Dark Days Eat Local Week Two

It's wonderful to be able to buy decent local tomatoes nearly year-round - here in central Iowa, no less. Graddy's in Carroll grows greenhouse tomatoes for delivery throughout most of the fall and winter.
As any true tomato-lover knows, nothing can compare with a fresh-picked tomato right out of the garden, but these tomatoes are the closest I've found so far and definitely world's better than imported tomatoes.


Sliced tomatoes were the perfect accompaniment to this week's main course, a spinach and feta frittata. Everything in this dish was grown and made here in central Iowa; fresh spinach and garlic sauteed in soy oil, fresh eggs, and feta.


When I spotted locally grown zucchini at my food co-op I couldn't resist making some off-season zucchini bread. The flours (white and whole wheat), zucchini, eggs, and oil were the only local ingredients in this dessert.
The chocolate chips, not so much.

The Dark Days eat local challenge is sponsored by Not Dabbling in Normal.

Handmade Holidays

Some lucky duck will be receiving this gorgeous handmade throw for Christmas, crocheted by yours truly.


Not only is it made locally, but the yarn was from local animals (sheep. llamas, goats, I believe), dyed and spun by a remarkable local craftswoman, Maggie Howe of Prairieland Herbs.



What? Doesn't everyone have exposed pipes in their living room?
I'm making another throw for a second special someone made with custom-ordered yarn from Maggie. I requested mostly non-wool fibers in blues and grays with some maroon thrown in. She was able to spin up about 1200 yards of this yarn in less than a week. That's some serious spinning, folks.



Completion of the second throw has been delayed due to...


umm...

technical difficulties.

Urban Jungle

We've gotten used to lots of things since we've moved to the inner city.
Gun shots next door, gang graffiti, liquor bottles lining the curbs on a Saturday morning


We've had our fair share of dangerous and creepy animal encounters here in the urban jungle as well - a raccoon shut in our van overnight caused more than $5oo of damage, a rabid raccoon in the yard had to be captured and removed by animal control, a nest of garter snakes hatched in a hole near the foundation of our house, and cicada killer wasps set up house last summer by the patio. We even had to evict a colony of bats from our attic.
Then of course there are all the dogs allowed to run free - German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, and just plain scary curs.



But I never expected to encounter wild cats lurking in the treetops, making a nice relaxing bath a thing of the past.


Floyd, the big orange guy, has a thing for water.
He loves it!
Every morning I waken to find him sleeping in the bathtub.
If I forget to check the shower before turning on the water, out saunters a damp and bedraggled Floyd, wet but not at all upset about it.



He likes to tiptoe around the edge of the tub while I'm bathing. If I'm not careful, he'll end up precariously balancing on my knees; a truly frightening experience as Floyd is not declawed.



Henry apparently shares Floyd's love of water, but with an added dash of kitten adventure thrown in.


Henry is a spitfire who doesn't take kindly to anyone flouting his desires.


He has claws and teeth and he's not afraid to use them!



There's nothing quite like trying to safely remove a sodden four-pound whirling dervish of teeth and claws after a splash-down.
I suppose I could just close the bathroom door, but then, where's the adventure in that?
Besides, then everyone sits outside the door and cries.
And I have the same reaction to cat's crying as I do to babies.
Let's just say it's not at all relaxing.

Irresistible

Meet Henry, the newest addition to the menagerie.
I had no intention of adding another baby to our household but I was placed in a completely unfair position.
It's not my fault.
Really.
I couldn't help myself.


You see, this fall Melissa talked me into volunteering with her at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. She wanted to work with the cats and kittens and isn't allowed to be there without an adult - I guess that's supposed to be me - with her.
Reluctantly I went through orientation and training with her, worried about my weakness, yet buoyed by the fact that I really wasn't feeling that "need."
You know the one I mean; that urgency for a baby that, since my husband said four children were enough, has been transferred quite handily to cats and dogs (and rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, etc., through the years).



But then it happened.
One cold and rainy day Melissa and I walked into the cat room at the rescue league and there he was. This itty bitty ball of fur, all scraggly and dirty, staring out at me through the bars of his cage.
Usually we avoid the kittens, knowing they will all get adopted, and instead spend our volunteer hours with the adult cats. We sit in one of the large cat rooms and immediately the cats are all over us, on our laps, playing, begging to be brushed. Desperate for love.
But this day, oh, this day, I made the mistake of taking this little furry wad out of the cage to fancy him up with a little brushing. As soon as I touched him he veritably vibrated with purring.


I was hooked.
There was no way I could leave that day without this tiny, rumbling fur ball in my arms.
And, the rest is history.
Henry has been a part of our family for more than a month now. He has shown himself to be a kitten with 'tude, and is often seen strutting down the hallway growling to himself. He and our other kitten, Floyd, who is just a little over a year old, have a high old time together.
All the old cats are a little incredulous that I brought home another one, but they've mostly forgiven me.
And they mostly ignore Henry, which seems to be just fine with him.

