The Plan:
Day 1: Salad night – Creamy cucumber dill salad, Sweet and salty broccoli salad, Fruit salad
Day 2: Out to eat!
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed salad
Day 4: Steak and vegetable (eggplant, zucchini) kabobs with classic barbecue rub
Day 5: Minestrone soup, Crusty sourdough bread
Day 6: Nachos with pico de gallo and pickled banana peppers (instruction in CSA breakdown below)
Day 7: Grilled burgers, Corn on the cob
This meal plan was curated using local foods that are in season now or preserved during the peak growing season in the U.S. Midwest. The plan is an exact replica of what our family is eating this week unless we are out of town. Meal plans are developed using whole foods and my meal planning system (click here!) and are meant to be healthy and easy to prepare. Most recipes will take no more than 30 minutes of active cooking time. Occasionally meals may require all day slow cooking, advanced prep, or some oven time. Recipes are provided when available. I sincerely hope this will help with your own meal planning!
Pantry Shuffle:
Out of Storage: (preserved when in season and coming out of my root cellar, freezer, canned, or dehydrated stash)
- Vegetable broth
- Bacon, steak, and ground beef from Mastodon Valley Farm meat share
Into Storage:
- Dried basil (using a dehydrator)
- Broccoli (cut into small florets, peel stem and chop, freeze in quart size zip top bags)
- Homemade pickles
- Homemade dilly beans
- Homemade picked banana peppers
Notes: Water Worries and the National Food Supply
Did you know that about 13% of all the food that we eat in the U.S. comes from California? This state produces 19% of the nation’s dairy. When looking at produce the numbers are even more staggering. About 50% of all fruits, nuts, and vegetables come from the Golden State, and it is the sole producer (more than 99%) of almonds, celery, garlic, olives, pistachios, peaches, plums, nectarines, and walnuts. California also leads the nation in production of strawberries, grapes, broccoli, lettuce, bell peppers, asparagus, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, sweet corn, onions, raspberries, spinach, tomatoes, and many more fruits and veggies. In other words, all the foods we eat!
Now, let’s juxtapose that with the fact that the Western U.S. is in a drought like no other. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of 8/11/22, 97.5% of California is in a severe drought, 45.8% in extreme drought, and 16.5% in an exceptional drought (the worst). This megadrought has spanned 15 years and is thought to be the driest period for at least the past 1200 years. The Colorado River is drying up and reservoirs are down 80% of normal. Agricultural pumping of groundwater exacerbates the problem.
So what do we do when the state that feeds our country runs out of water? We can already see the results. In the largest agricultural state, last year 395,000 acres of farmland were left dry and unplanted. I believe that our National Food Supply is in a very precarious situation.
My take: As the saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. I think it is worrisome to rely on a system that is so vulnerable. Eating local is a sustainable solution for all of us. Join a nearby CSA farm (community supported agriculture – I love Crossroads Community Farm and Keewaydin Farms), shop at the farmer’s market, or grow your own food. Eat with the seasons and preserve the bounty for the winter. Don’t let yourself rely on a National Food Supply that is so dependent on water where there is none. It could collapse at any time.
Learn more: Coincidentally, after I wrote this I came across a podcast talking about megadrought in Colorado and Arizona and concerns about growing food there. The guests include 2 farmers and an agricultural commissioner. It is a great listen and a good reminder that this impacts the whole Western U.S., not just California.
Anyone out there that lives in a megadrought area? I would love to get your take on the situation. Are you worried about running out of water? What other solutions do you see?
CSA Breakdown:
For those of you also using Crossroads Community Farm, here is a breakdown of how I will use each piece of produce this week. See the first CSA post from this season for details of how I structure the plans.
Tomatoes: minestrone soup, pico de gallo
Banana Pepper: Thinly slice (no need to remove seeds), place in a pint sized jar. Add smashed garlic clove and peppercorns. Boil 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup water, and 2 tsp salt then pour into the jar (add more water if needed to cover peppers). Let cool an hour then use or move to the fridge to keep for up to 1 month. I’m using on nachos this week.
Lettuce, Summercrisp: tossed salad
Beans, Green: minestrone soup
Eggplant, Globe: cut into cubes for kabobs
Broccoli: sweet and sour broccoli salad
Muskmelon, Sugar Cube: fruit salad
Zucchini, Green and/or Gold: kabobs
Basil: minestrone, rest dehydrated to save for winter seasoning
Onion – sweet or bridger: a few thin slices for cucumber salad and broccoli salad, rest for minestrone
Cucumber: creamy cucumber salad
A1 Corn, Sweet: 4 corn on the cob, 1 for minestrone
