Stocking Up
This weekend was all about stocking up and planning for meals in the upcoming week. As someone who typically doesn’t decide until right before I make dinner, what I am actually having for dinner, this is especially challenging for me. So, in addition to customizing my Farm Fresh Delivery (which will be arriving Wednesday) I went to the Carmel Farmers Market and purchased all the foods shown in the image above (a total of $73, with the goat cheese being the most expensive single item at $13). Additionally, I went to Traders Point Creamery where I purchased my yogurt, milk and cheeses for the week.
Going Local Again: Rhaya’s Day 1
Breakfast consisted of a goat cheese and tomato omelet. It was very delicious but I certainly looked longingly at the coffeemaker as I ate my meal. For lunch, I kept things light with some plums, some sauteed eggplant, and for a side I had one of my greatest finds at the market yesterday, Mushroom Pate. This pate (back by popular demand) is made by the girls at Country Mouse, City Mouse and is made with all local ingredients. The mushrooms are from Homestead Growers, the dairy products are from Traders Point Creamery, and the goat cheese (which make it REALLY smooth) is from Capriole Farms. (And the container it comes in is 100% biodegradable, so it can be composted.) I have yet to still find a local bread or cracker (which is how you should typical enjoy this pate) so I kept it local by eating it on slices of cucumber, which I thought was still delicious.
For dinner, I tried Gazpacho for the first time. Since the weather is still warm, this cool soup was a refreshing appetizer. To round out the summery meal, I had some corn on the cob and cottage cheese.
Local Gazpacho
I have never made Gazpacho before but based on the amount of tomatoes we have (courtesy of our mini garden in our backyard) I decided it would be a fun cool soup to try. (For other cool soups check out this post and this one.) I found a multitude of variations of Gazpacho on the internet, but ended up modifying the one I found here.
Local Gazpacho
4 large tomatoes
1 red pepper
1/2 cucumber (peeled)
1/2 small onion
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water
salt
Roughly chop up all the veggies and add EVERYTHING to a blender. Blend for only a few seconds (for a more chunky soup) and then strain out the water until it is at a desired consistency.
Chill before serving.
The end result is very refreshing, and makes a perfect side dish or appetizer. (Unless you really like tomatoes, and then it can be the main entree.)
Cucumber & Tomato Salad
In addition to bringing me fresh fruits and veggies week after week, Farm Fresh Delivery also sends along some recipes in the produce bin. These recipes are always in tune with what’s in season, and this one especially stood out to me because it has an Asian twist on the original Cucumber and Tomato salad with vinegar. It a refreshing side dish on any hot day!
Cucumber & Tomato Salad
1 cucumber
1-2 tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil (or Peanut Oil)
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (or Rice Wine)
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon (more or less) of Sesame Seeds
Use a vegetable peeler to remove most of the cucumber skin and cut off the ends. Slice lengthwise once and then slice into thin “half moons”. Core and dice the tomatoes and add with the cucumber slices in a mixing bowl. Add in the oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame seeds and gently mix everything together. Chill for 20 minutes before serving.
This recipe is adapted from the Beth Blessing original recipe that came with the delivery. For more recipes from Farm Fresh Delivery, visit their web site.
It’s time for Going Local!
Is it September already? The summer has once again sped by with an abundance of warm weather and farm fresh foods. While we have enjoyed our brief seasonal hiatus, we are ready pour over all those emails, articles and RSS feeds that are getting dusty in our inbox. We also figure there is no better way to kick off September than taking advantage of the local foods in our area and have decided we will be Going Local again! Following in our footsteps from last year, we will be undertaking the challenge to only eat foods that have been grown and harvested in a 100 mile radius of our homes.
So, starting September 7th, the gals at Green-Lemonade.com will be Going Local again! Stay tuned for daily updates, recipes and new local food finds.
Local Eggs Florentine
You don’t have to travel to Italy to enjoy local Eggs Florentine. As Farmers Markets open across the Midwest, and other parts of the country, eating locally has just got easier. The following dish (made from a simple recipe that I found in Domino Magazine) is a great one to serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
I started with a crusty whole wheat locally-baked bread. (The bakery uses ingredients in nearby states — not many of the ingredients found in bread are available in Indiana.) Next, I spread on some Fromage Blanc from Traders Point Creamery (although recipe calls for Ricotta and Parmesan cheese). Atop that, I laid some lightly sauteed spinach from my parents garden and a fried egg (fresh from Phelps Family Farms stand at the Carmel Farmers Market).
The result was a hearty, rich and healthy dish. Bellissimo!
*Reader’s Recipe* Asparagus & Eggs Any Time of Day
After my post about Asparagus a few weeks ago, we received an email from Aly, in Florida who said she “grew up on asparagus and eggs as a breakfast, lunch or dinner option” and included the recipe below for a tasty asparagus and eggs dish. I loved the egg and asparagus combo and have made it several times already. It’s especially good with a little shredded local cheddar cheese over the top and a toasted slice of my favorite olive loaf bread from our farmer’s market.
Asparagus & Eggs
serves 2
- Saute some cut up asparagus in a small amount of olive oil and a couple of cloves of garlic, sprinkle some dried oregano, salt and pepper over it as it cooks.
