My little blog experiment got seriously derailed for a while there, for a combination of reasons. True, work was a little hectic towards the end of the half-semester, Bud1 got sick, we had the bathroom remodel project going on, etc, etc. But really I just sort of lost steam, even though my last post was all about just doing whatever I reasonably could.
However, I just checked our financial records (gotta love Quicken!), and discovered that my goal to reduce our spending has actually worked somewhat! Last year, we averaged $1100 for groceries and $525 for dining every month! I'm embarrassed to see those numbers in print! But I have made some differences since January 1: our average monthly grocery bill is $866, and our average monthly dining bill is $470, for a reduction of $289 per month!
The best part is that I have not purchased any CAFO meat since starting this little project, we’ve eaten mostly organic fruits and vegetables, and we’ve had some fantastic meals. So, this is proof to me that with some work, dedication, creativity, planning, and perseverance, we absolutely can eat well and still spend less.
Other money-saving goals of mine:
Finally, I’m sort of changing the focus of the blog. When I started, it was to share my experiences and be another voice, but I found that tiresome very quickly. Logging on this morning, I really enjoyed looking back at what we had done the last few months, not only in the kitchen, but just in general. It was only a few months ago that I drove home from Whole Foods in the snow, but I had forgotten it already. So, this will be totally personal now: reflections that may wander and include more family stuff than cooking at times. I will use the blog primarily to remind myself of various recipes, techniques, meals, or ideas, for planning ahead and for documenting, and I want to post at least once per week.
]]>I ran across this article from Time Magazine today, by Joel Stein. At first I thought it was just the extremity of the 100 Mile Diet to which he was reacting, but after a second read, I realized he's threatened. And quite misinformed, for someone who is writing for Time Magazine.
But it did get me thinking. I have felt guilty many times when I ate something that wasn't locally grown or bought processed food to pack in my kids' lunchboxes. Does it have to be all or nothing, though? Isn't it just the little things that sometimes add up to a huge change? I'm not giving up pepper, or coffee, or chocolate, like some of the examples referenced in "The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet", another Time Magazine article from two years ago, although I make more responsible choices about the brands I do buy. But I'm making better choices whenever I can, even if it means going out of my way or spending more to do so. And sometimes it isn't so much about the food that I am buying as it is about the food I'm not buying. I haven't had asparagus from Peru in months. But I will eat my fill of it when it's in season, and when I can find more local sources. And I do believe I have an impact, even if I'm not "extreme" eating.
In addition to trying to make better choices, I also drive a hybrid car, I recycle, and I conserve water. Local eating is just one of many things that I'm trying to do, because if everyone had the same selfish beliefs of Stein, my great-grandkids will be in sorry shape. I'd like to think we can do better. If that means that I deny myself asparagus from Peru in January, I'm okay with that "sacrifice."
]]>Today was technically a holiday for me and the two Buds. Although I did have to spend most of the day grading, the Buds had fun playing in the basement. It's been frickin' freezing here lately, and I'm not complaining one bit. So, they stayed inside today, and once I was done grading, we did a little shopping. We picked up several pounds of West Virginia Mountaineer apples, and several pounds of organic Bosc pears from Washington. When we got home, I peeled all 13 pounds of fruit, and stored the peels in my compost bucket (more on that later this week). To the apples, I added brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. To the pears, I added some freshly grated ginger (from Hawaii, not China) and brown sugar. Both batches are still baking, 5 hours later, in 8x13 glass pans in a 200 degree oven. The house smells awesome, and I can't wait to make some muffins and try them out. Although the Buds inhaled about 3 pounds of pears that I brought home Saturday, I'm not sure how they will do with a pear-ginger combination.
