A friend IM'ed me a bit ago and asked me what Community Supported Agriculture is, after I mentioned it in a Facebook post. I thought I'd answer here.
Baaaa! I'm going to make wool someday used with permission, from Morguefile^
Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a system where the consumer buys a share in a local farm, meaning that they agree to share the risks of food production in exchange for the reward of locally grown, high-quality food.
strawberry pie, cold strawberry soup, strawberry ice cream, strawberry-rhubarb jam... used with permission, from Morguefile^
In our case, we bought a share in a local farm, entitling us to weekly deliveries of fresh organic produce for 26 weeks. It will be delivered to the garden center near our home, where we'll pick it up and take it home. We calculated that it'll cost a little more for the 26 weeks than we'd normally pay to buy from the grocery store, but we'll be getting a much larger volume of organic food, which we plan to preserve. In the end, paying a bit more at first should yield substantial savings later.
There are CSAsfor meat, fruit, veggies, bread, mushrooms, eggs, nuts, milk & cheese, honey, wool and fibers, even cut flowers. All of the products are grown/produced locally. Some farms even offer canning or preservation shares, where the customer receives enough produce to can, freeze or dehydrate.
Bountiful fresh organic food grown and produced locally, in season.
Our food will travel a shorter distance than food from elsewhere, cutting down on pollution, energy usage, shipping costs, and transit time.
Our food will be delivered in a large, reusable tub. No excess packaging to send to the landfill.
Our money remains in the local community, helping local farmers, farm workers and businesses.
We can visit the farm where our food is produced.
The farmer benefits from having a guaranteed revenue stream.
The farmer is able to try new or heritage strains and varieties, knowing that they have a guaranteed customer base. When those strains and varieties are successful, everyone benefits from buying food that better fit the environment and need fewer resources to grow.
Everyone benefits from understanding the challenges, risks and rewards of farming.
Eggplant parmesan, pickled eggplant,
Creole aubergine, Ratatouille... used with permission, from Morguefile^
Want to learn more?
If you're interested in joining a CSA, take a look at the Local Harvest^ website which lists participating farms by city or zipcode. They have lists of what participating farm offer, information about pick-ups, plus reviews from previous growing seasons. Alternately, enter "CSA + _____ (your locale)" into a search engine.
I'm not sure why, but I find myself looking forward to 2011 with uncharacteristic (for me, anyway) optimism.
vintage ephemera
2010 was overwhelmingly good:
Our oldest graduated from college. She worked so hard, did so well, and is now plotting her course through graduate school as she holds down a job, and is adjusting to her first home-away-from home. So much for one year, but she has handled it with poise and aplomb. My heart swells with pride when I think of the beautiful young woman she's become.
Our middle daughter also had a year of many changes. She was accepted into her first choice of universities; she turned 18, and from my perspective, she grew up. Suddenly, my baby is so incredibly mature, introspective, and graceful. She's always been my sunniest child - beautiful, cheerful and pleasant; but now there is something else - she's on the cusp of being a "grown up". My sweetest child is fledging and I could not be prouder of everything she's become.
Clementine turned five. In addition to becoming much more self-sufficient, she started preschool, had her tonsils out after a very long illness, grew 5 inches, had her long hair cut into a cute pixie cut, advanced several levels in swim class, and started ballet lessons (which she loves).
Dan had a busy, productive year. He took three week-long trips for work (New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts). He spent a week in VMWare training (VM = Virtual Machine), which he really enjoyed, and he'll be taking the exam to be certified in VMWare after the first of the year. Dan went elk and antelope hunting, and brought home a very nice antelope which now graces our freezer.He worked on various projects around the house, spent more time at the gym, and spent a lot of time doing "daddy stuff".
As for me... I've had a busy year as well; being a wife and a mother is a full-time job.
I've done some writing (but not nearly enough), and some crafting (not nearly enough). I did a fair bit of knitting (but not nearly enough), and even got around to making Clementine's Halloween costume by hand... which I hope to get around to posting here soon.
I did some de-cluttering, but got seriously sidetracked when Clementine was so sick (from November 2009 through May, 2010).
I had surgery at the beginning of December, which was a long time coming, and am starting to feel better.
vintage ephemera
My resolutions for 2011 are:
To be a better wife. I've been consciously working on this during the past year and I hope I've made progress. My husband is the sweetest, kindest, best man in the world and he deserves someone who appreciates him and helps him in every way possible. I strive to be yet more helpful, more supportive, and more appreciative in the new year.
To be a better mom. I need to remind myself to make time for the most important things in life - spending time with my beloved three daughters. They fill my heart with indescribable joy.
To be a better home maker. I'd like to make more of our food from scratch, and sew more. Last year I decluttered my kitchen, learned to make yogurt, and started baking from scratch again, this time using gluten-free recipes. I'd like to bake more, and make more of the things and products we use.
I'd like to continue to make our home greener, both because it's healthier and because it almost always costs less. Last year I purged the kitchen of nearly every piece of plastic and replaced them with china and Pyrex/Fire King from thrift stores (safer and cheaper than the plastic was when it was new). Glass never melts, doesn't off-gas, and looks so much prettier than plastic.
