One for dinner, one more for the freezer

Tonight we're having another of my endless variations on beans and grains, Spanish-style barley with Scarlett Runners, and with that mixture I'm stuffing bell peppers for another freezer-friendly post-baby dinner.

The barley is from our grain CSA, beans from Phipps, and various vegetables from Full Belly. Served tonight with green beans from our CSA box, we've got a local dinner for now, and stuffed into peppers from Happy Quail, topped with a little cheese from Spring hill, we've got a local meal later. This recipe makes a HUGE batch of the barley and beans, but they freeze well and would make a great lunch.

Spanish-style barley with Scarlett Runner beans

1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t oregano
1 t salt
1 t paprika
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 canned chipotle chile pepper and 1 t. adobo sauce
2 c. whole barley
2 c. crushed tomatoes (I used the tomato sauce that I made earlier in the week)
4 c. vegetable broth
2 c. Scarlett Runner beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 T oil
2 c. corn (fresh, frozen, or canned)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 big handful of green beans, cut into 1/2" pieces
1-2 scallions, diced

Saute onion, celery, carrot, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil. Add spices and saute another minute. Add barley and stir to coat with the onion and spice mixture. Add crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hr. 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, cook soaked beans in the pressure cooker. Cover the beans by 2 inches with water and add 1 T oil to prevent foaming. Cook under high pressure for 12-14 minutes.

Once the barley is cooked, add the beans, corn, green beans, tomatoes, and scallions; stir gently to combine.

***

I now have a moussaka, tamale pie, 3 quarts of tomato sauce, 1 quart of tomato-bean soup made from the tomato sauce, and the stuffed peppers in the freezer. I'll be doing my big batch of meatballs later in the week and the turkey early next week, baby willing, and hopefully will have 15-20 dinners ready to go.

Trying something new

Our veggie box this week includes:
Carrots
Salad Mix
Cabbage
Onions
Potatoes
Summer Squash
Mibuna

I've never heard of mibuna before, so I Googled it to find that this Japanese green leafy veggie has a nice, mildly sharp taste for mixed salads and light cooking. I'll make a salad with them one day this week and will post a photo.

The carrots from Full Belly are the best I've ever eaten - so sweet and completely flavorful in a way that grocery store carrots just aren't. And I'm not sure that I reported back on the fresh vs. stored onion flavor: they're pretty much the same in recipes. I can't tell the difference, anyway.

One Local Summer: end of Week 1

This week's veggie box:

Apricots
Carrots
Red Russian Kale
Salad Mix
New Potatoes
Summer Squash
Strawberries

Strawberries and apricots - Yum! This is the first of the summer squash, too, which is always tasty. We ate the half flat of strawberries in no time last week so I'm thinking I'll get a whole flat this week and freeze some for winter berry smoothies. Mmm, smoothies.

Mr.M wants to grill tonight, so I'm defrosting some pork (from TLC Ranch in Watsonville) to make kabobs for dinner. I'll grill those with squash (Full Belly), mushrooms from the farmer's market, and one of the fresh onions from last week's Full Belly box. I'm making barley (from Fort Scott) and a green salad (greens from Full Belly, oil and vinegar from Hare Hollow in Healdsburg) on the side and this will be another all local meal for our One Local Summer challenge.

I might grill peaches for dessert - if you haven't tried this, definitely give it a shot. The sugars in the peaches caramelize and they get warm and extra sweet. Delicious!

Cherries! Strawberries! Peaches!

It's that time of year again! Fruits are sweet and plentiful, the farmer's market is crowded with so many wonderful, fresh foods, and Jax's chin is stained red from cherry juice dribbles. We bought peaches last week and they were gone in two days, so this week I bought even more fruit to hold us through - half a flat of strawberries, a pound of cherries, and more peaches - but I'm not sure it's going to last much longer than last week's delicious peaches. Jax and I had cherries for lunch and ate nearly the whole bag of them by ourselves. (I also had a glass of milk to round the meal out! haha!) Don't worry, though; we've got lots of vegetables to enjoy as well.

This week, our CSA box includes:
Carrots
Cabbage
Winter Savory
Fresh onions
Salad mix
Itty-bitty-teeny-tiny potatoes
Dino kale (I can only imagine that this will be a hit with dinosaur obsessed Jax!)
Strawberries

The newsletter that accompanies my veggies tells me that Winter Savory is used in beans, stuffings, soups, and with meats like chicken or turkey. Since turkey is planned in a few weeks for my big batch of freezer cooking, I'm going to hang the savory to dry and use it then.

I'm planning a big freezer cooking session, as I mentioned before, and have narrowed the attack to two main foods: meatballs and turkey. I have quite a bit of ground beef and 2 1/2 turkeys in the freezer that need to be eaten. I will make dozens and dozens of baked meatballs with grains in them (maybe oatmeal?) to be used in recipes like meatball chili, shepherd's pie with mushroom gravy, unstuffed cabbage with whole rye, moussaka, sweet and sour meatballs, curried meatballs with wheatberries, and quinoa picadillo. I'll use the turkeys for turkey posole, turkey cacciatore, turkey, apricot, and chickpea tagine, turkey and rice (a la arroz con pollo), turkey adobo, smothered turkey and barley, and turkey soup. Vegetarian menus will be doubled over the next few weeks and packaged for more meals. So far, I've got a tamale pie and Persian split pea and barley soup with spinach (yummy!) in the freezer from double batches.

Many of these meals are done in the pressure cooker, which as you may know from reading the blog is one of my favorite kitchen tools. My last big batch cooking day was so smooth because I relied on the cooker - I would prep a meal while one was in the cooker, and as soon as the meal in the cooker was finished the next was ready to go in. This back-to-back cooking was super fast and efficient, and I'm hopeful that using that method, plus my crockpot, stovetop, oven, and a friend to help will make the meals come together quickly and easily.

Weekly Menu with our CSA and Farmer's Market goodies!

This is the best time of year for the farmer's market. We're in the beginning of the summer vegetable season, tale end of spring, and get the best of both worlds: asparagus and basil, strawberries, peaches, cauliflower, fresh peas! Fantastic!

