Category Archives: Howard County

Not Your Typical Wednesday

Posted on July 31, 2013 by AnnieRie

Well, it all started with tractor maintenance. Horsing around a 200 pound mower deck. At least that is what my husband did. I just got to “assist”, that is, sit on the tractor and raise and lower the deck.

He got to do all the greasing and cleaning.

I also got to chase butterflies. They are everywhere at the moment.

The highlight today though was the 5th anniversary party at Bistro Blanc.

Sixty five lucky guests got to share in a spectacular dinner with wines to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the restaurant. I think the scallop appetizer might have been my favorite course, or maybe that incredible pork tenderloin.

Tomorrow I have to figure out what I am entering in the fair, but tonight I am just basking in the good feelings of an amazing meal with old friends, new friends and people who love good food.

Cheers to Raj and Marc and the rest of the staff at Bistro Blanc.

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Posted in Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Nature, Real Food, Restaurants and tagged community, Food, foodie, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, nature. Bookmark the permalink.

Don’t Buy Food From Strangers

Posted on July 29, 2013 by AnnieRie

The Lancaster Farm Fresh logo on their web site and produce bags.

After finishing the Buy Local Challenge, and attending events where we could talk to the farmers, this logo is even more meaningful to us.

This morning at 9AM, the cell phone rang. It was the Amish farmer (yes, some of them use phones and computers in their business, they just don’t allow them in their homes) who gave us the fava beans. One of the farms that supplies our CSA, Sandy Spring, through the cooperative non profit venture now totalling close to 80 small farms.

He wanted to know if it worked out OK. We again thanked him for his gift, and told him we got almost eight pounds of beans. Some were frozen. Some were used.

To us, this connection with those who grow our food is something special that we have realized after a few years of buying locally.

With the latest food problem, that of cyclospora infecting people all across the USA, we feel that minimizing our risk of infection, by using locally produced organic fruit and veggies whenever possible, is one of our smartest decisions.

Buying local produce, meat, dairy, fruit and eggs, and belonging to an organic CSA all help us stay healthier and, definitely, eat fresher, better food.

So, here’s to the Howard County Farmers Markets, full of great local farms. Here’s to the local farmstands with fresh produce and fruit. Here’s to CSAs that connect us with the producers and make us part of their “family”.

Here’s to dinner tonight.

A frittata. Made with Love Dove eggs, Misty Meadows milk, TLV’s fingerlings, Bowling Green Farms feta, Trickling Springs butter, Sandy Spring CSA chard, onion and green pepper, Breezy Willow ham, and served with Stone House bakery’s focaccia.

I know the people who feed me. Do you?

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Posted in Commentary, Community, CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, People, Real Food and tagged commentary, community, cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Buy Local Success … Big and Small

Posted on July 28, 2013 by AnnieRie

The Buy Local Challenge ends tonight. Pledging to eat at least one locally produced item every day for nine days. Still time to enter the challenge contest using pictures that will be uploaded to the facebook page.

Guests at our picnic get together at the Howard County Conservancy took pictures to upload. Attendance was a little sparse because the weather didn’t cooperate until an hour into the picnic time, but those who came out got some undivided attention from our volunteers and our animals.

After all, how many of you get to feed the goats and take them for a walk with a volunteer. One of our guests did. He also brought one of his Boy Scout projects. Pine needle tea. They served it alongside some awesome looking BLTs using bacon from a farm in Cecil County. Home grown tomatoes, too. They had peaches for dessert.

We saw local cheeses. Local tomatoes. Easy fun simple. And, then believe it or not, the sun came out.

We made caprese, and brought some Stone House focaccia.

Thanks to Casey Caulder Todd from Breezy Willow who came out to meet people and enjoy the picnic goodies with a small bunch of friends, volunteers, family who showed their support of our local farmers.

As for us, we made it easily through another local challenge. Our farmer’s markets and farm stands make buying and eating locally a real cinch. All nine days of it.

Now, if I could have had a working sandisk card in my camera, there would have been pictures. Note to self, never pick up a card and stick it in the camera without checking to see if it registers.

And thanks to Love Dove I had a farm bag to put some local goodies in as a prize for the best picnic spread.

Hope the winners enjoy the local treats from Breezy Willow, TLV, Lewis, Stone House, Great Harvest and from our gardens.