This year, I'd like to focus on greener cleaning supplies and to continue buying organic where it matters (The Organic Dirty Dozen - foods which should always be purchased in organic form^)
To watch many more awful B-movies with my husband. We cancelled cable last spring, and while the amount of TV viewing in our home went way down overall, we soon began to seek out and watch old B-movies together. But instead of sitting there passively watching TV, we found ourselves talking, laughing, and enjoying ourselves. Movie Night is the highlight of my week now.
I'd like to work more in clay, knit more often, and craft more. I did pretty well last year, making time for several small projects, but could certainly do more. One of my goals this year is to make as many of the gifts we give during the year as possible.
I'd like to exercise more, including getting out and hiking. It's a shame to live amongst all this beauty and not spend more time in nature.
Immediately return to our 10-a-day decluttering plan, starting January 1st (today!). It works like this: Pick 10 things - however you wish to define "things" - 10 magazines, 10 forks, ten pieces of paper. Ten of one thing or ten different things. Then, take those ten things, whatever they are, and get rid of them. Give them away, recycle them, thrown them out, donate them, shred them, whatever. Easy, right? Just do ten a day, every day.
Read more. I don't read enough. Actually, I read a lot, but most of what I read isn't in book form. So, I'd like to focus on reading more books.
Recommit to The Compact Movement. The Compact Movement is dedicated to buying less through agreeing to buying new only what you absolutely need (food, medicine, school books, etc.), and trying not to buy anything else for a year (or for whatever period you commit to).
To appreciate everything I have. Not things, but people and relationships. I'm blessed with loving friends and family, but I don't express how much I love and care for all of these wonderful people as much as I should.
vintage ephemera
With that in mind, I would like to wish you the Happiest of Happy New Years, and thank you so much for reading.
vintage postcard from 1927 Welcome, 2011
The Year of the Rabbit
Monday morning will be the end of Week One for the June Food Stamp Challenge (^), but I'm going to go ahead and total up my receipts because I don't plan to spend anything between now (Saturday night) and then. If I do, I'll recalculate.
At Costco, I purchased:
2 boxes of Fiber One Bars, 30 bars per box
1 very large bag of corn tortilla strips, Kirkland (Costco's house brand
1 34 ounce box Kirkland Spiced Pecan cereal
2 large loaves light wheat bread (45 calories per slice)
4 jars Kirkland brand organic peanut butter. No sugar added, just peanuts and a bit of salt. Two 28 ounce jars for $7.69
1 64 ounce (4 pound) jar Kirkland animal crackers (no HFCS & organic)
2 large jars Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
We still have all of the tortilla strips and the crackers. We have most of the bread, cereal, peanut butter, bars, and Nutella. Our youngest starts playing ball this week, and we'll be packing the crackers as a snack twice a week. Peanut butter goes into sandwiches, sauces, and baking. Tortilla strips go into salads, soups, and chili, and are the base for nachos. Nutella is our little one's favorite. She eats it with peanut butter on sandwiches, and dips apples in it.
The food total at Costco came to $66.51.
At King Soopers (Kroger nearly everywhere else), I purchased:
3.15 pounds of organic cherries
1 gallon of organic milk
2.57 pounds of bananas
4 pounds of organic gala apples
6.78 pounds of chicken (@ .78 cents a pound)
2 pounds of low-carb pasta (for my husband)
2 packages of gluten-free Ivory Teff wraps
2 packages of Haribo Gummi Bears on sale (for our daughter)
The chicken will be tomorrow night's dinner &; will be part of other meals after that. We have several apples left, along with most of the pasta, bananas, apples and wraps. We still have over half of the milk, but the Gummis are gone gone gone :)
The total at King Soopers Kroger was $44.10.
The total for the first week is$110.61, which is 31.87% of the lowest food stamp + WIC benefit estimate of $347.00. That doesn't tell the whole story, though.
First, as noted, we still have most of the food purchased above. For much of the week, we ate food we purchased previously, including corn, tortillas, fruit, veggies, cheese, milk, bread, cereal,tomatoes, and so on.
Next week we'll be eating foods purchased this week in addition to some things in the pantry/fridge/freezer. Along with tomorrow night's chicken, we're planning chicken and rice, Musubis (Hawaiian sushi), grilled pronghorn kabobs (thanks to my husband the hunter), sandwiches, bagels, oatmeal, etc. Monday will be "left over" day, when we put together meals made up from whatever is in the fridge. I'll be baking gluten-free bread and probably some cookies next week, in addition to packing meals for our youngest to eat between ball practices.
Speaking of bread: While I was at Costco, I noted that the 2 loaves of bread purchased for my husband &; daughter came to $4.29. On the baking aisle, I noted that 25 pounds of wheat flour came to around $5.50. Add in yeast (less than $4.00 for 2 pounds), oil, and so on, and it becomes clear that its much less expensive to bake bread than to buy it. Even factoring in a second-hand bread machine, it wouldn't take long for the savings to outstrip the initial cost.
