We Abenaki call January Alamikos, Forgiveness month. February is Biaodagos or literally, falling in pieces branches moon. Personally, together I would like to call January and February ‘stay inside and get something worthwhile done time’.
It might be sunny, but it is really cold out there. Can’t say so yet for sure, but I think this winter is milder so far than last. People still want to be with relatives and friends so there will be visiting, expected or not. What do you do if you are, or think you are, out of everything and a car full pulls up. It isn’t too expensive to keep a couple of staple things in the pantry like peanut butter, crackers, cheese, jelly, honey or molasses*.
We like things a bit savory so I like to have canned artichokes, smoked salmon, marinated red peppers, olives, hard cheeses (they keep longer than soft cheese), pickled Jerusalem artichokes, sardines and long life foods on hand. Make your own or buy some bean dip and keep a package of multigrain flour tortillas in the freezer. They don’t take long to defrost and can become little appetizer pizzas with almost anything on top, or spread and rolled within. Most importantly, don’t panic! Take a nice long deep breath. It also helps to write down what you have and keep a running replacement list nearby. If you do get some unexpected ‘drop-in-ski’s’ always offer a drink, cranberry juice, tea or good ‘ol water right away.
Tidbits:
I read recently that the average person eats about 1100-1200 pounds of food in a year. Unfortunately, most of it goes to “waist” or to “waste”.
*Jacques Pepin, a French chef who was friends with Julia Child, once said that his favorite afterschool snack was a slice of buttered bread and a pool of molasses to drag it through. Monsieur Pepin lives in my town in New England. He is a regular at our local market.
