A friend texted me yesterday, he had a neighbour who was quite happy to give away the apples that were on her tree. Which meant we were picking the apples. I had a blast!
When he texted, I was visiting with another friend who had dropped off Broccoli and Garlic for my other endeavours, as she had joined our group of informal traders. I asked if she wanted to come along and the three of us went picking. I had to duck a few times when they shook the upper branches of the tree to encourage the apples to fall. Thankfully nothing hit me on the head when I was trying to catch the them as they fell. We all went back to my house for coffee after we were satisfied that we couldn't reach any more fruit
I have been REALLY busy over the last two weeks. It's the end of the growing season where we live. "Harvest Time"!
I am still sorting through all of the vegetables I received. I have made several batches of Chowder, Soup, Bread, Tea Biscuits and a couple of curries. Many of these recipes have been posted previously on my blog, though I made a couple of variations to the ingredients, as noted below.
I still have enough vegetable left to make a couple of Quiche, and since we picked apples yesterday, I'll be making an Apple a Pie or three too.
Trading with friends is not only fun, it makes sense too. From the apples we picked, several of them have already gone to others in the neighbourhood so they can create their own dishes. From the vegetables and potatoes I have already received, I divided half of the ingredients up and ensured 12 neighbours had some fresh produce, reserved some for my personal use, and have been cooking with the remainder with the intent to share half of it and freeze the other half.The gentleman that had the garden received 12 individual portions from the dishes I had made in the last week. I also included two loaves of Whole Wheat French Bread and two types of tea biscuits, to show my thanks.
In all this week, my friends have given me:Carrots, potatoes, beets, zucchini, cucumber, broccoli, garlic, onions, tomato paste, shortening, rock fish, a couple of bottles of red wine, wood for crafts, a fabulous garlic press and containers for transporting the food.
As well as finished meals and hummus, I have also shared tomatoes, baby carrots and assorted herbs from my own garden. I still have an abundance of food in the kitchen and am tripping over ingredients I have not yet used. I'm taking a break today as I am tired!
From what I was given, a total of 16 people received some produce as well as finished meals. Whether it helps them out with finances, saves them time, or as I have mentioned before, makes it easier for them than cooking a proper meal for only one person, it's worth it to me.
Recipe Variations I created last week:
Basic White Bread, Instant Yeast
In this recipe, I substitute 1/2 of the flour used with Whole Wheat flour to get a 50/50 Whole Wheat French Loaf.
Cheese and Onion Tea Biscuits
I added 1/2 Cup diced zucchini to this recipe and a 1/2 teaspoon of Basil, to get a Zucchini and Onion Biscuit.
Ham and Onion Chowder - I substituted Leeks for Onions and added in ground Pink Pepper Corn and Ground clove 1 tsp of each - Ham and Leek Chowder
I don't have recipes yet for the Chicken Vegetables Soup, Pho Chicken Soup, Rock Fish with Italian Rice nor the Beef and Barely Soup as I was making them all at the same time. I do get so busy that taking notes all the time becomes awkward. I'm just glad I know my spices and glad I know variation.
The Beef and Barely is similar to the Lamb and Barley Recipe I have used in the past, though I add Bay Leaves and use pure Beef Stock with Red Wine.
I will be making the following today and tomorrow.
Old Fashioned Apple Pie
Garden Quiche
There you have it, trading with friends can be not only cost effective, but fun. Learning to use all of the ingredients to cook and create new ideas, well that's just fun too.
0 Response to "Picking Apples, trading and planning"
Post a Comment