If I thought I would need to rely on food stamps for any length of time, I would make a point of purchasing flour and yeast in bulk (and/or starting a sour dough culture), as well as locating a bread machine. I own/moderate a recycling list in my city, and see bread machines given away on a regular basis. I see them at the thrift store for under $10.00 every time I'm there. An investment of under $20.00 (machine, yeast, flour) would yield huge savings.
Previously, I baked nearly all of the bread eaten in our house, but that fell by the wayside when I stopped eating wheat. At this point, I bake my own bread (gluten-free bread is ridiculously expensive - often more than $5.00 a loaf), but purchase wheat bread for everyone else.
The Little Red Henand her bread
It clearly makes solid financial sense to go back to baking all/nearly all of our bread, so in the weeks ahead, we'll be doing just that.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.Robert A. Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
After I posted about our family's decision to take part in the June Food Stamp Challenge (^) a couple of days ago, several friends made more or less the same comment, which was "The government should offer classes to food stamp recipients in cooking and shopping". I know what they're saying, and they aren't being snide or uncharitable - they are stating what most of us come to know at some point or another: learning how to be frugal and wise with resources are valuable skills; skills which can be taught and learned.
I agree, insofar as I think everyone should take home economics in school. Everyone.
So... why isn't it mandatory anymore? As far as I know, HomeEc, as it was known back then, is no longer required in most school districts across the United States.At least not in any of the ones I've lived in since then.
When I was in junior high, HomeEc was required in 7th and 8th grade in the school district we lived in in South Carolina. We moved to North Carolina the summer between 8th and 9th grades, and ended up taking it again the next year, too; three entire years of Baked Alaska, Blanc Mange, and hemming skirts.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that I can whip up one heck of a white sauce (^), and have mad apron-making skills.
Back and front view of a woman wearing an apron intended for cooking and a house cap of the "Dutch bonnet" style. Figure 3 and 4 from "House Aprons and Caps" by Mary Brooks Picken, published by the Women's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences of Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1922. In the public domain (^)
I'm not sure when, but at some point, it seemed to become much less important to know how to do all the things that allow us to be independent adults. Where once saying you couldn't cook or repair something would have been an admission of fault, it became something of a badge of honor.
I have more important things to do than cook.
I can afford to pay someone to fix my car.
But the truth is, most of us, almost all of us, don't have more important things to do. We won't always have enough money to pay someone to take care of us and being incapable of performing basic tasks quickly becomes paralyzing.
No one should be ashamed of being a competent, complete individual who want only the best for themselves and their family. It is not demeaning to know how to cook or clean or drive a hammer or change a tire. It should be demeaning to be willfully ignorant.
Thankfully, the pendulum seems to be swinging back the other way. In the last few years, anyone who has been paying attention can't help but have noticed the renaissance in the "home arts" in the blogosphere and elsewhere. It seems as though everyone is busy knitting, sewing, cooking, canning, and growing stuff. And then writing about it at length.
This is good, because it turns out that ignorance is a bad thing, not something to aspire to. Being self-reliant allows us to be strong and independent. Relying on others for everything weakens us. And it turns out that being unable to perform basic skills hurts the poor and disadvantaged much more than it hurts the wealthy.
Wealthy people can often afford to pay others to mitigate their personal ignorance. The rest of us? Not so much. The less we can afford to pay others, the more important it becomes to learn to do it ourselves.
Which brings us back to classes for food stamp recipients. Yes, I think that people on food stamps should take classes in how to shop and cook. Everyone should take these classes. Everyone should be afforded the opportunity to be independent as they possibly can be.
Everyone should be able to say that they can care for themselves and their families. We should demand that these skills are taught, or take it upon ourselves to teach them, learning along the way if need-be. We should refuse to raise another generation who thinks that ignorance of basic skills is somehow preferable to mastery.
I'll leave you with this, a HomeEc film called Buying Food, from around 1950, which teaches the fine art of grocery shopping. It's a bit condescending, but full of helpful information nonetheless. Enjoy.
I'd love to be able to tell you that I know what we spend on food every month, but I don't, because we don't separate the food portion of receipts out from the total which includes everything from shampoo to dog food to tires for the car. This is about to change, however, because for the entire month of June, we're counting every penny spent on groceries.
One of my favorite bloggers (and fellow Compactor), Katy Wolk-Stanley at the Non-Consumer Advocate (^), recently announced that she was planning to have a Food Stamp Challenge (^) during the month of June. Participants will try to stay within the budget and guidelines set for the federal food stamp program to feed their families for one month.
Always willing to challenge ourselves, we've decided to give it a try. We started on the 1st and will do our darnedest to make it till the 30th on what we'd be allotted by our state (Colorado) if we used food stamps. Not only are we going to try to stay within the budget, we're going to try to eat as close to "normal" as possible.
