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Well, well, well. My first year of blogging at Simple Savvy is now complete! And by “now,” of course, I mean “Monday.” Nevertheless, it’s a blogiversary. Let’s have a party.
And by “party,” I mean, “let me tell you about my first experience trying to get someone at the meat counter to put food into my container from home.” Mr. Savvy and I wandered by the fish counter at the supermarket the other day. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but a miniature fish; smelt, of course!
Smelt are small fish that spend most of their lives in the ocean and then move to fresh water to spawn. As far as I can tell, you catch Smelt by standing in a stream where they spawn and holding out a net or a bucket, and then they swim in. But more than that, smelt are low on the food chain. That means that they don’t need to eat a lot of other creatures in order to grow, so they’re not as full of mercury and toxins as, say, Swordfish. And because they’re so small, they reach their reproductive peak quickly, which means that we can eat more of them without as much fear of overfishing.
Oh, and they taste like trout.
It’s Smelt season, here in New England, and I was excited — I know the benefits of eating small fish, but I’d never seen any at the fish counter before. And that particular day, we brought our own container from home so that we could avoid the two plastic bags the fish counter tends to wrap fish in. It could have been my birthday, I was so excited.
Mr. Savvy was not as excited. Clearly, he can’t read my mind and figure out how long I’ve been longing for small fish (in case you’re wondering, it’s been a year and three months, since I first read David Lebovitz’s post The 64 Cent Fish). At any rate, he agreed to get the fish man’s attention.
“Excuse me,” Mr. Savvy said, “If I give you my container, can you tare it out on the scale and put the fish directly in it?” He held up our plastic container from home.
The fish man looked at us in confusion. I guess no one had ever asked him that question before.
“Um, no. We can’t for safety reasons,” the fish man said.
Mr. Savvy and I talked to each other with our eyes. We can do that; we’re married now. We said, Safety reasons? Yeah, right. Like what?
The fish man had already put on a pair of gloves and opened a plastic bag in which to put our fish. He filled it with Smelt and handed it over, forgoing the usual second bag — probably because he figured we would put the bag of dead fish into our plastic container.
We didn’t. Rebels!
I’m sure we’ll be trying a fish counter at another store at some point. In the meantime, we’ve come up with some good safety reasons why the fish man wouldn’t want to use our container. Mr. Savvy’s take? Maybe the container wasn’t sanitized properly. My idea? There may have been a bomb in our tupperware. Kidding, I swear!
In the meantime, here’s the most traditional way to eat Smelt: bread them, pan fry them, eat them whole — bones and all. I’d give you a recipe, but that’s about it. Mr. Savvy and I pulled their little spines out because we couldn’t stomach the idea of eating fish bones. And ours were already deheaded and gutted, so we didn’t have the opportunity to sample their innards.
Sorry, is that grossing you out? Here’s another blogiversary cake to get it off your mind. Happy blogiversary to me!
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I would love a dinosaur cake with AWESOME written on it. That perfectly describes this blog. First image courtesy of Hysterical Bertha. Second image courtesy of mollyali. Third image courtesy of snarkygurl.
When we first moved, one of my lovely readers asked me to talk about how I find food that fits into my ethics, and I responded with An Introduction to Finding Your Food, talking about the ways to source good, local vegetables. With the holidays almost upon us, I thought I’d branch out from there and tell you a little how I’ve found the animal products that we eat on a regular basis. Because all regions are different, I’ll give you the low-down of what I did, and see if you can’t pick up a few pointers.
For starters, I looked in our local big box supermarket to see what kind of meats and cheeses they carried. If anything claimed to be natural or organic in any way, I wrote the name down and looked it up on my computer. I also kept an eye out for local foods, and stocked up on those in the mean time.
You can only get so far in supermarkets. Truth be told, fliers have been my greatest boon in the search for better foods. I’m talking about those annoying fliers you get in the mail, the ones you hardly ever glance at before tossing in the recycling bin and saying to yourself, “How in the HECK did they get my address?” Yeah, those. I peruse them like nobody’s business, sending the Rite Aid and Shaw’s fliers off to be recycled, while searching through the remaining materials for coupons to local stores, announcements about special winter farmer’s markets, and news from local businesses about how their raw milk industry is booming.
Well, not so much that last one.
