Monday, January 23, 2012

EAT-TO-THE-BOTTOM-OF-THE-FREEZER challenge


Ahh January - my least favorite month of the year.  Generally speaking I don't feel the need to escape anywhere - I just simply don't want to go outside any more than absolutely neccesary - like not even to the grocery store. The out-of-doors is cold and snowy and icy and I would rather be warm, drinking tea and reading a good gardening/farming/how to raise better chickens book. It's has therefore become my annual EAT-TO-THE-BOTTOM-OF-THE-FREEZER-MONTH.


This is also my reality check whilst I am reading seed catalogues.  Every year I fall in love with all the pretty pictures - things like kaleidoscope swiss chard are just so enticing but what does one actually DO with swiss chard.  It's one of those things that end up at the bottom of the freezer in little plastic baggies that in their frozen state could easily be mistaken  for rhubarb - I can assure you it does not taste like rhubarb no matter how much sugar you add!


I used to have a chest freezer for my main freezer. We put it on cement blocks when we moved here because of it's location in a basement - better safe than sorry if the basement ever flooded because there's no moving a full freezer in a hurry.  The extra height made it next to impossible to deal with the contents on the bottom even for a tall person like myself - after the first foot or so - food just disappeared into the black pit never-to-be-seen-again.


My least favorite month is also usually a lean one for our family - it seems our business invoices get buried on someone's desk around Christmas time and they don't get un-buried (and therefore paid) until February.  This has led to some of the most creative meals I have ever put together being presented for our dining pleasure in the cold month of January.  It's a good thing stews, chili and soups are comfort foods designed for this time of the year. They are tailor-made for hiding items like swiss chard- we don't really EAT swiss chard I just spend my time using every trick I know figuring out how to get rid of it!


Every EAT-TO-THE-BOTTOM-OF-THE-FREEZER-MONTH  challenge is different.  Some years we did it out of sheer financial necessity and others out of a desire to save money for something else but the rules were mostly the same - no shopping at the grocery store except for fresh fruit and veggies.  It's become a habit - a good one I think.  I remember nearing the end of one of our challenges and finding several bars of good chocolate - no doubt put away for a special recipe at Christmas and forgotten - after a month without easy access to store bought treats we all agreed it was heavenly!


We recently bought a more energy efficient upright freezer - oh what a glorious improvement on both fronts!  It saves us money on electricity and you can actually see what's in it - imagine that!  But the EAT-TO-THE-BOTTOM-OF-THE-FREEZER challenge will remain for old-times sake and because I've grown to love the challenge of it.


Now back to my cup of tea and my Veseys seed catalogue.  Oohhh look... wouldn't you know it - they now have one called Rhubarb Organic Swiss Chard...and aren't those Bulls Blood Organic Beets beautiful!!

16 comments:

  1. Morning sister. Remind me to come for dinner in February? Oatmeal and Swiss chard .... Mmmmmm. :). Love thee to eternity.

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    1. Well - that would an interesting combination - not one that would have me jumping out of bed in anticipation though :) love ya!

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  2. You have just reminded me of a chocolate bar which I hid from my 4yo some months ago. I am sure it is still just fine:-)
    Thank you for your blog. I "found" you through your Flylady post.

    Jenni

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    1. Whoo hoo - chocolate - a mid afternoon snack during nap time perhaps :) Welcome to the blog Jennifer - isn't Flylady grand!!

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  3. I think that I should take on your challenge, too! My old chest freezer is full to the brim and there are long-forgotten items on the bottom that need to be used up. I grew tons of Swiss chard this year and most of it ended up as fodder for the chickens. I'll know better this year! Congratulations on your beautiful new freezer ~smile~.

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    1. Oh yes - the chickens have taken away much of the guilt of tainted-way-too-far-gone leftovers - as in - OH WELL the chickens can eat it. I did make a pot of stew this week (with the swiss chard!) and no matter how much I fiddled with it I still didn't like it. It was so bad I was sure even the chickens weren't going to eat it so I flushed the rest of it instead :) Don't tell!

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  4. Ha ha ha!! So funny, but true. I was actually looking at those Bull's Blood beets. I know I've frozen yellow beans before and honestly, if someone can tell me how to make them taste not so squeeky, please let me know.

    But there's nothing like frozen chocolate. It's even worth the broken tooth on Boxing Day 2010.

    I know hiding spinach in lasagna is now a tradition here, now I HAVE to put it in, or they find it doesn't taste the same.

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    1. Bulls Blood Beets - who would ever think that sounded yummy?? Do you blanch your beans before freezing?? Not doing that is the only thing I can think of that would make them squeeky.

      I'm making lasagna for dinner but we're having company so I am saving the swiss chard version for another time - just-in-case!

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    2. Yes, i had blanched them, but still squeeky.

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  5. I grew 50 square feet of regular green swiss chard just for my (10) chickens. I would pick it daily to feed them and they rewarded me with the most yellow yolks I've ever seen!

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  6. http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/ten-dollar-a-week-grocery-challange-for-jan/

    I'm in, mine has slight twists on it but its preety much the same thing!

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  7. I can't eat to the bottom of my freezer because it's lined with jugs of water, lol. But I do like to periodically clean up stuff--right now I'm more focused on using up canned stuff because I hear it won't last long as I assumed it would. So canned stuff and frozen stuff it is! Plus fresh fruit and veggies as needed, of course.

    My daughter has just decided she's either allergic to wheat or gluten, so she and I are focused on learning to cook/eat gluten-free. But hubby and son don't see any need to go wheat-free, so I'm also focused on trying to use up the wheat I've stored.

    Either way, I'm in.

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    1. Mine has water jugs in it too! GREAT insurance for when the power goes out! So glad you're in it with me!!

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  8. This is a good family tradition. Several times per year we have grocery shopping fasts to that we eat from pantry and freezer only. We might buy milk but that's it.

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