How I'm feeling after a month...

I have officially been eating strictly organically grown local foods within a 100 mile radius of Allegheny College for one month today. The process has been both exciting and frustrating, deeply inspiring but also highly time consuming and burdensome. I think this is a good opportunity to reflect on my physical and emotional/mental health.

I have been eating as healthy as I've ever eaten in my life for the last month. I'm incredibly conscious of everything my body is consuming, and it has been truly life changing. I feel great physically; in the first few weeks I was noticing lightheadedness and dizziness, which hasn't happened at all in the last week. I realized that I needed to be snacking throughout the day, because I got very weak and fatigued when I didn't have enough food between meals. Though I'm not a doctor, I think my sodium intake also played a role in causing my lightheadedness. In the past I salted everything, and ate many processed foods already containing salt. I abruptly cut this large amount of sodium from my diet, and I think my body needed time to adjust. I find myself craving foods like eggs and meat, which I've found to be good sources of protein and sodium. I'm working hard to balance my diet - consuming the proper calories, carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, water, etc. - because an important component of this project for me is nutrition. We shouldn't be eating locally just because it's fresher (tastes SO much better) and is better for the environment, but we should also do it for our personal health. I've also tried to keep in mind that I'm very active - 4 senior college courses, a part-time baking job, teaching 4 zumba classes a week on top of other exercise, cooking ALL THE TIME, as much social life as possible - and that I need a lot of energy (and sleep!) to sustain me. Finally, if you're curious to know about my bathroom habits (please skip to the next paragraph if this is "TMI"), but they are as healthy and regular as they've ever been, which is a clear manifestation of a truly healthy diet.

I've been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster the past month (my close friends and family may say this is no different from my normal self though!). Some days my project literally thrills me. I am absolutely passionate about what I'm doing and find myself daydreaming about new recipes. I try to stay as positive as possible, especially with my blog entries, but I think it's important to describe the difficulties involved with this project as well. First, cooking ALL of your meals (and cleaning) is incredibly time consuming. Not only that, but working with unprocessed foods is far more labor-intensive than conventional counterparts. For example, my glorious 1 lb bag of spelt only cost a dollar, but cost about an hour of my time in grinding it, and many more hours cooking and preparing it. This part was hardest for me when I first began, because on top of canning and preserving food constantly, I needed to be cooking meals for the upcoming days. My preparation methods have gotten more efficient and organized, which has made my life easier. Another issue is buying the food - you can't just go to Giant Eagle when you want something. You have to wait until your CSA bag is ready, or til the Farmers Market Saturday morning, or drive to a local farm and pick it up. Luckily, Rebecca has been an invaluable resource; without her this would have been a million times harder. Emotionally, I miss going out with my boyfriend, friends, and family, and I'm a little sick of eating at home all the time. This project requires a vast amount dedication, and it has greatly tested my self-determination and strength of willpower. I am proud of myself for what I've accomplished so far, and everyday feels a little easier.

As much as I feel frustrated, which is very often, I am irresistibly obsessed with what I'm doing. As much as my friends complain about senior comp research, I am thrilled when I have a few spare moments to sit down and read my local foods literature. I feel more connected to my food, and to the earth. I feel like an actual human - though I'm still heavily reliant on many of society's luxuries, I feel freedom and independence atleast from the food system, and I feel more like an "animal," when before I guess I felt like more of a "machine." I am eager to understand more about these feelings as they continue to develop over the next 2 months.

To sum it all up, eating strictly local and organic foods has its ups and downs. It's hard to stay loyal, it consumes your time and energy, and it tends to cause me to feel secluded from my peers. On the other hand, it is one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever known, and I can feel from within the evolution of my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

All thanks to Rebecca

Today was a fabulous day with respect to the development of my project. First, my boss/farm mom, Rebecca, shared with me some of her delicious food when I forgot to bring my lunch to work. I had a colorful and tasty salad at her house, and I'm very appreciative of her kindness. I was even more excited, however, when she came back from the store to tell me she found me some apple cider! There are lots of apple ciders available from within my project's "radius," but I haven't found any yet that is chemical-free, until today! Rebecca's neighbor gets naturally and sustainably grown apples from Northeast PA, near Erie, and presses them on their farm. There is nothing in this glorious cider but delicious apples! I was planning on making my own cider, but I keep eating my apples before having an opportunity to press them, and this will save me loads of time and effort. I drank about a half gallon of Rebecca's cider today and can't wait to buy my own asap!

