It's starting to FINALLY feel like FALL! To celebrate the change in season we cut open one of of our first winter squashes (Burgess Buttercup) yum!

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown pancakes topped with homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions with raw cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday dinner
Dinner - homeraised eggs - omelet with homegrown green peppers, tomatoes, jalapenos, celery topped with raw cheese

MONDAY

OUT

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown winter squash topped with homegrown pomegranates with ca organic rice with homegrown peppers and herbs
Dinner - homegrown winter squash topped with homegrown pomegranates with ca organic rice with homegrown peppers and herbs

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown squash, limas, green beans, peppers steamed on top of organic CA grown rice
Dinner - homegrown squash, limas, green beans, peppers steamed on top of organic CA grown rice

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - summer homegrown vegetables (red & green peppers, tomatoes) mac & cheese casserole topped with homegrown herb seasoned bread crumbs
Dinner - homemade/homegrown herb pizza crust topped with homegrown roasted eggplant, peppers, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch -  homegrown tomato sandwich
Dinner - homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

The ash, smoke and heat are finally gone - for now.    What a difference a week makes!  These last few mornings and evenings have been cool - cool enough for a light sweater in fact.  So much more comfortable weather wise and not to mention one is now able to breathe better.

Lots of goings on in the garden - getting ready for fall and pretty soon the change of season will result in a complete change in menu so we are enjoying summer while it lasts.

Here's what we ate last week.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions (from Farmer S) with raw cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday dinner
Dinner - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - left overs from potluck on Sunday
Dinner - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown lima beans and homegrown carrots with homegrown herb butter
Dinner - homegrown roasted eggplant, homegrown sun dried tomatoes, homegrown peppers, basil and pasta

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown green beans and homegrown carrots with homegrown herb butter
Dinner - fig tacos (homegrown figs, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro) with organic raw cheese and sour cream

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)
Dinner  -out

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch -  homemade, homegrown herb pizza crust topped with homegrown tomatoes, peppers, roasted eggplant and basil and mozzarella cheese
Dinner - homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

Really eatin' good in the neighborhood last week from our garden's bounty.  What a blessing to have food that's grown right in our backyard.... or close by!

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes with homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado (from Farmer S)

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftover pizza

Dinner - homemade coleslaw ( cabbage from Farmer S , homegrown turnips, carrots) with homegrown tomato, homegrown lettuce and local avocado (from Farmer S) sandwich

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner -omelet, homeraised eggs, homegrown celery, onions, tomatoes and local avocado (from Farmer S) sandwich

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner - summer salad (homegrown cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, peppers) with local avocado (from Farmer S) sandwich

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner - summer salad (homegrown cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, peppers) with homegrown/made zucchini pickle and cheese sandwich

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner - homemade pizza topped with homegrown marinated peppers, tomatoes, basil, onions, organic cheese and homegrown salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch -  homegrown green beans with lemon (local (from Farmer S) herb (homegrown) with organic rice
Dinner -homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta

Wild fermentation is the opposite of homogenization and uniformity --Sandor Ellix Katz

On the preservation front

Now that I got some beautiful cabbage heads (thanks to a local Freedom Farmer) I made a batch of sauerkraut - using Sally Fallon's recipe.  I did just plan cabbage for one batch and for the other I mixed a bit of beautiful turnips we had growing in the garden.  The turnips were sooooo sweet and incredibly delicious as was the cabbage.  I couldn't help but eat handfuls raw.

Fermenting is one of the easiest and oldest ways of preserving - not to mention it's fun.

Recently in the news, sauerkraut and pickled vegetables fermented the natural way with lactic acid fermentation are being credited with correcting bodily imbalances of intestinal flora, leading to problems including acid reflux for which doctors often prescribe harsh antibiotics.

Natural lactic acid fermentation is one of the oldest and healthiest means of food preservation. It allows natural, beneficial bacteria to perform a fermentation process in which vegetables develop a pleasantly sour taste and remain rich in vitamins and minerals. Lactic acid fermentation is the only method of preservation that retains all the natural plant ingredients while improving the quality, taste and aroma.

The preservation season has just begun!  Soon, apples, apricots, peaches, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes and peppers will be (God willing) pouring in and we'll be busy in the kitchen.  But the June gloom has delayed the harvest a bit so I have a feeling we are going get slammed in July & August.

Preservation is definitely food security at its best.

What new preservation methods will you be trying this year?  Care to share?

References

Wild Fermentation