CSA -Away

So last week was spring break, and I spent most of the week either prepping for my camping trip, or on it. :)

I'll be reviewing the trip in upcoming posts.  But for now.... my CSA update!

I was away when the shipment came, but here it is:

Bananas
Cucumbers
Squash
Tomato
Radishes
Sunchokes 
Oranges
Kale
Green Onions
Spinach ( I'm loving this stuff)
Strawberries

I'm really glad I only got the small box.  I don't know how I'm going to get through all this each week.

I still have sun chokes and grapes leftover from last week.


Although I finally managed to use up my kale, and gave away most of my spinach and squash.  The spinach I have been getting looks absolutely fabulous. Its dark green and big leaves.

Guess I need to save back lots for veggie broth.  And on that note..... We got home and my son started in with some sniffles.  So on with the chicken soup!

I love making chicken soup.  It makes the whole house smell fantastic.
Nothing better to stave off that cold.

But as I have a whole bunch of post trip laundry to tackle... I needed to make this fast.

freezer components of soup

So out of the freezer:  The carcass of a chicken I roasted, a bag that I collect veggie scraps with, and my kale from last week that was in the fridge.

Making the base broth:
3/4 of 1 onion (that I have left over from a prior week)
4-5 cloves of garlic
2-3 brocolli stems (frozen)
chunks of cabbage leftovers (frozen)
1 bunch of kale that was starting to wilt and yellow (from a prior week)

I added 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of my huge stock pot
tossed in the chopped onion and garlic and sauteed for about 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
Then added my baggie of frozen veggie bits and my leftover kale (make sure you wash kale very carefully to get all the dirt off)

Then add enough water to cover the veggies, and boil.  I did this for about 1 hour (approximately)

This made a wonderful deep green broth.  I used this veggie broth as my base for the chicken soup.  (Trying to make it as healthful as possible)

I removed the veggies and added the frozen roasted chicken carcass.  Boil this for about 1 hour. (approximately)

I say approximately as I was going back and forth between the kitchen and playing skylanders with my son.


Next I removed the carcass and all meat and bones from the deep golden brown broth.

I put some of the broth away for freezing, and set about 4-6 cups of it in a soup pot.
I added a couple handfuls of noodles, about a 1/4 cup diced onion, 1/4 cup diced carrot, 1/4 cup diced celery, 1/4 cup sliced radishes, a couple handfuls of chicken meat pulled from the carcass.... and about 1/4 cup finely chopped kale. (It almost looks like parsley)

Let this simmer until the veggies and noodles are soft. (~30 minutes or so? - I really need to start timing this stuff :)  )

Then season to taste.
I added garlic powder ( a staple in my house), rosemary powder, salt and pepper.

It was delicious. :)

How to stay healthy at the grocery

How do you find the best foods? The healthiest?  Without reading TONS of labels?

Besides growing it yourself, or visiting a local farmers market.... the best option is to shop the perimeter of your grocery.

From my garden

Now some stores may vary, but typically the produce, breads, fresh meat and dairy are on the outside perimeter of the store.  While the overly processed, sugar, or sodium filled items are in the middle.  Including the cookies, crackers, candies etc.  

So you'll want to avoid those items and just get the fresh produce, and other essentials.  You tend to go to the store more often when getting fresher, healthier items, but its worth it. 

Once in a while I venture into the center for staples:  oatmeal, bread, noodles.  But really these options are either available in the organic section of my grocery or at a local bulk food supplier.   

We went strawberry picking last spring at a local farm. Had a Blast!

I greatly love my local bulk supplier.  I can get herbs and spices for 1/2 of what they cost at the grocery store, including flour, amish butter and cheeses, free range eggs, all my pasta needs (including spinach and wheat spaghetti).

  Eating healthier can be easy, it just takes a little organization of trips and maybe a little research.

*  Find if there's a farmer's market near you

*  See if you can get bulk supplied staples (either near  you or on the internet)

*  Aim for free-range or grass fed eggs, dairy and meat if you can.

*  Reduce how much meat you eat - Maybe cut that steak in half.  With meat prices raising, this isn't too hard. 

These options aren't all that expensive.  Some choices are even cheaper than conventional grocery selections. 

