Chilton County Peaches

My Earth Fare post is forthcoming…in the meantime:

Yesterday afternoon I had to run an errand, and on my way home I passed a little produce market that I’ve seen a hundred times.  I noticed a sign that wouldn’t have caught my attention 2 months ago.  Unless you’re a local Alabamian, this won’t mean anything to you – but the sign said “Chilton County Peaches.”  My car turned in to the parking lot as if under a spell and I made my way to the peaches sitting in their little baskets, soaking up the heat of the afternoon…the scent hanging in the air was sublime and I spent a lovely 5 minutes choosing just the right peaches.  The lady at the register sorted through them and declared two of them “too soft” and went to the back to get two better ones.  I love buying from small businesses like this.  Imagine caring about your customers enough to make sure that they are getting the best you have to offer.

When I got home, I added the peaches to my now-overflowing wooden fruit bowl that sits on the corner of the kitchen counter…there are onions hanging in a net bag, garlic and tomatoes, apples, bananas…  I couldn’t resist trying a peach, even though it was nearly suppertime.  I stood at my sink, and took a bite of the best tasting piece of fruit I’ve had lately.  I unashamedly licked my fingers, not wanting to miss even a tiny taste.  I started thinking about writing about eating that peach…and just as quickly I thought, “Who wants to read about you standing over the sink eating a peach?”  But that’s the thing, isn’t it?  I write because I have to write.  I love writing about what I’m doing, what I’m discovering, about the fact that I haven’t had a single Double Stuf Oreo in a month…and I don’t miss them.  Really!  Most of all, though, I feel like I’m ME when I write.  I honor my passions, my interests…the things I value when I take the time to write them down.

So, this morning, dear reader, I had the most delectable breakfast.  I sliced up a peach, poured a couple of tablespoons of organic cream into another bowl and frothed it up a bit with a fork, then…THEN, I drizzled that slightly thickened cream over the peach slices, the cream mingling with the peach juice.  I took a bite and the taste, the scent, the texture was unlike anything I’ve ever had.  I’ve always heard the phrase “peaches and cream” but never thought about actually eating it.  The velvety cream wrapped around those bright saffron slices of peach…it was spectacularly good.

This is a perfect example of how learning to eat real food has changed my life.  A month or so ago, I would’ve grabbed a Toaster Strudel or Pop-Tart, gulped it down with a huge glass of milk, barely tasting any of it.  Now?  Picking out peaches, taking them home, choosing one from my bowl, slicing it, preparing the cream…the whole process felt like a ritual, an homage to the amazing foods that are out there that I overlooked for so long.

Already, the thought of one of those “breakfast pastries” makes my stomach churn.  I can’t fully explain to you what a difference this new philosophy is making, not to mention that while I’m not counting calories, I’m willing to bet that this decadent breakfast would win out health-wise over any of that junk I used to put in my body.  To date, I’ve lost a little over 14 pounds eating cream and whole milk and rich cheese and real butter and fresh local produce.  I feel like I’m getting away with murder!

I hope you can enjoy some lazy summer mornings, delicious meals, and for the lucky few that can get them, some Chilton County peaches.

What we’re eating…

I’m going to run out of titles soon.  How many ways can you say “here’s the food we’re consuming”?  “Here’s the Grub ”?  Umm…no.  “Fancy Fixins’”?  Ewww.  “Food: the Sequel”?

Let’s see.  Last night we had what I thought was a very tasty and satisfying meal.  And, no meat was involved!  I’ve found that buying good quality meats and poultry is what drives up my grocery bill.  So any time I can do a meatless meal that is still hearty and delicious, that’s a great thing.

I cooked Cheesy Vegetable Chowder and Ultimate Cheddar Bay Biscuits (click the names to see the recipes).  The chowder was soooo creamy and good.  It may be my new favorite soup.  I diced the potatoes (Yukon golds, 5 lb. at Organic Harvest on sale, $2.99), the celery, onion and carrots the night before, and stored them in water in the refrigerator overnight.  Once the vegetables were simmering, I made the cheese sauce.  Using whole milk to make the roux really added so much creaminess to the soup.