I was also really excited when Rebecca brought in an old sunflower from her yard. She showed me the seeds and explained how they form, and gave me a small basket full of them. I still need to peel them from their shell, but they will be a perfect addition to my spelt "granola" bars, which right now only consist of spelt, honey, blueberries, and a little butter. I'm eager to incorporate my new sunflower seeds!

I was also very happy when I received my CSA (community supported agriculture) bag today. Rebecca has great stuff every week, but I was particularly pleased by the small bag filled with tomatillos, onion, chile peppers, and cilantro. I cut up these ingredients with 2 small fresh tomatoes to make incredible salsa, which I enjoyed tonight it my form of a taco. I have lots leftover and am excited to use it throughout the next few days!

Food Log 9/30/10

Breakfast: apple, grapes
Lunch: salad - spring mix lettuce, rainbow chard, tomatoes, apple, hardboiled egg; cantaloupe, and apple cider!

Dinner: "taco" - wheat flatbread, buffalo burger, lettuce, and tomatillo salsa; sweet potato fries, yogurt with spelt "granola"

Yogurt and spelt updates

This morning I mixed up my yogurt after letting it sit in the oven all night. It was yogurt, but very watery, and I was hoping it would harden up in the fridge because you're supposed to cool it for 8 hours. I left it in the fridge all day and it was thicker tonight but still very milky. I think the oven didn't keep it warm enough throughout the night, I should have left it on warm for the entire duration instead of turning it off when I went to sleep. I'm a little disappointed since I used so much milk and it was so time consuming, but it still tastes good and I'll use it all up for sure.

I also tried to make granola bars with my ground up flaky spelt today. I toasted my spelt with some blueberries in the oven, and heated honey and butter on the stovetop. I blended it all together, flattened it in a dish and baked it. It came out pretty nicely, it will definitely make a nice granola substitute, but I used more honey mixture for the amount of spelt I toasted, so they aren't as hard as I'd like them to be.

Though I'm not completely satisfied with my creations today, they are the first of many efforts that I'll have, and allow room for improvement. Here's a picture of the yogurt-spelt-granola dessert I had after my chili:

Food Log 9/29/10

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: omelette - 2 eggs, tomato, onion, yellow pepper, jalapeno pepper; cornbread, pear

Dinner: leftover chili, cornbread, yogurt with spelt-granola
Snacks: baby black plums, apple

I dream of dairy

Tonight I made my first attempt at yogurt-making. I was uncertain about whether or not I can be eating yogurt with this project, because though I have found local organic plain yogurt, it is virtually impossible to find the ultimate source of the cultures. Yogurt is made using existing yogurt enzymes - so how far back can I possibly trace it? After discussing these issues with my friends, family, and comp group, I decided that despite the "unknown" origin of the yogurt cultures, I can still consider it local. To make it more "local," however, I decided to use the existing yogurt to make my own. Rebecca and Professor Pallant were both kind enough to lend me some of their local organic plain yogurts as starters for mine. I used a half gallon of my raw milk from Bookamer farm, and heated it to 185 degrees on the stovetop, stirring constantly. Once my milk was bubbly and frothy, I let it cool to 110 degrees, still stirring constantly (this process takes much longer than you'd think - about an hour total! - and it gets boring). Then I added 3 tablespoons of my yogurt donations and stirred them in to my milk. I poured the combination into a glass container, wrapped it in a dish towel, and put it in the oven on warm. When I go to sleep, I'll turn off the oven, but leave my yogurt in there until morning - a minimum of 7 hours is recommended. Hopefully I'll have some good news and yogurt pictures to report tomorrow!

Food Log 9/28/10

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: leftover chili, leftover baked potato fries, pear, cornbread with honey
Dinner: leftover chili, wheat flatbread, salad with spring mix lettuce, onion, tomato, and yellow pepper
Snacks: leftover spelt-apple-maple hot cereal

Food Log 9/27/10

Breakfast: apple, pear, plum
Lunch: pear (my pears are starting to turn), leftover cornmeal pancakes with maple syrup, 2 poached eggs

Dinner: Buffalo burger with lettuce, tomato, and onion on flatbread, baked potato french fries with a little butter and parsley - this beats McDonalds any day!