But you get the picture. Where other people toss these things aside, I read through them for more information about the area I live in. That’s how I found a Whole Foods-like store near us that caters to local farmers. That’s how I found out about the winter farmer’s market that’s occurring this Saturday, and five other Saturdays throughout the season at a greenhouse not far away.
When I went to Not Whole Foods, I came across a free magazine called Taste of the Seacoast, which had tons and tons of ads from even more family farms in the area. Online research about these farms led me to take another look at Local Harvest — which I’d given up on at some point. If you haven’t heard, Local Harvest is a website that’s kind of like a phone book for local farmers. Oh, you’re looking for CSAs in your area? Here you go. Trying to figure out when the next farmer’s market is? No problem. It’s handy, but sometimes a little overwhelming if you don’t know where to start.
I was searching for local meats, and that’s how I came across a raw milk dairy farm not two miles away, that also sells meats, breads and pies occasionally. And when I went to visit them, there were fliers and business cards tacked up on their bulletin board, some of the advertising more local businesses. Jackpot!
They key here, as in my previous post, is to pay attention. Actively search for your local businesses, because they don’t have the advertising budget of bigger stores that knock you over the head with ads that say “Shop here!” It takes a little more effort, but the payoff is huge.
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where, in one of life’s beautiful coincidences, my friend Katie at Making This Home posted about something very similar today. First image courtesy of Chiot’s Run. Second image courtesy of parl.
Do you remember this? I started a batch of apple cider vinegar over a month ago, and it’s time to taste and see how it’s doing. The results of my first long-term culinary experiment: I can’t wait!
And now for the grand unveiling, the taste test to end all taste tests, the chance to see how it worked out. Drumroll, please!
Oh dear. That’s not appetizing in the least.
Well, I guess there are a few lessons to be learned here. For starters, not everything works out perfectly. In fact, almost nothing works out perfectly. Best laid plans and all that.
Next lesson? Cover the apple peels with water, and make sure they stay covered. Otherwise mold will form. I guess we’re back to the drawing board!
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I apologize for not giving you fair warning that you might lose your lunch.
I wrote a guest post today for Mrs. Green at My Zero Waste, about learning how to love waste-free cooking. Please check it out and let me know what you think!
Right after we moved, I got a request to talk about the process I use to source new supplies. That is, what I do to find local, organic, cheap food, gifts and toiletries in my area. It was an interesting request, and one that I’m happy to oblige. After all, how often does someone get the chance to look into this type of thing? I won’t have an opportunity like this for another few years when we move again.
Luck has a lot to do with it. I’m lucky enough to live in New England — New Hampshire, to be precise — and close enough to a liberal city that finding organic items is not too difficult. And not only are we twenty minutes from a liberal town, we’re another twenty minutes from a liberal college, which means more of an influx of new ideas and consumer demands, which means more organic and fair trade products.
One of the other perks of living in this area of New Hampshire is that there are farms everywhere. I can’t drive ten minutes in any direction without seeing a farm or a farm stand. I’m not telling you this to brag, but rather to explain why in some ways it’s been easy for me to find good, local food.
Finding vegetables has been my top priority, so far. Vegetables are the staple of our diet; we average 3-4 vegetarian dinners a week. I prefer to buy vegetables from local sources and vegetables with minimal packaging. Vegetables that taste good are always nice too. To that end, the way I’ve found our vegetables is by getting to know our area. There’s a farmer’s market once a week in our town, and a larger farmer’s market once a week in the next town over. America’s Oldest Family Farm isn’t far away — their tomatoes taste amazing. I came across these two sources by walking and driving around, doing my errands and paying attention to signs.
When I see something interesting but don’t have time to investigate further, I make a note of it in my pocket notebook. Sometimes it’s information off a sign, sometimes off packaging in traditional grocery stores — because let’s face it: I shop there too. Then I get home, do my internet research and figure out where to go from there. I’ve also used Local Harvest with some success, but that’s a story for another time.
How about you? How did you find your food sources? Any tips you’d like to share?
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I’m out of tomatoes. Can you believe it? Completely out, and missing them. Image courtesy of Jill Clardy.
When I first pulled the jar from the pantry after two weeks in its dark recesses, I thought the contents looked like worms in water. When the concoction is done fermenting, it will be one of nature’s finest panaceas. By creating this, I’ve saved something from entering the compost stream — at least for a little while. Can you guess what this is?