- While the asparagus cooks, whisk 4 or 5 eggs in a bowl, adding a little milk.
- Pour the eggs over the asparagus and let it cook for a few minutes until the eggs are done. (You can see from the picture above that I ended up scrambling mine as the eggs set.)
- Top with fresh tomatoes and enjoy with some crusty Italian bread
Thanks for the recipe Aly!
Do you have a favorite tip or recipe you would like to share? Go ahead and send it our way, we’ll give it a whirl in our “test kitchen” and if we like it, we just may post about it!
Earth Day Event in Albany, NY
If you are out and about this Saturday enjoying the beautiful weather predicted in the Albany, NY area, be sure to stop by Honest Weight Food Co-op Earth Day Celebration.
The event should be educational and fun for the whole family featuring live music, food-related films, food samples, a local foods lunch (I’ve been helping with the prep so I promise it will be good!), free tree and shrub seedlings and much more! It takes place at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave., on this Saturday, April 19, from 11-4.
For more information, check out this flier or contact the Honest Weight Foods Co-op.
“Beet” this Salad
I have never had any desire to eat beets in my entire life, that is, up until I kept bumping into them at the farmer’s market and the co-op every week. But I have to admit that I even bought a few here and there; they ended up sitting in the drawer of my refrigerator until they were so old I decided they were no longer good! Shame on me.
But one day I came across a “Rawsome Beet Salad” in the “to go” section of the deli at the co-op, I decided to give it a whirl, and it was delicious! Slightly sweet with an earthy crunch, these beets were starting to win me over despite their ugly exterior. I then came across a few juicing recipes calling for beets and after reading a little more about their great nutritional profile, (protecting against heart disease and cancer), the rest is history.
One of my favorite beet recipes is a raw Beet & Carrot Salad. Ever heard of eating all colors of the rainbow? This salad (pictured above) incorporates raw beets into a hearty vegetable salad using a variety of chopped beautiful veggies and is a combination I came up with based on that first encounter with beets from the co-op and a recipe in a book by Natalia Rose.
Raw Beet & Carrot Salad
Mix the following ingredients in a big bowl and let sit to marinate for about 15 minutes before serving. Feel free to modify adding more or less of something to suite your own taste, I even like to add a few shavings of raw cheese over the top of mine.
1 beet, julienned on a mandoline, or shredded
1-2 carrots shredded
1/2 cup broccoli florets, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup pepper (any color), chopped
5-6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 Tbsp. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
juice of half of a lemon
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1-2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
dash of salt and pepper
Just a warning: beets have an intense red color that can stain your fingers and countertops, so clean up quickly after working with them.
Asparagus Season
It seems as though spring has finally sprung here in upstate NY (thankfully!) and so marks the coming of asparagus season. Since it’s available seemingly year round in some of our big-box groceries these days it may be easy to forget that the freshest, most tasty, asparagus shows up right about now if you are getting it locally. But it’s only available for a relatively short period, usually only around 6 weeks in most parts of of the U.S.
Aside from its delicious flavor and versatility in many dishes(see the recipe links below for some simple dishes and downright daring ways to try asparagus), there are many nutritional benefits to these beautiful spears. Asparagus is an excellent source of Folate and Vitamins A, C, and K, just to name a few.
To pick up some of your own, look for bright green stalks with plump, tightly closed, tips. To store, before sticking them in the refrigerator, rinse with cold water, pat dry and wrap the base with the damp paper towel or store standing up in about an inch of water. Eat within 2-3 days for the best flavor and nutritional value.
As I already mentioned, asparagus lends itself to many types of dishes; you can eat it raw, boil it, steam it, stir-fry it, the possibilities are endless. I like to toss some chopped spears in with scrambled eggs or serve the whole spears as a side dish by roasting them in the oven (about 10 mins. at 450) with a touch of olive oil and seasonings like thyme and rosemary.
Here are few other suggestions to help you take advantage of asparagus season this year:
- Cream of Asparagus Soup
- Penne Pasta with Asparagus
- Morel Bread Pudding
- Aspargus Ribbon Salad
- Asparagus Risotto
- Asparagus and Wild Rice Salad
- Asparagus Bread
- Asparagus Cookies (yes, asparagus cookies!)
Traditional Spinach Salad
While Liz likes to drink her spinach, I like to take mine as a salad for lunch. Spinach salads pack more of a nutritional punch than lettuce because not only is spinach high in iron, but it also is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, and vitamin B6. As a member of the dirty dozen list, it is recommended that you buy organic spinach. Additionally, if you can get it locally, you are less likely to have to worry about national recalls.
Spinach Salad
This spinach salad is based off of the traditional spinach salad, with a few adjustments. Start with some organic spinach. Sprinkle on some shredded mozzarella. Add a little protein with it with a local, free-range hard-boiled egg. Next add some sliced crimini mushrooms. (I get mine locally from Homestead Growers, via Farm Fresh Delivery). Crimini Mushrooms are very flavorful and have more nutrients than the common white button mushroom.
For dressing, skip the typical Ranch Dressing that is usually served with this salad, and opt for a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead.