Snacks: tomatillo, chai tea with milk, cornbread with honey

Food Log 9/26/10

Breakfast: spelt-apple-maple hot cereal with milk
Lunch: Chili, pear, plums
Dinner: Salad with spring mix lettuce, pear, green pepper, and carrot with honey dressing, cornbread on the side
Snacks: pearsauce

Hot-ta-Molly

I've been spending my Sunday accordingly, cooking lots of food to eat throughout the week. I first experimented with my spelt, using the pressed oatmeal-like grains to make hot cereal. I cooked the spelt in boiling water for a while, drained off most of the water and added chopped apple. I stirred in maple syrup and milk to make a delicious fall breakfast!

I was really in the mood for something spicy too, so I decided to make chili. I used red and yellow tomatoes, and cooked them for a while with water and basil to make my broth. In a separate pan, I sauteed onion, garlic, hot pepper, cut up green beans, and chard in butter and then added them to the tomato broth. I also browned ground buffalo meat in a separate pan and added it to the mixture. I'm letting it simmer for a while now - it is spicy and delicious, perhaps not what one may consider to be typical chili, but I'm calling it "Chili-Hot-ta-Molly!"

I'm hoping this delicious soup will last me for a few lunches and dinners this week, and will go perfectly with a side of cornbread. I already replenished my cornbread this morning, and made more flatbread too. This time I made less flatbread, but made it thinner and cooked it longer, until bubbles formed in a few spots. It's crispier this time and very yummy!

Food Log 9/25/10

Breakfast: assortment of fruit - apple, pear, plum, grapes
Lunch: Cornmeal pancakes with maple syrup! I've definitely perfected my recipe - a little less cornmeal, a little more milk (then the batter is thinner), 1 egg, cooked in a little extra  butter - so delicious!
Dinner: Sauteed potatoes, green peppers, green onions, and basil in butter, with buffalo meat and topped with 2 eggs
Snacks: pearsauce, grape tomatoes

Food Log 9/24/10

Breakfast: apple, grapes
Lunch: omelette with buffalo meat, hot peppers, tomatoes, and green onion, with flatbread

Dinner: Flatbread sandwich - chicken, grape tomatoes, and eggplant salad, tomatillo

Snacks: maple candy, apple with a little honey, and pearsauce

Spelt Serendipity

Today Rebecca went to Eli Yoder's amish farm near Cambridge Springs to re-stock her egg supply. While she was there she spoke with him about his grains. He unfortunately didn't have any hulled oats, which was what I was realllyyyy hoping to find, but he did have another hidden gem - spelt! Rebecca bought be a large bag for only $1. When she brought it back to her house, I used 2 of her grinders, one to make spelt flour, and the other to make crushed spelt so that it was more the texture of oatmeal. I am eager to try out my new commodity - I plan on using it as cereal, and my first recipe I'd like to invent is "apple-maple-speltmeal." I can't wait to experiment with it this weekend, and I'm eternally grateful for all of Rebecca's kindness and generosity!

Food Log 9/23/10

Despite being very busy today, I managed to have some delicious meals. I'm very pleased with my new "prepare in advance" philosophy!

Breakfast: apple, grapes
Lunch: Flatbread sandwich (same ingredients as last night's dinner), delicious apple from Rebecca's neighbor's yard
Dinner: roasted chicken breast and potatoes, salad with spring mix lettuce, carrots, and yellow tomatoes
Snacks: apple, tomatillo, maple candy

Food Log 9/22/10

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: 2 chicken wings, roasted squash drizzled with maple syrup

Dinner: Flatbread sandwich with chicken breast, grape tomatoes, lettuce,  and the delicious eggplant salad that I made with Professor Bakken - this meal was terrific!

Snacks: maple candy, cornbread drizzled with honey, and a smoothie with raw milk, frozen blueberries and watermelon, and a little maple syrup

Experimentation

This morning my dad came to visit me, and he witnessed and aided my cooking experiments. My first endeavor was to create cheese with sour milk alone. This effort was unfortunately a miserable failure. I heated the milk just as I had seen it done in the cheese-making class, but without citric acid or rennet, my milk never properly curdled. I was a little disappointed, but as my later concoction turned out to be a success, I quickly forgot my setback with cheese.

I received my whole wheat pastry flour in the mail yesterday, made of soft winter wheat grown and milled at Frankferd Farms. I have been eager to use it, and I made delicious flatbread with it this morning. I used about 2 cups of wheat flour, less than a cup of water, about a quarter cup of my homemade butter, and a variety of fresh herbs and blended them together. It was fun to knead my bread dough!

