Peaches and berries and yogurt, oh my! That was breakfast last week. And it was so good - plump blueberries that I picked myself last June; ripe, juicy peaches from Mexia (about 80 miles from here) complements of The Farm Patch; and my homemade whole milk yogurt made with raw milk straight from the dairy. Who can skip breakfast with these goodies on the table? And for those mornings where the piggy in my brain demanded a little extra? A slice of homemade wheat toast or a homemade cinnamon bagel with organic butter. Mmmmm.
I have to admit, it has taken some extra planning to get those goodies on the table. July was a busy month and as a result, I've missed two of the last four Farmers Market days. And knowing that we were going to spend this last weekend out-of-town with family, I wanted to be prepared and have plenty of goodies awaiting our return. At last weekend's market, I picked up enough veggies to see me though two weeks, including lots of potatoes that will keep well in the refrigerator. And of course, I have canned tomatoes and homemade pasta sauce in the pantry to supplement the veggie stock until the next market day. But that still leaves fruit.
As I mentioned in last week's update, we've pretty much run out of fruit at the Saturday Farmers Market so I didn't net anything there. But The Farm Patch is the next best place for local fruit. Not everything is local, so you have to ask, but it's there. The woman at the checkout desk pointed us to the other end of the store where those gorgeous peaches from Mexia were just waiting for us. I slapped my own hand as I reached for a plastic baggie (I forget sometimes too) and filled it to the brim with the sweetest smelling fruit. On the way out, I also grabbed (well, my arms were full of peaches so I asked Dave to grab) a nice Texas watermelon. We ate well into the bag of peaches last week, but in not cutting the watermelon, it stayed fresh sitting right there on the counter and will now keep us in fruit until we can return for more of those peaches. Did I mention the peaches are really juicy? Mmmm... need more peaches...
Right. Anyway, even having not been at Saturday's farmers market, this week is looking pretty good. Let's see, we have...
- Peaches and watermelon (local)
- Yogurt (local and homemade)
- Wheat bread and cinnamon bagels (both homemade)
- Toasted cheese sandwiches - yogurt rolls toasted with a little gouda and topped with fresh spinach (rolls are homemade, gouda and spinach are local)
- Loaded baked potato - potato topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms and a little shredded gouda cheese (everything local)
- Canned tomatoes over rice - yep, I'm going to pull out one of those jars of canned tomatoes. I'm just dying to see how they taste! (all local)
As far as hitting the actual grocery store, I was there too. I picked up more mushrooms and some onions, but I patiently checked out all the produce and bought the local versions. It's not ideal and the grocery certainly doesn't offer the friendships I've found at the farmers market, but in a pinch, it can carry me through if I'm mindful to watch for the few things that are local.
More about our mini-break soon, but in the meantime, grab a plate and pull up a chair. We have some eating to do. Have a great week everyone!
Happy (and mindful) eating!
8 comments:
You really are feeding yourself well locally, I have to admit, I am jealous of all your fruit. We are finally starting to get some fruit abundance here in the Midwest. On Saturday we were able to pick up some local apples and got a bonus muskmelon in our CSA.
Oh my peaches! Yum!
Yay for peaches!!! I just picked some with my friend and her son on Saturday, but they needed to ripen a bit more since most of the county seemed to have the same idea as us... I am so excited for the produce! You canned your peaches, right? I am going to try and do little containers of them to have with breakfast cottage cheese. I gotta scroll through your posts to find out what you did.
The fruit sounds yummy! I've found there is just never enough fruit. My girls love it, but it's so hard to find local fruit ... and then get enough of it to last through the Dark Days of Winter. Heck, we barely make it through the week during the summer (between Farmer's Market Days ;).
Happy eating indeed. Summer is my favorite season in terms of fresh fruit - berries, melons and stone fruits! And tomatoes! We have one more month of this insane goodness in norCal. I am stuffing myself as much as I possibly can.
Jennifer - Local apples would be delicious! I don't think we get those here. Definitely something I miss this year. Are you going to preserve any applesauce or apple butter with those? Apple butter is one of my favorites :)
Fearlesschef - Yep! I canned some of the peaches and froze them as well. I talked a little about canning peaches here:
http://simple-green-frugal.blogspot.com/2008/06/just-peachy.html
Let me know if you have any questions. Freezing is easy too if you have the space.
Wendy - I'm curious to see how I'll make it through winter. I honestly don't think I have enough, but I suppose time will tell. Even here I found it was hard to find fruit. The farmers market just can't completely feed me. For fruits, I'll just have to plan to routinely go to the Farm Patch. You might ask around and see if there are other places for fruit in your area that you might not have thought about before. Good luck!
CindyW - Stuff away! It's so sad when the tomatoes start to vanish. I'm glad to have some of them canned for the winter. I'm looking forward to breaking into one of those jars. Enjoy the season!
OH! Peaches and blueberries together are such a treat. Now, if you throw a few raspberries in there it's better than chocolate!! OK, almost. I ate peaches and blueberries with yogurt for breakfast the other day, this post reminds me I have enough to take with me for work tomorrow! Mmmmmm!
This looks yummy! You know, I had never tried a peach until this summer. I just couldn't fathom eating something fuzzy. But in an attempt to get my son to try something new, I started eating them last week and I can't believe how good they are. I've been missing out on these all my life.. so sad.
eco burban mom - No raspberries that I've ever seen around here, but on vacation this weekend I nibbled a few. Good heavens they were good! The local-only fruit year is going to be a little rough. Not impossible, but a little rough :)
Green Resolutions - really? Oh, a good freestone peach is one of my all time favorites. Glad to hear you've found a new love. Enjoy them! You have some catching up to do :)
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