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!

Buy Organic Without Going Broke!

It can be done. I wasn't totally convinced until I discovered Earth Fare, a health food grocery store chain similar to Fresh Market or Whole Foods. What's so different about them? Coupons, coupons, coupons... and crazy good ones!

Before I continue, I need to say that this Earth Fare trip was made two weeks ago... before our official June 1st start date.... so our rules didn't totally apply at the time. However, even though some of what I bought wasn't a "basic" or something I couldn't get at a farmers market, it WAS organic and I got it for $0 dollars. In my book, free doesn't count! Hopefully, you agree!

Ok, so here's what I got for a grand total of $27 and some change and how I got it. You can do it too!

 1 whole chicken, 1 lb ground chuck, 2 boxes organic Mac n Cheese, 2 boxes Organic graham cracker sticks, 1 package prosciutto and ricotta tortellini, 1 box chicken tenders, 1 deli-made rustic mashed potatoes, 1 lb organic baby carrots, 1 bag organic baby spinach, 1 bag tortilla chips, 1 bag spinach artichoke tortilla chips, 2 bottles of herbal tea and 1 bottle of flavored vitamin water. All for $27 bucks!

I scoured the internet for coupons for organic products... most of them were from the links on this website. Most the one coupons I actually used, however, were right from the shelves at Earth Fare. Unlike most health food chains, they have TONS of coupons throughout their aisles in addition to their regular sales. Check out their Monthly Flyer for sale items, and look through their coupons which you can print at home or just pick up in the aisles of their store.

Here's where it really gets good... You can sign up to receive weekly freebies via email. Here's our first one:

And it gets even better! When you sign up with Earth Fare, you get a welcome coupon for a free meal! It includes a free chicken (or veggie burgers), mashed potatoes and carrots.

We got all this for FREE!! And it's actually good for you!

You have to use each of the Earth Fare deals in separate orders, so Eric went through with a $15 purchase and the beef, and I went through another $12 purchase and the free meal. You just have to make sure that your purchase is over $10 AFTER your other coupons. We could have done even better if Lucas hadn't demanded those dang chicken tenders ($7!).

If you can do better than $27 for all that, let me in on your secrets. I doubt it can be done for cheaper, even with non organic products!

Earth Fare has many other cool incentives to try them out, including their Boot Challenge where you check out the ingredients of two similar products. You choose which one to "give the boot" and if you chose to keep the healthier product, you get a coupon that allows you to trade in a less healthy product for the Earth Fare brand. This week, it's chocolate chip cookies. You can trade in any cookie with high fructose corn syrup in them and try out the Earth Fare cookies instead! Deal! 

Even if you can't make it to an Earth Fare, or another health food store, it's important for you to know that you can make healthier choices even in a WalMart! And when you buy organic or non-GMO products at stores like WalMart, Food Lion, etc, you are sending those stores a message about what products you want them to support.

Happy Shopping!

Here We Go!

We've officially started... so now the temptations kick in. The end of the year school chaos is distracting... our summer travels are starting... the reality of our rules sets in. Yikes! In spite of it all, I am as convinced as ever that this is going to be one of the best things we've ever done for ourselves.

I will be posting our monthly food bill totals so you can compare it to your grocery store bills, since one of my goals is to save money. I will also post about our two monthly grocery store trips for the basics so you can keep me in check! I'm only allowed two trips a month, I can only get the basics that I can't get at farmers markets, and I can only spent $25 each time. I'm also looking forward to posting more recipes and market reviews now that we are in full swing! 

Wish us luck!

Join the 10 Percent Campaign!

 I stumbled upon this website this weekend and it's so great! The 10 Percent Campaign is an initiative to grow the NC's local food economy by challenging people to spend 10% of their existing food dollars on locally grown foods.

Check it out and Sign up: The 10 Percent Campaign

Each week, you provide a little info about how much you spent on local food and where you got it. You can view your progress through the weeks, or see how you compare with other people in your area, in the country, or of the same household size.

This is pretty great. You should sign up!

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.

Happy Meatless Monday #5!

I've been lazy... or maybe just so busy that I'm too tired to deal with cooking. I'm positive I'm not alone in this. After proctoring a standardized exam all day (which is absolutely horrible), a restaurant was looking pretty good for dinner tonight. Going meatless is still totally important and doable, even when you go out! I had potato flautas at La Fuente, our favorite Mexican restaurant.

