Day 30 Meals

Breakfast was simply a large bowl of cooked bran with milk and blackberry jam.

For my grazing snacks today I took a salad (lettuce and carrots from the kitchen garden, beets, teeny tiny cherry tomatoes, beets and bread & butter pickle juice for dressing), cornbread with the last of the blackberry jam, applesauce, 1/2 baked potato and polenta with loobee beans and tomato sauce.  I have to say that this was the best sauce I have ever had in my entire life (THANK YOU SHARON)!

Day 30

Breakfast; 2 eggs, breaded fried polenta. Wheat reserves are quite low. I will have to focus my diet on more cornmeal dishes. I used the polenta I made yesterday for this dish, and then made a bigger batch for tomorrow.

I will re-mill the bran I have to get more flour out of it, I am hoping there is enough flour content left in it to make noodles and crackers. I don't have a desire to eat bran cereal any more.

Lunch; you don't get to see a picture. It was the crockpot turkey from yesterday, in soup form.

Dinner; cream of fish soup, crackers. Yes, I said yesterday I wasn't going to make any more crackers, but another evening at a friend's necessitates snack foods. I have naught but crackers left. I had been planning to make this soup for a while. I found the recipe in the American Woman's Cookbook and thought it was worth a try. I was adding spices and put a bunch of curry in it. Too much! My soup tasted like grass. Half my remaining milk gone into a lousy dish. Ah, well, you can't win em all.

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Which Kitchen Hammer Would You Rather Use?

Weight 3.4 lbs. The casting sand wasn't packed hard enough in a few areas so some of the detail was lost (in particular, the word 'from' is not on the handle.)

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Days 28, 29

Day 28; breakfast was a bowl of bran cereal and 3 pancakes with grape jelly. This is the grape jelly Todd made entirely from ingredients at the Lohman's estate - even the pectin! It is very good, and entirely different from what you get in the store.

Lunch was some soup I made with soybeans, fresh turnips and carrots, garlic, and a few other odds and ends. I saved the liquid from the canned tomatoes and used that as the stock. I had a couple eggs too and some crackers. I am going to stop making crackers because I eat them all immediately.

Dinner was a bit of this and that through the evening, half a jar of pickles, some eggs, the rest of my crackers, half a potato, whatever.  I got hungry in fits, and sated my hunger the same way.

Day 29; breakfast was just bran cereal. I am over bran cereal now. Nearly every day for 4 weeks - ugh!

Lunch was poorly planned. Everything was frozen that I wanted to make. I ended up having spaghetti with tomato sauce, the rest of my dill pickles, and some applesauce.

Dinner was the result of my poorly conceived lunch. I threw a bunch of stuff in the crockpot at lunchtime so I had turkey, turnips, carrots, and green beans from there. I ate about half a portion of the turkey. My eggs are thawed so I had eggs too. The polenta I made at lunch time has set up now too. I took a few strips and fried them. Polenta does not brown at all, it is quite disappointing. Then I had a revalation - coat it in breadcrumbs! Those came out pretty good, I must say. I am still a bit hungry so I will head off in search of the convenient.

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Day 29 Meals

For breakfast this morning I had a bowl of bran cereal with milk and maple sugar, a bowl of applesauce, and chicory beverage (also tastes better with milk).

For my grazing snacks today I am taking pumpkin soup with crackers, cornbread with blackberry jam, applesauce and polenta with green beans and spaghetti sauce.

Day 28 Meals

I was very hungry today and so I treated myself to two eggs for breakfast, a piece of applesauce zucchini bread with blackberry jam, 1/2 baked potato and chicory beverage.

For lunch I had turkey with gravy, a 1/2 ear of corn, pea pods stir fried with garlic and 1/2 baked potato with chives.  I made the gravy with garlic, chives, parsley and a little wheat flour.

Before supper tonight I baked cornbread and made polenta.  I used some of the milk that I got in the trade on Thursday.  The cornbread was much better with the milk!

For supper tonight I had pumpkin soup with polenta, wheat crackers (thanks Mark!), chicory beverage and a piece of cornbread with blackberry jam.

