Meal Planning with Your CSA {31 Days: Day 3}

October 3, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

For all my posts in this 31 Days series of Living Local click here.

I used to spend hours on the weekends planning a menu that revolved around sales prices and ad circulars and Southern Savers and stockpiling.

Then I realized I was driving myself and my family crazy and Saturdays were becoming a burden rather than a blessing. My quest to meal plan and be frugal and clip coupons was eating away at family time. I had a tendency to wait until then because we always have Friday night pizza, so I knew that plan and usually by Saturday, the paycheck was in the bank.

But this past spring we joined a CSA. It’s Community Supported Agriculture and being a part of one has really shaped the way I approach meal planning and grocery shopping. Basically, as a member, you are buying a share of a farmer’s crops. You’re taking part in the risk that is farming, but you’re putting money directly into the pockets of local farmers and supporting their families.

Through a CSA the consumer has a direct connection with the food they purchase. Furthermore, the consumer can provide a farmer with input. For example, if a particular variety is not favored the consumer can inform the farmer. This allows the farmer to better meet the needs of his customers and friends. If more of certain vegetables are desired that farmer can adjust his next planting. Where else can you have such a direct impact regarding the needs of your family’s nutrition?

~from Red Dust Ranch, a North Georgia Farm

My delivery came every Wednesday afternoon which meant if I waited until Saturday to begin meal planning again for the next week, I had vegetables just sitting and waiting. Plus, our share changed slightly from week to week, so I couldn’t always count on having the same amount or variety. I had to let go of my need to control knowing exactly what would be available. And I had to start using my resources to help me figure out what to do with six straight weeks of kale, cabbage, and collards!

I’ve referenced this cookbook several times, but truly, Simply in Season is the best go-to resource for using local produce in a variety of meals as side dishes and the main course. It’s organized by season and color-coded, so I knew I could just flip to the red section and find a variety of ways to use squash and zucchini and tomatoes that would be different than my standard casserole and BLT.

Like this? This crustless summer squash quiche is easy, budget friendly, and is the reason I’ve also learned to make my own baking mix. Plus it’s versatile. You can actually substitute any seasonal vegetable into this recipe, and if you’re feeling really Pinterest-y, go ahead and cook it in teacups or a muffin tin for individualized portions. (My kids always think those are more fun!)

Using this resource and delving into my friend Jamie’s book, Real Food for the Real Homemaker, has also helped me discover that stocking my pantry doesn’t necessarily mean I have a dozen boxes of cereal and bottles of salad dressing. Instead, I’ve begun stocking with actual real food supplies: flours, oils, vinegars, rice, grains, fresh dairy (local when I can), fresh and dried fruits, and lots of produce. For me, this has meant that I can approach grocery shopping with the idea that I should keep on hand the items that I need to change my meal plan at the last moment because I drove past the farmer’s market and their corn finally came in or they just picked the last batch of okra.

Like most of us, I get in a rut of what my kids like, what’s easy, what’s comfort food, and I don’t always explore new options. Being part of our CSA has given me new perspective on what my kids will actually eat and has broadened my scope of what types of meals can keep us frugal and full. We’re no longer convinced that meat has to be a part of every dinner, and I’m excited to see my kids trying vegetables like turnips, eggplant, and cabbage that they would’ve rejected in the produce section of the grocery store.

The difference is: they know our farmer. To them, his name is Mr. Chris and he pets their kittens and talks to them about his horses and brings them food. They have a connection now to what’s on their table and that motivates them to try new things.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links but the opinions are my own. I’d never link you to something I didn’t believe in!

Summer Squash Quiche

October 3, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

Summer Squash Quiche (adapted from Simply in Season Crustless Zucchini Tomato Quiche)

2 cups zucchini and yellow squash (diced)
1 cup tomatoes (diced, or sometimes I slice cherry tomatoes in half)
1/2 cup onion (diced)
1/2 cup mozzerella cheese (shredded)

Place in greased casserole dish or 10-inch pie dish. (I use a casserole dish that is slightly smaller than a standard 9×12.)

