All of the farmer's market stuff is put away. After vending on Saturdays, it really is a job putting everything away until the next week. Love talking to the people and telling them about the vegies we have. Very surprised that in our area, which is an old farming area, that there are so many unfamiliar with what we consider everyday vegetables. Love talking to them and hopefully get them to try a new food.
Too rainy today to go into the garden. Need a break anyway. Have a lot of things I have to get started to get inventory of rugs, knitting, etc. ready for the holidays. At least, I need the time to think of what I want/must do.
And today, I feel like writing about how thrifty we can be and the value of making stock (cooks by itself if you are away and use a crock pot, cooks by itself with minimal oversight if you are at home and using the range). Nothing is cheaper and adds more flavor than stock. Chicken is the least expensive and since we all seem to eat a lot more chicken than beef these days (good for us.....it takes only 4 lbs. of feed to create 1 lb of chicken, while it takes 22 lbs of feed to create 1 lb of beef--not a good use of resources AND you can feed a lot of people with 22 lbs of grain---and by the way cattle are not evolutionarily equipped to deal with grain--that is our myth). Anyway, throw in a roasted chicken carcass (please buy your chickens whole) or a whole chicken and old carrots, celery, a halved onion (leave the skin on, lots of color comes from the onion skin), some pepper corns, minimal salt. Fill with cold water to cover the chicken/carcass and bring to a boil with lid on. Turn down until the surface is just bubbling and let it cook probably 4 - 5 hours. Strain all taking out the chicken and boning it. Put stock freezer containers (leave out a quart or so for immediate use. Will last 3 days in fridge) and chicken meat in freezer bags (good for any casserole, soup, pot pie, salad, etc) and thaw as needed. Nothing simpler. Not only do you now you have a base for soups, gravies, the list is endless, you also have chopped chicken meat to use). Keep a container in your freezer just for onion bits and peelings, garlic bits, old carrots, celery, etc, and you are always ready to make stock. I try to make stock at least once a month, more often if I can. Old cheese can be shredded and put in the freezer to be taken out and added to cheese sauces.
The name of the game is 'no waste'. Use those leftovers, recreate dishes, cook, cook, cook. We are in the midst of a slow food revolution since we all know what the fast food revolution did to us. If you have the capabilities, cook at home. If you don't have the capabilities, get them if possible. Cook for yourself, for your family, for everyone. And if you don't have the money for enough food, go get food stamps. That is what we pay taxes for and it is nothing to be embarrassed about.
What we should be embarrassed about are legislators in Washington who actually say that food stamps should be cut when, if anything, they need to be increased so all can afford decent food, not just starch! Somehow, our elected officials reasoning is because there are always a small percentage who 'play the system', that all hungry people should be punished. The fact that we have hungry people in this country should be our national shame and embarrassment. Hopefully the rest of the world is aghast at the way we treat hunger and why we have it. The fact that we have those going without medical care because they cannot afford it is tragic when we realize that we are the only industrialized country in the world which does not have universal health care. In other words, the only industrialized country in the world which doesn't give a damn. Hunger and poor or nonexistent medical care does not just effect poor people, it effects all of us. Hopefully, we are on the edge of health care reform for all, but there are many of our own elected officials who just don't get it so we need to get them out.
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