Part of following a locavore philosophy is eating what’s in season when it’s in season. This morning we had peach muffins made with peaches from the farmers’ market.
Muffins!
Later today we’ll Eat The Opponent with San Francisco style sourdough bread and more.
Made from my own starter, too
Go! Pack! Go!
I’ve talked about curb-picking. I’m not a full time full strength make-the-rounds dumpster diver, but once in a while something turns up on a curb and calls my name.
I don’t like to waste leftovers. If the leftovers are food in my own refrigerator, they’re likely to become part of a pantry raid. If the leftovers are food sitting somewhere else, it’s harder.
Last June I staked a claim for leftover tomatoes and onions after our big school picnic at the amusement park. Someone on staff has been pooped on by a gull the last two years running, and – but that’s not suitable for mealtime conversation. Sorry. The tomatoes and onions were clean.
I rescued the leftover tomatoes and onions that were originally destined to top sub sandwiches and brought them home. They slid nicely out of their trays and into my crock pot.
Soon to be Sauce!
I added fresh oregano and simmered the lovely mix overnight. The next morning we had tomato sauce, made from scratch from scavenged leftovers. Three containers of sauce, in fact. That’s quite a pantry raid for the last day of school.
And now, with the school year beginning, who knows what kind of scavenging might occur? Readers, you’ll find out here.
Oh, readers? What kind of luck have you had scavenging, food or otherwise?
Topped with a basket ($1) at a rummage sale and a hanging pot from a previous year, you see my garden table. We, and by we I mean me and my dear darling husband “Chuck”, found the table at curbside after someone moved out. Yep: a curb picked gem.
Handy Dandy planting table
Sometimes I resist. I left a stool that almost matched one in our basement and didn’t pick it up. I did stop, I admit it. The stool stood on the curb with a pile of scrap wood. On one piece of wood was a sign saying, “FREE: Measured once, cut twice.”
Right now, the only things turning up curbside are branches. I think I’ll stay home.
Yesterday, I introduced you to this bag.
Made from recycled plastic water bottles
I use it for berries and other potentially messy purchases. When it’s time to harvest from my own backyard, I need containers, too.
Lettuce! For people and rabbits!
I bought the basket from a rummage sale for $1. My intention is to use it for a planter, but until I do, it’s the perfect size for harvesting the latest in lettuces. That’s a lot of lettuce; I see chef’s salads in our future. And BLTs. And maybe taco salad. And – happy bunnies.
The smaller midweek market has been growing as of late. In this display, you can see two kinds of beans (purple and yellow), two berries (blue and rasp), and lots of cucumbers waiting to be pickled. There’s more, but those are the highlights.
Food stuffs, midweek market style
Despite the view from the deck railing, I do use cloth bags and reuse plastic. My favorite vendors recognize me and know I’ll hand them a bag for reuse.
Reuse. I reuse a lot of bags.
At the Saturday market, the one that takes up most of our town’s main avenue, we bring cloth bags and the bag on wheels. The shiny bag in front is made from recycled plastic water bottles. I like it for berries and other messy purchases because it’s easy to clean.
It only cost me $0.99, too.
Ah, the marketplace. I go through withdrawal when the major farm markets are done in October. Then I start reaching into the shelves and serving the foods we’ve put up, and all is well in the O.K. Chorale kitchen.
We’re fairly efficient in the O.K. Chorale kitchen. We make planned-overs and we use leftovers well. After watching an episode of “Chopped” with a theme ingredient of none other than leftovers, I’m inspired to share a recent pantry raid. Leftover grilled bratwurst: no buns, no problem. Pull up a few of the huge walking onions and chop up the bulbs.
Leftover brats + onion bulbs
Next, slice leftover corn off the cob. Mix in the corn along with leftover green beans and asparagus.
Stir Fry a la Leftovers
A side dish comes from the freezer and the last jar of applesauce. Cherry mush leftover from a cherry compote drink (tart cherries, a local crop) mixed with my own applesauce yielded a tasty local fruit sauce.
Apple Cherry Sauce
How productive was this meal? How creative?
Not bad – not bad at all. By the way, that pot behind the cherry apple sauce? It’s a shrimp stock in progress: shrimp tails & shells with the naked corn cob (see above for the kernels) boiled with some extra green onion. My soup stocks are never the same twice, but they’re always tasty.
Sing it, Linda Ronstadt! Or if you prefer, sing the one by Irving Berlin or the Motown song performed by Martha and the Vandellas. I’m not giving you links, people. Use your search engines.
Now that we have a sound track in place, let’s look at the before pictures.
“Feed me, Seymour!”
“Water, water,” pant, pant, pant.
After an early watering and another later in the day, I thought I heard the strawberries saying “We feel MUCH better now!”
“It’s berry, berry peaceful in the evening breeze!”
“Ah. Water. Such a relief.”
And since the plants are talking to me, I’ll take that as a sign that it’s really too hot to be outside. What’s the worst that happens to you when it’s hot? Leave me a comment, please, and TTFN – TaTa For Now.
Subtitled: One thing leads to another.
So far:
Now the world was looking a little more complicated. It was time to multi-task.
And so on, and so on, and so on.
If I use a strawberry dump cake recipe but replace the strawberries with blueberries, cherries, and a diced peach, what should I call it?
When the rain barrels are full and there’s more rain coming, should I put out buckets to save even more rain water?
If I water a strawberry plant with the leftover liquid in my coffee cup, will the strawberries have caffeine? Is there such a thing as a decaf berry?
Why is the city-planted grass in the terrace playing host to more weeds than grasses?
How much of the terrace should I actually weed, given that we’re going to have our service sidewalk replaced and a new baby tree planted and more people digging in the terrace dirt?
Health and circumstances have cut into my time and energy. Does anyone really mind the weeds?
Will the city crews avoid the water and gas lines this time? Don’t. Even. Think. About it.
Why does Krumpet the bunny get so worked up when I’m grinding herbs in my mortar and pestle?
Why is Sadie the bunny shedding – in July?
When should I schedule our garage sale? We have plenty of good things to sell, and the little collectible junk will make people happy, too.
And why has Grandma Daisy been so quiet lately? There’s plenty going on, and I’m sure she has opinions on just about everything coming out of Madison and Washington, among other places.
I’m blaming a colder than usual winter. That’s one possible excuse for the compost not fully composting, which is an excuse for the random tomato seedlings turning up in random places.
Tomato and Dill
tomato and grass
Tomato and – mums?
It’ll all be irrelevant if we get an early frost, so I’ll just nurture these little strays of mine and maybe I’ll get an extra salad or two.