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Day:          02
Days Left:  28

 In two short days, I’m discovering that this project isn’t just about eating and the shopping and cooking that go with it. I’m thinking more about waste…food that doesn’t get eaten, time that gets eaten up by things that don’t matter, everything that goes into the garbage can.

I decided when I was mapping out the guidelines for this project that I would include the use of stuff I already had on hand—and actually, I made a concerted effort last week not to stockpile any items in anticipation of the coming challenge. I did, however, take a survey of the freezer and pantry and decided to incorporate a few of the things that are basically sitting around taking up space for no reason other than the fact that I haven’t felt like doing anything with them. 
       This week, in addition to buying only food that is locally grown, I’m facing my freezer. There’s no reason not to use up that package of frozen stew beef and in having a bit of a clear-out, I’m making room for more local fare.
       Normally, I think of beef stew as more of a cold-weather dish. But the last week or so has had its ups and downs and I felt in need of a little comfort food. What better way to marry together my fresh, local produce and nicely packaged freezer items than to throw them together in a slow cooker? All day long, whenever I walked through the kitchen, I felt transported somehow to my grandmother’s kitchen, which was always full of happy memories, thereby improving my mood and sense of well-being.
       What is it about our olfactory senses that make time travel seem so possible? How can a delicious whiff pull us out of the doldrums and onto Cloud Nine? If there’s one other aroma that can work its magic on me, it’s the smell of freshly baked gingerbread. 

My love of cooking doesn’t flow over into a love of baking. But when I do bake, I like to do it from scratch. To that end, the box of organic, whole grain gingerbread mix that someone handed off to me has been sitting on a shelf in the cabinet. Waiting.
       On a whim, I picked up the box to see just what would be needed to put the mix to good use: a cup and a half of milk, some butter and an egg. What a perfect way to use up the cup and a half of buttermilk left over from the weekend’s butter-making.
 
All in all, I’d say it was a good day. No food was wasted and now there’s more room for the local bounty from next week’s shopping adventures. The coming days are going to be even more challenging as my Items-on-Hand diminish and I continue to buy only local. 

In the interest of sharing a little comfort and joy, I thought I’d post the current version of my beef stew for the slow cooker, so here you go. Enjoy.

Beef Stew
Since I’m still making the transition to going completely local, I wanted to note the ingredients in this recipe that are local: flour, onion, carrots, garlic, red wine—and of course, the water.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. stew beef, cut in bite-sized chunks
½ C whole-wheat flour
1 tsp paprika
4 T olive oil
1 medium (or ½ large) onion, diced
2 carrots, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
2 parsnips, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
2-3 stalks of celery, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/8 tsp ground cloves
3 ½ C water
½ C red wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Combine the whole-wheat flour and paprika then dredge the meat to coat. Heat the oil in a skillet and when it begins to shimmer, add the meat, turning to brown it on all sides. You may need to do this in batch so as not to crowd the pan. Place the browned meat in the slow cooker. Add the vegetables and remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for ten to 12 hours or on high for five to six hours. Make sure you remove the bay leaves before serving.

Note: You have noticed there are no potatoes in this recipe. When I made beef stew for the first time a number of years ago, the recipe I used didn’t call for them. To tell the truth, I didn’t even notice until I was eating it. I happened to have mashed potatoes left over from the night before, so I heated them up and spooned some on top of the stew. I liked it so much that, as my recipe has evolved, I’ve kept the potatoes out of it just so I can serve the stew with a dollop of mashed potatoes on top.