Our CSA box includes:

Asparagus (last week!)
Carrots
Shelling peas
Basil
Lettuce
Fresh onions
New potatoes

I also bought a pound of snapper, a block of feta cheese, 3 portabello mushrooms, 2 lb. peaches (hooray for tangy fresh peaches!!), cilantro and green onions. At tomorrow's market I'm hoping to see tomatoes and zucchini, but it still may be too early for them.

For our weekly menu, I'm planning:
Sunday - snapper with roasted new potatoes and asparagus
Monday - grilled mushrooms and Boca burgers, zucchini if they're at the market, green salad, jicama corn and bean salad, and grilled peaches (MMMM!!!)
Tuesday - meatloaf with fresh carrots and peas, new potatoes
Wednesday - something in the crockpot, maybe chicken
Thursday - whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes, feta and basil
Friday - Spicy Tofu Bento Box

I have never bought or used fresh onions before and am excited to try this variation of my staple! Most everything I cook starts with onions and these are clean and crisp looking, with bright green tops. I'll report back if the flavor is different being fresh. Fresh garlic has a milder, sweeter flavor - that was another one that I'd never tried fresh before.

The Farmer's Market is BACK!

I woke up this morning with the same excitement that was once reserved for my birthday. The Palo Alto Farmer's Market is back! I picked up my Full Belly veggie box and then spent a lovely morning strolling down the aisles of familiar vendors and their fresh spring fruits and vegetables, enjoying the live music.

In this week's veggie box:
Artichokes
Broccoli
Dino Kale
Lettuce
Spinach
Cilantro
Green garlic
Strawberries

I also spent $38.85 at the market on:
3 blocks of Spring Hill cheese
a little over a pound of fresh snapper
3 zucchinis, green onions, 4 Portabello mushrooms, 1/2 pint of strawberries, and a big bag of oranges

Now I just have Weight Watchers meetings to miss until the baby is born in August.

I'm making steamed Asian-style snapper, spinach sauteed with green garlic, and brown rice for dinner.

Fava beans, asparagus, and radishes: Spring veggies galore!

In our veggie box today, I received:

Asparagus
Chard
Fava Beans
Salad Mix
Sage
Leeks
French Breakfast Radishes
Tokyo Turnips

Hooray for asparagus! We've gotten it a few weeks in a row and they've been quickly devoured after just a light simmer. They're so tender and sweet that they need no seasoning at all.

I've never eaten fava beans and am excited to try something new. I found a recipe for them that uses radishes, and turnips, too, so tonight I'll be making the young root-vegetable braise from "Local Flavors" by Deborah Madison. The recipe calls for green onions and I'm going to substitute leeks, which seem to be reproducing in our refrigerator! I just don't use them up as fast as I get them.

I'm also planning on making one of the turkeys that I froze at Thanksgiving this week, which will be great with the fresh sage.

I've found a surprising use for chard and spinach: smoothies. Sounds strange, but fruit and yogurt smoothies disguise the greens flavor and it adds quite the nutritional punch. Jax has even asked for seconds! Lately, I've been using plain soy yogurt (Jax still can't have dairy), frozen peaches from our trip to Napa last summer, frozen berries, a cup of cooked chard, flaxseed oil, and a banana for a very tasty and healthy snack.


Young Root-Vegetable Braise

Sea salt
12 small turnips, peeled, stems trimmed to one-half inch
1 bunch radishes, stems trimmed to one-half inch
6 small carrots (3 to 4 inches long), peeled, stems trimmed to one-half inch
1 pound fava beans, shucked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1bunch green onions, trimmed (use 2 to 3 inches of white and pale green part only) and sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat, adding 1 tablespoon of salt per quart of water. Slice the turnips and radishes in half if large; leave the smaller ones whole.

2. Blanch the turnips, radishes and carrots for 5 minutes, less if smaller, then lift them out of the simmering water and plunge them into an ice water bath. Drain, pat dry and set aside.

3. Bring the water back to a boil and add the fava beans; blanch 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice water bath. Reserve the cooking water. Pop the fava beans out of their skins and reserve the beans.

4. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 10-inch sauté pan. Add the green onions and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add one-half cup of the vegetable cooking water, the blanched vegetables, half of the parsley and tarragon and one-fourth teaspoon salt. Simmer until the vegetables are fully tender, about 10 minutes or until done. Add one-fourth cup cooking water as needed to maintain a small amount of sauce in the pan.

5. Add the fava beans, remaining butter and lemon juice. Increase the heat and swirl the pan back and forth until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat, add the rest of the parsley and tarragon, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Beef Stew with root vegetables

I have beef stew bubbling away in the crock pot, smelling mouthwateringly delicious, full of the great Full Belly root vegetables that have been wasting away in my crisper drawer for the past few weeks and tasty Chileno beef. I'll post a picture this evening, but here's the recipe in the meantime.

Beef Stew with Root Vegetables

2 lb. stew beef, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into bite sized pieces (I used short ribs cut from the bone, and added the bones for extra flavor. I'll pull the bones out before serving.)
2 T flour (I used whole wheat from Full Belly Farm)
1/2 t. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2-3 T Canola oil
1 large yellow onion
1 clove garlic
3 or 4 medium carrots, cut into bite sized chunks (about 3/4")
1 celery root, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks (about 3/4"), or 2-3 stalks of celery, diced
2 or 3 medium potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks (about 3/4")
1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks (about 3/4")
6 oz. can tomato paste
2-3 c. water or 1/2 beef stock, 1/2 water (I didn't have any stock, but added the bones for flavor)
3-4 cups dry red wine
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. marjoram
1 t. thyme
sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl, then toss well with the beef. Heat the oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan (NOT non-stick) and brown the meat in batches. Move the meat to the crockpot.

Add the onions to the pan and cook until translucent but not brown, then move it to the crockpot. Deglaze the pan with 2 c. red wine, scraping up any brown bits; reduce by half, then add the tomato paste, seasonings, and 1 c. water. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer while you prepare the veggies except for mushrooms and peas. Add the veggies to the crockpot and cover with the pan sauce. Add equal parts wine and water to cover the veggies.

Set the crockpot to low for 6-8 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Add mushrooms and peas for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

The veggies are back! The veggies are back!

