Monthly Archives: October 2013

Enough Already!

Posted on October 11, 2013 by AnnieRie

OK, we needed rain but not this deluge. We have a lake in the back yard and I can’t get into one of the cars in the driveway without wading through puddles 4-5 inches deep.

I can’t get to the garden to check on the heirloom pumpkin squash and I am crossing my fingers that it will survive being drenched and laying in standing water.

If the reports are correct, we should have erased the rain deficit for the year. They say six inches have fallen at the airport.

Last week I took the last tomatoes off the vines. They have been slowly ripening in a paper bag, and on the windowsill once they start to turn from green.

Most lunches have included one or two of the small pineapple heirloom tomatoes. This year they were much later ripening, and are pretty much all that is left.

Fall is definitely here. I have been doing crockpot cooking almost everyday. Chili yesterday. Lamb stew today, and there will be chicken soup Sunday.

So, rain, rain go away. You made your point and the trees should be in better shape.

1 Comment

Posted in Food, Gardening, Howard County, Nature, Weather and tagged Food, gardening, Howard County, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Making the Most of the CSA

Posted on October 10, 2013 by AnnieRie

It is week 21. Things are morphing into those fall veggies. There are really wonderful items in this box.

What did we get?

Salad Mix
Red butterhead lettuce
Radishes
Sunflower sprouts
Red Bok Choy
Potatoes
Collard Greens
Basil
Green Beans
Broccoli
Green Cabbage
Baby Eggplant

I already made pesto with the basil and used some of the sprouts in tonight’s salad.

We made venison chili today, using freezer and CSA items from the past few weeks.

As for making pesto, it was standard.

At the moment, I am having computer problems on my “piece of garbage” Microsoft system, and my husband’s won’t cooperate and let me open my files correctly (another Microsoft product). I really need to trash all of them and get an iBook.

Oh well. at least I got a post up.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore and tagged cooking, crock pot cooking, CSA, Food, foodie, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Successful Programming

Posted on October 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

At the Howard County Conservancy, where I have been volunteering for the past three years after retiring. Things keep getting busier.

So successful that preregistering for events may become even more important in the future.

Like for this weekend’s CREEPY CREATURES!!!. Ashley Jarvis and Billy “Box Turtle” Heinbuch will be presenting this Saturday’s free “Wonder Walk”. Only it will be a morning in the Nature Center with all sorts of critters.

Who knows what they will bring? Last fall’s event was a huge success. This year you won’t want to miss them.

Those who do sign up in advance guarantee a spot. Those who come Saturday morning without being on the list, do risk not getting in, if the maximum capacity of the room is reached.

The Conservancy events keep getting more popular. The Fall Fest last weekend set a record. Over 800 people came for some part of the day. The twilight hike in late September attracted a mind boggling 140+ people.

It’s nice to see the expanding participation.

I have been working on the program committee putting together next year’s calendar. This is such a fun “job” in retirement.

If you want to have an interesting, easy learning, hands on, experience, come on out this Saturday. 10 am. Just up the road in Woodstock.

hocoblogs@@@

Leave a comment

Posted in Community, Family, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering and tagged community, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Lunch at Facci

Posted on October 8, 2013 by AnnieRie

Time to go check out the first of the new restaurants out here in the western part of the county. Although Turf Valley isn’t that far west, and the address is Ellicott City, it still is one of the closest restaurants for those of us living off I-70 beyond Marriottsville Road.

I didn’t take my camera in, just ended up using my husband’s phone to take a couple of pictures of lunch.

I chose to have insalata and an antipasti (appetizer).

The salad.

Portobello, very nicely done.

The appetizer of polpette consisted of four large meatballs. I only finished two of them and saved the rest.

Tuesday is half price wine day at Facci. So, we ordered a nice bottle of Sangiovese, each had a glass and brought the rest home to have with dinner. As it turns out, the portions at Facci are so large, we ended up bringing home half my lunch, and about a third of my husband’s entree.

It made for an easy dinner tonight. Meatballs, leftover bolognese, mixed together with some of my roasted garlic, and supplemented with tomato paste, chicken stock, cremini mushrooms and olives. It worked out.

Next time my husband wants to try the clam pizza.

The decor is lovely. The private dining room in the back is going to be used for special events like a traditional Piedmont Menu paired with an array of Italian wines, a tiramisu competition, and grappa to finish. Looks interesting. We may have to sign up for the special events occasionally.

I think I found another place we like to eat, adding them to our favorites, Iron Bridge and Bistro Blanc. Now, can’t wait for Xitomate and Grille 620 to open.

hocofood@@@

Leave a comment

Posted in Community, Food, Local Businesses, Restaurants, West HoCo, Wine and tagged community, Food, foodie, Howard County, West HoCo, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Game Day Food

Posted on October 7, 2013 by AnnieRie

Like many of our friends and neighbors, we are dedicated football fans, watching games on Sunday afternoons.

Only, as a locavore, our snacks may be a bit different than others out there.

