My feelings about green peppers are the same as they are for green tomatoes...I'd rather have red ones. The farmers get to make the selections for our CSA box, however, so green peppers it is. We eat some version of this often (proof). I love that this meal...full of good stuff...can be made entirely zero-waste! This time our stuffed peppers were a combination of:

Stuffed Peppers
pepper 
brown rice
beans
tomatoes
spicy pepper
onion
garlic
salt
cinnamon
cumin
​avocado

Sometimes I cut the peppers in half + put them into the oven at 375F for about 20 min. while cooking + cutting the other ingredients. Sometimes I stuff the peppers before putting them into the oven. Either way...it's good.  :)

Love,
Jane

Locally grown okra showed up in our CSA box last week + my heart did a little dance. Okra is not a vegetable that we saw in Michigan where I grew up...so I associate it (fondly) with my family's yearly trips to Tennessee (when I was a girl).

I always liked it fried, so I set out to replicate the dish I remembered minus the frying.

Sautéed Okra
Okra, sliced...tips + tops removed
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/8 besan (chickpea flour)
1 tsp. salt
cayenne to taste
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F + set skillet over medium heat. Add oil to skillet. In a bowl, toss the rest of the ingredients until well coated + add to a hot skillet. Cook until lightly browned...about 3 minutes on each side. Put skillet in oven for 10 minutes.

I added some chickpeas + onions to the mix as well for this meal. Next time, I think I would make a yogurt/herb dressing to drizzle over the top. Add some watermelon for desert + it's dinner!  :)  (A big, big thank you to our favorite farmers for planting, tending, harvesting, assembling + transporting the okra, corn, onion, cornmeal + watermelon that made us smile, filled our bellies + nourished our bodies! Our gratitude runs deep!)

Love, 
​Jane

Truth #1 :: Anyone who has ever been a gardener or lived in the vicinity of a gardener, knows that when zucchini are planted...they are plentiful. Gardeners are notoriously generous with zucchini...so when five large zucchini showed up in our CSA box, I should not have been surprised. Likewise, when the following week brought five more!  :)

Truth #2 :: I don't like single use gadgets. There is a whole series in this space lauding the merits of multifunctional items in my kitchen. 

I made zucchini bread (yum!), but it only uses up one (!) zucchini at a time. 

Truth #3 :: I had been intrigued by zoodles a number of times in the past + had even scouted out which (compact/less expensive/less complicated) spiralizer I would choose. I know that my tribe likes spaghetti squash (Julia even asked for it as her birthday meal once upon a time), these noodles would be a great gluten-free noodle alternative...they would be nutritious...the spiralizer is compact...and I had a lot of zucchini! So...I decided that it was time. (I was even able to find the one I wanted at the grocery store!)

Truth #4 :: We like zoodles a lot! I've made this dish twice in a week (+ those zucchini in the top picture are the ones we still have left)! I'm not at all sad about adding this little gadget to my kitchen. (This is not a recommendation to go out + buy anything...just relating my experience. This recipe is just as good with spaghetti squash!)

Zoodles + Sauce
serves 4

2 zucchini (spiralized)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
chick peas
onion (chopped)
garlic (minced)
salt
cayenne
2 spoonfuls of besan/chickpea flour (optional- to thicken)
pepper jack cheese (grated)

Sauté zucchini in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes over medium heat. Move zucchini to bowls. Add other ingredients (minus the cheese) to the pan with a little olive oil. Stir until thickened. Assemble + enjoy!

We enjoyed some leftover zoodles for lunch the next day with these simple toppings.

Love, 
Jane

Eating straight from the farm has been very tasty + quite economical. The local, organic vegetables in combination with a few staples from the grocery store are all that's needed to get dinner on the table. Above is a combination of rice, carrots, broccoli, chickpeas, onion, basil, tamari + pepper flakes.

This meal involved roasted beets, onions, chickpeas, kale chips (just throw the oil-rubbed + salted kale on top of the roasting beets + onions during the last 15 minutes of roasting at 425F), rice, feta cheese, lemon, salt + pepper flakes.

