Pesto Chango!

An interview with Deborah by her Fairy Godmother,

after six months of a food buying moratorium and pantry emptying experience

FG Now that you are nearing the homestretch of your Food BuyingMoratorium, how has your life changed?

D I have gone from daily emptying food contents from glass jars and freezer bags, to filling them with home-grown fresh veggies and gallons of strawberries for the upcoming year.

FG You must have found some interesting dregs when dredging the recesses of your deep freeze?

D Yes, the most delicious excavation was just enough lemon dessert hummus to take on a kayaking picnic to the lake yesterday. Most unusual was a baggie of six homemade ghee candles made from cotton balls, leftover from my friend Nan’s memorial service four years ago. You never know when I may need them, and they remind me of Nan, whose Vermont garden was the “first one you saw driving into town, so the rows had to be straight.”

FG Any epiphanies over the last six months of your experiment?

D Home-ground tangerine rind is delicious, as is rice pudding with tamarind, apricot and cardamom.

FG What lessons have you learned?

D Twenty-five pounds of garlic is way too much for one person to use up in a year! I have enough high potency powder from two years ago to even sprinkle on oatmeal, should I choose.

FG Any regrets?

D Instead of rushing out to buy a pound of cardamom on December 31^st to ensure “cardamom security”, I might have stocked up on chocolate bars to get me through the six months. Fewer frozen Asian greens and more broccoli would have provided variety. I would have saved time if I’d foraged more instead of spending weeks gardening. Dehydrating produce instead of freezing it takes up less room and costs nothing to store.

FG What’s been most challenging throughout your moratorium?

D Not getting through the gallon of spicy homemade kimchi (some of those Asian greens that grew so prolifically last summer, having escaped the ravaging paws of Grandpa Groundhog, which I then fermented to save.) Here, try some. I still have the gallon. Maybe it will help fuel your flight home.

FG What will you do with all that leftover frozen pesto I saw you bag up and return to your almost empty freezer?

D Hmmm. There is a lot. Top a pizza, toss it with pasta, or finger paint with my grandkiddles all sound good to me.

FG What wisdom have you gleaned from this personal challenge you set for yourself on December 31st?

D I have very good friends and family who ate my home made concoctions, no matter what ingredients, tastes and combinations. They were curious, supportive, and generous in gifting me treats when I ran out of certain supplies. I have never been offered so much coconut milk and chocolate in all my years!

FG When I wave my magic wand to help you restock your pantry, what’s at the top of your shopping list?

D Fresh tropical fruits- pineapple, mangoes and almond milk for summer smoothies. To heck with eating local. My six month experiment is over, so I can indulge.

FG Poof! Pesto Presto Chango! You’ve got it!