Hawaii

Today is the day. Kristin and I got off of work and hit the road for the Philladelphia airport. We'll sleep overnight at the Ramada and take off early tomorrow morning. What food adventures await us as we move our one-hundred mile diet to the island of Oahu?

Egg Soufflé vs. Food Waste

According to a study by the University of Arizona between forty and fifty percent of all of the food in America goes to waste. We look into our overstuffed refrigerators and, finding that it lacks the steaming plate of food that we desire at that moment, go to a restaurant or fire up the microwave. The research was conducted under a grant by the USDA by anthropologist Timothy Jones. He measured loss accrued by growers, transportation, wholesalers, retailers and finally consumers to discover that we throw away nearly half of all of the food that we grow and buy.

Food waste is part of the reason Kristin and I decided to try the one-hundred mile diet. We wanted to limit our exposure to the hidden costs of food waste. It is simple for every family to make an impact on the amount of waste. One of the biggest lessons is to know how to cook with what you got. Learn the fundamentals of food preparation. Like baking bread, using unprocessed foods as ingredients, and growing your own ingredients. Sometimes it takes creativity to figure out what to make out of what is available.

Today Kristin looked into the fridge and complained, "we don't have anything to eat." She closed the fridge and walked somberly back upstairs in defeat. I got up and took stock of what was available. We had not planned very well for company the night before and while we all enjoyed a wonderful meal then, today our pickings were slim.

I opened the fridge to discover eggs, a bag of spinach, part of an onion and milk. We also had organic flour from Daisy Organic. I paused a moment to think of what meals contained those ingredients. Quiche and soufflé came to mind.

We have stacks of cookbooks and yet I continue to scavenge the internet for recipes. I found one that did not appear to fancy and went to work. One hour and a half later a delicious smell filled the kitchen as I removed the souffle. Kristin seemed more optimistic about dinner at this point. I reheated some gravy from the previous night and Kristin started some toast. We both agreed that the meal was delicious.

It is important to invest in cooking skills if we are going to prevent food waste. Food requires preparation. It is boring, impractical and expensive to expect someone else to cook for you. Examine the labels on the food you are about to buy. If you see an ingredient that you can not buy on its own than do not buy that product. Examples include, sodium nitrate, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, potassium sorbate, oligofructose. As I type these words the computer assumes they are spelling errors. What are they and how did they get into our food?

To further explore that topic look up Michael Pollan, journalist, author and food activist. He has a lot of easy to understand information about how food gets from the plant to our table. For more information on food waste look up Tristram Stuart author of Waste. His information is literally shocking but easy to grasp. For many of you it may not be necessary to tread through the mirky waters of food industry and economics.

It is easy to effect change without bearing the burden of all that info. The steps to eradicating food waste are as follows; buy local food from a farmer, cook it yourself and enjoy. You will become part of the food-waste solution. You will also get to experience wonderful things like Spinach Souffle.

Auntie's Pretzils

Sometimes we get a craving that just has to be satisfied. Like today when I got a craving for Auntie Anne's soft pretzels. The problem is we can not always feed our craving and stay committed to eating local food.

So I got online to look up a pretzel recipe that mimics the good Aunt's, broke out our Daisy Organic flour and started to whip together a pretzel dough. We both got in on the action when the dough was done rising. One of us rolled out the dough into long strands and the other twisted it into the classic pretzel shape.

We had a lot of fun and commented on how much fun it would be to do with our kids someday. (when we get some kids.) I asked Kristin, "wouldn't you rather go watch American Idol?" to which she replied, "I hate that show." So the 'bad' food craving turned into a great experience for a couple to share.

While we waited for the pretzels to bake Kristin went to work on tomorrow's loaf of bread (Bread machine style.) When the pretzels came out of the oven a familiar smell filled the air. It was the same smell that had lured us unwillingly into the Auntie Anne's trap so many times before. Our little pastry creations were more plump than we had hoped but the flavor was exactly what we had right on. One of the little secrets must be the sweet butter.

You can't get pretzels like these in the freezer section.

Click on this link to make your own Auntie's Pretzels

Auntie's Pretzels

Travel Afar

We have some exciting news. A trip that had been canceled is now back on schedule. In less than two weeks, Kristin and I are going to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and take an exotic vacation to HAWAII!

Obviously we will not be packing a suitcase full of food from Lancaster county to take with us. Instead we are temporarily relocating our base of operations to the town of Waimanalo on the island of Oahu. This creates some exciting changes for our 100-mile food comitment. Our one hundred mile radius pretty much limits us to the island of Oahu. We were excited to discover that Hawaii has a great farmer's market program.

The first day we wake up in Hawaii we are going to take a walk on the beach to watch the sun rise and then go to the Waimanalo Beach Park Market. A farmers market on the beach, that's pretty cool. Every day of the week has several markets scheduled. Fresh local food should not be an issue.

