Tag: <span>sausage</span>

Tag: sausage

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 22

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CHILI! My favorite, and the first time we’ve been able to pull this off as a one local summer meal.  Our local orchard, North Star, had been experimenting with growing beans and drying them, so we finally got a harvest and my FIRST thought upon seeing them at the market was CHILI!  Husband again took the lead on this since he’s the chili master and had this amazing stuff simmering in the crock pot all day.  I can honestly tell you that the only thing holding us back from the chili was the beans, and we had been pretty much doing this locally anyway, using bison instead of cow beef since it makes the resulting chili way less greasy.  The whole meal together on the table was incredible – the asian pears were heated up a bit and drizzled with maple syrup.  We managed to get enough tomatoes from the volunteer tomato plants to put in salads, so that worked out great.  Really can’t wait to do this again!

Chili with Cornbread and Salad:
Bison – Backyard Bison
Hot Bison Sausage – Backyard Bison
Beans – North Star Orchard
Celery – North Star Orchard
Peppers – Jack’s Farm
Jalapenos – Charlestown Farm
Onions – Jack’s Farm
Tomato sauce – Homemade, frozen from prior harvest
Tomatoes – Our Garden
Asian Pears – North Star Orchard
Cornmeal – Mill at Anselma
Flour – Mill at Anselma
Maple Sugar – Miller’s Maple
Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Salad Greens – Jack’s Farm
Non Local – cocoa powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2013 – Week 8

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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 2012 – Week 25

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Breakfast!  This is another don’t adjust your monitor type meals.  Yes, those are potatoes, and yes, they’re sort of a purplish blue.  AND, I grew them myself!  I’d always wanted to try potatoes in the garden, but we have really terrible clay-filled soil and it didn’t seem like they’d work given the soil we have (we’re working on that, tilling in compost every year, but it takes time).  I found something online this year about planting potatoes in big barrels or planters, so I gave that a go.  Unfortunately, I think a got a very late start with them, so I only got two smallish potatoes (plus two wee little potatoes I’m using as ‘seeds’ for next year) and they amounted to what’s on the plate.  They’re blue potatoes, which is what makes them so neat.  They seem to have a higher starch content and are a little firmer than regular potatoes, but cook up just yummy as home fries.  There’s also sausage and scrambled eggs, and since I slept in a little this morning, it ended up being a perfectly sized plate for brunch.  The mug has Lemon Gingersnap tea in it to finish off the meal.

Home Fries, Eggs, and Sausage:
Eggs – Mt. View Organics
Potatoes – My Garden
Sausage – Countrytime Farm
Non local – Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2012 – Week 24

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On my own this week (and a little behind, still/again, on posting), but here’s glorious week 24.  Simple, as is my style, we have sweet potatoes, mild burgundy Italian pork sausage, and the fancy bit is the saffron polenta stars, pan fried to be crispy.  Saffron polenta, you say? Saffron isn’t local!  OH YES IT IS.  If you can grow crocuses in your area, you can grow saffron.  Three little red filaments poke out of every little purple  saffron crocus  flower that blooms in the fall.  Pull out the red filaments, dry, and you too can have your own saffron.  This was made with the saffron harvested last fall (I usually get about a teaspoon of saffron from my six bulbs).  It’s not a lot, and requires checking for new flowers every morning for about a month, but pays off!  For the price of six bulbs (which cost about $15 for the six), I’ve got free saffron for as long as the bulbs last (typically a lifetime or more).  It’s pretty neat and is the big star of this meal (HURRR GET IT?!).

Pork Sausage with Sweet Potatoes and Saffron Polenta:
Sweet Potatoes – Jack’s Farm
Mild Italian Burgundy Pork Sausage – Countrytime Farm
Cornmeal – Mill at Anselma
Saffron – My Garden
Non local – Salt, pepper, olive oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2012 – Week 17

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I was on my own this week, so I did a recipe from last year since it was one of my all time favorites.  The husband does NOT like fennel, so I get to go wild and cook with it when he’s gone which is fine with me.  MORE FENNEL FOR ME!  It’s pretty basic – Sweet potatoes, roasted with fennel at 350F in the oven for about 45 minutes (or until the potatoes are just about tender), and then the sausage is laid on top for the another 30 minutes.  The way the flavors all melt together is just perfect, and it reheats well later too.  The wee green things in front are more Mexican Sour Gherkins.  I have ONE plant in the garden and it’s been going wild on me.  I haven’t found another use for them other than nomming them down fresh, but I’m thinking a big jar of refrigerator pickles may be in order soon.