According to what I've read, the amount a family gets in food stamps (officially called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (^) in government-speak) varies depending on several factors, including the number of people in the family, the amount of money they make outside the home, and possibly other factors. Women who are pregnant or nursing, infants, and children under the age of five would further qualify for WIC (Women Infants Children). WIC covers dietary basics (^) like milk, juice, cereal, dairy items (eggs & cheese), fruits, veggies, beans and peanut butter. From what I've read, WIC would add another $44.00 to our monthly total since we have a child under the age of five.
Now its time for a little math...
The average monthly food stamp benefit per person is $101.00, which would be $303.00 for the month of June, plus $44.00 from WIC, which would bring our total to $347.00. The maximum amount allowed in our state for three people is $526.00. Adding in $44.00 brings that total to $570.00. Our middle daughter will be here in a few weeks (she's back east at the moment), and I'm not sure how to count her, so for the moment, I'm not going to.
So, somewhere between $347.00 - $570.00 is what a 3-person family would expect to spend on food using food stamps and WIC in the United States. We're going to do everything within our power to keep our spending on the lower end of that range.
As noted above, there are things that food stamps don't cover. They don't cover pet food, toiletries (shampoo, razors), vitamins or medicine. They don't cover hot food. So, you can't go out to eat with them, you can't order in Chinese or pizza, and you can't buy a cooked chicken at the grocery. Alcoholic drinks are not covered.
You can shop at most warehouse clubs (Sam's, Costco), and you can shop at farmer's markets. You can purchase plants which grow food with food stamps, which is nice. Sweets (cookies, ice cream, soda) do seem to be covered.
Food is expensive in our area of the country, and since we try very hard to eat healthily, ours may cost a little more from the get-go. We try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, lots of sugar, and trans-fats. We eat organics wherever possible, especially when it comes to the Dirty Dozen (^). We eat as few canned foods as possible, because cans are often contaminated with Bisphenol-A (^), a potentially dangerous additive. If we purchase sandwich meat, its nitrate and nitrite-free. With children in the house, we always have fresh milk, fruits and veggies. Finally, I eat a gluten-free diet, which can be ridiculously expensive without a lot of advanced planning.
To counteract all of that, we try to make as many dishes as possible from scratch (for example, Sunday night, we made bagels). We have a membership to Costco, and buy in bulk whenever we can. My husband hunts, which gives us an annual supply of organic meat. Hunting isn't free, once you factor in the cost of the license and processing, but it ends up being much less than we'd pay in the grocery store. I make my own laundry and dish washing detergent, and apply the savings to the rest of our household budget.
Our family is very fortunate. My husband has a great career with an excellent company. We don't live beyond our means, and we have everything we need, including our health and each other. We have thoughtful, kind and intelligent children. We consider ourselves blessed beyond words.
With that in mind, I want to note that this is a choice our family is making to see what we can accomplish in a month - to see if it is possible to feed our family on the money allowed by food stamps, and to do so in a healthy way.
For too many parents, food stamps aren't a choice, but are the main way of feeding their families right now, which is something to think about.
According to the SuperCat, the favorite food of pink ponies everywhere is Rice Krispie Treats. And since she has a stable full of pink ponies, she asked me to make some. You know. For the ponies.
How could anyone say no to that kind of request?
For me, hot dogs and watermelon slicesare the Fourth of July. Jiffy Pop popcorn is what we had on the nights we had a babysitter. Caramel corn and orange cream filled chocolates will always be Halloween. And Rice Krispies Treatsand Divinity Fudge are Christmas.
Rice Krispies Treats remind me of Christmas at my aunt and uncle's house, where we'd go after we'd visited my grandparents on the other side of the family on Christmas Eve. People don't seem to talk the way they did when I was a kid; I recall my mother, aunts and grandmother sitting in the kitchen during the holidays, smoking, picking at food, and sharing bits of information sotto voce, so the children wouldn't hear. I would often sit quietly and read; if I sat quietly enough, they'd eventually forget I was in the room and you'd hear the good stuff about anyone who happened to not be there at the moment, about people you may not have known, but who seemed to lead scandalous lives. Days of Our Lives had nothing on my family.
I no longer have a large family; I live far, far away from most everyone I knew back then. The family I do have doesn't sit around and chat that way, but I still make certain dishes to remind myself of earlier times and to help create memories for my own children.
Before I stopped eating wheat, if I wanted to make Rice Krispies Treats, I bought a box of Rice Krispies, and followed the directions on the back of the box. Ten minutes or so later, I'd have a pan of hot treats, and the hardest part would be waiting for them to cool.
Now it's not quite so easy. Rice Krispies contain gluten in the form of barley malt, which is a natural flavoring.
So, I go to the health food store and get Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal(^). It's sort of expensive, but tastes good. It's nutty versus the blander taste of Rice Krispies, but I like it, which is surprising. I'm not really a brown rice sort of person - I can remember eating whole wheat bread for the first time when I was maybe 10 or so and thinking that it was terribly exotic, by which I mean it was terrible, period. I'm still pretty much convinced that a mayonaiise and tomato sandwich on whole wheat may be illegal. It's certainly immoral. I really disliked whole wheat then and even now, whole grains bring to mind the lady that lived next door when I was little. She watched Jack Lalanne(^) every morning, did calisthenics in a black leotard, and earnestly gave the neighborhood kids ice cream served with toasted soy nuts on top in an attempt to make it healthy.