After allowing it to sit for a little, I rolled it out and cooked it for less than 10 minutes at 450 degrees. It came out perfectly! It doesn't look like much but it tastes fantastic.

Next I'm going to try to make pasta, I can't wait!

My only other major kitchen endeavor today was to freeze 6 ears of corn. I used the same approach as last time, but after getting it all in the oven I started doing homework and lost track of time. Instead of cooking my corn for an hour, I left it in the oven for an hour and 45 minutes (woops!). Luckily only the top and bottom layers were "crisp" and all of the kernels were still usable.

I'm happy with what I accomplished today. The bread-making was extremely satisfying and I'm thrilled about having a new source of carbohydrates in my local diet. 

Food Log 9/21/10

Breakfast: overly ripe peaches with cornmeal and boiling water
Lunch: Grapes and delicious cornbread (made with buttermilk) topped with chicken liver puree - chicken liver, garlic, green onion, and tomato. This could most definitely be served in a restaurant.
Dinner: Salad with spring mix lettuce, grape tomatoes, and roasted chicken, onions, carrots, and potatoes
Snacks: apple, maple candy

Food Log 9/20/10

I ate like a queen today. An important component of my project that I'd like to mention is that this certainly isn't suffering. Of course it involves motivation, diligence, and sacrifice, but it is also an incredible time of self-growth and discovery, and GOOD eating.

Breakfast: peach, cornbread
Lunch: 2 poached eggs, peach (my fresh peaches are starting to go), leftover blueberry-cornmeal pancakes



Dinner: roasted chicken leg and thigh, roasted potatoes, onions, and carrots (all covered in butter, garlic, and herbs)

Snacks: cornbread drizzled with honey, maple candy

More Cooking Adventures

I spent virtually my entire day in the kitchen today, and I'm so excited about my creations. I roasted my chicken today; it took a little over an hour in the oven which isn't very long for an almost 6lb bird, but I learned from Professor Bakken that organic and free range poultry tends to cook in about half the time of conventional birds. I stuffed and rubbed the skin with butter, garlic, and a variety of herbs, and did the same with the potatoes, onions, and carrots I placed around the chicken in the bottom of the pan. My grandma hates roasting chicken because she says it reminds her of a baby in the oven....and that haunted me a little, but the delicious smells filling up my house allowed me to quickly overcome my reservations. It came out beautifully and I enjoyed a leg, thigh, and vegetables for my dinner.

I also made cornbread today since I ran out over the weekend. I made a ton of butter this weekend and had a lot of buttermilk to spare, so I decided to use it for my cornbread. It turned out to be a great decision - my cornbread is lighter and fluffier than any of my previous tries, and it tastes much better too. It even rose a little bit in the baking dish which was very exciting.

I'm so happy with my productivity today - I'm ready to enjoy the fruits of my labor throughout this upcoming busy week and eat some delicious local foods (minus the daily cooking and cleaning!).

Professor Bakken's expertise

Today I visited Professor Bakken at his home on Grove St, where he hosted me for some expert local food cooking lessons. I am very appreciative of his kindess - and especially of the results of my visit!

I brought with me a variety of vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, onions, green onion, eggplant, and squash. I also brought my chicken from the Market House yesterday and my homemade butter. We started by talking for a while and I told him that I didn't care for eggplant. He certainly had a remedy for that. He cooked my eggplant on the grill until the skins were almost black and the inside was very mushy. Then we removed the skins, and chopped up the eggplant with garlic, green onion, tomato, habanero pepper, and a variety of herbs that were grown on his back porch. The end result was a puree type salad, and it is absolutely phenomenal - more flavorful by far than any of my own concoctions.

The next task was chicken stock. Professor Bakken removed the backbone of my chicken, as well as the "innerds", and began cooking them in a pan with green onion, carrots, garlic and onion skins, and many of our other cooking scraps - virtually all of them could be used for stock-making. This we allowed to cook for the duration of my visit, and I continued to cook it for a few more hours when I got home. I ended up with 7 medium sized tupperwares full of delicious broth.

My chicken's organs certainly didn't go to waste. The liver is cooking in the picture above with green onions, butter, tomatoes, and garlic. This he used to make another puree type mixture that makes a delicious spread (cornbread will have to do for now!).