Full Belly Farm has been on hiatus for the past three weeks, and while they certainly deserve a rest after providing such amazing produce week after week, all year long to over 1000 CSA members, I've been certainly missing my veggie box! I was so excited to pick up our veggies this morning that I squealed a bit when I saw the week's yummy variety, which included:

Cauliflower
Carrots
Salad mix
Leeks
Mandarin oranges
Rutabagas
Tokyo turnips
Butternut squash

It's like Christmas with root vegetables. The Palo Alto Farmer's Market is closed for the winter, so I'm picking up the box at Flea Street Cafe, and there is just a miniature booth of Full Belly goodies - broccoli, kale, root veggies galore, wheat berries, almond butter, dried herbs. So much good stuff! I picked up a bunch of dill and a bunch of cilantro for $2, happy to see the fresh bundles of yummy herbs. ($2 is my current spending for the week. Last week, I spent less than $50 on food, mostly for chicken soup and orange juice!)

***

I weighed myself this morning and was 281 lb., for a total of 30.6 lb. lost. I'm updating my goals and current weight loss for the first time in months. I had a bit of a gain, and a set back in my weight loss, and was embarassed to update with higher numbers. I have to get over that and update whether the scale moves up or down, and being pregnant, I anticipate it moving up in the coming months at a reasonable pace. I'm going to keep track, though, so I don't allow myself to get out of control.

I'm also adjusting my goals. I'm expecting to gain weight during my pregnancy, but my doctor has said that it's okay for me to lose as long as I'm eating enough for the baby to grow at a healthy rate. I would like to end my pregnancy no more than 15 lb. from where I started it. I gained 31 lb. with my first pregnancy, when I ate whatever I cared to eat and made no attempts to exercise, so I think that 15 is reasonable while I'm being careful about what I'm eating and am continuing to exercise.

***

Jax is feeling much better and is bouncing off the walls while I'm recouperating from my chest cold. I'm still sick, but I'm not feeling quite as much like an elephant is sitting on my chest, and I can breathe through my nose again, so things are improving.

A full freezer makes a locavore happy!

I picked up the pork yesterday (thanks, Jen!) and am ridiculously happy about the nitrate-free bacon, ham, chops, ribs, and sausage in the freezer. We ordered from TLC Ranch and picked up the butchered, smoked meats at Los Gatos Meats. This place smells SO GOOD - my mouth watered just waiting in line! We got smoked ham and bacon, and next time I think we'll have them make more sausages like keilbasa, chorizo, and Italian links - we didn't get any links this time.

I made a delicious meal with the first 1 lb. pork sausage last night. It makes enough to serve 10-12 hungry people, so you could cut the recipe in half and still serve an average hungry family with just half a pound of meat.

Pasta with sausage and greens

1 t. canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 lb. pork sausage
3 bunches of greens (I used kale, swiss chard, and turnip greens, but any sturdy greens would work)
1/2 t. fennel seeds
1 t. basil
1 t. thyme
2 t. oregano
about 1/4 t. red pepper flakes, more to taste
1 quart crushed tomatoes
(NO salt needed)
1 lb. noodles like rigatoni or fusilli

Cook noodles according to package directions, pulling out at just before al dente.

Saute the onion and garlic in oil. Once translucent, add the pork sausage and spices, breaking up into small pieces as it browns. Once it is all browned, add greens in batches, stirring as they wilt. Add tomatoes and stir thoroughly to combine. Add not-quite-al dente pasta. Simmer for 5 minutes for the flavors to combine. Enjoy!

***

This week's CSA box includes the following:

Broccoli
Strawberry Daikon
Cauliflower
Karinata Kale (purple and pretty!)
Spinach
Leeks
Lettuce
Pomegranates

I'll be using the cauliflower and pomegranates in my Thanksgiving dinner. Since cranberries aren't grown locally, we'll be having a jelly made from quince, rhubarb, and strawberry with pomegranate juice mixed in. It is sufficiently tart and sweet for the cranberry lover in my house - Mr. M - and has that gorgeous red color that one expects to accompany their turkey. It does not, however, come from a can in jellied form, so there aren't any of the "can lines" that Mr. M likes so much. Maybe he can have "can lines" next year, haha.

At the farmer's market yesterday, I also bought sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts on the stalk (pretty!), the biggest bunch of celery I've ever seen, eggs, Old World Portuguese cheese (as a Parmesan substitute), a few apples, more of the Hare Hollow Blackberry-ginger balsamic, and the Scarborough Faire herbs - parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Today, I'm getting beets, Yukon Gold potatoes, sugar pumpkins, and onions at the Mountain View market. All that's left will be to pick up the turkey, already on order, and butter and cream.

This is the first year that I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner and my menu is set, my fridge is full, and I spent much of the day cleaning my kitchen yesterday. Today, we're cleaning the dining room and livingroom to accomodate our guests (we'll have a full house with 10 diners, ourselves included.)

Daily menu for Sunday, November 4

It's day four of November's pantry challenge, and I haven't purchased any food until today. I haven't eaten out, and have been pretty consistently on plan (besides the blintzes at yesterday's pot luck.)

Our CSA box this week includes the following veggies:

Red Daikon
Spinach
Pomegranates
Kabocha Squash
Leeks
Lettuce
Corn
Tokyo Turnips

From the newsletter this week:

The food grown at Full Belly Farm has not been irradiated, fumigated, chlorinated or pasteurized. It does not contain genetically modified organisms, hormones or antibiotics. Nor have we implanted it with tracking devices. For these reasons, the food safety technicians may tell you that it is not 'safe.' On this we have a difference of opinion: Full Belly strives to deliver nutritious, tasty food in its pure state and we have 100% confidence in its high quality and integrity.

Hooray for Full Belly Farm, giving us food in its natural state!

I'm excited about pomegranates! Do you have any favorite ways of using them?

We're having corn and clam chowder for dinner, using up two cans of clams from the pantry and several ears of corn that are sadly shrivelling in my fridge from last week. I'm also adding celery, leeks, and new potatoes from the fridge and pantry. The recipe calls for1/2 c. heavy cream for 6 servings, which is definitely not Core, so I'll be counting the small amount per serving (2 Points per serving of heavy cream). I'll be buying milk, a tiny container of heavy cream, and clam juice to complete the recipe, and eggs for the week, for a low, low weekly food expense of under $20. There are advantages to eating out of the pantry!

