Tag Archives: foodie

MD beef with MD wine

Posted on April 21, 2012 by AnnieRie

The grilling Saturday night special.

New York strip steaks from TLV Tree Farm. CSA peppers and onions. Wild asparagus from my yard. Pancetta bought at Roots. All getting happy on the grill at 500 degrees.

We got lucky and ate before it rained. This is a MD based dinner. Most of the food is from the Free State. A few exceptions, like the cheese from VA in the salad, and the blackberries from Costco. The blackberry vinaigrette is from Catoctin Mountain Orchards in Thurmont.

The wine: Slate, from Black Ankle Vineyards just across the county line above Mt. Airy.

The syrah adds an interesting note to what was otherwise mostly Bordeaux vinifera. Really nice, young, big wine from an up and coming Md winery.

The steaks were perfect. The peppers a good match. A low carb (relatively) meal with tons of flavor, locally sourced.

The asparagus from the yard. Awesome! I wrote about it here. And, no, it is no longer white once I exposed it to the sun. Still, a great dinner. Mostly local. Lots of it from less than 25 miles from the house.

hocofood@@@

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Grillin and Chillin in Locavore Style

Posted on April 17, 2012 by AnnieRie

Today was lovely. One of those days you are glad you are retired. Cleaned up the grill. Did some yard work. And grilled up a locavore meal.

This is surf and turf Boarman’s style.

We bought two crabcakes Sunday. And four mushrooms. Split the crabcakes into the mushrooms with some Trader Joe’s mustard underneath and Old Bay sprinkled on top. Brushed with Trickling Springs butter. Grilled up off the flame.

The sausages are Boarman’s sweet Italian. Not the spicy ones.

As for the rest of the meal, it was mostly CSA foods. Potatoes, onions and the defrosted peppers, all came from Zahradka. The only non-local items here were the tomatoes, but they also were bought at Boarman’s. The bread. Sourdough from Canela, bought at Boarman’s.

I did not set foot in a grocery store to buy these foods. You can have lovely meals from small stores using local sources.

The wine: the Linden 2011 Rose made from the estate merlot grapes. 2011 was the difficult year, due to the hurricane and all the rain. Lots of good grapes that didn’t get to be great wines are being used to make light refreshing wines. This wine was a perfect match to compliment crab and pork sausage.

Doesn’t get much better than this.

hocofood@@@

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White Asparagus Anyone? Right Out of Your Yard?

Posted on April 17, 2012 by AnnieRie

White Asparagus. What comes up deep under the mulch if you don’t move it out of the way.

Wild asparagus grows many places in this area. The best way to find out is to look for the plants that aren’t harvested and that become small trees. This is how we found ours.

At the base of one of the crepe myrtles there are thin wispy fronds that have fallen over. They are what sprouts from the crown if you don’t harvest the plant. You can find them if you really look carefully. We found ours while mulching one year. It seems this plant was some sort of volunteer that comingles with the base of the crepe myrtle.

Today I went out looking and first saw this.

If you look very closely, you can find one spear in the upper left, and one in the lower right. We had lots of mulch built up around the crepe myrtle this spring so the rest of the spears were fully covered. Careful moving of the mulch revealed the rest.

Then I started uncovering the white ones.

White because of lack of exposure to sunlight. I also found this one hidden on the other side of the bush.

Now there are five spears coming up in total. Hopefully in two or three days, I will have enough to cut and make pancetta wrapped grilled asparagus. Foraged food. Right out of the backyard.

Do a little looking around in parks and on roadways in the area. See if you can find a source of asparagus. Don’t tell anyone you found it. Just harvest and enjoy.

hocofood@@@

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Terroir

Posted on April 16, 2012 by AnnieRie

It really makes a difference. The earth. The soil. Are you partial to fruits and vegetables grown in your area?

Are you, like me, someone who craves Eastern Shore tomatoes, ‘lopes and watermelons, because they taste the way they do?

And, even though hydroponically grown tomatoes have flavor, it doesn’t pick up terroir, because there is no soil.

It is interesting that Glen Manor changed their web site this week. They have always featured the term “a sense of place”, which is what terroir roughly translates to mean. Their new web site has more detail on what that means to them.

Last Thursday night, I blogged about my pizza with a 2002 Linden Cabernet Franc. Full of fruit, hint of smoke.

