Friday, June 3, 2011

Week 11 in Review

The Score
Eaters - 10.5    Compost - 0     Carry Over - 0.5
The produce bins in the fridge are almost completely empty. That hasn't happened in a long while. It's a sign that a) we ate up most of what was in last week's box, as well as the heads of lettuce from the previous week, and b) we are really getting to the point where meal planning is resulting in consumption that matches what we're buying. Don't get me wrong: this whole project has taken up quite a bit of time and really required us to plan ahead and shop with purpose. That said, we have wasted less food over the past few months than I can ever remember, and I'm glad for that. Our freezer and pantry isn't bursting at the seams, since we're trying to use up ingredients that have been sitting around for a long time and we buy what we need. That is freeing up space that I hope we'll be able to better utilize with the produce coming from the box, and sooner or later the garden. The more that we embrace this whole experiment, the more we learn that there are so many ways to can and freeze the good stuff so it can be available later! 

The Winner
  • The only unfortunate thing about this week's winner is that the bacon wasn't the stuff that my husband is currently working on (curing a piece of pork belly from our meat CSA).  Who knew a BLC (bacon, Lettuce, Cucumber) was so fantastic?  The spiced, minted mayo (with Green Garlic) put it over the top, and was a huge hit with the entire family.

The Good
  • The Lemon Basil chicken salad made for some delicious holiday weekend sandwiches, accompanied by some warm homemade baguettes
  • The strawberry jam was simple, but has been quite a treat.  As I was making it, I kept thinking that we'd have a year's worth (a baker's dozen half-pints), but at the rate we're going through it, I'm not so sure.

 



  • The Orange and Beet salad was both beautiful (using the dark red leaf Lettuce) and tasty.  Next time I'd add a little blue cheese for both color and flavor.
  • Forgot to take photos of the Lemonade and the hot Spinach artichoke dip, but both we're huge hits with dinner guests over the holiday weekend (and the latter was so tasty using fresh, vs. frozen, spinach).
The Rest
  • This spaghetti recipe got a big thumbs down from both of the boys.  It got a 'Mom - I really like kale, but the Swiss Chard just makes everything taste weird in this.'  Unfortunately, I sort of agreed with his review.

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