Hookey

My favorite thing about homeschooling has to be the day every now and again that we throw academia to the wind and do the things in life that really matter.  Or at least, so I would argue.  Case in point:  strawberry picking.  I decided yesterday that the letter Rr, Gilgamesh, and composing number sentences could wait.  Fine weather and ripe strawberries could not.

I totally made the right decision.

The most delicious end.

Strawberry season is short and very, very sweet, so check out www.pickyourown.org for a farm near you!

Apple Butter

In this day and age with its modern store-bought conveniences, there are a few sacred items whose homemade taste can never be mass-produced.  My Granny Ruby's Apple Butter is one of them.  I am a firm believer that one's pantry or refrigerator should, at all times, be in possession of something that didn't come from the grocery store shelf.  A few weeks ago, in the thick of apple harvest, my favorite orchard was offering up apple seconds for $20 a bushel.  Score.  Now, if you don't know exactly how many apples that translates into, here they are in all their hand cramping, blister producing glory.  That's right, folks.  Apple peeling is not for wimps.

That is some serious potential sitting there, so I asked myself (as we all should from time to time), "What would Granny do?"  This question produces some practical and often sound results.  Go ahead.  Give it a try.  Apple butter was today's answer, so I picked up the phone and gave the marvelous woman a call.  

This is an old recipe, so there were a few techniques lost in translation.  For example, 6 QT of ground apples are required, but how exactly does one get ground apples?  In a hand-crank sausage grinder, of course.  "Do you have one?" she asked.  Uh, no.  "Well," she says, "I'll bet you can pick one up real cheap somewhere."  Right.  I'll put that on my Target list.  In the meantime, my shiny Cuisinart food processor did the job just fine.  I also deviated from the recipe when instructed to "place in roaster and put in oven."  Because of the quantity of apples I was using, I roasted some and simmered some on the stovetop.  The results were identical.  Do what suits you best.

Granny Ruby's Apple Butter

6 QT Ground Apples

1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

2 TBSP Cinnamon

1 TBSP Cloves

A pinch of Salt

10 cups (or a 5lb bag) of Sugar

Peel, core, and chop apples.  Grind, if hand-crank sausage grinders are your thing, or process in a food processor until, well, ground.

Place in a roasting pan and put in oven.  Cook for 2-3 hours at 350 degrees or until your apple butter reaches your desired thickness.  Alternately, simmer on stovetop for a comparable time.  In both scenarios, you'll  need to stir periodically to keep it from sticking.  Makes 5 QTs.

Finally, put in hot sterile jars, and process in a waterbath for 10-15 minutes.

Make some.  Eat some.  Thank a granny.  They have all the best recipes.

Fast Food

I am not known to exercise much culinary skill or adventure on Saturday nights.  After a long week, I get either busy or lazy and often find weekend dinners an afterthought.  This means that to make its way to my table on these nights, food must be quick, easy, and tidy.  Let me argue, however, that convenience does not have to equate frozen, boxed, or frozen and boxed.  Case in point: I made a tasty dinner last night in less time than it would have taken me to heat a frozen pizza.  The secret?  A Saturday morning Farmers Market.  Amongst other delectables, yesterday's take-home was a tub of herbed goat cheese lovingly made by a family right here in North Alabama.

Now if the mention of anything goat triggers your gag reflex, keep in mind that if the cheese is fresh, it is buttery, delicious, and non-goaty.  Really.  Because I am still sensing a collective eyebrow raise from the lot of you, I encourage you to taste for yourself.  Farmers love to give out samples, so if you can tear yourself away from the little old lady and her jars of jams and jellies at next week's market, find yourself a goat farmer with a tub of cheese.  I think you'll be surprised.

Here is last night's convenience food:

Boil a pasta of your choice according to package directions.  Drain, reserving a little of the water.  Add a tub of flavored goat cheese and enough of the pasta water to make it perfectly creamy.  Top with chopped fresh chives and enjoy!

My youngest politely declined, but the rest of us agreed.... not baaaaaad.

Oh, come on.  You saw it coming.

Impulse Buy

Yesterday I spotted these beauties at a roadside stand and couldn't resist the urge to stop and buy them from some really swell people.  Since they looked and smelled so good, I figured that two baskets of peaches would be better than one.  Really, three would have been better than two, but I'll go back tomorrow.  There is only a small window of time that a person can get sun-ripened, straight from the orchard, fresh-picked peaches, and this is it.

It is a goal of mine to do more food buying locally and from the growers who actually knew their product from it's seed or bud infancy.  There are fancy names for such people.  Foodie.  Locavore.  I don't need a title, just a good couple of farmers.  Roadside stands, farmer's markets, and CSAs bring your food courtesy of their pick-up and right off the farm.  The food was picked at it's peak when it had time to mature into its full nutrient potential.  The same cannot be said about those mangos from Guatemala or the melons from Mexico.  They are picked while green and ripen on the long journey from their place of origin.  


In addition to better foods, you also get to invest your hard earned dollars back into the local economy, keep your environmental impact down, and you'll have the chance to get to know and support some seriously nice people.


The boys and I did our first berry picking last week.  It was swealteringly hot that day, but the time with friends and the bucket of fresh blueberries were so worth it.  


If you think you might be up for an alternative (or addition) to your weekly Kroger run, check out these sites for some fun food alternatives:
www.pickyourown.org
www.localharvest.org



Peach Butter was the end result of yesterday's impulse buy.  Definitely not a purchase I'll regret.  

Let's share.  What are some things you and your family do keep it local?