We're purchasing 1/3 of a local, pastured pig later this month and I'm so excited about the flavorful, humanely raised pork that will soon fill my freezer! TLC Ranch, where the pig is from, has been at the farmer's market over the summer and I've bought small hams from them. Not all pork cuts are Core, of course, just like the beef that we've been working our way through, and some pieces will have to be counted. It's worth it! Some of the sausage will be used in my Thanksgiving stuffing - I'm making an apple, sausage, sage, and caramelized onion stuffing with home made bread. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Daily Menu
Breakfast
Cereal with soy milk

Lunch
Lentil-barley soup with kale and tomatoes (yummy leftovers!!)

Dinner
Clam-corn chowder in the pressure cooker (not local clams, dairy from Clover Stornetta, local produce from Full Belly Farm)
Pomegranates

Reasons to love the farmer's market, in addition to great produce

I'm reminded again this morning why I love the farmer's market. Not only is there a dazzling array of tasty, fresh, locally grown, seasonal produce, fish, tofu, sausage, nuts, oils and vinegars, cheeses, and breads, but today, vegan butternut squash tamales (yummy!), an accordian player, a small band, a man making animals out of rubber bands, and a Draft Gore stand with a petition to draft Al Gore to run for president. I discovered that cornmeal can be purchased from Full Belly Farm and ginger will be sold next year from the woman who grows all the yummy Asian produce. Yep, it's enough to make a gal like me weak in the knees. The Palo Alto farmer's market runs through early December, and then I'll have to find new Saturday morning entertainment.

This morning, I picked up a pound of snapper for tomorrow night's dinner, Snapper Veracruz; smoked cheddar cheese, dried cranberry beans, Glaum eggs (certified humane), a couple of yellow bell peppers, cilantro and green onions, and 10 pounds of "Sweet September" peaches to freeze for pancakes, smoothies, and oatmeal this winter. I also bought one heirloom Red Delicious apple, which was indeed delicious and resembled the glossy, mealy store-bought variety in name only. I spent about $45. So far this month, I think I'm up to about $90, including milk (Organic Valley from California) and soy milk purchased at Costco last week.

The CSA box this week includes:

Basil
Green beans
Red Russian Kale
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Acorn squash
Corn

Farm Fun at the Hoe's Down

Jax, Mr.M, Mr.M's mom, my friend B, and I spent Saturday at Full Belly Farm's 20th Annual Hoes Down, locavore heaven! We had a great time! Jax and Mr.M spent most of the day climbing through the straw fort, with occasional breaks to pet the goats and climb on tractors. The childrens' area also had quite a few workshops and activities for bigger kids, like making acorn bread, painting gourds, making clay creatures or corn husk dolls, story time in the tipi, ice cream churning, felt making, an obstacle course called "Peas and Chaos," and pumpkin carving. Next year, perhaps Jax will appreciate more than the straw fort, but he had a great time just climbing!






Meanwhile, I went to a few of the workshops with my friend B., including sheep sheering, a tour of the farm led by farmer Andrew Brait, and "What's Your Beef?" with Jim and Mary Rickert of Prather Ranch explaining what it means to be grassfed, natural, and organic when it comes to beef. The tour was especially interesting to me, learning about where the food in my CSA box comes from each week and talking to one of the men who puts it there. Here's a picture of the brand new broccoli, which we'll be enjoying later this winter.



Other workshops offered were a tour of a straw bale house (we arrived too late for that one,) blacksmithing (Mr.M caught that while I was learning about beef), cow milking, composting, a native plant walk, olives and olive oil, organic strawberries, fruit trees, chickens and eggs, bees, grapes, farm insects and diseases, and farm equipment. Old fashioned games like sack races, apple bobbing, a watermelon eating contest, and a manure pitch-off were held. Live music could be enjoyed at either of two stages, and a large group was learning to square dance as we were getting ready to leave. The Herb Yurt offered a variety of activities learning about herbs, and a wagon ride led by draft horses continually circled the farm for those wanting a bit of a break from all the activity. The California Indian Culture and Arts area offered demonstrations of basket weaving and how to make pine nut bracelets.

Additionally, a farmer's market was set up in the center square so we could enjoy the many seasonal fruits and vegetables, along with stands offering Prather Ranch organic hamburgers, chicken dinners with Rosie organic chickens, Drakes bay oysters, grilled veggies, baked goods, organic ice cream and popsicles. Our burgers were excellent, as was the grilled sweet corn and vanilla ice cream. It was not a Core meal, but it was worth it! WERC (Whole Earth Reusable Cooperative) provided reusable plates and flatware for all of the food, and composting was readily available for anything left uneaten. For an event this large (5,000 people were estimated to attend) you can just imagine how much garbage was kept from the landfill by reusing, recycling, and composting.

I had a chance to meet Jessica Prentice, author of Full Moon Feast, the local foods wheel, and one of the Locavore founders. Of course, I gushed that finding the locavore movement changed my life - I'm happier, healthier, and lighter since starting the journey.

One could spend the entire day and not see everything. Had we stayed overnight, we could have spent Sunday river rafting trip, learned about biodiesel, or taken a more extensive tour of walking tour of the farm. Next year we're camping overnight so we can enjoy more of the festivities!

A reporter from Woodland's Daily Democrat heard me compliment Andrew Brait, the Full Belly Farmer who led our tour, and interviewed me for the paper. You can read her story about the Hoes Down here.

The Grains are Here!

I picked up my first Grain CSA shipment last weekend, and it included:

2 bags of pancake mix
1 bag of rye flour
1 bag of hot cereal
1 bag of hard red wheat
1 bag of whole barley
3 dried red corn on the cobs
1 spray of wheat

Each bag weighs about two pounds, some more, some less. The newsletter tells me that the whole corn can be used as posole, added into soups, breads, or whole with butter. I'll be looking through the whole grains cookbook for posole recipes!

