The Real Food Challenge 2011

The Little Homestead in the Village will be participating in 2011 edition of the Real Food Challenge.

Last year when we first encountered the real food challenge, I observed and participated form afar. The challenge asks you to take the next step toward serving and eating "real food" (as opposed to processed) for some it might be giving a soda for a glass of water or home-brewed ice tea, or it may be a made from scratch meal a week, or for others, it's going the distance. and becoming a locovoir. This is the comment that we posted on the "Real Food @ Not Dabbling in Normal"

"Count me in. We have a good sized garden and I put away some of the harvest. I’m going to try to double what we do – enlarge the garden, maybe get a few chickens add another bee hive or two. I hope to double the canning ,,,- I’ve run out of salsa, apple butter, spiced peaches, roasted tomato garlic soup. I hope to live out of the garden (mostly) except for bulks rice, potato, flour, cornmeal, spices, sugar, coffee and meats."

from the 2010 kitchen garden

Fast or what you might call quick foods are a problem here at the Little Homestead. Our schedule gets crazy - so sometimes I have very little time to put a meal on the table (and I'm a master of the 30 minute or less meals). Also, Danny (our second oldest) works odd hours at his job and wants to take meals from home to save his money. Sometimes we just don't have any leftovers when someone comes in very hungary - so we've been relying on canned soups and sometimes stews. I've canned a few batches of soup but need to do more. I need to fill the freezer with my burritos, and sliders and hungry manfood.

Today's breakfast -

The youngsters made Toad's in the Hole with store bought butter and eggs but home made bread.

Walt and I made some toast from the homemade bead and enjoyed it with homemade low sugar jam that I had from fruit picked from a U-pick farm in June