Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick

Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.

At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."

Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.

A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."

She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.

"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."

http://survivingthemiddleclasscrash.wordpress.com/2008/06/05/apathy-and-greed-fuel-food-crisis/

Apathy and Greed Fuel Food Crisis
Posted by Barbara Peterson under Food Localization, Growing Your Own, Survival | Tags: Apathy; Corporations; Food Cost; Food Crisis; Food For |

by Jim Goodman

We seldom think about the availability of food. As a nation we have never been hungry and until recently food shortages always happened somewhere else. Still, we have little connection to the farm, most of us don’t know where our food comes from and we couldn’t care less. Some farmers are still small, growing and selling locally, but the big guys need GPS in the tractor and constant commodity updates as they contemplate planting more soy in Brazil or an investment in a Polish hog factory.

That’s a problem, our food system has gone global. Food is no longer food in the sense of “let’s sit down to supper,” food is an international commodity. It is viewed in strict economic terms both by the shopper looking for bargains at the supermarket and the stock traders who deal in pork bellies, unit trains of corn and cargo ships full of GM soy.

Commodities are fine in the financial world, but they have no place in our bellies. Wall Street couldn’t care less how many varieties of corn are cultivated in Mexico or Guatemala or for how many thousands of years it provided both physical and spiritual sustenance.

The fact that we place little value on our food, or that it no longer gives us the sense of home and community that it once did, goes to the heart of the problem. We have lost control of our food system, as consumers and as farmers. So? Since we still have plenty of food and most of us can still afford it, the current rise in food prices is little more than an inconvenience. Well perhaps, if you have money.

We don’t like to think about the nearly 50,000 people who, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, die every day world-wide from starvation or malnutrition-related diseases. Pictures of emaciated children make us very uncomfortable, but so long as we are not part of those pictures we can pretend the problem doesn’t exist.

But, the problem does exist, people cannot afford to eat. The image of Haitians eating cakes made of oil, sugar and mud in an attempt to stave off hunger pangs has to tell us something is terribly wrong.

Food shortages, high prices, corn ethanol, drought, together creating the “perfect storm”? It’s more than that, this food crisis points to a system in meltdown. In a world controlled by corporations, only one thing matters, profit, not ethics, not the environment, not food sovereignty, not even starvation. If you have money you matter, if you are poor you don’t.

While the price of bread and rice forces the poor to eat mud, could a butter shortage in Japan or a shortage of rye flour in the US, however inconsequential, cause even the rich to ask some questions about their food? Who could pass up beef tenderloin selling for $4.99/lb? A bargain, yet, how can it happen, what’s the hidden cost? Record high feed costs are forcing farmers to sell off their breeding stock, which means cheap tenderloin today and expensive burger tomorrow. We never question bargains, but we should.

Our apathy about our food, where it was grown, who grew it, what’s been added to it, is an open invitation for corporate interests to take control. We handed them the keys to the pantry and told them to make their profits however they wished.

Fuel shortages and high energy prices do not surprise us, why should food shortages and high food prices? The parallels are precise and exact. When we allow corporations to control entire systems they determine the source, supply and price.

It’s time we took control of our food system. Started producing more food locally, planted a garden again. Time we found the nearest Farmers Market. Time we started thinking about food in the big picture rather than whatever happens to be on our plate at the moment. Time we scrapped this corn ethanol nonsense. In sum, we need to reclaim our food system from the speculators, the corporations and the international financial institutions that pressure farmers to grow commodities instead of food.

And, what would it take for us to overcome our apathy towards food? No more pastrami on rye, no more butter? We seem oblivious to the 800 million people at risk of starvation, could a scarcity of our luxuries wake us up? We assume that the food we need and the food we love will always be available but, maybe it won’t.

Original posting at OpEdNews

http://sarahmeyerwalsh.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/national-doughnut-day/

Happy National Doughnut Day!
Jump to Comments

In honor of National Doughnut Day, here is my great grandmother’s recipe for homemade doughnuts dusted with sugar.

