The choreography of cooking at home
I remember the first time I heard this bit of domestic advice: it's never too early to start dinner. This insight is a great example of how our work as farmers is like your work as eaters. In both tasks, timing is everything.
Seeding tomatoes in the greenhouse too late, setting cucumbers out to “harden off” (acclimate to the weather) too early, or skipping a day of the zucchini harvest (they get big FAST) can all result in poor quality or non-existent food.
Making dinner out of a weekly delivery from Storey Family Farm is about timing, too. There's meat to be thawed, veggies to be chopped, beans to be soaked. So much farming literature focuses on optimizing the when, not just the how, of agriculture. For the person wanting to eat local food more consistently, the when is just as important.
Here's an example of starting dinner early to maximize your culinary success. It highlights someone at home with small children. But you can translate it for a weekend meal prep routine if your work has you mostly out of the house.
Recipe: Easy Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew
While prepping dinner the day before → Put a pound or two of ground beef in the fridge to defrost
While the baby takes a morning nap and the toddler is happily playing → Peel & slice veggies
After putting toddler down for midday nap (and baby goes between clinging to your legs & exploring the recycling bin) → Brown meat, add all ingredients to slow cooker, set it on high for 4 hours
At dinnertime → Dig in!
After dinner, meal prep for your kids by setting some stew aside for lunch the next day.
The payoff of starting dinner early is huge: improved odds of a peaceful meal, serving whole foods rather than quick-cooking, processed options, and maybe even involving more members of your household.
Can you imagine meal prep fitting more consistently into your unique schedule? We totally get it–it’s not always possible. But reflection on this question certainly won’t hurt. We’re here to help, so don’t hesitate to drop us a line.