If your guess is homemade apple cider vinegar, you’re correct! When making baked applesauce the other week, I realized that it was a waste to throw the apple skins in the compost bin. All that nutrition! All that tasty goodness! I couldn’t let the fruit flies have them, fresh off the apples. But as far as I knew, there wasn’t a recipe for apple skin pie.
That’s where apple cider vinegar comes in. The recipe is very basic: stuff your apple skins and cores in a jar, cover with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and let them turn brown. When they’re brown, add filtered water. Keep the jar covered and let it sit in a dark, warm space for a month or two. Taste it after a month. When it tastes right, it’s done!
For pennies, I can make one of the most versatile household substances in my pantry. Really, where else can you find a liquid that you can both clean the toilet with AND pour over your salad and eat (and not die)?
Here are some of my favorite uses for vinegar:
- 50/50 mix with water to use as an all-purpose cleaner
- pour in the bleach dispenser in the washing machine to help clean the clothes
- add to the jetdry dispenser in the dishwasher to aid in rinsing the dishes
- add to a sink full of dishes to help cut grease
- add a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk to create a buttermilk substitute in baking
- mix with a little oil and nutritional yeast to form an impromptu salad dressing
- mix with water and dishsoap in a small glass to catch fruit flies
- soak adhesive labels with vinegar to make removal easier
- mix with water and run through the iron and coffeepot to clean
- add a splash of vinegar to the water when hardboiling eggs to make peeling them easier
What do you use vinegar for? I hope this works!
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I know that store-bought vinegar is about $0.79, but I couldn’t resist. Maybe it’s the canning jar!
I’m still buried in tomatoes here, but making progress. My latest venture has been slow-roasted tomatoes, for use in soups, tossed in with spaghetti dishes, to serve as the base of red pesto, and to add zing to heavier winter fare. Most recipes out there call for fleshy tomatoes, like plum tomatoes. I don’t know what kind I picked up, but they definitely weren’t plum — just unwashed, unsorted, run-of-the-mill deliciousness. Roasting brings out an even more intense flavor and some caramelization. It’s hard to beat summer tomatoes, saved for the winter, so I risked a few pounds to roasting.
I don’t know if it’s possible to find a simpler recipe than this: First, buy some tomatoes, anywhere from 2-5 pounds. They’ll taste better if they’re locally grown, and even more so if they’re locally grown at an excellent price. I’m not exaggerating! Next, pour a few tablespoons of olive oil onto a cookie sheet and use your fingers or a spatula to spread it around. Sprinkle some salt over the oil. Chop your tomatoes into wedges and place the cut side down on the cookie sheet. Turn the oven on to 200-250°F (my oven shuts off at 200, so I turned it up a bit). Put the cookie sheet in the oven for anywhere from four to six hours, checking after the first two hours. Don’t let them burn. Take them out when they look wrinkly, and the edges are dark. Try not to eat them all straight out of the pan.
Store your tomatoes by putting them in an airtight container in the freezer, or if you’re going to use them quickly, keep them in the fridge. One sheet of tomatoes makes about one 3″x3″x5″ container of slow-roasted goodness. You may want to run out now and pick up some more tomatoes.
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I am seriously considering buying another 20 pounds of tomatoes, just so I can make more of these. Image courtesy of SleepyNeko.
What do we have here? In fact, it’s 20 pounds of tomatoes (about 9 kg), bought for a very reasonable price at a local farmstand. I didn’t need 20 pounds, but I did need to get over that first step to preserving my own food, and I figured 20 pounds of potentially rotting tomatoes would do it.
Unfortunately, the spaghetti sauce recipe I had only called for 7 pounds, so I’ll have to figure out what to do with the remaining 13 pounds of tomatoes. In the mean time, I have five jars of sauce in my freezer, waiting to be added to recipes and spaghetti. And so, without further ado, I’d like to present my adaptation of Mr. Savvy’s dad’s Damn Fine Spaghetti Sauce.
Damn Fine Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 large onion, chopped fine
- 3-5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
- olive oil
- 7 lbs. fresh tomatoes diced into 1 inch chunks, or four 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 1 lb. mushrooms, chopped fine
- 3 T. sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, add onions and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat until onions are soft. Add tomato paste and stir well with onions. Let cook for several minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir well, bring to a boil over medium heat, then drop heat to a simmer. Keep lid cracked on pot and stir occasionally. Watch that sauce does not stick. After an hour, taste sauce and add sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer some more until sauce is at desired consistency. Will thicken more upon cooling. Sauce is best when let sit overnight.