Homemade Doughnuts

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 1/2 tsps salt
1/2 tsps baking soda
2 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
4 tbsps butter, melted
2 large eggs
vegetable oil for frying

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar, buttermilk, butter, and eggs, then add to flour and stir until a dough forms (dough will be very sticky).

Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently 8 times. Flour dough and the rolling pin, then roll out dough into a 12-inch round (about 1/3 inch thick). Cut out as many doughnuts as possible with floured 3-inch doughnut cutter and transfer to lightly floured baking sheets. Gather scraps, reroll, and cut more doughnuts in same manner.

Heat oil in a large heavy pot until thermometer registers 375°F.

Working in small batches, slide doughnuts into oil and fry. Once each doughnut floats to surface, turn over and fry 50 seconds, then turn again and fry 50 seconds more. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Cool slightly and dredge in remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar.

Enjoy!

http://startingfromscratch-mary.blogspot.com/

Cranberry-Orange Nut Loaf
Veganomicon p 228 (buy the book!!!)

Makes 1 loaf
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes, not including cooling time

1/2 cup soy milk (skim)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup canola oil (applesauce-equal measure)
1 cup sugar (1/2 cup agave nectar)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour (1 cup ea. whole wheat and unbleached white)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 T grated orange zest
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
(I used dried and not nearly enough, but fresh would be better)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat to 325F. Lightly grease a 9x5 in pan.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the milk, OJ, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and allspice. Mix until just smooth. The batter will be thicker than a normal cake batter, so don’t be alarmed.

Fold in the orange zest, cranberries, and walnuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for about 1 hour. Let the bread cool for about 15 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack. Flip it right side up to cool further.
by Mary

1-2-3-4 Cake

1 cup of butter (or 8ozs)

2 cups of sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups of flour

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

1 cup water

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Prepare two 8 or 9 inch layer tins (cake pans), lining bottom with greaseproof paper. Grease paper but not sides of tin.

2. Cream butter and add sugar gradually. (Do not use butter butter at room temperature if room is warmer than 75 degrees. In Jamaica it is usually too soft at room temperature, so use about 10 minutes out of the refrigerator- not the freezer.)

3. Add eggs one at a time, beating each egg for about 3 minutes.

4. Add vanilla.

5. Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture and water alternately. Add flour in 4 portions and water in 3, beginning and ending with flour.

6. Pour in prepared layer tins.

7. Bake layers for 25 minutes. (If using 1 tin to bake mixture, lower temperature to 350 degrees F. It will take approximately 1 1/4 hours and will not be as light as cakes baked in layer tins.)

8. Allow cake to cool in pan -10 minutes. Turn out on wire rack to cool if icing separately. I fyou would like layers to stick together without using filling, as soon as they are turned out of the pan, put them together.

I didn’t use any icing on this cake and my husband (my food critic) loved it and he is not a big “Sweets” person, and my 2 year old kept saying, “Mommy cake please.” It was a very tasty cake :)

Use organic products to make the cake “Organic.”

http://treeiskeepingitreal.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/1-2-3-4-cake/

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/baked-dried-corn-casserole/

Baked Dried Corn Casserole with Dried Peppers
Adapted from a bulk foods pamphlet from Walnut Cheese Nook

1 c. dried corn
2 c. fat free milk, plus 1 c.
2 large eggs, beaten
1 T. melted butter
2 T. sugar
¼ c. dried sweet peppers
Dash of freshly ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Grind the corn in a food process until fine but not powdery. Chop up the dried peppers. In a heavy bottom medium saucepan, slowly heat the two cups of milk until simmering hot. Do not allow it to boil. When milk is hot, add corn and peppers and stir. Let stand for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Add the remaining ingredients, including the extra cup of milk, to the corn and stir well to combine. Place in a greased casserole dish and bake until done, about an hour. It should be set in the middle and browning on the top. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Leftovers make a good lunch and reheat well in the microwave.