This is the perfect time to lay down our rules about restaurants. Especially because we only have 7 days until our official start date! We came up with a list of restaurants that are allowed. Here are the places and the reasons they made the list:

• Harvest Moon (Charlotte) - It's farm to fork!! Perfecto!
• Sprouts (Gastonia) - It's all organic and absolutely delicious! It's the one connected to the organic marketplace on New Hope Rd. They only do lunch though, so check the hours! 
• La Fuente Mexican Grille (Gastonia) - This is owned by one of my student's families... gotta support my kiddos! Plus it's totally unrealistic for us to not have a Mexican place on the list. 
• Las Palmas Columbian Bakery (Gastonia) - Too amazing to give up, but it's totally a mom and pop place which we love. 
• Mellow Mushroom (Charlotte or anywhere) - I worked at Mellow in Tampa FL for two years and I never once got sick of it. It was started by hippies and they use real, healthy food - not frozen stuff like many chains/franchises. I love it more than anything. When I was pregnant, I would wake up in the middle of the night and crave Mellow hummus. If you think this one doesn't fit, call it my guilty pleasure.
• Any restaurant we find that's farm to fork or organic is in! 
• All chains and franchises (besides Mellow Mushroom) are out! 
• When we have fewer choices and must eat out (like while traveling), we will opt for locally owned, mom and pop type places.

Do you know of any other places that should make our list? Any insights? Comment and let us know!

Mark my words...

I will never buy bread from the store again! Ever.

I went to the Lowell Farmers Market this afternoon because after last week, I wasn't about to miss that. The lady I bought bread from last week (Ladybug Farms) remembered me, which I love because no Food Lion cashier has ever done that. The sourdough I got last week was AMAZING, but I couldn't finish it all while Eric was in China so I made homemade breadcrumbs out of the rest once it got dry. This time I got a half loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and before I could even put it away, Lucas was asking for it.

Holy. Moly.

It is ridiculous how good this bread is. Seriously. I want to put candles in it on my birthday and just forget about the cake. True story.

I also got a pound of summer squash, a pound of asparagus and a pint of strawberries... all grown within 15 miles of my house. When I buy this stuff, I'm talking to the person who owns and works the farm. Love that. I tried a piece of chocolate pound cake (which was delicious) and the guy said it was baked this morning. Yes. This is the food I want to eat.

I am now and will forever be a Lowell Farmers Market devotee.

Cramerton Farmers Market Grand Opening Today 3:30-7:30pm!

All the info is on the Cramerton Farmers Market Facebook. They are going to have free samples from Georgio's restaurant, a variety of vendors including frozen homemade pastas! That's not easy to find! To celebrate opening day, there will be live music and a mascot for the kiddos.

See you there!

Dear Lowell Farmers Market,

How dare you be so fantastic and yet so tiny and unknown. With your hip musician playing the hits of the 90's and now, you feel more like a festival than a farmers market. And you should have seen my face when I found out about your "free samples"... and by "free samples" I mean a gourmet, regular-sized meal for zero dollars.

That conversation went like this:

Me: What are you doing over here? (This is the best I could do because I'm so socially awkward, but curious enough to force myself to say something.) 

Guy with tattoos and longish hair in a chefs jacket: Oh, just a little lettuce wrap with grilled steak and a strawberry, cherry and onion sauce, and a slice of grilled tomato basil bread with a smear of goat cheese. (This is not actually what he said. I just can't remember the fancy culinary terms... I was too preoccupied by how amazing it looked.)

Me: Oh ok. Yeah I want that. (And then I stood there waiting for him to give me the price.)

Chef Guy who is obviously creeped out by me at least a little bit: (After a good 30 seconds...) Um, you can take one, I have more coming out soon.

Me: How much is it?

Guy: Oh no charge.

Me: Wait, what?! WHY!?

Guy: Just doing some free samples today... Just buy something from one of these farmers out here. (All the ingredients were from the vendors.)

Me: Uuuhhh... ok.

Oh my dear Lowell Farmers Market, please accept my deepest apologies for how awkward I am. I don't do it on purpose and I'm not actually creepy. I just don't know how to talk to strangers. Anyways, I'm including photos in case you want to scrapbook about the beautiful day that we met. You are awesome and your vendors are so local, just the way I like them.

