Turkey

I picked up my first turkey of the season from Sunny Hill Farm on Sunday along with sweet potatoes, cheese, honey, butternut squash and a few other things.  I am mourning the end of the season with very little opportunity, because of our kitchen remodel, to preserve food for the winter.  I did manage applesauce and a batch of of salsa along with freezing some of the extras that we received.  Sometimes you just have to rely on the grocery store.  Thankfully, some of the farm markets are open into the winter.  You just have to know where to go!

My second turkey, a heritage breed, I purchased from Rumbleway tonight.  While not quite as big as my 25lb bird from Sunny Hill it did come in at 19 lbs.  Not bad at all.  This turkey will grace our Thanksgiving table on Thursday.  I love that it will not only provide for the meal at hand but plenty of additional meat, a large batch of stock and of course a wish bone for the kids.

I try to keep my Thanksgiving choices as local as possible.  It seems appropriate to honor and value those people in our community that sustain us.  However, I also deeply appreciate a meal prepared by and enjoyed by all the guests attending and feel it is inappropriate to set restrictions on what each individual offers to bring.   So for the most part, I will be setting out local Harford County fare and will anticipate with mouth watering suspense the delicious things my guests have prepared. 

Wishing all a wonderful, thankful day on Thursday.

World Ark - "What a Waste"

World Arc a magazine published by Heifer International included information in their 'Facts and Figures' section of the Holiday 2011 issue regarding the amount of food we waste.  It was truly amazing.  You can view the magazine through this link http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/heifer/worldark_2011holiday/

I think purchasing our food locally and paying a more realistic price for our food has definitely made my family appreciate what we eat a bit more.  It did pain me today to throw out a substantial amount of soup that I made and then left on the stove, forgotten, as the day progressed.  But throwing out wasted food is not the norm in our house.  We try to put the right amount of food on our children's plates.  But still that is probably our biggest area of waste.  EPA estimates that in the US 40% of food gets thrown away and that worldwide 1/3 of the food produced is never eaten.  These figures truly amaze me in light of the fact that hunger and starvation exist.  We are certainly doing SOMETHING wrong. I only wish enough people knew the answer to fixing it that it might actually happen.

Know Your Honey

This is a long article but worth reading regarding honey, it's origins and why you should care.  http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/  You can solve the issue of tainted and illegal honey but shopping at local apiaries and farmer's markets.  I can think of 5 places here in Harford County that sell local honey, it is not hard to come by.  

We when made bigger efforts to buy local food two years ago now we began eating a lot more honey.  There are issues surrounding many foods that we consume but sugar, like coffee, tea, and cocoa, has not only the normal food concerns but also issues of fair trade.  Honey was a switch we could make to reduce the amount of sugar we were importing.  But as you can see, it is only a good switch if you are purchasing it from an apiary you know.

Cooking Pumpkin and Quinoa

Using fresh pumpkin is easy and you can preserve some for later if you cook up too much.  My simple method is to preheat the oven to 350.  Wash your pumpkin, leave it whole.  Use a sharp knife to poke several holes in your pumpkin to allow steam to escape.  Place your pumpkin on a pan with sides all around (a roasting pan works well) and place in the oven.  Cook for at least 1 hour.  It is done when the skin gives to the touch and starts to wrinkle.  You'll have to use your judgement.  Remove and let cool.  The whole thing may slump in on itself and that is ok.

When you are ready, peel off the skin, it should just fall away from the flesh.  scoop out the seeds and then puree the flesh in a food processor.  I like to freeze in 1 c. increments for later.  Here is a great high nutrition dish you can make with your fresh pumpkin: pumpkin quinoa.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

4 c. water, bring to a boil
Add 2 c. oatmeal, 1 t pumpkin pie spice, 1/4-1/2 c. pumpkin puree and 1/4 c. maple syrup. - cook 5 min
Meanwhile - heat a cast iron skillet on low heat.  Add 2 T butter, 1 t salt and 1 c. pecans - roast 'til fragrant - remove, chop and add desired amount to pumpkin oatmeal.

Enjoy!  We like adding raisins, too!