I've described a bit on the Local Beet how we've been getting the stuff. The only throw-out last week was a yucky cauliflower. Tired arugula and fennel fronds and older celery all went into the stock pot. (Last inventory report here.)
Here's the latest tally.
Tomatoes - Catalina's holdovers
Mushrooms - crimini and oyster
Salsify - The key find at the first winter market, five or so roots worth.
Bok choi - One head; one head of bok choi is not the easiest thing to use
Celery - 4 bunches of heirloom from the first two Fall CSAs; these are mostly for stock and related. I have a batch of vegetable stock in me soon. 1 bunch from Cassie
Brussels Sprouts - 1 bag
Apples - 2 quarts honeycrisp are the current eating apple. In storage: 1/2 bushel fortune, , 1/2 bushel of mutsu, a 1/2 bushel of mixed including northern spy, akane, winesap, courtland, granny smith and a few other varieties; 1/2 bushel of granny smith; 5 lbs of mixing baking (cortland and law rome); 5 lbs of mixed, empire/fuji; 8 large romes (for baked apples) + quart bags of raritan and empire; a quart from Seedlings I'm forgetting which type...
Pears - Several Yali from Orianna, one something from Nichols holding out in the fridge.
Tomatoes - I hit the Green City Market two weeks ago, and a few of the tomatoes purchased are still alive and well. There's some in the attic but let's not talk about them today.
Red bell peppers - All of the last red peppers have been roasted. Some have been packed in oil; the rest in vinegar.
Jalepeno peppers, Serrano peppers, Cayenne peppers, Other hot peppers - poblanos, habeneros, pasillas, etc. - some left - my babies
Sweet peppers (a long green variety) - 6
Beets - 4 larger + 12 or so baby
Rutabagas - Maybe 6
Cabbage - 2.5 larger green; 1 whole red
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - Several larger and several baby
Radish - Some regular ol' radishes + 2 daikon + 5 or so "easter egg" from Catalina + 6 black radish
Celery root - About 8
Lettuce - 1 bag
Carrots - lots + more from this weekend
Garlic - More than enough as we got a braid of local garlic
Leeks - 6 bunches of 3
Dry onions - Plenty, most of theTropea have been used though + several pounds of cippolini.
Shallots - 5 or so lbs of larger and about 1 lb of smaller
Sweet potatoes - A good amount
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller + 1/2 bag of Yukon gold; when I did the move from basement to attic, I found more potatoes than I thought we had, cool + many heirloom (German butterball, fingerlings, etc.) + several pounds of yukon gold, kennebec, norland; still have not got my 50 lb bag from the wholesaler.
Kohlrabi - 2 large; 2 medium;
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti; 8 acorn, 4 Mexican style pumpkin, 4 butternut, 8 or so carnival, one white pumkin-ish looking thing.
Spinach - 2 bags worth
Sprouts
Sunchokes
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, dill, marjoram, mint, cilantro
Parsley root - 5
Horseradish root
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour; wheatberries + new bag of corn meal, new bag of soft white
Showing posts with label Storage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Storage. Show all posts
Monday, December 01, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Local Food Inventory
Subtraction by Subtraction
As I mentioned on the Local Beet, the VI family went through one of its periodic local food purges. Too much ambition, too much travel, too much working, too much love buying. It was worst than first reported; yesterday I found more crappy food: collards, a few too soft pears, the rest of the grapes. We've subtracted quite a bit from the inventory, but we always manage to buy. Here's where we stand today. (Last report here.)
Strawberries - Yes, local strawberries (indoor grown). I managed to squirrel away two pints from Robin at last week's winter market. These are not truly part of the inventory as they've all been eaten, some cooked into pancakes. Not the world's greatest strawberries but not as bad as supermarket either.
Fennel - I took half of Robin's strawberries but all of her fennel. On Sunday, I slow cooked the two heads for fennel marmalade, which has not been eaten. I've saved a bit of the stems/fronds for stock.
Salsify - The key find at the first winter market, five or so roots worth.
Bok choi - Last week's CSA contained one head; one head of bok choi is not the easiest thing to use
Celery - 4 bunches of heirloom from the first two Fall CSAs; these are mostly for stock and related. I have a batch of vegetable stock in me soon.
Brussels Sprouts - Enough to fill a newspaper bag x 3
Cucumbers - I think there's one somewhere in the fridge. Could be more purge material.
Arugula - 1 bags, but some of questionable quality. Stock!
Apples - Each week of the fall CSA has included apples, but those are mostly gone. In storage: 1/2 bushel of mutsu, a 1/2 bushel of mixed including northern spy, akane, winesap, courtland, granny smith and a few other varieties; 1/2 bushel of granny smith; 5 lbs of mixing baking (cortland and law rome); 5 lbs of mixed, empire/fuji; 8 large romes (for baked apples) + quart bags of raritan and empire; a quart from Seedlings I'm forgetting which type...
Pears - Five bosc pears and some Asian
Tomatoes - I hit the Green City Market two weeks ago, and a few of the tomatoes purchased are still alive and well. There's some in the attic but let's not talk about them today.
Red bell peppers - All of the last red peppers have been roasted. Some have been packed in oil; the rest in vinegar.
Green bell peppers - About 2 or 3
Jalepeno peppers - Tons (still)
Serrano peppers - Some
Cayenne peppers - 1 pint, but letting them dry
Other hot peppers - poblanos, habeneros, pasillas, etc. - tons - my babies
Beets - Most of my beets have been roasted and eaten or have gone to mold, but about six holding out.
Rutabagas - Maybe 6
Cabbage - 3 larger green; 1 whole red
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - We keep on getting turnips in our CSA boxes. I've steamed some. We also have some from long ago that might still be edible.
Radish - 1/2 beauty heart; some regular ol' radishes + 2 daikon
Celery root - About 8
Cauliflower - 1 head
Eggplants - The skinny had been around for weeks. I roasted them on Sunday, not the best of foods but passable. The several of the globe eggplants that I had plans for did not make it. The Nigerian eggplants, I bake tonight.
Lettuce - 2 bags
Carrots - lots
Garlic - More than enough as we got a braid of local garlic
Leeks - 6 bunches of 3
Dry onions - Plenty, including some Tropea and several pounds of cippolini.
Shallots - 5 or so lbs of larger and about 1 lb of smaller
Sweet potatoes - A good amount
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller + 1/2 bag of Yukon gold; when I did the move from basement to attic, I found more potatoes than I thought we had, cool + many heirloom (German butterball, fingerlings, etc.) + several pounds of yukon gold, kennebec, norland
Kohlrabi - 2 large; 2 medium; I thought I used the greens when I made the rest of our collards yesterday, but a check of the upstairs fridge finds them out and about.
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti; 8 delicata; 8 acorn, 4 Mexican style pumpkin, 4 butternut + 2 butternut that have already been souped, soup 1/2 drunk.
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, dill, marjoram, mint, cilantro
Parsley root - 5
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour; wheatberries
As I mentioned on the Local Beet, the VI family went through one of its periodic local food purges. Too much ambition, too much travel, too much working, too much love buying. It was worst than first reported; yesterday I found more crappy food: collards, a few too soft pears, the rest of the grapes. We've subtracted quite a bit from the inventory, but we always manage to buy. Here's where we stand today. (Last report here.)
Strawberries - Yes, local strawberries (indoor grown). I managed to squirrel away two pints from Robin at last week's winter market. These are not truly part of the inventory as they've all been eaten, some cooked into pancakes. Not the world's greatest strawberries but not as bad as supermarket either.
Fennel - I took half of Robin's strawberries but all of her fennel. On Sunday, I slow cooked the two heads for fennel marmalade, which has not been eaten. I've saved a bit of the stems/fronds for stock.
Salsify - The key find at the first winter market, five or so roots worth.
Bok choi - Last week's CSA contained one head; one head of bok choi is not the easiest thing to use
Celery - 4 bunches of heirloom from the first two Fall CSAs; these are mostly for stock and related. I have a batch of vegetable stock in me soon.
Brussels Sprouts - Enough to fill a newspaper bag x 3
Cucumbers - I think there's one somewhere in the fridge. Could be more purge material.
Arugula - 1 bags, but some of questionable quality. Stock!
Apples - Each week of the fall CSA has included apples, but those are mostly gone. In storage: 1/2 bushel of mutsu, a 1/2 bushel of mixed including northern spy, akane, winesap, courtland, granny smith and a few other varieties; 1/2 bushel of granny smith; 5 lbs of mixing baking (cortland and law rome); 5 lbs of mixed, empire/fuji; 8 large romes (for baked apples) + quart bags of raritan and empire; a quart from Seedlings I'm forgetting which type...