Farm to Table restaurant weeks are still going strong here in the county. We should be at a couple of them this week.

And, just six days until the county fair begins. Crossing my fingers that more Box Car Willie tomatoes ripen before it rains again. I do have a good collection of herbs for that category. I hope to enter herbs, cherry tomatoes, heirlooms and romas this year. Sadly, all my cukes are done for the year. I may dig up some of my white sweet potatoes. They look pretty healthy and are spreading in the garden.

See you at the fair?

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Posted in Community, Family, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Restaurants, Volunteering and tagged community, cooking, family, farmer's markets, farms, Food, heirloom tomatoes, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, Locavore, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Are there too many markets?

Posted on July 26, 2013 by AnnieRie

After Lora’s comments on my Hump Day post, where she linked to the Baltimore Sun article about the Howard County markets, I have been thinking.

Do we have too many markets? Have we diluted the customer base? How are all the CSAs affecting market visits?

Many friends, other bloggers, readers and hundreds of county residents now get CSA boxes weekly. Add Friends and Farms, and South Mountain Creamery delivery and you have probably thousands of people who no longer buy the bulk of their fruit and vegetables at the markets.

The big CSAs are Breezy Willow, Gorman, One Straw, Zahradka, Love Dove and Sandy Spring. They keep growing every year. We went from about 35 members for Sandy Spring at our one site in Columbia to 59 this summer. My Farms page has links to all the local farms.

Add the pick your own sites like Larriland to the mix, where people who are serious about getting fresh affordable fruit and veggies have made it extremely popular on weekends. It is even crowded on weekdays when we go to pick.

What can be done to increase the visibility, and the profitability of these markets? Something that it seems is discussed quite a bit by the market board and the participants.

Are the hours of 2-6 during the week the right ones? Should it be 3-7 in the heart of summer to help the commuters get there before the good stuff is gone?

I don’t know the answers but any and all thoughts and comments are appreciated here.

I am doing fine in the Buy Local Challenge. I hope others have made that pledge to support our farmers. Will you be joining us for our picnic this Sunday at the Conservancy? A chance to connect with neighbors and friends and share our local goodies. Crossing our fingers that the weather stays nice, and we can picnic in the grove. Otherwise, an indoor picnic looking at the trees through the windows of the Gudelsky Center.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Commentary, Community, CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged commentary, community, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, Locavore. Bookmark the permalink.

Hump Day

Posted on July 24, 2013 by AnnieRie

In the Buy Local Challenge.

Four days done. Four days left. Today is Hump Day. Have you eaten a farmer produced local item these first four or five days? We have, but then as a CSA member, it is really simple to use locally sourced items every day. They come in that weekly box of goodies.

Don’t know what we are getting tomorrow, so I will wait and hit the farmer’s market on Friday to round out my menu.

I didn’t report on yesterday’s meal. A crock pot stew, made with CSA kale, fava beans, carrots, and onions, started with frozen chicken stock and finished with a TLV Tree Farm smoked ham steak, cubed. For the last hour, I added some riso.

Enough left to stuff peppers Friday for dinner.

As for today, the better half went off to Annapolis for a radio club dinner meeting. I decided, what the heck, and had one of those awesome tomato sandwiches for dinner.

Along with some greens that I bought last week from Love Dove Farms. Plus, at lunch today we had some of those juicy fresh plums from our visit to Catoctin Mountain Orchards last week.

CSA members have it easy in the Buy Local Challenge. With boxes or baskets full of vegetables and fruit, and maybe some eggs or cheese, you can eat well every single day without hitting a grocery store. Take our box from last week.

Carrots were peeled and showed up at many lunches, plus in yesterday’s dinner. Corn is gone. Two dinners. One pepper eaten. Two for our dinner this Friday. Pattypan half gone, for dinners. Green beans and chard still there. Tomatoes gone, for salads and those sandwiches.

For the next four days, there are local markets every day. Check them out. Support a farmer and buy something to take for lunches. Or, fruit for a snack.

How about dinner at Black Ankle Friday night? A unique opportunity to support a local farm (one that grows grapes), and while there, buy some local cheese for dinner.

