So much for going veggie... and the best pre-thanksgiving thanksgivings EVER

So the vegetarian plan failed... I guess I just have gotten too used to eating chicken and fish these days. I am being far more conscious of my meat selection though, choosing to buy as much all-natural and antibiotic free as possible, although I am suspicious of it all and STILL cannot get the image of that chicken being beheaded on Food Inc. out of my heat.

I finally developed my camera and this is the picture of the meal Sebastian cooked for me a while back... due to the poor quality of a disposable, it doesn't look nearly as delicious as it actually was. The Pabst Blue Ribbon is his, not mine, although rumor has it that Professor Henke does enjoy his PBR as well...

I picked up my food box and the biggest issue immediately became storage. After reading Amy's instructions, I realized I generally put very little thought into how to keep food fresh... things either get shoved in a closet, the fridge, or the freezer. I ended up dividing the box among: 1. the countertop, 2. the closet, 3. the fridge, and 4. my friends' basement. I hope the food stays fresh!

THANKSGIVING has not happened yet for real, but I managed to go to TWO AMAZING thanksgivings this weekend: one classy one at my friend Liz's townhouse and then another potluck with a bunch of guy friends. The food was far superior to my Family's thanksgiving at both, and the company was slightly more bearable as well...

Liz's Thanksgiving included turkey, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, some salad, and a TON of wine. We ate at a long wooden table lit with candles with nice silverware and cloth napkins.

It is funny to contrast the formality of that meal on Friday with the casual bro-fest of a Thanksgiving I had on Saturday. It was a group of almost 30 in a run down house on Lebanon, feasting on an UNBELIEVABLE amount of delicious and random food including turkey, potroast, salad, asparagus, corn, macaroni and cheese, brussel sprouts with bacon, butternut squash soup (sebastian made this and it was SO GOOD), potatoes, sweet potatoes, a variety of roasted vegetables, cranberry sauces, like 5 types of stuffing, and so much more. We had like maybe 2 kegs worth of spiked hot apple cider, and then about 6 types of pies and ice cream for dessert. The meal was served buffet-style and we sat anywhere we could, mostly on the floor and old worn out couches. Good music was played, the vibe was extremely relaxed, and everyone sat around in food comas for about 5 hours afterwards, incapable of standing up nevermind going out.

The second thanksgiving was probably my favorite one ever. I was surrounded by my best friends in a great place, and it just really made me appreciate the bonds I have formed over the last 4 years. Food indeed is a great social glue, bringing communities together in an extremely delectable way.

Thanksgiving at home will be at my house with a few relatives from my dad's side of the family. I haven't been home since August, so this should be interesting to say the least...

Last Day on the Farm

Today was the last day on the farm, and it was definitely bittersweet. We ate delicious scones and sat on buckets, talking about the future of CSAs and the amazing and usual experience of working with Amy for the past two months.

My group had some random kids from another class there with us, and it was almost like we got to show off by talking about the sorts of things we did and how we learned so much throughout the process.

We spent the last hour or so in the fields, digging for potatoes, and being one with the dirt.

Overall the farm was a fantastic experience unlike any other. I look forward to getting and utilizing my holiday box for Thanksgiving with my family. The box was $40 and has all sorts of veggies in it such as carrots, leeks, and potatoes. We shall see what my very cooking-challenged family decides to do with the produce.

Carrots, cooking, community

Hi there,

This week has been full of exciting food. First off, I cooked two awesome meals (or well... helped) with Sebastian. We made tuna steaks with white rice and stir-fried broccoli and sugar snap peas on Sunday, and then we made shrimp scampi on Monday in a white wine and heavy cream sauce with garlic and citrus. Both meals were delicious. Below is a picture of the shrimp scampi. I chopped the garlic and stirred the pasta.

Chris made his first appearance at farm on Thursday because the farm shops are over so he didn't have to transport shares. Somehow we have been blessed with the warmest November ever and the weather was amazingly perfect. We dug carrots the entire time and got about 23 bags of carrots done which was pretty impressive.

After the lecture on Vegetarianism today, my apartment-mates decided to try being vegetarians. After watching chickens being slaughtered and learning more about the corrupt big corporations that control all of our meat in Food Inc., I decided that I might as well join them. As mentioned earlier, I dabbled in vegetarianism/veganism for a while before Italy where I fell off the bandwagon, and I definitely enjoyed the experience.

So we all went to price chopper today and bought tons of veggies, tofu foods, and amy's vegetable lasagnas. I also noticed that I spend way more time noting which foods are organic and tried my best to buy those. I additionally purchased applesauce and salsa from the "support your local community" shelf to help local business and reduce my carbon footprint.

I am excited to finish up the meat and fish that I already bought, so that I can begin my vegetarian adventure part two.

-Jenna

butternut squash soup!

hi there,

so Farm thursday was pretty awesome. It was cloudy but not too cold and Mary Charles, Amy, and I did a bunch of random tasks while the rest of the thursday crew cleaned lugs and washed veggies in the root washer. We added to the compost pile, fed the chickens, harvested some brussel sprouts, and carried things to and from the freezer and the farmshop. We collected two dozen eggs which was pretty awesome and the eggs were warm which I wasn't expecting at all.

the best part was that Amy gave me a butternut squash with idiot's-guide-level instructions on how to make soup for lunch that day. I cut the squash in half, removed the seeds, covered it with a little olive oil and maple syrup, and cooked it in the oven for 40 minutes. Then you scoop out the squash insides and blend them with milk and butter and a little nutmeg. I added chicken broth, pepper, and salt too. In the end it was pretty tasty although I didn't blend it enough or cook the squash enough so it was a little too solid for soup. BUT I COOKED SOMETHING FROM SCRATCH! Such a sense of accomplishment.

I forgot to blog about food on Thursday so in general I've been trying to cook more and eat healthier. I've been having greek yogurt with granola and strawberries for breakfast, salads with grilled chicken, and yesterday morning I made omelets with my roommates. I bought tuna steaks and REAL carrots at Price Chopper two days ago, and Sebastian and I are going to cook the tuna steaks tonight with rice and sugar snap peas. I am quite excited for that.

Goal for tonight- take picture of tuna steak and put on blog.

That's all!

Jenna