A list: local purchases

Last night I picked up what I ordered this month from our Oklahoma Food Co-op. Here's the list.

Pecan flapjack granola, 1-pound bag
Fresh beets, a bundle of 5
Cream, 2 pints (very rich and yummy)
Butter, 8 ounces
Buttermilk, 1 pint
Healing lip balm, citrus
"Nuthin' But Clean" goat's milk soap, unscented
Goat's milk laundry powder, 48 loads (a pound or so)

I didn't buy much produce because last Saturday I finally made it to our farmers' market and bought this stuff:

Peaches, a large basket (maybe 1/2 bushel? 1/4? dunno)
Blue Lake green beans, 2 pounds
Blueberries, 1 pint
Blackberries, 2 pints
New potatoes, 1 pound
Young sweet onions, 1 pound

So all this week we ate sliced peaches, alone or on cereal or granola, with or without blueberries or blackberries. Yum! We also had Italian green beans (steamed, then topped with a good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, a good grating of Parmesan, and salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano, and tossed well -- great at any temperature).

I need to go ahead and use the oven to roast all of the new potatoes and young sweet onions (teardrop shaped), and in a separate pan the beets. YUM. I would ask dear husband to grill them, but our charcoal chimney rusted out and we need a replacement. Anyway, then we can snack on the potatoes, onions, and beets, and use them in other things. We have lots of green beans still, so I may get more Parmesan and make a big batch of Italian green beans for the fridge. We haven't finished the blackberries either, so I may freeze them or make a coffee cake with blackberries and last year's home-canned peach not-jam on the bottom.

The granola is a big hit with dear husband and me, so now I will try making granola myself. The ingredients are rolled oats, chopped pecans, whole wheat flour, honey and turbinado sugar, and flax seeds. It's a bit too sweet for me, but still very good. What I like about it is that it's a very simple granola and has at least some Oklahoma ingredients (pecans, whole wheat flour, honey).

I intend to make some baked goods with the buttermilk (pancakes, biscuits, coffeecake?). The first pint of cream is for my coffee for the next several weeks; the second is for whipped cream for treats this week and on Independence Day.

The goat's milk stuff is my standard laundry soap. Next month I'll get a new Sweet Orange Stain Stick, which is a small bar of a strong lye soap, I think. My previous bar has lasted nearly two years and done a good job. I'm trying the goat's milk soap in a search for an alternative to Dove and Neutrogena in the shower.

Tomorrow I'm probably going to stop in at one of our downtown shops and buy a half-pound of decaf coffee. I've completely run out of the fair-trade, organic, well-priced Bishops Blend that I buy at church; the profits help people in need, through Episcopal Relief and Development. It's not local, but I don't mind so much with coffee, spices, and chocolate; they've been traded worldwide for centuries. I might wait 'til Sunday and stick with Bishops Blend after all.

My favorite breakfast lately has been muesli or the granola with sliced peaches and berries, and some whole milk or cream. Plus a cuppa good coffee!