The Grande Finale…of sorts

This years challenge had a hard time getting started and getting going…but a few of us were able to eat locally and eat well all month long.  It was delicious.  As always I love seeing all the good food, getting inspiration for my own cooking and meeting my (and your) farmers.  for me eating locally is, of course, about making choices that might benefit our environment, but mostly it’s about fresh food, supporting local business and getting to know my farmer.

As always there were many folks who signed up to participate, but never quite got going.  I hope that you too were inspired by some of the good eats and while you may have never sent in a photo of your food – I hope you ate well, supported your farmers and enjoyed our posts.

on to the food

WEST COAST

Beth – California

Dinner was fava beans, corn, and salad.  Dessert was a melon popsicle.

 

• From my garden:  cucumber and purple bell pepper.
• From my CSA:  lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, musk melon
• From the farmers market:  fava beans, avocado, corn, garlic, olive oil (!)

I'm very happy that I got in a dessert, got local beans, and finally bought some local olive oil.

Kathy, Liz, Matt and Nathan – Washington

Tonight we had Zucchini ricotta cheesecake and corn chowder

In the zucchini cheesecake was:

• Zucchini (obviously!), garlic, shallots from jubilee farm, Carnation, WA
• Ricotta made from milk and buttermilk from Smith brothers Farm, Kent, WA
• Basil from our yard
• Eggs from our chickens

This was a really good recipe http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/zucchini-ricotta-cheesecake-recipe.html.  Surprisingly light—not eggy like quiche and not heavy like cheesecake and it was easy to make. We made it with shredded zucchini, but you could use most any vegetable.

The corn chowder was one of the best I’ve eaten. The recipe was in a recent issue of Cooks illustrated http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=29692

In it was:

• Corn from Magana Farms, Sunnyside, WA
• Bacon from Blue Valley meats, Walla Walla, WA
• Onion from Jubilee Farm
• Potatoes from somewhere in Yakima, WA
• Basil from my yard

MIDWEST

Wyatt and Maura – Michigan

This weeks meal was butternut squash soup (squash, onion, garlic were local)  had to search elsewhere fore curry and cinnamon (Sorry!)

• Green beans - Veg from farmers market,  beans were frozen from earlier this season
• NY strip steak - Bearfoot Farms  Paw Paw , MI about 20 min

Kids wouldn't even try the soup but the 10 month old loved it.

Thanks, Erin
Keep it Local
Wyatt and Maura

 

Erin (your hostess) Illinois

So I had this grand plan to pick up some local vodka (there are a couple choices actually!), but it didn’t happen.  Luckily, Lara (who has participated a few weeks of this challenge) picked up a local cherry wine for me while she was in Door County Wisconsin late last month.  I made a local sangria!

I added apple and raspberries (that I froze early this summer).  Cheers!

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Thanks to all who participated this year – it’s always fun for me to get a little peek into your lives this way.  Keep it local!

xoxo

erin

Comments

[haya]

oh man. i totally dropped the ball on this this fall. we have been eating really well (crazy good peaches this year, likely thanks to the august heat wave) and super locally. the giant pot of beef + veggie chili going on the stove tonight is sourced from two farms, down the road from each other (minus the beans. i haven't been able to find local dry beans around here).
we just returned from a weekend at the farm with a car packed to the gills with produce and beef, my favourite of which are the 8 quarts of raspberries! i think a pie is in order.

that melon popsicle looks so refreshing! (i'm kind of nursing an extra sore throat right now. think it would hit the spot)

[erin]

mmmm, haya...that all sounds so good! see, this is why the picture portion of this challenge is so satisfying! you'll join us next year, yes?