Of course, regardless of my feelings, my own children don't know any better; refined white bread has never been an option in their lives. It's been whole multi-grain bread or bust.
Bu back to the sugary sweets at hand: here is the original recipe for Rice Krispies from Kellogg's website, RiceKrispies.com(^)
Kellogg's Rice Krispies
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
- OR -
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®
Click on the website link above for directions.
If you simply substitute the Erewhon for the Kellogg's, it doesn't turn out quite right; it'll be dry and crunchy, not moist and chewy, so I change the recipe a bit. Here's mine: Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats
5 ½ cups of gluten free brown rice cereal (Erewhon is my favorite, but there are others)
40 regular-sized marshmallows I have never seen marshmallows that have gluten in them, but anything is possible, so it's always a good idea to check.
2 tsp vanilla Vanilla is normally gluten-free since the alcohol base is distilled, not brewed.
4 tbsp (½ stick) butter I don't use margarine, but if you do, it works just fine. The only thing that doesn't seem to work is the diet margarines and spreads.
Melt butter over medium-low heat in large skillet.
Once melted, add marshmallows and stir occasionally until melted.
When the marshmallows have melted, add vanilla.
Stir briefly, then add rice cereal.
Stir until coated with spatula.
Turn out into a buttered pan, or onto a Silpat. If a Silpat is used, use the spatula to mold into desired shape.
On the Silpat, a silicon embedded baking mat that pretty much nothing sticks to.
Once cool, cut into whatever shape you like, or if you'd prefer, once it is cooled a bit, press into molds using cookie cutters or sushi molds.
This is a flower-shaped sushi mold. Cookie cutters work fine if you don't have one of these. After they've been molded. The completed treats, minus the ones that were eaten when they were still warm and gooey.
Enjoy!
He's happy to be a guinea pig for once. Yummy The smile makes it all worthwhile (not that marshmallow treats are super difficult or anything).
I accidentally bought a 10 pound bag of onions last week, not realizing that I already had a nearly full 10 pound bag, giving us close to 20 pounds of onion-y goodness.
Sad vintage ceramic onion full of Splenda on my stovetop
We use a lot of onions, but 20 pounds is a bit much to have on hand in cold-weather months, when the house is heated. Without a cool storage place onions can go bad quickly.
In an valiant effort to save the onions from certain ruination, I made French Onion Soup yesterday afternoon. I don't have an exact recipe, but honestly don't think it needs one. It is delicious and worth the minimal effort it takes. The hardest part is slicing the onions. I use a crock pot, so it probably does take a bit longer than doing it in an open pan, but again, that's not a bad thing. Slow cooking allows the soup a chance for the flavors to meld and mix, adding to the end result.
Way Too Many Onions! French Onion Soup Recipe
Yellow or white onions, sliced very thinly, about 4 pounds.
Dry Sherry, about ½cup
butter or margarine, ½ cup. I use butter. You should use what you prefer.
minced garlic, about 2 tablespoons. You can mince your own, or use the stuff in jars. I use the stuff in jars. We really like garlic, so this may be too much for your family. Adjust accordingly.
pepper, to taste
grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta ^) to taste. Widely-used in medieval Europe, this spice is peppery, but is not actually pepper. If you don't have any, use more pepper. Or not. Lots of people don't like as much pepper as we do, and there is almost no shame in that at all.
beef and/or chicken broth, 2 quarts. Either is good, neither are shown in the picture below. I use gluten-free, which is easy to find if you read labels.
Better Than Broth beef soup base. Or chicken. Use the one you like best. Concentrated broth, this is pretty salty. I start with 2 teaspoons or so, and adjust up until the flavor is right. You could use bouillon cubes instead, but the BTB(^) tastes better to me - more meat flavor. I have found it at Target and Wal*Mart in the grocery dept on the same shelf as bouillon cubes. It comes in jars.
white cheese, sliced or grated. I use Swiss or Gruyère, others use Provolone or whatever else they like. I can't give an exact amount, because we don't eat all of the soup at one time. Basically, you want enough to cover the top of the soup in individual oven proof bowls. If you don't have oven-proof bowls, use micro-wave safe bowls, top the soup and nuke the bowls until the cheese is melted. This would be under a minute (perhaps 45 seconds) in my 1000 watt microwave.
bread. I don't use bread in my soup, because we don't eat gluten. Instead, I serve it with GF bread sticks. If I added GF bread, it would go mushy. If gluten isn't an issue, lightly toast bread slices, one for every serving of soup and reserve.
dried Parmesan cheese, optional. I sometimes add a sprinkle at the end before the cheese goes under the broiler.
