logistics

sometimes i forget that i do not have limitless freezer space. logistics are my nemesis. i have lofty goals, but the reality is, only so much stuff can fit in the freezers. this is how my freezers currently look:

oopsy.

and i haven't even finished all of my prep yet. i've had to scratch the chicken stew & beet/apple/parsnip flavours from my prep list this week but i'll have them for next week at the market.

here's what i have accomplished thus far:

baked beans - molasses, maple, vinegar, tomato, worchestershire. vegetarian but not vegan. 

vegan chili - chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, bell peppers, corn, lime, cilantro, chipotle. a little bit of heat but nothing crazy. very hearty! gluten-free.

lentil/bean/veggie - i made this batch sort of a hybrid of the vegan stew & the previous lentil veggie soup. there's onions, carrots (noggins), celery, green beans, zucchini, kale (selwood), basil, lentils, white beans in a tomatoey broth. vegan, gluten-free.

carrot/apple/ginger - carrots (noggins), apples (boates), ginger, cardamom, turmeric, green onions, lime, maple syrup, cilantro. also the subject of my last blog post. vegan, gluten-free.

thai chicken & rice - braised chicken in homemade chicken stock with ginger, garlic, sesame, lemongrass, lime, chillies, cilantro, basmati, peppers, carrots, celery, snow peas, bean sprouts & asian cabbages. clearly not vegan but still gluten-free.

beef & barley - getaway farm beef browned off & braised to create a rich beef stock with lots of onions, garlic, carrots, celery, fresh herbs & pearl barley.

also in the freezer there's:

seafood chowder

mexican pork posole

french onion with beer & cheese

beef stew

cream of cauliflower

butternut squash (with curry or without)

roasted red pepper, tomato, sweet potato & chipotle

and maybe a chicken stew if my memory serves me correctly

all soups, stews, etc are packaged in 500 ml containers and cost $7

last week i also made a fresh batch of the chicken, leek, broccoli & bacon pies. they didn't make it into last week's blog but i put a quick mention of them on my facebook page... and then i sold them all. so i'm in the midst of making another batch for this weekend. now i just need to find somewhere to put them... as usual smalls are $10 and larges are $20

as a quick aside, last week i bought i few packs of chicken bones from cheryl at shani's farm. for $12 i was able to make about 15 litres of concentrated, homemade chicken stock. pretty reasonable i think & so much better than the garbage in the stores! so that's the base for the chicken pies and the thai chicken soup.

ok for salads this week, i will have quinoa of course. this week's concoction will have asparagus, tomatoes (den haan), green beans, artichokes, lemon, dijon, dill and maybe a few other surprises. the rice salad is also back. this week it's a combination of red rice & wild rice with roasted squash, nuts, seeds, cranberries, red onion & a splash of maple. and finally, i've been getting lots of requests for the broccoli salad to return. this one is not vegan, but it's still gluten-free. so it's broccoli with red onion, toasted almonds, raisins, red peppers & bacon (but i'll pack up some vegetarian ones as well).

ok time to bake, and run deliveries all afternoon... let the caffeine consumption begin!!!