Category Archives: Local Businesses

Eating Locally: The First Weekend of the Challenge

Posted on June 4, 2012 by AnnieRie

As I have posted, I am participating with a group of women in a challenge to cook seasonal local foods all summer and fall. We call it our SSFC and blog about it. We have set up a google reader page, as well as we all link to one another.

I also have a page where I will link back to all my posts on the challenge.

Sunday night I made the first completely local meal for the challenge, even though Saturday I also went almost totally local.

I used CSA collards, CSA Yukon Gold New potatoes, Love Dove Farms scallions, Boarman’s bacon, and South Mountain Creamery chicken, with herbs from my garden. All put in a crockpot with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a rub of herbs I dried last year. The fresh herbs included tarragon, sage, rosemary, and marjoram from my herb garden just off the kitchen.

To complement the dinner, we opened a 2009 Linden Chardonnay. This wine is a blend of all three contributing sites that make up Linden’s wines. A creamy, soft wonderful Chardonnay that does well with chicken and seafood. No longer available, this wine sold out quickly with only 206 cases made. It includes the famous experiment with the “egg” for the Avenius contribution to the blend. The “egg” is still in the cellar at Linden, and I forgot to ask at the barrel tasting what they are using it for.

We finished the meal later in the evening with a small bowl of South Mountain Creamery ice cream, their peach flavor.

Definitely a delightful meal from local sources, and using fresh meats and veggies. Not a bad wine, either, from VA.

hocofood@@@

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Everything is Better With Bacon

Posted on June 3, 2012 by AnnieRie

At least that is what you hear on TV constantly. It is why I keep a small package of thick cut bacon from Boarman in the freezer. I buy only 5-6 slices, freeze them, then take it out and cut off a few squares to add to dishes as they are being made. Like last night’s frittata.

My first Southern SOLE Food Challenge meal. A mostly local meal, with a few exceptions when putting it together. We got a boatload of chard in this week’s CSA delivery. It needed to be used in something that would highlight its earthiness, but also I wanted to balance it with a little creaminess. South Mountain Creamery to the rescue.

Mozzarella, peach ice cream and provolone from SMC

We made a trip to Hagerstown to the outlets today so stopped at the creamery on the way back. The outlets and the creamery are both off Alt. US 40, about 10 miles apart. My hubby had to get an ice cream cone, and we watched them milking cows. I also picked up two chicken leg quarters to use for Sunday night supper with some of the collard greens from the CSA. So, I get two nights meals mostly local. I miss South Mountain being at the Glenwood market.

Back to the bacon, though.

The frittata was made with eggs from TLV Farm, bought Friday at the hospital farmers market. First, I put Love Dove Farms scallions in a pan with a bit of oil, and added the equivalent of two slices of bacon, just cut off in one inch sections from the frozen package. The one inch squares will defrost and cook quickly in the skillet, giving the scallions that bacony taste. I used about 12 ounces of the chard, wilting it on top of the bacon and scallions. A little salt and pepper.

I then mixed 6 extra large eggs with a couple of ounces of milk, and two tablespoons of my recently made garlic scape pesto. Poured all of it into the pan. Let it start to set.

Then added: leftover cheeses. Firefly Farms chevre, and Bowling Green Farms feta. Totaled about 8 ounces of cheese. While we were driving home, I decided to investigate England Acres Farm as a source for meat in the future. They run a farm stand on weekends attached to their historic farm, just west of Mt. Airy.

If you are in the market for fresh chicken this week, their Cornish Rock X chickens, first batch, will be ready on the 6th. While talking to the women who run the farm stand, I found out that they would start processing and selling chickens this week. They already sold out of this week’s eggs before I stopped there at 3 pm Saturday. They do a brisk business and also carry Trickling Springs dairy items, and some amazing goat cheeses from Obergood in Sharpsburg.

I picked up a couple of greenhouse tomatoes there, one of which ended up on top of the frittata, with thin slices of the South Mountain mozzarella. Under the broiler to melt the cheese, and finish the top of the frittata.

Finished off and served with a 2010 Linden Seyval, a hybrid grape that has a citrusy taste. This wine, well balanced and relatively low in alchol, at 12.7%, went well with the frittata, and cut through that richness of the mozzarella. The greenhouse tomato had that hint of acid, and actually tasted like tomato. A promise of what we will be getting in just a few weeks from my garden.

hocofood@@@

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How Did I Do on Avoiding Grocery Stores in May?

