We have received a ton of snow over the last week… winter has finally arrived. Unfortunately, our carrots and onions are buried (insulated, hopefully) under snow cover. In the greenhouse, we have kale, beets, chard, and some leeks that we can keep munching on.
Since starting maternity leave, I’ve been reading a lot of different blogs on saving money & being frugal. It’s quite timely right now, with the world panicking about recessions. I’m fascinated by the compact from San Francisco – a group that decided not to buy anything non-essential for a year, and spawned a following around the world. Having a baby meant that we have entered a whole world of new stuff, much of which was donated or gifted to us by family and friends (we’re lucky people!). That being said, I’m not sure we could go for a year without buying anything right now (batteries for the baby swing – essential or non essential?).
One way we’ve been reducing costs and eating better is by cooking and baking more. Jamey and I both have day jobs in addition to the market garden and other volunteer commitments, and we would often ricochet between wonderful organic home-grown meals and take-out/instant pizzas. Being at home allows me to make more of our own food with preserved or stored veggies from our garden, and meat we buy from local farms. We’ve got a ton of stored squash, apples, and cabbage right now, plus the aforementioned food in the field and a pile of frozen tomato puree. Often people complain about local eating in the winter being dull, but I think it just takes creativity. Here’s what I’m enjoying right now:
Braised red cabbage & apples: Chop up a small red cabbage and 3-4 apples into 1/2 inch pieces. Add cabbage, apple, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar (or to taste), and spiced. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender. Add a few tablespoons of cider vinegar and cook. This is stellar as a side dish with pork.
Vegetable curry: Chop onions and garlic, add whatever’s on hand, curry paste and a cup of coconut milk. We usually add (storebought) chickpeas but have a bunch of our lima beans (dried) or fava (frozen) to add for protein. We’ve been using NS sweet potatoes, frozen beans, fresh chard and kale, and carrots.
Squash cakes: wholly my own invention, and needing some tweaking – mix cooked winter squash with eggs and spices (garlic scape pesto from the freezer), form into cakes, dip in bread crumbs and fry lightly on both sides. A little bland – maybe different spices needed?
and also tomato sauce with frozen puree and all our own veggies, veggie fennel stirfry with quinoa, and am thinking of making a sorrel soup (it’s out there, under the snow).
Oliver continues to be adorable. We took a great winter walk yesterday and saw lots of animal tracks around the garden. All of the pigweed and lamb’s quarters that went to seed are surrounded by tiny bird tracks, which makes me happy – weeds are useful plants, at least in the winter.
R
