Tag Archives: grilling

Spargel Season

Posted on May 3, 2012 by AnnieRie

OK, being German, I know spargel season is generally referring to white asparagus in Germany but it is the generic name for asparagus over there.

The first time we experienced the season was in 1989, when we went to visit neighbors who had relocated to a suburb of Munich. Everywhere you went, spargel was on the menu. Asparagus and springtime are a match to me. Tonight was a German night.

Asparagus, grilled. Weisswurst, grilled. Two of my favorite spring ingredients. Simply prepared. To me, wurst is one of those childhood memory foods. We had all kinds of wurst in the house. Leberwurst. Bratwurst. Knockwurst. Weisswurst. Bierwurst. Blutwurst. You name it. We had it on the dinner table, or on sandwiches for lunch.

I fired up the grill tonight and indulged in a trip down memory lane. Most of what was served came from farmer’s markets or local sources.

The spargel. From my local CSA. Along with spring onions from the Catonsville farmer’s market. Grilled dry and then finished with lemon olive oil, salt and pepper.

The wurst. Bought in Lancaster at the Central Market. These wurst are some of the best I have found.

The salad on the side. Tomatoes from Lancaster, served with goat cheese mozzarella, and lemon basil from my garden, bought at Sharp’s Farm. Ariston olive oil from Casual Gourmet drizzled over the top.

The mustard. Lowensenf, bought in Lancaster. First bought by me in Germany. The taste of German mustard. Something I remember from childhood.

The wine to accompany it. A sauvignon blanc from Glen Manor. That citrusy New Zealand style that will cut through the richness of the veal and the mustard, and compliment the meal.

Hmmm, other than the salt and pepper, to make this meal, we never set foot in a grocery store. Eating fresh real food, made from scratch. Evoking memories of my childhood. Can it get any better?

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, GGSAC, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, Food, foodie, grilling, hoco loco, Locavore, real food, traditions. Bookmark the permalink.

A Typical (?) Day in West County

Posted on April 29, 2012 by AnnieRie

Today started out with lovely weather. I uncovered the plants, fed the blue jays and squirrels their peanuts, put the tomato plants out to get some sun, and cleaned out the bird bath. This afternoon I want to plant some more herbs and finish prepping the vegetable garden.

That was all before this little visitor showed up, at 11 am.

Right outside my kitchen window, and chasing the birds and squirrels. Yes, it did get something.

Took it around behind the garden, then heard me and took off north from behind the pine trees and our shed.

Now I have to worry about what I put outside. Usually the fox hunts at dusk. There must be hungry babies up in a den somewhere on the undeveloped land north of us. There are about 11 acres of natural habitat north of us, that is the home for many of the animals that live here. I need to tell my neighbor to keep the kitties in, or stay out with them.

Well, since the weather improved, it’s back to putting plants in the herb garden and working on cleaning out the vegetable gardens for transplanting tomatoes next week. With the weather looking to stay close to normal, I might have the tomatoes transplanted the week before Mother’s Day, which is the traditional day that there is no longer a possibility of frost.

I may also head out later to Sharp’s to finish buying plugs of cucumbers, and some flowers for around the patio and along the front pathway. The greenhouses are open on Sundays from 12-5, and now that I have figured out the vegetable layout of the garden, it is time to pick up plugs of flowers to put out. They have plugs for 65 cents a piece, 55 cents each if you purchase two dozen or more. It is the most economical way to put in splashes of annuals all around your property.

Just a typical Sunday here in West County. What is your Sunday like? Any grilling tonight? Enjoy the great weather, in spring, the reason we don’t want to move from Howard County. Love this season of growth, warmth and anticipation. Might have to repeat this meal. Get out the steaks and wrap some Boarman’s bacon around some asparagus. Break open a bottle of local wine. Sounds like a great Sunday to me.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Birds, Community, Food, Gardening, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Nature, Weather, West HoCo and tagged Food, gardening, grilling, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, nature, spring flowers, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

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.