Posted on June 1, 2012 by AnnieRie

A while back I made a resolution to avoid shopping at chain grocery stores unless I absolutely had to get something not easily found elsewhere. I also promised my hubby to clean out the pantry and freezer, and maybe he would get me a chest freezer for my summer produce and fruit.

We found the freezer at Costco and picked it up yesterday. He kept his part of this bargain and I did pretty well on my part. This March picture of the freezer shows lots of CSA and market meats that needed to be used.

I have been plowing through them and not shopping until I made a dent in it. This crock pot Tuscan style soup, made with beans, greens, new potatoes, tomatoes included chicken stock plus a smoked ham hock from the freezer.

I grilled CSA Italian sausages more than once this spring, so they are gone now.

I only set foot in Giant once, and Weis once this month. Grand total there was less than $100 together. Mostly staples and things like Mother’s Day card and Graduation cards. No produce. No meats. No seafood. I got all those things from Boarman’s, Roots, CSA, farmer’s markets, or Costco.

I also am down to only three organic pizzas in the freezer, left over from buying some packaged items at Roots before my February surgery. Turns out we didn’t need to use them.

I have to say I did a good job of ridding my freezer of processed foods. Now, to reap the benefits of my garden, the CSA, and U pick projects at Larriland by filling the freezer with summer bounty to enjoy next winter. My new chest freezer will be dedicated to fruit and veggies, and maybe part of whatever we get at the County Fair. I am thinking of getting lamb at auction this year.

I am using that last package of ground lamb from the winter farmer’s market to make kofta kebabs this weekend. My first attempt at making these. Should be interesting.

Cooking from scratch. It is far more satisfying to me to do this.

Taking this:

To this:

hocofood@@@

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Getting Ready for a Hectic Holiday Weekend

Posted on May 23, 2012 by AnnieRie

So much to do this weekend, with the holiday and with all the other events going on. What will tempt you to spend time out and about? Are you a beach goer? Or do you stay local?

Our weekend kicks off early with Wine in the Garden at the Conservancy tomorrow night. Cross your fingers for good weather. If you haven’t pre-purchased tickets, they will be selling them at the entrance. Come sip and taste in the loveliness of the Honors Garden.

Saturday I may be off to PA for a picnic at one of the farmers who supplies our CSA. It may be me and a friend, as my OldMan (OM in amateur radio speak) will be contesting and a weekend of listening to him calling “CQ Contest, CQ contest”, is hard to take. Oh wait, this is the CQ WW WPX CW contest, so all I get to hear is key clicks. Translation of the above, means it is the Morse Code only contest, and one where hams try to work as many unique prefixes, like JY, which is Jordan, or 9WA which is Malaysia.

Complicated, and easy to do if you have a unique prefix and everyone wants to call you, harder if you are a W something, like my hubby is. No one looking for him once they have worked W3LPL. He has to work hard to find all the unique prefixes out there. And, we only have wires, not towers.

Sunday I will wander back to Olney to get some fresh berries, and hope that the VA farmers there have cherries. We got our tentative list of what will be in this week’s CSA basket so I only need fruit to supplement the greens this week. I don’t want to touch the berries I processed while fresh goodies are still in the local markets. I will know tomorrow what I will be grilling if it stops threatening storms every night.

Monday we will be chilling out and avoiding those traffic clogged roads. Memorial Day traffic on the highways around here is crazy, so a day of grilling, chilling and drinking local wine sounds like a perfect ending to the holiday weekend.

Then, as retirees with nothing pressing to do later in the week, we will take a day to visit my hubby’s hometown and check on the grave sites for his dad and mom.

hocoblogs@@@

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Enjoying Friday’s Bounty

Posted on May 22, 2012 by AnnieRie

Last Friday I wrote about picking strawberries, and visiting the hospital market where I found garlic scapes and rhubarb. These fresh fruits and veggies will be part of tonight’s dinner. Two dishes, one made Saturday and one made this morning.

Garlic scapes. Never knew what they were until last year in the CSA. These are from Love Dove Farm. I bought four bundles, enough to make a double batch of pesto.