Dinner tonight was an adaptation of Lombo di Maiale Coi Porri, otherwise called Pan-roasted Pork with Leeks. I had some free-range, all natural pork loin that I purchased at the Dekalb Farmers' Market back in September, but which had been languishing in the freezer since the first night I tried to cook it. Non-CAFO pork has a very rich, well, pork-y flavor, and it didn't go over well the first night and didn't go over so well tonight either. I loved it, as did Bud1, so at least we had a 50% approval rating. The leeks really take on this buttery, succulent flavor when cooked like this, and it is such a simple, homey meal. The leeks were organic and grown in South Carolina, and I roasted some Ruby Red Georgia sweet potatoes to go along with the pork. Yum!
I have no intention of buying CAFO pork again. But it's also hard to justify the higher price tag (and the drive to purchase it) when it isn't a total smash with the whole family. Maybe I just haven't found the right recipe yet. I don't feel like delving into the antibiotic-pumped, tail-chopped life of a CAFO pig with my family members just yet, but I wonder if it wouldn't make them appreciate the meat a little more. Tough call. I'll wait it out.
]]>
Saturday nights around here are Date Night; I think Bud1 was a toddler when we started this tradition. We started by renting a movie from the American Film Institute’s 100 Best Films list, with our goal to watch every movie on the list, and trying to match the dinner to the movie when we could. One of my favorites was Casablanca with chicken tagine and Moroccan wine, and of course we had fun with Italian food and The Godfather trilogy. We ran into a few duds on the 100 Best list, though, and so we branched out to any movie that was interesting. Another memorable night was My Big Fat Greek Wedding, with a delicious Greek spread, and Mr. Wisteria even made up a mixed drink called Windex.
Now Date Night can be anything, but usually involves some delicious food and a great bottle of wine, then a movie or a card game, or even just sitting and talking. The Buds get their own tray of food upstairs, and as long as they don’t disturb us, they can stay up late. I look forward to Date Night all week, and it is a great chance to reconnect and have some adult time. Because we’ve been working so hard on tiling our bathroom, I wanted to go kind of simple for this week. I picked up some pork chops stuffed with apples and cranberries from Whole Foods, and some zucchini that were labeled from South Carolina, but they must be greenhouse grown, as SC is north of us. I also made some little tangerine tarts from Small Batch Baking, which is an awesome cookbook. The original recipe called for blood oranges, but the Florida tangerines I had on hand were perfect.
Today we laid all of the tile, and then I took a nap. Dinner was spaghetti with meat sauce, with CAFO hamburger (the last pack from the freezer!), half a jar of spaghetti sauce, and 2 cups of my spaghetti sauce that I made from my mom’s summer tomato bounty. I also bought a loaf of ciabatta bread, which we dipped in a little splurge I picked up yesterday at Whole Foods: rosemary infused oil from www.sweetwatergrowers.com, a local hydroponic herb farm not 40 minutes from my house. It was tasty, but as it was flavored with rosemary extract, it lacked the visual appeal of other dipping oils I’ve had. I’ll probably try my hand at making my own next time, but it was fun to have, since its really the most local pre-made food I've found.
]]>
We thoroughly enjoyed last Wednesday’s snow, but were very disappointed to wake up Thursday morning and find that we had to go to work and school and couldn’t stay home and play. Mother Nature made it up to us today, though, with a lovely snow that began around 10 am and didn’t let up until around 3. I woke up early (well, for a Saturday) and immediately went grocery shopping, and the snow was falling as I drove home. We put away the groceries and went for a hike on our local greenway. The snow was beautiful and the woods were so peaceful. I can’t wait for the day when we’re hiking through our own woods, and hopefully wherever that is, snow won’t be such a rare occurrence.
At one point today, we had half of the kids from the cul-de-sac at our house, drinking hot chocolate with their gear in the dryer warming up. I made a batch of Lighter Snickerdoodles, using half white/wheat flour. The kids snarfed them down faster than I could get them out of the oven. When the Buds have friends over, they are wont to visit our pantry in confusion, not sure why the Cheetos and Poptarts are missing. So, whenever I have the chance, I try to compensate by making something they appreciate, but in a healthier, less processed version, whether its mac-and-cheese to feed the troops or today's cookies. Still, it is exceedingly tempting to stock my shelves and freezer with grab-and-go foods!
