Moolie - Happy Thanksgiving :)

moolie

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ORChick said:
That sauce looks delicious! Are those local tomatoes? If so I am so jealous; my tomato plants are just now getting blossoms, and there won't be any ripe fruit until the end of July or sometime in August.
They are local, but hothouse. My tomatoes that I started from seed back in March won't have fruit till late August. We have a super short season here.
 

ORChick

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That's what I thought, about the short season. Oregon isn't the warmest part of the world, but I was wondering how Calgary could beat us :lol: Our season isn't so short, but it starts late. I think I lied about how soon we might get some tomatoes from the garden. The big ones will certainly take awhile, but the smaller ones, I hope, will be ripe somewhat earlier. I also have some Yellow Pears - have had, for years. They are my treat for doing the garden work ;). And lately, the last few years, I've been growing Riesentraube (I think I may have got the seeds from Baker Creek) They are a large cherry type - translated from the German name "Giant grape"; they grow on trusses, sort of like grapes.
 

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Lol, yeah--I'm sure our season isn't longer than Oregon, although we do get more sunny days and way less rain.

I hear you on the Yellow Pears as a gardening treat ;) I'll have to check out your Riesentraube next year--I don't think we can order seeds from the US but I found it easily through Heritage Harvest Seed from whom I've ordered in the past :)
 

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moolie said:
Lol, yeah--I'm sure our season isn't longer than Oregon, although we do get more sunny days and way less rain.

I hear you on the Yellow Pears as a gardening treat ;) I'll have to check out your Riesentraube next year--I don't think we can order seeds from the US but I found it easily through Heritage Harvest Seed from whom I've ordered in the past :)
Or I could send you some seeds, if you would like :)
 

moolie

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ORChick said:
moolie said:
Lol, yeah--I'm sure our season isn't longer than Oregon, although we do get more sunny days and way less rain.

I hear you on the Yellow Pears as a gardening treat ;) I'll have to check out your Riesentraube next year--I don't think we can order seeds from the US but I found it easily through Heritage Harvest Seed from whom I've ordered in the past :)
Or I could send you some seeds, if you would like :)
That would be super, if you don't mind! Anything I can offer in trade?
 

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moolie said:
ORChick said:
moolie said:
Lol, yeah--I'm sure our season isn't longer than Oregon, although we do get more sunny days and way less rain.

I hear you on the Yellow Pears as a gardening treat ;) I'll have to check out your Riesentraube next year--I don't think we can order seeds from the US but I found it easily through Heritage Harvest Seed from whom I've ordered in the past :)
Or I could send you some seeds, if you would like :)
That would be super, if you don't mind! Anything I can offer in trade?
Can't think of anything. I'll keep reading this thread, and maybe something will pop out at me :lol:

PM me your address, and I'll get them in the mail.
 

moolie

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Thanks--I will be on the lookout for them!

Saturday and most of Sunday were rain-free (quite hot on Saturday actually) so got tons done in the gardens over the weekend--everything is finally planted into the greenhouse, all the beds are weed-free for the moment, and I got the lawns mowed and trimmed. Back to rain yesterday afternoon and today and a bit cool today.

I'm thinking that since the "is it really that hard?" challenge has kind of fizzled, I'm going to continue logging my meal-planning efforts in this thread and let the other one die. If anyone wants to read how it started, the original thread by Denim Deb is here , and my challenge journal is here.
 

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So, the continuation of my "is it really that hard?" challenge:

I'm going to be less conscious about the $35/person/week limit going forward (since I think we've proven that it can be done fairly easily by a family of 4) and I'll just post what we are actually eating. Hopefully it will inspire or give someone some meal ideas for when they get in a cooking rut (I know I'm constantly inspired when I read recipes on this forum)--so here is this week's meal plan:

mealplan-week5.jpg


The meal plan is printed out and taped to a kitchen cupboard, and we're finding that it helps the kids decide what to eat for breakfast and is also streamlining our mornings because they don't need to ask me a million questions about what to take to school for lunch--so charting it in a word document has been super for our family. I'm keeping the pages in my recipe binder and we will start to recycle the plans after a while.

As I mentioned in the other thread, our weekday breakfasts are eat what you want from the weekday choices plus any pancakes/waffles that landed in the freezer from the weekend, but our lunches/snacks/dinners pretty much follow the plan.

Weekday snacks are packed with school lunches, the kids eat their snack items at break and with their lunch. Muffin can refer to actual muffins or loaf cake like banana or applesauce loaf etc. The kids also usually have another piece of fruit or some toast with pb&j or a grilled cheese sandwich after school. Hubs and I don't eat as much in the way of snacks as the kids do, usually just a piece of fruit and yogurt or a muffin & cheese.

DD16 is done with her high school exams and is off for the summer (currently on the hunt for a summer job) and DD15 in Jr. High isn't off till the end of June.
 

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Zanzibar Chicken

1 onion, chopped
olive oil or bacon fat
chicken, cut in strips
garlic
1 t ginger
1 t cumin
1/2 t turmeric
1 t curry
salt & pepper to taste
1 can coconut milk
1 small can tomato paste
1 T lemon juice


Saut onions in oil/fat, add chicken and spices and brown chicken, pour in coconut milk and tomato paste, bake half an hour.

Serve over Jasmine rice and garnish with cilantro if desired.
 

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Meat Sauce for Pasta

1 onion
celery
garlic
1 lb raw or 1 pint canned ground beef/bison/turkey/chicken
1 quart canned tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated or chopped zucchini
2 cups frozen cubed squash, mashed
1 tbsp minced onion or half an onion, chopped
Italian seasoning, salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp honey
splash of red wine

Saut onion with celery & garlic, brown meat, add rest of ingredients, simmer till hot, serve over pasta--I don't measure, I just know what size handful feeds my family. I usually double this recipe and put a second casserole dish in the fridge or freezer for a future meal. Can top with shredded cheese and bake in the oven till golden.
 
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