Some of the ingredients for French Onion Soup (vintage onion jar for effect - no kitschy ceramics in the actual soup)
Directions:
1). Thinly slice enough onions to fill your crock pot:
thinly sliced onions & butter
I use a large 6-quart crock pot and make a huge batch, but know that we'll eat it over the next few days plain with bread and a salad; in place of au jus with sandwiches; cooked down and thickened to use in pot pie or shepherd's pie, etc. It won't go to waste.
If your crock pot is smaller, adjust accordingly. If you don't have a crock pot, this will take less time, but require more monitoring.
It takes about 4 pounds of onions (yellow and/or white) sliced thinly, to fill my crock pot.
2). Add ½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, sliced into 8 pieces or so on top of the onion slices.
Thinly sliced onions with butter pats on top. This is my 6-quart crock pot.
3). Turn the crock pot to low, put the lid on, and check frequently at first to be sure that low isn't too high (mine has warm, low and high as options). Crock pot performance varies, so check if you aren't familiar with how your pot works. It takes several hours for the onions to go limp, then eventually become clear and then begin to caramelize. If the onions are crispy or charred at all, the temperature is too high. After about 90 minutes in my crock pot, the butter had mostly melted and the the onions had wilted a bit, well on their way to caramelized yumminess:
After 90 minutes, the onions are wilting and the butter is mostly melted.
4). After the onions have cooked clear and are beginning to caramelize, which in my pot takes about 5 hours, add the garlic, sherry, Better than Broth, and broth.
Nearly-finished soup
5). Carefully raise the heat and cook for another hour or so, until the soup has reduced a bit. Check frequently to assure that the pot isn't over-heating the soup. I don't allow it to come to a full boil, but do allow it to come to a simmer, so that it begins to slowly reduce.
6). Season with pepper and grains of paradise (if desired).
Four pounds is a lot of onions, isn't it?
7). Ladle soup into oven proof bowls, add a slice of toasted bread (of your choice - if I could eat "regular" bread, I'd use a French baguette).
8). Top with cheese of your choice, and set bowls under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese begins to bubble a bit.
9). Immediately remove bowls from oven, and carefully set on individual small plates to serve (because they will be very hot!!!
10). Serve with a hunk of French bread, bread sticks, or with crackers. I usually serve it with a small salad and fruit.
Dan eating delicious French Onion soup. Yummy!
Yay, he likes it!
Allez cuisine!
Helpful Hints:
I don't have a fail-proof trick to stop the tears you may shed from cutting lots of onions, but not cutting the root end off until I have to seems to help, as does slicing near a faucet with warm water running. YMMV, of course.
Don't use cooking sherry, as it's often salted so you can't drink it. It is sold in the grocery store vs the liquor store, so it's salted so as to be undrinkable. Buy the liquor store version instead as it's much cheaper and doesn't taste like the Dead Sea.
Be safe. Check your crock pot often until you are familiar with the way it works. My Low may be your High.
If you feel like there is too much fat in the recipe, chilling the completed soup and skimming the solidified butter from the top is an easy way to fix it. Also, low-fat Swiss is a great choice for the cheese.
Finally, this is my stove top. It's a closed top stove, and I ♥ it! Easy to clean, with even heat that reaches temperature quickly. I'd probably love a gas stove a bit better; maybe in the next house.
The usual suspects
I rarely ever use the back burners, even though I cook a lot. I just never seem to need it.
Friar Cookie Jar detail. He looks sneaky, don't you think?
The unused back burners hold my three favorite cookie jars, a Twin Winton Lamb cookie jar, a Friar cookie jar (I don't know his manufacturer) , and a McCoy Cookies Barrel cookie jar. Plus the sad onion guy, and usually a set of salt and pepper shakers.
I was super busy today, deep cleaning the kitchen in advance of the Holidays. I got the oven and microwave clean, as well as about half of the cabinets. I watered and trimmed the plants, yanked down a brown vine that had tried to strangulate the window blinds before it up and died, and filled the aquarium-that-doesn't-have-a-fish-yet with more water. I need to get a fish or a frog to replace our dearly-departed Siamese Fighting Fish, Cookie Monster ('cause he was blue), but we haven't decided on fish or frog yet, so the aquarium remains empty but for water.
Earlier, the SuperCat had taken another in her series of epic baths, launching her fleet of ducks, and swimming around for close to 90 minutes while I picked up in our adjacent bedroom. The bedroom is a bit cleaner, and I'm pretty happy with what I managed to do today. I'm finally getting into the holiday mood (after like, 8 years without it), so I'm trying to take advantage of it by getting things accomplished.
A friend sent me this quiz in email, and instead of just answering it and sending it back (which I did do) , I'm posting it here. Let me know if you answer the questions; feel free to post a link to your answers or post the answers in the comments field if you'd like. 1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Due to playfully pouncing kitties, lumbering dog-oxen, and rampaging SuperCats, we try to avoid sitting down with large rolls of wrapping paper and sticky tape at all costs, and use (then subsequently re-use) gift bags as often as possible.
2. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial. Real trees are pretty and smell nice, but real trees are an allergy issue around here. Plus, real trees last a few weeks at best, while an artificial tree lasts for years and years. Thus, it seems greener somehow to have a fake plastic tree.
3. When do you put up the tree?
The weekend after Thanksgiving. That feels like the right not-too-soon-not-too-late time break out the presents! The ribbons! The wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings!
5. Do you like eggnog?
Love it. So far this year we've had "regular" nog; "light" nog (relatively speaking, of course. Egg nog is not "light"); and soy nog. Soy nog is better than I would have guessed, and I plan to get it from now on. When the SuperCat was very small - and she was born very small - she showed an early preference for egg nog. She was so small and tiny, and she needed the calories, so we gave her egg nog (pasteurized, of course) whenever we possibly could. She's still a huge nog fan, just like Mommy. 6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Lincoln Logs from my Dad when I was about 5 or so.
7. Hardest person to buy for?
My husband. Generally speaking, he doesn't want a lot of stuff, and if he wants it, he probably has it already. It's very difficult to come up with new things he'll like. 8. Easiest person to buy for?
Any of the kids. They want (variously) toys, clothes and/or money. Very straightforward. And they are always appreciative, which is nice.
9. Do you have a Nativity scene?
A crèche? Yes. For some reason, most Catholics seem to call it a crèche, which means "manger" or "crib" rather than calling it a Nativity scene. I have three. A smallish mostly-plastic one, a handmade wooden one, and one made from polymer clay that I made several years ago. The tradition I am familiar with is to keep the baby Jesus out of the crib/manger/crèche until Christmas day, to signify His birth.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Sometimes, we get around to mailing them, but not usually, so often it's email or phone calls.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A hideous short-sleeved bright green sweater with a white striped neck band from an aunt who did the shopping for my grandmother that year. Yuck. Seriously yuck.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out, kid!) 13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Year round if I see something I like, but after Labor Day in earnest. I dislike crowds, so I try to get it out of the way before they kick in in earnest.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes, a few times. Not the hideous green sweater, though. I donated that. I don't like to return stuff, ever. I would rather do anything than stand in line to return things, so unless it was broken, I try to make-do, donate it, or give it away.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
I haven't had it in years, but my grandmother's Peanut Butter Divinity Fudge. I need to dig up the recipe and make some. The other favorite would be turkey and gravy. Oh, and Chex Mix. Gluten-free, Rice-Chex-only Chex Mix.
16. What decorations are on your tree?
Mostly blown glass. White lights. Things the kids made over the years.
17. Favorite Christmas song?
Don't really have a single one. I like Fairytale of New York, obviously (see previous post). I love Carol of the Bells, which everyone knows, but many people don't seem to know the name of.
And a song called Walking In The Air, by the English composer Howard Blake, for the film version of Raymond Briggs' The Snowman. It is simply beautiful.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?
Both. I really would prefer to stay home, but we usually end up away from home, which I find sort of stressful, sort of not. Aside from my kids, I don't really have a lot of family, and I prefer to stay home; my husband has a lot of family, though, and he understandably wants us all to be together. So it's sort of stressful, but tempered by the fact that he's happy, so I'm ok with it.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yes. Yes, I can. Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen Comet Cupid Donder & Blitzen (originally Dunder & Blixem - the Dutch words for Thunder & Lightning). And sometimes, the non-canonical Rudolph.
20. Angel on top of tree or star?
A tin star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Christmas morning. It doesn't feel right to open gifts Christmas Eve.
Because we often travel, we often end up either opening gifts at home Christmas Eve and then go "out and about" Christmas morning; or go "out and about" Christmas day and open gifts whenever we get home Christmas night.
When I was little, my Dad often worked Christmas Eve night, so we didn't see him until Christmas morning, and it would have been impossible to think of opening more than one gift on Christmas Eve without my Dad being there.
If we opened one gift, if was the one from our grandparents back East. That was only because we'd called long-distance to talk to our grandparents to wish them Merry Christmas and to thank them for their gifts, so we'd open them to know what they were.
Long distance was always such a huge big deal back then, reserved for holidays or special announcements. It wasn't something you did just because.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
All of those sappy made-for-TV-mushy-romantic-Christmas-movies. For example: pretty much whatever is on the Lifetime Movie Channel this month(^).
Oh! And the fact that The Night The Reindeer Died isn't a real movie. Because if it was real, it would be awesome. Lee Majors-awesome. Just think about that for a minute, will ya'?
I'd like to say that consumerism, greed, and all that bothers me, since it does seem to be magnified around this time of year. And it does, but probably not as much as maudlin sentiment.
23 What theme or color are you using when you decorate?
I hadn't put up my largish collection of ornaments in many years, due to a number of factors; until this year. During the years we didn't put up the big tree, I fell into putting up a tiny tree with turquoise, pink and silver ornaments. It was really pretty. This year, I'm back to the "everything goes" color scheme, with turquoise, blue and silver decorations outside.
As for a theme, it's eclectic, just like all of my other decorating endeavors. I like vintage and unusual ornaments.