From my garden

Camping in the rain

In my prior post I mentioned that I've camped in the rain.
(Ironically as I write this, its snowing heavily)

This was back in my younger years in Girl Scouts.  I went "primitive camping".  It was one of the best experiences of my life.   We pitched tents of tarps and poles and  dug our own latrines.

While there will be bathroom facilities on my upcoming trip..... I will be able to apply some lessons I learned on that trip.

1) Getting wet is sometimes inevitable.

When we arrived at the camp site, 1/2 our troop was already there and set up.  It was also beginning to storm.  So working in groups we set up everyone else's tents, mine was 2nd to last.  It was up quickly, then everyone left to set up the last tent while we stowed our gear. We were soaked as we had done the set up in pouring down Ohio rain.






2) Get dry and warm quickly

My tent mate and I quickly changed into dry clothes then we joined the others.  As a result the 2 of us were the only ones NOT to get sick after the trip.

This is why I've packed Extra extra clothes, and every piece of polar fleece I own. I'll be also taking my 1 wool blanket.

3) Pack the right materials if you can

Wool is one of the best materials out there.  It wicks moisture away from you, keeping you dryer.  Its a natural fiber so it holds in heat better.

I went on an overnight trip once with this blanket.  I stayed in a cabin with others, the only source of heat was a wood stove.  But if no one feeds it, the temperature drops to very cold.

I remember waking up to one of my buddies feeding the fire. Obviously he had gotten cold. I was toasty warm in my wool blanket.

Most commercial sleeping bags you find at walmart or other like stores are full of cotton.  When trying to keep warm - cotton is rotten.  It stays wet forever, and draws the heat out of your body.

Go to a knowledgeable outfitter, if able, like True Heights Outfitters, which I'm fortunate is so close.
They can help you gain knowledge on what you need for your camping situation.

I'm spring camping, so I'll need to stay warm and dry.  I don't have the money right now for the proper sleeping bag, but will make do.    And just for full disclosure, I'm not getting paid to advocate for True Heights.  They are friends of mine, and have fantastic advice on camping.  Even if they weren't friends, they are honest and very knowledgeable.  One visit to their website shows a host of information on how many camping hours and hiking miles they've logged.

I'll continue to get my camping and outdoor supplies from them.

Once again, my favorite bag that I got from them.

Another "Right Material" is a proper sized tent.

Sure, 6 person tent on sale can be appealing, but if you don't have 6 people, you don't have extra hands to put it up.  You also don't have 6 people's body heat to keep it warm.

I'm taking a small 2 person tent for me and my son.  With our extra blankets and just the 2 of us, it should be quite cozy.

Happy Camping :)

How to make a camp stove - Not Lightweight

Here is how I made a camp stove.  A stove that you can use to cook meals in camp, with wood fuel, instead of trying to sit a pot over an open fire.   I apologize that these aren't a step by step, I did parts of this over a longer period of time due to being so busy.

Step 1:  Ikea Utensil Cannister

2 Large bolts to provide support - so your pot or kettle doesn't fall in.

Dremel with cutting tool - make sure you check with the hardware store - this had to cut through stainless steel

Cut holes big enough to get fuel in. 

I could have made the holes larger but decided against it.

The purpose is to reflect the heat inward and get hot very quickly.  This allows you to cook efficiently. 

I'll have more reviews after its first heavy duty camping use. 

But this thing is heavy, so I don't recommend it for backpacking.

Spring Camping

Keeping busy here at the busy beaver household.

Warmer weather has peeked in but still frigid at nights.

With spring break here, I've decided to do some camping.

My son loves to camp, but we've only done it once together.

So here is the challenge, getting things ready for camping, but not just camping, cold weather camping.

If it was just me, I wouldn't be so worried, and could take 1/3 of what I've packed.  A concerned mom though, I have to make sure my boy is dry and warm.   The hard part is also doing this on the cheap.

If I had time and the funds, I could get cold weather gear:  Synthetic fiber clothing or wool layers.  As they say for camping and back packing.... cotton is rotten.

So I've packed up :
My tent - I did splurge and get a tent that pops up in midair.

But why? Why not use my normal quick clip tent?  Because, I'm a single mom with a 6 yr old boy going camping somewhere 12 hours away that I'm driving by myself.  I'm looking for shortcuts but without compromising the fun.  And when he's older (and taller) he can help me set up the tent.  This will not be my tent of choice for a longer trip.  But since its just a couple nights and its just the 2 of us. This will work.