(serves 5-6)
Baked Dried Corn Casserole with Dried Peppers

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/12/29/old-fashioned-creamy-corn/

OLD-FASHIONED CREAMY (dried) CORN
Developed with hints from my grandmother and a recipe in the Miami Herald

2 c. dried sweet corn
2 1/4 c. fat free milk
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
2 t. sugar
2 T. butter
dash of cayenne pepper
freshly ground nutmeg
generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 or 4 strips of cooked (soy) bacon, crumbled
1/4 t. dried marjoram

Place corn in a large heavy saucepan and stir in milk and heavy cream. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to use, stir in the sugar, butter, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 35-40 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Place in warmed serving dish and top with crumbled bacon and marjoram. Serve immediately.

(serves 6)

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/vegetable-and-cheese-curd-stir-fry/

Vegetable and Soft Cheese Curd Stir-Fry
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian

1 c. homemade Indian cheese, prepared in the soft curd style
1 bunch of swiss chard, roughly chopped
1/2 c. carrots, sliced thin on an angle
1/2 c. shelled peas, defrosted if frozen
2 scallions, chopped
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. tahini (sesame paste) OR sesame oil
3 T. low sodium soy sauce
prepared rice for serving

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. To hot oil, add the carrots, peas, and scallions. Stir and cook for one minute. Add the swiss chard and stir for another minute. Add 1/4 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and cook vegetables for three to four minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the tahini and soy sauce. Stir well and let cook gently for a minute while you break up the cheese curds into small pieces. Add cheese to the skillet and stir to coat with sauce and heat through.

Serve stir-fry immediately over prepared rice. Makes a nice leftover lunch too.

(serves 3-4)

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/daikon-fettuccine/

Daikon Fettuccine with Tomato Basil Sauce
Adapted from Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking

2 large daikon radishes (about 1 lb)
2 large heirloom tomatoes
3 T. tomato paste
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1 T. frozen basil puree or 2 T. fresh basil chopped

With a vegetable peeler, peel the outer skin of the daikon and discard. Continue to peel the diakon lengthwise to create “fettuccine noodles”. Soak “noodles” in cold salted water for at least 20 minutes or up to overnight. When ready to prepare fettuccine, drain “noodles” on a kitchen towel while preparing the sauce.

To make sauce, heat oil over medium-high and saute onion and garlic until softened. If using frozen basil, add it along with the onion and garlic to begin melting. Dice the tomatoes and add to saucepan. After tomatoes are softened, about 2 minutes, add tomato paste, salt and sugar. Stir well and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Season liberally freshly ground black pepper. If using fresh basil, add it now.

Add drained “noodles” to sauce and toss gently to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes until heated through. Serve immediately, mounded up in bowls (the sauce is rather runny) and garnished with parmesan cheese shavings.

(serves 2)

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/06/20/roasted-vegetable-medley/

How crazy is that beet inside? I almost couldn’t bring myself to eat it. I can see why they call it the Candy Cane variety.

Another experimental addition to the recipe was jicama, a vegetable common in Hispanic cooking. While not a product of the farm, I wanted to give this root vegetable a try after seeing it prepared for salsa on PBS’s Simply Ming. While it was good roasted, it was sensational raw! Give it a try if you can find it in the produce section of your store. (In the picture above, it’s the big brown thing right in front of the olive oil.)

Don’t throw away the turnip, beet and kohlrabi greens you trim off the top of the vegetables for the recipe below. I have a good use for them in the next post, coming shortly. Just store them in a sealed bag with a damp paper towel in the meantime.