Crackers with chevre and pineapple habanero jelly. Don’t you always serve these at your football tailgate parties? If not, you should.

The chevre is just so, so good. I get it from Breezy Willow. They buy it from an Amish farm and sell it at their farm, and at the Glenwood farmers’ market.

Believe me, I could sit there and eat the entire log of this cheese. We put it on rosemary crackers, from Roots. Added a dollop of my homemade jelly.

We figured something out about the jelly. The bottom of the jar is hotter than the top. It seems those bits of pepper settle and the more you dig into the jar, the hotter the jelly gets.

Still, with a cold Yuengling, from my husband’s home county in Pennsylvania, this is locavore Nirvana, in terms of game day food.

Anything else you can think of, that compliments football and fall?

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Food, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Great New Recipes

Posted on October 6, 2013 by AnnieRie

Last night when we returned home, I decided to pull out some new recipes and try them. First, a tribute to Marcella Hazan, her leek and scallion frittata.

A thin frittata. Just the right size for a light dinner. I do not have a 12 inch nonstick skillet specified in the recipe, so I used my 14 inch skillet. It meant I had to slightly adjust the recipe. This recipe came from MARCELLA SAYS.

You don’t want to mess with Marcella’s recipes very much. They are perfectly balanced. It all comes down to the layering of flavors. That being said, here is what I did.

Heated the tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Added one cup of scallion tops. Two cups of thinly sliced leeks (white parts only). Let it all slowly soften under a low heat. Add the 1/4 cup of water to steam them to doneness. After water evaporated, took it all out and set aside.

Meanwhile, added four eggs to a bowl. I used four regular sized free range eggs from Love Dove Farms. If you use large or extra large eggs, use three instead of four. Added 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan to the eggs. Gently mixed it together. Added the scallion/leek mixture. Folded it all together. Put it all in the skillet, after I had melted another tablespoon of butter in it.

Let it cook until starting to firm up. Put it in a 400 degree preheated oven to finish.

Along with the frittata, I served a new salad. Inspired by Dinner: A Love Story. The link will take you directly to the recipe.

I really love this salad. You do not have to measure anything. I used about a half dozen large pieces of Tuscan kale. Cut very thinly, avoiding the stems. Place in a bowl and add one avocado, sliced in thin pieces. A handful of thinly sliced scallions into the bowl. Squirt the juice of one large or two small lemons over it. Shave pecorino romano over everything. Drizzle olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. We were heavy on the avocado compared to kale. Next time, more kale as it is so good this way.

More on the great recipes I have found over at DALS. Even if it is a “family” blog, the recipes are simply wonderful. I stumbled upon them by accident, looking for something a while back. If I can ever find the book at the library (it is always out or on hold), I would love to check out their cookbook.

I do have their blog to thank for knowing that you shouldn’t mess around with the instructions on Marcella Hazan’s recipes. Do what she says. The layering of flavors makes her food incredibly flavorful.

hocofood@@@

4 Comments

Posted in cookbooks, CSA, Food, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, CSA, Food, foodie, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Release Party at RdV

Posted on October 5, 2013 by AnnieRie

What a picture perfect day!

RdV Vineyards held their 2010 release party for their “ambassadors” today. A little different than a case club. You can become an ambassador by subscribing to buying at least a 3-pack of their vintage red blends, yearly.

According to their staff, there are at least 700 ambassadors. 300 or more of them came down today to pick up the new release, and to savor tasty tapas prepared by Jaleo.

Figs and Serrano. Wedges of Manchego. A classic tortilla. Marcona almonds. Bowls of olives. All complimenting a big beautiful 2010 vintage. They were pouring Rendezvous. If you wanted Lost Mountain, you could buy a bottle, but no tastes of that today.

These wines are luscious. There are no other words for them. You can not believe they come from Virginia. Seriously. Big, bold, beautiful, and this isn’t even their flagship blend. Worth every penny to buy a few.

They only made 500 cases of Lost Mountain and 1000 of Rendezvous. The roughly 700 ambassadors will make a large dent in that. The rest will make its way mostly into restaurants around DC.

Add to that, what they use in their winery events, and it will mean again that they sell out of most of their wines.

Today was even more interesting as they were sorting grapes below us, while we were up in the lobby having our party.

Rutger was working most of the day. He did pop in, but you could see him out with his picking team as they were bringing in grapes, taking advantage of this lovely weather.

If you love big, classic Bordeaux styled wines, these are exquisite.

Debating whose birthday will be the occasion to pop open this bottle.

Nothing like ripe red grapes, heavy on the vines, to make our Saturday special. If you love good wine, take the time to make an appointment and visit. Only 2 hours by the back roads, and about an hour and a half using I-66. You would think you went to France.

hocofood@@@

Leave a comment

Posted in Day Trips, Farms, Food, Hobbies, Restaurants, Weather, Wine and tagged Food, foodie, hobbies, VA wine, weather, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Friday Night Un “chained”

Posted on October 4, 2013 by AnnieRie

Breaking free of chain restaurants. Something we did when Iron Bridge opened, years after JK’s closed. For quite a while, we were in that chain restaurant limbo, meeting friends or just going out on Fridays after a long tiring work week. Nothing but the circuit of places like Macaroni Grill, TGIF, Outback, Carrabas, Bertucci’s, whatever.

