Quick Bites: Storing Food November 12, 2007

Last winter Erica and I tried to turn our garage into a root cellar. When things began to freeze we tried putting them in the basement – but it was too warm. We tried putting our vegetables in coolers, wrapping the coolers in blankets, and hiding them in odd corners of our stairways. There are obviously some key characteristics to starting a root cellar – and we clearly were missing the majority of them.

In this blog, and on our somewhat less public dry erase board on our fridge, we have also been trying to keep track of what we have used and what we have let go to waste. It has been a humbling experience, and after three years of having a farm share we are still not professionals at storing our food. Here are some links that will help those of you who face some of the same things we do:

The Ultimate Guide to Freezing Food – By Scott Bird

Storing Frozen Foods

Handy Software: Best When Used By

How to Store Your Food So It Lasts Longer

(I found all these links through lifehacker.com – be sure to check them out)

Edible/Inedible November 12, 2007

Let’s face it  – there are millions of food blogs out there. Millions. And many of them are good. Some are great. I have to admit, I don’t have a lot of time to go trolling for new blogs, as much as I would like to. However, on occasion I do stumble upon something new and worth sharing.

Next time you are looking for a distraction, check out Edible/Inedible.

Think for a minute how often we mix these things up. I mean really… Tomatoes with fish genes spliced in: edible or inedible? Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches: edible or inedible? Corn that produces its own pesticide: edible or inedible? Protein shakes: edible or inedible? Lucky charms… anyway, you get the point.

Making Mistakes November 12, 2007

Sometimes when we follow recipes too closely, too often, we forget the value of making mistakes.

Erica and I just finished a great batch of pickled beets. The twelve jars line the edge of our counter, their rich purply-red seeming to almost glow like the last seam of sunset, trailing over the horizon. Seeing the depth of this color makes me want to dye all my cloths with beet juice, to wear the color of earth and sun distilled through the flesh of this root.

We did not make any mistakes in this batch (at least none that have made themselves evident just yet). But not too long ago we opened a can of pickles from last season, and knew soon after our first bite that the whole batch was ruined. At some point along the way we had put too much salt in the brine and the pickles came out tasting like the ocean.