Sweet Potatoes with Fennel and Sausage:
Sweet Potatoes – Jack’s Farm
Fennel – North Star Orchard
Turkey Sausage – Mt View Organics
Mexican Sour Gherkins – My Garden
Non Local – Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2012 – Week 14

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Here’s where I admit there was a little cheating going on with a few of our ‘weeks’ in the challenge. We had a two week vacation to Scotland, so these weren’t exactly cooked during the exact week listed. It’s pretty close, but I figure we’re still making the local meal, even if it’s later, so it counts in my book.  This meal is particularly interesting.  The sausage is from a little farm in New Hampshire, so it’s not local to where my home is, but we passed through while on vacation, so I’m saying it works.  The farm is a small farm, run by a lovely couple, and every time we vacation up that way, we stop in usually to feed my yarn and fiber habit, but decided to bring back home some meat this time.  Husband wasn’t as impressed with the taste of the goat meat – the texture is more firm than other sausages – but I liked it well enough.  The meal is your basic sausage and peppers, with tomato sauce we made using tomatoes from our garden.  It’s been a really great year for tomatoes, finally, given the last two were pretty dismal.  Here’s the ingredient rundown, and I’m still catching up on posts for the last few weeks, so bear with me!

Sausage and Peppers:
Goat Sausage – Riverslea Farms
Onion – Maysie’s Farm
Peppers – Maysie’s Farm
Melon – Smith’s Produce
Tomato Sauce – My Garden
Non Local – Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2012 – Week 6

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Zucchini are finally coming into season and we’re indulging in ALL THE ZUCCHINI!  Husband took the lead on this meal again, cooked on the grill, and we dined al fresco.  It’s been so nice that the weather has been compliant for outdoor cooking and eating – we’ve had a relatively nice spring/summer so far.  On that plate is a Maple Apple sausage which really was something incredible.  The outside was glazed in maple syrup and just perfectly sweet while the inside was savory.  Really just the perfect combination.  The grilled vegetables at the bottom of the plate are Zucchini, Broccoli, and Turnips, and the salad at the top is Lettuce, Turnips, Garlic Scapes, Spring Onion, and Blue Cheese, tossed with non local Balsamic Vinegar.  There is a glass of wine along with the meal as well, a Gewurztraminer from the Mount Hope winery.  And, if you notice there, the vegetables take up over half the plate and were oh so delicious.  We have a pan for the grill that looks like someone took a hole puncher to a sheet of aluminum and went wild, and it works great for grilling vegetables – everything mixes together and comes out just right.  This could also be attributed to husband’s chefly abilities.  We did inadvertently agitate the Robin who is nesting under our deck and sitting on some eggs, but apologized profusely to her and allowed her to nest undisturbed for the rest of the evening.

Sausage, Vegetables and Salad:
Maple Apple Sausage: Mt View Organics
Zucchini – Jack’s Farm
Turnips – Jack’s Farm
Garlic Scapes – Jack’s Farm
Spring Onion – Jack’s Farm
Blue Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Broccoli – Charlestown Farm
Romaine Lettuce – Charlestown Farm
Gewurztraminer – Mount Hope Winery
Non Local –  Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Balsamic Vinegar

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 21

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This week, the husband is back home and cooking!  He made chicken wings (from our favorite local chicken vendor) the night prior which involves boiling the wings and then finishing them to crispy perfection on the grill.  But that’s not what this post is about.  The broth left behind from boiling the wings is perfect for soup!  Add in some carrots, celery, onions, sage, garlic, cilantro, sausage, and turnips, let simmer for a while, and VOILA!  SOUP!  It’s gotten colder, and I just love soup season, mostly because the husband is such a fantastic soup chef.

Sausage and Vegetable Soup:
Italian Turkey Sausage – Mountain View Organics
Smoked Pork Sausage – Countrytime Farm
Carrots – North Star Orchards
Garlic – Jack’s Farm
Celery – North Star Orchards
Sage – Jack’s Farm
Cilantro – Jack’s Farm
Turnips – Jack’s Farm
Potatoes – Jack’s Farm
Onions – Hoagland Farm
Smoked Sea Salt – Pureblend Tea
Chicken Broth – Mountain View Organics (from chicken wings)
Bread – St. Peter’s Bakery
Wine – Sand Castle Winery