It's been a busy week, filled with a lot of cooking. But we've been well-fed. I've enjoyed working off of a set menu, even though we've deviated from it a bit when dinner prep actually occurs--making a quinoa-kale salad and paprika baked chicken with roasted mushrooms and artichoke hearts instead of plain quinoa and a green salad and basic baked chicken, for example. Brian cooked this meal and Cora and I ate it in awe. It was that good.
I made some red potato and corn chowder yesterday that is truly tasty--I'll write down the general ingredients and proportions and post it here at some point. Also simple (and heavenly) baked salmon with an olive oil, soy sauce, pepper, and lemon juice marinade. And chicken-bean-quinoa enchiladas (made with homemade corn tortillas), homemade refried beans, and tomato-lime salsa. And GF pumpkin bread, GF bread, and GF blueberry-pear crumble.
I'm considering taking pictures of the meals and tracking the ingredients and proportions, but I hesitate to go there because then it feels like this will be entering the realm of a food blog. Still, it might happen. (See below for this week's menu and a corn tortilla recipe, if you're interested.)
As far as the food budget, we're doing OK but I'm nervous because we still have three weeks to go and I've already had to go to the store three times. The additional purchases include:
*Soy sauce (totally out of it, should have looked more closely)
*Sea salt (ditto)
*Eggs (we'll probably need more)
*Yogurt (I think we'll be OK till Feb)
*Sorghum flour (for GF bread)
*Garbanzo bean flour (for GF tortillas)
*Masa Harina (for corn tortillas)
*Bananas
*Trail mix
Supplies (remember I'm counting these in our general grocery budget):
*Dish soap
*Toilet paper
*Bio bags
*Compost bin
*Aluminum foil
*Plastic wrap (for making tortillas)
Total spent: $595.
I'm a little nervous, but I think we can make it. It's definitely a switch to try to shop once a month. I'm going to do it a little differently next month; I think I'll still do one big shopping trip, but will leave about $80 for additional purchases each week. Also, I'm hoping that next month I'll have a better sense of my own food inventory; this month I clearly forgot some staples--salt, dish soap, TP, baking supplies.
The CSA delivery last week was disappointing. Four items were from Mexico, which generally I don't take issue with except when it arrives in my "support local" CSA food box. Even though they were out-of-season items (avocado, broccoli, roma tomatoes, grapefruit), I was under the impression such items would be culled from warmer states within a U.S.-based CSA network. The kale was wilted. The avocados were hard as rocks. Three of the apples were bruised. It was nothing like my previous experience with them, making me wonder if their recent expansion has caused a decline in quality. I wrote to Full Circle and complained, and they sent back a nice email explaining their stance on food sourcing--they source locally, nationally, and internationally, believing that supporting organic agriculture anywhere is a good practice. Maybe so, but they need to make this more clear in their marketing material. They'll also replace the apples and kale, or offer an equivalent, in this week's box.
We had plenty of produce to last the week, but we did find ourselves "rationing" the apples. We're used to eating several apples a day, which can't happen with this system. I think next month we'll need to either try a Family size box or else set aside money for additional fruit each week.
Full Circle Farm's online system does identify which items are local; I tried to pick as many of those this week as possible. Tomorrow's CSA delivery will include:
1 bunch Green Chard
0.4 pound Cremini Mushrooms *
1.5 pounds Russet Potatoes FCF
2 Yellow Onions *
1 Bunched Carrots
4 Braeburn Apples *
1 Green Cabbage FCF
4 Navel Oranges
1 Broccoli
4 Fuji Apples *
1 Red Leaf Lettuce
3 Bosc Pears *
*Items with an asterisk are from the Northwest. Items marked FCF are from Full Circle Farm.
Here's this week's dinner menu:
Monday:
Leftover corn-potato chowder or chicken-pinto enchiladas.
Tuesday:
Roasted sausage and potatoes and a green salad.
Wednesday:
Spinach lentil soup with sugarplum tomatoes.
Thursday:
Baked chicken, quinoa pilaf, and steamed green chard with raw carrots and an olive oil, dill, ume plum dressing.
Friday:
Tofu-broccoli stir fry and pressure-cooked brown rice. (We had this last week and it was delicious and very easy--perfect for a tired Friday night.)
Saturday:
Baked stuffed cabbage with turkey, rice, mushrooms, and chopped chard.
Sunday:
Homemade pasta sauce with parmesan polenta cakes.
Tortillas
I started making my own corn tortillas. I never knew it was so simple. The big deal is that you need to use Masa Harina rather than corn flour. I found a bag from Bob's Red Mill and it's worked beautifully. They never use GMO ingredients, although they can't guarantee GMO-free products due to wind drift.
The recipe is easy. You just need:
2 cups of masa harina
1-1/4 to 1-1/3 cups hot water
(I also add a dash of salt to the hot water, although I haven't found any recipes suggesting it.)
Mix the ingredients, being careful to achieve a smooth, malleable consistency. Let the dough sit for 30 minutes under plastic wrap or a damp towel. Then break off small chunks of dough (about 14 in all) and roll them into individual balls. Place them between two sheets of plastic wrap, and press down with a heavy pan. (If you have a tortilla press, even better.) Use a rolling pin to flatten out the tortilla to the thickness of a standard, store-bought tortilla. Peel off the plastic wrap. If the dough sticks, it's too wet. Return it to the bowl and add more masa harina, a bit at a time. If the dough crumbles, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. You can't over-knead the dough, so don't worry about working it to get the right consistency. Place in a preheated, heavy, ungreased pan on medium-high heat. Cook 30 seconds. Flip. Cook 1 minute. Flip again. Cook another 30 seconds. Set aside and cover with foil. You can make all of them at once and keep them warm in foil for up to 2 hours before dinner. Any leftovers can be reheated on the stove.
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