Pears - Five bosc pears and some Asian
Tomatoes - I hit the Green City Market two weeks ago, and a few of the tomatoes purchased are still alive and well. There's some in the attic but let's not talk about them today.
Red bell peppers - All of the last red peppers have been roasted. Some have been packed in oil; the rest in vinegar.
Green bell peppers - About 2 or 3
Jalepeno peppers - Tons (still)
Serrano peppers - Some
Cayenne peppers - 1 pint, but letting them dry
Other hot peppers - poblanos, habeneros, pasillas, etc. - tons - my babies
Beets - Most of my beets have been roasted and eaten or have gone to mold, but about six holding out.
Rutabagas - Maybe 6
Cabbage - 3 larger green; 1 whole red
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - We keep on getting turnips in our CSA boxes. I've steamed some. We also have some from long ago that might still be edible.
Radish - 1/2 beauty heart; some regular ol' radishes + 2 daikon
Celery root - About 8
Cauliflower - 1 head
Eggplants - The skinny had been around for weeks. I roasted them on Sunday, not the best of foods but passable. The several of the globe eggplants that I had plans for did not make it. The Nigerian eggplants, I bake tonight.
Lettuce - 2 bags
Carrots - lots
Garlic - More than enough as we got a braid of local garlic
Leeks - 6 bunches of 3
Dry onions - Plenty, including some Tropea and several pounds of cippolini.
Shallots - 5 or so lbs of larger and about 1 lb of smaller
Sweet potatoes - A good amount
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller + 1/2 bag of Yukon gold; when I did the move from basement to attic, I found more potatoes than I thought we had, cool + many heirloom (German butterball, fingerlings, etc.) + several pounds of yukon gold, kennebec, norland
Kohlrabi - 2 large; 2 medium; I thought I used the greens when I made the rest of our collards yesterday, but a check of the upstairs fridge finds them out and about.
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti; 8 delicata; 8 acorn, 4 Mexican style pumpkin, 4 butternut + 2 butternut that have already been souped, soup 1/2 drunk.
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, dill, marjoram, mint, cilantro
Parsley root - 5
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour; wheatberries
Monday, November 03, 2008
Eat Local Now and Forever
Inventory Update
When the Localbeet's new design is up and running, you can see how this local family has continued to build its inventory for now and the foreseeable future. We eat some, set much aside, and process other to make it last. Some of the processing makes it last a lot longer, some of the processing makes it last a bit longer. For instance, of the last red bell peppers arriving, some went into the freezer, others were roasted and oiled and still more were roasted and vinegar-ed. Half our giant stalk of Brussels sprouts was shredded, a Mado inspired dish to last a bit. Another Mado dish my wife loves to make is Delicata squash, roasted, which will also last a bit. The tomatillos in the fridge finally went into salsa, and then, some of our large stock of beets were roasted and marinated. The full accounting of what's been processed is here.
The inventory of raw foods is below. We won't be starving for a while, but I worry that its staying too warm for all of my keepers.
Bok choi - 2 large heads
Celery - 2 bunches of heirloom
Brussels Sprouts - Enough to fill a newspaper bag
Cucumbers - 2
Arugula - 3 bags
Apples - Cox orange pippen for immediate eating, then another six or so in the weekly CSA + 1/2 bushel of mutsu, a 1/2 bushel of mixed including northern spy, akane, winesap, courtland, granny smith and a few other varieties; 1/2 bushel of granny smith; 5 lbs of mixing baking (cortland and law rome); 5 lbs of mixed, empire/fuji; 8 large romes (for baked apples) + quart bags of raritan and empire.
Pears - About 15 lbs left including 8 new Asian pears from Oriana, the papple lady, (sold via Green Grocer Chicago)
Grapes - A big handbasket is mostly full of grapes in our downstairs fridge - Somewhat forgotten
Tomatoes - All of the red tomatoes have been eaten; the keeper tomatoes did not keep, but we have a bunch of green tomatoes to process or fry
Red bell peppers - About 8 or so medium peppers
Green bell peppers - About 4 or 5
Jalepeno peppers - Tons
Serrano peppers - Some
Cayenne peppers - 1 pint, but letting them dry
Other hot peppers - poblanos, habeneros, pasillas, etc. - tons
Beets - Maybe 24 smaller and 16 larger
Rutabagas - Maybe 6
Cabbage - 2 larger green; 1 whole red
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - 2 large white, 3 red "salad" turnips plus a dozen or so sitting around since last spring
Radish - 1 beauty heart; some French breakfast radishes, some regular ol' radishes + 2 daikon
Collard greens - 2 bunches
Celery root - About 8
Cauliflower - 1 head
Eggplants - 1 large, about 8 Nigerian red and 8 or so skinny
Lettuce - bag
Carrots - lots
Garlic - More than enough as we got a braid of local garlic
Leeks - 6 bunches of 3
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Dry onions - Six or so smaller red; two quarts red torpedo, about five Tropea, several pounds of cippolini; 22 lbs of yellow + more red torpedo
Shallots - 5 or so lbs
Sweet potatoes - A good amount
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller + 1/2 bag of Yukon gold; when I did the move from basement to attic, I found more potatoes than I thought we had, cool + many heirloom (German butterball, fingerlings, etc.) + several pounds of yukon gold, kennebec, norland
Kohlrabi - 2 large; 2 medium
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti; 8 delicata; 6 acorn, 4 Mexican style pumpkin, 4 butternut
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint, oregano, marjoram, dill
Parsley root - 5
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour
When the Localbeet's new design is up and running, you can see how this local family has continued to build its inventory for now and the foreseeable future. We eat some, set much aside, and process other to make it last. Some of the processing makes it last a lot longer, some of the processing makes it last a bit longer. For instance, of the last red bell peppers arriving, some went into the freezer, others were roasted and oiled and still more were roasted and vinegar-ed. Half our giant stalk of Brussels sprouts was shredded, a Mado inspired dish to last a bit. Another Mado dish my wife loves to make is Delicata squash, roasted, which will also last a bit. The tomatillos in the fridge finally went into salsa, and then, some of our large stock of beets were roasted and marinated. The full accounting of what's been processed is here.
The inventory of raw foods is below. We won't be starving for a while, but I worry that its staying too warm for all of my keepers.
Bok choi - 2 large heads
Celery - 2 bunches of heirloom
Brussels Sprouts - Enough to fill a newspaper bag
Cucumbers - 2
Arugula - 3 bags
Apples - Cox orange pippen for immediate eating, then another six or so in the weekly CSA + 1/2 bushel of mutsu, a 1/2 bushel of mixed including northern spy, akane, winesap, courtland, granny smith and a few other varieties; 1/2 bushel of granny smith; 5 lbs of mixing baking (cortland and law rome); 5 lbs of mixed, empire/fuji; 8 large romes (for baked apples) + quart bags of raritan and empire.