Friday we drove to Front Royal to pick up our 2009 Hodder Hill allocation from Glen Manor. we had to get it quickly as it had just won the VA Governor’s Cup and was already in short supply.

We tasted the 2010 Cabernet Franc, and surprise, the same hint of smoke. Why? Because in 2002 the Linden Cabernet Franc consisted largely of Glen Manor’s grapes.

Terroir!

Jeff worked at Linden before going out on his own. He learned from one of the best in VA. His wines reflect that same commitment to using what nature gives you.

You can’t go wrong with either one of these vineyards. If you talk to either one of them, they will tell you first and foremost they are farmers. They grow grapes. They make amazing wines from those grapes.

I may sit down with friends this weekend if it stays warm and decide whose dry Rose is my favorite for a summer time wine. They both make great reds, but their style of Rose isn’t bad either.

If you want to visit two beautiful wineries and taste some of the best of VA, you can’t go wrong at either site. I love the fact, no limos, no large groups, no party people. Just simple folk who love wine.

Glen Manor

Linden Vineyards

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That Whole Grocery Store Avoidance Thing

Posted on April 12, 2012 by AnnieRie

Who knew you could put together a pizza this good looking without setting foot in a chain grocery store? Or by eating out.

A while back, I evaluated how much better I was doing by moving from processed to whole foods and declared an avoidance strategy when it comes to shopping the easy way at grocery stores.

I called it my GGSAC and only posted twice about it. So, how am I doing at avoiding the Giant Food and Safeway stores? For the past two weeks since I started, pretty well with an exception for Harris Teeter when I didn’t feel like running across the county to Costco or up to H Mart for fish.

I have spent more time and money in Boarman’s, Roots and David’s so far this month. I have been using up pantry items bought last fall, and have also put together a bag full of stuff to take to the Food Bank. If it makes me sneeze, it is out of here. If it has a long list of additives, same thing.

Thanks to Nicole at Hoco Loco for commenting that she saw Meyer Lemons at David’s. Yesterday we made it there to do some shopping that included locally made sausages and the aforementioned lemons. Looks like National Boh Brats on the grill this weekend maybe. Made in Baltimore.

I got a few things necessary as well to make a killer pizza tonight. The cheese, oh, the cheese. My favorite Mountain Top Bleu from Firefly Farms, bought at the Silver Spring Market.

Pancetta, bought at David’s Natural Market. The pizza crust came from Roots. The fig butter was in the fridge, and from Trader Joe’s.

The greens, from my garden, the asparagus, the first delicate spear from that wild plant under the crepe myrtles. Finished with a drizzle of Ariston olive oil bought at Casual Gourmet, this pizza is so satisfying.

Dinner was served with a 2002 Linden Cabernet Franc, still hanging in there after ten years. Full of fruit, a hint of smoke, not tired or fading. No bell pepper taste that Virginia francs sometimes exhibit. This lovely wine balanced the sweetness of the fig butter, the saltiness of the pancetta, the earthiness of the cheese, and the tang of the greens. What a great combination and a satisfying meal, NOT courtesy of boxed supermarket pizza.

hocofood@@@

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Winter CSA Week Fifteen

Posted on April 6, 2012 by AnnieRie

Since we have another freeze warning tonight, I suppose we really aren’t out of winter yet. March was the warmest on record around here so we were getting used to seeing spring type veggies in the box. Today we go back to the reality of cooler weather and the veggies associated with it. I just got finished covering the garlic, lettuces, tulips and chive seedlings again.

We got an email saying the farmer who supplies us meat was MIA last night, so no meat this week. Double portion next week. That is OK, since I went to Harris Teeter yesterday and stocked up on seafood. Sustainable, of course.

Crab cakes for dinner last night.

I was using up most of the spinach from last week, with green onions and potatoes and local mushrooms bought at HT.

This week, I got:

1 1/2 pounds of carrots
4 nice spring onions
2 large leeks
1 pound new red potatoes
4 oranges from the partner farm in FL
1 beet that weighed 28 ounces

Add that to the beet from last week.

They are slow roasting on a salt bed in the oven for a few hours, until tender. They will become part of a salad with goat cheese and the last of the spring greens from a delivery a week ago, for tomorrow night’s dinner with some Alaskan wild salmon.

Since it is almost Easter, I have to show the cool eggs we got.