Hawaii markets offer a wonderful selection of tropical produce as well as pond fish and prawns. It will definitely be a great eating experience.

Pancakes

We had a few people ask us how the pancakes were. Well let me tell you they were delicious! What a joy to wake up on Mother's Day and enjoy whole-wheat strawberry pancakes. There are days when finding local food is challenging but there are others when the experience is incredibly rewarding.

Right before we started our local food diet a series of unordinary weather patterns caused most of the Strawberries in Florida and California to ripen at the same time. The result was tons of strawberries being dumped on the market at the same time. Strawberry lovers every where rejoiced when they saw the super low prices.

We could not help but join in the strawberry buying frenzy. It was a week before the beginning of our commitment so we saw no harm. We bought strawberries at a local grocer with a California sticker on the box. They left much to be desired, the insides were mostly white, they were a little tart and they lacked sweetness.

That was a couple weeks before Lancaster's earliest strawberries made it to market. When we began our 100-mile diet sweet food became a rare experience. Lettuce, asparagus, kale, spinach, radishes, and the rare chicken took over our dinner table. So when Kristen saw the first strawberries of the season she was stoked. She was a child showing dad a wild flower bouquet when she brought them home to me. I was even more excited to find that these strawberries were absolutely amazing! They were sweet with a little strawberry zing. They were red all the way to their cores and bursting with juicy goodness.

The strawberries are one more example of how we think this 100-mile diet is creating a deep appreciation for food in our little family. Kristin is thoroughly enjoying cooking and baking. It seems to saturate her with a deep satisfaction. She bakes all the time and just ordered a twenty-five pound bag of whole wheat flour since the smaller bags run out so fast now. The baking is one way that we save money now.

Thanks for checking in. Tomorrow we'll talk about the Fair Trade label.

Strawberries... Pink Diamonds

Typically you read my husbands writing but today it's my turn.

This morning I was driving down the long lane to visit our Amish friends to buy our eggs, cheese, and milk and their sign was a little different. Something was added, something wonderful! Fresh strawberries picked this morning. I could hardly contain my excitement. I've been craving fruit since we started this new way of eating and today is the day that I can satisfy my taste buds.

"How much do they costs?" I asked my little friend of no more than 10 years of age. In her sweet voice with a slight dutch accent she answered, "four dollars a quart". All I could think of was, you got it sister! These quarts are overflowing and to be honest, I don't care how much they cost I'm taking them. "Great! I'll take four."

While packing all the berries, and dairy products in the car I couldn't contain the smile on the face. I went to call Kyle to tell him but quickly remembered that he is at his permaculture class today. Called my mom to tell her but no one answered. So I snapped the picture above with my phone and off I went. The sweet smell danced in my car and I felt like a child at christmas, dreaming of everything I could make.

Tomorrow morning, strawberry pancakes!

Thank You

When Kristin and I were encouraged to do this web log we were a little hesitant because of our busy schedules. Now that we have committed we are finding that this is a great way for us to share all of the exciting things that happen in our lives.

What we did not expect was all of the excited feedback. We are passionate about local food and the lifestyle that goes with it. I hope that if people read this that they will be inspired to grow heirlooms, buy local, cook exciting meals and fall in love with food again.

Thank you, to every one that comments and follows us.

You can look forward to more logs with recipes, articles and our little adventures.

Mash

Sometimes there is not a lot of food in the house and the leftovers are slim pickings. One of the great lessons I learned from bachelor-hood was how to throw food together and hope for the best. I was glad for that skill tonight.

When I got home there were few things in the refrigerator to call food. I ate one of Kristin's homemade yogurt cups and started digging out leftovers. I found one burger patty, a few steak fries and a going-stale, spring veggie and bread casserole. Hm... what could I make out of that?

I got a cheese sauce going on the stove-top and crumbled the casserole and burger into a pyrex baking pan. The fries got diced and mixed in. Then I beat some eggs and poured it on top. Once that was mixed I poured on the cheese sauce and cooked it covered for thirty minutes and uncovered for ten.

As I pulled my bubbling creation out of the oven a pleasant aroma filled the kitchen. I felt a little like Dr. Frankenstien as I cut out a slice with a spoon. What had I created?

I don't really know. I called it the "Cheese Burger and Fries, Spring Veggie, Bread Casserole Quiche." Mmm good.

Heirloom Produce

I spent a whole afternoon absorbed in writing a post about genetically modified seeds. It was a good little piece that gave a representation of what has happened in the agriculture industry around the world. When I was done I looked at it and decided that it really did not have a place in this web log. So instead of talking about all of the depressing things that are going wrong in agriculture I decided to write about all of the exciting things that are happening. So let us talk about Heirlooms.