Dark Days Challenge

It's been a couple of years since I participated in the Dark Days Eat Local Challenge and a lot has changed for me since then. Learning I have a physically-limiting condition forced me to cut back on gardening and the past two summers I didn't can, freeze, or dry anything.
Wow, seeing that in writing is a bit of a shock.
Without my usual storehouse of home-preserved local fare, this eat local challenge will be much more difficult.
Fortunately, there are many sources of local foods here in the Des Moines area, the newest of which is Tallgrass Grocery Co-op in West Des Moines. I went there without a clear menu in mind and came home with enough local foods, from cheeses and other dairy products, to fresh veggies and meats, for several mostly local meals.
This first meal is quite simple since I didn't want to spend much time in the kitchen yesterday.


I had a butternut squash, given to me several weeks ago when buying local apples. I discovered several years ago that I much prefer the flavor of roasted butternut squash to that of pie pumpkins in baked goods. A quick 40 minutes to roast, a whir in the food processor, and I had more than enough puree to make squash buns, a family favorite. I was able to use locally produced butter and milk in the buns as well.
While the buns were rising I started making a simple vegetable beef soup, in which all the ingredients (beef bones, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, and onion) were all grown locally. The soup bubbled in the crock pot all day, though I did have to cook it down a bit on the stove before serving.


The coop also had a lovely salad greens and sprouts available. We noticed right away how much more flavorful these locally-grown greens were than supermarket lettuce.
I always save room for dessert and yesterday was the perfect day, cold and gray, to make baked apples. The apples and a drizzle of cream before serving were the only local ingredients in this dessert.
I'm already planning several more locally-sourced meals and I'm sure I'll be heading to Tallgrass Grocery Co-op often.

Contentment

Today the girls and I ventured out into the wilds of pre-holiday shopping.
It was a hard decision to leave the comforts of home and head into the not-so-cold but oh-so-gray rainy-ness that is today.
Truth be told, I had a couple of coupons that I had to use today. These weren't just any old coupons, either, but for substantial savings at two stores, Michael's and Target, and both were good only today.
We're deep into our Christmas-crafting here and the trip to Michael's for supplies (only our fourth or fifth in the last 10 days!) was essential to keep the ball rolling. Michael's can be a horror this time of year, but so far our experiences have been good. The store has been well-staffed, not too crowded, and the lines have moved quickly. When my cashier ran into a snafu with all my discounts and coupons, a supervisor came right over and offered to re-ring my purchase, separating it into two smaller purchases for maximum savings.
How great was that?
Instead of saving only about $40, we saved nearly $56.
The whole thing could have been a debacle, but it was accomplished with cheerfulness on all parts.
My Target trip, in which I stocked up on t.p. and Kleenex, netted me a free $10 gift card. A coupon for free cat litter added another $10 savings. I used a free $10 gift card to Walgreen's and got 3 gallons of milk for under $2.
Not bad for a yucky day.
Now I'm home in front of the well-stoked fire with a cat on my lap, my crocheting lying next to me. The dogs are anticipating suppertime (only another 1/2 hour to go guys). Michael should be home from a Saturday at work in a couple of hours.
I don't jet off to London or shop at fancy stores. My wine is usually fairly cheap and from a box, my dinners homemade but unpretentious. I don't own much jewelry, and what I do have is either precious and meaningful (my wedding and engagement ring, which has my grandmother's diamond) or gorgeously crafted for me by my daughter.
Sitting here in the late afternoon glow of the Christmas tree, I am thankful for this life. My life.
I guess it isn't for everyone, but it's just the right size for me.

The Hibernator

Apparently, I have more in common with bears than I thought.
Of course, there's the fact that since shorts weather faded away, my legs see the sharp side of a razor less and less often.
There's also the fact that as winter slowly descends, my appetite gradually increases.
But these similarities only scratch the surface.
My daughters started to notice in early November that as the days shortened, my desire to stay home - just stay home - increased.
As it gets colder and colder, darker and greyer, my desire to venture out into the world tapers off.
Apparently, I hibernate.
From November until late March, depending on the weather, I am most content to remain at home, day-in and day-out. I like to sit by the fire, reading, crocheting, sipping hot chocolate or coffee, and am perfectly content never to venture too far from the back door. In fact, I'm happiest when someone else is home to take the dogs out and bring in the firewood - then I don't have to leave at all!
This tendency can be quite frustrating to those who don't share it - especially if those people are dependent on said hibernator for transportation. So I try, really I do, to accommodate some of their desires to run to the mall, the library, the bookstore (really, Mom, take us anywhere, please!!!) but I'm afraid there is a lot of accommodation required of them as well.
My husband and I have been talking about where we want to retire - the idea of being an old lady in the 'hood doesn't thrill me. But you know what does? A house outside of town on 10 acres. Maybe 20 minutes or so from the city. A place where I could get snowed in and it wouldn't matter. A place of solitude for when hibernation season rolls around.
I think I could be perfectly content with "going to town" once or maybe twice a week.
Of course, there's the issue of being a little old lady snowed in 20 minutes outside of town, but that doesn't seem so bad to me right now.
You'll have to check back with me in the spring.