One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 14

By Sheetar 6 September 2013 4 September 2013

Veal Marsala! One of the husband’s sisters was visiting and this was a quickie last minute meal for us. We decided that the veal should be breaded, which turned out to be easier than I thought! Add some potatoes and mushrooms cooked in a kinda-local wine, and we have a meal! The wine is a Marechal Foch from the Flag Hill Winery in New Hampshire, and the proceeds benefit the local Human Society. We visited the winery on vacation and brought this back with us, so while it’s not really local, I’m allowing it since it travelled with us, and didn’t make a special extra trip on a truck. Everything came together wonderfully, and having those two colors of potatoes on the plate was really fun.

Veal Marsala:
Veal – Birchrun Hills
Blue Potatoes – Jack’s Farm
Yellow Fingerlings – Brogue Hydroponics
Mushrooms – Oley Valley Mushrooms
Wine – Flag Hill Winery
Egg – Deep Roots Valley Farm
Flour – Mill at Anselma
Non Local – salt, pepper, olive oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 13

By Sheetar 4 September 2013 4 September 2013

Breakfast, a classic, and a sort of lazy way to get at making this week’s meal. Not going to lie, I’m starting to lose steam on this, being busy and having little time to cook, but hey, breakfast is a meal, so it works. In the back is a bowl of nectarines (SO GOOD, it’s like the sun was leaking out of them). On the main plate are blue potato home fries, pork sausage, a chunk of goat’s cheese, and scrambled eggs. A pretty hearty breakfast, and to top it all off, my usual double shot of espresso (not local, but absolutely necessary). I’m a little behind on posts, but I swear I’ll catch up!

Sausage, Eggs, and Potatoes:
Blue Potatoes – Jack’s Farm
Eggs – Deep Roots Valley Farm
Chevre – Shellbark Hollow Farm
Pork Sausage – Countrytime Farm
Nectarines – North Star Orchard
Non Local – Espresso, salt, pepper, olive oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 12

By Sheetar 13 August 2013 13 August 2013

I’m sort of split on this one. I had a great idea, it just ended up being poorly executed mostly due to a bad recipe. Yep, that’s supposed to be a taco shell. Unfortunately, I used this recipe, instead of the one I had used before, and got what’s basically a cornmeal crepe instead of a hard taco shell. It leaks, doesn’t hold together, and it basically rubbish. Everything else was great though – the ground pork came out great, the squash was wonderful, the fruit sweet, and the sheep’s milk feta cheese! YUM! Oh well, at least I know better for next time! A quick note on the nectarine and plum – our local orchard was hit by a hail storm earlier this season and fruit has been pretty scarce in comparison with prior years. They put up a sign on their fruit bins at the market that the fruit is, “Hail kissed but still delicious!” It makes me laugh every time, and they’re right. Visual imperfections don’t make the fruit taste any different.

Pork Tacos and Fruit:
Cantaloupe – Brogue Hydroponics
Nectarine – North Star Orchard
Plum – North Star Orchard
Egg – Deep Roots Valley Farm
Flour – Mill at Anselma
Cornmeal – Mill at Anselma
Squash – Maysie’s Farm
Ground Pork – Bendy Brook Farm
Onion – Maysie’s Farm
Tomato – Maysie’s Farm
Sheep’s Milk Feta – King’s Creamery
Lettuce – Brogue Hydroponics
Non Local – olive oil, salt, pepper, taco seasoning

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 11

By Sheetar 9 August 2013 5 August 2013

We missed our normal market this week, so we checked out a different one nearby at the Mill at Anselma. It’s definitely a smaller market, but I really enjoy the vendors who show up there. We kept it simple again this week, opting for a summer classic – corn on the cob and beer can chicken. The beer we used was 21st Amendment’s Hell or High Watermelon, so, not local, but it’s basically used as a source of steam to keep the chicken moist while it cooks. The chicken did come out REALLY tender and delicious, and paired with that crisp salad and corn that was SO so sweet, it was a really delightful meal.