Be seeing you soon... (Thursdays at 4pm),
Angie, Your Newest Weekly Patron

Happy Meatless Monday #4!

Sorry for the hiatus! I tried to post on Thursday and Blogger was down. My student's show as Friday (Yay! So happy it's over!), then I left my charger at work and was without internet all weekend! I have lots to share about my trip to the Lowell Farmers Market and my patio garden... plus today is Meatless Monday! I've been so insanely busy I haven't made a serious trip to the farmers market this week, and our cupboards are pretty bare since we aren't buying processed foods anymore. Look's like we'll be eating our last box of mac n cheese tonight...

Happy Meatless Monday #3!

 No recipe tonight. I don't have a lot in the house at the moment and it was just Lucas and I for dinner so I decided to just throw something together with what I had. This is what I started with - a handful of green beans, 2 zucchinis and a package of homemade brown n serve garlic cheese biscuits - all from my farmer's market trip on Saturday.

 And here's what I ended up with - stuffed zucchini, green beans with feta and the biscuits.

First, I washed the zucchini, cut the ends off and cut them in half. Then I boiled them in an inch of water for about 7 minutes. Once they cooled a bit, I cut them in half lengthwise and scooped out the inside. I chopped up what I just scooped out and mixed it with a handful of breadcrumbs, a smaller handful of Parmesan cheese, one egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. No exact science, I just did a dash here and a pinch there based on the flavors I like. I piled the mixture into the zucchini shells, put a tiny dot of butter on each, and baked them at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Once that was in the oven, I snapped the ends off the beans and washed them. Then I sauted them in a little olive oil until tender. I let the green beans cool a bit then tossed in some feta from the farmers market last week. So yummy! I've been lucky lately with these "no recipe" cooking experiments. Crossing my fingers that the trend sticks...

What's On Your Plate?

I’m a documentary junkie, so it’s no surprise that I’ve put a ton of food docs in my Netflix list. Tonight Eric and I watched What’s on Your Plate? - a documentary following two 11-year-old girls for a year as they explore the politics of their food. They made a map showing where our food  comes from and how smog and pollution is a result of it being shipped (even though we grow lots and lots of stuff right here).  How funny that 11-year-olds could figure this out, but it passes by so many adults. The movie also addresses the issue of school lunch and the need (and really the right kids have) for real, healthy food in schools. This movie and its website would be a great way to inform your kids and get them on board if you are making these sorts of lifestyles changes.

Some great quotes from the film:

“I just don’t feel like good food should be a luxury.”

“We actually have more people in prison than we have farming.”

“Unhealthy food is never cheap. It costs when you have to pay a doctor and it costs when you have to pay for medicine.”

 

One more thing I learned: 

CSA Community Supported Agriculture – People in the community give the farmers money early in the season, and can count on fresh produce in return.You can look up your local CSA here.

Happy Mother's Day!

Flowers for you from my favorite part of our backyard! 

Only 21 days to go until our official start date! Our cupboards are starting to look empty as we clear out and use up the grocery store stuff. Soon they will fill back up with homemade canned goods because Eric got me a pressure cooker and a canning kit for Mother's Day! Can't wait to get started!

Farm to Fork Restaurant in Charlotte

This is super cool! Eric and I can't wait to check it out!

Harvest Moon Grille

Does anyone know of any other restaurants like this in the area?
What do you think our rules should be about eating out? Our official start date is getting close! We need to sort this stuff out! 

Dance Party Friday!

It's 2am Friday morning and I just finished a gigantic final portfolio for my graduate course. I'm posting this because I need it... and I might need it frequently through the next 8 days of chaos I have coming with a final presentation, 3 dress rehearsals and a recital!

The absolute most important movement in dance (and in life!):
Breathe...

Amateur Adventures in Gardening

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Sweet Basil and Cilantro! Wish me luck!

I hoping to can homemade pickles, marinara and maybe salsa? I have no idea how much I will actually get from these little plants.

Happy Meatless Monday!

Veggie Lettuce Wraps

We totally threw this together with what we had in the house. No recipe, so I was scared it would be disgusting. What a happy surprise when it turned out to be delicious! Even my friend Kerry, who admitted this wasn't really her kind of thing, thought it was really good!

