It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages
us to post pictures from the
previous week of wasted food from
our household. This accountability
hopefully will help us to be more
careful with our food and maybe save some
money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less
which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in
this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions. Occasionally, if our eating is going okay, I'll talk about some other food topic.
This Week's Food Waste
Lettuce
Once again, I didn't quite make it to the bottom of the bag before some turned slimy. However, things should go better this week because I have fresh lettuce from the garden. That always seems to do better than bag lettuce from the store.
This Week's True Food Confesssions
I woke up this morning thinking about
creamed peas and new potatoes. And then I also realized that it was
West Virginia Day meaning that on this day 151 years ago, West
Virginia became a state. So it seemed like the perfect time to talk
about West Virginia food. I realize
that with a population of almost 2 million, not everyone eats the
same thing in West Virginia, but I think my growing up experiences are fairly
common.
Much of the state is rural and most
people have a garden of some kind. That means it just wouldn't be
summer without tomatoes fresh from the vine. But before the tomatoes ripen, one of the earlier treats are creamed peas and new
potatoes. When the first green peas get ripe, new potatoes
are dug. The peas and potatoes are cooked with a white cream sauce
and you have your first special supper from the garden that season.
Around the same time (or a little
sooner), the leaf lettuce is ready for picking. That means it's time for a dish of
wilted lettuce. For this, bacon is fried, a little vinegar and and
sugar are added to the bacon grease, and that dressing is poured
over lettuce and green onions. Yum.
Speaking of green onions, what a treat.
Even those who don't like onions will eat a few green onions in the
spring. With their tender white bulbs and tasty green stalk, they are
the perfect accompaniment to most any dish. Some people like to eat
them with butter on a sandwich, but most just like them plain or with
a little salt.
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And now back to my favorite--tomatoes.
If everything goes just right, the first tomatoes are ripe in early
July. Then it's time for big juicy slices of tomato to accompany
every meal. My favorite way to eat them is with cottage cheese or on
tomato sandwiches.
Also along about this time, the green
beans are ready for picking. These can be steamed, pickled, or
simmered for a long time with ham. This method may not be the most
nutritious, but, boy, are the beans good when cooked this way.
Soon after the beans, corn will be ripe. Okay, maybe this is my favorite—just picked (within the hour) corn-on-the-cob with butter and salt. Now I'm drooling and I haven't even told you about the cucumbers or fried squash.
Soon after the beans, corn will be ripe. Okay, maybe this is my favorite—just picked (within the hour) corn-on-the-cob with butter and salt. Now I'm drooling and I haven't even told you about the cucumbers or fried squash.
As you can see, my favorite food
changes every week or two during the summer as something new ripens.
There's a lot more to talk about in regards to WV food, but I think
you get the idea—a lot of it is based on something that is grown in
the backyard, side yard, meadow, field, or hillside.
Another time, I'll talk more about this
subject, but for now, I have to go get something to eat.