2- sleeping bags and 5 extra blankets (including one wool one)  - The weather calls for nights in the 40's, so I want to take extra blankets for warmth.

Excessively extra clothes for warmth- I've packed every polar fleece that I own.  It will be warm during the day, but they are calling for rain the nights we're camping, and I anticipate us getting muddy.  I try for light packing, but in this case, extra is good. (More on that later)

Tarp, rope, and 2 camping poles - I'll probably set up a rain shelter first, with my tent below it (have never tested this new tent in rain) and some extra space to cook with my camp stove.

Camping stove - Homemade :)  Ikea cutlery bucket, 2 long bolts for support, and cut a hole with a dremmel.  (check out my post here)

Rain Boots - incredibly difficult to find to buy in early march in Ohio -surprisingly.  Like I said I anticipate getting muddy.

Homemade Fire-starters - cardboard egg carton, dryer lint and melted wax. Super easy.

Camp Kitchen Items: 

1 large camp pot - for washing dishes in

1 medium camp pot - for heating up water

1 small pot  - for cooking meals (a little find at Goodwill outlet- its heavy duty and perfect sized)

1 camp skillet - extra for cooking in case I need it - it folds up :)

2 Ikea kids plates - They have a rim to prevent spillage

Camp food

My camp food was supplied by True Heights Outfitters.

Thanks to Brandon and John Riggins for their advice and store so I could buy my supplies.

In this picture:  Really tasty Beef Stew, Chicken casserole, italian skillet bread,  raisin cinnamon fry bread, 2 hot apple desserts, 2 scrambled egg breakfasts, and some dehydrated apples.

Plus 2 utensils :)









And of course marshmallows for roasting (and roasting sticks)

What camp trip is complete without smores?

Additional gear: 

First Aid kit, flashlights, lantern (although I'm going to attempt to make one), rain gear, trash bags, towels, snacks, etc. 

I'm taking my camera with me and will comment when I return.

My trusty day pack - which has gone on a couple adventures with me (including Niagara).  This was also supplied to me by True Heights Outfitters.  A black diamond bullet pack. This is a great pack, I strive to only use it for any trip I make.  Minimalist packing at its best.  In fact, for the first leg of my trip, it will contain what my son and I need until we get to the camp trip - this includes an overnight stay. 

I love this bag!

Green Peppers and Onions

So in trying to use up some of the CSA material, I made (at the request of my son) sauteed green peppers and onions.

Pretty easy.... Slice up the onion and green pepper

Get out your favorite pan and some olive oil.

Then brown the onions.

Depending on how you like the texture, you can try low heat for a softer texture, or higher heat to really brown/caramelize the onions.

I needed to use the whole onion up, so I went ahead and chopped it all up with 1 green pepper.

 While the peppers and onions were cooking, I went ahead and chopped up one of the tomatoes too.

Aiden loves raw tomatoes.







Placed some ribs in the oven at 400 degrees, seasoned with Homer's Honey BBQ rub (local spices/bulk recipe)  and a dash of Jamaican Jerk Mix - for a touch of spice.

Ahhh they cooked perfectly.



And VOILA!   Approximately 20 minutes later (maybe a little longer for the ribs) dinner was served.

NOTE: I had the ribs at 400 because I wanted to cook them faster - they were a little on the medium to medium rare side... but these were beef ribs so it was ok.   I usually prefer to cook ribs around 350 for a longer period of time.

But dinner was still delicious.

In a bit of a Jam (strawberry-blackberry)

So Wednesday I was organized.  I had a schedule all planned out of things I wanted to get done, and what times I wanted to get them done at.

I've totally blown that schedule out of the water.

It started when grocery shopping went longer than normal.  Then emails came in.

So what did I do?  Did I bite the bullet and get back on schedule? Nope.

I made jam.

Finished Jam - without seeds

Since I'm recently unemployed, I want to make a point of utilizing the most of my groceries each week.
I had some left over strawberries and the black berries from the CSA.  My son refuses to eat black berries due to the seeds.

   

So I cut them up, pureed them, and made jam. (see recipe below)


This is the first time I've ever made jam, so I hope it works well.