The beets are plentiful, so this meal involved stirring some blended, roasted beets into polenta + topping it with black beans, onion, cilantro, avocado, salt, pepper flakes + lime.

I never plan on making a post out of our everyday meals...so I don't have a good picture of the flatbread on its own. I added spring onion to this batch (sprinkled onto the batter once it was in the skillet) + will definitely do that again!

Our menu is now based on what we receive in our CSA box...which is like getting a mystery grab bag each week. I may not have come up with this meal otherwise, so at the moment I'm really digging this way of meal planning! (Because this was really tasty + it wasn't until I'd eaten half of it that I realized I wanted to remember it...only half of my poorly lit plate is visible above.)  :)

Flatbread (via)
1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
1/2 cup tapioca flour (I can buy this in bulk)
3/4-1 cup water (depending on desired thickness)
1/2 tsp salt
Whisk together. Cook over medium heat, as you do pancakes. I put a little olive oil in the skillet before the first scoop of batter goes in + don't need to add anymore. (If your skillet is well seasoned, this may be unnecessary.) Add chopped spring onion/herbs/spices, if desired. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side.

For this meal, we topped our flatbread with some:
grated pepperjack cheese
tomato
basil
​the rest of the spring onion
kale chips (chopped kale rubbed with olive oil in 425 degree F oven for about 15 minutes)
Flavors inspired by this favorite (glutenous) sandwich.  :)
​
Thank you so much, Michaela, for sharing your recipe!

Love,
Jane

We've been picking up our CSA allotment for a few weeks now + the vegetables are getting plentiful. I really wanted to see if we could eat from just this box, our garden + just a few of the basics from the grocery store this summer + into autumn. This week was certainly proof that it can be done...depending on the assortment we receive.

Above is one perhaps odd, but tasty meal we ate this week. The rolls, jam, cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, onions + eggs all came in our CSA box. We've received surprises as varied as honey, herbs, vegetable broth, cornmeal, popcorn, zucchini bread + pickled beets along with all those beautiful, local fruits + vegetables. There have also been a few vegetables that I don't usually purchase...like celeriac, green tomatoes, stinging nettles + patty pan squash...which are interesting to incorporate into our meals.

I've learned that I need to not only wash all of the vegetables, but also chop them as soon as we get home (because I need to find all of the critters before they do their thing in the broccoli...it's gross...and disappointing). It takes a while up front, but is pretty great day by day. (Plus I almost have one of those instagram-able fridges.)  :) 

Along with vegetables + fruit from the box...the staples we buy from the grocery store include avocados, rice, pasta, bread, chickpeas, beans, granola, nuts, peanut butter, olive oil, spices, cheese, milk,  + butter. (There are others, but these are the basics.) This week's grocery bill came in much lower than usual! Yippee!

I'm enjoying this way of eating...local...in-season...use what we have. Meal planning is a little out of whack + I'm having to improvise + make my menus after the food is already in my possession...but it's a nice switch.

Love,
​Jane

A couple of weeks ago...before the vegetables from the fields were quite ready...our CSA box included a jar canned beets. Feta seems like the perfect compliment to beets...so I put some feta into a container I brought from home at the grocery store salad bar. This meal utilizes lots of the goodness available at the beginning of the growing season + it's really tasty (and pretty) as well! Use what's available...this is what is on this plate.  :)

Beets + Feta Bowl
1 jar of canned beets (or roasted beets)
​spring onion
greens
brown rice
feta
chickpeas
olive oil
lemon
salt + pepper flakes

Whisk together a dressing from 1 part olive oil, 2 parts lemon juice, salt + pepper flakes to taste (I use a fork to mix...no mini whisk necessary). Combine + enjoy!

Love,
Jane

Strawberry season is not around for long, but while it's here...it is glorious! We have one 4 x 8 foot garden bed dedicated to strawberries. Once planted, they come up every year (for about 7 years, we were told) without much extra care. Freshly picked strawberries in my breakfast granola + yogurt is about as good as it gets.

Once the strawberries really start rolling in, there are enough that I need to freeze some in order to keep up. This fact makes me feel rich, because...this means strawberry smoothies for later...and...this year...ice-cream!

