Weekend Brunch Ideas - The Vegetarian Resource Group

freshly ground kamut and buckwheat flour fora couple of weeks. Now, I’m looking forward tobeing out of oatmeal again!3) When shopping, I really look at the prices anddon’t buy things that just cost too much.Organic asparagus at $3.99 a pound? Not goingto happen. Maple syrup at $13 a bottle? Well,we love our maple syrup on our Sunday pancakes,but we’ve stopped using it in baking. And I mightstart diluting it with water. Also, we’ve been usinghomemade strawberry syrup from berries that wepicked at a local farm. In the past, spending just$7 on something we wanted but didn’t really needdidn’t seem like a big deal. Now that it represents1/20 th of what I can spend that week, it is a big deal.4) We’ve prioritized what we buy organic.We have a list of the fruits and vegetables that arehighest and lowest in pesticides, and we will buyconventional for items that are least likely to havepesticide residues at times.5) We buy local and in-season. Not only areprices often lower, the shorter transportation distanceis better for the environment. This year,we joined a Community Supported Agriculture,or CSA, and for an up-front investment of $350,we receive a box of fresh, local produce each weekfor 22 weeks. (That’s $16 per week.) We also shopat our local farmers’ market for good deals grownclose to home.6) We garden. A small investment in seeds andother gardening supplies produces a bounty ofdelicious produce for the entire summer and, insome cases, years to come.7) We preserve fruits and vegetables. I freeze,dehydrate, and make sauces and jams using localproduce purchased when prices are low and withexcess produce from our garden and CSA. Rightnow, I have approximately 80 pounds of blueberriesin our extra freezer—all from a local farm wherewe paid $1.25/pound for u-pick berries or $2/pound for the ones that have been picked. I alsoTime Saving TipsCook beans in large batches (4 or more cupsdried) and freeze in 3-cup containers. I liketo soak beans overnight and cook them earlyin the morning.Cook double or triple batches of soups. Then,have some for lunch or dinner the next dayand freeze the rest.Cook double or triple batches (2-3 cups dry)of grains, such as rice, millet, quinoa, oat groats,and kamut, for a multitude of uses over thecourse of the next few days. Use them as a basefor soups or a stir-fry; to mix with legumes,veggies, and sauce for a nutritious salad; andto create a delicious, wholesome dessert withcinnamon and a sweetener.Keep veggies prepped and ready to add tosandwiches and salads, to sprinkle on soupfor added color and nutrition, or to mix withgrains, legumes, and dressing for an easy salad.Ideas: shredded carrots and cabbage, washedand chopped greens, and sliced peppers.Keep sauces and dressings on hand to flavorlegume, grain, and vegetable dishes. Make areally quick meal with already-cooked grains,legumes, veggies, and sauce.Make a big batch of trail mix each week—add raisins, cranberries, walnuts, almonds,cashews, and hazelnuts. Portion into reusablecontainers for on-the-go snacks.Begin dinner preparations in the morning.If you’re using grains and/or legumes, measure,rinse and drain, add fresh water, and let soakall day, with the grains and legumes in separatebowls. When it’s time to make dinner, drain,add new water, and cook. Cooking time willbe lessened from all-day soaking. (Note: Somegrains will require less water.) Also, get outall herbs and spices in the morning so they’reready to go.Use a Crock-Pot ® slow cooker.VEGETARIAN JOURNAL Issue One 2009 29