Food I've Been Eating

I am definitely enjoying summer! Here are a few things we have been munching on.
Raspberries from the farmer's market, tomatoes, sweet corn, and blueberries from the farm stand, basil from our CSA.I think sweet corn is my all-time favorite food. Ever. Michael and my dad have volunteered to help me freeze some this summer. Maybe I'll even share some with them when the time comes ;)

Last Thursday I stopped by the farmer's market and the farm stand that sets up in late spring in the Culver's parking lot, and sticks around through early fall. (Then I went to the grocery store where I actually had to walk down aisles. I felt completely overwhelmed. I'm not kidding. I'm not used to buying things at the grocery store anymore - I didn't know where to look for things like peanuts and candy.) Michael and I thought we were going up north to visit my uncle (the farmer) in his new cabin. Our plans didn't work out, but we didn't know that they wouldn't until I'd purchased all kinds of packaged, well-traveled food for our trip. (Sausage, gatorade, M & Ms, and peanuts - did you know there are a LOT of ingredients in Planters Dry Roasted peanuts? I opted for the Emerald brand instead. They were more expensive, but only have three ingredients. Plus, my cashier found a $1.00 coupon on the top of the jar, so they were actually a better price!)

I also bought local raspberries and blueberries, along with guilty, oily cherries from the grocery store (I wish I got cherries in my CSA box!). My uncle once said I'd "make someone a good wife some day" based on the fact that I make a mean pie. (And that was before I could roll out my own crusts.)(How did he know I was going to marry a pie lover?) I thought I'd make a pie to show off the fact that I still have the knack.

We dined on sweet corn and caprese salad. Summertime, and the eatin' is easy.

Eventually it became obvious that we would not be able to go up north for the weekend. My dad was in the hospital, someone had to dog-sit for my sister, and Michael was kind of overloaded with homework. I nixed the plans to make pie. Michael and I certainly did not need huge quantities of dessert sitting around. We still had zucchini bread and muffins! So I froze three-quarters of the blueberries (I read somewhere online that blueberries do not have to be washed before they are frozen - in fact, they are better if you don't wash them. To remind myself, in December, that they are not washed, I wrote "WASH" on the bag along with the date.) I had blueberries and milk for dessert. My friend's mom taught me to eat this a long time ago. (My grandma used to eat peaches and cream, but Joyce introduced me to blueberries and cream.) Yum.

On Sunday, I baked a chicken with zucchini (from the garden and the CSA), onions (garden), and garlic (Farmers market) and served it with beets (garden and CSA), turnips (garden) and cucumber salad (with cucumbers and onions from the garden). I did not take any pictures :( But, on the positive side, we have been enjoying the leftovers!

My intention had been to buy a whole chicken, and save the carcass for soup. Unfortunately, when I went to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon (because I didn't think of it on Saturday, when I opted to skip the farmer's market, since we had plenty of produce in the fridge from our CSA, and I took home a flat of produce from my garden), they did not have the kind of chicken I was looking for. Their only whole birds were Tyson, and I would rather go vegetarian than buy a Tyson chicken, after watching Food, Inc. and reading Fast Food Nation. The grocery store sells a brand of chicken called Smart Chicken, which may or may not be a good brand. Here is a blurb from their website:

Smart Chicken® was the first poultry produced in the United States utilizing the pure air chill technology in place of water immersion. We then pioneered the utilization of Controlled Atmosphere Stunning in the U.S., ensuring that all birds are handled with care in every aspect of production. In addition, all of our birds are raised without the use of antibiotics, animal by-products or hormones. We are also Certified Organic & Certified Humane to provide you with the most premium product, produced with the highest standards, from egg to shelf.

The part that bothers me about this blurb (and I admit, the entirety of the research I did on this topic was to google "Smart chicken" and browse their website a little bit) is that it starts out with the "pure air chill technology" instead of the "Certified Organic & Certified Humane." I don't understand that, and a little more research on the website shows that Smart Chickens are fed corn and soybeans, rather than being pastured, but the company does meet the Certified Humane standard, which can be viewed in this pdf file. They are supposed to be "Free range" which means that they must "have access to the range by 4 weeks of age and for a minimum of 8 hours each day except when the natural daylight period is less." page 10. http://www.certifiedhumane.org/uploads/pdf/Standards/English/Std09.Chickens.1AD.pdf
Of course, that doesn't mean the chickens actually go outside, it just means that there are doors and a yard available . . .

Anyway . . . other than buying a fryer from an Amish farm near my home, or buying a pastured chicken at the farmer's market (which might not be possible right now, due to the fact that the spring chicks have to grow up before they will be slaughtered), right now my best option is the Smart Chicken at my grocery store. But they didn't have any. They had one packet of thighs, and possibly some boneless-skinless pieces, but no whole birds.

Row upon row of plastic-wrapped chicken with brightly colored labels showing smiling, winking chickens looked up at me from the grocery store. But all I could see was the scene in Food, Inc. where the poultry farmer throws a bunch of dead birds onto her tractor.

I wanted more chicken than four thighs, and I didn't want to buy boneless-skinless, so I picked up the "Manager's Special" quartered chicken from unknown origins. I considered asking a manager where this particular chicken had come from, but the kid working behind the counter in the meat department looked like he was 17 and there was a fair chance that I'd subbed in his classroom during the school year. I've learned that very few people in the "food" industry (grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries) know where their food comes from, or what it contains. I'm not just talking about national chains, either, I've encountered this kind of ignorance in independent businesses. Granted, usually the person I'm speaking to is "just an employee" not a manager or owner, but it can be painful when the person goes to get a manager, who acts like I'm interrupting him or her from ridding the world of cancer, and who can't answer my question anyway. (That, or they give me an answer I'm hoping isn't the case. No, the butcher shop between my house and my garden which advertises local meats does not stock any grass-fed beef - although they do have eggs from grass-fed hens, which they sell for $3.50 a dozen. The saleslady laughed and said, "Well, if you say so" when I said that was a decent price. No, the cran-apple pies at the small chain we like to stop at in Cranberry Country on our way to Minneapolis are not made from local cranberries. No, the "chop shop" in town does not sell organic meat, just regular old commercial grade beef, thankyouverymuch.)

So I was disappointed, but not shocked, that my grocery store didn't have the chicken I was looking for. But I politely let my cashier know that I was disappointed in their selection. (I had previously let this same cashier know that I really liked buying their grass-fed milk, and that I was sorry to see that they only had nearly-expired milk on the shelf that day. I haven't had a problem with finding good milk there since that day.) My cashier seemed slightly annoyed (maybe he remembered me?) when I named the brands of chicken I didn't want to buy. He asked me which brand I'd rather see. I said "Smart Chicken." He said something like, "Yeah, those really fly off the shelves. But the truck comes in tomorrow and we'll probably have more then."

I am so glad that my grocery store stocks these items, along with cage-free eggs (although I still prefer other sources for eggs and meat).

Finally - Michael and I bought a chest freezer today. I think it has a 7 cubic foot capacity. We bought it at an independently owned business here in town. (Then we went to the grocery store for milk, and saw the appliance delivery guy, who knows our landlord, because he delivered their new washer and dryer several months ago. I love living in a small town.) It will be delivered on Thursday morning. I can't wait. In fact, I made two loaves of zucchini bread tonight because 1. I still have a LOT of zucchini in my fridge and 2. I knew I would have a place to put the extra loaf soon. (My mom also made two loaves of zucchini bread today. Would you like some zucchini? How about zucchini bread? What's that? You're overloaded too? Okay. Just checking.)