Food Storage Inventory as of June 26, 2011

Frozen

Vegetables:

6 Gallon Bags Broccoli

30 Pint Bags Frozen Spinach

Blueberries:

1 Gallon bag

Cranberries:

1/2 Gallon Bags

Zucchini:

54 Pints Shredded

Meats:

1 Quart Pork Fat Back

1 Quart Suet

10 Chicken Breasts

10 Chicken Thighs

10 Chicken Drum Sticks

10 Chicken Wings

3 Half Chickens

4 Chicken Stock bags

Pesto:

7 muffin cups

Pantry

Jams/Fruit:

4 Half-pints Blueberry Jam

2 Pints Apple Jelly

2 Quarts Apple Pie Filling

3 Pints Peach Jam

1 Pint Peach Applesauce

3 Half Pints Apple Butter

5 Half Pints Orange Marmalade

3 Half Pints Strawberry Jam

4 Half Pints Strawberry Preserves

Pickles:

4 Pints Radishes

3 Pints Red Cabbage

12 Pints Cauliflower and Carrots

45 Pints Bread and Butter Pickles

48 Pints Dilly Beans

Sauces:

2 Pints Barbecue Sauce

2 Pints Sweet and Sour Sauce

3 Half-pints Chutney

BEST EVER Bacon and Tomato Sandwich

I just have to gush about the most AMAZING sandwich we had the other night. I can see that a bacon and tomato sandwich may not sound that exciting to most people, but if that's the case, they can't possibly have eaten a bacon and tomato sandwich at the Hesser House. This one was made on Scott's multigrain bread that was still warm and smeared with our homemade mayonnaise. We were lucky to find some thick cut maple-cooked bacon from On the Edge Farm in Woodstock, VT who sources most of our meats. I don't like to play favorites among my farmer friends, but I was quite smitten with the organic tomatoes from Long Wind Farm in Thetford, VT. They specialize in tomatoes and sell their products at the Coop Food Stores. This sandwich was perfect beside the tomato soup we are still making from the juice we canned over the summer. Only 18 days until the start of the outdoor markets. Here's to a healthy growing season!

Meal Plan: April 10-16

There were Swiss Chard, duck eggs and some end of the barrel storage onions at the Norwich Farmers Market this Saturday. We have been so fortunate to have the monthly winter markets.....and the outdoor weekly market reopens in 27 days!!!!! Not that I am excited or anything. We are looking forward to seeing all the farmer friends we made last summer and to visiting more frequently with those that kept us sustained over the winter.

Sunday:

Shrimp stir fry with broccoli, onions and rice

Monday:

Slow Cooker Baked Beans with corn bread and canned apples

Tuesday:

Pasta and marinara sauce

Wednesday:

Tomato Soup and Cheese Sandwiches

Thursday:

Chili with rice

Friday:

Eggs in a Nest with sweetened rice

Saturday:

Pizza

Food Storage Inventory

I just went through and took stock of what is left now that new greens are just beginning to appear at the Farmers Market. Not bad at all! However, if anyone has any inventive recipes for cranberries and barbecue sauce, please send them my way!

Basement Freezer

Beans:

1 Pint Black Beans

Broccoli:

1 Gallon Bag

Cranberries:

1.5 Gallon Bags

Corn:

1 Gallon

Meats:

1 Quart Pork Fat Back

1 Quart Suet

1 Soup Carcass

Pesto:

11 muffin cups

Stocks:

12 1/3 C portions of Adzuki Stock

Zucchini:

7 Pints of shredded

Pantry

Dried Fruit:

1 Pint Dried Blueberries

Jams:

1 Pints Apple Jely

1 Half-pint Strawberry Jam

6 Half-pints Blueberry Jam

3 Pints Peach Jam

1 Pint Peach Applesauce

3 Half Pints Apple Butter

2 Quarts Apple Sauce

6 Half Pints Orange Marmalade

Fruit:

5 Quarts Apple Pie Filling

Pickles:

1 Pint Corn Relish

Sauces:

4 Quarts 2 Pints Marinara Sauce

5 Pints Barbecue Sauce

2 Pints Sweet and Sour Sauce

5 Half-pints Chutney

1 Quart Peach Syrup

Tomatoes:

4 Quarts Tomato Juice

Jam Turnovers!

I simply MUST make this recipe from Inn Cuisine with some of my jams that are leftover from last summer (and Scott's amazing pie crust, of course!)

This blog is such a great find. I can't wait to dig into it later.

Shrimp and Tomato Bisque

1 lb Shrimp, cleaned, de-veined, chopped

1 Quart Tomato Juice (we used our own)

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 slices best quality bread

2 cups seafood stock

2 T EVOO

salt and pepper

Optional: sour cream, scallions, hot pepper sauce

Heat olive oil in large sauce pot. Add onions. When translucent add garlic and carrots. Add small amounts of stock as needed. Season with salt and pepper. When carrots are fork tender, add tomato juice and bring to boil. Add bread. When mixture returns to boil and bread is breaking apart, remove from heat. Liquify with an immersion blender or transfer to blender in two batches. Return mixture to pot. Add stock. When combine and returned to slow boil, add shrimp. Serve hot garnished with a small dollop of sour cream, chopped scallions and hot pepper sauce if desired.