Our final project was roasted vegetables. Squash was so easy to make - simply cut it in half and roast it in the oven. When I eat it for lunch this week I'll drizzle it with maple syrup. We also made roasted onions, potatoes, and carrots with butter and herbs that turned out beautifully.

My visit with Professor Bakken was fun and highly beneficial for me - I probably won't have to cook again for the rest of the week!! I learned some delicious new recipes as well as some of the properties of food (ex. eggplant skin is very bitter, so will be less bitter if removed). I am extremely pleased with everything I accomplished today and am very grateful for Professor Bakken's assistance. The food he made with me is fabulous; although he said salt and olive oil would have made a load of difference, I don't think I could be any happier!

Food Log 9/19/10

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: cut up peach with cornbread, drizzled with honey
Dinner: delicious chicken leg and thigh with roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions
Snack: maple candy

Everything is easier with help from Mom

Friday night my mom came and visited me. We had a fabulous evening - I took her to Sprague Farm and she loved it and got to spend time with my friends and me. Not only was it wonderful to see her, but she was also very helpful with respect to my project. Saturday morning we went shopping, first to Wal Mart, to get some better cooking supplies (I've had some difficulties in the kitchen regarding my lack of equipment). With 2 new sautee pans, a casserole dish, a large stock pot, a handy cutting tool, a mixing bowl, and some towels and sponges, I'll be ready for any local cooking endeavor!

Our next stop the Market House. I enjoyed taking her around and talking with all the farmers from whom I've been buying my produce. She is very social and had many questions! We replenished my fruit supply - I bought apples, peaches, grapes, and pears (which are currently being made into pearsauce on stove top), as well as some veggies and more maple candy (yes!). My 2 most exciting finds today are all thanks to my mom. As a result of her urging, we bought 3 dozen ears of delicious sweet corn, most of which I roasted with butter this afternoon and put in the freezer. It was great to have my mom help me shuck the corn and cut it from the cob!

Our second exciting find was lying in the Market House freezer - a glorious 5.8 pound frozen chicken meeting my project's criteria. It is currently thawing and I plan on making roast chicken tomorrow night with carrots and onion, and some ears of corn. I'm hoping to eat it throughout the week, both alone and in salads, and when next weekend rolls around, I'll use it to make chicken stock and delicious soup. I'm so excited!

Though this weekend was fabulous, it had its "ups and downs." I've found that I get overly sensitive when offered advice, because I feel like I'm being criticized/not doing a good job, when in reality it is just the care of my loved ones and their eagerness to assist me that I'm getting frustrated by. I need to be more open-minded and confident in my own abilities, and less stubborn and more willing to accept others' help. I also have still had some issues with light-headedness, which tends to go away after eating but is still a minor concern.

Overall I'm very pleased with all I've accomplished this weekend. I only wish that I could have more time with my mom - we make a productive team!

Food Log 9/18/10

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: peach, blueberry-cornbread pancakes with maple syrup

Dinner: porkchop, broccoli, think sweet potato chips drizzled with honey
Snacks: maple candy, corn, pearsauce

Before...

...and after!

Although I'm a little disappointed that I cleaned my plate tonight (since I was hoping to get 2 dinners out of it!), it was delicious and satisfying. I've discovered that something I've become very sensitive to in the last few weeks is food waste. I am careful not to waste even things as insignificant as a kernel of corn or a small piece of butter; because so much time and effort goes into my foods, I treat them with much greater respect. Tonight I became a caveman and gnawed on my pork bone!

Food Log 9/17/10

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs
Lunch: apple, cornbread
Dinner: salad with spring mix lettuce, carrot, tomatos, and buffalo meat
Snacks: "apple pie" creation, maple syrup ice cream

Food Log 9/16/10

Breakfast: apple, cornbread with honey, tea
Lunch: salad - spring mix lettuce, hard boiled egg, beautiful purple carrots, apples, honey dressing

Dinner: leftover stuffed peppers and baked potato french fries (potato cut into wedges, baked with a little butter and parsley)

Snacks: maple syrup candy, pearsauce

Success!!

Today is fantastic - I found wheat! My previous source from Frankferd Farms was a little mistaken when he thought that they only grew and milled corn. With Rebecca Vine's help and encouragement, I discovered that they also grow their own soft winter wheat that they mill into pastry flour. I have a 25lb bag on the way - yippy!!