Pears - About 15 lbs left including 8 new Asian pears from Oriana, the papple lady, (sold via Green Grocer Chicago)
Grapes - A big handbasket is mostly full of grapes in our downstairs fridge - Somewhat forgotten
Tomatoes - All of the red tomatoes have been eaten; the keeper tomatoes did not keep, but we have a bunch of green tomatoes to process or fry
Red bell peppers - About 8 or so medium peppers
Green bell peppers - About 4 or 5
Jalepeno peppers - Tons
Serrano peppers - Some
Cayenne peppers - 1 pint, but letting them dry
Other hot peppers - poblanos, habeneros, pasillas, etc. - tons
Beets - Maybe 24 smaller and 16 larger
Rutabagas - Maybe 6
Cabbage - 2 larger green; 1 whole red
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - 2 large white, 3 red "salad" turnips plus a dozen or so sitting around since last spring
Radish - 1 beauty heart; some French breakfast radishes, some regular ol' radishes + 2 daikon
Collard greens - 2 bunches
Celery root - About 8
Cauliflower - 1 head
Eggplants - 1 large, about 8 Nigerian red and 8 or so skinny
Lettuce - bag
Carrots - lots
Garlic - More than enough as we got a braid of local garlic
Leeks - 6 bunches of 3
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Dry onions - Six or so smaller red; two quarts red torpedo, about five Tropea, several pounds of cippolini; 22 lbs of yellow + more red torpedo
Shallots - 5 or so lbs
Sweet potatoes - A good amount
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller + 1/2 bag of Yukon gold; when I did the move from basement to attic, I found more potatoes than I thought we had, cool + many heirloom (German butterball, fingerlings, etc.) + several pounds of yukon gold, kennebec, norland
Kohlrabi - 2 large; 2 medium
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti; 8 delicata; 6 acorn, 4 Mexican style pumpkin, 4 butternut
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint, oregano, marjoram, dill
Parsley root - 5
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Inventory Storage Options
Another week of CSA, the Saturday Oak Park Farmer's Market. We are loading the Bungalow with food. We make full use of the Bungalow and its fixtures to deal with this food. We have our basement "canning room", a room far from the furnace and close to the outside. Up until about September, this is the coolest spot in the house, so all onions, squash and potatoes went there. Generally, it is un-wise to store potatoes and onions together, something about competing gases (maybe). Also, potatoes need more cold. With the turn to colder around here, we go to our attic. This is the coolest part of the house. Today, I moved the potatoes in the basement up to there. The onions we bought today (and we bought a lot), went to the basement. We had already placed our apples in the attic, and the 1/2 bushel I bought today, that went there as well. Finally, we have an extra fridge. That is used for the least giving products. For one thing, it has more summery things not yet eaten or still arriving, like some eggplants and some collard greens. For another thing, it has product that will last but really needs more cold: pears, grapes, cabbage, roots. When it gets even colder, I can trust some roots to the attic, but right now we have not stocked up much in roots anyway.
The newest inventory is below, updated from here--note from there may be some discrepancies in the lists due to my imperfect re-call.
Raspberries - 2 quarts
Apples - Our weekly CSA includes about 6 apples, those get eaten during the week. In storage we have 1/2 bushel of mutsu, a 1/2 bushel of mixed including northern spy, akane, winesap, courtland, granny smith and a few other varieties. In addition to these, we have quart bags of raritan and empire.
Pears - Last year, the Chicago area had a very limited pear crop. We are making up for that this year. Well, it is not so much that it's a bumper crop; it's that we are making a big effort to have pears so that our winter fruit is not so apple-y. We have about 20 lbs right now of various pears, including Asian style pears (papples) in our two fridges. Besides school lunches and other out-of-hand eating, pears make for a good salad course too.
Grapes - A big handbasket is mostly full of grapes in our downstairs fridge, the latest CSA came with 2 quarts, but then one daughter who refuses to fess up, dropped it all over the basement floor.
Watermelon - There is some watermelon left, but after serving my kidz melon in their lunches for days, I let them have a melon-atorium. Now, I wonder if it's not spoiled. Nonetheless, it counts in the inventory for now.
Tomatoes - Still finding tomatoes to buy, so we got a few pints of cherry tomatoes and another seven heirloom tomatoes. The 20 keeper tomatoes have been wrapped in newspaper and set aside in the attic.
Red bell peppers - About 8
6 Green bell peppers - 7 a few tiny speciality peppers (e.g., chocolate) that taste like green peppers
Jalepeno peppers - About 8
Serrano peppers - 4 or so
Cayenne peppers - 1 pint, but letting them dry
Beets - Maybe 24 smaller and 16 larger
Cabbage - 1 larger green; 1/2 of a red; 1 whole red
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - 2 large white, 3 red "salad" turnips plus a dozen or so sitting around since last spring
Turnip greens - The greens attached to the 2 white turnips
Bekana - One of Farmer Vicki's Asian greens, looks a bit like a long head of romaine; we have two heads
Radish - 1 beauty heart; 1 bunch of French breakfast radishes
Collard greens - 6 bunches
Celery root - 1 large
Cauliflower - 1/2
Eggplants - 2 large
Tomatillos - 12
Lettuce - 1/4th of a bag + 1/2 head of romaine
Carrots - lots
Garlic - Some
Green beans - About 1/2 a Sunday newspaper bag's worth
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Dry onions - Six or so smaller red; two quarts red torpedo, about five Tropea, several pounds of cippolini; 22 lbs of yellow
Sweet potatoes - 11 (lost one to spoilage)
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller + 1/2 bag of Yukon gold; when I did the move from basement to attic, I found more potatoes than I thought we had. Cool!
Kohlrabi - 2 large; 2 medium
Fennel - 3 stalks
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti; 6 delicata; 2 acorn
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint, oregano, marjoram
Parsley root - 2
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour
The newest inventory is below, updated from here--note from there may be some discrepancies in the lists due to my imperfect re-call.
Raspberries - 2 quarts
Apples - Our weekly CSA includes about 6 apples, those get eaten during the week. In storage we have 1/2 bushel of mutsu, a 1/2 bushel of mixed including northern spy, akane, winesap, courtland, granny smith and a few other varieties. In addition to these, we have quart bags of raritan and empire.
Pears - Last year, the Chicago area had a very limited pear crop. We are making up for that this year. Well, it is not so much that it's a bumper crop; it's that we are making a big effort to have pears so that our winter fruit is not so apple-y. We have about 20 lbs right now of various pears, including Asian style pears (papples) in our two fridges. Besides school lunches and other out-of-hand eating, pears make for a good salad course too.
Grapes - A big handbasket is mostly full of grapes in our downstairs fridge, the latest CSA came with 2 quarts, but then one daughter who refuses to fess up, dropped it all over the basement floor.
Watermelon - There is some watermelon left, but after serving my kidz melon in their lunches for days, I let them have a melon-atorium. Now, I wonder if it's not spoiled. Nonetheless, it counts in the inventory for now.
Tomatoes - Still finding tomatoes to buy, so we got a few pints of cherry tomatoes and another seven heirloom tomatoes. The 20 keeper tomatoes have been wrapped in newspaper and set aside in the attic.
Red bell peppers - About 8
6 Green bell peppers - 7 a few tiny speciality peppers (e.g., chocolate) that taste like green peppers
Jalepeno peppers - About 8
Serrano peppers - 4 or so
Cayenne peppers - 1 pint, but letting them dry
Beets - Maybe 24 smaller and 16 larger
Cabbage - 1 larger green; 1/2 of a red; 1 whole red
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - 2 large white, 3 red "salad" turnips plus a dozen or so sitting around since last spring
Turnip greens - The greens attached to the 2 white turnips
Bekana - One of Farmer Vicki's Asian greens, looks a bit like a long head of romaine; we have two heads
Radish - 1 beauty heart; 1 bunch of French breakfast radishes
Collard greens - 6 bunches
Celery root - 1 large
Cauliflower - 1/2
Eggplants - 2 large
Tomatillos - 12
Lettuce - 1/4th of a bag + 1/2 head of romaine
Carrots - lots
Garlic - Some
Green beans - About 1/2 a Sunday newspaper bag's worth
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Dry onions - Six or so smaller red; two quarts red torpedo, about five Tropea, several pounds of cippolini; 22 lbs of yellow
Sweet potatoes - 11 (lost one to spoilage)
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller + 1/2 bag of Yukon gold; when I did the move from basement to attic, I found more potatoes than I thought we had. Cool!
Kohlrabi - 2 large; 2 medium
Fennel - 3 stalks
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti; 6 delicata; 2 acorn
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint, oregano, marjoram
Parsley root - 2
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Inventory Update
No sooner have I reported on our inventory, than I realize I forgot things. On top of that, we went and bought local food yesterday at Caputo's. The tally below includes kohlrabi gotten long ago and peppers gotten just yesterday.
Monday, October 06, 2008
The Return of Inventory
Updated 10/7/08 and 10/14/08
From December 2007 until May of 2008, I tracked how our eat local attempts were working by tracking the local food we had in the Bungalow. Starting in May, when eating local was more about what we purchased each week instead of what we had laying around each week, I took to chronicling our weekly acquisitions. Since the launch of the Local Beet, I have been reporting on the latest purchases there--an update should be online tomorrow, until then, here's the last tally. This is a transition period for the locavore. The supplies of local food remain high enough to support weekly eating, but the time is also now to put-away. We have started buying food for storage. Also, my wife did a bit of cleaning up today, so we got a better handle on some of the vegetables that remain from earlier. Thus, it is a good time to re-report the inventory. Note, we have been canning, drying and freezing and otherwise looking ahead all the time. These preserved foods play a role in our off-season eating, but will not be separately reported on in the inventory.