ROASTED VEGETABLE MEDLEY

The following medley just happened to be available at the farm this week, but you can use any combination of these vegetables as you find/like them. veggies-to-roast.jpg

3 beets
3 turnips
3 potatoes
4 large radishes
2 kohlrabies, peeled
1 medium jicama, peeled
6 baby leeks, roots trimmed off but left whole
4 garlic cloves
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 T. herbs de provence (mixture of dried thyme, basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, dill, etc.)
3 t. salt (kosher or sea variety preferred)
2 t. fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Wash and dry all the vegetables. Trim off all stems and leaves. Peel off any blemishes from beets, turnips, potatoes and radishes, but leave on the majority of the skin. Cut all vegetables, except the leeks, into fairly uniform cubes about 3/4 inch in diameter. The smaller you cut them, the faster they will cook. Place vegetable cubes on the cookie sheet and drizzle wiht olive oil, reserving 1 tablespoon. Toss and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs. Toss again to coat evenly. Place uncovered into the oven.

After 50 minutes, take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Turn over the vegetables as best you can (some may stick). You should see the edges browning nicely. Drizzle baby leeks with remaining olive oil and some salt and pepper. Place on top of other vegetables on the tray and return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender and golden brown. After plating up, if desired, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar.

(serves 6 as a side dish)

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/07/04/not-for-the-faint-of-spicy-heart/

When Farmer Dave handed me two gi-normous summer squash and asked me what I thought I could do with them, I immediately decided to try pickling them. I had stumbled upon a recipe for such just the day before when browsing the web page of one of my favorite radio programs, “The Splendid Table”. Granted, this recipe was going to push my boundaries, which seems to be happening a lot since I started blogging. I feel a continuous tug to provide something unusual and equally colorful for you folks to mentally munch on when stopping by for a visit. Thus, I took a leap of faith, and delved into a recipe that is both new to me in subject matter (pickled squash) and aggressive spices (i.e., HOT).

spices-for-squash-pickles.jpg

Not one to typically included any hot peppers in my cooking, I was intrigued by the selection of adorable colorful mini peppers available in my grocery store. In another week or two, the farm will have some hot peppers of its own which I’ll be sure to use. Since I was eager to try this recipe, I couldn’t wait for them though. When I got my three cutie peppers home, I soon found out they packed a powerful hot punch. I was the careful cook and washed my hands after slicing them, but later forgot after I tossed the veggie mixture with my hands. I realized my mistake when a spot on my forehead that I’d scratched started to immediately burn. In other words, remember to wash your hands at ever stage of handling the peppers. But you already knew that because you probably use hot peppers all the time. I’ll surely remember for next time.

squash-slices.jpg hot-peppers-for-squash-pickles.jpg
red-onion-slices.jpg squash-mixture-for-pickles.jpg

The final product of this particular pickling is certainly both sweet and curried - shockingly so. Since I’m a fan of the warm spices of Indian food but not such a fan of the fiery heat of hot peppers, I believe my next batch will include only one pepper. If you like serious heat on your taste buds, make these pickles as-is, and you’ll be in heaven. Since they do have such an intense bright flavor and crisp firm texture, I’m sure they’d do well as a “palate cleanser” during a heavy meal. But I’m still searching for the best way to serve them. Do any of you have ideas for appropriate main dishes to place these spicy squash pickles along side? I’d appreciate any suggestions as I have a lot of these pickles and can only eat one bite of them on their own. At this rate, the two quarts will last me until Columbus Day.

SWEET AND HOT CURRIED SQUASH PICKLES
Adapted from The Splendid Table

3 pounds (about 3 medium) summer squash and/or zucchini, cut into very thin rounds
2 medium red onions, peeled and cut into thin rounds
3 small colorful chili peppers, seeds removed and cut into thin rounds
1/4 c. sea saltsquash-pickels-in-container.jpg
2 3/4 c. distilled white vinegar
3/4 c. sherry cooking wine
1 1/2 c. orange juice
2 c. sugar
2 T. prepared curry powder
1 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. whole allspice berries
1 t. whole cloves
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 inch of ginger, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

In a large plastic or ceramic mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, onions, chilies, and salt, and let stand for an hour. Stir the bowl’s contents once or twice during the hour. Drain and rinse thoroughly to remove the salt and set aside.

