Without The Boxed Food

Beef Stock .. simmering

... in my shopping cart I'm able to afford the good stuff.  It's become second nature to put my kitchen skills to good use by cooking every meal from scratch.  Now that the pantry, storage room and freezers are kept stocked with garden and local farm goods, it's really not even necessary to buy much in the way of packaged food.  Our taste in food has developed to one that includes F.R.E.S.H. whenever possible .. and then frozen .. then canned.  We have fresh veggies some raw and some cooked that fills the dinner plate 1/2 full.  One fourth in a protein like meat or eggs .. and a small helping of a carb.  Dinners are a sit down .. s.l.o.w. eating routine and often begun with a thin soup.  Eating a well balanced meal including farm fresh milk ... and cutting out snacks has resulted in effortless weight loss.

If we (people) would just eliminate ONE item from our shopping carts .. anything containing high fructose corn syrup, that would be a GREAT start in healthier eating and send a message to the food makers that speaks loud and clear.  Take your health to heart and 'mind' what goes in your body.  Next to eliminate (or cut significantly) would be beet and cane sugar.  These sweeteners are contributing to the addiction that is fueling obesity.  Learn to live without artificial sweeteners too.. they can be toxic.  Having something sweet is best left as a once in a while treat.

Home Canned Goods

Rich, Thick, Hearty ..

Roasted Roma Tomatoes!  This past summer, I canned, froze and roasted well over 140 pounds of tomatoes.  Last night I opened up a quart labeled, 'Roasted Roma with Garlic' ... and, well, they are THE BEST canned tomatoes I've ever tasted.  I found the recipe in the 2010 Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving and wanted to give a shout out if you're interested for next summer.   What makes them so flavorful is that you roast them for a bit adding great flavor.  Here's the recipe:

Roasted Roma Tomatoes

Yield about 4 quarts (I'm so glad I made 12 quarts :)

12 pounds Roma tomatoes (I used a mix of Roma and Amish Paste tomatoes)
4 bulbs garlic
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1 Tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
bottled lemon juice

Roast tomatoes on grill or in broiler until skins begin to wrinkle and become lightly blackened in spots, turn to roast other side.  Remove from heat.  Place tomatoes in a paper bag and close tightly.  Cool until tomatoes are easy to handle, about 15 minutes.  Slip skins off tomatoes, cut in half and remove seeds.  Cut into 1/2 inch chunks, set aside.  Place garlic on aluminum foil and drizzle with the olive oil.  Wrap the foil tightly (place on a baking sheet) and roast in a 350F oven until tender (about 30 minutes).  Remove from oven and cool enough to handle.  Slip the garlic cloves from the skins and add to tomatoes.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until hot throughout.  Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each quart jar.  Ladle hot tomatoes into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust two-piece caps.  Process quarts 1 hour and 25 minutes in a boiling water canner.  Be sure to adjust for altitude (consult the directions in a reputable canning guide).

This recipe is the only one I'm going to use next year!!  Yah .. it's that delish!  It will make a GREAT start to a pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, or bruchetta.  It's nice and thick .. no tomato paste needed for thickening your sauces.  Be sure to use Roma or Amish Paste tomatoes.

Keeping A Food Supply

I'm having a hard time using the veggies I've stored away in the freezer and pantry while it's still summer.  Not wanting to 'run out' of supplies this winter before it even turns cold, this week I'm going to use up ALL of the zucchini from the garden, finish up our lettuce and start picking some more green cabbage.  Sorry corn and green beans .. you'll just have to wait a few more months!

This weekend I made a big batch of beef stock by roasting bare bones cut in two inch pieces in a moderately hot oven (400F) for two hours.  Then simmering with carrots, onions and celery for an hour .. then sticking the whole pot in the oven at 225F overnight.  It makes the richest brown broth for French onion soup and for added flavor to gravies.  I have stored it in the freezer in 3 cup units. 

We are already running low on pickles .. when my kids come home for a visit .. that's the first thing they ask for .. after a hug from mom.

Beef Stock Recipe
Benefits of Broth

Household Record Keeping For 2010

 

I'm organizing the records for last year .. to start with a clean slate for 2011.