I particularly like the green one. I am hard boiling about 6-8 of them tomorrow, the prettiest ones. They will get taken to my brother’s for the Easter Egg Tapping contest.

I am drowning in eggs again. With this dozen today, there are 30 eggs in the fridge. I know now that two dozen a month is too much. Without a large family, or a baker in the house, I don’t know how people go through the eggs they get in local CSAs. I think in the future I will probably pass on eggs in the winter CSA.

Dinner tonight will be pan seared scallops from Harris Teeter, with baby red potatoes from the CSA, and salad to use the last of the spinach. I wonder if Harris Teeter is the store most affected by Wegmans coming in. I like the way they make sure you don’t stand in line too long for checkout. I also like the guys making sushi. We went there for things they have the best selection of, like fennel, ginger and some of the more exotic mushrooms. They do have nice produce but I am carefully reading the labels to buy items from the closest sources.

The CSA provides me with a solid basis to menu plan. The few extras needed to make interesting dinners are all I want to purchase from other than local vendors. That way, I am making what I call the 90% solution locavore dinners. Every little bit helps.

hocofood@@@

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Feeding My Farmer’s Market Addiction in Silver Spring

Posted on March 31, 2012 by AnnieRie

It’s been two months since I set foot in a farmer’s market. I think I was having withdrawal symptoms, so I coerced persuaded my better half to drive me down to Silver Spring this morning. I can drive now, but can’t carry. I suppose that if I went by myself I might buy less, but there’s no fun in that.

I decided to issue myself a personal challenge. That is, not to set foot in Giant, Safeway, Food Lion or Weis for the next six months unless I absolutely have to. There are just a few things not available elsewhere that I buy in the grocery store.

My goal is to use CSA, farmers’ markets, Boarman’s, local veggie stands, small businesses, family owned businesses (have to say this to sneak in Wegman’s), pick your own farms, and everything else I can think of that will provide me mostly real food instead of processed.

I will keep track of what I do and use the blog to discuss how well I am doing in really changing my diet to eliminate more and more of the processed foods. Today was the beginning of stocking up on fresh foods, and clearing out the pantry and fridge of the processed stuff.

We arrived around 11 am and the first thing you see is the Atwater’s truck.

I had to pick up a loaf of kalamata olive bread to serve with the last chicken noodle soup out of the freezer tonight. We had demolished the two loaves we bought last week in Catonsville, partially by taking some to friends for dinner last night.

We got apples, spring onions and chard from Spring Valley. It is so good to see spring onions. I love them with microgreens, like the ones in yesterday’s CSA delivery. Down to Firefly Farms for cheese, and Mock’s Greenhouses for the wonderful cherry tomatoes, hydroponically grown basil and arugula.

I am going to make my own flatbread dough with the Union Mills flour I picked up at Breezy Willow a while ago, and put arugula, bleu cheese and Boarman’s sausage on it one night next week. The hydroponic greens and the high tunnel cherry tomatoes from Mock’s are a hint of what is to come in summer. The basil is intensely scented, making me want to create a caprese salad if only I had some fresh mozzarella. The tomatoes burst with flavor and you wouldn’t know they were “hothouse” tomatoes unless someone told you.

I was talking to them and yes, they will be a supplier to Wegmans in Columbia just like they are in Frederick. Woo Hoo! Their bibb lettuce is incredibly sweet and delicious but today I already had containers full of greens and spinach at home from the CSA. This week we will be feasting on fresh salads.

Stopped at Garden Path Farms to pick up short ribs to use in the crockpot tomorrow with the chard bought at Spring Valley and the CSA mustard greens.

Soaking cranberry beans from MOM’s overnight tonight, so dinner will be greens, beans and ribs in the slow cooker. I will use the last pint of my turkey stock from the freezer to make this. Another real food dinner made from scratch.

After picking up these goodies, we hit Lebanese Taverna for a kafta sandwich. There are so many interesting restaurants on Ellsworth just behind City Place. Want Pho? Peri Peri? Thai? Lebanese? Potbelly Sandwiches? The list is endless. 100+ restaurants in the surrounding area. Free parking in the Wayne Avenue garage. A Whole Foods across from the parking garage as well in case you aren’t already shopped out.