All sorts of possibilities. Don’t give up on this challenge. And, think of ways to make it part of your entire summer.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Wine and tagged cooking, crock pot cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, local businesses, Locavore, real food, tomatoes, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Taking It Outdoors

Posted on July 22, 2013 by AnnieRie

The Buy Local Challenge. I keep trying and it keeps storming. The contest this year is “Take It Outdoors”. The facebook page is where the photos will be uploaded.

We are hosting a picnic at the Howard County Conservancy this Sunday. With our own contest. Best picnic spread. And, best baked goods. Using local ingredients. Not everything has to be local but the pledge to use at least one local ingredient a day applies.

Here is one of my “outdoor” dishes. I had to bring it in and broil it but you get the idea.

Those fava beans we shelled. In a classic dish with grilled (broiled) Halloumi. Beans, peas, mint, olive oil, salt, pepper and grilled Halloumi. You can find Halloumi at Roots.

For dinner tonight we also had corn and tomatoes, both from the CSA. Corn on the cob, grilled. Tomatoes in any salad. Easy dishes to eat outdoors.

Besides the picnic prize, the Conservancy is giving a baking prize. Here is your chance to rock that zucchini bread recipe.

This is “my” zucchini cornbread, using this recipe.

Lots of possibilities to eat locally. And, to meet a few new friends at the picnic.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food and tagged community, cooking, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, grilling, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Kicking Off the Buy Local Challenge

Posted on July 19, 2013 by AnnieRie

The challenge begins tomorrow, but for whatever reason, I kicked it off tonight with dinner.

Lots of local goodies on this plate. Local lamb, zucchini, onions, cucumbers, and potatoes.

Paired with a Maryland wine.

And, if you don’t cook much. Hit the local restaurants participating in the Farm 2 Table restaurant weeks.

If you want to support local farms, take the pledge. Join thousands of us eating at least one local item every day for nine days.

Heck, just go visit Maryland wineries, and hit a few farmer’s markets to support the local farmers. Like Love Dove.

I found their new bags today at the market at the hospital. Tomorrow they are in Silver Spring, and next Wednesday at Miller Library. For me, I love getting fresh greens from their high tunnel. Today I bought arugula and spring mix. Oh, and some sun gold tomatoes since mine aren’t ripe yet. Gotta love those high tunnels.

You could eat at locally owned restaurants during the week, hit a few wineries on the weekends, come to our picnic at the Conservancy next Sunday bringing local goodies.

Or, you can get really into it, like me, the foodie/locavore/locapour and dine with locally sourced items for most meals.

We have a picnic tomorrow to attend. I will be taking watermelon, feta and mint salad. Feta picked up at Breezy Willow. Mint from my garden. The plants were bought from local farmers.

Check my blog daily for suggestions of easy ways to eat local foods, even if you don’t cook.

As for those gorgeous kebabs.

The recipe. Take one pound of ground lamb (I buy mine from England Acres). Generously spice it with garam masala, cinnamon and pepper. Add a teaspoon of salt if your garam masala doesn’t contain salt (Spice Island is very salty; McCormick isn’t). Add about a 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion. Mix it all together by hand and form around skewers. Grill until it reaches the level of doneness you prefer. I like ours medium rare to medium. Still juicy. Serve with a tzatziki. I made this cucumber yogurt dip with dill instead of mint. It works, even though it isn’t a traditional tzatziki.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Restaurants and tagged cooking, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, MD Wine, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Monday Meandering

Posted on July 15, 2013 by AnnieRie

One of the true pleasures of retirement. Getting up on Monday morning and deciding “Road Trip!”.

We did have somewhat of a mission. Get to the Gettysburg outlets for work boots for my husband, and some Hanes/Bali/Leggs shopping for me. My husband really needed new boots for the outdoors work. We have always found them at the footwear outlets, since he goes through them about once a year. PA doesn’t charge sales tax on clothing, something that for years made our trips home to his family include a side trip to Bon Ton or Hess’s or Boscov’s.

Mondays at the outlets are pretty quiet. We had driven up Rte. 97 into Pa in about an hour and did our shopping. I did score something I have wanted for quite a while. A mortar and pestle. Now, I can grind spices, or make pesto the old fashioned way. I just have to find someplace to store it.