All in a day's work

I love Wednesdays because I have all morning and early afternoon to catch up on things. Today, I accomplished some important food tasks, and even did some homework too. I've had a watermelon waiting to be chopped for ages and finally got around to it today. It took about an hour to cut it and remove all the seeds, because I wanted to freeze it and use the pieces as the ice cubes of my fruit smoothies. I'm very pleased because my watermelon stock is plentiful!

I also spent a long time today experimenting and making stuffed peppers. I've always loved stuffed peppers but have never made them before; I had some idea of the process behind it, but didn't use a recipe for my creation. I enjoy the freedom of my cooking, rarely measuring or timing my processes. Today I cooked red onion, japanese eggplant, and cabbage with butter and garlic, and then added buffalo burger meat. After sauteeing them for a while, I blended them together with 2 eggs to firm up my mixture, and then stuffed it into my peppers. I baked them for a while (10 mins? 20 mins?) until they seemed soft and cooked through. I was the most excited after trying them because they turned out fantastic! I also replenished my cornbread stock too. One "batch" usually lasts me 2-3 days, so I should be good until the weekend (and hopeful that I'll be getting some spelt soon - I'm eager for more variety!)

I'm happy with today's outcome because I've been working towards a personal goal - planning for the future, both near and far. I made enough stuffed peppers for atleast 2 more meals, and have enough watermelon frozen for probably a month's worth of smoothies. I feel accomplished, satisfied, and full.

Food Log 9/15/10

Breakfast: apple, chai tea with raw milk
Lunch: 2 poached eggs, cantaloupe, cornbread, maple syrup candy

Dinner: a huge carrot and stuffed peppers - variety of peppers from my roommate's garden stuffed with buffalo burger meat, red onion, garlic, japanese eggplant, eggs, and cabbage - soo good!

Dessert: "Apple Pie a la Molly" - corn meal, raw milk, maple syrup, and apples (amazing)

My Food Sources

To help me keep track of all of my farms, I'm making a list of everywhere I've bought from so far, and offering a link to a website (if one is available) to any who are interested in checking them out for themselves.

Fresh from the Vines Sustainable Farm and Bakery
Frankferd Farms
Erie Whole Foods Co-op
Local providers for Erie Co-op from whom I have purchased food:
-Rahal Farms Northeast PA
-Weeping Willow Hartstown PA
-Raymond Byler Farms Hartstown PA
-Middlefield Ohio Northeast Pastures
-Grabskis Farm Erie PA
Whole Foods, Pittsburgh PA
Local providers for Whole Foods from whom I have purchased food:
-Sligo, PA (farm name not offered)
Market House, Meadville PA
I intend to get the farm names for my Market House farmers next Saturday.
Wooden Nickell Buffalo Farm
Finney's Deli and Bulk Foods, Cambridge Springs
Restoration Herbs
I am also hoping to make purchases from a local amish farmer.

I intend to add to this list throughout the next few months as I continue to discover more local and organic food sources.

My Feelings to Date

So far I've greatly enjoyed my personal study, but it hasn't been all that easy. It's incredibly time consuming to purchase  all of my food from a wide variety of "non-mainstream' sources, and cooking all of my own meals (and then cleaning all of those dishes, of course), while being a full-time college student, working a part time job, teaching exercise classes, being involved in Greek life, and performing necessary life functions like sleeping. I don't want to be a complainer though, since the decisions to be involved in these things have been entirely my own, and as much as I have been struggling to "keep my head above water," I know that it is extremely worthwhile. Nevertheless, it's frustrating that I can never "eat on the run," or take a quick trip to a convenience store when I run out of something.

I don't have a ton of cooking experience, and it's difficult to come up with new ideas for meals everyday. This is a double-edged sword, however, for a feel that this is simultaneously one of the best elements of my project, as it manifests creativity out of necessity.

All this has made me believe that we as humans greatly take our food sources for granted. I've noticed that human food is literally EVERYWHERE - there are very few places where I can escape the realm of the commercialized food industry. We have no connection to the food we eat, and most of the time don't have any clue what it is we're having our bodies consume. Our lives are literally centered around eating and drinking - we are the "planets" and food is our "sun" - and we do not in any way give food the respect it deserves. I have become acutely conscious of these elements of food in the last 2 weeks.