Apples - We have about 15 or so lbs or apples, several varieties - 10/14: added 1/2 bushel of mutsu
Pears - About 5 lbs of Bosc pears; then another 13 lbs - 10/14: added 4 lbs of Asian pears
Grapes - 2 quarts of Concord grapes - 10/14: added two quarts from CSA
Watermelon - 4/5th of a medium sized melon - now down to 1/5th
Nectarines - 4 (from 8)
Tomatoes - Some cherry tomatoes, about 8 heirloom tomatoes; about 20 keeper tomatoes already wrapped in newspaper and set aside. - Cherry and heirloom eaten and replaced with same.
Red bell peppers - About 8 + a few marinated - 10/14: added 6
Green bell peppers - 4
Jalepeno peppers - 5 - Update: miscounted, have about 12
Serrano peppers - 8 or so
Wonder beans - 1 quart - eaten
Beets - Maybe 24 smaller and 10 larger 10/14: added 6 or so large beets
Cabbage - 1 small green, 1 larger green; 2/3rds of a red - used some of the red, but a lot remains
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - 3 red "salad" turnips plus a dozen or so sitting around since last spring
Radish - 1/2 daikon, 2 beauty heart 10/14: 1 bunch of French breakfast radishes
Collard greens - 4 bunches 10/14: + 1
Celery root - 1 large
Cauliflower - 2 large
Eggplants - 2 large - used - 10/14: 8 thin
Tomatillos - 12
Zucchini - 12 small - used 6
Baby lettuce - 3/4th of a bag
Agugula - 1/2 bag + 1 head - used - 10/14: new bag
Carrots - lots
Garlic - Some
Green beans - 2 quarts
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Dry onions - Maybe 12 each, red and yellow
Sweet potatoes - 6 - 10/14: 6 more
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller 10/14: bag of WI Yukon gold, some already used
Kohlrabi - 2 large - 10/14: 2 medium
Hot banana peppers - 8 or so - roasted and marinated, some eaten
Fennel - 3 stalks
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti, 6 delicata
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint, basil
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour
From December 2007 until May of 2008, I tracked how our eat local attempts were working by tracking the local food we had in the Bungalow. Starting in May, when eating local was more about what we purchased each week instead of what we had laying around each week, I took to chronicling our weekly acquisitions. Since the launch of the Local Beet, I have been reporting on the latest purchases there--an update should be online tomorrow, until then, here's the last tally. This is a transition period for the locavore. The supplies of local food remain high enough to support weekly eating, but the time is also now to put-away. We have started buying food for storage. Also, my wife did a bit of cleaning up today, so we got a better handle on some of the vegetables that remain from earlier. Thus, it is a good time to re-report the inventory. Note, we have been canning, drying and freezing and otherwise looking ahead all the time. These preserved foods play a role in our off-season eating, but will not be separately reported on in the inventory.
Apples - We have about 15 or so lbs or apples, several varieties - 10/14: added 1/2 bushel of mutsu
Pears - About 5 lbs of Bosc pears; then another 13 lbs - 10/14: added 4 lbs of Asian pears
Grapes - 2 quarts of Concord grapes - 10/14: added two quarts from CSA
Watermelon - 4/5th of a medium sized melon - now down to 1/5th
Nectarines - 4 (from 8)
Tomatoes - Some cherry tomatoes, about 8 heirloom tomatoes; about 20 keeper tomatoes already wrapped in newspaper and set aside. - Cherry and heirloom eaten and replaced with same.
Red bell peppers - About 8 + a few marinated - 10/14: added 6
Green bell peppers - 4
Jalepeno peppers - 5 - Update: miscounted, have about 12
Serrano peppers - 8 or so
Wonder beans - 1 quart - eaten
Beets - Maybe 24 smaller and 10 larger 10/14: added 6 or so large beets
Cabbage - 1 small green, 1 larger green; 2/3rds of a red - used some of the red, but a lot remains
Garlic scapes - forgotten but amazingly holding up, will make a strange taste of Spring in Fall
Turnips - 3 red "salad" turnips plus a dozen or so sitting around since last spring
Radish - 1/2 daikon, 2 beauty heart 10/14: 1 bunch of French breakfast radishes
Collard greens - 4 bunches 10/14: + 1
Celery root - 1 large
Cauliflower - 2 large
Eggplants - 2 large - used - 10/14: 8 thin
Tomatillos - 12
Zucchini - 12 small - used 6
Baby lettuce - 3/4th of a bag
Agugula - 1/2 bag + 1 head - used - 10/14: new bag
Carrots - lots
Garlic - Some
Green beans - 2 quarts
Dry beans including yellow-eye, Great Northern and red kidney - A good amount
Dry onions - Maybe 12 each, red and yellow
Sweet potatoes - 6 - 10/14: 6 more
Potatoes - 25 or so smaller 10/14: bag of WI Yukon gold, some already used
Kohlrabi - 2 large - 10/14: 2 medium
Hot banana peppers - 8 or so - roasted and marinated, some eaten
Fennel - 3 stalks
Winter squash - 1 large-ish spaghetti, 6 delicata
Herbs - rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint, basil
Grains - Michigan grown and ground pastry flour; Illinois grown and ground corn meal; Illinois grown and milled all purpose flour
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Local Beet Guide to Preservation and Storage
The hardest thing about blogging is not getting the scoop on a new restaurant [ed., I thought we put this to rest here]. It is, obviously, getting regular content out. My blog stats clearly show the effect of regular posting. I confess, however, to being a bit distracted; by work, by the election (especially--access to cable TV during the day is a bad thing), by advocating for local food over at LTHForum, but I have also been busy. With Beet Boss Michal Morowtitz and Melissa Graham, owner of Monogramme Events & Catering and founder of Purple Asparagus, we put up the Local Beet's guide to preserving the seasonal bounty.
Perhaps harder than writing the guide to storage and preservation, was the job of paring down the article. We are especially proud that we could bring to the Internet and the readers of the Localbeet.com, our experiences dealing with preservation and storage. We do not just throw a few links around; we draw upon experience keeping food around to enable year-round local. Just follow this blog for a sense of what it's been like living local through the hungrier times. Co-author Melissa Graham is a long time canner, and her recipes have been featured in the Chicago Tribune (and expect to see some new recipes soon on her blog). Still, if we poured all of what we know, we would have used up the Beet's bandwidth allotment.
With the article, we introduced the basics of preservation and storage. Preservation and storage is much more than getting a canner a-going. It requires thinking about things, contemplating investments, and starting with the right produce. The article covers not just the methods and techniques of storage and preservation but the necessary background. On the other hand, it is necessarily thinner on the teaching. We cannot expect, in one Internet feature, to instruct on complicated topics like canning, drying and fermentation. We do hope we are getting people started on these topics. Look forward to much more features and discussions in this area. Most important, follow again, the stories about how we are actually coping to see how you can cope too.
Perhaps harder than writing the guide to storage and preservation, was the job of paring down the article. We are especially proud that we could bring to the Internet and the readers of the Localbeet.com, our experiences dealing with preservation and storage. We do not just throw a few links around; we draw upon experience keeping food around to enable year-round local. Just follow this blog for a sense of what it's been like living local through the hungrier times. Co-author Melissa Graham is a long time canner, and her recipes have been featured in the Chicago Tribune (and expect to see some new recipes soon on her blog). Still, if we poured all of what we know, we would have used up the Beet's bandwidth allotment.
With the article, we introduced the basics of preservation and storage. Preservation and storage is much more than getting a canner a-going. It requires thinking about things, contemplating investments, and starting with the right produce. The article covers not just the methods and techniques of storage and preservation but the necessary background. On the other hand, it is necessarily thinner on the teaching. We cannot expect, in one Internet feature, to instruct on complicated topics like canning, drying and fermentation. We do hope we are getting people started on these topics. Look forward to much more features and discussions in this area. Most important, follow again, the stories about how we are actually coping to see how you can cope too.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Preserving the Harvest Class TONIGHT!
Cassie, at her Green Grocer, is hosting a class tonight on preserving the harvest (via).
"Preserving the Harvest"-6pm on September 17thIn my post up today at Localbeet.com, I show that local food remains accessible and affordable in the Chicago area. The best way to capitalize on this is by buying heavily now and putting much away for the times when local will not be as easy to come by.
