Comments on: EATING DOWN THE LIST

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:41:49 +0000

I've always feed my family mostly from scratch, but we are continuing to try and edit our store list too. Our kitchen garden continues to expand as we added strawberries, blueberries, three dwarf apple trees this spring. With greens and veggies and herbs, I'm hoping to have lots of surplus to broaden my preserving experience and have a wider variety of things to put up for winter.
I'm really looking forward to enjoying some of the heirloom melon I'm growing this year.
We often get our eggs from friends (though I'm really working on my husband to agree to a few backyard chickens!).
Currently, I'm most excited about recently finding a local source for raw milk for drinking and making butter and cheese.
Blessings for a good and productive year!

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:43:55 +0000

My friend came over for dinner the other night. We were making homemade pizzas, and when I opened the cabinet to grab the flour, she laughed, and told me that she loved looking at my cabinets, which are so different from when she met me several years ago. Back then, our diet was high in processed grocery-store foods, and there were lots of boxed and canned things. Now, it's full canning jars that hold all sorts of things like dried beans, (real from the tree) homemade maple syrup, bulk nuts and sugar, but no boxes of Ritz crackers or Jell-O instant pudding mix .

Our diet has changed drastically over the last few years, and like you (probably because of you , we don't buy any produce, except apples and potatoes (but only if they are from Maine), from the grocery store. We don't have a reliable cold storage, and during the winter, those two items are our stable for "fresh" food. Everything else, we either grow ourselves or get from the farmer's market or a local farm stand in season and preserve.

By: genevra mcneil

genevra mcneil — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:06:54 +0000

We're in an urban environment without so much as a scrap of land. We're doing what we can with containers, but we're doing most of our local eating from CSAs, coops, farmer's markets, etc.One thing I noticed that you may be able to improve upon (if you want to!) is cheese! I've had good success with some of the simpler cheeses. I'm lucky enough to have a local organic dairy -- we've got a three-year old so we don't do raw -- but I've discovered that with some work that's no harder than preserving, I can make great cheeses. And, of course, yogurt. That knocked the dairy portion of my list from four or five (milk, mozzarella, yogurt, ricotta, and cheddar) to just milk and cheddar. (My homemade cheddars are not yet edible.)I've also had good luck with making vinegar from the apple cider my CSA provides in the fall!

By: Brenda@Coffeeteabooksandme

Brenda@Coffeeteabooksandme — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:06:53 +0000

I often think of the Little House book "The Long Winter" and how they had to "make do" through winter months.

We live in the country but we're surrounded by neighbors. However, with nearly an acre of land at the edge of a forest, we decided this year we were building a raised bed garden in the part of our lawn that gets sunlight.

We're having lots of fun (and hard work) putting it together. Because of all the Midwest rains, we're about two weeks late but still in time for this season's planting.

I also finally planted six rhubarb plants this year. I should have done it years ago.

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:43:57 +0000

I grow lots of veggies, but not many fruits. Started some blueberry bushes this year, but will have to wait to enjoy their fruit. If I move during the next two or three years, I plan on digging them up and taking them with me! I can and freeze so I can enjoy during the winter months. I visit the farmers markets and farms for the fruits and other produce and cheese that I don't have. I have not heard of any official "barter or swap" meets in my area, but that may be something I need to further research, or even begin. I try to make as much meals as possible from scratch - as I like to know what is in the food I eat. Saves a lot of money too.

By: Blythe

Blythe — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:37:17 +0000

I read all the "Little House " books also when I was young and loved them. I often thought back to them over the winter when work was very slow and we really had to cut back to make ends meet. I cooked almost everything from scratch and stuck to basics and it helped a lot. I recentlybecame vegetarian and I realized that when you give up meat that there is so much more variety in fruits and vegetables.

By: Chiot's Run

Chiot's Run — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:07:38 +0000

We grow a good amount of our produce and we try to find local sources for everything else. I get any produce/fruit needs we don't yet grow at the farmer's market. Our raw milk, eggs, poultry and beef comes from a local farm. My dad hunts a lot and provides all of us with at least one deer and usually 2 along with many other kind of wild game for the freezer. We also forage for wild mushrooms, berries and other greens throughout the spring/summer/fall.

I do buy beans & other staples locally if I can find them, if not from my co-op.

Our diet is much simpler than it used to be. But since I let all of my cooking magazines expire, I don't need to try all latest and greatest recipes with exotic ingredients.

I find myself however really missing tropcial fruits. Growing up in South America we had a papaya tree in our back yard and a banana plant in the front. We had an endless supply of fresh tropical fruit from friends. MMMM, I occationally have to buy a mango from the store.

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:45:20 +0000

We recently moved form S. IN to S.E. WY where we are learning a whole new way of homesteading. Because we are starting again and we moved in winter I concentrated on learning about duel use products like vinagar and baking soda this winter.

Since we started simplifiing our life about 4 years ago we plan meals each week which helps us decided how to use up what is around the house from the garden and leftovers. It has been a big help.

I've made a list before but would love to see your full list. Would you please post it somewhere.

By: Jaimelee

Jaimelee — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:16:37 +0000

When my son was born 2 years ago I changed our lifestyle drastically which included shopping only at markets and our backyard during season. During this time (may-nov) we only go to the store for staples such as flour, spices etc. Ironically enough we actually have to go to Whole Foods to buy our local milk although I am looking for a farmer who would sell it directly. This year my goal is to preserve enough so we can keep this up all year during off season. One of our markets will be open all year around now and will offer cheeses and such. I have been looking for a good green house or portable crop cover to protect from snow and frost and try my hand at some more hardy crops like Tat soi and spinach for the winter.

I love feeling like I can keep my family healthy and safe by growing my own food and I hope to become an expert at preserving!

By: Jill Moore

Jill Moore — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:35:05 +0000

My family is working on shortening our grocery list as well. I think the biggest savings so far has been making our own laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. I love having a window cleaner I can spray on salads!
Did you know there is a Little House cookbook? I just found it at the library. I wish it were written by Laura herself, but the recipes are taken from the foods in the books.