If you look closely, you can see the bulging area where a flower would emerge, if left on the plant. The farmers remove this scape, in order to force the plant to devote energy into growing the root, or the heads of garlic. Not removing the scape will inhibit the growth of the heads of garlic. These curling plants have a more delicate flavor than garlic cloves but they still pack a big punch when whirled up in the blender with parmesan, pine nuts, olive oil and salt.

I made enough to freeze some in small containers, and put a large container covered in olive oil in the fridge. It will be served tonight with pasta as a side to some tomato braised ahi, which will be slow cooked in the oven later today.

The small containers were coated lightly with oil, sealed and put in a bag to go in the freezer. The large one more heavily coated as it will be in the fridge a few days. Besides tonight, I will be making bruschetta this weekend using the ends of the Atwater’s rosemary Italian bread. I don’t always follow recipes. I cook by taste, but this was 24 scapes, about a cup of Parm, a half cup of pine nuts, salt to taste, and oil streamed in until it reached the consistency I wanted.

As for dessert tonight, it will be the strawberry rhubarb crisp I made over the weekend. Using the Larriland strawberries and rhubarb from Falcon Ridge Farm, bought at the hospital market, I made a simple crisp. The juicy strawberries made this crisp moister than the rhubarb crumble I made a week ago.

We had some Sunday night and will slice off some more tonight. If I look back at my plans, I didn’t do either thing I said I would in my Saturday post. The chicken was made with a fruit salsa, and I made the crisp instead of a compote. I tend to cook on impulse, so planning sometimes goes for nothing. I didn’t get around to doing the pesto until today.

I also did get the strawberry ice cubes popped out and packaged for use later in the summer. These little nuggets will find their way into vinaigrettes, sangrias, wine coolers, and compotes.

Can’t wait to see what we get in the CSA box Thursday. I did use up almost everything except the kale. I do want to make kale chips. Let’s see if I find the time to do so. Check out this week’s goodies at the markets and make something fresh and seasonal this weekend.

hocofood@@@

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Market Envy

Posted on May 21, 2012 by AnnieRie

Yes, I admit it. I envy those who live in Olney for the size and selection at their community market. Don’t get me wrong, I love our markets but they don’t have that festive community atmosphere that Olney has.

This market is only in its sixth year. It is a farmers and artists market, and also has food vendors. On opening day, they had special events and it was pretty crowded.

Yesterday when we went, they had a special display for kids, a bug petting zoo. Right next to the Master Gardeners who are committed to be there each week.

We started with Zeke’s Coffee and an omelet burrito, made while we watched the early attendees fill the area.

Some of the same farms frequent this market, like Falcon Ridge, who sold me rhubarb Friday in Columbia at the hospital market. Only here, they had a huge presence, with dwarf fruit trees and lots of plants.

Atwater’s was there, so I don’t have to drive to Catonsville to get artisanal breads. A loaf of rosemary Italian came home with us.

This market was the brainchild of one woman, who pitched it to the community. It took hold and grows every year. It would be wonderful to have something like this here in Howard County, like at Symphony Woods. I would volunteer to help. Why can’t we “Choose Community” and do something better than five small scattered markets?

I already posted that I was concerned at Glenwood, that South Mountain is no longer coming. Neither is Woodcamp. Thankfully, TLV stepped up to bring meats to Glenwood. Breezy Willow will be there in June, but Saturday, there was only one farmer selling spring produce at Glenwood. That is sad. There were three last summer.

It looks like I will be getting my meats by going directly to TLV and getting other things I need at Olney. It is closer to me in West County than most of the Columbia markets and Ellicott City, and equidistant to get to the hospital market. I don’t want to abandon Howard County, but if we don’t step up what we do as a county, will we lose to markets like Olney?

Should we add artisanal foods and art? That is a sticky subject, but brings in customers. Is purity more important than profit? I don’t know that answer. I just feel that our farmers are being shortchanged, and good vendors are going where the communities support them with bigger draws.

Am I off base?

hocofood@@@

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To Market, To Market

Posted on May 19, 2012 by AnnieRie

Friday and Saturday markets in HoCo were fairly busy, but not to the level they could be. I attended both this week, mainly to see what the local vendors have, and to round out my CSA box items.

Friday was better than Saturday, as I see Breezy Willow isn’t coming until June, and South Mountain Creamery isn’t coming at all. At least that is what their web site says. That’s too bad, because I loved their yogurts, mozzarella, ice cream and other goodies, like their butter. Don’t know why they canceled but it was a disappointment.