Eating locally is easy in August. But when Chicago's cold winds begin to blow in October, does being a locavore relegate one to a diet of potatoes? A little foresight and effort during the harvest will bring some sunshine to those cold winter days. In this class, you'll learn the basics of food preservation, including freezing, drying, pickling and jamming. As a take-away, you'll receive a recipe booklet with additional resources on this subject. Presented by Melissa Graham, owner of Monogramme Events, founder of Purple Asparagus and membership chair for Green City Market. Class will be held at Green Grocer Chicago, 1402 W. Grand Ave.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Who the Hell Dries Their Food
Readers, I asked you a few weeks ago, the question of our times: Who the Hell Cans. I followed that up by asking you if you do not can, can you simply concentrate and freeze? Yet maybe to my warped mind, canning seems downright mainstream to question, who the hell dries their food. We have have a local chef popular and notable enough to be asked to compete on Iron Chef America, who is also popular and notable for his work with the canner. Just yesterday, he was teaching a class on canning at Vie, and he will soon be teaching a canning class at the Chopping Block. If canning can be hard work, it also evokes nostalgia. It brings well-worn but favorite foods back to the home. A good deal of the interest in canning, I believe, is about the recipes, the relishes, chutneys, jams and jellies, pickles, that canning produces. It is only partially about the preservation. If you are really serious about putting aside, you not only can, you dry. Drying your food makes you sound not just like a locavore but like a survivalist.
Now, I say all of this as someone who's desire to dry has long succeeded more than his actual work in drying. My plans for drying have frequently gone awry. A 1/2 bushel of plums intended for prunes instead turned to mold. Ideas for celery powder for use in soups and braises remain conceptual. Still, when my wife and I purchased a new toaster oven last year, we specifically picked the one with a dehydrate setting. We are more than canners. We are driers.
OK, not we, like most of the hard work, it is she that has dried. Last week she took a big batch of Michigan plum tomatoes and dried them away. The nice thing about drying tomatoes is that you skip the skinning step. The tomatoes still need to be halved (the long way), cored and seeded, so pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees while doing the knife work. Put the tomato halves on a trays lined with parchment paper. Salt the tomatoes but not too much. Turn the oven down to 175 and insert the sheets. After a few hours, open the door but otherwise continue. Monitor the tomatoes after that, you do not want them to start cooking too aggressively. Occasionally, turn the sheets. The tomatoes will take about eight hours to dry nicely. Turn off the oven but allow the tomatoes to continue to air dry for several days, some recipes call for up to seven to ten days of air drying. My wife is not sure if she will wait that long. At this point, the tomatoes are ready to use but not ready to save. Long term storage requires the tomatoes one more step. Either the tomatoes can be frozen for a few days or they can be put back in the oven at 175 for a few hours.
Dried tomatoes are frequently used these days as a product in and of themselves, the dried texture being a feature of the recipes, like say a dried tomato pesto. Dried tomatoes, however, can be re-hydrated and used somewhat like you would use other forms of preserved tomatoes such as in sauces.
Complete list of what's been put aside here.
Now, I say all of this as someone who's desire to dry has long succeeded more than his actual work in drying. My plans for drying have frequently gone awry. A 1/2 bushel of plums intended for prunes instead turned to mold. Ideas for celery powder for use in soups and braises remain conceptual. Still, when my wife and I purchased a new toaster oven last year, we specifically picked the one with a dehydrate setting. We are more than canners. We are driers.
OK, not we, like most of the hard work, it is she that has dried. Last week she took a big batch of Michigan plum tomatoes and dried them away. The nice thing about drying tomatoes is that you skip the skinning step. The tomatoes still need to be halved (the long way), cored and seeded, so pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees while doing the knife work. Put the tomato halves on a trays lined with parchment paper. Salt the tomatoes but not too much. Turn the oven down to 175 and insert the sheets. After a few hours, open the door but otherwise continue. Monitor the tomatoes after that, you do not want them to start cooking too aggressively. Occasionally, turn the sheets. The tomatoes will take about eight hours to dry nicely. Turn off the oven but allow the tomatoes to continue to air dry for several days, some recipes call for up to seven to ten days of air drying. My wife is not sure if she will wait that long. At this point, the tomatoes are ready to use but not ready to save. Long term storage requires the tomatoes one more step. Either the tomatoes can be frozen for a few days or they can be put back in the oven at 175 for a few hours.
Dried tomatoes are frequently used these days as a product in and of themselves, the dried texture being a feature of the recipes, like say a dried tomato pesto. Dried tomatoes, however, can be re-hydrated and used somewhat like you would use other forms of preserved tomatoes such as in sauces.
Complete list of what's been put aside here.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
More Beet - How Can You Eat Local All Year
Is this blog simply the repository of posts leading to the Local Beet? Dunno, but in the meantime, keep track of our latest visit to a farmer's market + our weekly CSA here. More importantly, the Local Beet has published its guide to Fall/Winter CSAs. Michael's first mission when he launched the Local Beet was to offer practical advice on eating local. In other words, he did not aim for a lofty see how we do it standard, rather he wanted us to be in it together. One of the first steps towards practical local, towards always eating local, is the ability to eat local beyond the months when farmer's markets exist. One way for people to do that is to subscribe to Fall/Winter CSAs. The Local Beet's newly published guide should help.
On the same vein, practical, eating local more, I will soon be publishing something on the Local Beet on making your harvest last. My wife and I answer the question, "how can eat local all year, in Chicago by saying we do two things. We keep food around--canned, frozen and "cellar-ed"), and we shop for local via our Spring and Fall Genesis Growers CSA, Robin's Winter markets, Irv and Shelly and Cassie's Green Grocer (as well as where ever else we find local). There is no right answer as to which is more important stored vs. buying, but I can say for sure, that which matters more depends on your individual circumstances. My hunch is that most local eaters have limited root cellars, no extra freezer and little experience canning. So, regardless of how much they learn to put-aside, sources for buying remain, well, vital. We got you covered.
On the same vein, practical, eating local more, I will soon be publishing something on the Local Beet on making your harvest last. My wife and I answer the question, "how can eat local all year, in Chicago by saying we do two things. We keep food around--canned, frozen and "cellar-ed"), and we shop for local via our Spring and Fall Genesis Growers CSA, Robin's Winter markets, Irv and Shelly and Cassie's Green Grocer (as well as where ever else we find local). There is no right answer as to which is more important stored vs. buying, but I can say for sure, that which matters more depends on your individual circumstances. My hunch is that most local eaters have limited root cellars, no extra freezer and little experience canning. So, regardless of how much they learn to put-aside, sources for buying remain, well, vital. We got you covered.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Who the Hell Cans - Oven Concentrate
No, it is not a sign of defeat that a good portion of this afternoon was set to tomatoes but not to canning tomatoes. It is not of frustration. Believe me, it is not for ease. Instead, it is just more ways to set aside our bounty. Also, it is a good recipe for the many tomatoes that are about as ripe as they are gonna get, as well as the ones with bruises and cuts.
I'm talking tomato concentrate. Not quite a home made tomato paste but something close. The method is to find your nearly rottonest tomatoes; quarter, cook them in a big pot until they get soft--in our case two big pots as we had many very ripe tomatoes. You run them through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins. Return to a pot and cook down for two hours. Think you are done? From there (where we have not gotten yet) you bake in a very slow oven, about 200 degrees, for like five hours.
It's a lot of tomatoes for a few cups of product, but this concentrate should serve us very well for many a dish come winter. It will go in small bags in the freezer.
Eat local all year round via canning and freezing.
I'm talking tomato concentrate. Not quite a home made tomato paste but something close. The method is to find your nearly rottonest tomatoes; quarter, cook them in a big pot until they get soft--in our case two big pots as we had many very ripe tomatoes. You run them through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins. Return to a pot and cook down for two hours. Think you are done? From there (where we have not gotten yet) you bake in a very slow oven, about 200 degrees, for like five hours.
It's a lot of tomatoes for a few cups of product, but this concentrate should serve us very well for many a dish come winter. It will go in small bags in the freezer.
Eat local all year round via canning and freezing.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Who the Hell Cans
Me, I inspire local eating. OK, between some casework this afternoon I helped my wife a bit. I peeled about 20 tomatoes and de-seeded maybe five. Me, I applaud the effort my wife makes towards our eat local eating. I did just come down and wash a few bowls. I did the really fun job: shove things down the garbage disposal.
Who the hell cans.
There are very good reasons for canning food. Firstly, probably foremost, it allows you to eat local for many months after the market closes. Canning allows you to find fine product, and grab it for when the time is needed. It can save a lot of money. We got an ungodly amount of Michigan tomatoes, a full bushel, for under $17. We will have at least 15 quarts of canned tomatoes. Lastly, canning spares precious freezer space.
