Day 2

I was no better prepared today, but I was more creative! Supper tonight was Pink Pancakes with Stewed Rhubarb and Strawberries.

Pink Pancakes

In the food processor:

1 cup of unbleached flour (Terza Farm)

1 cup of oats (Loonsong Garden)

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt (Windsor Salt...hey, it's mined in Ontario!)

Then whir in:

1  to 1-1/2 cups buttermilk (first amount if you use the beets, second amount if your don't)

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 vegetable oil

2 eggs (Dalew Farms)

1/4- 1/2 cup pureed canned beets (I canned them last summer from my farm share)

Then cook 'em like you would any pancake!! The original recipe didn't have beets in them,and I forgot to back off on the buttermilk so my batter was a bit too runny and the pancake weren't very thick. They sure were good though!

Stewed Rhubarb and Strawberry Sauce

I was pressed for time so I pulled out all the thinnest rhubarb stalks I had in my fridge. I cut them in to 1/2" pieces and tossed them in a sauce pan. I should have measured, but I would guess I added about 1/2 cup of maple syrup and then enough water to cover the rhubarb. I brought it to a boil, turned it down and let it go for 15 minutes or so til the rhubarb was soft. I added a big handful of frozen strawberries, brought it back up to a boil and then let it cook til the berries were broken down, the rhubarb was stringy and the sauce had thickened up a bit. Poured it over our pancakes and chowed down.

The kids ate their weight worth.

So, as you can see I'm not eliminating everything from my kitchen. There's just no way around baking ingredients like baking powder, baking soda, salt and oil although I'm doing my best to find stuff made as close to home as possible. Vanilla, well....it doesn't grow anywhere near hear, there is no substitute, but I'll try to use it as little as possible...same goes for spices. We are in Northern Ontario after all! I need to get on to sourcing more of the foods we eat frequently. My biggest goal this week is to find local dairy items...mainly milk, cream and butter. I know where I can find cheeses, I can make my own yogourt and I know we have a local milk, I'm just not sure where it's sold right now!


Shannon A.

P.S. I almost forgot. As I mentioned, Keith is away on a business trip. He is in Bathurst, New Brunswick and he sent a picture of his Eat Local dinner to my cell phone....

J-E-A-L-O-U-S!!