipple (though TW got to enjoy some while I was straining).  The real fruits of my labor will be served tomorrow with whipped cream - and by that I mean some very vodka-saturated strawberries!

 2C strawberries, 2C vodka (X2 as I wanted a full quart in the end) set to soak in the fridge for a week with the occasional shake, and now filtering to get every last speck of strawberry out.  Will keep, if it lasts that long, for a year in the cupboard.

A Case of the Crankies with a Touch of the Spots.

This morning, the first thing Mozart uttered was, "Mama, I itchy. I got the pox."

He did not come up with this on his own.  Children very rarely come up with these things ALL on their own.

Yesterday we got the (false) report that one of the kids at his daycare had come down with the chicken pox.  TW and I both had conversations with the daycare provider about what we would be looking for if Mozart came down with it.  This was, of course, in his presence and his little proclamation this morning was just a way to demonstrate that he is, indeed, listening to everything we say.

By this afternoon another child had been sent home with the pox, but then this evening we got word that it is not, in fact, the pox.  It is a mystery virus.  It starts with a long period of crankiness, followed by a fever and with some kids develops into spots.  But the spots are apparently short-lived, and the kid can go back to daycare 24 hours after the fever is gone - one of Mozart's spotted friends is returning tomorrow.

Well, he certainly has been cranky lately.  We'd been attributing it to being two, but maybe this is more transient and the whole thing will lift if he breaks a fever and has done with it.

At least there's strawberries.

Oh, the strawberries!

While the rain has been mostly unrelenting, we have been able to go and pick on a couple of occasions.  With all the rain, I wanted to get out their before they turn so this morning being dry, Mozart and I left the house 'round 6am for a picking spree.  We got about four quarts in about 20 minutes - the berries are phenomenal!  I gave him his own basket - not because I thought he'd actually help, but I figured he'd feel useful.  He plucked the berries right out of my basket and put them in his own.  Then proceeded to eat them.  By the time we left the patch his basket that he filled about a quarter of the way looked like this:  and then by the time we got to teh car, it was empty aside from three half-eaten berries.  At least he had a nutritious breakfast!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy!

Rather than going on about the massive temper tantrums we've been experiencing lately, may I just say:

I LOVE MY FISH CSA!

The Atlantic cod was to die for.  The calamari, which I would never in a million years bought on my own, was absolutely succulent.  And the swordfish, which I thought I didn't like, was REALLY good!  This week we will likely get Hake and Flounder with the option of buying Scallops.  I am in my glory.

I will say here that I grew up in a drought-ridden land with no fish available that could be considered anything but freezer burned.  We did move to Minnesota - land of 10,000 lakes - for my teenage years, but somehow we never got into the fishing or the eating of fish.  I have previously made a fine salmon (I credit it to a chef at one of the restaurants I worked at who told me to never, ever overcook the salmon) dinner: think a perfectly grilled salmon steak topped with creme fraiche and oregano, with a side of sticky rice and chantarelle mushrooms...  and I have experimented with frying up catfish, or baking various whitefishes, but I haven't had a lot of success with the latter.

But now.  This fish is fresh.  I mean still flapping a fin fresh.  And the CSA sends recipes along for the trying! I am looking at these and then comparing to other recipes, and lo and behold, I love fish!

Tomorrow I pick up my veggie CSA for the first time.  I still have to figure out Kohlrabi (Mme. Child insists that I do a slaw, but I'm not convinced)...  Let the season truly begin!

And the season begins!

Next week is officially the beginning of CSA Season!  So, so excited about this ~ and this was only  reinforced today when we went to the local Farmers Market.

When the Season gets fully under way, the Farmers Market is really just a fun activity and way to supplement our shares while supporting the community, but for this short window, we actually buy groceries there.  Today we got our bread, veggies, rhubarb, shitake mushrooms, and fish.  Mozart did not want to leave, of course, and on the way out cited the the lack of soup as the reason for not leaving. TW suggested I make some for lunch and so I set to work on arrival home.