Take a cooler in your trunk. Hit the market. Next week they go back to spring hours. From 9 am to 1 pm. Have breakfast, brunch or lunch and get in shape for our markets to open in six weeks. Can’t beat fresh veggies, meats, cheeses, eggs and fruit from area farmers.

And follow me on my GGSAC* journey. The *Great Grocery Store Avoidance Challenge*.

hocofood@@@

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Winter CSA Week Fourteen – Only Four to Go

Posted on March 30, 2012 by AnnieRie

About 3 pm, the cooler lid was closed. I can hear it from the kitchen. That means CSA delivery. Week fourteen with four more left. Two more dozen eggs to come. Four more deliveries of fresh meat. Then, a week of nothing, followed by the start of my spring/summer CSA at the Conservancy.

This week’s bounty showed how things change when the weather starts to improve.

For a half share, this is quite a bit of veggies. We got:

Beets (well, it was supposed to be plural, but that beet weighs 1 lb, 6 oz.)
Turnips, 3 of them weighing over a pound total
Potatoes, white and red, almost 2 lbs total
Mustard Greens
Spinach, this is a huge amount of spinach, almost a pound
MicroGreens, almost a pound

The microgreens alone at the Silver Spring Market used to cost $14 a pound. Five ounce bags at the store cost $4 if they are organic. CSAs are really a great deal when the weather cooperates. You get an amazing variety of veggies for your investment.

Everything was cleaned and put away. As for the meat delivery this week, it was bulk sausage, all wrapped up in plastic, but not particularly photo worthy. Over a pound of it. Can’t wait to make something with it. I may try out that scrapple recipe again and tweak it a bit.

As for the rest, my husband wants turnip, potato and carrot mash, like I made for a recent dinner. With some fresh sage from my garden used to make sage butter. Fresh rosemary out there too. Sounds like something to use in rosemary roasted potatoes.

Greens, beans and bacon sound good too. Meal planning is fun, when the foods do it justice.

For those of you craving spring veggies, take a jaunt down Rte. 29 Saturday morning and hit the Silver Spring year round market from 10-1, just north of Georgia Ave. on Ellsworth. I am going down to see what’s available in March. Haven’t been there since January, when pickings were slim.

Only six more weeks until the Howard County markets open, and until I get my first box from Sandy Spring. Dreaming of garlic scape pesto and mushroom pate already.

hocofood@@@

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In Search of Salsify

Posted on March 25, 2012 by AnnieRie

Back in December, in our fall CSA from Sandy Spring, we got salsify in the box. A fuzzy strange looking vegetable.

I had no idea what to do with it, but went on line and started reading. It turns out that it is in the sunflower family, and the vegetable we see is the root of the purple salsify plant. It isn’t very common around here, but has been cultivated in other parts of the world to a greater extent.

It tastes like oysters, believe it or not. I went and found a huge collection of recipes on this site, vintage recipes. For one of my eat local challenge meals, I made the simple fritters recipe from the Boston cooking school cookbook of 1896. Cooking all of what I had from the CSA, and wishing afterwards that I could have had more of it.

I started searching for it. Found some really hard, gnarly ones at Harris Teeter in Maple Lawn. They were OK but not as flavorful as the fresh ones. It is going to be a quest at the farmer’s markets to ask if anyone does plant them. Since they are the root of a sunflower, I am guessing it will be pretty late in the season for me to see local ones, if at all. I may just have to identify a source and buy it in the fall or winter when it is ready to harvest.

If not there, I will also be checking out whether the new Wegman’s will have them. They did not at the Wegman’s in Frederick, although they have another root veggie I like, sunchokes. That is a topic I will write about sometime in the future. I find it a fascinating byproduct of the CSA, veggies you would not pick up on your own and make.

Anyone ever found salsify around here?

hocofood@@@

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An Update to My Meat Sources

Posted on March 21, 2012 by AnnieRie

HowChow inspired me to go back and look at a previous post about finding local meat sources.

So, I spent some time updating this post, with new links, more information and a couple of web sites to check out.

I wanted to focus on places I have used, and those near to us in the county. With all the talk about where our food originates, using butchers and farmers where you can check it out is even more important to those of us trying to eat foods that are better for us.

Use realtimefarms and localharvest to search in your area. Use your zip code and meat as the product. And, since the weather is so wonderful, take some out and grill it.

Happy hunting!

hocofood@@@

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