Day 27 Meals

For breakfast I had bran cereal with some blackberry jam and an applesauce grape slushy along with chicory beverage.

I worked the late shift today so before I left for work I ate tomato/beet soup (very red) with wheat crackers.

For my grazing meals today I had the last turkey pot pie, the leftover rice and pea pods from Thursday night dinner to which I added some chopped turkey, applesauce, pickles, chicory beverage and 1/2 ear of corn.

Day 27

Breakfast; bran cereal.

Lunch; squirrel soup redux. I put a bag of frozen turnips and some garlic and cooked them about 20 minutes. Then I added the rest of the squirrel soup. It was quite a lot of soup!

I was full when I left the house this evening, but I know the hunger will creep up on me. I have a few eggs waiting at home later...hopefully I wont need to run out and stalk a rabbit in the parking lot here!

Another day down with minimal impact on my stores.

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Day 26

Just wanted to put up a quick post about yesterday. I had bran cereal for breakfast, then the turkey pies, some pickles, and some rice for lunch. For dinner I put the rest of the rice in the pumpkin soup I got in trade, and had a couple of eggs. Altogether I had 1/2 cup bran and 2 eggs out of my stores on the day. The trade day has given me quite a boost!

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Day 25 Acquisitions

Yesterday I picked up in trade;

3 portions turkey, approx 2 oz each
1 qt pumpkin soup
1 pt grape juice
6 half potatoes
Frozen spag sauce
Frozen carrots
Frozen turnips
Frozen tomatoes
Frozen parsley
Frozen green beans
Vegetable oil
Frozen applesauce
Pickles

And from dinner I got leftovers;

Rice
Squirrel soup
Spaghetti sauce

2 turkey mini pies

AND from the garden I got;

Turnips & greens
A few small beets
A few small carrots

AND from what Sharon dumped out on the table;

Canned apples

I gave up 1/2 pt maple sugar, the wheat flour and 2 eggs for the mini-pies, 4lb cornmeal, 1lb bran, 1/2lb crackers, 1 jar of jelly, and a quart of summer squash.

My coffers feel quite rejuvenated! Not 48 more days rejuvenated, mind you, but still!

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Day 25

Breakfast; bran cereal, eggs, applesauce. This jar of milk is starting to sour, I will endeavor to make cheese again.

Lunch; a few crackers. I was running behind on the day, and didn't really get to make any lunch. I headed over to mom's and we made turkey pies and crackers. She let me root through her garden for turnips too.

Dinner; a feast! Kathy made a challenge food meal, and Sharon brought some rice too. I had squirrel soup, corn on the cob, spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, polenta with the same sauce, beets, pea pods, rice, and raspberries rolled in maple sugar.

Afterwards I took the last 2 12 oz bottles of wine I had over to Peter's. The berry wine was vinegar so I gave that to Peter, and then I enjoyed the last bottle of apricot wine.

The big jug of mulberry wine I made smells like rotted feet. I am not going to drink it.

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Day 26 - Challenge Meals

For breakfast today I had molded polenta sprinkled with maple sugar and filled with warm blueberries along with some chicory beverage.

Grazing snacks today include loobee beans with polenta, wheat crackers, beets with rosemary, two turkey pot pies, and applesauce with maple sugar and black walnuts.

Acquisitions on Day 25

I've add to my stores and shared some of my inventory to extend the end date as long as possible.  I've added:  frozen milk, wheat crackers, a large jar of summer squash, blackberry jam, wheat, lots of bran, lots of cornmeal, maple sugar, elderberry jelly, two 1/2 ears of corn, a cup of rice pilaf, blueberries, whole kernels of meal corn and beets.  The grains are very much appreciated as they are filling and have really helped to extend the challenge for me.  I am glad to trade my extra vegetables for the variety that the grains offered.  I don't know if I would have even made it through week 2 without the addition of bran, wheat flour and cornmeal.

Day 25 Meals (33.7% of original challenge complete)

Breakfast was bran cereal with blackberry jam, applesauce and chicory beverage.