We were making a loop. Gettysburg. Thurmont. Frederick. And home. After the outlets, off to stop at Catoctin Mountain Orchards for some fruit. We did decide to indulge in lunch at one of those long time restaurants in that part of Frederick County.

The Shamrock.

Right on Rte. 15 north of Thurmont and south of Emmitsburg. Celebrating their 50th year in business. Family run. It checks off one of my list of things to do in my 60th year. Eating at small business family owned restaurants and diners.

I did not take pictures inside. One thing I try not to do while traveling.

We then hit Gateway for my husband’s Hershey Ice Cream fix (salted caramel with truffle cone), and for me to find some interesting candy to take to book club (which unfortunately was canceled).

The candy hit? A little bit of nostalgia.

After the visit to Gateway, we headed around the back road to Catoctin. For peaches, apricots, plums and nectarines. Apple cider (a simple Buy Local item for those not inclined to cook much). The view today.

Worth the trip just to wander down Rte. 15 and check out the orchards and farms. The last destination. Frederick Wine House, across from Wegmans. The only location I know where you can buy Big Cork Wines. Dave Collins was winemaker at Breaux. He now is working in his new venture in Maryland, Big Cork.

Getting ready for Buy Local Challenge. Easy choices. Big Cork Wine. Catoctin apple cider. And, we found Bedlam Rose from Black Ankle.

Three items for the nine day challenge. Easy to use daily. Along with all that lovely fruit. You don’t have to know how to cook to complete the challenge successfully.

Today I scored:
Nectarines
Peaches
Apricots
Plums
Apple Cider
Chardonnay from Big Cork
Rose from Black Ankle

If I added cheese, tomatoes, corn, watermelon and cantaloupe from the farmer’s markets, I would have more than enough to succeed in the challenge.

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Posted in Day Trips, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Wine and tagged day trips, farms, Food, Howard County, Locavore, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

The Hospital at Middle Age

Posted on July 10, 2013 by AnnieRie

HCGH turned forty yesterday. Hard to believe it has been that long. I arrived here in the county eighteen months later, as a new college graduate in my first apartment, so I remember all the growth, and watched a tiny hospital turn into something for the whole region. Got my first visit that winter to ER to have stitches for an ice skating accident.

The reason I am writing this post, though, is to highlight this Saturday’s anniversary wellness fair. I will be volunteering there at the Howard County Conservancy table. We will be handing out information about our educational family programs, and just enjoying the festivities.

In their description, they mention all sorts of free screenings and a few giveaways. As well as the walk through heart exhibit, oh, and free food. Wonder how healthy those minicupcakes are going to be. Just kidding.

I also have to remember to bring that stash of my old eyeglasses to donate to the Lions Club.

For me, there have been many visits of patients, a few stays, quite a few ER encounters, and of course, my regular visits to the farmer’s market.

I love the fact that they give up an area of the parking lot for six months of Fridays for the market.

Hope to see many friends and neighbors as we lived right up the road from the hospital for 23 years. Stop by our table and say “HI”.

Happy 40th Birthday to HoCoGenHosp!

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Posted in Commentary, Community, Farmer's Markets, Howard County, Local Businesses, Remember When, Volunteering and tagged commentary, community, farmer's markets, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Build It and They Will Come … Building Fairy Houses

Posted on July 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

In the woods at the Howard County Conservancy this Saturday, the 13th. Down by the stream near the Hodge Podge Lodge, “construction” of the homes for the fairies will take place. Last year, the children got incredibly creative.

The description from the web site:

JUL 13- Saturday 10am Fairy Houses: Magic in the Woods with Florence Miller, Van Wensil and Audrey Suhr– In the spirit of “Build It and They Will Come,” bring your children and join other families to build beautiful dwellings for the fairies in the Conservancy’s woodlands and stream edges. We will have bark and twigs and cones and nuts as “construction materials.”

Before you come, how about grabbing a basket and taking a walk with your children to hunt for natural building materials near your home – and bringing them with you. We’re sure the magic of our woods will bring the fairies to appreciate your constructions! We’ll photograph the beautiful “country homes” and tree-side “villages” your families build, and add these images of your ephemeral master-constructions to our Fairy House Memory Book on the Conservancy’s classroom display table – where you can re-visit them…. “forever!” Ages 10 and under. Parents, please plan to remain with your child during the program. FREE