The pancake mix has this to say for itself:

Rafael's Pancake Mix
You can use this pancake mix for waffles, pancakes, muffins, cakes, or any non-yeast kind of quickbread in place of all-purpose flour or pastry wheat. Rafael shucked all the corn for this and the San Francisco Waldorf's 4th grade class picked all the corn. This is Rafael's special blend of many rare grains, including: Oaxacan green dent corn, teff, flax seed, orange popping amaranth, len wheat, ry, Ethiopian hulless barley, and hulless oats!

I made up a batch of peach pancakes this afternoon, and the mix is made delightfully fluffy, light pancakes with a more complex flavor than standard white flour mix. I froze them flat between layers of wax paper for quick breakfasts; they'll be easy to reheat in the toaster. Everything but the spices and baking powder is locally grown, with pancake mix from the CSA and peaches frozen after our August trip to Frog's Leap.

Peach Pancakes
3 c. pancake mix or all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. ginger
1/8 t. nutmeg
2 eggs
2 T honey, melted to liquid consistency, or 2 T sugar
1/4 t. vanilla
1 T canola oil
2 c. fat free milk
2 peaches, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
(optional, 1/4 c. chopped pecans)

Sift together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then beat in honey, oil, and milk. Stir liquid mixture into dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Gently fold peaches into batter.

Preheat griddle, then spray with non-stick spray (I use Canola oil in a Misto sprayer.) Ladle about 1/8 c. onto the griddle to make 4 inch pancakes. Cook until bubbles are just set, then flip to cook the other side. Serve immediately or freeze flat between layers of wax paper. Serves 8, 3 pancakes per serving.

Pancakes are not CORE because flour is not CORE. Each serving is 4 Points.

Dinner tonight is leftover lentil-rice soup with kale. I made a big batch last night. This had just 10 minutes of hands on time and made the whole house smell yummy. You might want a dash of Tabasco sauce for the heat-seeking eater, but it's really warm and hearty, full of fiber and protein, and lots of healthy veggies.

Lentil-Rice Soup with Kale

8 servings

1 T olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over

1 cup brown rice

8 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 t. thyme

1 t. oregano

1/4 t. pepper

1 bunch kale, chopped into bite sized pieces

Saute onion, garlic, carrot, and celery in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add lentils and brown rice and stir together for a few minutes. Add stock and spices. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce to simmer for 45 minutes. Add kale and cook 5 minutes longer. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Farmer's Market Finds

I was excited to be back at the farmer's market this morning after three weeks away for classes. I spent $20 today for peanuts from C. Farm in Sanger, fresh cranberry beans from Full Belly Farm (aren't those gorgeous?), Brussels sprouts on a stalk from Green Oaks Creek Farm, Red Flame Grapes, and corn on the cob. We're going to eat well this week!

I'll probably spend an extra $15 on milk and eggs, but this will be a low-spend grocery week overall. My budget for September is up to $347.24, well under my budget of $520 (based on the USDA Thrifty Food Plan in August.) I've been including my mother in law in my monthly budget, but she is not eating here as frequently as expected and I'm bringing my budget back down to include just me, Mr.M, and 2 year old Jax, $421.85 per month. I expect October to be well under this amount.

Today's CSA box includes:

Basil
Eggplant
Red Russian Kale
Onions
Gypsy or Flamingo Peppers
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Surprise Melon

***

Daily Menu

Breakfast at the Farmer's Market

20 oz. Watermelon juice (6 Points - OUCH!)

Corn tortilla (1 Point)

2 T. queso fresco (3 Points)

beans, cabbage, salsa

Lunch

2 c. milk

orange

Dinner

Quinoa picadillo in acorn squash boats

Corn on the cob, 1 t. olive oil

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 10

WPA points available: 29

Activity points today: 4 (Walk Away the Pounds 3 miles video)

Activity points this week: 4

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines

1. Fruits and veggies - 5+

2. Whole grains - quinoa

3. Milk - yes

4. Healthy oil - 2

5. Protein - yes

6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes

7. Water - 8+

8. Multivitamin - yes

Three Bean Soup with Potatoes

It's been a busy weekend! I'm taking all day classes on Saturdays in September, so Mr.M picked up out CSA box this week and I didn't make it to any farmer's markets. This will be it for the week!

Included in this week's box:
Corn
Eggplant
Edamame
Melon
Onion
Tomatoes
Sweet peppers
Peaches

Yum!

***

For Meatless Monday, we're having Three Bean Soup with Potatoes. I made it early in the day to give it more time to simmer, but it would be easy to make in about an hour without a whole lot of hands on time, and makes a huge pot that will freeze well and be super tasty reheated.

I'm using Red Calypso, Black, and Cannelini beans from Phipps Country Store, and am due for another trip out as I'm down to just one little bag of beans! The veggies all came from Full Belly Farm, except for the jalapeno growing in my front yard and cilantro from C. Farm.

Three Bean Soup with Potatoes
Beans
1 c. dry, picked over Red Calypso Beans (can be substituted for any medium-sized firm bean, like pintos)
1 c. dry, picked over Black Beans
1 c. dry, picked over Cannelini Beans
8 c. vegetable broth
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 T. canola oil (to keep beans from foaming)

In the pressure cooker, cook on high for 25 minutes. Let pressure come down naturally. Drain beans, reserving broth for another use. You could also soak the beans overnight and use a stove top method to cook them.

Soup
1 onion, diced
2 sweet peppers, diced (I used one red, one orange)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and membranes removed, diced fine
1 T. olive oil
Cooked beans
3-4 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 T. chili powder
3-4 c. tomatoes, diced with juices
2 or more cups reserved broth, depending on how soupy you want it
4 large potatoes, diced
2 c. corn, fresh or frozen
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, peppers, garlic, and jalapeno in olive oil. When onions are translucent, add beans, cilantro, chili powder, tomatoes, potatoes, and broth. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add corn and salt and pepper and simmer 10 minutes more.

This makes a huge pot of soup. If you want it thicker, you could puree half of the soup in batches. Very tasty!

***

I weighed in on Friday and was down .4 lb., not bad considering the extravagent (for me) meal on Wednesday night. My total is now 29.6. My goal is 31 lb. by September 23, and I should be able to reach it!

