lghez's Profile

Wow, hearing everyone's vastly different experiences makes me realize how lucky I am. Our CSA farm is http://www.crookedskyfarms.com/csf/index.php
and I pick up a share of the farm's bounty midweek all year round for $20 a week. The vegetables, fruits, sometimes grains and nuts, are all organically grown and last soooo much longer than supermarket produce.

This week was amaranth greens, artichokes, beets, carrots, grapefruit, nopales (cactus pads), spring onions and summer squash. The beet tops make an additional vegetable for greens, and there were some new potatoes in the surplus bin, for the taking.

We can also buy pasture-raised eggs, the most wonderful bread, goat cheese, and quarterly the CSA functions as a co-op and purchases sustainably raised chicken, beef, pork or lamb. Unfortunately, no CSF in the middle of the Sonoran desert! Participating in a CSA has also allowed me to become part of a wonderful community of like-minded subscribers, all interested in clean foods.

A related idea--specialize in a holiday. My sister does Thanksgiving and I do Christmas eve. I don't have to have a large roasting pan, or a turkey platter or a gravy boat. She doesn't have to have a paella pan or melted butter servers.

Suggest savory palmiers, made with pesto or tomato filling, rolled in puff pastry and sliced, then baked. Mini quiches would also work, and cheese straws are delicious when heated up.

Until the recent popularity of coconut, it was hard to find unsweetened in my marketplace. I discovered one can rinse sweetened to wash away some of the sweetness to use in savory recipes.

Because I belong to a CSA and make most meals from the ingredients in my share, I spend some time on Tuesday evenings prepping all the vegetables and fruits, usually having a very simple dinner. Then on the weekend I devote some time to using up anything I still have left. Making dinner generally takes me between 30 and 45 minutes, not counting these two prep sessions.

I'm not certain why this subject has seemed to bring out the curmudgeons. It is proven that we "eat with our eyes" first and I don't think it is indulgent or necessarily wasteful to make our and our children's food look good. The whole idea behind the series on lunch boxes, food in jars, etc. is to make taking food from home more accessible and creative, and the container size is a good guide to portion control. I think these lunches look healthy and appetizing.

Genius idea for the two bunches of dill in my CSA share!

I aim for around 400 calories with a mix of veggies and protein. I am fond of a soup/salad combination such as miso soup with lots of vegetables and tofu along with a shredded kale salad incorporating a small amount of peanuts (that's what I ate today). I agree with the post about needing some protein and fat to keep away the afternoon snack monster. If I just eat a salad, I'm starving by 3:00.

Try contacting a community sustainable agriculture in your area. Mine has pork shares available and sells extra "shoulder bacon" separately by the pound after pork shares come in.

I would appreciate an article on breakfast menus with protein and a vegetable that are under 250 calories. This is one meal that I almost always eat at home so have more caloric control. Currently I have one poached egg, whole wheat toast, and cooked greens or sliced tomato. I vary this by eating beans on toast or occasionally some oatmeal with fruit in it.