Sometimes I wonder if anyone in Columbia or Ellicott City ever cooks on Friday nights. There were nights with beepers for 60-90 minutes.

When we moved out here, we tried to break that cycle. We still headed to Iron Bridge early, or El Azteca.

These days, though, grilling at home has replaced eating out. This year, I have been working at making grilled flatbreads. Trying techniques. Experimenting with dough.

I think I found a winner in Harris Teeter’s pizza dough.

Ready to go on the grill. As for toppings, all sorts of CSA and home made goodies, and a few special items.

Top right. Tomato paste, mushrooms, olives and Italian seasonings. Below it, my homemade pesto and some goat cheese from Roots. The left pizza. All of the toppings including some roasted sweet peppers and my roasted garlic.

Seriously, this is one awesome flatbread.

Served with a Linden Rose wine. 2012. All told, less than half the cost of going out to dinner. Well worth it.

hocofood@@@

5 Comments

Posted in Food, Locavore, Restaurants, Wine and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, grilling, Linden Vineyards, Locavore, real food, VA wine, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

CSA Surprises

Posted on October 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

Week 20. And there were tomatoes in the box. Also, edamame. Oh yeah, tatsoi. Cilantro. Talk about mixing cultures!

Here is the list:
1 bag Yukon Gold Potatoes – Hillside Organics
1 bag Edamame – Sweetaire Farm
1 piece Fennel Bulb – Autumn Blend Organics
1 bunch Pink Beauty Radishes – Friends Road Organics
1 bunch Tatsoi – Hillside Organics
1 head Frisee – Meadow Valley Organics
1 container Cremini Mushrooms – Mother Earth Organics
1 head Green Romaine Lettuce – Bellview Organics
1 head Green Leaf Lettuce – Green Valley Organics
1 bag Red Roma Tomatoes – White Swan Acres
1 bunch Cilantro – Kirkwood Herbs
1 bag Mixed Beets – Tasty Harvest Organics

It’s one of the reasons I like this CSA so much. The adventure. The variety. The fact that Lancaster Farm Fresh uses a tightly knit group of farmers to supply thousands of people in the New York and Philly areas, as well as New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and DC. They use a rough 150 mile radius for their membership. To me, that diversity of New York and Philly, along with their wholesale business which I assume caters to restaurants and large produce and farm stands, is what drives them to grow such unique items.

Today the fruit share members had Asian pears, concord grapes and kiwiberries in their share. I really wished we had chosen a fruit share seeing their bounty. Today also the half share members had Asian green radishes. Heirlooms. I should have waited around to try and swap for some, but I was loving our haul, and still had those blue radishes from last week. I ended up roasting them this afternoon, with the mixed beets and the remainder of the purple okra I picked up from the Glenwood market last Saturday.

I was multi-tasking here. Roasting beets. Dry roasted over salt. Okra and radishes were both drizzled with oil. The radishes ended up in tonight’s stir fry.

Last week’s bok choy, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and the radishes. A splash of sesame oil. Served with chicken.

Definitely not boring meals in our house. The CSA always surprises us.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, CSA, farms, Food, foodie, Locavore, real food, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

A Mess of Mustard Greens

Posted on October 2, 2013 by AnnieRie

I wanted something fairly easy for dinner tonight. Like store bought chicken. Picked up after my morning stint with an elementary field trip out at the Conservancy.

I was on “Owl Observation” duty.

Describing habitats and running back and forth from meadow to forest. It was a fun exhausting 4 hours, from arrival and set up to clean up. Still a great deal of fun. But I didn’t want to do much cooking when I came home at 2 pm and collapsed with a huge glass of iced water. It is still warm out there, even if it is October.

CSA veggies to the rescue. I had leftover spaghetti squash, chicken from Harris Teeter, and it was simple to cook up a mess of mustard greens. Like ten minutes simple.

The layering of the flavors first. Start with any sort of fat. Butter, chicken fat, olive oil, whatever makes you happy, and that is hanging around. Add onions and/or scallions. I had both in the fridge. Add some “porky” flavor. For me, that last 3-4 ounces of Italian sausage from Breezy Willow. The other day, I roasted all the sweet and hot peppers from the CSA. They are in the fridge too. Three of them went in the pan. Three cloves of my roasted garlic (always in the fridge too). Let it all get soft and simmering. Add some grated ginger, some cayenne flakes, some salt. Maybe if you have it, some sesame oil. A bit more liquid, like a few tablespoons of olive oil, then pour in a mess of greens.

I forgot to do the after picture, once all the greens cooked down, but it surely tasted great. I never used to eat mustard greens when I was younger. Now, I am loving them.

Easy dinner, earlier than normal, but I will be propping up my sore feet and having a glass of wine while watching TV.

Here’s to many more easy meals, after sunny days running around outdoors.