I don't buy cream very often...pretty much only at Thanksgiving for the pumpkin pie...but zero-waste ice-cream seemed like a good enough reason to indulge.

2 cups frozen strawberries + 3/4 cup cream + a bit of honey or sugar (very rough measurements) blended = amazing! I don't have a fancy blender, but mine worked just fine with a little coaxing + stirring.

Save some for later, if possible!

Love, 
​Jane

Zero-waste coffee can be made (at home) a number of ways...
-french press
-cloth (reusable + compostable) filters 
​-or our new favorite way...a simple cold brew filter that fits into a jar we had already

Grind up the beans, scoop them into the filter already in the jar, add water from the tap, put the top on + refrigerate overnight. Simple. I love that no electricity is used thanks to our hand grinder + the fact that there is no hot water to heat.

The set up is the ultimate in simplicity as well. I chose this stainless steel filter because it is very sturdy, + I liked the fold-over seam (as opposed to other models). The company sells special lids, but I don't think they are necessary. It seemed like the negative reviews came from leaking when shaking...just swirl if desired + skip the shaking (because it's unnecessary).

Cold brew is stronger than regular coffee, so it is best enjoyed over a glassful of ice or with milk. Mr. Tribe is the real coffee drinker in our tribe, + he says that it is strong enough to enjoy this way. This strength also makes it last (a little) longer.  :) (I really just like a little coffee in my skim milk...and love this because it's already cold!) 

Love,
​Jane

There are lots of ways to acquire low waste food...buying bulk, growing our own, shopping the farmer's market, dumpster diving, foraging, trading, making it from scratch + more. One of my favorite ways to buy low-waste food is to get it straight from the farmer who grew it.

I had loved our CSA in London (shout out to Abel + Cole)! It was delivered in a cardboard box that we left out to be collected + reused, when the next box arrived. I learned about + cooked things like celeriac + parsnips for the first time (I know...I'm American).  :)  We didn't meet a single vegetable that we didn't like...partly because the website connected with the CSA offered recipes + cooking suggestions. When we moved here, I couldn't find a single CSA that was accepting new members.  :(

I met Steve for the first time at a Food Circle event where he was promoting the benefits of preying mantises...wearing a worn pair of overalls + a very worn straw hat. Once I realized that there were sellers at our farmers market stocked with vegetables that they bought wholesale...and had not grown themselves...I became very picky about who we bought from. I noticed one booth advertising organic vegetables + there was Steve...same worn overalls + same very worn straw hat. As we became regulars, he started to ask me if I'd heard of some of the less common things he offered...like spaghetti squash + gooseberries...I'd ask how to cook them + take some home to try. 

Steve lives near Amish farmers + offered to sell some of their homemade jams, pickles + pasta (!). He, like the Amish, uses no gas-powered machinery on his farm...opting for heavy horses instead.

This year we are participating in Steve's new CSA program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture + it allows us to have a mutual beneficial relationship! Steve and his family can depend on regular income + my family and I can depend on regular, local, seasonal food May through October. This family is thrilled!

These first couple weeks have involved a lot more plastic (+ styrofoam- yikes!- but I know that it's a reused one) than I would prefer, but the cold spring has slowed vegetable production + they are making up for that leanness with some other goodies. They told us to return all of cartons, jars, + plastic for reuse.

We have a garden, so I'm interested to see how all of this works out. I'm feeling like I want to still be part of a community that supports one another. That was initially something that I resisted about the self-sustainable movement. I don't want to be isolated or non-contributing. Just as I want to support some of the good work that is being done in the garment industry (by buying some clothing even though I can sew), I want to support the quality work that Steve is doing (even though I can grow my own vegetables).

I'm thinking that if I have too much of something...I can always preserve some for the colder months to come. Nothing will go to waste...but we might just eat a few more salads + green smoothies...nothing to complain about there!

So...yes...we are fans of Community Supported Agriculture...and we are very excited to see what's in our box each week! Thank you for growing our food, Steve...and I like your new straw hat!  :)

Love,
Jane