Category: <span>One Local Summer</span>

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 15

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I managed to miss the farmers markets this week, but I did make it to Kimberton Whole Foods to grab a few things. It’s SO nice to have them nearby since they sell some of my local favorites and a bunch of local produce. I saw golden beets and just had to figure out something to make with them.  I settled upon a modified beet and goat cheese galette.  The crust is 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour and 2/3 cup goat’s milk yogurt.  That’s it!  Then inside are some beets, dehydrated tomatoes, red onion, zucchini and chevre.  I did this one open in a pie plate, but used the other half of the dough to make a classic galette.  All the vegetables have to be cooked before going into the dough, and then cooked together at 400F for about 30 minutes.  It’s really pretty simple – while the dough is chilling in the fridge, the vegetables are being cooked, and then it’s time to roll the dough and throw the whole shebang in the oven.  It turned out DELICIOUS and the beets cooked up perfectly.

Beet & Goat Cheese Galette:
Chevre – Shellbark Hollow Farm
Golden Beets – Lancaster Farm Fresh
Red Onion – Lancaster Farm Fresh
Tomatoes – My Garden
Zucchini – My Garden
Goat’s Milk Yogurt – Shellbark Hollow Farm
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – Mill at Anselma
Non local – coconut oil

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 14

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I was having trouble coming up with ideas this week and was feeling pretty uninspired. I had pork in the freezer, but didn’t know where else to go from there. So I googled and found Pork Afritada.  Not bad!  I had all the ingredients on hand except for the carrot, so I went for it.  Really easy to prepare and it’s sort of like a stew with a tomato base.  I did use water instead of broth and sliced tomatoes instead of sauce, but we’ve got plenty of tomatoes, so that was no problem.  Served the whole thing over bread to soak up the liquid and it was delicious (and deliciously simple)!

Pork Afritada:
Pork Cutlets – Countrytime Farm
Potato – North Star Orchard
Tomatoes – My Garden
Pepper – My Garden
Onion – North Star Orchard
Garlic – Charlestown Farm
Non Local – Salt, Pepper, Bay leaves, olive oil

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 13

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This one is pretty basic, but sometimes something simple is all you need.  Plus, I’d gathered about 8 green peppers from our two plants in the garden and this seemed like the best idea, especially after I found the FrankenOnion at the farmer’s market.  Seriously, the biggest onion I’ve ever, ever seen.  Add in some yummy bison sausage, and folks, we have a meal.  Minimal cooking and prep time, and it was just perfect.

 

Sausage and Peppers:
Bison Sausage – Backyard Bison
Green Peppers – My Garden
FrankenOnion – North Star Orchards
Blue Cheese – Birchrun Hills Farm
Bread – Sweetwater Baking
Non Local – Olive oil, salt, pepper

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 12

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This week’s inspiration came in the form of beets.  I’d seen a few recipes around the interwebs about how to make beet pasta.  Having found beets at the farmer’s market the other week, I decided to give it a go.  The recipe is below, but the basics are to roast the beets, make a puree, and then make pasta as usual, but use 1/4th cup beet puree instead of an egg or water.  Perfect!  The color came out so vibrant, but leeched a little into the water while boiling, so the finished cooked pasta was light pink instead of deep purple.  Still incredibly beautiful and different.  We decided to go with a cheese/alfredo type sauce to top it off (marinara sauce just didn’t seem right), and add some turkey and grilled zucchini to finish off the red, white, and green theme for this plate.  Turned out amazing, and the sauce, while calorie packed full of fancy cheeses, was DELICIOUS.  Just a spoon full is enough!