Beer Can Chicken:
Chicken – Bendy Brook Farm
Corn – Brogue Hydroponics
Lettuce – Brogue Hydroponics
Cucumber – Maysie’s Farm
Tomato – Maysie’s Farm
Non local – spices, salt, pepper, olive oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 10

By Sheetar 5 August 2013 5 August 2013

TEN weeks already – time is flying by. Husband cooked up this one as well, as you can tell from his summertime favorite there on the plate, a grilled peach with cheese. We picked up a pork loin at the farmer’s market and he cooked that up on the rotisserie on the grill after having rubbed it down with his signature pork rub (the same one from the pork butt). Add in some vegetables, and it makes a meal! Short and sweet this week, but it was really delicious.

Pork Loin and Vegetables:
Pork Loin – Countrytime Farm
Zucchini – North Star Orchard
Onion – North Star Orchard
Tomatoes – North Star Orchard
Peaches – North Star Orchard
Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Non local – spices, salt, pepper, olive oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 9

By Sheetar 28 July 2013 5 August 2013

Husband is back on cooking duty with this one. Meat and potatoes, couldn’t you tell?! We had missed out on getting the pork butt at the farmer’s market for a few weeks since the pork vendor was sold out, but we managed to score one this week. Husband rubbed the butt (HURRR) with his own blend of paprika, maple sugar, toasted onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The rub isn’t all local, but it’s the smallest part of the meal, so we’ll allow it. The pork butt went into the smoker for six hours at which point, we deemed it done. On the back of the plate is a summer favorite around here, a grilled peach with blue cheese, then potatoes, and red cabbage cooked in balsamic vinegar (on the grill in tin foil). Pretty easy, and all cooked outside, keeping the house cool!

Pork Butt with Vegetables:
Pork Butt – Countrytime Farm
Cabbage – North Star Orchards
Potatoes – North Star Orchards
Peaches – North Star Orchards
Blue Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Non local – balsamic vinegar, pork rub, salt, pepper, olive oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 8

By Sheetar 24 July 2013 24 July 2013

I finally had a chance to incorporate pasta this week! I had some peaches and golden beets from Saturday’s farmers market trip, so I incorporated those into the pasta and sauce, using a puree of the beets and peaches to be my liquid in the pasta dough (1/4 cup liquid to 1 cup flour). What’s great about making your own pasta is that you can substitute any liquid or puree and make some really neat pasta. The color doesn’t show up in this one, but the flavor did – the peaches added an interesting sweetness. The sauce was made from a whole bunch of leftover vegetables in the fridge. I had some tomatoes on hand, threw in onions, garlic scapes, and the leftover puree from the pasta. It made the sauce a more orangey color, but was still delicious. The chicken sausage was leftover in the freezer from the prior chicken vendor at the market who moved to Florida over the winter. I miss her, but I did stock up well before she left!

Peachy Pasta with Potatoes and Chicken Sausage:
Chicken Florentine Sausage – Mountain View Organics
Potatoes – Jack’s Farm
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – Mill at Anselma
Garlic Scapes – Jack’s Farm
Clipper Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Tomatoes – Jack’s Farm
Golden Beets – Charlestown Farm
Onion – Jack’s Farm
Non local – Olive oil, salt, pepper

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 7

By Sheetar 15 July 2013 12 July 2013

A sort of impromptu dinner with a friend made this week’s meal. I happened to not have made my meal for the week when she arrived for a visit over the long holiday weekend, but I happened to have lettuce and a bunch of vegetables in the fridge, so we put together our own BIG salads. The dressing was dill, goat’s millk yogurt, roasted garlic, and onions all blended together – it came out a little thin, but it tasted great. The vegetables are more snap peas, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers and a ton of lettuce. Not bad for a last minute meal, and not a single non-local ingredient was used! The dressing container, in case you’re wondering, is a mason jar with a ReCap lid on top – they’re a fantastic invention, built from a Kickstarter project that I helped fund. They’re now selling the caps here!

Summer Salad:
Tomatoes – Jack’s Farm
Cucumber – Jack’s Farm
Zucchini – Jack’s Farm
Lettuce – Jack’s Farm
Garlic – North Star Orchards
Onions – Jack’s Farm
Dill – Jack’s Farm
Goat’s Milk Yogurt – Shellbark Hollow Farm