"I was making pesto, Officer!"
I love doing favors for my future self. When the sink is full of dirty dishes and I am tired and really do not feel like washing them but I do it anyway? My waking-up-in-the-morning-to-a-clean-sink self is so grateful! When I plant biennial flower seeds and two years later I have Sweet Williams blooming, I high-five my two-years-ago self and make a bouquet.
I also do my future hungry-self favors, like making a big batch of oatmeal to eat for breakfasts throughout the week, or even just packing the kids' lunches the night before so my groggy morning-self gets a bit of a break. I think of preserving food during the growing season in the same light. Last summer my garden produced so much basil that we gorged on pesto, basil vinaigrette, and a one-pan farro dish I discovered. We ate so much basily goodness while my plants flourished. The more we harvested, the more they grew. Basil is a heat-lover, though, so when the first frost hit I had to quit my fresh basil binge.
It is now mid-February, summer a distant memory. But all is not lost! My past self did me a favor by putting basil pesto, vinaigrette, and basil and olive oil puree into the freezer, and then - lucky present me - I forgot about it for a few months. So now in the middle of a very rainy winter I still have the taste and smell of summer locked away in dark green frozen chunks.
In addition to my frozen stash of basil, we have pork and beef in our chest freezer from our own livestock. Thanks, past-Jeremy for raising delicious meat! I also bought extra raspberries from a local organic farm last summer to freeze, and they are just waiting to be thrown into scones I can eat with tea (dried loose leaf peppermint from my garden) on a rainy February Sunday afternoon.
It's become a habit, asking myself, "What favor can I do today for future me?" And when I finish whatever it is, I sometimes whisper (so no one thinks I'm talking to myself, which I actually am), "You're welcome!"
Tonight I think I'll soak some pinto beans, premix dry ingredients for cornbread, and prep some greens for dinner tomorrow. It might be a small thing, but when I'm dipping my buttered cornbread into a bowl of soft, flavorful beans I will be so grateful.
I also do my future hungry-self favors, like making a big batch of oatmeal to eat for breakfasts throughout the week, or even just packing the kids' lunches the night before so my groggy morning-self gets a bit of a break. I think of preserving food during the growing season in the same light. Last summer my garden produced so much basil that we gorged on pesto, basil vinaigrette, and a one-pan farro dish I discovered. We ate so much basily goodness while my plants flourished. The more we harvested, the more they grew. Basil is a heat-lover, though, so when the first frost hit I had to quit my fresh basil binge.
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| Labeling preserved items tells you what the mysterious containers hold, how old it is, and can be a useful alibi in case you need one. Where were you on the afternoon of June 16, 2018? I was making pesto, Officer! |
It is now mid-February, summer a distant memory. But all is not lost! My past self did me a favor by putting basil pesto, vinaigrette, and basil and olive oil puree into the freezer, and then - lucky present me - I forgot about it for a few months. So now in the middle of a very rainy winter I still have the taste and smell of summer locked away in dark green frozen chunks.
In addition to my frozen stash of basil, we have pork and beef in our chest freezer from our own livestock. Thanks, past-Jeremy for raising delicious meat! I also bought extra raspberries from a local organic farm last summer to freeze, and they are just waiting to be thrown into scones I can eat with tea (dried loose leaf peppermint from my garden) on a rainy February Sunday afternoon.
It's become a habit, asking myself, "What favor can I do today for future me?" And when I finish whatever it is, I sometimes whisper (so no one thinks I'm talking to myself, which I actually am), "You're welcome!"
Tonight I think I'll soak some pinto beans, premix dry ingredients for cornbread, and prep some greens for dinner tomorrow. It might be a small thing, but when I'm dipping my buttered cornbread into a bowl of soft, flavorful beans I will be so grateful.
And now I'm hungry!
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