The Householding Series: From Seed to Pantry

Growing for fresh and pantry cooking – I 
This gardening course will be taught over two session in this series. Though varied in subject matter, both classes will focus on the how-to of raising organic produce suited for fresh,  preserved or stored pantries. Topics include siting your vegetable garden beds and fruit-producing plants, building raised beds, seed starting, soil preparation, composting, attracting beneficial insects and birds, pest control, appropriate vegetables and fruits for growing and preserving, and cover crops. It is suitable for food gardeners of all skill levels and experiences though some knowledge base is helpful. 

Instructor - Glen Andresen

Growing for fresh and pantry cooking – II
A continuation of “Growing for fresh and pantry cooking”

Instructor - Glen Andresen

Local Meats - How to Find it and Make Use of It
Locally raised meat, from animals who have lived comfortably on a small acreage, cared for by owners who respect their animals – this is the ultimate locovore dream for the meat eater.  So what are your options? What is legal for you, and for the seller?  How do you find that local meat.  And what do you ask for?  It’s often up to you to choose your cuts of meat and how you want them packaged.  Or do you want to do the cutting and wrapping yourself?

In this class we’ll talk about all of these options.  You’ll  learn the basics of meat cuts and where they come from, how to decide what you need for your cooking style and family, and how to find a local producer.  Lots of backyard livestock producers have animals to sell, you want meat, we’ll talk about how to bring the two together. 

Instructor - Mary Rosenblum

Making Use of Milk - Easy Fermented Dairy Foods
You don’t have to be a professional-quality cheesemaker in order to make the most of your local raw milk purchase, or to make simple and fresh cheese at home from purchased milk.  While producing a consistently high quality aged cheese does take some know-how, anyone can make simple fresh, spreadable cheese, butter, yoghurt, and ricotta at home.  All of these, except for the yoghurt, will freeze for six months, allowing you to extend your ‘dairy season’.

In this class we’ll make simple fresh cheese, butter, and ricotta and explore the basics of cheesemaking and safe milk handling.  

Instructor - Mary Rosenblum

The Logic, Principles and Reason behind Food Preservation and JAM
These next four classes on food preservation are taught within the larger narrative of householding.  Not only will students garner the skills to become competent and safe food preservers but to learn to ask  (and answer) the questions necessary for transforming these skills into a tangible alternative to “grocery shopping”.

Born from the knowledge that many folks end up with lots of jars of jam or canned peaches that they may not even like or eat, these classes will help you separate fashion from function.  In discussions and questionnaires offered throughout these next four classes, students will define a preserving schedule that not only contends with limited time but with the notion that some efforts better serve your overall pantry and cooking needs.

Also - Baby Likes Jam.  This section of the class will focus on the how-to of jam making with lots of information on types of berries, when to pick, what to look for and how to make your own pectin. Students will watch, make, process and go home with some delicious jam. 

Instructor - Harriet Fasenfest

Canning Fruits and Tomatoes
If I can encourage you to do one thing during this canning and preserving season it would be canning applesauce and tomatoes.  We will discuss the logic behind this in class but, more practically,  students will learn the concrete, hands-on skills involved in the various techniques applicable to fruit and tomato canning. 

Instructor - Harriet Fasenfest

Quick Pickles and Fermentation
I have come to recognize the wonderful catch all of seasonal bits and pieces that can be captured in the world of pickling.  Some techniques will fall into the category of “quick pickles” while others follow the age-old technique of fermentation.  In this class we will learn both, will do both and students will go home with the knowledge base to stock their pantries will all the crunchy good things that will show up on the winter table.  They don’t call it relish for nothing.

Instructor - Harriet Fasenfest

Drying, Freezing and Root Cellaring
There are many techniques in food preservation that are used throughout the season.  Think about it as your tool box.  In this class we will learn the proper way to dry and freeze foods for maximum quality, what foods are suited to freezing and drying, how to cook and enjoy them once they are frozen or dried and which foods pack a punch for the year-round pantry. 

We will also cover the notion of “root cellaring” and how it functions in the often balmy (by comparison) Northwest.  What foods are suited for storage and how long can they offer a quality food source for your table?  Some focus will be given on buying large quantities direct from the farm when they are both in season and in good price.

Instructor - Harriet Fasenfest

Stocking and Cooking from you Pantry
Now that we have filled our pantries how shall we cook?  What is the functional rythym of a functional kitchen?  How do we plan our meals and what must we purchase to supplement what we did not grow or preserve?  In this last class of the season we will weave all the information we have discussed and learned into a functional winter’s pantry.  We will return to the system that has sustained cultures for generations prior to the great industrial migration and, in so doing, be returned to a level of stewardship and moderation that is surely welcomed by our planet.

Tangibly, we will discuss recipes, techniques, meal planning and systems that I have discovered during my own journey backwards to the future.  As the last class on this renewed effort towards householding,  I suspect there will be much merrymaking and joy woven into the day.

Instructor and co-conspirator  - Harriet Fasenfest