Friday I went to the Hospital site specifically to see if Love Dove Farms had garlic scapes. And, yes, they did.

Pesto will be on the menu in a few days. I picked up pine nuts at Costco in anticipation of getting scapes. I also found some lovely rhubarb from Falcon Ridge Farm in Westminster, to go with those Larriland strawberries from my morning picking frenzy.

Strawberry rhubarb compote, pesto for the TLV Tree Farm chicken from Miller Library market and I have a great meal planned for tomorrow or Monday.

This is a good warm up for our next challenge. It’s the Southern SOLE Food Challenge. Ten of us who did the winter challenge to eat locally at least once a week have informally decided to have our own summer challenge to showcase south of the Mason Dixon line cooking with market and home grown goodies. Our challenge will run from June to Halloween. Stay around and see what we cook. I will be putting up a sidebar linking to the nine blogs besides mine. All of us enjoyed learning new recipes and commiserating about finding grains and other difficult locally sourced items in the winter. This informal get together will show what we can find to cook during the high seasons here in the Southeast.

SOUTHERN SOLE FOOD CHALLENGERS
AnnieRie Unplugged – me
Backyard Grocery Northern VA
Bumble Lush Garden near DC
Eat. Drink. Nourish. South Carolina
Eating Appalachia Blue Ridge VA
Eating Floyd Southwest VA
Family Foodie Survival Guide Northern VA
Sincerely, Emily Texas
The Soffritto right up the road in Woodstock
Windy City Vegan North Carolina

Victoria from The Soffrito and I met on line here and found out we live less than 10 miles from one another. Today we met face to face for coffee at Casual Gourmet before hitting the Glenwood market. I did get some nice flowers from Greenway, and some beets and radishes from Zahradka. Plus, a buttermilk cake from Stone House, highly recommended by Lewis Orchards to showcase the local strawberries.

The flowers are already in their pots on the deck. Above the mint and with some chives I picked up at Larriland yesterday. The herb garden is done. The veggies, almost. I need to pull out the greens and put in some rainbow chard seed to get chard later this summer.

Tomorrow we are off to Olney to have brunch at their market and see if they have any dairy sources to replace South Mountain. I don’t feel like driving to B’more to get dairy, or to Frederick. We may have to resort to home delivery once a month. I do love their mozzarella, and their yogurts enough to set up a delivery schedule. It is sad we have lost all the dairies except for Bowling Green in HoCo.

Support the markets. Don’t let them lose vendors due to lack of interest. Today is Food Revolution Day, if you follow Jamie Oliver. Cook with real ingredients and enjoy the local summer bounty.

hocofood@@@

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Larriland Strawberries

Posted on May 18, 2012 by AnnieRie

My kitchen smells like strawberries. My truck smelled like strawberries. What is it about strawberries that just screams summer is coming.

OK, this is only nine pounds of strawberries. To do twenty and get the discount was way too much work. I did forget there was no school today as there were families all over Larriland on their opening morning.

Today you could pick strawberries, spinach and chard.

I obviously chose strawberries and spent about 45 minutes collecting my berries.

I then came home and started processing. These strawberries are destined for the freezer. Farmers market strawberries get eaten. I wanted three different preparations but first I wanted lunch.

Leaf lettuce from the CSA, Larriland strawberries, and Marcona almonds from Costco (not local obviously), drizzled with berry vinaigrette from Catoctin Mountain Orchards.

After lunch, the first phase. Freezing whole berries to keep them from clumping. They were dipped just on the tips in super fine sugar before freezing.

Once I came back from my other errands (will be in another post), I took them out and packaged them.

I then did the puree, in order to have cubes for vinaigrettes and for plopping into sangria.

Finally, sliced berries to put away for the winter. A little lemon juice, some super fine sugar, sliced berries, and come February I will be loving these.

Larriland’s website did say they might not have enough ripe berries to cover the weekend so call or go early. It was definitely busy today.

I did stop up at the barn to pick up a few supplies, and some chives to plant. Larriland is just a hoco tradition. For me, only ten miles from the house. Closer than all but one grocery store. How can you resist the lure of the farm?

hocofood@@@

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Sandy Spring CSA Week Two

Posted on May 17, 2012 by AnnieRie

Never fails. Buy something at the farmers market and you get it in the box. Strawberries. Weren’t listed in the preview post, but we always know there are substitutions and often additions. This was a pleasant addition.