1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup Baking Mix (Bisquick or make your own)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 eggs

Put ingredients in blender and process until smooth, about 15 seconds. Pour over vegetables. Bake at 400 degrees 30-40 minutes, until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (If you have a lot of tomatoes with extra juice, it will take longer to set. Tent with foil if top is browning too much.)

Variations: Substitute broccoli, spinach, or kale.

We like it with homemade biscuits and salad.

31 Days of Living Local

Four Simple Ways to Live More Local {31 Days: Day 2}

October 2, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

For All Posts: 31 Days of Living Local click here!

1. Participate in Local Perks

My favorite free places supported with my local tax dollars and available because my community supports and values them as resources? The parks and the libraries. I can get a free state park pass or zoo tickets from my local library. I bet you can, too. My three-year old was devastated by the closing of her preschool early this fall, but story time at the library once a week helps her feel like she still has a “school” setting.

In my county, there are three different city parks that offer me the opportunity to wear my kids out before naptime without burning through a tank of gas just to enjoy the great outdoors. We have a walking loop in the green space downtown that helps me burn calories without worrying that a car is going to run over my preschooler. But a few years ago, I never took the time to discover these places, much less to enjoy them. Then one day, I realized that I was paying for these opportunities without ever utilizing them, and if a facility is being underutilized my county budget would reflect that. So now we go to the park, we ride bikes in the greenway, we lose library books and find them again on a regular basis because I’ve come to value these perks of living locally. What perks are hiding in your hometown?

2. Make Friends With A Farmer

Farmers are invaluable. Farmers know the land and the seasons and changes of habit like no one else. Sometimes I think Farmers are more in tune to the heartbeat of creation than any of the rest of us because they understand it’s fragility and complexity in a way no one else does. And if you’re friends with a farmer? He will share all of that philosophy and knowledge with you. But also? He’ll probably share vegetables and free-range eggs and grass-fed meat, and he’ll invite you to bring your kids over to pet the animals or feed the chickens or pick some more purple hull peas. He’ll be your personification of sustainable living. Find a local farmer just by asking around the farmer’s markets or searching facebook pages or visiting the county fair or researching your local Farm Bureau.

3. Give Gifts of Local Flair

I’m blessed to live in an area that is frequented by artisans and small businesses. Local potters and painters and crafters abound, so when I want to give a gift that is from my heart, I usually look to the locals. Last year my cousin’s wedding gift came from Hickory Flat Pottery and every year for my birthday, my mom and I visit the annual Arts and Crafts show at Unicoi Lodge and add to my collection of Steve Turpin pottery. My good friend is my family photographer, and another keeps us dolled up in the art of a southern monogram. Maybe it’s a small gesture to buy local, but it has a big impact.

By the way, I’ll be hosting some giveaways of amazing local (to me) businesses throughout this series, so you might want to subscribe to the blog using the button at the top of the sidebar!

4. Tour like a Tourist

If you really want to know about the treasures hiding in your local area, pretend you’re a tourist. Check out websites that offer activity ideas and make a local bucket list. Follow twitter feeds for your favorite local places and actually commit to trying something you’ve always thought was “just for the tourists”. There’s a reason they keep coming back, you know. The best part of playing tourist when you’re local? Chances are there’s a discount for the local area which means you’ve not only saved on travel expense, now you’re pocketing some extra change for your next local adventure. (Like when my husband talked me into ziplining during our anniversary staycation.)

My favorite places for planning locally in Georgia?

Explore Georgia (on twitter and instagram @exploregeorgia)
GA State Parks and Historic Sites
Georgia Magazine (a free subscription for all EMC members, do you get yours?)
Tripadvisor

What are some of your favorite ways to live local and enjoy life closer to home?

31 Days of Living Local · linkups

31 Days of Living Local

October 1, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

What’s 31 Days? It’s a challenge to choose a topic and write a post about it every day in October.

It’s incredible and brutal and fabulous for focus. And developing ebooks apparently, which is my secret goal.