Who the hell cans.
Maybe, someone's day would not start quite like my wife's, consulting 43 or so cook books. She was most vexed by the choice of acid. Most recipe's, including Ball, which we would trust the most, call for lemon juice. She found vinegar based recipes.
Who the hell cans.
The cleaning of jars. The sanitizing. Score tomatoes. The boil. The shock. How much ice do you have. Peel. Seed. Pack. Process. Some say 45. Some say 50.
Who the hell cans.
We have barely made a dent in our bushel of tomatoes.
Who the hell cans.
There are very good reasons for canning food. Firstly, probably foremost, it allows you to eat local for many months after the market closes. Canning allows you to find fine product, and grab it for when the time is needed. It can save a lot of money. We got an ungodly amount of Michigan tomatoes, a full bushel, for under $17. We will have at least 15 quarts of canned tomatoes. Lastly, canning spares precious freezer space.
Who the hell cans.
Maybe, someone's day would not start quite like my wife's, consulting 43 or so cook books. She was most vexed by the choice of acid. Most recipe's, including Ball, which we would trust the most, call for lemon juice. She found vinegar based recipes.
Who the hell cans.
The cleaning of jars. The sanitizing. Score tomatoes. The boil. The shock. How much ice do you have. Peel. Seed. Pack. Process. Some say 45. Some say 50.
Who the hell cans.
We have barely made a dent in our bushel of tomatoes.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A Bushel Here, Bushel There
Updates
The family and I remain very busy locavores. I blog and take the glory. My wife does the hard work. I'll be keeping track of our acquisitions over at the Local Beet. My last report was here. I expect to file a new report today at the Beet. The Beet also has its latest feature up, on some truly local food, by Michael Gebert. Gerbert's been on the weed trail as he prepares his next Sky Full of Bacon video. It won't make for as interesting TV, but Cassie Green of Green Grocer and myself are being interviewed for a cable show in Highland Park, IL today.
Driving through Michigan recently, we picked up a 1/2 peck of Red Haven peaches. She, with (the sometimes) able help of younger daughter, peeled all of these, a process involving much pots of water hot and cold. Some went into a recently baked pie. The rest have gone into the freezer for later pies and cobblers.
Chicago to Urbana on a Saturday morning, Interstate, took less than 3 hours. Urbana to Chicago via US 150 and Illinois 1, took most of the next day. 13 ears of sweet corn in Hooperstown; a bushel of crowder peas--actually we do not know exactly what type of beans these are within the family of Southern style fresh beans--from a man selling in his front lawn near Momence helped slow us down.
All four of us did some shelling, but as typical She did more. Most of the beans went into the freezer. We ate some last night. We also ate some of the corn last night; we will probably freeze the rest today.
We could not resist a brimming bushel of Michigan tomatoes for sale at Caputo's in Elmwood Park. I could say "we" expect to can them today or tomorrow but that would be a disservice to the Woman who will do all the work.
Another way to make your summer veg last is to cook them all down into a jammy, spreadish sweet n' sour, condiment, appetizer like thing called caponata. The version She made included eggplants, summer squash, onions, tomatoes, capers and chopped prunes. She did not seal the product, but it should last a good long time in the fridge.
You can track our put-aways here.
The family and I remain very busy locavores. I blog and take the glory. My wife does the hard work. I'll be keeping track of our acquisitions over at the Local Beet. My last report was here. I expect to file a new report today at the Beet. The Beet also has its latest feature up, on some truly local food, by Michael Gebert. Gerbert's been on the weed trail as he prepares his next Sky Full of Bacon video. It won't make for as interesting TV, but Cassie Green of Green Grocer and myself are being interviewed for a cable show in Highland Park, IL today.
Driving through Michigan recently, we picked up a 1/2 peck of Red Haven peaches. She, with (the sometimes) able help of younger daughter, peeled all of these, a process involving much pots of water hot and cold. Some went into a recently baked pie. The rest have gone into the freezer for later pies and cobblers.
Chicago to Urbana on a Saturday morning, Interstate, took less than 3 hours. Urbana to Chicago via US 150 and Illinois 1, took most of the next day. 13 ears of sweet corn in Hooperstown; a bushel of crowder peas--actually we do not know exactly what type of beans these are within the family of Southern style fresh beans--from a man selling in his front lawn near Momence helped slow us down.
All four of us did some shelling, but as typical She did more. Most of the beans went into the freezer. We ate some last night. We also ate some of the corn last night; we will probably freeze the rest today.
We could not resist a brimming bushel of Michigan tomatoes for sale at Caputo's in Elmwood Park. I could say "we" expect to can them today or tomorrow but that would be a disservice to the Woman who will do all the work.
Another way to make your summer veg last is to cook them all down into a jammy, spreadish sweet n' sour, condiment, appetizer like thing called caponata. The version She made included eggplants, summer squash, onions, tomatoes, capers and chopped prunes. She did not seal the product, but it should last a good long time in the fridge.
You can track our put-aways here.
Labels:
farm stands,
On the Road,
Preserving,
Storage,
Summer
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Eat Local Later
More stuff set aside. See running list here.
Also, to add to a post from the other day, a lot more peas went in to the freezer. Stover's cut us a great deal, $3.50/lb for 10 lbs of shelled peas.
Also, to add to a post from the other day, a lot more peas went in to the freezer. Stover's cut us a great deal, $3.50/lb for 10 lbs of shelled peas.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Big Picture
Eat Local Later
I may not have much in common with Tony Soprano, but when he confesses to Dr. Melfi that he admires the Gary Cooper type. I nod. I may not exercise my anger quite in the same way as T, but I long to be a bit less temperamental. To help, my wife reminds me to look at the Big Picture. So, if a driver going North on Narragansett is going less than 20 mph as I work my way into the city, I should look at the Big Picture. I'll get to my destination, say Khan BBQ, soon enough. As I remarked the other day in my Foodways talk, the locavore needs to look at the Big Picture too. You cannot just focus on what's for dinner this week. You have to think about what will be for dinner in the weeks when there are no farmer's markets, no CSA deliveries.
My family is in luck because our CSA provider, Farmer Vicki of Genesis Growers looks at the Big Picture too. The boxes she provides each week often contains more than can be expected to be finished that week. Farmer Vicki expects you to set aside when times are flush for times that are lean. This week, for instance, the box came with about 30 stalks of asparagus.
The easiest way to preserve vegetables for future use is to freeze them. The process of freezing them is hardly complex. Blanch, which means boil and then shock in cold water, for up to three minutes, essentially until the color of the veg intensifies. Let the vegetables cool as much as possible before bagging--if you put hot stuff in your freezer, it will raise the temperature in your freezer. Put in plastic bags. Try to squeeze as much air out of the bags as possible.
Frozen vegetables can be used in nearly all preparations, except for some salads. A few minutes in the microwave, a dab of butter, and you have a side dish. We have had success freezing most everything but tomatoes (although some say you can), and I would not try cucumbers, zucchini, eggplants, radishes or other watery veg. I would say avoid freezing vegetables that are actually fruits, but bell peppers freeze nicely if cut into strips (use for pasta). Still, some vegetables freeze especially well, and nicely enough, the vegetables that need to be eaten the soonest after harvest are also the ones that freeze the best. In other words, not only can you freeze these, you should freeze these (if you cannot eat them soon). These for freezing include peas, corn and asparagus.
I'm of the mind for freezing because my hard workin' wife froze some asparagus yesterday. Yes, dear reader, she does the work, I do the blog. You can read about what we have put away here. I'll update as we set aside more.
I may not have much in common with Tony Soprano, but when he confesses to Dr. Melfi that he admires the Gary Cooper type. I nod. I may not exercise my anger quite in the same way as T, but I long to be a bit less temperamental. To help, my wife reminds me to look at the Big Picture. So, if a driver going North on Narragansett is going less than 20 mph as I work my way into the city, I should look at the Big Picture. I'll get to my destination, say Khan BBQ, soon enough. As I remarked the other day in my Foodways talk, the locavore needs to look at the Big Picture too. You cannot just focus on what's for dinner this week. You have to think about what will be for dinner in the weeks when there are no farmer's markets, no CSA deliveries.
My family is in luck because our CSA provider, Farmer Vicki of Genesis Growers looks at the Big Picture too. The boxes she provides each week often contains more than can be expected to be finished that week. Farmer Vicki expects you to set aside when times are flush for times that are lean. This week, for instance, the box came with about 30 stalks of asparagus.