Eat Local Challenge, weigh in, and daily menu for September 1

I will spend September participating in the Eat Local Challenge. As part of this challenge, I will continue to buy, prepare, photograph, and eat locally, sustainably grown foods, and will blog all about it. I'm commiting to posting my daily menu every day for the month of September. I'll also try my hand at canning, freezing, and dehydrating the local produce available now so that I have it in the winter.

The exceptions: I will eat spices and condiments like soy sauce that are already in my pantry, grains already in my pantry, and will buy the ingredients for my son's birthday cake that aren't locally produced. All are organic and fair trade (chocolate for the cake) and were (or will be) purchased at a locally owned store.

I'll do it on the USDA's Thrifty Plan budget (currently $132.30 a week for my family), not part of the Eat Local Challenge but an ongoing challenge for myself. I hope to lose an additional 8 lb. this month.

***

Budget Update

As I anticipated, August was an outliar in the budget. I prepaid for 6 months of grains and a full year of produce through CSAs, bringing the total to a whopping $1056.78. Not including the CSA renewals, my total was a much more reasonable $321.53, well under the $519.13 a month that I am alloted on the Thrifty Budget.

The plus side of this outlay of cash is that my food bill for the rest of the year be significantly lower, with both fresh produce and grains paid for in advance.

***

For my first act in the Eat Local Challenge, today I am disassembling 7 local, pastured chickens from Soul Food Farm, packaging and freezing them, and making a big pot of stock, also to be frozen for future use. The chickens cost me $97.00, the first expenditure for this month's budget. I also bought a dozen pastured eggs for $5.

***
Today's Full Belly Farm CSA box includes:

Eggplant
Grapes
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Peaches
Summer squash
Peppers
Melon

At the farmer's market, I spent $32 and bought garlic chevre (goat cheese), cilantro, green onion, fresh peanuts (I haven't ever seen local peanuts!), olive oil, and LOTS of red peppers to roast and freeze.

Including the chickens, I'm up to $135 for September's food.

***

Another Saturday morning, another weigh in! This week, the scale showed a lost of 2.8 lb., for a total of 29.2 gone. I'm well on my way to the goal of 30 lb. by September 23.

***

Daily Menu

Breakfast
Melon from Full Belly Farm
2 c. milk from Clover Stornetta Farms

Lunch
2 eggs
1/4 oz. cheese (.5 Points)
apple

Dinner
Grilled eggplant stacks with goat cheese and balsamic reduction (2 Points) including eggplant from Full Belly Farm, red peppers from Happy Quail, vinegar from Hare Hollow, wine from Frog's Leap, and garlic chevre (goat cheese) from Spring Hill Cheese
Bulgur (locally purchased but not produced) with homemade chicken stock, lemon juice and lemon zest from the tree across the street, and lemon olive oil from St. Helena Olive Oil Company and a bit of fresh thyme
Grilled corn on the cob
A glass of wine from Frog's Leap

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 4.5
WPA points available: 33.5
Activity points today: 3 (30 minute Walk Away the Pounds video)
Activity points this week: 3

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies - 5+
2. Whole grains - bulgur
3. Milk - yes
4. Healthy oil - yes
5. Protein - eggs
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+
8. Multivitamin - yes

I ate past the "sigh" and loved every bite!

Mr.M and I returned from our three-day Napa/Sonoma getaway last night refreshed, just how one wants to return from a few days away from work, home, and child in one of the most gorgeous, serene destinations in the country. We ate well, drank well, and spent an entire afternoon napping; it was lovely.

Wednesday:
We had a very loose itinerary. After dropping off Jax at my parents' house, we had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. In the rush to get everything done, we hadn't had breakfast and I was quite hungry. I ordered a shrimp salad with whole beans and cheese on the side. I used salsa as the dressing, added beans and just a sprinkle of cheese, avoided the shell and chips, and it was a satisfying lunch. I would order that again, even without shrimp as the beans gave it enough protein and plenty of fiber for keeping me full for a while.

St. Helena Olive Oil Company was the first stop in wine country. We tasted a variety of olive oils, vinegars, mustards, and dips, all delicious and many made on site. I particularly liked the lemon olive oil, with a crisp lemon bite and fruity olive flavor, and brought a bottle home for salads.

Our next stop was at one of the two wineries on our itinerary, Frog's Leap. (We never made it to the second!) We were too late for a tour but spent half an hour chatting with Megan, a friendly administrator who gets to work in the sales room one day a week. She told us about the organic, sustainable practices that the winery employs and gave us samples of the Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel. We're not big wine drinkers, but we really enjoyed it and bought half a dozen bottles. The tours were booked for the next few days, but Megan took our number to let us know if there was a cancellation, and sure enough she was able to get squeeze us into a tour the next morning.

We drove up to Calistoga where we stayed at the Calistoga Inn. It's a quaint, European style hotel (shared bathrooms) over a restaurant and pub. We walked down picturesque Lincoln Ave. (like walking in a 1950's postcard!) and stopped for dinner at All Seasons Bistro. We sharing two delicious, locally sourced meals: roasted pork loin medallions with stone fruit chutney (melt-in-your-mouth tender) and a glass of chardonnay, and Sonoma duck duo - seared breast and leg confit - with pan juices and Provencal vegetables (and bacon! yum!) and a glass of petit syrah. For dessert, s'mores with homemade graham cracker, homemade marshmallow, and a decadent espresso-chocolate ice cream. We "mmmm"-ed all through dinner! The waiter recommended the wines to us (as I said, we're not big wine drinkers and wouldn't have known where to start) and they complimented the meals quite nicely.

We spent the evening in the pub at the Calistoga Inn listening to a local band and drinking excellent beer, brewed on site. We tried the Kolsch, Porter, and a guest India Pale Ale from a microbrewery in Eureka. I also enjoyed a few mojitos. The bar staff was friendly and atmosphere was great for sharing company with a few locals and a pair of Swedish college boys on a whirlwind US tour.