And yes, we are officially drowning in greens. But, I did swap cilantro for mushrooms. Better to make mushroom pate. We are allowed one swap a week. I swap herbs usually, since I grow so many of them. Cilantro without tomatoes to make salsa, not my thing. I also have more than enough greens to do pesto, which I will make since I stopped at Costco today and got pine nuts and pistachios. I do some interesting pestos. Like the garlic scape pesto in this often posted pic of mushroom pate and garlic scape pesto I took to a party.

Ok, I never knew what vitamin greens were until we got them. Now I know. They are interesting and can be made many ways. Learn something new every week. Don’t have any clue what they would cost if we bought them, but suppose they are as expensive as microgreens.

This week we got:
14 ounces vitamin greens
one bunch red scallions
one head green romaine
one head red leaf lettuce
one box cremini
one box white mushrooms
one bunch cilantro (I swapped this to get another box of white mushrooms)
one large bunch of green kale
one pint strawberries

All organic. The estimated cost came to somewhere between $32-$35 depending on where you source it. Finding all this is difficult as a source for vitamin greens means a trip to DC to a market there.

After two weeks, paying $29.75 a week for our CSA we have $38 and $34, which means we are up $12.50 for cost. If I used the cheaper cost for the mushrooms, which can be found at Frank’s Produce in Waterloo behind Costco for $1.99 for the white mushrooms, it would have been $2 less. But, the gas mileage to get there just for mushrooms would have negated the savings.

What am I going to make?

Kale Chips. I love them and make them once every spring.
Mushroom Pate
Lots and lots of salads.
Strawberries with ice cream from South Mountain, or buttermilk cake from Stone House Bakery (I will be buying both this Saturday at the Glenwood market.)

Two weeks in. Loving the surprises, and the quality of the veggies.

hocofood@@@

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Wine in the Garden

Posted on May 17, 2012 by AnnieRie

With all the talk about Wine in the Woods, don’t forget that next Thursday is one of the highlights of the Howard County Conservancy annual events, Wine in the Garden.

Reduced price for tickets ends on May 20th. $40 until then, $50 after that. It is well worth the price of admission to spend the evening wandering the paths of the Honors Garden, while sampling excellent food and tasting the wines provided by the event sponsors.

All proceeds from this event go to fund the preservation and education programs at the Conservancy. This is the big event of the year, where the Conservancy’s generous sponsors donate the food, drink, and silent auction items.

As you stroll around, you will see the descriptions or the items displayed. There are some really nice additions this year to what is being offered. I am looking at the BSO tickets, or maybe the weekend at the B&B in Shepherdstown WV. Last year we won a fold up reclining chair donated by REI. Every day new items are being added as they are delivered to the Conservancy.

The caterers and wine contributors include:
Absolutely Perfect Catering ~ Atlantic Caterers ~ Biddle Street Catering and Events ~ Catering by Uptown ~ Constellation Wines US ~ Far Eastern Shore Winery ~ Gourmet Express Catering ~ Hunt Valley Catering ~ My Thyme, Inc ~ Putting on the Ritz ~ Reliable Churchill ~ The Savory Spoon ~ Simply Elegant Catering ~ The Spice Rack ~Stanford Grill ~ Your Wine & Spirit Shoppe

I wanted to highlight this list of local and nearby companies who annually contribute incredibly beautiful foods and complimenting wines that allow the guests to wander and savor the experience at their leisure. With three acres of gardens, and numerous pathways, every time you turn a corner someone is offering you treats or pouring you a couple of ounces of interesting wines.

The fruit based wines from Far Eastern Winery are really interesting, and something I would not ordinarily drink, but they paired so well with some of the spicy offerings of a couple of the caterers. Dry wines can overpower or fight with those satays, or those tasty little bites that include Indian spices.

This is what is so much fun about Wine in the Garden. The variety. The thought process to find good wines to match what you are tasting. The relative peace and quiet and the view. Beautiful al fresco setting.

And, the water lilies may be blooming by then. Last year they bloomed the beginning of June, but this year they may be a week early and looking like this.

Come join us. We are setting up auction items earlier in the day, then returning to enjoy the event with friends. Cheers!

hocoblogs@@@

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