]]>
I didn’t blog last night, because of snow!! Yes, I’m a Florida native, and I didn’t even see snow until my teens, so to have it snow in my own yard is quite exciting. Alas, although the flakes were big and the snow actually covered the ground, it started raining around 10 pm and everything was gone by midmorning today. But it was still gorgeous and very cool! There wasn’t any dinner to report last night anyway, since I attended a volunteer orientation at a local cooking school and Mr. W took the Buds out for a snow celebration. Tonight’s dinner, however, made up for the absence of last night. I roasted some acorn squash, which I quartered. Then I added a pat of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup into each cavity, sprinkled them with salt, and popped them in the oven. For something green, I sautéed some South Carolina green beans. I’m so lucky to still be able to buy these fresh; I have four bags in the freezer that I froze this summer from farmers’ market spoils, and I haven’t touched them yet. I also pan-roasted two chicken breasts with a few garlic cloves, some white wine, and leftover chicken stock from making the risotto. After browning, I put them in the oven to finish, and once the meat was done, I made gravy from the pan drippings. My newly-acquired gravy obsession is thanks to Anne of Green Leanings at http://greenleanings.blogspot.com/. Although I’ve been paying attention to eating locally for a while and reading Kingsolver and Pollan, I hadn’t read much online, being rather unfamiliar with blogging. Anne’s blog was one of the first that I found when I decided that I wanted to make this more of a focus in my life, and I appreciate the information on her site, especially her references to pan gravy!
Tonight's dinner had more stamps on its passport than mine. After another rather tedious day of work, I found myself devoid of cooking inspiration. But, reminding myself of the success of last night's meal, I persevered and commenced cooking.
Trattoria One 41 is a relatively local restaurant that is owned by three friends (and some spouses) who met while working in another restaurant and always talked about opening their own place. Although I don’t think they feature any local ingredients, as they are an Italian restaurant, they are not a chain restaurant, and around here, that’s about as good as we can get. Sadly, however, my favorite risotto dish is no longer on the menu, but I was able to recreate it (well, sort of) a couple of times at home. So that was my goal for tonight.
The risotto had chunks of spicy Italian sausage, sundried tomatoes, black olives, and caramelized cippollini onions. And it was really fantastic. My imitation tonight began with some spicy Italian turkey sausage from the Dekalb Farmers’ Market. They've radically changed their website since I last looked, so I can’t link to the farm, but their turkey comes from a producer in Pennsylvania, if I remember correctly, and they make their own sausage fresh on site. It's good stuff, and this is a perfect recipe that doesn't feature meat as the main ingredient, and reducing our meat intake is definitely a goal.
I started with some baby Vidalia onions caramelizing in a separate skillet. Then I sautéed some slices of the sausage, taken from the freezer. I toasted some arborio rice in the drippings, added a glass of chardonnay from the Biltmore Estate to deglaze the pan, and then gradually added cups of hot chicken stock and stirred and stirred and stirred. Eventually the rice did its thing and turned into creamy wonderfulness, and I added the sausage, some sliced kalamatas, some sundried tomatoes, a squirt of tomato paste, and some parmigiano reggiano. And it was good…creamy, filling, and definitely upscale comfort food. But it wasn’t great, and I honestly don’t know why. It’s been a while since I made it, and I never had an actual recipe. I can’t remember if I started the risotto with the traditional garlic and onions last time or not. And I have a sneaking suspicion that fresh basil was the final crowning glory, but alas, I don’t remember, and the dish is no longer listed on their menu for me to check.
During a quiet spell at work today, I spent some time looking at a few other blogs, and I liked the term “traveler” for non-local or non-regional ingredients. So, I’m adopting it here, and it seems completely apropos for this meal, in which several of the ingredients were not only not regional, they weren’t even American.
Regional ingredients: baby Vidalia onions, turkey sausage, chardonnay, chicken stock
Travelers: Arborio rice (Italy), kalamatas (Greece), sundried tomatoes (Turkey), tomato paste (California)
]]>
I know that's a crappy title, but today it's really true. Not a stellar day all around, but oh well. I'm about to get in bed and read a book, so the day is looking up!
