Tag Archives: hoco loco

October Will Be Busy at the Conservancy

Posted on September 25, 2012 by AnnieRie

I just checked my schedule for October. Wow! Three events at the Howard County Conservancy, on Saturdays. Plus, for me, my volunteer hike leading for school fields trips.

The Fall Festival on October 6th from 11 am to 3 pm. This year there will be a new addition. Evelyn Mogren will be carving an owl using her chain saw. Here is a Sun story on Evelyn. The carved owl will reside in the new Natural Play Area between the goats and the barn. Admission to the Fall Festival is $10 a car.

natural play area

On October 13th, the wonder talk (instead of walk) will be on creepy creatures aka toads, worms, spiders and snakes. It starts at 10 am. This one is extremely popular, so advanced registration is recommended. Even though the wonder walks and talks are free, if the Conservancy reaches room capacity, only pre-registrants will be admitted. Nice that the programs have become so popular that attendance for many of the popular topics surpasses one hundred.

On the 20th, we will be leading another of our family hikes on the property. Again, a 10 am start. Naturalists will lead age appropriate groups. Little ones can see the animals and wander not too far from the main buildings with topics they can relate to, while adults and families with older children will go on a longer hike through the trails to the streams and through the forest.

Add to all this I see I have scheduled myself as a volunteer naturalist for five field trips with the elementary school children where I will be leading hikes. Maybe I need to go back to work to get a rest. Retirement is way too busy! But, satisfying.

hocoblogs@@@

Wanna Do Something Fun Tonight?

Posted on September 21, 2012 by AnnieRie

How about a twilight hike and s’mores around a campfire? Story telling, too! The Howard County Conservancy is offering a twilight hike on the grounds, ending up at a campfire where you can roast marshmallows and make s’mores while listening to stories around the fire. Bring flashlights to light the way back to the main building after the hike.

on the trail near the campfire site at HCC

A great Friday evening family offering. Check out the details on the Upcoming Events page.

The weather should be beautiful tonight. Lows in the 60s. Crisp and mostly clear. One of those special fall days that make us remember why we love living in Howard County.

night sky in the fall

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Posted in Community, Family, Howard County, Nature and tagged community, family, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

My House Reeks of Basil

Posted on September 14, 2012 by AnnieRie

Really. The entire first floor smells like basil. The blue basil will not give up. It keeps branching out and growing. I whacked back another batch and have two cups of it sitting there waiting patiently to become pesto. The containers below are from a few weeks back, and are happily resting in the freezer.

Pesto ready for the freezer

Our locavore cooking challenge has a theme this weekend. Preserving and canning food. I am not a big canner, but with my new chest freezer I have become a freezing fool. Tomatoes, berries, peppers, corn, pesto, and sauces. I have a good supply put away to sustain me during the 14 week hiatus from getting CSA deliveries.

It’s hard to believe the basil started out in May looking pretty bare. And then it went wild. This is the herb garden before you could even see the basil.

Every growing season surprises me. This year the basil and rosemary took off. So did the thyme. The sage died. Don’t know why. but it did. The marjoram and tarragon also succumbed to the heat. It will be interesting to see how the rosemary does this winter. It has come back for three years. And, the thyme has wintered well.

It is almost time to plant the garlic. If you want to try something simple to grow, head to the local farmer’s markets and pick up some garlic. Put the cloves in a big flower pot, with lots of mulch over them. Come next May, you will have fresh garlic you grew. I loved my spring garlic from my flower beds, harvested in June.

hocofood@@@

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

Is It Really Week 19 of the CSA?

Posted on September 13, 2012 by AnnieRie

Time flies when you are enjoying it. We seem to be heading quickly into fall, and the CSA reflects that. Getting more root veggies, some greens and the last of the tomatoes.

Sandy Spring CSA Week 19, Columbia MD delivery

The list:
1 Green Zucchini
1 Bag Chioggia Beets
1 Bag Sweet Potatoes
1 Bunch Rainbow Chard
1 Bag Sweet Banana Peppers
1 Bag Green Beans
1 Leek (I have two because I swapped basil for it)
1 Bag Red Tomatoes
1 Bunch Orange Carrots
1 Bunch French Breakfast Radishes
1 Head Bok Choy

What will I do this week? Definitely making chocolate zucchini bread. Making a Nicoise salad with the beans and leftover potatoes from a previous week, for a lunch at the Conservancy. Sweet potato gnocchi sound good, too.

I love getting all the root veggies in the fall.

As for things from the past, today at Wegmans we saw someone with a Tshirt that read “Kale is the new Beef”. Well, those of us in long term CSA relationships have been into kale for a long time. Now, it must be the IN thing. So, in honor of the shirt sighting, I came home and made spicy kale chips with the last of the kale from a few weeks back. By the way, the kale was still fresh in those green bags. They are a life saver in the CSA world.

Spicy kale chips

This version had seasoned salt, paprika, white pepper and olive oil. They will be appetizers before I do pan seared lemon sea scallops, picked up at Wegmans today. The last of the corn. And, potato and green bean salad.