 

 

Roux thickening on the left, veggies simmering on the right

 

 

 

After the potatoes were tender, but not mushy, the cheese sauce was mixed in.

At first I thought the chowder was a bit thin, but after settling for just a few minutes, it was velvety and just the perfect consistency.

 

Finished product:

The Cheddar Bay Biscuits were also a hit.  Next time I’ll use salted butter (I always keep unsalted on hand because I mostly use it for baking) and I’ll watch to make sure the edges don’t overcook.  This time they went just a minute or two too long.  These are like the biscuits that Red Lobster serves, and I’ve traditionally used this mix to make them:

Oh, they tasted good, these little Betty Crocker biscuits.  Kerry would get all excited when I’d say we were having them.

And just look at all we were getting for the low, low price of $1.49:

Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean And/Or Cottonseed Oil, Vegetable Oil (Palm, Palm Kernel), Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Corn Syrup Solids, Salt, Dextrose, Garlic, Buttermilk Powder, Modified Corn Starch, Whey, Dried Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Colored With (Artificial Color, Yellows 5&6), Whey Protein Concentrate, Maltodextrin, Reduced Lactose Whey, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Disodium Phosphate, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate. Contains Wheat, Milk And Soy Ingredients.

Gulp.

Now, I’d love to show you my beautiful pan of made-from-scratch Cheddar Bay Biscuits, made with organic wheat flour, and natural ingredients.

 

Except I forgot to take a picture of them.

 

They DID look like these, and they were savory and moist and full of flavor. 

I had one small biscuit and a couple ladles full of soup, and enjoyed both tremendously, one smooth and delicious bite at a time.  The biscuits are very filling and buttery and kind of heavy (as they should be in this case) so it’s not likely we’ll have these often, but when we do, we shall enjoy the heck out of ‘em.

Which is the whole point!

Otherwise, what else is going on?  Well, I visited Whole Foods yesterday.  Again. Second time this week.  I just love being there, surrounded by all the beautiful food.  I went to get just an item or two…and you know how that goes.  I found a nice pinot noir on sale, so since that’s part of the Mediterranean way that was really a necessity.  I got some beautiful, soft, non-grainy garlic powder that smelled SO GOOD…enough to fill my spice jar at home, $1.29.  I also bought a basil plant and a rosemary plant ($2.99 each) and put them in a container on my deck.  I’m planning to do a little container gardening – maybe a tomato plant, some lettuces…who knows?  I also got a fresh organic demi-baguette, flavored with rosemary, $1.39, and some heirloom tomato salsa, which was my splurge item…a very small container was $3.50, but the guy who rang up my groceries was raving about it, so I think that’ll be a nice treat, to savor….perhaps I’ll slice up that baguette, toast it, add some salsa, and drizzle with olive oil.  Now my mouth is watering!

So…even though our most dreaded time of the year is here (summer…which should be growled through clenched teeth) I am doing my best to stay positive and enjoy the life that’s opening in front of me.  Mine!

I hope you’re enjoying the ideas and recipes I’m collecting.  I hope, as I learn, that maybe you’ll find something new to try – and also, since I’m trying to include prices when I can remember them, you’ll see that you CAN eat better, even with a budget.  When I found those Yukon potatoes on sale, I snapped them up – THEN found a recipe to use them with…sometimes you have to think on your feet.

A quick “programming” note: I’m considering changing the name of my blog to more accurately reflect what’s happening here.  To borrow a phrase from the same Floyd song I’m using now…what do you think of “Coming Back to Life”?  Let me know in comments.  Thanks for reading and, happy eating!

www.blogspot.com Tags: whole food, nutrition, eating well on a budget, soups, biscuits

