Category Archives: Food

One Lovely Birthday Dinner

Posted on December 29, 2012 by AnnieRie

Compliments of my husband, Wegmans, Raimondi’s and England Acres. Today really turned out nice, in spite of the snow. My husband had flowers and strawberries sent to the house, even though it took a while to get here. Seems FedEx delivered, as we are out in the boonies beyond the normal delivery area for the florist. He was sweating them getting here, but at 4:30 they arrived.

It was an easy dinner to do. Rockfish, and cauliflower, both baked in the oven. The cauliflower went in first, then the rockfish.

A simple salad using those pomegranate seeds. Oranges picked up at England Acres last week, and fennel from Wegmans. Lemon olive oil, orange juice, red onion, salt and pepper. Served over arugula.

Dinner in the dining room. All decked out for a party. Finished later with the strawberries and a dry sparkling Domaine Carneros. Dinner served with a Puligny Montrachet from Chanson. Not a bad celebration, and a fraction of the cost of going out. My better half did the dishes for me. What more could you ask for?

Here’s to many more happy birthdays!

hocofood@@@

4 Comments

Posted in Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Sixty@Sixty, Wine and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Sixty @ Sixty

Posted on December 29, 2012 by AnnieRie

Yes, sixty years young, today. This is one of those significant birthdays. Worthy of doing something different to commemorate.

I recall one of my fellow volunteers talking about traveling to celebrate a milestone birthday. Something like 50 days for the 50th birthday. We traveled way too much when we worked. We are really enjoying our surroundings and doing things we never got to do while we were in the work force.

So, I decided. Sixty is, of course, six decades. Six times ten. Six things, ten times. Or, ten things six times. I settled on more experiences with less to accomplish in each. It looks simpler to do. We shall see. I have been doing research already to find things that interest me.

This year, no New Year’s Resolutions, just the pursuit of these stretch goals, for lack of a better descriptor. Some are fun, some may be difficult. If I enjoy this journey, I may make it into a page. A journal of sorts. Since I am an avowed locavore, locapour, and still a foodie, many involve cooking, eating, gardening, farming, the county and nearby places.

My list —

Visit six festivals and/or fairs that are new to me
Taste at six new wineries never visited before
Seek out six new farmstands or markets to expand my locavore network
Do something different or visit someplace new in six states other than MD
Eat at six small business restaurants and/or diners
Eat/drink or experience six childhood memories
Log six new birds not seen before
Cook and eat six new proteins, i.e., meat, seafood, beans or nuts
Grow and/or eat six exotic fruits, veggies or herbs
Tackle six rightsizing projects

Some are self explanatory but others will take some initiative. Rightsizing projects include things we inherited from our families and things we accumulated over our 60+ years. Things like pictures, CDs, books, tools, clothes, shoes, whatever lurks in closets and cabinets. Having the space here makes it one of those often avoided projects.

The childhood memories include things like — riding a ferris wheel again, or a merry go round, or eating cotton candy, or a root beer float. Things we did as kids.

For my first project, my husband bought a pomegranate at Wegmans yesterday. I have had pom juice, and pomegranate balsamic, but never tried getting the seeds out and using one in cooking. Tonight’s salad will have pom seeds on it. Maybe using my fennel we bought, and oranges. I am making my own birthday dinner, doing things I want to eat. Rockfish. Salad. Roasted cauliflower. None of it hard to make, and no worries about driving in the slush/snow/ice/whatever we have on the ground tonight.

It is still snowing out here. The red bellied woodpecker and one of the squirrels were out there chowing down this morning while I was prepping the fish in a marinade.

This is a new young red bellied woodpecker, who is more skittish than the older ones are. He bolts when he sees the reflection of my camera. As for the acrobatic squirrel, he is lucky today. I don’t have the two layer baffle system on the large suet holder, and he can defeat just one. Besting the squirrels is a major undertaking here. Or, at least keeping them under control.

Who knows what this year, 2013, will bring to us here. I do know I intend to make it somewhat memorable, and certainly don’t intend to be bored.

hocofood@@@

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Wegging Out

Posted on December 28, 2012 by AnnieRie

As opposed to vegging out. We went to Wegmans today, after not getting there for months. There was a very good reason. Rockfish. We got an email about it, and since a significant birthday is tomorrow, one of those ends in zero ones, I wanted something nice for dinner.

Who cooks on their birthdays, you say? Really. You think I wouldn’t be cooking? Well, we were going to do Ruth’s Chris but the weather is supposed to be somewhat dicey all day tomorrow. I think we will save that gift card for a better weather day in the future.