In a large nonreactive saucepan (generally any pan with a nonstick coating will work; be sure to avoid aluminum pots), bring all the remaining ingredients except the ginger to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring once or twice to be sure the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot liquid over the squash mixture, amply covering all the vegetables. Add the ginger to the bowl and stir.

Allow to cool to room temperature, then place in air tight containers or jars. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. Pickles will keep covered in refrigerator for up to a month.

(makes 2 quarts)

sweet-and-hot-curried-squash-pickles.jpg

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/cheddar-pepper-rolls/

In the end, I decided I was in the mood for rolls for a change, what with so many loaves piling up on my kitchen table, and adapted a basic white crusty roll recipe to give my dried peppers their first shot at doughy stardom. Are the rolls good? Yes! Do I need to continue experimenting to get just the right combination of flavors? Yes. This time around, the cheese stole the spotlight, making the peppers mere supporting cast members. A very good first attempt though and if you don’t have a baggie full of dried sweet peppers, these rolls with just the cheese would still pack powerful flavor.
unbaked roll

Huh! Would you look at that?!! I didn’t have writer’s block after all!

Crusty Cheddar & Dried Pepper Rolls
Loosely adapted from The Big Book of Bread

2 1/2 c. white bread flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. superfine sugar
1 t. easy-blend dried yeast
1 T. cold butter, diced
1/4 c. chopped oven-dried peppers
1 c. warm water
1/4 c. extra sharp cheddar, diced small
lightly salted water

Place the chopped (I actually cut mine with kitchen sheers) dried peppers in hot water to reconstitute while you mix the dough. Stir the flour, salt, sugar and yeast together in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your hands. Drain the peppers and pat dry before adding to the flour mixture.

Make a well in the center of the flour and begin adding the warm water. Stir and add enough water to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured countertop and knead for five minutes or so until smooth and elastic. Place in the cleaned bowl and cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Punch down the risen dough on a floured countertop. Using your hands, spread out the dough into a rough rectangle. Place half the cheese cubes in the center of the rectangle. Fold one side of the dough over the cheese (like folding a piece of paper in thirds). Place the other half of the cheese cubes on top of the folded dough and pull the other third of dough up on top of it. Begin kneading the dough to work in the cheese as evenly as possible.

Using a dough cutter or your thumb and forefinger, divide dough into 12 even pieces. Roll each into a ball and then press down lightly with the palm of your hand. Place rolls on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Brush the tops of the rolls with the salted water. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls are golden, crusty and sound hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. serve warm or at room temperature.

(makes 12)

Crusty Cheddar and Dried Pepper Rolls

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/spicy-indian-potatoes/

I’m so fortunate to have good friends that know me well. There are many “for instance” moments I could tell you about, but I’ll just share one in particular this time. Fred, of homemade dulce de leche fame, reciprocated my gift to him with the most wonderful of cookbooks. I swear the guy can read my mind sometimes…or maybe he just reads the blog more than he lets on… In any case, not long after I’d got done lamenting about how many spices are required by most Indian culinary undertakings, he gives me 5 Spices, 50 Dishes, an Indian cookbook cleverly centered around just five spices, all readily available, and full of mouthwatering dishes. Not only is Inidian food fittingly my most favorite cuisine, but also this handy guide is full of beautiful pictures! You see, I’ve also been known to grumble about how I hate cookbooks that don’t have enough pictures. This one is spot on the money in every way!
Locally grown young red potatoes

Author Ruta Kahate has an easy conversational tone to both her intro and her recipes that demystifies what might otherwise be an intimidating cuisine. Using just coriander, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, and ground turmeric (although she occasionally slips in a few others like ginger, hot peppers and cilantro, which probably technically sidestep a “spice” classification), she puts forth quite a spread. I really think I’m going to use every single one of the vegetable dishes in some form or another since many of them call for the very things we grow at the farm – cauliflower, okra, eggplant, peas, spring onions, and many others.
Onion and mustard seeds

