Independence Days Challenge

Well, busy is still the word and work of the day. Today there is a heavy rain, the farm called to tell me I do not need to work today. This gives some time to pack more boxes and maybe take care of some handwork.

Our grocery bill is starting to shrink again as we eat most of our veggies from the garden now. The chickens are really starting to lay. The other day we got an egg for each chicken. 7!! The pole bean are up and climbing. The first garlic flavor of the season has graced our plates in the form of garlic scapes. I love picking them because my hands smell like garlic afterward.

Tomorrow we go to Farmington and begin the heavy work of taking down an old woodshed and taking out the old bathtub for a new one. My father-in-law came up last week to deliver our wedding present...a clawfoot bathtub. We will be married 5 years in August. The new house is the perfect house for such a tub and by the end of the move we will be so grateful for its deep warm waters;)

Plant: I did not get anything planted this week but I do need to get some greens planted in the ground.

Harvest: green onions, garlic scapes, mint, oregano, yarrow, lettuce, swiss chard, strawberries, peas

Preserve: strawberry jam, frozen strawberries, frozen peas, dehydrated garlic scapes,

Local food system: I went strawberry picking at the u-pick day at the farm, workers could pick for a dollar quart. Bought a peck of peas for shelling. Local burger.

Eat the food: I made a cheese strata with swiss chard, green onions and garlic scapes. Local burgers on the grill with a pasta salad with garlic scapes, green onions and green peas. Evan ate more peas than he shelled, he ate more strawberries than he picked:) Evan's new composition is the song,"I stole a pea from Tristan"

Waste not: I freeze the ends of bread and usually use these for bread crumbs or croutons. I used this bread for the bread layer in the cheese strata. We feed the pea shells to the sheep and goat. The chickens got the hulled tops of the strawberries. Still making piles for the thrift store.

Want not: The Kiwanis club in town has an annual auction and yard sale. I found old canning jars that use the rubber rings. I use these to keep herbs and small portions of beans and grains. I also found and old popcorn tin. Because we buy large bulk quantities all the food needs larger containers The new house has a little mouse problem. Once our cats are moved I am sure that the ratio of mouse to person will be balanced. But I want to make sure that all food stuffs are in airtight containers that can not be chewed easily. I also found the cookbook More with Less Cookbook for .50! It is the 1979 edition and has rings on the binding. It is my new favorite cookbook. Simple meals from simple ingredients. I also found a nice 70's vintage tablecloth that I might make a skirt from..when I have the time..oh some time around January:)