Stock Up Sunday

Today at the SemiFarm, we are going to have a busy day of turning all the various foodstuffs we rounded up at the grocery store last night into more edible things. After all, a bag of whole wheat flour is not in and of itself a fabulous snack. Same goes for steel cut oats and couscous. Pretty gross if you eat them raw. After some inspiring reading a la The Cleaner Plate Club, we went shopping last night so we'd have all day today to get ready for the coming week.

Winter has not been kind to my waistline and the more I read and explore about homesteading and the local food movement, the more I begin to realize we have pretty much been eating garbage. For a long time. Probably because it's all we thought we could afford. I'm making more of an effort this year, as we kick off this farm, to know exactly what is in what I eat and what I feed my family to the extent that I can. If I've taken just one thing from Michael Pollan's Food Rules, it's that it probably is a bad idea to put into your body what you can't pronounce or identify. This should work out great~ I'll get to play at cooking while hubs, the former chef, is here to back me up and help fix my mistakes. I'll also get to research local food sources and discover just how much it takes to eat healthier on a budget. And we get some tasty stuff that's better for us.

We're planning on spending our Sunday dehydrating, baking, broiling and boiling everything from chicken and eggs to granola and homemade fruit roll ups.Here's a short-list version of what we'll be making in preparation for another week around this homestead.

*Hummus. Lots and lots of hummus. Think #10 can of garbanzo beans and you are on the right track. We practically drink the stuff.
*Homemade applesauce fruit roll ups the way my mom used to make them on the very same dehydrator (thanks mom!)
*Tabbouleh salad. (Lord only knows if I spelled that right.)
*Hard-boiled eggs.
*Chicken salad from sandwiches (because I secretly believe lunch meat is pretty awful for you).
*Muffins! Maybe carrot/applesauce? Blueberry oat? Who knows!
*Will probably start simmering and soaking some beans for some black beans and rice later in the week as well.
*Pita bread. Yup, we bake our own (and it is surprisingly easy).
*Cookies! Granola Bars! Till I run out of quick oats!

Check back later for pictures and perhaps even recipes! Should be a great time!