In our no-grocery challenge for 2015, we've checked a successful week off of the calendar, and are now closing in on double digits. With that, some of our more perishable supplies have already been consumed, and we're carefully planning our upcoming meals to ensure that the rest of our produce and dairy products are used up before expiration. To date, this is what we have completely run out of:
-- bananas
-- cucumbers
-- zucchini
-- Doritos (ha!--we only had some of these over the holidays, they aren't a staple around here!)
-- limes
-- deli cut American cheese (lots and lots of other kinds of cheese are left, though)
-- fresh tomatoes
This week, I think we will finish off the last of our head lettuce, cherries, fresh broccoli, and asparagus. That will leave us with: apples, pears, oranges, celery, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cabbage for our fresh produce. The rest of our produce is frozen or canned. We have a few more choices when it comes to those things, but still--fresh is so much nicer.
Tonight, I made skillet asparagus, and we have a little more left to have the rest at some point this weekend. We only came to love asparagus in recent years. I never remember liking it much during childhood or even up through college. We had been married for a few years and I had just started gardening on my own--something I swear I would probably never do, and now something that I probably couldn't do without. I was gifted some old asparagus roots, which were planted in the backyard and subsequently forgotten. Fast forward another year or so. After a spring thaw, I noticed bright green spindly things poking through the soil, and remembered my quarry. I think we only got a small handful of spears that first year that we picked, but they were delicious. At first, Jay was wary of trying a new green vegetable, but he came around-- especially after grilling the asparagus.
If you have never had grilled asparagus, put that on your to-do list. NOW.
Skillet asparagus, or any vegetable really, is so easy to make. If you can grill it, you can do it in a skillet-- in the house-- under the broiler. This is especially handy when the snow flies, and you don't want to be out in front of a grill in your parka and gloves. We've had great luck doing all sorts of vegetables this way: corn, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, and asparagus are some of our favorites. The nice thing too, is that you can cook them from FROZEN this way. A little of olive oil in a skillet, add veg, season to taste, and pop under the broiler--stirring every few minutes until you get the desired color and texture that you want.
That being said, I'm still kind of sad that it will be a while until I can grow my own vegetables again. I think it's about 14 weeks yet until I traditionally start seeing the asparagus tips poking through the soil. I said I didn't want to be the person that grows lettuce in their basement, but I just might have to start a windowbox or something for greens. Maybe I'll sprout some beans or something to get me going.
Other projects that I've been considering are to make homemade yogurt, as I'm getting low. I have a recipe where I can use a little of the yogurt that I have as a starter culture. Maybe. I do know I have a great deal of jellies and jams on the canning shelf that would be good yogurt flavorings. I also thought about getting a sourdough starter going for bread, and maybe a batch of home-brewed beer going. Maybe I'll just continue to sit snuggled under this homemade quilt and think about it some more while the snow flies!
Another thing of note is that Jay told me today that he is willing to give broccoli another try. This is huge. As in, write-it-on-the-calendar-huge. The man hates broccoli. I know I probably can't grill it, or skillet broil it, like I can the other veg, but I'd also like to not have to cover three florets in five pounds of cheese. If you have any favorite ways to prepare broccoli itself other than the norm, I'd love to hear it.
Also, thanks to everyone who is continuing to follow us on our journey. I sincerely appreciate every page view, and comment that you share with us. It's motivation for me to keep writing every day.
Stay warm, campers. It's cold out there.
--SH