2012 Local Eating Goals

Now that (I hate to say it) we've passed the middle point of summer, I am thinking about and preparing for Fall. This year, more than ever, I am trying to live in the moment and truly enjoy each day and revel in the season- the sweltering hot days, the strangely-cool days, and everything in between. 

However, part of appreciating these summer days is putting up some of my favorite fruits and vegetables for later on the in the year, and planting in preparation for fall. Every year I have a sort of mental list of Homestead-y things I'd like to accomplish- things to grow, things to can, things to freeze, things to dry and store through winter. I'm proud to say that this year, I have actually done some significant fall planting, and I've also done a pretty fair job at "putting up" or canning/preserving/storing & locally sourcing a good deal of the things that were on said mental list! 

I will say that I've give myself some exceptions- this list applies most to food that is eaten in my home. While eating out and about, I do try to have a strong focus on local food, supporting local businesses, and avoiding questionable meat (essentially, it's questionable unless I know where it's sourced from). BUT it's hard to find places to eat that meet all of my strict qualifications! So while I am an intentional eater at restaurants, I am my best locavore self at home, where I can better control what comes into my home, where it comes from, and what I spend our $$$ on.

As I have moved towards eating more and more locally, there is a natural shift towards eating things in the season they grow in. For example, when I say that I eat only local potatoes all year long, it is because I plant potatoes in the spring, I harvest them in the summer, and store them to eat throughout summer, fall, and into winter. Then I stop eating potatoes until I can find them locally again in the spring, or grow them myself once again!

With all that stuff in mind, here's an attempt at a typed version of my 2012 Local Eating Goals.

Happy Home 2012 Local Eating Goals
* crossed off= already preserved or ready to store

Veggies to store/source locally for the entire year-
(successfully achieved this part of the list last year!)
Onions
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Acorn Squash
Carrots
Garlic (50 heads)

Other food products to source locally for the entire year-
Wheat
Bread
Bagels
Butter 
Milk 
Eggs
Meat products

Herbs to dry & store/grow indoors for the entire year-
Cilantro/Coriander
Basil
Thyme
Rosemary
Oregano
Sage

Locally grown veggies & fruits to Can-
6 pints Pickles
5 pints Tomato Sauce 
10 pints and 12 half-pints Corn
10 pints Green beans
25 half-pints Peaches
15 half-pints Pears
6 pints Apricots
3 pints Cranberry Sauce
15 half-pints Applesauce
3 pints Blueberry jam

Locally grown veggies & fruits to Freeze-
5 quarts Blueberries 
1 quart Cherries 
1 quart Raspberries
2 quarts Strawberries 
3 quarts Corn

Locally grown fruits to Dehydrate-
2 bags dried cranberries

If you'd like to set some local eating goals for yourself, I have a few tips:

• Set some perimeters for yourself- be realistic about what you think you can do
• Have strategies in mind- Where will you shop/how will you grow things to meet your goals?
• Think it out- If you want to can 60 pints of tomatoes, when will that actually happen and do you truly have the time & resources to do that?
• Pat yourself on the back, even if you don't accomplish everything you set out to! You're still making progress, and you'll have a better idea of how you can improve in future years.

What do you try to eat locally year round? 

Are there things that you think are more important to source locally than others?

Preserving Fruit- Freezing Strawberries

Didn't make it out to pick your own strawberries like you hoped to this June? That doesn't have to stop you from freezing some strawberries for future use in those cold, berry-less months! Pies, smoothies... mmm.

I too meant to get out and pick a whole bunch of strawberries- I had glorious canning plans in mind for Strawberry Basil jam and some other amazing goodies, but alas, my schedule just did not permit a picking trip!

Luckily when I was in Columbus this weekend visiting the fam, I was able to stop by a farm stand and purchase 4 quarts of strawberries grown in Circleville, Ohio.

Because they're a few days old, I decided to freeze these berries, rather than canning them- I was worried I'd run out of time again and end up with gross rotted berries, which is definitely not an effective preservation method in my book.

If you've never frozen fruit at home, it's a breeze! All you need is strawberries, a flat freezable surface (lid, glass baking jar, etc.), a paring knife, and some plastic bags for storage.

Simple steps to freezing Strawberries:

1) Rinse berries well, esp. if commercially-grown
2) Using a small paring knife, cut tops off of berries. Set aside overly-brusied or rotten berries. Cut larger berries into halves or quarters
3) Spread cut berries onto a flat surface, and freeze for 30 minutes per tray
4) Once initial freezing is complete, pour berries into a freezer bag
5) Lay freezer bag flat and spread out berries evenly in bag. Set bag flat in the freezer to fully freeze
6) Once frozen, you can stack multiple bags of berries, or arrange any way you like in the freezer

Not too tough, huh? :)

Now you've preserved a sweet taste of summer!

Tomato Sauce

So last week(ish) I solicited your tomato sauce advice and expertise, and you gave it. Thanks especially to Jen B. and Di, who sent me their family recipes! I ended up combining several recipes, because it's hard for me to actually follow directions :)

I will be unveiling pictures soon! I ended up with 10 quarts of tomato sauce- woo hoo!! ....

Here's my preserving count so far:

18 pints and 1 quart of canned Peaches
10  4 quarts of Tomato Sauce
5 quarts and 1 pint of Chili (frozen)
9 half-pints of corn (frozen)
1 half pint of blueberry jam
7 pints of pickles

My goals for the next month are:

12 pints of baked apples/apple slices
10 pints of applesauce
4 pints of apple butter
4 pints pumpkin pie filling (frozen)
5 quarts butternut squash soup (frozen)

Also on the Homestead front, I've got 30 heads of lettuce ready to plant outside for the fall and 20 more heads started that are incubating inside. I also started a few dill plants and basil plants inside, with hopes of keeping them inside until the spring.

I've bought some Seeds of Change seeds on sale for next year, including cherry and roma tomatoes, pumpkins, lettuce, and onions. I've saved seeds for bell peppers, and some hot peppers and well, and my friend Steve is supplying me with some Korean melon seeds that will be an interesting science experiment :)

I started late, but boy did I get going!

What have you put away this summer?