Throwing Dinner Together...

This is the same frustrating conversation between my husband and I every afternoon: 

Me - "What do you want for dinner?"

Keith - "I don't care."

Me - "Really?"

Keith - "It's whatever you say." 

Me - "How about __________?" 

Keith - *sighs* "K" 

Really? Thanks for the help. 

And this is where I found myself yesterday at the end of my work day... contemplating for the billionth time what the heck I was going to cook for dinner. It had to be healthy and low-carb due to the current dieting situation. I started out by checking to see what I could do in the way of local food. No farmers markets today.... No road-side stands on my hour drive home... So here's what I figured out.... 

All produce coming from a farm in North Carolina has a green and yellow label that says "Got to be NC products." Food Lion, which I pass on my way home, claims to partner with local farms. Also, I checked which fruits and vegetables are currently in season in NC at http://www.ncagr.gov/markets/availabilitychart.pdf. Now I was ready to hit the grocery store and do the best I could to eat local in the middle of April at the end of an exceptionally cold winter (meaning the seasons will all be delayed). 

April in NC offers leafy greens, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Strawberries are supposed to be on their way, but the cold has held them off for a little longer. Unfortunately, the only thing I could find with an NC label on it was sweet potatoes... I had to settle for "Grown in the USA" broccoli, but because it is in season, maybe there's a better chance it's from somewhere close. One can only hope at this point. The lesson: Hit the farmers market when it's open and plan from there. You can't rely on grocery chains. Ever. 

I scoured the internet for recipes and this is what I came up with based on those veggies and the contents of my pantry/freezer:

Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges

Steamed Broccoli

Pan-Seared Ribeye

Does anyone have any seasonal April recipes to share?

*Angie*

Peaches and Blueberries!

Eric, Lucas and I went and picked our own peaches and blueberries at Bush N Vine Farm in York, SC last weekend. Lucas was a surprisingly good helper. We told him just to get the big blue berries and he actually did! At one point I turned around to tell him to stop throwing blueberries out of our bucket, but he was actually getting rid of some reddish ones Eric had picked too soon.

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and we took home a half gallon of blueberries and a half bushel of peaches for just $18!  To put that into perspective, the blueberries were $7 a half gallon, while their pre-picked berries were $16 a half gallon. Big difference! I never liked blueberries because I thought the skin was too tough and tasted gross.... then I had one of these. What a difference it makes when they haven't been shipped and sitting in a grocery store!

Besides snacking on some and sharing some with friends and neighbors, we canned the peaches and made a quart of blueberry syrup.  We gave away quite a few peaches, but we were still able to can 10 pints and 2 quarts.  Both making the syrup and canning the peaches were surprisingly easy!  I got my blueberry syrup recipe from SimpleBites.com. It turned out every bit as delicious as the article promises, and it keeps in the fridge for up to 6 months.

Do you have yummy recipes for canned peaches? Please share! Now that we have so much, I'm going to need the help!

{Snack Time!} Roasted Kale Chips

Snacks are one of the biggest adjustments we are making right now. I realize now how dependent upon processed snack foods we are/were... especially when it comes to Lucas. I'm not fooling myself... I'm going to have to continue to buy grocery store snacks for the kiddo. Even if I learned how to make homemade goldfish, cheese crackers, and ritz bits, there is no way I could keep up with his snacking without quitting my job and becoming a full-time baker. Not going to happen. But I have switched to organic crackers and snacks when I do have to buy them, and GASP! I expect Lucas to eat more fruits and veggies than he has been. The goal is to find homemade, do-able snack recipes that he (and Eric) will actually eat.

I think I found one today...


Roasted Kale Chips (from the blog, Family Fresh Cooking)

(Photos from FamilyFreshCooking.com)

I made two batches... one seasoned with Garlic Powder and one with Bacon Salt. This is my absolute first experience with kale, and after one taste test I realized that I could totally eat these chips with nothing on them. After just five minutes in the oven, I was shocked at how amazing it smelled in my kitchen. It was overwhelmingly delicious. 

My only note for this recipes is that it took longer than the 10-15 minutes indicated. Just keep an eye on them and cook until crunchy. If they don't cook all the way, they just end up kinda chewy. Delicious... but chewy. 

This make a salty snack you don't have to feel bad about. Can't wait to serve them with cheeseburgers! 

Happy Snacking!

I've been doing my research...

We've only got 5 days to go and I'm starting to get nervous. One problem we've already run into is that there is plenty of produce in the house... but not enough planning to make an actual meal out of it. I'm so used to planning my meals for the week, making a shopping list, then buying what I need. By relying on what's in season, and what the farmers actually have, I'm going to need to reverse that habit. I've just been buying what I can find at the market, then coming home and having no idea what to make for dinner... especially since we've been clearing out the processed junk we already had and are not replacing it.

Here's the new plan:
Know what's in season.
Keep my pantry stocked with the basics I need to make meals out of my market purchases. 
Buy what I can find at the market.
Plan my menu last, based on what I've got!

AND I'm going to have to go to the farmers markets more than once a week. For me, this is an adjustment, though not a huge one. I know people who grocery shop once for an entire month! I'm going to assume those folks are eating tons of processed foods. Yikes.

Life will get easier (and lighter hopefully!) when I adjust to snacking on fresh stuff instead of what I have always considered "snacks." And when "dessert" starts meaning fruit! 

So here's what I've been reading and researching... Some of this stuff is specific to North Carolina, but for some of them you can find your state elsewhere on that website.

List of NC produce by harvest month

NC Harvest Chart

Non-GMO printable shopping guide and mobile phone app

Seasonal Recipes by Month

Happy Reading! I've got a date with the Lowell Farmers Market... <3 I need some Ladybug Farms bread and I'm on a mission to try cooking with turnips.