It's finally September, and although it didn't bring with it any cooler temperatures yet, it always brings change to our lives. Jeremy started back to school last week and Kira's kindergarten orientation was today. Next week, she starts to school, and the week after I send Alayna to her last year of preschool. As for me, September always brings about a lot of change in the garden. Out with the old, droopy plants and in with the new fall crops. It takes a lot of work (and in this heat! ugh!), but come the colder days it is worth it when we still have fresh salads and root crops from our own backyard!
This September, I also discovered that there was a challenge put forth in central NY for eating local. I took the idea to the foodshed and then on to the reporter who is researching local foods and reporting it out to our local community. The challenge is simple: eat only local foods grown or produced within a 100 mile radius of your home (250 miles optional for some harder to find ingredients). This includes ingredients to make any foods purchased. Some are challenged to eat this way for 30 days, others a week, and those new to the concept can join the 1 day challenge.
Although I already eat primarily local foods, I've never limited myself this completely. I'm going to do the week long challenge (I'd do 30 days, but not in the same season that our family is already in upheaval!). I'll let you faithful followers know when I start and how I do, but for now, I want to help out those who are already in the challenge. Most of my home-cooked meals are completely local, and I thought I'd spend the next month or so sharing them with those who are interested. One thing I've noticed a lot in reading about the local food journeys of others is the lack of variety, which is essential to my style of cooking (and eating!). It won't be my usual bantering about my not-so-simple life, but I hope it helps!
When possible, I'll include locations where I bought the ingredients or cooking tips...
WARNING! Do NOT read if hungry!
I'll start with my birthday dinner from this past Sunday:
I really wanted a local birthday dinner to welcome in my next year of life, so in my usual tradition, I cooked for myself. Don't feel bad...I love to cook! Ask my old friends from Oklahoma. Every year come my birthday, I'd invite all my friends over for a big party and cook all day to feed them all! I miss those days. Anyway...
This year, I decided to grill some steaks. I started with grass fed sirloin bone-in steaks from Sunnybrook Farm in Deansboro, NY. I've never grilled steak before, but I had a "new" grill that I stole off the curb when my neighbors moved and left it behind (with a paper sign on it that said "works" but was missing a wheel). So, I made a marinade with a little olive oil (not local, but will always be one of my wild cards!), apple cider vinegar (from a local orchard), and some Backyard Bullweed rub from Walking Clover Farm that I purchased through the Foodshed Buying Club in Utica. I left it in the fridge most of the day while I celebrated my birthday by making pickles and putting up a huge harvest of veggies in the freezer.
When the grill was ready and our stomachs were growling, I seared the steaks over high heat and then cooked them on the grill for about 10 minutes to get them to medium well.
I had just harvested a heap of white heirloom pole beans from my garden, so I steamed those and tossed them with a dab of butter (from Maine, but the closest to local I had on hand) and any fresh herbs I had in the garden (I think it was thyme, oregano, parlsey, and chives!). These beans were sent to me by a friend in Oklahoma who had inherited the seeds from her grandmother. I have no idea what the variety is, but I love them!
I also had a nice box of baby potatoes that I harvested about 2 weeks prior. I noticed a little yellowing of the leaves before I went on vacation, so rather than have my Dad (gardener while I was away on my vacation) stress over the keeping of my potatoes alive in case of fungal disaster, I decided to early harvest them. I was delighted to find a huge array of multi-colored potatoes under the dirt. I had several large potatoes ready for storage, and bowls full of the tiny, velvety, almost sweet new potatoes. I tossed these new potatoes with a little olive oil and some thyme and rosemary then slow roasted them while the rest of the dinner cooked. The kids were delighted with the purple ones, and I heard remarks from both kids and husband on how good they were!
On Thursdays, I stop by Old Path Farms and pick up my weekly box of CSA veggies. This past week, we had a bunch of braising greens. First, I fried some bacon from Sweet Grass Farms. I drained off most of the bacon grease; chopped up a few of the Sweet Alisa Onions from my garden, added some spicy Danube Rose garlic cloves again from Walking Clover Farms, and heated them slowly in the same pan with a little olive oil. When everything was soft and carmalized, I wilted in the greens and simmered them for a few minutes.
Last, but not at all least, I grabbed one of the quarts of cherry tomatoes resting on my counter after being picked in the cooler morning sun. I popped them in a hot oven until the skins popped. Ooooooooooo! They were so sweet and concentrated that they were like candy! I grow several varieties of cherry tomatoes: chocolate cherry, yellow pear, honey bunch, sungold, sprite, super sweet, and more...
The meal, of course, was highlighted for the adults with a wine from Three Brother's Winery in Geneva, which I picked up on my way home from a site visit for work.
Hungry yet???? Keep reading this month for more!
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