Salsa Verde (for the hot pepper intolerant)

So, I am ready to admit that I have BAD reactions to most hot peppers. I have temporarily lost my eyesight, but most often get swollen lips and burning fingers. It's just not worth it. I have played around with different salsas and think I have finally found something that I love.

Ingredients:

7-8 Tomatillos, husks removed, washed well, sliced in half across the equator

1 small-medium onion, cut into thick slices

2 Cloves garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Lay a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Spread tomatillos, cut side down, on foil along with the onion slices and the whole cloves of garlic. Broil for about minutes or until vegetables are just browned.

Transfer all vegetables along with juices into food processor. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pulse several times until you get the consistency that you want. Serve with tortilla chips or pour over enchiladas. I am guessing this will can well.

Blueberry picking... and picking and picking

We added 9 half pints of blueberry jam to our pantry today with more to come. I used the low-sugar recipe from PickYourOwn.org and it is INCREDIBLE. You just can't go wrong with their instructions. We spent the latter half of the morning at the Darling Farm in Canaan, VT. The Darlings have been in their home and blueberry farm for 14 years and raise 15 varieties of blueberries and produce their own maple syrup. I had no idea there were some many different kinds of blueberries! Mrs. Darling encouraged us to "mix it up" when picking for for pies, jams and freezing because a hodgepodge of Patriots, Blue Jays, Spartans and the like would enhance the overall flavor. But, she cautioned, only pick Northlands for muffins or scones. They are smaller and will hold baked goods together better.

We arrived with each of us outfitted with our own yogurt container necklace ready to fill them up. Mrs. Darling smiled and handed us 2-quart cans with strong plastic twine. I am sure she could tell that we have mostly been "recreational" harvesters up until now. Well if that were the case, the Darling Farm is a professionally maintained playing field. There were rows and rows of bushes perfectly spaced and the berries were SO abundant. In two hours we picked over 11 pints of berries, half the amount we ultimately want for eating, canning, freezing and baking between now and next season. They're falling fast so we plan to head out again tomorrow.

One thought on harvest-outings. I have realized that fruit-picking should be approached much like a trip to one of the north side beaches on the Cape: pack your lunch the night before and head out as soon as you wake up. It's not as much fun to be out there in the hot sun as you think and you will probably need a nap and definitely a shower when you get back.

August Lunch Menu

For a visit with family in our new Upper Valley home we had a feast of local vegetables and homemade treats:

Oven Fried Chicken

Corn on the Cob

Broiled Zucchini and Onions with fresh tomatoes and balsamic vinegar

Coleslaw

Our homemade Bread and Butter and New Pickles

Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Making Pickles

This summer we have been working on pickles. We started with an experimental 6 pints of dilly beans using a basic dill recipe plus red pepper flakes for kick. Once we got going we made and put by 24 pints of sweet bread and butter pickles using a recipe from simplyrecipes.com.

We put by 19 quarts of dill pickles using this recipe from allrecipes.com.

We also made a few quarts "new pickles" or "half sours" by using the dill recipe, doubling the garlic and leaving out the dill. I did not can these, but put them directly into the refrigerator and started eating them after 8 hours. I have made them in advance for lunch guests.

We bought a bushel and a half of cucumbers and about half a peck of green beans in addition to onions, garlic and dill at our local farm stands and will be looking forward to crunch (I hope!) cukes through the winter!

Meal Plan: January 2-10

Saturday (1/2):

Broiled Cod with Roasted potatoes and broccoli

Sunday (1/3):

Pizza

Monday:

Sauce

Tuesday:

Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans with Rice and greens

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Creamy Corn and Spinach Enchilada Casserole

Thursday: Stir-fried noodles with eggplant and cilantro, EF Jan/Feb 2010 p. 90

Friday: Joan and Cliff... Make a dessert

Saturday: Roast Chicken

Sunday:

Pizza

Cranberry Farms

Cranberry Hill in Plymouth

I plan to buy 10 lbs+ for canning and freezing

This was a wonderful experience! Christine and her husband run the operation out of their garage. She couldn't have been nicer! You have to call ahead and she takes cash and check. She told us that this was a low-yield season, but what they harvested were very high quality. Cranberry Hill is an organic cranberry farm. They flood the bog in April and May to wash out eggs of cranberry fruit worms. In growing and harvesting season they use bug lights to deter predators.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Fig Chutney Recipe

Thanksgiving Cranberry Fig Chutney

1 lb fresh cranberries

1 pint fresh or dried figs

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

Combine all ingredients in medium stock pot. Bring to boil and crush with back of a spoon until jelly forms and most of cranberries have burst. Can, serve hot, or chill

Apple Recipes

Apple Butter

Apple Turnovers