Eat Local Challenge

I have been somewhat stalking http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/ for some time awaiting a new locally eating minded challenge, so I was so happy when they posted one to take place the month of October 2008. For the last year or so I have made much more of a concerted effort to buy local. In ways such as continuing our involvement with a local CSA, supporting Farmer's Markets instead of grocery stores and, more recently, buying meats and eggs from a local farmer. It has evolved to local honeys, nuts, cheeses, soaps and whatever else I can find! I am eagerly awaiting this challenge to really help me stretch a bit further and see what other local gems I can discover!

To begin this challenge the participants were asked to answer a few questions:

My definition of local:

I will use the 100-mile diet definition of local, using a 100 mile radius. I find the tool at http://100milediet.org/get-started/map especially helpful in this endeavor!


Exceptions:

Coffee – although we home roast and only use sustainable, fair trade, organic beans.

Eating out – will make an effort to only frequent places that promote local eating.

Spices and grains that are already in my cupboard (but I will not purchase new ones that are not locally available)

Kids – in an effort to get my children to eat a well balanced diet an occasional exception may have to be made.


Goals:

To try and incorporate local eating more in the children’s diets as well as ours.

To discover new local items that I was not previously aware of.

Preserved Items Summer 2008

Here's the most up to date list of the items I have squirrelled away so far this year....

½ pts
1 BBQ sauce (A.V.M. recipe)
1 Apricot Vanilla Bean Syrup
5 Sweet and Sour Sauce (A.V.M. recipe)
4 Chutney (A.V.M. recipe)
7 Jars Blackberry Sauce
6 Raspberry Jam
2 Whole Blueberries
1 Gooseberry Jam
1 Currant Jam
7 Strawberry Syrup
5 Strawberry Jam
8 Apricot Halves in Light Vanilla Bean Syrup
2 sundried tomatoes
2 pickled carrots/celery

Pints
3 diced tomatoes
6 tomatoes
5 golden roma tomatoes
1 chutney
5 Sweet and Sour Sauce (A.V.M. recipe)
1 Chutney (A.V.M. recipe)
3 BBQ sauce (A.V.M. recipe)
2 Apple Slices in Light Vanilla Bean Syrup
1 pickled beets
1 sundried tomatoes
1 strawberry jam
1 whole blueberries
1 apricot vanilla bean sauce

Challenge done!

Okay, I didn't get around to posting the last couple days of the challenge. I also didn't have time to itemize each meal we had as much as I would have liked to, to be true to the challenge. However, I did come to the realization that.....(1) it is nice to not HAVE to budget so tightly each week (2) it would be difficult to stock up, and thus save money doing it this way (3) we don't eat too extravagantly anyways - with the exceptions of cheese and alcohol, mostly. Not that we are huge drunks or cheeseheads, but these 2 items would put us over the limit quickly!

My next blog mission.....to post weekly menus (after the week is over) so I have a record of what we eat. I often make things and would make them again, but I try so many new things that I can't remember them all (or where they came from) or if we liked them.

And then........coming soon......the eatlocalchallenge. I believe this will be in the month of October and I am looking SO forward to it. Lots of time to stockpile local foods in the freezer and pantry before then.

Budget Challenge – Day THREE

Well, our morning got off to an early start with 8 am dentist appointments for both of the kids. As a result, our day was a bit piece-meal food wise. The kids each had a yobaby yogurt before we left and some oatmeal. I just had coffee! When the appointment was over the little one had a banana in the car and then we had leftovers from the freezer for lunch. Pizza for the littles, tamale for me. Dinner isn’t looking a lot better since we have a meeting to be at that is at a park at 5 pm tonight. I’m off to search the freezer for something to take along for that one!

We did go to the park after the dentist today and picked a whole bowl of blackberries that I have freezing as well as some small apples (not sure what I am going to do with those yet!) And I have strawberries in the dehydrator right now (from our plant outside and a few from the produce bin this week!) That foraging has to contribute positively to the whole budgeting project!

Budget Challenge – Official Day TWO

Our milk, eggs and half-n-half (for coffee) were delivered today…..and I went to the Farmer’s Market......and Lifesource. I am fairly certain that I would have gone over budget today, but I had a $20 voucher for Denison Farms at the Farmer’s Market and most of the other stuff I bought went in the freezer for future use. It would be interesting to figure out how much is actually spent per week in our household, but I am such a stock-piler that it would be nearly impossible for me to figure out….and quite frankly that’s not what I want to expend my energy on!

Here’s what we ended up eating today:
Breakfast: Leftover waffles (husband) and cereal (me and kids)
Lunch: Kids – peace noodle mac n cheese/ Me – leftover salmon quiche from freezer
Dinner: Kids – black bean and cheese burritos/ Us – homemade tamales from freezer (reference in earlier post) with homemade guacamole, salsa and homemade baked corn tortilla chips – served with black beans from the freezer

I started making big batches of beans a while ago and freezing zip lock bags with amounts of them – black beans, white beans, pinto, garbanzo – they are great to take out of the freezer and use just like you would canned beans…..but cheaper and without the waste of a can!

Budget Challenge – Official Day ONE

So…..this morning started off with a bang! We were out of milk and eggs (I can’t remember the last time this happened in our house….it has been literally years!) And, of course, I forgot and promised the kids waffles for breakfast. So, thankful for the internet, I sat myself on the computer and did a google search for vegan waffles. I found several recipes that I had the ingredients on hand for and the kids chose this one……

Healthy Vegan Waffles – found from various sources on internet

* 1 ripe banana, mashed
* 2 cups water
* 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
* 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix banana and water. Add dry ingredients and mix, leaving lumps in batter (the lumps keep the waffles from becoming too rubbery when cooked). Cook on waffle iron. You can use the same batter to make pancakes. Serve with maple syrup. Can also add small berries (my little one liked them with blueberries)

Next time I make it I will omit the nutmeg and sub a little more cinnamon as I think I would like this flavor better. Overall, they were tasty though. My oldest ate a whole waffle and little one ate most of a waffle. I ate one too and, admittedly, they were strangely filling.

Lunch will be leftover whole wheat penne noodles with butter for the kids and green beans that I cooked up last night. I’ll have a slice of the salmon quiche and a salad.

Dinner: BLTs (with some added oomph – avocado and red onion) on Salem Sourdough Bread from Cascade Baking Company. Bacon is from Abundant Life Farms. Lettuce and Tomato from our CSA Bin and the avocado I bought at Roth’s yesterday. We will be having a green salad with pears and blue cheese with the sandwiches.

Dinner tonight....

Even though I am not starting the $$$ part of the budget challenge until tomorrow I thought I'd post what we are having for dinner tonight. The kids had a pear and some scrambled eggs with Tillamook cheddar cheese. The adults will be having a quiche that I just made with a frozen pastry shell, leftover salmon, a shallot and green pepper that I did a quick saute on, grated Tillamook cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, eggs, half and half, milk, thyme and basil from the herb garden and some salt and pepper. It's still cooking and in a bit I'll fry up a few red potatoes that I have from the CSA bin to go along side. I already ate a piece of homemade multi-grain toast with fresh raspberry jam, but might have to have another if it takes much longer!