Going by appearances I think its ok.
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My Easy (Refrigerator) Jam Recipe:

About 2 cups of fruit (straw berries and blackberries) - important lesson: you need acidic fruits for it to set well, so a lot of other recipes call for adding lemon juice. I did not add any.

2 Tbsp + 3/4 tsp Instant pectin
1 1/2 cups sugar
jars - preferably glass jelly jars/canning jars - Make sure they are clean/sterilized






Cut the berries up and puree ( I used a Magic Bullet )












Strain the berry mix to remove seeds if you wish.







Combine into a saucepan.  Bring to full boil. Stir constantly.  Add sugar, stirring to dissolve it in.
Bring it back to full boil and let it boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  (stirring should not stop the bubbles at full boil)

Remove from heat, add instant pectin and stir it in well.

Pour into warmed glass jars (warmed so the hot liquid doesn't shatter cold glass)

Let cool at room temperature for a few minutes then cover and set into the refrigerator.  I haven't yet learned to can, otherwise there would be canning instructions as well.    :)

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Extra Note:  My son really dislikes seeds in his jelly (and fruit), so I broke this recipe into 1/2, to do two batches.   One with seeds and one without.  Mostly because I was making very slow progress at getting the berry juice and pulp through without the seeds.  Only got about 1/2 of the berry substance that the recipe called for. So being lazy, I just made the other half with seeds.

And this really didn't take that long, prep and clean up took longer than actually making the jam.  But I would recommend it be done when there are minimal distractions, as you need to be present at the stove-top and stirring constantly.  Happy Experimenting!

CSA Today! 3/20/2014

I'm certainly excited about my CSA shipments!

I had a family function tonight, so as we're getting home late, I didn't get to cook anything with my shipment tonight.  I'll cook something tomorrow and post the recipe.
I'll also include a recipe for some jam I made on Wednesday.  I've certainly  been a busy beaver mom this week.

But just a list of what was in the box:

*  Broccoli
* Kale (yum)
* Another full bag of delicious spinach
* Green onions
* 4 Green Peppers
* Tomatoes
* Onion
* 4 pears
* Grapes
* 2 squashes
* A bunch of radishes
* A whole bunch of sunchokes :)

The spinach was wonderful!  And of course all of this food is organic. I'm loving this, but so glad I got the small box!  I don't know how I'll keep up, guess I need to do more cooking.  I wonder if sunchokes freeze well.
I still have tomatoes, green peppers, cucumber, mango and bananas left over from last week.

So what's made me so busy this week that I totally forgot to post yesterday?  Well for one thing I had a personal stress issue which I won't air on here, but I will say, Never let yourself be a victim to fear.  If you realize you are a victim of fear, get angry and make the fear go away.... unless its a spider. It's ok to be afraid of spiders. :)
"Any guy can seem cool on a motorcycle, but if you really want to know what kind of man you've got, watch him walk through a spider web."

Second thing is, Spring Break is next week, and I'm prepping for a small trip that my son and I are taking.  :) More details after we return! And of course tons of pictures.

So tomorrow's post will include Jam recipe, and something from the CSA box of yumminess.

:)

What dreams may come.....

Why do people love celebrities?  The athletes, movie stars, rock stars?

They followed their dreams.

They are stars, the glimmer of hope that we too can achieve what we once dreamed.

What did you dream of when you were full of hope, no boundaries, no obligations?

My dream was to be a zookeeper. To work in a zoo surrounded by exotic animals all day.

Owls are the carriers of dreams.

That is a very difficult dream to achieve as a single mom.

So I moved on, and became a responsible adult. 

I still have dreams, and I'm moving one step every day towards achieving them.

One dream (of many) is to get a motorcycle license and motorcycle.  What stopped me you ask?

Fear!

That ever pursuant plague.  Even now, it bites at my heels as I move towards getting my license.

I took the test last week to get my temps, and have enrolled in a beginning riders class.  My fears were always, what if I'm not good enough, or can't do it.  Even though tons of people every year get their licenses.  The sold out classes are enough to prove that. 

Also, there was timing, I didn't want to skip out of quality time 3 nights in one week to attend classes.  Which is why I've signed up for a class during the day while he's at school.

Lastly, is advice from my family (more Common Sense disguised fear).  Yes, motorcycle accidents are horrible, and yes they will probably happen to me.  But should I let that stop me from achieving something I want?