Home Preserving 2010

• December - 13 quarts pinto beans
• November - 3 quarts turkey stock frozen, 3 pints turkey meat frozen, 1 quart frozen broccoli, 2 quarts frozen raspberries, 12 quarts chicken stock
• October - 2 quarts raspberries, frozen, 5 quarts pinto beans, 7 pints salsa verde, two pints summer squash (mashed and frozen)
• Sept. - 8 pints Boston Baked Beans, 9 pints tomatoes in juice, 6 pints spicy tomato juice, 1 quart frozen zucchini, 1 pint frozen yellow-neck squash, 1 quart frozen green beans, 2 pints frozen hot peppers, 1 quart frozen broccoli, 5-1/2 pints frozen Italian seasoned tomato sauce, six pints salsa verde, 40 ears of sweet corn frozen, 3 pints frozen corn, 1 gallon strawberries frozen
• August - six quarts tomatoes in juice, 21 pints salsa, 2 quarts frozen green beans, 3 quarts refrigerator dill pickles
• August- 10 pints green beans, 7 quarts green beans, 1 quart frozen
• June- 9 half-pints wild rose-geranium jelly
• July- 7 half-pints strawberry freezer jam
• July- 7 half-pints raspberry freezer jam, 2 gallons frozen raspberries, 1 gallon frozen blueberries, 2 quarts frozen huckleberries
• May- 8 pints pinto beans
• June- 7 quarts pinto beans
• June- 14 pints Boston Baked Beans

2010 Grocery Budget (family of 4.5)(don't read anything into the 4.5 .. ;)

$6099

January -$456
February -$355
March - $527
April -$368
May - $498
June - $516
July - $445
August - $400
September - $400
October - $400
November $450
December $550

yearly purchase of organic beef $404
yearly purchase of organic hog $330

2010 Food Budget $6099
family of 4.5 = $3.71/per day per person

Garden Expenses - 2010 ($314)

• compost bin $65
• garden sink $50
• onion sets $3
• 13 lbs seed potatoes $9
• 1/4 yard gravel for under garden sink $5
• 3 cubic yards of composted horse/cow manure $90
• potting soil $15
• Heirloom Seeds $77

2010 Garden Planting Schedule

• 11/13/10 Spanish hard-neck garlic
• 7/9/10 bush beans (yea)
• 7/9/10 sugar snap peas (yea)
• 7//9/10 bush peas (nay)
• 6/20/10 nasturtium/marjoram (yea/nay)
• 6/16/10 basil (nay)/parsley(yea)/green onion seeds(yea)
• 6/9/10 foxglove/columbine/purple cone flower plants(yea to all)
• 6/12/10 tomato plants/(yea)
• 6/9/10 cucumber seeds(nay)
• 6/9/10 radish (yea)
• 6/9/10 cantaloupe (nay)
• 6/9/10 watermelon (nay)
• 5/24/10 burp-less cucumber plants (yea)
• 5/24/10 pickling cucumber plants (yea)
• 5/24/10 red/green cabbage plants (yea)
• 5/24/10 six new pepper plants (yea)
• 5/15/10 pepper plants/killed by frost (nay)
• 5/15/10 chervil (yea)
• 5/15/10 yellow crooked neck squash (yea)
• 5/15/10 zucchini yea)
• 5/15/10 Bantam corn (nay)
• 5/15/10 bush beans (yea)
• 5/7/10 thin & transplant strawberry plants (nay)
• 5/7/10 tomato plants with wall-o-water jackets (yea)
• 4/27/10 Danish ball head cabbage seeds (nay)
• 4/27/10 purple cone flower seeds (nay)
• 4/21/10 more onion sets (yea)
• 4/21/10 more red/yellow potatoes (yea .. except voles ate quite a few!)
• 4/19/10 broccoli (yea)
• 4/19/10 carrots (yea)
• 4/19/10 chervil (yea)
• 4/19/10 Detroit dark beets (yea)
• 4/19/10 radish (yea)
• 4/19/10 tarragon (nay) .. last year's overwintered
• 4/19/10 red sails lettuce (yea) good lettuce choice
• 4/19/10 deer tongue lettuce (yea) did not care for this type
• 4/15/10 red & Yukon gold potatoes
• 4/15/10 red, white, yellow onion sets (yea)
• 4/12/10 sugar snap peas (yea)
• 4/12/10 planted three trees, 2 maples, 1 Japanese Lilac (yea)
• Oct '10 additional garlic
• garlic (planted Oct. '09) (nay)
• 3/12/10 oregano plants (yea)
• 3/14/10 French sorrel (yea)
• 3/14/10 - strawberry spinach (yea)
• asparagus (planted 2009) .. more time needed
• rhubarb (planted 2009) (yea .. out the ear;)
• 3/12/10 sun chokes (yea .. out the ears)
• 3/12/10 - horseradish (alive .. barely)