I don’t mind cooking great food for birthdays. I also love rockfish. My husband bought a lovely Puligny Montrachet to have with it. A simple lemon butter topping on the fish. Baked potatoes. An arugula and goat cheese salad to start. Specialty cookies with a late harvest wine for dessert. The cookies are rum balls and raspberry filled wafers from Wegmans bakery. My foodie world and locavore worlds had one of those collisions today.

I did get some other interesting things there. For tonight, spicy shrimp spring rolls before I put out an oven baked brined turkey breast from their rotisserie cart. I did throw a few Brussels sprouts from an earlier trip to the store into the mix.

Wegmans now has their own brand of K cups.

Plus, we found another source, one that is environmentally friendly, San Francisco Bay. Price the same as going to Costco.

These cups generate less waste, as there is no plastic surrounding container. Should be something different to get used to using. We shall see. We ended up getting scallops for New Year’s Eve, and other staples I normally only find at grocery stores. They had Meyer lemons. I have Aranciata. I only need to find fresh basil to make the Meyer Lemon Basil Fizz cocktails we love. Wegmans disappointed us, as they were out of the local Virginia potted fresh basil. Don’t need sage, or the other ones they had. No fresh basil there. Interesting.

We don’t get over to the eastern side of Columbia often anymore. It is a 35 mile round trip. I only ended up using three coupons. Too many of them were for frozen or processed or prepared foods. Not what we normally use. Let’s see what comes this month in the mailings. They haven’t let up on sending us things. The holiday version of the Menu magazine had ten coupons. They obviously want customers from west county. The little booklets keep coming, as well. I did get some pepitas in the bulk food aisle.

Next week I don’t think I will be running out there for frozen waffles or packaged meat. Their promotional giveaways don’t rank up there in fresh food items most of the time, and today, I never found any of the carrots. They must have run out of them.

Still, all in all, a decent store. Now off to have some turkey with a local white wine. My last day as a fifty something. Wait until you see what I want to do in my sixtieth year.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in Food, Howard County, Locavore, Real Food, Restaurants and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, Howard County, Locavore, real food, wegman's. Bookmark the permalink.

Fall CSA Final Analysis

Posted on December 27, 2012 by AnnieRie

It feels strange not picking up a CSA today. Since the first week of May 2011, we have had CSA pickups or deliveries every week, but two, for over 20 months. Well, at least I get to visit lots of local markets including the new indoor Olney market starting in a few weeks. Plus, the Saturday farm stands at Breezy Willow, TLV and England Acres. England Acres will continue to offer Lancaster Farm Fresh veggies that they buy wholesale from the same cooperative that supplies our summer and fall CSA. Fun to go out there and see the same unique varieties that were in our box during the week.

I did a final analysis of what we got, and what it might have cost us to buy organic veggies for the same time we got our fall CSA deliveries. We had seven deliveries, missing one due to the hurricane. They made up for it in volume. Lots of heavy deliveries of things like potatoes, squash and turnips.

The most unusual items were: yacon, which is still in the fridge. It is destined to become a fritter with a few of the carrots, maybe over the weekend. Viola turnips, an heirloom variety, long and thin, but tasty. This is also the first year we got popcorn. And, many new varieties of squash, like Thelma Sanders, Jarrahdale, carnival and seminole.

The priciest items to buy at the store seem to be organic leeks. They cost $2.99 each at Harris Teeter, and at Wegmans. We got nine of them, which would have cost me $27 to buy. And, organic celery. We got 8 bunches of celery. Not as big as those in the store, but in the store they cost a whopping $3.49 each at Harris Teeter and $2 each at Wegmans. I used the $2 each for my final tally.

Lots of potatoes. Red potatoes. Russett potatoes. Beauregard sweet. White Hamon sweet. Japanese sweet. Fingerlings of many colors. Organic potatoes cost either $1 or $1.29 a pound, depending on where you find them. All told, we got 31 pounds of potatoes.

There were 44 unique items this fall. Not bad for seven weeks. By unique, I mean with slight variations, like French heirloom carrots versus purple carrots. Or, four different types of turnips. Five different squash varieties.

The total, sort of. I had to round it out a bit and I didn’t have exact weights to the ounce, but it came out to about $307 worth of veggies. The cost was $250 for a subscription. Not as good of a comparison as you get with a summer CSA, as many items in the fall are very reasonable in price, like scallions and potatoes. Sweet potatoes cost $1 a pound.

Will we do it again next fall? Yes, as I have found it easy to use up most of the items and that they do well in the crisper drawer for weeks. The last of the potatoes and onions and squash will be used during January, meaning I won’t need to buy any until February and my early bird Breezy Willow CSA starts in March. Then, it’s a weekly trip out to the farm for pick up.

On a final note, thanks to Erin and Dan, who ran Sandy Spring CSA, and who are retiring. The local CSA is supplied by Lancaster Farm Fresh and has close to 1000 members in the DC,NoVA, Montgomery and Howard County area. We will have new leaders in May, and will be back getting our summer delivery to Columbia. Until then, I will be savoring more of the goodies from the freezer that I put away last summer.