The easiest way to preserve vegetables for future use is to freeze them. The process of freezing them is hardly complex. Blanch, which means boil and then shock in cold water, for up to three minutes, essentially until the color of the veg intensifies. Let the vegetables cool as much as possible before bagging--if you put hot stuff in your freezer, it will raise the temperature in your freezer. Put in plastic bags. Try to squeeze as much air out of the bags as possible.
Frozen vegetables can be used in nearly all preparations, except for some salads. A few minutes in the microwave, a dab of butter, and you have a side dish. We have had success freezing most everything but tomatoes (although some say you can), and I would not try cucumbers, zucchini, eggplants, radishes or other watery veg. I would say avoid freezing vegetables that are actually fruits, but bell peppers freeze nicely if cut into strips (use for pasta). Still, some vegetables freeze especially well, and nicely enough, the vegetables that need to be eaten the soonest after harvest are also the ones that freeze the best. In other words, not only can you freeze these, you should freeze these (if you cannot eat them soon). These for freezing include peas, corn and asparagus.
I'm of the mind for freezing because my hard workin' wife froze some asparagus yesterday. Yes, dear reader, she does the work, I do the blog. You can read about what we have put away here. I'll update as we set aside more.
Monday, June 09, 2008
How to Keep Your Food For the Week
So, You Wanna Eat Local
So, you wanna eat local. Most likely, your food came over the weekend when most farmer's markets operate, CSA boxes show up and Pollanesque Peapoders like Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks make their deliveries. For most budding locavores, this will be your only shot at locally grown food for the week. Make it last. Last year, my friend Farmer Vicki of Genesis Grower's let me re-publish her insight into storing fresh vegetables. It's been my most popular post. I've expanded that post for this year--note, this post deals with storing the fruits and vegetables of the general farmer's market season; I will cover winter storage in another post later on this year.
First Things First
So, you wanna eat local. Most likely, your food came over the weekend when most farmer's markets operate, CSA boxes show up and Pollanesque Peapoders like Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks make their deliveries. For most budding locavores, this will be your only shot at locally grown food for the week. Make it last. Last year, my friend Farmer Vicki of Genesis Grower's let me re-publish her insight into storing fresh vegetables. It's been my most popular post. I've expanded that post for this year--note, this post deals with storing the fruits and vegetables of the general farmer's market season; I will cover winter storage in another post later on this year.
First Things First
The goal is to make your store of food last until at least your next food arrives, to ensure that you have local food to eat all week. To do this, you need a food plan, an eating plan. It's not so much as laying out your menus for the week, but taking heed of which of your foods you need to eat first. Eat first the foods that will not last. Put better, eat the foods that need to be eaten first. These are foods that lose quality soon after harvest, and the quicker you can get them from ground to table, the happier you palate will be.
- Asparagus
- Corn
- Peas in all forms, but especially shelling or English peas
- Fava or broad beans
- Strawberries
- True "new potatoes", recognized by their peeling skins
Second
Will you eat all your food this week? For one thing, let's hope your local-ism extends beyond the farm fresh season; for another thing, many CSA boxes are meant to give more produce than you can eat during the week, with the idea that you will store. I'm not gonna make a treatise now on food preservation. In the short term, remember that freezing is generally easy. Fruits can be frozen with no processing; vegetables need a short blanch before freezing. Also, coincidentally or not, the foods that need to be eaten then fastest are also the foods that freeze the best.
The Burden of Local
Get it and forget it is not the mantra of the localvore. Stuff must be done to a lot of local food after its purchase to ensure its vigor for the week. DO remove all leafy tops from root vegetables: carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, kohlrabi; DO NOT wash other fruits and vegetables if possible. Dirtier food will generally stay better. If you cannot produce your meals Rachael Ray style, you will at least be rewarded with better tasting food.
In or Out
Most but not all of your local food will go in your fridge. Do not refrigerator the following foods
- Keeper onions a/k/a dry onions - Before storage, make sure that the onions are dry. Often in CSA boxes, the onions get wet inter-mingling with the other produce. If I find damp onions, I keep them on some old newspaper for a bit. Store these in as a cool and dry a spot as you can.
- All potatoes except true new potatoes - Like onions, make sure the potatoes are dry before storage. Potatoes stay best in the dark as well as the cool.
- Peaches and their variants such as nectarines*
- Plums*
- Apricots*
- Winter squash
- Tomatoes !!
Berries including strawberries and cherries stay best in the refrigerator but taste best if served at room temperature.
Do refrigerate the following foods:
- Spring onions, scallions, knob onions and the like
- Sweet onions/summer onions - These are onions characterized by a flimsy and moist skin; these types of onions are often also sold with their stems attached.
- New potatoes
- Green garlic and other fresh garlics
Battle Your Fridge
Cold storage makes it possible for your food to last all week. Cold storage can also ruin your supply of local food. Here's a couple of tips to best use your fridge.
- Bag your food - Little local food comes pre-bagged, and the smart market shopper refuses any bags from their vendors. Still, just because you got the food that way, does not mean you have to keep it that way. If you can put the food in your refrigerator's designated vegetable bins, it will generally be safe. For foods not in the bins, in my experience, the harshness of the refrigerator can be mitigated by keeping your food in bags or containers. For many items like root vegetables, the bags can be sealed to provide a bit of necessary moisture.
- Hydrate your food - Space permitting, some foods benefit from being kept in water (standing in water, not submerged). These include asparagus, watercress and all herbs.
- Know your cold zones. In most refrigerators, the top shelf will be the coldest, and the coldest part of the top shelf will be the back corner. Only put foods up there that can withstand the chill, maybe even some frost.
Eat Well, Eat Local
My parting thought is that regardless of how well you tend for you food, the great thing about local food is that it will last much longer than conventional food. My family's experience is that produce will stay viable and taste great for much longer than predicted in your typical cook book or produce guide. This is obviously, because food is arriving at the Bungalow so much sooner than it would arrive at most people's houses.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Overflowing with Local
The Inventory Update
So, I was walking over to the Green City Market the other day, and who should also be pulling up. None other than market celebrity #1, Paul Virant. I say, "congratulations on the Iron Chef thing." He sez thanks, sez he does not know the exact air date. We both buy a lot of stuff.
OK, now that I mentioned that (hehehe), let's get to the inventory. Last December, I started tracking our inventory of food in the bungalow. The exercise was mostly to show how me and my family were able to eat local all winter through a combination of stored foods and winter shopping. Now, I need to write down the inventory just to keep track of all the food we have.
(Last inventory here)
Ramps - As I mentioned the other day, we have a lot of ramps right now. This on top of ramps in 3 meals last week: spring vegetable ragout, grilled, and in pasta with morels and asparagus.
Watercress - Used as a bed for grilled chicken, some remain.
Nettles - Purchased from a few farmers in Madison. Went into the ragout, some remain--I planed on using some in a stuffing for morels until we ran out of meals.
Mushrooms - Speaking of morels, we got a several good handfuls in Madison, both larger stuffers and other sizes. Also went into the above mentioned ragout and pasta, some also remain, ostensible to be stuffed. In addition to the wild morels, we have cultivated cremini's and oysters from Madison.
Herbs - Cilantro, lovage, rosemary, chervil, mint
Asparagus - Several stalks purchased/provided in the CSA and eaten this week, we still have a bit left.
Keeper onions - 2 more in our CSA box this week; keeping us in stock of onions required for cooking.
Garlic - Like onions, a locavore needs to stock enough garlic for not-so-bland-cooking, and we were able to do that. We still have plenty of garlic. To this store of garlic, we added about six stalks of green garlic purchased in Madison. I love the taste of green garlic, and it contributes strongly to the "spring" flavors in our current cooking.
Dried hot peppers - In talking about the need for stored garlic and onions in cooking, I remembered that I have never noted that our inventory has always included a stock of dried hot peppers, local peppers. Some of these we have dried ourselves, some have come from Farmer Vicki, and some we have purchased in Madison.
Cabbage - There is a head of red cabbage from the winter lying somewhere in the basement fridge; I doubt it will be eaten. On the other hand, from Farmer Vicki's hoophouses, we got two lovely heads of red cabbage this week. These will be eaten soon.
Carrots - Yes
Parsnips - See last report
Potatoes - Used a bunch of red potatoes last week in the spring vegetable stew and grill roasted our remaining La Ratte; that leaves us with about 3 lbs of russets and about 5 lbs of reds. Nicholl's Farm is selling last year's potatoes now in their market stands and I may or may not add some potatoes if we run out.