For lunch I had polenta with blackberry jam.

Thursday was the long awaited FAMILY DINNER DAY.  Kathleen was our main cook.  It was a wonderful challenge friendly meal.  On my plate was 1/2 ear of corn, cooked beats with rosemary, spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and a turkey pot pie (Mark and I combined ingredients and Mark made some wonderful turkey pot pies).  I also ate (not pictured) a wonderful rice pilaf (made by Sharon), a small piece of polenta with tomato sauce, some yummy blueberries and a cup of chicory beverage.  It was a delightful meal followed by a great Clue game.

Day 24

Breakfast; polenta wth blackberry jam, 2 eggs, apples. I decided I would try my Mom's suggestion of polenta with tomato sauce for lunch, so I made the polenta at breakfast. I put a tray in the fridge to set up for lunch and had this bowl for breakfast.

Lunch; fried polenta with tomato sauce, salted fish, 1 egg, 1 tomatillo, apples. Nothing in this emal clashed per se, but everything was a few degrees in flavor off from any other thing. Nothing was bad, just a strange combination. To reconstitute the fish I soaked it in water for about an hour, then put it in a pot and boiled it for 10 minutes. The meat peels right off the bones.

Dinner; 1 scrambled egg, bread and butter pickles, cream cheese, and crackers. This spartan meal was taken to a friends house. I was a bit jealous of the Hungry Howie's pizza they got.

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Day 24 - Exemption Day

No pictures today.  I attended a seminar for my job.  So, since breakfast, lunch and snacks were provided, I decided today was the day!

For breakfast at home:  Two eggs and two strips of turkey bacon with two cups of decaf coffee
For breakfast at the seminar:  One blueberry scone, a banana, a strawberry and two more cups of decaf
For lunch:  One turkey sandwich with tomato, lettuce and cheese, 1/4 cup of pasta salad, two cookies, a small fruit salad and coffee
For snack:  One bag of baked potato chips
For supper:  Tuna salad with eggs, sweet pickles and mayo and one slice of prairie bread toast with butter and of course more decaf coffee

I ate lots of protein today to make up for the deficit and REALLY enjoyed the coffee  It was very nice to have the exemption day but I am now fortified and ready to get back on track.  Mark and I are going to cook and trade tomorrow.

Day 23

Breakfast; bran cereal with blackberry jam and milk, pancakes, 2 scrambled eggs. I used 1 egg, a yeast starter, flour, and bran to make the cakes. They were average.

Lunch; spaghetti with tomato sauce, catfish, crackers and relish, 1 piece of pizza. I thought I had eaten all the pizza but closer examination revealed that there was 1 piece left. The catfish was good, the pasta was ho hum.

Dinner; vegetable soup and crackers. Soybeans, wheat berries, tomatoes, summer squash, and various spices.

Current stores leave me with 1 portion of frozen fish, 2 portions of salted fish, 6 portions of soybeans, and 40 eggs.

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Day 22

I got busy and didn't get to post last night. Here were the delights of yesterday;

Breakfast; scrambled eggs, bran cereal, apples, and grape juice. This was the good can of grape juice, when I made raisins I had to split and seed all the grapes. There was a lot of good clear juice in the bottom of the bowl when I was done.

I have no idea why my phone keeps rotating the pictures. I wish it would stop.

Lunch; 3 turkey pies, relish, whatever else is on the plate there. I don't remember what I had so I'll leave that up to your interpretation.

Dinner; spaghetti with tomato sauce, catfish filet. This is the last whole catfish I had. I have 1 more cooked filet and then I cooked the carcass too to pick the rest of the meat bits off.

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Day 23 - 31%???

If we are going by the original date, we are 31% of the way through the challenge.  I think the ending date is going to be closer.  Today I am eating the last of my squash soup and loobee beans.  Thank goodness I have my exemption day (which I am using tomorrow).  I am enjoying the challenge food and sharing the pictures and thoughts throughout the challenge.  However, if I ever do this again, I will make certain to expand my garden and give myself a bigger "allowance."  With the extra funds,  I would probably have bought two or three turkeys, more eggs and some tuna.  (Before the challenge began I found tuna 5 for $5.00 and eggs 5 dozen for $5.00.)