Though I feel far more connected not only to the food I'm eating but to northwestern Pennsylvania as a whole, I feel separated from my peers. I've eaten alone more in the last 2 weeks than I ever remember in my college career, and it gets lonely. I'll sometimes eat dinner simultaneously with my roommates or friends, but don't really share in the experience of eating with anyone. Along the same lines, I've noticed the great extent to which my social life was previously centered around alcohol. Although I plan on atleast attempting to brew some hard cider, I haven't gotten around to it yet, and I haven't been drinking since my project began. I'm finally 21 and can go to bars, but don't really have fun sitting around watching everyone drink. This has caused me to reassess my prior social life and friendships, for I feel it was very shallow. I've been trying to come up with non-alcohol related fun, researching haunted houses, fall fun activities like Franklin's Apple Fest, movies times, and shopping trips.

Even though I've been working very hard on my project, I worry constantly about the future. I feel like sometimes I'm so consumed by what I'm going to be eating at the end of November that what I'm going to eat tomorrow never crosses my mind, which makes it more difficult to juggle with a busy schedule. I've learned the value of preparation and am trying to plan ahead more not just for months from now, but for a few days from now. Every time I can or freeze something I think to myself, "I don't have nearly enough food!! What am I going to do?!?!" And I have to refocus and center myself (with the help of loving friends) to get back on track. I also get nervous about canning after having learned about botulism - a fatal illness one gets from consuming improperly canned foods. I've been as careful as can be after learning this, but the thought still lingers.

As I said earlier, I feel very disconnected from our "food society," but I've had a few personal food "victories" that make me feel like I'm still a human in the 21st century. First, I made potato chips - one of my absolute favorite foods/reasons for living. Ice cream was also a huge success. Probably my most satisfying purchase though was my crystallized maple syrup candy. The fact that I bought them in a store, packaged, and they come in a variety of different shapes, was psychologically relieving.

Another thing that has made me feel uncomfortable is talking with local farmers about their growing practices. This seems like it should be so easy, and it is when they use organic techniques; but when they aren't completely organic, they tend to feel (atleast it seems to me) like I'm criticizing them, or unhappy with their product. For example, at the Market House last Saturday, I went over to a table that had delicious looking raspberries. As I walked over, the farmer saw me eyeing them up, and he picked up a handful and held them in front of my face saying "Try these!!". It was awkward to refuse him, and after asking "do you treat them with any chemicals?", he tried to dodge the question until his coworker told me that they were sprayed with an anti-molding chemical (probably the reason they looked so beautiful to begin with).

Physically, I'm feeling great. I'm not sure whether its the placebo effect or whether its reality, but I feel like I'm "detoxing." My only concern at this point (other than death by botulism) is the lack of sodium in my diet. I haven't found any sources of salt, and though I've been trying to figure out foods that are naturally high in sodium, I feel that this is one of the greatest dietary changes I've encountered thus far. I had no idea how incredibly high in sodium our processed food is - literally EVERYTHING has sodium in it! - which has represented another challenge, since I can't get even cheese or butter with no salt in it. I've researched the effects of low sodium, or "hyponatremia," and I've felt a few of the symptoms, like light headedness and fatigue. I'm not sure if they're related to one another, but I'm still a little concerned about it, and am becoming more aware of sodium in my diet.

All in all, I'm very proud of my project and I am staunchly committed to seeing it through. I recognize that there are sacrifices involved, but more than that I am gaining incredible practical knowledge of cooking and preserving food, as well as the sources and processes our food undergoes. Not only am I benefitting physically from a healthier diet, but I am becoming emotionally strengthened and enriched by my organic diet of local foods.

Food Log 9/14/10

Brunch: pearsauce with corn meal (pears, water, cornmeal, honey), leftover mashed potatoes
Dinner: leftover mashed potatoes, steak salad - leftover steak, red pepper, carrot, spring mix lettuce, leftover beets
Snacks: my delicious chai tea that I finally got in the mail yesterday with milk, cornbread, maple syrup candy

More Canning

Tonight I canned 4 more pints of peaches and 7 pints of tomatoes. I'm really pleased because my stock is growing and I'm feeling better about my winter diet. I also made pear sauce (like applesauce), in which I cooked my pears in water and honey. It is delicious and I'm dying to savor it right now. I was going to freeze it but instead stuck it in the fridge so I can enjoy it this upcoming week.

My cooling peach jars

Tomorrow I need to get my peppers and onions into the freezer, and chop up my melon that has been waiting for me for atleast a week. I feel very accomplished today and am excited about trying some new recipes this week, like stuffed peppers and ultimate baked potatoes.