Unable to resist trying out a recipe the very day after I received it, my first venture into this book was a potato dish since that was the only locally grown vegetable in my kitchen at the time. And lucky for me, I already had all five spices used in the book in my spice box (only three were required for this particular recipe though). I was also intrigued by the name - Railway Potatoes - and the story behind them. I obviously enjoy recipes with family heritage, and this dish was one that Ruta’s mother made to take with them on long train trips to visit family in far flung regions of India. It stands to reason that these potatoes might not be known elsewhere as Railway Potatoes, but I like that she has chosen to pay homage to her family’s traditions in her cookbook in such a manner.
A bite of railway potatoes

It’s of little consequence what anyone else calls them, since I’ll just be calling them “Oh so good!”

RAILWAY POTATOES
Adapted from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes

1 ½ lbs. small red potatoes
1 large onion
4 T. peanut oil
½ t. mustard seeds
½ t. ground turmeric
2 t. salt
½ t. cayenne

Quarter the potatoes and then cut into 1/8 inch thick slices. Thinly slice onion. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Have a lid or piece of foil handy to act as a splatter guard. Keeping them separate, measure out each of the spices.

When oil begins to smoke, add the mustard seeds, covering the pan to avoid spattering. As soon as the seeds stop sputtering (about 30 seconds), add the turmeric and give one quick stir. Immediately add the onions and potatoes. Stir and add the cayenne and salt. Stir to cover everything really well and turn done heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking. Serve immediately.

(serves 4)

http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/dulce-de-leche/

[You really want to see the photos and read the beginning of this report...granny]

Get your milk straight from the farm if you can.
This cutie is at my family farm.

So, what makes this recipe different, and thus more on target with what I had in Argentina, is the use of whole fresh milk – as fresh as you can find (I got my from my family farm) – and the baking soda. The chemical reaction created by the addition of the soda is dramatic. In fact, please be careful when you do it… it’s very similar to those science fair volcano projects we all had as kids. But I strongly believe it’s this “explosion” that changes the properties of the ducle de leche in a way that brings the creaminess to its maximum. Just be prepared for it and stir, stir, stir!!!

DULCE DE LECHE
Adapted from www.allfromargentina.blogspot.com

1 gallon whole milk, preferably raw and organic
3 c. sugar
1 c. Splenda or other sugar substitute (or use another cup of sugar if you want)
2 vanilla beans
2 t. baking soda
2 T. water
generous pinch of salt

In the biggest pot you have, combine the milk and sugar. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the beans with the back of the knife. Place beans and scraped out pods in the pot. Turn on the burner to medium heat and stir milk to dissolve the sugar. Turn up heat and bring to a rolling boil. While it comes to a boil, dissolve baking soda in the water. Set aside.

Remove boiling pot from the stove (it’s best to put pot near sink for potential spillage) and fish out the vanilla pods. Add the dissolved baking soda, stirring vigorously as milk will expand rapidly to fill the pot. When the mixture returns to its original volume, return the pot to the stove and bring to a very brisk simmer – it may concern you that it will scorch, but it should be practically boiling. Continue cooking for about an hour until it turns a deep golden brown. It is not necessary to stir it, just check in on it occasionally.

After the mixture has turned dark caramel in color, check it more frequently. The longer you continue cooking it after the color change, the thicker it will be. For a consistency similar to caramel, cook for another 10 minutes. For a thicker spread-like consistency, continue cooking for another 10 minutes. If you cook it even longer, it can turn into candy. Just remember that it will thicken up tremendously after cooling.

Once you’re ready, ladle dulce de leche into sterilized jars. Boil lids in a shallow pan and clean off rims of jars. Seal jars with lids and turn upside down to cool. Jars may seal this way so they can be stored at room temperature. However, if they do not seal, dulce de leche keeps for a very long time in the fridge. Use as a spread on toast or rolls, add to brownie recipes, sandwich between sugar cookies, or stir into coffee.

