Day 1: Lentil soup
Day 2: Slow cooker pulled pork, Sautéed chard and radish greens
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed salad
Day 4: Asparagus and gruyere cheese frittata, Rhubarb bread
Day 5: Tostadas
Day 6: Baked honey mustard salmon, Thin mint smoothie, Orange slices
Day 7: Fried rice with bok choy, green garlic, and scallions
Notes: Bone Broth
My family doesn’t eat as much meat as in the past. Instead we focus on quality over quantity. I have spent a long time searching for farms that raise their meat humanely and the way nature intended (Check out Mastodon Valley Farm or search Fairshare CSA Coalition for a meat farm near you). This means we also eat a lot more meat right off the bone. Let me tell you, meat cooked on the bone is so much more moist, tender, and nutritious. The best part is that when you are done eating the meat, instead of tossing those bones, we make broth!
This week I’m using up some soup bones I found hiding in my freezer to make a nice beef bone broth for the lentil soup. I’ll start the process tonight to make sure to get all the wonderful collagen, glycosaminoglycans, and minerals out of the bones and veggie scraps. If you want to try this too, check with the meat counter at your grocery store or a local butcher to see if they have soup bones for sale. Or just use bones (chicken, beef, turkey etc) from meat that you have already eaten. The process is so easy you will be slapping your head wondering “why didn’t I do this sooner”?!?
Here is my simple version: Place bones into a stock pot or slow cooker. Add vegetable scraps (carrot ends, wilted greens, herbs, onions). Add fresh filtered water until the bones and veggies are covered by at least 1 inch and the pot is filled about 2 inches from the top. Place a cover on the pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Keep the temperature on low and let it sit for 4 to 24+ hours. The longer the better! Use a colander to strain out the solids and collect the liquid in a large bowl. You are now ready to use the broth to make soup right away, as a healthy drink, or freeze in quart sized bags to use in the future.
Look for an upcoming post with a more complete overview of the benefits of bone broth and detailed instructions to get you going on this ancient food.
CSA Breakdown: For those of you also using Keewaydin Farms this spring, here is a breakdown of how I will use each piece of produce this week. You certainly don’t need to make the whole week’s worth! This is a jumping off point for you so that none of those awesome veggies go to waste. See the first CSA post from this season for details on how I structure the plans.