Food Log 9/13/10

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: salad - spring mix lettuce, green onion, carrots, green peppers; cantaloupe
Dinner: pork chop from Grabski's farm, leftover mashed potatoes, beets
Snacks: cornbread, maple syrup candy, pears peaches and tomato pieces while canning

As you can see, I cut up my pork chop alot because I was worried about cooking it all the way through. This dinner was delicious, if only pictures could translate into taste buds!

Food Log 9/12/10

Brunch: leftover smoothie, apple, carrot, grape tomatoes
Dinner: cornbread hot from the oven, omelette - buffalo burger patty, green onion, eggs
Snacks: maple syrup candy and ice cream, peach, cornbread

I was hoping to can my gigantic bag of tomatoes, peaches and pears tonight, but never got a chance, so that is definitely one of my goals for tomorrow. I also have a large melon I want to get chopped into the fridge, and bags of peppers and onions to freeze. Tomorrow will be very busy!

I'm also excited because of some recipes I found today. One day this week I'd like to try to make vegetable soup (I don't have all the ingredients to make any soup from an exact recipe, so I'll be experimenting with my own ingredients). I found a recipe for pumpkin soup that I have all the ingredients for, and it sounds like it will make for some delicious autumn dinners. Finally, I found instructions on making honey taffy, which may be beyond my expertise, but I'm still going to give it a whirl.

Food Log 9/11/10

Breakfast: apple, cornbread
Lunch: cantaloupe, grapes
Dinner: steak salad - leftover steak, spring mix lettuce, carrots, and green peppers; cornbread on the side
Snacks: smoothie - raw milk, peach, grapes, frozen watermelon, raspberries, honey; maple syrup candy

Restoration Herbs

Yesterday afternoon, I visited Restoration Herbs farm in Franklin. Their primary work involves homeopathic/holistic herbal medicine, but they sell herbs and teas as well. I toured their lovely garden and learned about herbs, which was very helpful because I don't know a lot about them. I told Leslie, the herbologist, about my project, and asked for something that might support my immune system, since germs tend to spread so rapidly on college campuses. I purchased Citrus Exotica tea from her, which she says supports a healthy immune system, and all of the ingredients are organically grown on her farm. I also got rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon thyme, and peppermint from her. My favorite purchase, however, was for stevia, an herb that is supposedly 300 times sweeter than sugar. These little leaves will be great to sweeten teas, and I can make stevia ice cubes as well, by letting them steep in boiling water and then freezing them.

Saturday at the Market House

The Market House was booming with activity this morning. Today is a big day in the world of Allegheny Greek life, and I was busy with Run Out festivities. After picking up our new kkg's, it struck me that I was missing out on prime time at the Farmer's market. I hurried to my car to get downtown; all I could think was "they'll be out of raspberries before I get there!". Though I didn't find more raspberries that met my project standards, I did get a lot of other goodies that I'm excited about. I got lots more grapes and peppers to freeze, as well as carrots and sweet potatoes. I also got alot more peaches, so I'll be busy tonight canning my peaches and giant bag of tomatoes that have been waiting for me throughout this hectic week. One of my favorite finds today at the Market House was "Pure Maple Candy," which is simply crystallized maple syrup. After speaking with an employee to determine their origin, I bought several bags. I probably could have made these delicious treats myself, but it was psychologically satisfying to have a little bag of candies, especially shaped as hearts, acorns, and leaves. I'll definitely be back to buy more when I run out, and will use these as a little sweet fix whenever I might be feeling blue!

Food Log 9/10/10

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: omelette - eggs, green onion, and buffalo burger meat - cooked in butter, with a side of cornbread. My dad makes an omelette similar to this that I love, except that he uses sausage and adds cheese and hot sauce as well. I was craving something satisfying and filling so this did the trick, and also made me reminisce about breakfasts at my dad's house.

Dinner: New York Strip Steak from Grabski's Farm (free range, grass fed beef) cooked with sage and mashed potatoes with milk, garlic, butter, parsley, and chives. I took lots of pictures of my dinner tonight because it was so delicious and I had some help in the kitchen from my boyfriend. I also made enough steak so that I could have a steak salad on Monday, with leftover potatoes too.
Snacks: maple ice cream! and cornbread

Chopping garlic (my fingers will smell for days!)

Steak and potatoes cooking

Delicious mashed potatoes - the picture simply can't do them justice.