For breakfast - Bran cereal with blackberry jam and applesauce/grape slushy.  I also had some chicory beverage.

Grazing items are all frozen so they might look a little strange.  The tasty items for today are butternut squash soup (one of my favorites, freezer pickles, applesauce zucchini walnut bread, blackberry jam and polenta with tomato sauce and loobee beans.  I am also taking chicory beverage and dry mint.

Day 22 - Happy Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon)

HAPPY  CHINESE  NEW  YEAR!!!

For breakfast today I had a BIG bowl of bran cereal with blackberry jam and one scrambled egg with chives.

For my grazing meals today I have (clockwise from 12:00) beet juice, carrots in apricot glaze, applesauce, freezer pickles, polenta in tomato basil sauce and pumpkin soup.

Day 21

Breakfast; breakfast today was one of the pizzas I baked yesterday. I didn't feel like cooking in the morning.

Lunch; lunch today was breakfast food; 4 eggs, apples in syrup, last bit of Mom's bread rolled in sugar, bran cereal with blackberry jam and milk. I wasn't baking anything today so I got to eat all the eggs!

Dinner; 3 Turkey mini-pies, hash browns, sauerkraut, soybeans with garlic. I had a bit of potatoes left over from making the mini-pies. They had already been boiled. I just fried them up in a pan with a little oil, salt, and black pepper.

Inventory After 3 Weeks

I've done my best to keep it in the same order as last time, so anyone wanting to spend the time to see how much I have actually used will have an easy time of it. Here goes;

Dry Goods/ Stores;

Pickles - 1 pint

Relish - 1 pint + 1 open pint

Blackberry Jam - 2 half-pints

Grape jelly - 1 half-pint

Grape butter - 1 open half-pint

Elderberry preserves - 1 half-pint

Whole peeled tomatoes - 1 open quart

Tomato sauce - 1 quart

Summer squash - 1 quart, 1 pint, 1 half-pint, +1 open pint

Apples in light syrup - 1 pint +1 open pint

Dry beans - 7 oz

White vinegar - 1 quart

Wine vinegar - 8 fl oz

White sugar - 1/2 lb

Salted fish - 1 oz

Wheat flour - 1-3/4 lbs

Corn flour - 1-1/4 lbs

Cornmeal - 4 lbs

Wheat bran - 5-1/4 lbs

Hickory nuts - 1oz

Elderberry oil - 1 tbs

Walnut oil - 4 tbs

Vegetable oil - 2 tbs

Raisins - 1/4 lb

Apricot almonds - 1 oz

Basswood nuts, small container

Bread crumbs - 4 oz

Perishables/Prepared Foods

Green onions, 1/2 small

Yeast, 2 oz

Turkey mini pot pies, 3

Milk, 1 cup

Grape juice, 10 fl oz

Grape soda, 1/2 liter

Apricot Syrup, 1-1/2 pints

Eggs, thawed, 4

Carrots, a few

Tomatillos, 1/4 lb

Freezer Department

Rose hips (pressed), 2 oz

Eggs, 4 dozen

Lemon, 3/4

Catfish, 8oz

Melons, 1-1/4lbs

Grape Juice, 10 fl oz

Spaghetti Sauce, frozen, 1 lb

Pea pods & green beans, 6 oz

Applesauce, 3 cups

Milk, frozen, 3 pints

Raspberries, 1/2 lb

Spices;

Curry

Mint

Rosemary

Basil

Marjoram

Thyme

Stevia

Coriander Seed

Chives

Garlic

Chicory, 6 oz

Salt, 20 oz

Black peppercorns

Dill

I also have, which I forgot to mention in the previous inventory, unmilled wheat. I have 3lbs left. On day 1 I had 10lbs. I should be able to get around 2lbs finished flour out of the wheat, the rest will add to my bran reserves. Bran forever!