I don't plan on hot dogging down the road at 100 mph, or even getting on the highway for that matter.  I want an ecological commuter solution, that can take occasional back country roads.

In fact... I want this bike.

Suzuki TU250X

So that dream, dear reader, is what I'm working on now, something achievable as a single mom. 

What do you dream?  Take small steps and work towards it, don't let fear stop you!

Be Irish today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The day where the population of Irish people suddenly doubles (or more).  Everywhere you see Kiss Me I'm Irish shirts or buttons, in bright orange against screaming green shirts.

Actually, I love St. Patrick's Day.  A day when I can revel in my Irish heritage. I have a red-headed friend who's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, isn't that a wee bit of Irish irony. :)


There is a song I heard recently that impressed upon how everyone could have a wee bit of Irish in them, because we Irish are such scalliwags. :)

Now I don't go for the green beer.  As good beers are dark red or brown (Yeah Guinness!)
But I do love corned beef and cabbage. :)

One of my aspirations is to travel to Ireland, enjoying the sites and the history.

So in celebration of St. Patrick's day, some wee tips that are fun....
 If you have kids:
Read some Irish poetry/ fairy tales
Use green (easy to wash off paint) and put foot prints on the toilet seat
Use green dye and turn the toilet water green, hey a leprechaun's gotta go somewhere!

If you don't have kids....
Go out!
People watch if nothing else
mobs of drunken people can be amusing
keep your sense of humor
And just for giggles, watch Far and Away.

Surprisingly I don't have any Irish related photographs to insert (other than the Wikipedia one at the top)- Guess I need to work on that.

I did learn this week that if you need to save time, you can cook corned beef in a crock pot, and it taste just lovely.


Sláinte! 

CSA Today!

I was going to try to post something else today and wait for the recipes tomorrow, but I'm too excited.

I received my first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery today!

 In the box was 2 cucumbers, 4 bananas, 1 mango, 1 squash, 2 green peppers, 2 tomatoes, 3 apples, a bag of spinach, 1 box of blackberries, a bunch of radishes and a whole bunch of sun chokes.

I had never even heard of sun chokes.  They are a root vegetable/ tuber native to North America.  They grow from a plant that looks similar to a sunflower.
I've always been interested in Native American culture and foods.  Now I have some!


They look like a ginger root, and you cook them similar to potatoes.  However, it is recommended not to peel them, just scrub them very good, otherwise you might lose too much of the tuber.

The taste was mildly like a potato, but slightly sweeter - similar to a carrot.  Overall, very good.

So tonight's dinner was the first in utilizing this weekly veggie delivery.

Fish (courtesy of my local grocery store) and sun chokes and radishes.

First on the fish:  Swai was on sale (something else I had never heard of) - I was told it was a cross between tilapia and catfish.   Its farmed in Vietnam.  Something they did for me (which I highly recommend that you check your grocer and see if they do...) was they put it in an aluminum bag all set for the oven.  Inside this bag was the fish, and select ingredients I chose - Butter, Rosemary, and garlic powder.  All of this included in the cost of the fish, which was 2.99/pound.  Not bad!

As for the flavor of the Swai.... it tastes like tilapia, but the texture was different (I assume more like catfish)  The seasonings were amazing- great combo!  (So much so, my son asked for seconds - he finished off 75% of the 2 fillets)

I chose to sautee the sun chokes and radishes in butter/olive oil with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. 

(about 1-2 Tablespoons of butter? - didn't really measure, just enough to keep them from burning - and seasoned to taste)

Now for full disclosure:  I HATE RADISHES!  I have never liked them, always picking them out of my salads.  My son, however, LOVES them.  So I went ahead and ordered them with the CSA for him. Someone recommended  that I cook them.  Such a novel idea!

So I sauteed them.................. I must say, WOW!

I now LOVE radishes!

When you cook them, the biting peppery flavor mellows a lot.  They become more like a turnip in flavor ( I think, I haven't explored much with turnips).  The texture was still a little crisp, not super soft like potatoes get.   

The radishes were my favorite part of dinner.  

So I am now excited that we will plant lots of radishes in the garden this spring (my son's request).

I plan on keeping them constantly in stock in my kitchen.