Notes galore: I didn’t peel my tomatoes. I know some people say you’re supposed to, but I like the taste and texture they add to the sauce. I did de-seed the tomatoes using my thumb and the compost bucket, but I wasn’t meticulous about it. Also, I ladled my sauce into canning jars, leaving space at the top, and popped them into the freezer when they were moderately cool. If you’re into actual canning, with the jar sterilization and vacuum sealing, please make sure to do it safely.
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where maybe I’ll look up information on chutney next.
Dear Supermarkets,
Let’s talk. I noticed that you’ve been putting out some shiny apples lately. Too shiny. So shiny that they remind me of a famous apple from a famous fairy tale. You know the one I mean?
Should you need a reminder, here is what an apple looks like in its natural state.
You’ll notice it doesn’t have that shiny wax coating. In fact, it looks kind of mottled, and like it has a kind of chalky white overlay. That’s the apple’s own natural waxy coating, and it’s there to protect the fruit from bugs and bacteria. I know in your zeal to keep your produce free of dirt, you wash that off, and then add your own coating to do exactly the same thing as the original. Truth be told, I’d rather have the natural wax and the dirt instead of the FDA-approved, “food-grade” wax, which can be petroleum-derived.
I realize that each item of fruit has only one or two drops of wax on it, and that wax passes through the digestive system unabsorbed. And evidently, there’s at least one source out there that says that food wax causes no adverse effects, even if your diet is comprised of 10% wax. Still, I’m just not that into oil products on my produce.
Effective immediately, I’ll be making a concerted effort to buy fresh, local fruit. It may have a few dirt smudges on it, but I like it that way. Food that looks like it’s supposed to is a good thing.
Cordially,
SavvyChristine
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where that famous apple from the famous fairy tale is the poisoned apple from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, just in case you didn’t get the hint. First image courtesy of Scorpions and Centaurs. Second image courtesy of Andy Castro. Third image courtesy of Chris Campbell.
Let me say it now: I don’t know how to can. That’s why the multitudes of mulberries I found last Friday threw me off. What are you supposed to do with as much free fruit as you want, besides can it?
Yes, that’s right: free fruit. I went for a walk in the park during my break at work — just took off my sandals and walked barefoot in the grass — and came back with purple feet. Blackberries, I thought, that must’ve been why it was so squishy there by those bushes.
Wrong! I headed back to the park after work. They were black, and they were berries, but they certainly weren’t blackberries. They were growing on a gnarly tree in the middle of the clump of bushes. The tree looked old and sparse, with big branches perfect for climbing if I could scale the first ten feet of smooth trunk like Spiderman. A few branches hung down, thick with small black fruit. I had never seen berries like these before. The birds called to me and scolded when I got too close, so I figured they were edible. But don’t worry, I was smart; Google said, “mulberries”, and gave me its blessing to pick them.
So I did. I came home with almost two pints of mulberries, and left more on the tree.
No one bothered me while I picked, though my tree was across the street from the police station. It made me wonder what other fruits are available for the taking. As it turns out, there’s a movement around foraged food. Websites are popping up where you can list the fruit you have to share, and in return you gain access to hyper local food. Most of it is free, or very low cost. Now that’s my kind of a movement.
What do you think? Have you foraged for fruit in your area? I’m willing to share the location of the mulberry tree with anyone in the north of Boston area. (Be warned: the berries stain. My feet were purple for a day and a half.)
Not in the north shore region? I’ll share something else with you. I skipped the canning lessons and made strawberry-mulberry crisp, adapted from Betty Crocker’s apple crisp.
Strawberry-Mulberry Crisp
- 4 cups strawberries and mulberries, hulled and/or de-stemmed, and chopped if the strawberries are big
- 3/4 cup maple sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- cream, to taste
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter an 8″ square pan. Wash the berries, drain, and spread in pan. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Cut in butter with two knives, or mix in with fingers until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the berries. Bake for 30 minutes, or until crumb mixture is golden brown. Serve warm with cream drizzled over the top. Yum!
Please note that the strawberries are optional. I used them because the mulberries alone tasted slightly bland — a little like a watered down blackberry, and a little too sweet. But together? C’est magnifique!
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I’ll take impromptu, fresh, organic berry crisp any day. First image courtesy of Mr. Truffle. Second image courtesy of Wang Qian.
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