Stay tuned to hear how I will now be using the vacu-seal my brother is giving me. He and his wife no longer use it, and they know I will put it to good use.

hocofood@@@

4 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged cooking, CSA, Food, foodie, local businesses, Locavore. Bookmark the permalink.

Snow Days

Posted on December 26, 2012 by AnnieRie

I don’t mind snow days like these. We needed the rain, and we got almost an inch so far today. It is snow mixed with sleet and rain, so it will be gone soon. The birds are frantically looking for food. It’s junco and blue jay reunion out there. Although the blue jays flew away once the camera came out.

Today was one of those stay inside and do projects kind of days. I am cleaning out the bedside nightstand drawers and doing some shredding. I did put tuna and tomatoes, with a base of canellini beans, in the oven on slow cook. A good hearty cold weather dish. Using some of my oven dried tomatoes that I froze. Plus, that end of the Costco tuna loin. It looks so dark and meaty, you wouldn’t think it was a fish dish.

We are keeping a close eye on the trees to make sure they don’t get weighed down with wet snow. We lost too many branches during those storms a few years back. We were supposed to have the final high tree pruning today, but the weather forced a cancellation. Without leaves, though, the deciduous trees will do OK, it’s the coniferous trees that worry me. We have a wind advisory for tomorrow with a potential for downed power lines again. The big question always is, “Should we fill the tubs with water in case we lose power and can’t flush toilets?” With all the weakened trees after the hurricane, power losses are still possible.

I do have to admit that it is beautiful out there. All Christmasy with the twinkling lights. Glad we don’t commute anymore, but can enjoy the view.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Birds, Food, Howard County, Nature, Real Food, Retirement, Weather, West HoCo and tagged birds, commentary, community, cooking, Food, foodie, heirloom tomatoes, Howard County, Locavore, nature, real food, retirement, tomatoes, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Home for the Holidays

Posted on December 25, 2012 by AnnieRie

Loving the fact that we don’t have to travel on the holidays anymore. Getting up when we want, and having a leisurely breakfast. Watching the animals in the yard, and watching the snow melt. Hearing my neighbor’s children running around out in the last of the snow. Just one of the reasons we came here. Peace. Quiet. Doing what we want for the day.

A couple of Breezy Willow’s eggs, over easy. Served with Spring Mill honey wheat bread, and Trickling Springs butter. A nice cup of coffee. The view out the dining room window. Still snow on the ground.

What did you get for Christmas? We always pick one thing we want and go and get it. I wanted a new lasagna pan. He wanted a rotor (rotator) for his tower. Obviously, we feed our hobbies.

My new pan:

I think it is much better than his refurbished, newly painted, good as new, rotor. It came back the other day. Looks brand new.

I did put a flat iron steak in the crock pot, to cook all day and enjoy with an old wine, for dinner tonight. Rubbed with the dry rub mix that I put together as part of the gifts for my relatives.

The flat iron steak came from England Acres. And, all the veggies in the pot are CSA, so this will be a mostly local Christmas dinner. The dry rub came out nicely.

Garlic powder is predominant in my spice rubs. This one is for beef and venison. It also includes peppers, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, savory and just a small amount of salt. I think I am forgetting something, but since I just wing it with spice rubs, it comes out fine. The house does smell wonderful at the moment. Dessert tonight will be a few of my orange chocolate truffles I made. With the last of the wine, after dinner, while watching Santa Paws II. Does Christmas get any better?

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Weather, West HoCo and tagged amateur radio, cooking, crock pot cooking, CSA, Food, foodie, holidays, local businesses, Locavore, real food, weather, West HoCo, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

It’s Christmas Eve

Posted on December 24, 2012 by AnnieRie

And, we will have a white Christmas. Sort of. There is still snow on the ground although much of it is melting. To me it isn’t Christmas without snow. We went to my brother’s this evening. Like we always do.

All my cousins and their little ones were there. My brother did his thing, playing Santa Claus, just like he has for almost 30 years. It took my nephew years to figure out it was him on the porch leaving candy.

I did many home made items for the cousins. Pumpkin bread. Orange chocolate truffles. Dry rub mix. Herb mixes.

Plus, I also gave gifts from local farmers. Soaps from Breezy Willow. Honey. Popcorn for the little ones. What do you expect from me? A definitely locavore Christmas. Took local wines for the party. Linden Vidal Riesling. Rose too.

Then, home for a glass of pastis and a chance to chill out. Tomorrow a few open houses to attend, and some finger foods while watching a Christmas movie. A lovely laid back holiday. Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas.

