Saturday 28 November 2015

... root crop harvest

Hello everybody,

We have enjoyed an unusually mild autumn this year in eastern Ontario. So much so that I was actually able to leave all our root crops, namely carrots, parsnips and beets, in the ground until now. The weather has become seasonably chilly so it was time to haul them out.

I had filled one 3 foot by 15 foot bed with the aforementioned veggies. They all did quite well and we have been eating from the bed all during the autumn. What ever was remaining needed to be pulled and stored.


Now, I wish I could say that I have some sort of wonderful root cellar to keep them in, but alas, I do not. I do have a plan in the back of my mind for next year but the question remained of what to do with them this year.

I decided to dig them up, leave the soil attached to them, put them into a large Rubbermaid Rough Tote and leave them in our boot room, or mud room if you prefer to call it that. It is the coolest room in the house. There is no heat in there and it is on the north wall. Average winter temperature is about 50F. Not ideal, but the best I can do right now.


We weighed the tote full of the veg and it came to an impressive 86.6 pounds. Pretty good from one bed.

I have tucked the tote in beside our freezer and all the squash and pumpkins are piled up around it. 


I will be keeping a close eye on it to see if any of the veg begins to rot and of course moving some of it to the refrigerator for weekly meals.

Another job done and now time for a well deserved cup of tea. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Cheers.

Wednesday 25 November 2015

... how to never waste bacon

Good evening everybody,

How often have you purchased a package of bacon, used up some of it and then forgotten all about it only to find the last few slices have turned into something truly horrible in the back of your refrigerator.

That used to happen to us as we do not really eat a lot of bacon, much as we both love it.

In an effort to stop the madness we now deal with the bacon in a different way. 

As soon as we open the package we take out the amount that we need for that first meal and then all the rest of it gets laid out on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet and goes into the freezer. As soon as it is frozen, the wax paper is wrapped around the bacon and it goes into a zip top bag, appropriately labelled "Bacon", and back into the freezer it goes.


Whenever you want one slice or six slices simply remove what you want from the bag and cook it from frozen. It will defrost in the pan almost immediately.

No more wasted bacon and if you happen to need to slice it for a recipe it is much easier to slice frozen bacon than fresh.

Well that is all from me for tonight. Have a great evening. Cheers.


Friday 13 November 2015

... meal planning

Greetings everybody,

If you have read my blog for any length of time you already know how I feel about wasting food!

I really believe that the more organized that you can be in your kitchen, the less food you will waste. I also think that you need to eat down your pantry and your freezer to use what you have already purchased and not just keep on buying more and more food.

I have a system to do just that.

To start with, I have a freezer log. I will make that the subject of a separate post but for today, it is enough to know that I have one.

I also have this nifty little pad that I purchased at Michaels craft stores years ago. It is divided up by days and each sheet shows one full week and I believe the pad contains 52 sheets, so enough for a full year. The best part was it was a whopping $1.50! There is also room on the side to note things like groceries needed, etc. This pad lives on the front of my refrigerator. Now, this is a personal thing, but I am not a fan of having a fridge covered in stuff. I know that most people put all sorts of things on their fridge doors but it is just not for me. I have two things on the door .... my menu pad and a magnet I recently purchased at a wonderful little store in a town close to me. Again, for myself, I am not a fan of fridge magnets but I do keep one of them there to hold my grocery list since I add to it throughout the week before I shop. When I saw this one, I simply could not resist. :)



Now, back to the menu pad. It really does not matter if you use a menu pad or a simple piece of paper, the principle is the same.

If you keep a freezer log, have a look at it to see what you have in there. If you do not, then just open up the door and look inside. Then decide what you are going to have each day. I really enjoy this particular task because I absolutely love to cook. I make up my menus on Sundays for the coming week. Once you have decided on the protein part (chicken, fish, etc.), then go into your larder or pantry and refrigerator and have a good look at what you have in there. Is there veg that needs eating up? Do you have a bag of potatoes on the verge of sprouting? You get the idea.

I make a note on each day of what the recipe is that I am using and where to find it. I read through the recipe carefully and look to see if I have everything needed and make a note on the grocery list for any missing ingredients. I very often will substitute ingredients if I have something on hand that I want to use up.

When I have finished with the weeks menus I will also have a start of the grocery list for the week. That gets stuck on the fridge under my one cutie magnet. :)   As the week progresses, I will add things to the list as needed. My aim is to only have to shop once during the week as I live almost a half hour from a grocery store. The last thing I do before shopping is to have a look at the grocery store flyer to see if I want anything else that is hopefully on sale.  :)

The huge benefit of making up your weekly menus is in the morning I simply have a quick glance at the list and take out of the freezer whatever is called for on that day. There is never the "oh my, what are we going to eat for dinner tonight?" panic that can often occur. This is especially true for those whose job has them getting home late and then they still have to scramble to get dinner on the table. 

Give it a go and let me know how you get on. Thanks a lot for visiting today. Cheers.