Thursday:



We were back at Frog's Leap for the tour first thing Thursday morning, which in Napa means 10:30 am. (Nothing is open in the valley before 10 am!) Rachel led the tour, and she had so much energy and enthusiasm that it was hard not to be excited with her about the winery. The organic, sustainable winery utilizes dry farming methods (no irrigation, no fertilizers, and no pesticides), solar panels to cover all of its electricity, and is home to 5 acres of organic orchards and vegetable gardens which adds natural biodiversity and encourages beneficial insects throughout the property. Their 200 acres of vineyards boast grapevines with 22 feet deep root systems; industry standard is a mere 2 feet. Having such deep roots help the grapes retain water in the soil and withstand root pests, which only live in the top two feet of soil. They plant cover crops off season as nitrogen fixers and to add nutrients to the soil. (Who knew I was so interested in soil?!)

The barn is one of 5 original red barns in the county, restored with 80% of its original boards and 20% reclaimed wood. The main house was also built with reclaimed wood, geothermal heating and cooling, and a variety of green building methods. We were encouraged to pick fruit and vegetables from their garden, and living local enough to use it, we brought home two full bags of apples, peaches, and peppers. I'll be freezing peaches, drying apples, and roasting peppers this weekend!



And, of course, the wine was fantastic. We found the tour fascinating and would highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. The tour is free, and we tasted five wonderful wines. As wine novices, we also learned quite a bit about what to look for in different types of wines and how they are produced.

We ate a packed lunch of black-bean and wheat berry salad with fresh veggies and apples picked at Frog's Leap, and then went back to our room for a short nap that turned into a long nap. The second winery that we planned to visit was snoozed through.

For dinner, we visited The Girl and The Fig. This was another amazing meal. We started with a cheese and fruit sampler (left to right): cow's milk Three Sisters Serena, goat's milk Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, and sheep's milk Bellwether Farm's Pepato. All three are California cheeses, and they were delicious! We especially liked the sheep's milk cheese, studded with peppercorns. They were served with apples, nuts, fig chutney, and fig cakes.



We both had heirloom tomato soup with basil and saffron, and for our entrees, Mr.M tried the grass fed flatiron steak with pommes frites and I had the daily special, herb-crusted halibut with saffron Israeli couscous and spinach, sauteed baby squash, and a red-pepper sauce. It was beautiful, colorful, and tasted spectacular. The fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside; the couscous had that warm, rich saffron flavor, and the sauce complimented both. Mr.M's steak was equally delicious and very tender. For dessert, I enjoyed a small scoop of chocolate orange sorbet, fig and port ice cream, and hazelnut gelato. I had the "wine flight" with my meal - three tastes of wine, one with the soup, one with the entree, and a port with the dessert. I didn't write down what they were, unfortunately, but they were tasty!




Friday:
Friday morning we headed down to Napa to visit Copia, the American Center for Wine, Food, and The Arts. They offer cooking demonstrations (we attended one featuring tomatoes), wine tastings, and regular classes in addition to their ongoing exhibits, Forks in the Road about the American food experience and Hungry Planet, a fascinating photo series documenting what families eat for an entire week in countries around the world, based on the book of the same name by Peter Menzel. It is a beautiful building and the grounds house several acres of edible gardens. We ate lunch at Julia's Kitchen inside the Copia, which offered a number of the garden's fruits and vegetables on their menu.

For lunch, I had the portobello mushroom wellington with eggplant puree, asparagus, and tomatoes. It was almost too pretty to eat, and tasted as good as it looked! The pastry was flaky and the sauce had a creamy texture but tangy, savory flavor that was just delightful.



After the Copia, we picked up Jax and came home. It was so nice to just spend time with Mr.M alone, no work, no baby, no worries for a few days, and we had fun just being together.

***

I was sure that I gained weight as I indulged in all of these amazing meals, eating the bread, desserts, and delectable sauces but when I went to Weight Watchers this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to have lost .4 lb.! Sweet!

***

At the farmer's market after Weight Watchers, I renewed my CSA box a year in advance. Add $686 to my monthly total and my budget is blown out of the water, but broken down it's just $58 a month for fresh, local, organic produce delivered to me. You really can't beat that. By paying a year in advance, I save a dollar a week. Since summer is the busy season for our family business, and the time of year when I have a little extra cushion in the budget, it was worth it to pay upfront and not have to worry about coming up with it in the winter, when the budget is tighter by necessity.

Today's box includes:
corn
cucumbers
eggplant
cantaloupe
honeyloupe
peppers
potatoes
tomatoes

This will be a tasty week! I also spent $24 on Pacific snapper for dinner tonight, cheese and butter from Spring Hill, onions, and Glaum eggs. I still need milk, rice, and yogurt, which will bring the total closer to $44 for this week's groceries, plus the CSA payment.

***

Daily Menu

Breakfast
apple
2 slices Alvarado Street Bakery toast and 1 t. Spring Hill scallion-lemon butter (3 Points)

Lunch
red lentil soup with tomatoes and potatoes
1 oz. cheese (3 Points)
peach

Dinner
more red lentil soup (yummy!)

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 6
WPA points available: 35
Activity points today: 8 (The Firm video)
Activity points this week: 8

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies - 5+
2. Whole grains - whole wheat bread
3. Milk - yes
4. Healthy oil - yes
5. Protein - yes (fish)
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+
8. Multivitamin - yes

12 week progress report

I've now been on program for 12 weeks. I've tried Weight Watchers a dozen or more times, lost 15-20 lb., and then quit and gained that back plus more. This is the longest I've ever stuck to the program and also the most weight I've ever lost, and I'm continuing to feel motivated and on track. This time is different: cutting out the junk food, the processed, chemical, fake stuff, and caring for the first time about where the food comes from has made such a difference not only in my weight loss but in how I am looking at food altogether.

In the past twelve weeks, I've lost:
26 pounds
32.5 inches
30 points on my cholesterol
two pant sizes (from 28 to 24) and two shirt sizes (from 26 to 22)

In its place, I've gained:
endurance!
the ability to climb a flight of stairs without getting winded, walk a mile without taking a break, and finish the 55 minute FIRM exercise DVD (whew, that last one was tough)
a passion for dried beans and whole grains

I'm feeling so motivated to continue, and am thrilled with my progress so far. This is just the beginning!