♫ Oh, Christmas Tree ♫
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Food? Turkey and gravy (see question # 15). We don't seem to have any one thing that has to be served to call it Christmas dinner. I knew someone years ago who always had fish soup. I know people who always make Dresdner Stollen(^), a German bread-like cake (link pops to recipe). I've known other people to always have lasagna, spaghetti or beef roast. I have a friend whose family always eats shrimp.
Maybe we should start a tradition. Any suggestions?
25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Hmmm. Not too much, really, apart from the usual... Peace On Earth... Goodwill Towards All Men... and a new flannel night gown.
If Santa is listening, a DVD of The Snowman would be nice, since I haven't seen it in many years and would like to share it with the SuperCat. Since I've been extra-good, maybe a self-healing cutting mat for sewing, and/or a charm or two for my bracelet.
I haven't done a Thursday Thunks(^) thingy in a while, but this week's was sort of cool, so I'm playing along. Italics are theirs.
Suicide, House, neighbors, dogs, PB&J, STD's and accents Welcome to the December 4th version of Thursday Thunks! Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!
This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen, the color sky bluepink and the number 7 (as in the number of days until my birthday).*
1.Have you ever not thought about the possibility of suicide?
Huh? I don't think about the possibility of suicide most of the time. The last time I thought about it was yesterday in regard to Spalding Gray(^) when I heard a Talking Heads song (Love For Sale from one of my favorite movies, True Stories). Spalding Gray plays town leader Earl Culver, who never speaks to his wife. Spalding Gray died almost five years ago and it is still very sad to think about. He was incredibly talented.
2.How many dogs have you owned in your life? What kind? What were their names? For a dedicated cat person, I've had a surprising number of dogs. Let's see... a). Two red miniature dachshunds, Hans & Gretchen. b). A Hovawart names Binky. c). A red miniature dachshund named Pudgy (named for Betty Boop's dog).
Pudgy (Betty Boop's)
d). A black Cairn Terrier name Josephine (named for the giraffe in Josephine, the Short-Neck Giraffe(^) from the good people who brought us Mister Roger's Neighborhood. She looks like Toto, from the Wizard of Oz and lives with my daughter. e). A very large black German Shepard named Dennis (he's here in the house somewhere). I can't remember why we named him Dennis, but it was funny at the time. A few days after we got Dennis, someone told me that they didn't like his name because it was the same name as her ex husband. But I'd already had his tags made, so he's Dennis. This is Dennis:
Upside down on the lawn, smiling for the camera.
3. In one word, what do most people describe you as?
Honestly, I have no idea. Whatever it is, I hope it's a nice word.
4. Do you watch HouseMD? Why not?
Used to. Not much anymore. No idea why.
5. What irritates you most about your neighbors?
Nothing at all irritates me about my immediate neighbors. They are all quiet and nice. There is one terribly bitter soul in the neighborhood who is constantly trying to upset people and cause problems, but for the most part, I feel sorry for her and bad about what must be a terribly lonely and miserable existence, but never really irritated with her.
6. Have you ever called someone in for some sort of abuse or neglect on humans, animals or property?
No. Though I did help capture a parrot this past summer and the Animal Shelter came and got it. And one time I called for a possum and another time for a sick crow. Does that count?
7. What color is the sky in your world?
I love that question when it's asked sarcastically with a mock-serious tone, but I'm assuming they really want to know, so the answer is... sort of gray and overcast.
8. Did you see those 2 planets that everyone is talking about this week?
Uh... I have no idea, so I guess not.
9. Would you like to submit your own question for future Thursday Thunks?
Maybe. How many would I have to come up with?
10. Do you have a skin condition? Are you gonna tell us what it is?
No. I used to have this terribly dry, itchy skin, but it was caused by eating wheat gluten due to Celiac Disease. When I found out I had Celiac and stopped eating wheat, it stopped being dry and itchy, and everything has been fine ever since.
11. Have you ever had an STD?
Do children count?
Honestly, no. Not even fever blisters. icky icky icky.
12. Do you do any crafts?
I knit and crochet. I work in felt (needle felting, wet felting, sewn felting); make dolls; and work in all types of clay (polymer and ceramic). I sew, too and do other things as the mood strikes me.
13. Peanut Butter & Jelly - what flavor is the jelly?
Strawberry or strawberry-rhubarb. They didn't ask, but the peanut butter would be chunky and the bread would be gluten-free.
14. Stripes or polka-dots?
Polka Dots.
15. What accent drives you crazy? Is it a good crazy or a bad crazy?
Men with a British accent are sexy, but men with a Southern accent is even sexier. For example, my husband, or Rafael Eledge(^) on Antiques Roadshow. Those would all be good crazy. That Southern drawl gets me every time.
Badcrazy would be a really harsh Northern accent. There is nothing good about hearing that.
Finally (for now), here are two videos from True Stories (see question 1):
Wild, Wild Life (with a young John Goodman)
People Like Us (more John Goodman goodness. This time he's singing)