As I hadn't had this plan while shopping, and we've got quite a few staples missing, I was unsure I could accomplish the task, but anyone can make soup with whatever's in the house, right??  With the mushrooms and bok choy, I new I was going the Asian route, so started pulling things from the cupboard.  I had very little miso left, but did find two kinds of seaweed, a very small onion with green shoots growing from it, garlic, and a packet of organic ramen. Adding the rest of the miso, the flavor pack from the ramen, and the stems of the shitake (while tough, they are said to be very flavorful), I put a couple quarts of water to boil. I sauteed the onion, seaweed, sesame seeds and garlic for a bit to bring out the flavor and added to the pot.  I let this simmer for a bit, then added 5 leaves chopped bok choy, more sliced shitake, the green onions, and the ramen noodles, then a splash of soy sauce.  Using the same pan as the sautee, I added more olive oil, and put on the fresh Atlantic Cod we got today (caught last night at 9pm) from Cape Cod Fish Share (which we'll be getting a boat load of fish from starting next week), with more sliced shitake and some sea salt.  The fish simply flaked apart as it finished.  All of this was served with spelt bread from a El Jardin Bakery.

And can I say that I just love having a locally sourced meal!  Excluding the seaweed, ramen and salt, everything was made, grown, or harvested locally.  And the fish: best cod I've ever had!

Mozart wasn't a fan of the fish (more for us), but he did have two bowls of soup.


And just so you know, soup with a straw is the best way to go for all the little people in your life.  We tried it with a spoon, but after two spoonfuls on his front, this mama got smart to the straw option.

I've cleaned out the fridge and gotten rid of all expired or questionable items in preparation for next week when the Riverland Farm veggie CSA starts. The top shelf is for all very good for you, eat-as-much-as-you-want foods.  I've got the washed grapes up there, peeled carrots, pickles, dilly beans, and salad fixings all up top and at eye level.  Next shelf is for mostly good-for-you snacks, and for meals on the run.  Bottom shelf is for beverages (juice/milk) and meal prepping (meats, cooked grains, etc).  Door is for flavor enhancers, and the crispers are for the inevitable overabundance of veggies that we'll get. I'm hoping that by prepping the much of the veggies when they come in and put them at eye level that we'll eat more, waste less.   TW also ordered me a canning set-up today, so apparently, I need to learn how to can without the step-by-step guidance of Mme. Child!  

Un-birthday cake, er banana...

Mommy put a birthday hat on Mozart.  Not because it was his birthday, but because it was leftover and hanging around from Prancer's birthday.  He marches into the kitchen and I note, "Hey, you've got a birthday hat on!"  He concurs, "Buh dee hit."  Then he turn and walks into the dining room and ask, "Weh de buh dee kick?"

The wife and I look at each other, shaking our heads, he's just too smart.  Of course, if he's wearing a birthday hat, there should be birthday cake!

Poor kid did not get a birthday cake, but was placated with a banana. 

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And in other news.  Went to pick up Mme. Child's meat CSA and may get some bacon tips for the effort.  The meat lady suggests making an alfredo sauce.  Cook up bacon.  Drain all but three tablespoons grease. Add three tablespoons flour, two cups milk, salt and pepper.  Et voila.  I may need to try that!     

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And still other news.  I think the stars are crossed for getting anything done with speed around here.  For one reason or another I have had a ridiculous amount of plans, repairs, and happenings DELAYED in BIG ways lately.  Nothing too serious, but a lot  of hassle.  Car purchase = delayed by Sandy, then by parts arrival.  Car registration = I was supposed to get it in the mail 3 days after purchase so I could have it inspected (by law) within the week, but car dealer computer problems, and then unexplained delays means I have not yet received it - more than two weeks later - it'll be in the mail tomorrow they say.  Other car repair = take it in to diagnose clutch issue, take it back to do repair, part delivery delayed, in the mechanics words "the parts place is blowing sunshine up my ass!" and so we'll, hopefully, be back to two cars by end of day tomorrow.  Oil bill = they say we owe them money, but we paid early (as evidenced by charge posted to account) and so got the discount meaning that we owe them nothing, now settled.  Doctor bill = should not have even received this bill as I already paid it (and kept receipts) so after calling and calling back thrice, it is finally settled. Chimney = after two days of the masons no-showing, and then disappearing (leaving no chimney at all on our house) mid-job, finally done!   Roof = still not done, will save that story, should I decide to tell it for later. Oie! I will now begin to plan for things to take at least three times as long as they should until the stars realign...