***

I went to the farmer's market this morning and picked up my CSA box from Full Belly Farm. In it this week:

Basil
Bi Color Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Canary Melon
Cantaloupe Melon
Onion
Heirloom tomato

At the market, I also bought the longest celery I've ever seen, a head of cauliflower, green onions, silken tofu, a variety of colorful peppers and a jar of local smoked paprika, and a small ham. I spent $35 today toward this week's food. Yesterday I went to the grocery outlet and spent $18, mostly stocking up on local (Sebastapol), organic applesauce on sale for $1.50 a jar. I also hit Costco for Gardenburgers (not local, but they're easy for Jax and he loves them,) local, organic carrots, local mushrooms, and olive oil (not local, but organic.) I spent under $35. This week's food expense is up to $88.00. I'll need more milk and eggs later in the week, and will probably pick up some picnic fixings on our trip to Napa, so it will probably hit the weekly budgetted amount at that point.

***

Daily Menu

Breakfast
Baked oatmeal
2 c. milk

Lunch
Melon Chicken Salad (2 Points for the dressing, no walnuts)

Dinner
Grilled pork with balsamic reduction (from TLC Ranch)
Roasted eggplant and cauliflower with 1 t. oil (from Full Belly Farm and Green Oaks Creek Farm and Retreat
Tomatoes with salt and pepper (from Full Belly Farm)
Wheatberries with 1 t. olive oil and lemon (from Full Belly Farm)

Dessert
4 oatmeal cookies (12 Points)
milk

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 14
WPA points available: 30
Activity points today: 9 (5 for walking at a leisurely pace for 70 minutes; 4 for 1/2 of The Firm Aerobic Body Shaping - and I'm still sore from Thursday!)
Activity points this week: 13

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies - 5+
2. Whole grains - oatmeal, brown rice
3. Milk - yes
4. Healthy oil - yes
5. Protein - yes (chicken, pork)
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+
8. Multivitamin - yes

Fruits of our neighbors

Mr.M and Jax went on a walk last night and brought home a bag full of goodies. It seems that they stopped to chat with each neighbor with a fruiting tree, told them about our quest to eat local foods, and were given as much as they could carry. They brought home apples, oranges, lemons, a big grapefruit, and mouths smeared with blackberry (they don't travel well in the company of bigger fruit!) The blackberry bush's owner said we were welcome back, so I'll be back to get a batch to freeze. Same goes for apples - applesauce is coming our way with these sweet, tart beauties.

What is growing in your neighborhood? Most of the tree-owners we've encountered are happy to give fruits away from their trees and it never hurts to ask if you could enjoy a few. It doesn't get much more local than that!

***

I took off what was gained last week, and then some, so I'm feeling good about today's weigh in. I'm now down 24 lb. in 11 weeks and making strides toward my goal of 10%/31 lb. by September 23. My BMI, still well within the obese range, is down 4 points.

***

The Weight Watchers leader substite I didn't like (see the June 22 entry) was back again. She started the meeting by saying she'd gained 5 pounds and the scales must be off. Well, I lost 3.8 lb and am counting on them being right! Then she goes on to talk about how she started out SO fat at 170 lb. and how did she let herself get so big, and talking to a new woman about how it's good that she started WW before really getting heavy. Um, HELLO!? I'm starting out at 311 lb. and my GOAL is 165. I'll be THRILLED, jumping up and down and hugging anyone who will let me, when I reach 170 and even then it will take more than a year of hard work to get there. I almost left in the middle of the meeting, but I wanted to tell her how discouraging that was. She talked again about how she doesn't exercise, but she has heard it can help. Our regular leader is at a bowling tournament and she said the regular leader was "almost fanatical" about exercise. WHAT?

After the meeting, I told her that I found talking about the weight in numbers really discouraging, since she was feeling so horrible about being at my goal weight. She said that's not what she meant, and I'm taller and she has smaller bone structure besides (taller by two inches and who can see my bone structure under all this padding?), and that she was eating unhealthy and not at a good weight for her. I said she should say she was eating unhealthy and was uncomfortable at her weight instead of saying how terrible 170 is. I'm still feeling discouraged and will be mentioning it to my regular leader next week. (I find my regular leader inspiring and incredibly helpful. She has lost 140 lb. and I can identify with her.)

***

Budget

I've been eating primarily local, organic, CORE foods and doing it on the USDA's Thrifty Plan for cost of food at home - just about $92 a week for my family. I went over a few weeks and under a few weeks, but my average is right about $90 for the past 6 weeks. We're adding an eater to our family, as I'm cooking lunch and dinner for my mother in law (for here or to go) in exchange for childcare when I go back to school next month. She eats here frequently anyway, but now it's a bit more of a formal arrangement and I'm adding her into our cost of food. With that addition, my weekly budget is now $119.80. Thank goodness for all the free fruits, since I bought only $73.57 this week so far.

This week, I've spent:

$26.00 for two chickens and a dozen eggs at Soul Food Farms
$33.57 for bread, polenta, yogurt, milk, applesauce, spices, spaghetti, dried tomatoes, feta cheese, a bottle of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and an apple bar for Jax at Country Sun
$14.00 for two blocks of smoked sharp cheddar from Spring Hill Cheese

I also sent in $180.00 for the Grain CSA payment. It has been a bad couple of weeks for fishing so the whole salmon isn't in quite yet, but that will be here soon adding to our monthly budget. Also, I'll be renewing my produce CSA box at the end of the month, adding another $185.00 to the month expenditures.

***

Daily Menu

Breakfast
1 slice California Style whole grain toast from Alvarado Street Bakery (1 Point)
1/2 t. butter from Spring Hill Cheese (yummmm!), 1 t. Strawberry Rhubarb jelly from Phipps Country Store (1 Point)
1 c. plain fat free Wallaby yogurt
1/4 c. steel cut oatmeal
2 apricots

Lunch
leftover Chicken cacciatore with whole wheat pasta and 1 t. olive oil
Apple from a neighbor's yard

Dinner
We ate at Fresh Choice. I had a bowl of pho noodles (1 Point for the noodles), a huge salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a brownie (3 Points).

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 6
WPA points available: 32
Activity points today: 3 (Walking)
Activity points this week: 3

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies - 5+
2. Whole grains - oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread
3. Milk - yes
4. Healthy oil - yes
5. Protein - yes (chicken)
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+
8. Multivitamin - yes