Beet Pasta with Cheese Sauce, Turkey, and Zucchini:
Turkey Breast – Mountain View Organics
Zucchini – Back Yard Garden
Beets – Charlestown Farm
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – Mill at Anselma
Onions – Charlestown Farm
Garlic – Charlestown Farm
Equinox Cheese  – Birchrun Hills Farm
Blue Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Goat Cheese (Oregano & Paprika) – Yellow Springs Farm
Smoked Sea Salt – Pureblend Teas
Wine – Chaddsford Winery (Pierreno Grigio)
Non Local  – Olive Oil, Pepper

 

Beet Pasta Print Print

Ingredients
3 average-sized beets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 350F.  Wash beets and remove greens.  Wrap in aluminum foil with 1 tbsp olive oil drizzled on top.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until tender.  Allow to cool and remove skins.  Process into about 1/2 cup puree.
  • Put 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour into bowl, making a well in the middle.
  • Add in 1/4 cup beet puree and 1 tbsp olive oil.
  • Mix together with your hands and kneed until dough is firm and not sticky.  Add water or flour if dough is too dry or wet.
  • Either roll through a Kitchen Aid Pasta roller/cutter or by hand with a rolling pin and knife.
  • Hang pasta and allow to dry or boil right away and enjoy!

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 11

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This is absurd.. is it really week 11 already?  Anyway, husband took the lead on this one and combined Bison, Bacon, and Blue Cheese into a hamburger.  Pretty sure that guy is a keeper.  He mixed everything together and then hand formed the burgers and gently grilled them up to absolute perfection.  Topped off with a little blue cheese and served on a locally baked roll, with a few french fries on the side, it’s your classic but classy (bacon makes everything better) burger and fries.  All done locally too!

Bacon, Bison, and Blue Burger:
Ground Bison – Backyard Bison
Blue Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Onion – Hoagland Farm
Bacon – Countrytime Farm
Potatoes – North Star Orchards
Tomato – Charlestown Farm
Roll – St. Peter’s Bakery
Non Local – Oil, salt, pepper

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 10

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We tried out a new type of zucchini this year called the 8 ball squash that grows into a ball shape instead of the normal long and narrow zucchini shape.  They just happen to be absolutely perfect for hollowing out and stuffing with all sorts of vegetables and sausage.  The polenta was an afterthough, but it fit well with the spicy chorizo.  This was a big hit, and I’m so glad we have leftovers!

Stuffed Zucchini with Polenta:
Zucchini – My Garden
Chorizo – Countrytime Farm
Corn – Hoagland Farm
Onion – Hoagland Farm
Cornmeal – Mill at Anselma
Non Local – Butter, olive oil, salt, pepper

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 9

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The bison vendor at the Phoenixville Farmers Market caught my husband’s eye this past Saturday. We decided on brisket for this week’s meal, and brisket it was.  He decided to cook it in the smoker (the temperature is around 200-250 constantly) and lay on the smoke (applewood and hickory) pretty thick in the beginning.  It was also coated with a dry rub of a whole bunch of spices/seasonings (some non local, but I think that’s okay).  I think it worked out really well – the smoky flavor came out, but the meat was still tender and juicy.  The veggies were steamed quickly and tossed with some olive oil.

Bison Brisket:
Bison – Backyard Bison
Sugar Snap Peas – North Star Orchard
Carrots – Charlestown Farm
Cheese – Birchrun Hills (Fat Cat & Matilda’s Summer Tomme)
Sesame Semolina Bread – St. Peter’s Bakery
Maple Sugar – Miller’s Maple
Non Local – olive oil, paprika, pepper, garlic powder, salt

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 8

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I’m late getting this one posted, but it was cooked during week 8, honest! We had an abundance of dill growing in the planter on our deck, so I decided to make some tzatziki, one of my summer favorites. It’s just cucumbers in yogurt with dill, but I LOVE dill like nobody’s business.  Husband grilled up the chicken to perfection, and our guest, Abbie, slid all the vegetables (squash, onions, and bok choy) onto a skewer that also went onto the grill.  Pretty basic, but it was DELICIOUS and we were able to put it together last-minute before dinner.

Chicken with tzatziki and vegetables:
Chicken – Mt. View Organics
Cucumbers – North Star Orchard
Dill – My Garden
Squash – North Star Orchard
Candy Onion – Smith’s Produce (Anselma Market)
Bok Choy – North Star Orchard
Smoked Sea Salt – Pureblend Teas
Non local – olive oil, pepper, red wine vinegar