Four - Eight of Twelve

I thought I'd better catch up on my Twelve Months of Food posts. As a refresher (because, yeah, it's been a while), instead of Christmas gifts last year, I gave the adults in my family food, in the form of one meal a month.

To date:

January: pulled pork
February: chili
March: breakfast!

And to update:

April: Lasagna - yum!
May: Roast local chicken, plus all the trimmings.
June: Grilled burgers & sausages, plus potato and macaroni salad
July:  Grilled chicken, grilled pepper & onion skewers and potato salad. The onions and potatoes were all from the garden.
August: Grilled steaks, local corn-on-the-cob and garden tomatoes.

Sorry, no pics - I was too busy eating :)

My sister was nice enough to host June and July at her house, since my old grill wasn't large enough to cook large amounts of food. But, I took advantage of end-of-season sales, and bought a new charcoal grill - my old one, in addition to being small, was literally on it's last legs. I don't think it would have held up for one more summer, and a container full of hot coals collapsing suddenly just seems dangerous to me ;) I also bought (my first ever) a patio table and chairs. Makes it easier to have the family over in the summer!

The point of these meals is to make something that, in addition to (hopefully) being delicious, can be made from mostly local, in-season ingredients. Where I can, I use local sources, including my own garden, and plan the meals around what is available. So, no asparagus in September, and no corn-on-the-cob in March. I'm not saying I do buy everything locally (lack of sources, lack of $), but everything I make could be sourced locally. Except, of course, things like spices and oils that are used in small amounts, and not as the basis of the meal.

You will note the lack of desserts. These are meant to be "everyday" meals, not feasts :) But we have had desserts, supplied by other family members, especially if we are also celebrating a birthday at the meal.

Going forward, I plan to post monthly on these meals. Oh, and also take pictures!