Apples - There may be crops coming to market but no fruit yet. We have bags of red and yellow local apples, but last week we only ate non-local fruit.
Lettuce - As I mentioned, we bought a big head of butter lettuce in Madison. We ate this during the week. At present, we have last week's CSA head of lettuce and this week's head of CSA lettuce.
Spinach - We bought a bag at one place in Madison then at another place and then we got a bag in our CSA. Lotso spinach.
Arugula - From Madison
Burdock root - 1 lb - No change
Beets - OK, here it comes: we got the beet. God, do we have the beet. We used last week's beet greens, but we did not use the bottoms. Several more beets in this week's CSA, greens included. Many beet.
Kale - No change
Radishes - No new ones, but a few leftover
Turnips - I believe I have been forgetting turnips in the last reports, but we have received several turnips in our Spring CSA.
Misc. - One small bok choi, one large bok choi; sunchokes (just when we threw out the last, we pull some in).
Local Pantry - Cheeses (tons of cheese as a result of being in Madison), yogurt, eggs, noodles, pork, beef, lamb, bacon, granola, grains, milk
So, I was walking over to the Green City Market the other day, and who should also be pulling up. None other than market celebrity #1, Paul Virant. I say, "congratulations on the Iron Chef thing." He sez thanks, sez he does not know the exact air date. We both buy a lot of stuff.
OK, now that I mentioned that (hehehe), let's get to the inventory. Last December, I started tracking our inventory of food in the bungalow. The exercise was mostly to show how me and my family were able to eat local all winter through a combination of stored foods and winter shopping. Now, I need to write down the inventory just to keep track of all the food we have.
(Last inventory here)
Ramps - As I mentioned the other day, we have a lot of ramps right now. This on top of ramps in 3 meals last week: spring vegetable ragout, grilled, and in pasta with morels and asparagus.
Watercress - Used as a bed for grilled chicken, some remain.
Nettles - Purchased from a few farmers in Madison. Went into the ragout, some remain--I planed on using some in a stuffing for morels until we ran out of meals.
Mushrooms - Speaking of morels, we got a several good handfuls in Madison, both larger stuffers and other sizes. Also went into the above mentioned ragout and pasta, some also remain, ostensible to be stuffed. In addition to the wild morels, we have cultivated cremini's and oysters from Madison.
Herbs - Cilantro, lovage, rosemary, chervil, mint
Asparagus - Several stalks purchased/provided in the CSA and eaten this week, we still have a bit left.
Keeper onions - 2 more in our CSA box this week; keeping us in stock of onions required for cooking.
Garlic - Like onions, a locavore needs to stock enough garlic for not-so-bland-cooking, and we were able to do that. We still have plenty of garlic. To this store of garlic, we added about six stalks of green garlic purchased in Madison. I love the taste of green garlic, and it contributes strongly to the "spring" flavors in our current cooking.
Dried hot peppers - In talking about the need for stored garlic and onions in cooking, I remembered that I have never noted that our inventory has always included a stock of dried hot peppers, local peppers. Some of these we have dried ourselves, some have come from Farmer Vicki, and some we have purchased in Madison.
Cabbage - There is a head of red cabbage from the winter lying somewhere in the basement fridge; I doubt it will be eaten. On the other hand, from Farmer Vicki's hoophouses, we got two lovely heads of red cabbage this week. These will be eaten soon.
Carrots - Yes
Parsnips - See last report
Potatoes - Used a bunch of red potatoes last week in the spring vegetable stew and grill roasted our remaining La Ratte; that leaves us with about 3 lbs of russets and about 5 lbs of reds. Nicholl's Farm is selling last year's potatoes now in their market stands and I may or may not add some potatoes if we run out.
Apples - There may be crops coming to market but no fruit yet. We have bags of red and yellow local apples, but last week we only ate non-local fruit.
Lettuce - As I mentioned, we bought a big head of butter lettuce in Madison. We ate this during the week. At present, we have last week's CSA head of lettuce and this week's head of CSA lettuce.
Spinach - We bought a bag at one place in Madison then at another place and then we got a bag in our CSA. Lotso spinach.
Arugula - From Madison
Burdock root - 1 lb - No change
Beets - OK, here it comes: we got the beet. God, do we have the beet. We used last week's beet greens, but we did not use the bottoms. Several more beets in this week's CSA, greens included. Many beet.
Kale - No change
Radishes - No new ones, but a few leftover
Turnips - I believe I have been forgetting turnips in the last reports, but we have received several turnips in our Spring CSA.
Misc. - One small bok choi, one large bok choi; sunchokes (just when we threw out the last, we pull some in).
Local Pantry - Cheeses (tons of cheese as a result of being in Madison), yogurt, eggs, noodles, pork, beef, lamb, bacon, granola, grains, milk
Friday, May 09, 2008
Inventory
A Big Head of Lettuce, a Small Head of Bok Choi, It's Nice Getting New Crops to Eat
Last night's dinner made good use of what Spring brings. I thinly sliced about five scallion stalks and sweated them in a mix of butter and olive oil (medium heat). I roughly chopped the leaves and stalks from three beets, added them to the pan. Cracking nine farm eggs, whisking them (with a bit of added olive oil), was enough time for the beet greens to cook. I started the scramble on low heat and then turned the stove to medium high after the curds formed, about five minutes. Then, its a diligent swirl, swirl, swirl, getting the cooked edges to the center. Just before the eggs were finished, and I scramble soft, I shredded a good bit of Wisconsin Fontina style cheese over.
On to the inventory. (Last inventory here)
Herbs - Cilantro
Keeper onions - 3 small ones from our CSA box this week, so we are just fine here.
Scallions (a/k/a green onions; a/k/a spring onions) - None this week, but we have plenty still.
Garlic - Garlic holding out. I love congratulating myself for buying enough garlic to last.
Cabbage - Red head still there!
Carrots - Enough that they can go in the kidz lunches again
Parsnips - The problem with all the parsnips we have, it's like the squash and the cabbage, they seem so winter.
Potatoes - Have not touched them in a week or so, but there's still some,
Apples - Picked up some red delicious and golden delicious for lunches at Caputo's
Lettuce - Big head of leaf lettuce
Burdock root - 1 lb - No change
Beets - We are quite long on beets, about 20
Kale - We were saving one from a previous CSA box; this week we got two big bunches. Now we actually have enough for a decent portion.
Misc - One small one regular head of bok choi
Radishes - A...bunch
Local Pantry - Cheeses (actually low on cheese), yogurt, eggs, noodles, pork, beef, lamb, bacon, granola, grains, milk
We're heading to Madison today for morels, nettles, ramps, herbs. I imagine next week's inventory will be a bit larger.
Last night's dinner made good use of what Spring brings. I thinly sliced about five scallion stalks and sweated them in a mix of butter and olive oil (medium heat). I roughly chopped the leaves and stalks from three beets, added them to the pan. Cracking nine farm eggs, whisking them (with a bit of added olive oil), was enough time for the beet greens to cook. I started the scramble on low heat and then turned the stove to medium high after the curds formed, about five minutes. Then, its a diligent swirl, swirl, swirl, getting the cooked edges to the center. Just before the eggs were finished, and I scramble soft, I shredded a good bit of Wisconsin Fontina style cheese over.
On to the inventory. (Last inventory here)
Herbs - Cilantro
Keeper onions - 3 small ones from our CSA box this week, so we are just fine here.
Scallions (a/k/a green onions; a/k/a spring onions) - None this week, but we have plenty still.
Garlic - Garlic holding out. I love congratulating myself for buying enough garlic to last.
Cabbage - Red head still there!
Carrots - Enough that they can go in the kidz lunches again
Parsnips - The problem with all the parsnips we have, it's like the squash and the cabbage, they seem so winter.
Potatoes - Have not touched them in a week or so, but there's still some,
Apples - Picked up some red delicious and golden delicious for lunches at Caputo's
Lettuce - Big head of leaf lettuce
Burdock root - 1 lb - No change
Beets - We are quite long on beets, about 20
Kale - We were saving one from a previous CSA box; this week we got two big bunches. Now we actually have enough for a decent portion.
Misc - One small one regular head of bok choi
Radishes - A...bunch
Local Pantry - Cheeses (actually low on cheese), yogurt, eggs, noodles, pork, beef, lamb, bacon, granola, grains, milk
We're heading to Madison today for morels, nettles, ramps, herbs. I imagine next week's inventory will be a bit larger.
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