Update: food-related goals for 2009

In February, I set some food-related goals for myself this year. Four months later, I've accomplished one goal, am working on another and have let one go. My first goal was to grow my own soybeans. This didn't happen for a couple of reasons:
1. I don't have any land, or even a balcony to use for a container garden.
2. I have a black thumb, and from what I've read about growing beans organically, they can be tricky.

OK, so I really didn't even try to meet that first goal. I need to do some research on organic gardening and secure a place to grow these little gems of protein. I really would like to have a small garden next year, even if it's just a container garden.

My second goal was to find myself a soymilk maker, and that I did! I had done some pricing online and was a little surprised to find out just how expensive soymilk makers can be. Then I remembered I have a membership to our local Freecycle. Last week I posted a request for a soymilk maker in the group and had a response within hours. It seems that a local family had purchased this little appliance and only used it a couple of times. This was a win-win-win situation. They got a little more space cleared in their closet, I saved money by not having to buy the soymilk maker and we kept another perfectly good appliance out of the landfills! I haven't made any soymilk yet, because I'm still finishing my store-bought stuff, but I'm sure I'll be writing about my first attempt.

Number five on my list of goals is to eat/buy more local and organic produce. Thanks to my bi-weekly Fresh Produce Variety Box from Fresh Abundance, I'm keeping good on this promise. I started getting my variety box every other week in May and am so thankful I finally did this! I've always struggled with keeping fresh fruit in my house and I tend to rely on the same three or four favorite veggies in my kitchen. Now I get a variety of fresh (and seasonal!) fruit and am introduced to new vegetables. At just $35 a box, this is not only a cost-saving arrangement for me, I'm also helping support a local business and local farmers. Again, win-win-win!

My other goals include:

Make my own wine
Experiment more with gluten-free baking
Get myself some good kitchen knives
Make my own tofu

I'll let you know how I do accomplishing these other goals. On that note, does anyone know where I can get some wine grapes this fall?