Strictly and heirloom is a variety that produces seed that is true to that variety. Some say an heirloom has to be fifty years old but it really only takes about seven to eight seasons to establish a new variety from a first generation hybrid. Kristin tells people that heirlooms are the endangered species of produce. She is right, heirlooms are becoming increasingly rare compared to the agribusiness hybrids. The ability to reproduce is not the only thing contributing to the culture of dedicated heirloom seed savers. The remarkable flavor and texture is what most of heirloom produce was bread for.

When my brother and I discovered that most of the seed varieties today are grown more for their shelf life than their flavor it bothered us. We wanted flavor and texture that would excite a child to eat things like kale and zucchini. Old varieties had been bred for their flavor and usefulness in cooking. As we began to talk to people about these heirloom seeds it was exciting to find so much interest. The sad truth is in America we have lost ninety percent of our agricultural-biodiversity. Besides the ecological dangers of limiting bio-diversity, having only two or three kinds of tomatoes is BORING!


I fell in love with Heirlooms when I had my first Brandywine tomato. The history behind the Brandywine is a little cloudy. What we do know is that Ben Quisenberry introduced the seeds to the Seed Savers Exchange around 1982. According to his account he had gotten the variety from Doris Suddeth Hill. She had told him that the tomato had been in her family for eighty years. (Rosa Bianca Eggplant>)

We grew some of Doris's old seeds in our test garden. I waited with anticipation watching that first tomato start out as a flower, then plump up to the size of my fist. Then it began it's magical change from green to red with the summer heat. I watered it and mulched the plant with hay. If ever a plant could reciprocate love it would have been that Brandywine, for all the devotion I gave it.

The day finally came when it was time to harvest the first of the brandywine tomatoes. I noticed something disturbing. A groundhog had gotten to it before me. (Are you kidding me?!) So, I waited a few more days for the second picking. When I sliced it, it cut like butter. The skin was thin and the inside a watery-meaty texture. We put thick slices on toast with mayo and sea salt. When I took that first bite I literally closed my eyes. The tomato had no sinewy feeling and no grainy texture. It just melted into a wonderful tomato flavor. It had no harsh acids and the flavor was complex. It is a shining example of what we have lost when we traded heirlooms for the convenience of the supermarket.

Someone once asked me in confusion, "why wouldn't you just go to the grocery store to buy a tomato?" For me the answer to that question is, "Brandywine."

I will grow it every year for the rest of my life and every winter, have longing thoughts about it. The Heirloom excitement does not stop with tomatoes. We grow delicious peppers, eggplants and onions. When you think of string beans you think green. Now imagine yellow, purple and red. Tomatoes are red, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple and white. Heirlooms offer wonderful variety and contribute to biodiversity.

Check out this link. Most of our produce comes from the Baker's Creek catalogue. Their website is a wealth of information about heirloom produce.

Bus Stop

I'm up early today. The air is warm for early may. I'm eating leftover french toast sticks, made with our own bread, eggs and dairy from our amish friends. I'll finish one of Kristin's homemade yogurts. There is something quiet and unhurried about the early morning. I would like to say I am diligent enough to get up early every day, but I am really up for a reason.

My car has a problem. I ordered the parts this weekend. Today I will have to walk twenty minutes to the bus stop to get to work. Its raining outside. I should be upset but I am thoroughly enjoying the quiet and this fulfilling breakfast.

Yogurt at 2am

At two o'clock Thursday morning our alarm began to ring. Normally we hit the snooze button and avoid thinking about the hectic day for another ten minutes. This was no ordinary alarm and its exciting purpose drug us both out of bed. We descended the stairs in a sleepy fog and turned on a single light with the dimmer low. Then, we huddled around a little device that maintains a constant temperature, a temperature perfect for making yogurt.

The clear dome was covered in humidity. When we lifted it the slightest puff of warmer, moist air escaped into the room. Underneath the lid we discovered six little containers of yogurt where six little containers of raw milk had been before. The smell of vanilla was intoxicating but it was not time to eat these little treasures yet.

We stowed them away in the refrigerator and crept back up to bed. As we settled in, our dreams drifted away with the anticipation of vanilla, maple yogurt.

We woke up late. I had to leave for work without a proper breakfast. We kissed goodbye. Kristin handed me a lunch bag and a convenient little container filled with vanilla, maple joy. When I got to work I took a few moments to savor the yogurt. It was creamy but not thick. It had just a hint of maple yet seemed to carry a sweetness all it's own. Yum-O!! As I licked the spoon I realized that I had never appreciated a container of yogurt as much as this one. It made me think of my wife and how much I appreciate all of her talents and love of good food. I will have yogurt again. I may even have better yogurt, though I doubt it. I will never appreciate a cup as much as I did Kristin's first batch of vanilla, maple raw milk yogurt.