The Long Hungry Creek Current 11/26/07
The off-season...
The first few years I participated in the CSA, December would come and I would find myself in a quandary. My palate had gotten used to really fresh, well-grown foods, so what do I do in the off-season?
There was little choice in the matter- I started shopping for my produce in grocery stores again. I found the experience depressing and disappointing. The food didn’t taste as good, and I had no idea what kind of life these foods had lived, or what kind of philosophy was employed in the cultivation of these foods. Scarier still, what chemicals were used, in what quantities, and what are the effects from consuming this produce?
For the next season, I vowed to start learning about and exploring various food storage methods. I canned and froze several foods as an experiment. Very quickly you learn what you do and don’t like about these methods. Then I learned to ferment, which if you like the flavors associated with fermented foods, is a great partial solution. This season I also purchased a dehydrator to complete my toolbox for long-term food storage.
Each method I mentioned has both simple and complex procedures, not to mention specific recipes and uses. I find that I use a combination of freezing, drying, and fermenting depending on the food and the intended end result. Each year I take another step, and each year requires less reliance on grocery stores. The newest word designed to describe people who strive to eat local is ‘locavore’, which won word of the year (2007) in the Oxford American Dictionary. I also like the term ‘real foodist’, which has a different connotation, dealing with as little processing as possible, and often raw.
I also discovered that there are a few winter CSAs in the area, most of which use greenhouses to beat the winter cold. If you have any tips for the off-season, I would love to share them with everyone before we reach the end of the season. Maybe, armed with knowledge, planning, and a disdain for commercial produce, next year will bring more preservation, and less reliance on the industrial farming complex.
--Alan
We were thinking about having one more potluck. We will find an open Saturday before Christmas and keep you informed.
We could still use grocery bags for greens! Please bring us your extras.
Here are a few links that may interest you:
Are you up for the ‘eat local challenge’? http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/
Real Food, The Book- http://www.ninaplanck.com/index.php?page=real_food_book
Local foods report (new), audio & transcript from ‘The News Hour with Jim Lehrer’-http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec07/localfood_11-22.html
The Harvest
Lettuce, (Some combination of greens), Chinese Cabbages, Peppers, Turnips, Radishes, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Parsley
Kale-Cabbage Sauté
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons minced, peeled fresh ginger
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon chopped, seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
5 cups chopped kale
2 cups pre-sliced green cabbage
2 tablespoons water
Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds; cook one minute. Add ginger; cook one minute, stirring frequently. Add onion; cook five minutes. Stir in jalapeno and the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until kale is tender; stir occasionally.
From: http://fall-recipes.suite101.com
Source: “Cooking Light” August 2000.
Tempered Cabbage with Coconut
(Cabbage Upkari)
Style: South Indian Vegetarian (Konkani)
1 medium green cabbage finely chopped / shredded
1 teaspoon(s) mustard seeds
4 green chilies slit
2 tablespoon(s) oil (ideally coconut oil)
2 tablespoon(s) grated coconut
2 teaspoon(s) lemon juice (optional)
salt to taste
1. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium level till hot and crackle the mustard seeds. Drop in the slit green chilies and fry lightly. Add the shredded cabbage and mix in the salt. Cover and cook on low level for about 12 minute(s) or till the cabbage is cooked but green yet.
2. Mix in the grated coconut. Garnish with lemon juice (optional).
From: http://www.syvum.com/
Cabbage Miso Soup With Dumplings
Ingredients
2 cup Shredded cabbage
1 cup Sweet rice flour
Oil for sauteeing
1/4 cup miso
1 qt Stock or water
1/4 cup boiling water
Preparation-
Place flour in a bowl, add boiling water and blend. Knead for 5 min. Mold dumplings into any form you wish (about 1/2" thick). Set aside.
Saute the cabbage. Add enough stock to cover it and bring to a boil. Cover pot and simmer till cabbage is tender. Add remainder of stock, bring soup to boil and drop dumplings into the soup. When dumplings rise to the surface they are cooked. Reduce flame. Place miso in bowl, add 1/4 cup broth and puree. Add puree to soup and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Garnish with parsley.
From: http://www.ecuisine.org/, by Aveline Tomoko Kushi
*Put your basket in your car!