Last year I semi-wrote about Embracing Motherhood. I wasn’t as committed to blogging as I am now, but that series really challenged me to think about my journey through motherhood and has encouraged me to make telling my story a God-sized dream worth pursuing.

This year I’m going to write about a topic that’s completely different from what I usually post. While you’ll still get plenty of references to my kids and my crazy, I’m going to be offering resources and thoughts on another type of challenge.

If I hadn’t chosen this topic in MAY and been so excited about it for the 31 days project, I’d have made the reasonable decision to just do a short series some other time. But I’ve been thinking about this for five months and am so passionate about it lately, that I just had to do it. (Especially since almost everyone else is!)

As in supporting local businesses, buying from local farmers, visiting local attractions, and in general, embracing the local you call home.

I’m a north Georgia girl, so there will be lots of resources and information available for my local area, but it’s also my goal to help you begin to see where you call home as a local ministry that deserves your physical and financial support to thrive.

So if you love where you live, I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the wonder of local foods, gifts, and activities.

But if you’re not happy with the place you call home? I hope you’ll join me as an inspiration to begin to see it through fresh eyes and with a new perspective.

Tomorrow: 4 Easy Ways to Live Local

gus · motherhood

Dear Gus {a love letter for seventeen months}

September 29, 2013 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

I admitted for the first time yesterday that maybe you’re not a baby anymore. You picked up your foot to step over a cord hanging off the game machine at the bowling alley so you could position yourself better to play with that toy rifle, and I thought that was it.

That was the end of my belief that you’re a baby.

But you’re only seventeen months old and you think you can wash the dishes and climb up anything and yesterday I taught you to say “tractor” and you sat on the antique blue Ford with the pull-behind wagon and tried to drive and you were still my baby.

You push the kitchen chairs all over the house and point enthusiastically at whatever dessert concoction might be on the counter in anticipation that I’ll serve it to you for breakfast. You think you’re too big for your table booster, but you’re still turned backward in that hand-me-down Britax and on the way home from school Friday you echoed your sisters’ exclamations of spelling tests and science projects with a hearty, “Yeah!”

You love shoes and those passed down from some sweet friend grey New Balances might be the cutest thing I’ve put on your feet since last winter’s second-hand Robeez with the puppy. But sometimes you go in my closet and try on every pair I have and I find wedge heels and Toms scattered all over the floor.

You don’t care that I’ve never bought you a new outfit or that you have a plethera of aunts who like to dress you with Old Navy clearance and mama has friends who are done with baby boys and keep you from the possibility of ever wearing an old pair of Amelia’s jeans.

You love the “kit-tee” and the only times you’ll stand still are at the glass door watching the kittens play or the man across the street mowing his lawn on the big orange mower. You know the difference between a truck and a car and the other day I broke down and admitted you needed some toys that weren’t ponies or Barbie vans.

You have the most inquisitive nature and will walk around pointing and repeating “uh-uh” until someone figures out that you want the word for thirsty which for your little mind is only “cup!”

I’ve been trying to keep you my baby for so long but you’re straining out of my arms to be set free to learn and explore and discover that cat food doesn’t belong in the bathtub and your sisters will shriek if you push the buttons on the VCR that change the television channels when they’re watching a movie.

But most of the time, you only want me. You give the tightest, fiercest hugs and will climb all over me trying to snuggle. Sometimes I think it’s like you’re just trying to get back to that safe place inside where I didn’t have a choice but to hold you.

This summer your hair turned blonde and spun ringlets with the humidity. You’re going to have a scar on your forehead from falling into the brick hearth at the great-grands and getting five stitches. You’ve cut nearly all your teeth and your grin is irresistible.

Your sisters use the phrases “literally” and “anyways” and “I can’t believe” over and over and not always correctly, but you just laugh and peek behind your fingers and steal all their attention.

I fear a bit we will ruin you for anyone else.

But right now, you’re mine. You’re ours. You’re the promise of God to give me more abundance than I ever imagined.