It's not a new revelation, but tonight I can certainly see why so many people opt for take-out or dining out at the end of a long, hard day instead of coming home to cook a meal and then clean up the kitchen. I would have been up for going out, if there were something besides chain restaurants in the local vicinity. But since there aren't, and since I had our first chuck roast from our organically raised, pasture-grazed steer in the fridge, I made dinner.
When I got the meat out of the freezer Sunday, I had plans to make a gourmet pot roast, browning the meat, making a roux, deglazing the pot, and adding various vegetables and aromatics before popping it into the oven to finish. That didn't quite happen tonight, as I burnt the roux and realized I didn't thaw out any stock. But it went into the oven in my Le Creuset dutch oven, and I sat down to finish a few hours worth of grading.
Mr. Wisteria bought me said dutch oven for my birthday a few years back, and I swear I can't screw anything up in that pot. There's something magical about it. Of course, the copious amounts of cabernet that I added to compensate for the missing stock didn't hurt either. In about 30 minutes the house smelled heavenly, and within two hours we were eating dinner. Not bad for 30 minutes worth of chopping and browning.
Only the beef was local, but the vegetables were organic and USA grown. Overall, I'm happy that I didn't capitulate and opt for take-out. I'm definitely going to figure out how to build a root cellar for next fall, so that I can stock up. There are only so many chuck roasts on one steer, but I can make beef stew almost as fast, and I'm sure there's other variations I can create for future hectic Mondays.
]]>
My inaugural post! I still have plenty to do to set up the blog the way I've envisioned it, but the real purpose of this whole thing is to post about our eating-with-a-conscience project. So I'm going to kick things off by writing about dinner tonight.
Yesterday I spent about an hour and a half at Whole Foods, which is currently the closest I can get to reasonably local produce. I was quite frustrated, however, by the mislabeling. I wanted kale, which a sign proudly proclaimed as being from South Carolina and therefore regional for me. Upon closer inspection, though, half the kale in the stack was actually labeled from Mexico. I had to dig to find two with the South Carolina label. Ditto for quite a few of the other products I bought. But, hey, it's better than buying the big pre-washed 5 pound bag of kale at my regular grocery store that was grown in Mexico, then processed and shipped.
In addition to eating more locally grown produce, we’re also striving to avoid CAFO meat as much as possible. We shared half of an organically raised, pastured steer with my parents, and the freezer is chock full of beef. But other non-CAFO meats are hard to come by and very expensive. Our plan was to compensate for the higher costs by eating a vegetarian meals a few times a week. I haven’t been quite successful with that yet, however. No one in the family but me likes beans, Bud2 has nut allergies, Mr. Wisteria is lactose intolerant. And forget about tofu!
My compromise has been to make foods that don’t revolve around meat as the main dish. So dinner tonight was the South Carolina kale, braised in some homemade chicken stock that I made from a leftover chicken carcass last week, and a smoked turkey leg that I picked up from Whole Foods yesterday. Once the kale was done, I shredded the turkey meat, then added it back to the pot along with red pepper flakes, a little cider vinegar, and some salt. I also roasted some Georgia-grown sweet potatoes, and made cornbread from some locally stone-ground yellow cornmeal and local, cage-free eggs. Everyone liked the sweet potatoes and the cornbread, but they were not at all fond of the kale. More for me then!
To top things off, I also made some shortcakes that baked while we ate, then I topped them with organic whipped cream and some sliced Florida strawberries. Wow…I actually skipped the shortcake and just went for the strawberries and cream! I had never used organic heavy cream before, and it was so thick and creamy. I’d rather have a tiny teaspoon of the real stuff over half a cup of Cool Whip any day!
I also made some whole wheat muffins for breakfasts this week. To make them a little more interesting, I added chopped dried cherries and some bittersweet chocolate chips. Hopefully that will get everyone out of bed on a Monday!
]]>