One Local Summer

OLS: Week 3

By Sheetar 22 June 2009 22 June 2009

I’m a little late on this one, but we spent all of week 3 in Scotland. So, I think that’s okay, right?

For the record, this was a lunch meal and I tend to go heavier on the green things and lighter on the meat for lunches, hence the big blob of green on the plate and little bitty blob of chicken. In the back is red lettuce from Kimberton Whole Foods, marked as grown locally, unknown farm. On top of the salad are little turnip chips – dehydrated turnip slices from turnips found at the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market during Week 1. In the very front is that delicious back-porch dill and goat’s milk yogurt from Week 2 (frozen while we were away, and then thawed to enjoy again). The chicken roulade is made with chicken again from Eberly Poultry – pounded out thin. Inside the chicken is dill and basil from the deck, bacon from Country Time Farm, sundried tomatoes from last year’s garden, and ‘Dillicious’ cheese from Clover Creek Cheese Cellar.

Not Local: Olive oil for cooking the roulade and the salad dressing.

This meal gave me a whole lot of leftovers since I used the whole pound of chicken for the roulade and will likely keep me well fed for the week. I still have the leftovers from last week’s meal in the freezer too! I think I’ll make a trip to the Anselma Market on Wednesday to find ingredients for Week four. If anyone knows of a source of local flour, I’d love to hear about it! I might be up to try my hand at home made pasta for something different.

One Local Summer

OLS: Week 2

By Sheetar 11 June 2009 11 June 2009

Week 2 of One Local Summer is cooked and consumed already.

I did say dill last week right? I should’ve said yogurt would be the theme of this week’s meal. Let’s go over what’s on that plate. In the front, Sugar Snap Peas picked up at Kimberton Whole Foods (KWF) in Kimberton, PA. They were labelled as being grown locally, but didn’t mention which farm. The skewered chicken, also found at KWF is from Eberly Poultry and was marinated in olive oil and lemon juice before being tossed on the grill. The sauce over the chicken is a sort of cucumberless tzatziki sauce using goat’s milk yogurt from Shellbark Hollow Farm and dill from the deck planter. In the back is wilted turnip greens from the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market with a few sun-dried tomatoes from last year’s garden (roasted and then frozen, thawed, dehydrated). Dessert is the same goat’s milk yogurt with some fresh Lancaster County farm-stand strawberries blended in.

Non-local ingredients: Olive Oil, lemon juice, spices (marinade for the chicken)

Now let’s go over why I LOVE LOVE LOVE this meal. First, my obsession with dill – it’s limitless. I pretty much believe that dill belongs in everything and I love the Oregon Herb bread that the Great Harvest Bread Company makes because the herb pretty much means dill. Sadly, I don’t think cucumbers are in season around here yet, but even without the cucumber, that tzatziki sauce was delicious. MMMmm dill. And the chicken with the marinade worked out perfectly – so soft and juicy and DELICIOUS. But, my new find of the week and a new favorite is that goat’s milk yogurt from Shellbark Hollow Farm. There’s something about the goat’s milk that gives the yogurt a little extra zip or zing or pizzazz. You should go and check out the website for Shellbark Hollow and watching the “awwwww” inspiring videos on the goat of the month page. I have a feeling that the goat’s milk products will be making a regular appearance in my diet now that I’ve found out how incredible they taste. And now, as I sit here and digest that wonderful meal, I’m already making plans for the leftovers.. Frozen Goat’s Milk Strawberry Yogurt anyone?

One Local Summer

OLS: Week 1

By Sheetar 6 June 2009 6 June 2009

This is my first week doing the One Local Summer challenge. Here’s my entry!

In the front are some DELICIOUS oyster mushrooms from Oley Valley Mushrooms. In the back is a turkey breast from Mountain View Poultry, cooked up using the rotisserie in our mega toaster oven. That toaster oven sees way more action than our big oven since it makes more sense for the two of us (and usually the one of me), using less energy and not heating up the whole house like the big oven does. A 9×9 pan fits comfortably in the toaster oven which is generally more than enough for me. The pesto sauce was made from the container full of basil on the back deck and was brushed on while the turkey was cooking as well as on the finished product. Salad greens are from, well I can’t remember which farm was selling them at the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market, but they were the highlight of the whole plate, honest. Crisp and fresh and very tasty.

Non-local items used: Olive oil (on the mushrooms, salad, and in the pesto sauce), Salt, Pepper, Pine nuts (Pesto sauce), and vinegar (salad).

Not bad for a first try, huh? I found it really challenging to come up with something not using olive oil – I use it all the time and it’s difficult to think up a meal that doesn’t need some king of oil when cooking. For next week, I think the dill plant will be up for a serious pruning. 🙂

One Local Summer

By Sheetar 30 May 2009 30 May 2009

I remember seeing the One Local Summer blog posts when we were getting settled into our new home that is conveniently located within walking distance of our local farmer’s market. We have some really fantastic vendors and it’s a thing I’ve grown to love in the two years that we’ve lived here. SUCH a wide variety of goods from bison to chicken and pork to all sorts of vegetables and some of the best bread I’ve ever had. Having never participated, I figured this would be the year! Admittedly, I’m not much of a cook, but I can do the basics when I have to and this gives me a fun summer goal and a way to eat better and eat locally grown goods. So, here’s to the start of one local summer!