Shredded Cabbage
Asparagus
Shitake Mushrooms
1 can water chestnuts
Bean Sprouts
Equal parts Soy Sauce, vegetarian Oyster Sauce, and Chinese Chile Sauce (a couple tbsps each... depends on how many veggies you throw in)
Handful crushed Peanuts
Lettuce leaves

Throw everything except the peanuts in a wok or large frying pan and stir fry until tender. I waited to add the mushrooms and bean sprouts until after the other veggies had a chance to cook a bit. Stir in peanuts at the last minute. Wrap in a lettuce leaf... we had Butter Leaf on hand and it was yummy.

Try out different veggies and play with the sauce to get the flavor you want. Maybe even make some extra for dipping. Happy Experimenting!

To Market, To Market: Atherton Mills and Charlotte Regional

Today we checked out Atherton Market and the Charlotte Regional Market. Having never been to the Atherton Market, we didn't know what to expect and we weren't prepared. This market has a TON of meat (beef, pork, chicken, lamb and even goat)! Along with cheese, pickles, salsa, baked goods, premade organic dinners, veggie plants and soap. Interestingly, there were not many fruits and veggies.

One of the questions I keep getting asked is "So are you giving up meat?" That answer is no, but we will be cutting down. First of all, Americans consume far more meat than is necessary for a complete and healthy diet. Eric would be a carnivore if I let him. The fact is, however, that he goes to work in a shirt and tie and sits in an air conditioned office... he's not a hunter and gatherer or a warrior who needs to take advantage of every opportunity for protein. Sorry Eric... If you change your career to warrior, I'll cook more meat. 

Because we felt like we needed a cooler to buy anything at Atherton, we headed over to Charlotte Regional and got the

Best Advice Ever: GO EARLY!

A woman in one of the local booths told us that the local farmers don’t have as much quantity as the resellers, so it’s super important to get there early. Eric and I had been going after lunch the past couple weeks and we were just assuming the booths were empty because the season isn’t in full swing yet. Lucas started swim lessons in Charlotte this morning, so we went to the market earlier than usual and HOLY MOLY! The craft barn was full (got great Mother’s Day gifts… will show later so as not to ruin the surprise!), the plant and flower barn was packed, all the bakers were out, and the last of the local produce people were still around. We plan on getting up early from now on and going before swim lessons to make sure we can hit up all the local booths. 

The barn is divided in half, with all the locals on one end and all the resellers on the other. As long as you see this you are in good shape:

 

But if you show up after noon, you won’t have much luck. Also, there was a man selling asparagus with no local food sign, however, Eric recognized the name of the farm, knew they grew asparagus and knew exactly where it was. No local farmer sign, but I’d say 20 miles is local! We’ve got big delicious plans for that asparagus… Will share the recipe and pictures when that goes down!

So here’s what we got:

 The only thing not local is the honeydew ($3.00)... Eric is currently obsessed with honeydew and there was no talking him out of it...

 1 lb of broccoli (Sunshine, NC) $3.75 - 1 lb asparagus from Carrigan Farms (Mooresville, NC) $4.00 - Head of Butter Leaf Lettuce and 1 Bag Mixed Greens (Sunshine, NC)  $5.00 - Tub of Feta Cheese from Daddy's Girl Dairy (Iredell County, NC) $8.00

 Loaf of Whole Wheat Sourdough from The Mushroom Man's wife (Charlotte) $4.00 - Bag of Shitake Mushrooms from The Mushroom Man (Charlotte) $4.00 - 2 baguettes from Nova Bakery (Charlotte) $2.35

 Lucas says "What's that? It's different!" =) I have the cutest child EVER.

Also got a 6-pack of Begonia's and a 6-pack some other gorgeous flower called Celosia for $2.50 each. They are already making my house pretty! 

All in all, a good trip. We've already been snacking on the most delicious Feta cheese we've ever had, smeared all over a Sea Salt baguette. Why in the world would you rather eat some nasty processed cheese crackers? Ew, never again. Dinner this week is going to include Beef and Broccoli, Chicken, Asparagus and Shitakes, Pressed Sourdough Sandwiches, and salads. Can't wait.