What worked/what didn’t

So, last night’s bean burritos?  Fantastic.  The beans were full of flavor from the garlic that had slow-cooked along with the beans all day, and the chipotle chili powder.  This is a bit smokier in taste than “regular” chili powder and I’m glad I used it in these beans.  We also had some basmati rice cooked in vegetable broth (I got a four-pack of 1-cup cartons of Pacific Foods Organic at Whole Foods for about 3 bucks), some cumin and a chopped jalapeno.  Note: I washed my hands SIX times after chopping the jalapeno.  Six.  This morning if I touched my finger to my tongue, it still burned.  Anyway, I also roasted and chopped a medium sized poblano pepper that went really nicely in the burritos.  Lastly, some regular (not light) sour cream and some white cheddar cheese – very sharp and it only took a sprinkling to add to the creaminess.  The guys added some ground beef (grassfed – one pound at Publix – $7.99…more on this in a minute) that I browned, drained, and added back to the pan with some of the homemade taco seasoning I mixed up over the weekend because I had the spices on hand.  Delicious and no MSG!  I was able to make enough seasoning for at least three total meals.  Recipe here: Homemade taco seasoning.  I tripled that recipe and stored the mix in a small airtight container.

So the beans were absolutely a success, and we’ll have this meal again in the near future.

Now, on to an item that I use daily and really feel I can’t be without.  Coffee creamer.  I love good, strong coffee liberally laced with French Vanilla creamer, like this International Delight stuff. Not so bad, right?  The problem comes when you study the label.

Non-Dairy Product Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Sodium Caseinate* (A Milk Derivative), Dipotassium Phosphate, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Mono And Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Carrageenan, Salt. *Sodium Caseinate Is Not A Source Of Lactose.

Yum!  Have you had YOUR sodium steroyl lactylate today?  And don’t you wonder what “natural and artificial flavors” really are?  I can think of a lot of “natural” substances that I don’t want in my food.

So I decided I’d study and concoct my own creamer.  Last night I simmered a cup of cream, a cup of whole milk (both organic), 4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and a tablespoon of pure vanilla extract (note: next time I plan to use vanilla beans).  It smelled so great bubbling away on the stove.  This morning I eagerly poured a healthy dollop into my waiting cup…but no.  It was not to be.  It wasn’t BAD, but it wasn’t what I wanted, either.  I’m going to keep researching and tweaking the recipe.  Or, my tastes will change and I’ll be happy with just real cream.  Either way, I’m done buying this junk from the store.

Today David and I ate lunch at Organic Harvest, which is a great little store.  Link here: Organic Harvest Market and Café.  We both had sandwiches – he had a chicken pesto on whole wheat, I had a roast chicken with tomatoes and feta and a spicy sauce.  Very very good.  Then we did a bit of shopping and found some good deals.

We got a gallon of organic milk from Alabama cows that eat grass.  And at $6.89/gal. it’s cheaper than the milk we buy at Publix (which works out to over $8/gal).

We also found another one pound package of grassfed beef, on sale for $7.99.

Okay, about this meat: yes, it’s expensive.  But I feel strongly about buying this for a couple of reasons.  I need to know, to the farthest extent possible, that the animals providing food for me lived a decent life, eating what they were intended to eat.  Also, my plan is to cut way down on red meat consumption (especially ground meat), to certainly no more often than once per week – and then less frequently as I add other recipes to my collection.  So I can afford to buy the better quality meat since I won’t be serving it very often.

We bought two boxes of cereal, both Cascadian Farms brand. Neither was over $3.00/box, and one had a coupon on it for a dollar off two boxes.  Publix would have a hard time beating that price.  And finally, we picked up a couple of pears, a couple of apples, some lemons…and a little over a pound of demerara sugar, a natural brown sugar, for my iced tea experiments.  I want to cut out refined, processed white sugar, and I use the overwhelming majority of that in sweet tea, which I do not want to give up.  I drink one glass per night, shot through with the juice from a big lemon wedge.  So, I’ll try to improve upon it.

More and more, this whole concept clicks with me.  Instead of spending my precious money on a bunch of junk that sits in my stomach like a rock, I’ll spend it on higher quality real food that is full of flavor – so full of flavor that I want to enjoy every bite.  And I’m taking fewer bites now – significantly fewer.  The pants I put on today buttoned easily, with room to spare.  A month ago I had to work to make those fasteners meet.

That’s it for now.  I’ll keep updating here as I make new discoveries.