What I Eat - Day Thirty-Nine

Hi Everyone!    This entry is all about stocking up for the fall and winter.   Whether you're pickling, canning, or freezing....there are lots of great options for making fresh, local produce last just a little bit longer.   

Breakfast - Black Beans

I fried a red onion, and then added rinsed black beans from a can and pitted Kalmata olives.  I try to always make my own beans, but sometimes I just don't manage the timing of soaking and cooking them.  I topped it with a tomato from my CSA basket, chopped cilantro, and shredded mozzarella Daiya 'cheese.'   

Lunch - Green Bean Dish

Ingredients
-green beans (from the North Bay Farmers' market), ends removed, cut in half, and steamed
-cherry tomatoes (from my CSA basket), halved
-avocado, in chunks
-raw pumpkin seeds
-dried basil
-a splash of white balsamic vinegar

Dinner - Baked Squash and Rice

The rice dish was made by cooking red lentils and rice (2:1 mix with water:beans/lentils, boil, then simmer until water is absorbed).   I caramelized two chopped red onions ( I just left them in my cast iron frying pan at a medium heat until they started to brown, stirring occasionally) and placed a layer of them in the bottom of a one-cup measuring cup.   I then packed the rice/lentil mixture over top of the onions and turned it over on the plate (I've been watching some cooking shows lately, so I decided to get fancy). 

I washed the Red Kambocha squash carefully, cut it in half, removed the seeds, and placed it with the skin up in an oiled glass baking pan and baked it in a 375 degree oven until it was soft when I touched the skin.  Unfortunately, this squash was slightly overcooked.  You can eat the skin, and it's delicious, but usually it doesn't separate from the flesh of the squash quite as much as this photo.  I sliced the squash and drizzled it with a raspberry vinegar.

Stocking up for the winter 

I like to buy local gourds when they are available at the farmers' market and the grocery store (instead of buying them imported from Mexico in the deep of winter).   If you're going to do this, be gentle with them!  Last year, I was biking home from the farmers' market with a basket full of gourds and my basket broke, spilling them all over the street.  They all went bad.  As you can imagine, I was very sad.   Treated gently, they'll keep for months.

Pictured above are baking pumpkins (which I make curried dishes with) and the Ambercup/Red Kobocha squash used in this post's dinner.   Full disclosure -  I bought EVERY one of the Ontario Red Kobocha squash at Sobeys, which is the only store I've seen them in.  You might have trouble finding them this year.  

Dessert - Apple Pie

I found Molly B's ready to bake pie shells at Bins and Bins, and they're definitely the best gluten-free pie shell I've ever tried!  I peeled and chopped four large apples, mixed them with gluten-free flour (about 2 tbsp.), lemon juice (about 1 tbsp.), cinnamon (about 3 tsp.),  nutmeg (about 1 tsp.), and brown sugar (about 1/2 cup) and then followed the instructions on the box for baking time(s).  I reached into the oven about halfway through the baking process and pushed the apples down so that they made a more compact pie.   I peeled the apples both because they weren't organic (more pesticides in the skin) and because I was serving the pie to kids (who can be fussy about fruit peels).  

Pickled Cucumbers

I've been getting so many cucumbers in my CSA basket,  I decided to pickle a few.  It's super easy.  Just made sure sliced cucumber has good contact with vinegar and dill.  

Frozen Peaches

I washed, sliced, and packaged peaches to be frozen and eaten during the winter.  Freezing them in plastic isn't ideal, but I ran out of freezer space AND mason jars (see this post regarding freezing fruit).  

Corn Relish 

I used this recipe (reducing the sugar significantly), though I didn't actually can the relish.   A friend of mine made it, and it tasted really good, so I decided to make some for myself.  In retrospect, this was a bad idea, even though it IS delicious.  I got caught up eating yummy, local corn, but I really only can tolerate so much of it.  I'll make sure to eat it only once every four days (see this day's entry regarding rotation of foods), and try to give plenty away.  

(photo above - corn relish in the making)