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Posted in Family, Food, Locavore, People, Weather, Wine and tagged commentary, Food, Locavore, weather, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Venison Pot Roast

Posted on December 23, 2012 by AnnieRie

Lean Cuisine. Really lean cuisine. I always knew how lean venison is. And, how you can end up with tough dry meals if you don’t treat it right. Tonight I treated it right.

Made in the crock pot. Almost completely local. Greens, onions, turnips, carrots, all from the CSA. Stock I made a few weeks back.

Mushrooms and egg noodles from a trip to England Acres. Venison from a local hunter, at a farm across the way. The only thing not local in this meal was the condensed organic cream of mushroom soup I bought at the store. One of the newer soups from Pacific.

I just put it all in the crock pot and let it go, for 8 hours on high. I added the noodles the last two hours. Put a little water in it to cook the noodles better.

Served it all with a wonderful huge Virginia wine, the 2009 Hardscrabble designation from Linden.

hocofood@@@

6 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore, Real Food, Wine, Winter Eat Local and tagged cooking, crock pot cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, Food, foodie, Linden Vineyards, Locavore, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Shopping at the Farms

Posted on December 22, 2012 by AnnieRie

It was a vow I made, to support local farmers. Eat more local foods, and even if they cost more, buy them and just adjust how much we eat. It is really easy around here to do that.

You don’t have to fight crowds with carts at grocery stores for many items. I learned to love markets in France. Our first trip to Provence.

My dream home. Provence. If I had my way, I would live there. I speak passable French. Understand more than I can articulate. Fell completely in love with the food and the land, and would move in a heartbeat to live that life style. Shopping for fresh foods locally. I didn’t have pictures of the live chickens. You picked the one you wanted and they dispatched it for you.

So, I do the next best thing. I shop here at our local farms. Even in the winter they are open for business. Today I went food shopping at two farms and one farm stand. We decided to take a ride because it was cold, windy and we didn’t feel like fighting crowds in stores and malls. The itimerary: Breezy Willow, England Acres and Baughers in Westminster.

On a mission. For holiday ice cream. Eggs. Fixings for tomorrow’s venison roast. And, possibly to have lunch at Baughers. I did get some great things there, like out of date peanuts, that they sell for $2.99 a case to feed the birds and the squirrels. Celery and mushrooms. Pears. Mixed nuts in the shell. The mushrooms for the venison roast. The celery to use to make some soup next week.

From Breezy Willow, pumpkin ice cream. Eggs. Great Harvest whole wheat flour, since I am running out of flour from baking.

From England Acres. Cauliflower. Spring Mill Bread. Sausage. Onions. Popcorn. Honey. Goat cheese. Baby Spinach. By the time I came home, I have all I need to make dinner tomorrow, and to make soup next week. And, a salad tonight. England Acres now is buying wholesale from Lancaster Farm Fresh, the cooperative that supplies my CSA. All winter. Open Saturday and Sunday, I can pick up fresh organic veggies from the same farms that supply me my CSA for 33 weeks a year. How can I go wrong with them? They have been my major source of food for the past 20 months. Love what they grow.

So, I use Roots, Wegmans, Harris Teeter and Costco for staples I can’t get at the markets. But, year round, we have great stuff not far from us. Fresher than foods flown and trucked in from across the country and the world. I just wish we had something like this up the road. The Arles market.

Being a locavore is not hard around here. Wishing for unlimited spices, now that is a stretch.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Food, Real Food, West HoCo, Winter Eat Local and tagged cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, Food, foodie, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Frozen Foods

Posted on December 21, 2012 by AnnieRie

My way. Cooked from scratch out of the freezer. I made homemade bolognese sauce today, to be served with egg noodles for dinner tonight. The sauce makes the house smell wonderful, and most of the ingredients came out of the freezer this morning.

Breezy Willow sausage. I used half of it yesterday in dinner, a layered egg based dish. Today I put the other half in a pot with an onion, garlic, and I grated some frozen carrot over it for natural sweetness. Look at how little fat there is in the bottom of the pan. Amazing when you buy fresh meat from the farmers. Not a lot of filler and grease.

The carrot addition was something I learned this summer. Peel, blanch and freeze small carrots. Take one or two out of the freezer and grate them right into your sauce. When they are frozen they grate up nicely and it takes less time than dicing carrots. I also added my heirloom Amish paste tomatoes right out of the freezer.

They provide the cooking liquid for the sauce. I added a little spice, and two tablespoons of tomato paste. Let it simmer for about 45 minutes, and perfume the house with the smell of oregano, garlic and onion.

Tonight it will be simple to heat it up, boil some of the egg noodles I got out at England Acres, grate some Parmesan on top and toast a few pieces of bread. An arugula salad on the side. Another locavore meal, right out of my freezer. Loving all the tomatoes that I put away in the summer.