I also have a few bottles of fruit wine in the basement. Only 1 was capped with a metal cap, that is a bottle of apricot wine. The other two were corked, one bottle of mix berry wine and 1 gallon jug of mulberry wine. I don't know if these are vinegar or not. I'm guessing they are.

Day 21 Meals

For breakfast I had a large bowl of cooked bran cereal with blackberries and chicory beverage.

I had a late lunch today.  It consisted of a bowl of pumpkin soup, carrots with apricot glaze and a piece of applesauce, zucchini, walnut bread with blackberry jam.

For supper I had the molded polenta that I made a couple days ago, filled with warm blackberries and a small amount of applesauce.  On the side is a dish of frozen watermelon cubes and chicory beverage.

Inventory - Day 21

Here is my challenge inventory list at the beginning of day 21 -

Protein
10 - 1 1/2 to 2 oz pckgs turkey
6  eggs
5 oz  black walnuts

Fruit
7 - containers of applesauce
1 and 1/2 pckgs of apricots
3 pckgs frozen watermelon
1 jar peaches
2 large containers grape juice
2 medium containers grape juice
5 small containers grape juice
3/4 jar blackberry jam
1 jar grape jelly

Soups
2 Large Containers Christmas Soup
3 Large Containers Pumpkin Soup
1 Container of Squash Soup
1 Pckg Tomato/Beet Soup

Vegetables
2 packages pea pods
3 packages green beans
1 package loobee beans
4 packages carrots
3 packages turnips
1 small package beets
4 small packages kale
20 - 1/2 baked potatoes
4 cups beet juice
Approx 2 doz very small carrots still growing
Small amount of fresh lettuce
Fresh mint

Tomato & Cucumber Products
5 pckgs tomatoes
3 pckgs freezer pickles
1 small container tomato sauce
1 1/2 jars dill pickles
1 jar bread & butter pickles

Grains
1 lunch bag of bran
1 1/2 cups flour
5 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 polenta cake
2 slices polenta
4 slices (frozen) applesauce zucchini bread

Dry Goods
Clover Flowers
Linden Flowers
Mint
Rosemary
Thyme
Sage
Lavender
Basil
2 t baking powder
salt
Sunflower Seeds
Chicory

Miscellaneous
1/3 stick butter
Mark's vinegar
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 c oil
1/2 maple cake
Frozen chopped chives - 1 roll
Frozen chopped garlic - 1 roll
Frozen chopped parsley

I think I have it all - but everyone once in a while I find something in the back of the freezer or the cupboard - so list is subject to change.

Day 20 - More Like 67% Of The Way!

Breakfast was a couple of eggs, bran cereal, and the last bit of turkey skins. I actually fried the rest of the skins a couple of days ago, concerned that they would spoil.

Another afternoon at a friend's house means I will be taking my lunch on the road. I had a baking bonanza this morning, making crackers, mini-turkey pies, and 2 small pizzas with onion, garlic, chives, tomato, and cream cheese. Lunch will be 1 pizza, 2 mini pies, crackers, and grape soda. I am fairly certain i've posted all these recipes in previous posts.

Dinner is yet to come, but I will most likely make spaghetti and some soybeans or green beans (or maybe i'll live on the edge abd have both!)

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Day 20 - 27% of the WAY!!!!

Breakfast consisted of three slices of polenta, fried and topped with blackberry jam along with some blackberry applesauce and chicory beverage.

For my grazing meals today I am taking one of the pizzas I made yesterday, Christmas soup (still frozen in picture), kosher dill pickles, blackberry applesauce, and a salad consisting of lettuce from the indoor garden, beets, summer squash and sunflower seeds.  I am also taking mint and linden flowers for tea (not pictured).

Day 19 - 25.6%

For breakfast I had 1 scrambled egg, 1/2 baked potato and 2 slices of polenta fried with blackberry jam on top.

After breakfast, I made four mini turkey, summer squash pizzas with herb crusts.  I ate one hot from the oven.  YUMMMY!!!

For grazing meals today I took 1 of the mini pizza pies, blackberry applesauce, polenta and green beans in tomato basil sauce, grape juice and some very sour dill pickles.