(makes 4-5 eight ounce jars)

Homemade Dulce De Leche

[LOL, the American version]

http://caviarandcodfish.com/2008/01/21/dulce-de-leche/

You could make Dulce de Leche!

I’ve been wanting to make dulce de leche for some time now, but put it off for being too time-consuming. Time-consuming, now, is exactly what I want. So the other day I got up, poured some milk and sugar into a pot, brought it up to a quick boil, and then down to a low-simmer, and sat back down. The hours that passed after that were just a tad less annoying and a bit happier because I knew I had a pot of milk and sugar that would soon become velvety, warm, buttery caramel. Even though it’s really pathetic that a pot of milk on the stove was the funnest activity I’ve had in days, at least my hurting back was good for something—now I have a big jar of dulce de leche and Jim bought us a spiced apple tart to go with it. And I’m going to eat as much as I please.

Dulce de Leche
makes almost a pint

Ingredients

* 4 cups milk
* 1 cup sugar
* ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Pour milk, vanilla, and sugar into a pot over medium-high heat (make sure the pot is big enough so that milk won’t spill over the sides when it boils). Bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
Turn heat down and slightly simmer over very low heat for about 2.5 to 3 hours. Check the mixture every once in a while to make sure it isn’t simmering too much. (I jarred mine at about 2.5 hours.) When done, stir until smooth and pour dulce de leche into jars. Refrigerate any leftovers.

http://gallimaufree.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/guerrilla-gardening-ideas/

Guerrilla Gardening Ideas
Posted by gallimaufree under food, survival | Tags: guerrilla gardening, survival, survival foods, urban survival |

Plant root crops everywhere - potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, carrots, radishes, daikon, beets, celeriac, taro, maca, jicama, parsnips, parsley root, salsify, skirret, malanga, ginger, cattails, daylilies, peanuts, onions, garlic, sunflowers. These can be both a secret food stash and a place to regularly harvest. If you leave them in the ground, they will be there to dig up all winter long and will grow of their own come spring, increasing the food supply with no further effort. Plant them in any neglected land - on roadsides, don’t get too close to the roads as auto exhaust and cities spraying for weeds and bugs can contaminate the food.

When these foods become naturalized, foragers will always be able to find good food.

You may find yourself among those foragers, so keep records of where you plant these crops so you can return to them in future years for food.

Plant edible vines along fence lines everywhere - grapes, akebia, honeyberries, malabar spinach, wild yams, runner beans, cucumbers, kiwis, passionflowers, gooseberries, peas, loofah, queen’s wreath, woodrose, and chayote. Don’t bother growing kudzu, it’s already everywhere. Simply wildcraft it - kudzu is a very useful plant - you can eat it, weave shoes, baskets, mats, and such from it, and use it as an outstanding herbivore fodder.

If possible, consider planting fruiting trees wherever you can - fruit and nut trees of any sort that grows in your climate. Oaks grow most places in the US and even the bitterest acorns can be rendered edible, but try to plant the sweeter white oaks for human foraging.

Granny note:

This is catching on, and I like the idea, up to a point.

Planting food for all to enjoy I like.

As a landowner, one must also be aware that if you are not very careful, you are headed for a lawsuit.

If I found someone planting on my ground, I would want a fully written out monthly rental agreement, it could be for a dollar, but there needs to be a way to stop the planting, if needed or you could find yourself unable to use your own land, as you have given away rights that you did not plan on giving.

It is a good idea to have your land posted for “no trespassing”.

If, as we are in the desert, water is needed, beware, it may be illegal to allow them to use your water, to do so, may put you in the class of ‘being an illegal water company’.

If your well goes down, the law says you must find and pay for the water for all those nice people you were sharing with.

There is so much more, ingress and egress, rights of all kinds.

And still, if I could be out and about, I would be tempted to go and plant some of the springs in the hills that I know of.

Which I have been doing for all my life, when I ate a piece of fresh fruit or even grapes with seeds, I saved and planted the seeds.

Smile.

Granny

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