Independence Days Update

We participate in Sharon Astyk’s Independence Days Challenge.   This is our weekly update.

Plant Something—salad greens, kale, peas

Harvest Something— cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, red okra, green okra, green beans, green onions, red onions, yellow onions, white onions, butternut squash, slicing tomatoes, shelling beans, passion fruit, various herbs, and pears from a friend.   Flowers, herbs, bamboo, and berries from the gardens for flower arrangements. 

Preserve Something—I froze soup and chicken stock and dehydrated pears.  Added butternut squash and onions to coldest part of the house for longer term storage.  Saved Jacob’s cattle seeds.  Made elderberry syrup.

Prep and Storage—Added ginger tea, Emergen-C, vitamins, and toothpaste to storage.  Sorted pantry.  Because of an otherwise busy week, we didn’t make much more progress in this area.

Reduce Waste—We continue to do our other energy saving measures and recycle, compost, and use a rain barrel.   We had a fundraiser at our church this week.  I used the leftovers from the buffet that I had brought for meals and snacks.  We preserved the flower arrangements I had made for Sunday’s service.   Passed magazines and a book on to a friend.  Donated a few more items to the church rummage sale.   I’m preparing the meals for the children each Wednesday night at church, and I brought real plates to use instead of disposables.  We’ll be requesting hand-me-down plates and bowls for the kids program’s ongoing usage.  Read the book Cooking Green, and I’ll be posting some of the energy saving ideas to the blog in hopes that others will read the book and try the tips.  A friend passed some hand-me-down shoes on to our daughter. 

Building Community Food Systems—We continue to purchase a weekly CSA basket. I made up some boxes at the church food pantry for easy distribution this week.  I shared a gallon of sliced bell peppers with a friend.   Shared some pears that a friend gave me with two other women who will preserve them.  Gave our neighbor another butternut squash.  I’m the speaker for the local Weston A Price Foundation meeting in two weeks.  I’ll be talking about canning, and I have been planning for that.  Our church will be holding another tamale making day, and I’m working with others to gather supplies.  Donated a few toiletries to a program for at risk youth (I know that isn’t food, but it most closely fits into this category). 

Eating the Food—For a fundraiser at our church last week, I made my herbed cream cheese spread and a crudités platter among other recipes.  I substituted blanched green beans, cherry tomatoes, and squashes from the garden as a way of eating local.  We enjoyed a delicious local meal Sunday night, noteworthy mainly because it was the return of salad greens with the weather cooling.  We had fresh salad and baked potatoes with homemade salsa.