The Dark Days Challenge starts tomorrow and I am very excited to participate and eager to share my results. In order to help prepare for forthcoming meals and to have a better idea of what local foods we have in our tiny kitchen I've taken stock of our local food items. The results are below the photo of our overstuffed freezer.
Canned:
2 pints Strawberry Jam
3 pints Peach halves in syrup
3.5 pints Peach Butter
4 pints Triple Berry Jam
5 pints Apple Butter
5.5 pints Blueberry Spread
4 quarts Pasta Sauce
Frozen:
1.75 oz Dill
12 oz Mint
2 lbs assorted Pestos & Basil
2.5 lbs sliced bell peppers
6 oz sliced Hungarian hot peppers
2.75 lbs corn
2.5 lbs green beans
4.5 lbs strawberries
1.5 lbs blackberries
1.5 lbs cranberries
18 ounces blueberries
18 ounces raspberries
1.5 lbs cranberries
5 portions Kale & Bean Soup
3 portions Potato/Leek Soup
14 oz thick cut Bacon (Stillman's Farm)
8 oz Bacon (Vermont Smokehouse)
3 lbs assorted sausage (Stillman's Farm)
3 dozen cheddar & leek muffins
5 portions homemade tater tots
Refrigerator:
Local Eggs
Regional Milk
Local Cheese
1 jar bell peppers in oil
1 small jar cranberry butter
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch parsnips
1 bunch radish
5-6 portions of turkey chili
Local Cider
Apples
Pears
Pantry/Storage:
Assorted Winter Squash
1.25 lbs Carrots
4 oz Parsnips
3 Onions
4 shallots
5 heads Garlic
1 bunch radish
8 lbs assorted Potatoes
Regional Flour
Regional Pancake Mix
Below is a photo of the collection of canned goods we have as of this morning, along with the one edible plant I am currently growing. A lovely rosemary plant I purchased at the farmers market 3 weeks ago.
Space is out a premium in our small kitchen so I am really pleased with the great variety of local food products we have to carry us well into winter. We are fortunate that one of my favorite local farms continues their Saturday farmers market until the week before Christmas. With a farm open so late into the year in addition to all we've saved from our garden and local farms as well as Winter Farmers Markets picking up in early January and lasting through late March we now have nearly year round access to local foods!
I am looking forward to meals which focus on local ingredients and challenging myself in the kitchen to incorporate what we have on hand into our meals.
As soon as I have a better idea of the participants in my group I will be sure to share those details. In past Dark Days Challenges the participants and recaps were split into groups by region, however this year some changes have been made and we have been split into various groups. I'll share any details worth sharing as they come in!
What local foods have you put up for the winter? Are they just from your garden or from local farms as well?
4 comments:
I have so much preserved this year. Especially tomatoes as I think tomatoes were about half my harvest this year. In other ways I have little as I don't have any carrots from my garden. Or potatoes. Its been a really weird year for me all around. Good luck on your challenge.
What an impressive stock! Amazing!!!
First of all, wow and congrats on your preserving. Your freezer is stocked to the gills! Awesome! Secondly, what a great challenge you are undertaking! Eating locally is a good challenge, looking forward to seeing your progress.
Daphne- Some of our tomatoes made it into the sauce I canned but we enjoyed most of them fresh or in fresh sauce over the course of the summer.
Mamade C- Thanks, I'm really astonished how much we have put away in such a cramped space.
Meems - We really are stocked up for the winter. I hope you enjoy reading about my progress over the next 4.5 months!
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