Potato and green bean salad

Simple salad. Blanched beans. A pound of purple and white potatoes, parboiled. Mayo and white wine vinegar to taste. Scallions, salt, pepper and a few small tomatoes.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, CSA, Food, foodie, hoco loco, Locavore, real food, wegman's. Bookmark the permalink.

Eating Locally: What Did I Do Last Week?

Posted on September 10, 2012 by AnnieRie

Getting towards the end of our group who blog about our local eating adventures during the height of the growing season. Next week we get to blog about our preserving and canning adventures but this week, I just have a few random comments.

About how the CSA has changed my life. How would you like flourless squash brownies?

Flourless Squash Brownies

Because of our linkyparty on CSA recipes over at InHerChucks, I found A Little Nosh (love her tag line). This is the before picture. There is no after picture. They got eaten too quickly.

About how certain plants went crazy and others bombed. The basil created another huge round of pesto making. I got six more cups of basil out of this cutting. Two or three more cups of basil still out there.

Basil being rinsed

If you look at the picture below, you will see the good tomatoes and the ones the stink bugs destroyed. Careful cutting before slicing or processing was necessary to avoid damaged areas.

Heirloom tomatoes, some with stink bug damage

About how the farmers markets and the farm stands have replaced grocery stores in my shopping trips. I discovered England Acres and go there frequently. I get eggs and meat from them and from TLV.

England Acres fields

About almost completely eliminating processed foods and grocery store meats. Dinner Friday included TLV beef short ribs, CSA potatoes and kale, and tomato sauce made with my Amish paste tomatoes. Nothing processed in this dinner. All fresh. Almost all local. Except for the olive oil I used to brown the meat.

slow cooked short ribs

Check out my Local Challenge page and see what my friends are cooking. You may get addicted to ajvar, like I did. Mine is redder than Rebecca’s. Haven’t figured out what I did differently. Eat a local meal soon and enjoy the last of the summer bounty.

Ajvar, a Serbian eggplant, red pepper spread

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, SSFC and tagged cooking, crock pot cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, Food, foodie, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, hoco loco, local businesses, Locavore, real food, tomatoes. Bookmark the permalink.

Eating Locally: A Tasty Brunch

Posted on September 2, 2012 by AnnieRie

It is a holiday weekend. A lazy morning. Late brunch. Using mostly local ingredients. Somewhere we picked up a bottle of locally produced Bloody Mary Mix. VA made. We made Virgin Mary’s. At our age, vodka at 10 am means a nap not long afterwards. This is a spicy thick rich Bloody Mary Mix. Anchovies and clam juice. The sea in a glass.

Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mix

Besides that, we made our favorite eggs with toast. The eggs. TLV Tree Farm. Bought at the Howard County Market at the hospital. The butter. Trickling Springs, bought at England Acres Farm. The bread, from Roots.

I love making eggs from free range chickens. Look at the yolk on these eggs.

This brunch counts as one of my local meals for our Southern Sole Food Challenge. Ten of us from south of the Mason Dixon Line are cooking a local meal every week and blogging about it. Today for me, it is brunch. Check out what the others make at their sites, listed here.

Do your own local meals. Buy at the Howard County Farmers Markets. Or, at the local farms. Check out my local resources page to see where I buy local good foods.

hocofood@@@

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

Processed Foods

Posted on September 1, 2012 by AnnieRie

I think I spent all day today processing fresh veggies. I now have a greater appreciation for what my mom and grandmom did, with all that work associated with freezing (and canning) foods. I haven’t done much canning. Mostly freezing, after blanching or preparing the veggies from the CSA and farmer’s markets.

Roasted Beets

The beets were dry roasted, to put in salads this week. Besides the beets, I had jalapenos in the oven. These are destined to become the base for chili oil, once they age in the fridge.

Roasted Jalapenos

I also made ajvar, using eggplant and red peppers.

Add a little roasted garlic, and make this wonderful spread.

Roasted Garlic

The finished product. So flavorful. Not that hard to make. Roast eggplant and peppers. When done, throw a head of garlic cloves in the oven, after turning it off. Puree all of it in the blender. Add olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic to make it taste the way you want it.

Ajvar

I finished all this by blanching and freezing the roma tomatoes from the CSA. These were peeled and bagged, after blanching, and will be added to crock pot dinners this winter.

Tomorrow, if I am ambitious, the peaches will be blanched, peeled and frozen, to use in vinaigrettes and sauces all winter.

I made a mess of the kitchen, using the blender and the food processor, both of them twice. I swear, I spend all my time doing dishes. Oh, I forgot, I did process two peaches, with yogurt, peach nectar and honey, to make peach pops.

Peach yogurt pops

What did you do this weekend?

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Food, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, Food, gardening, hoco loco, Howard County, Locavore, real food, tomatoes. Bookmark the permalink.

Home Made Tomato Sauce

Posted on August 29, 2012 by AnnieRie

One of the pleasures of growing tomatoes. Home made sauces to savor months from now.

Chunky tomato sauce

If you don’t grow tomatoes, you can pick them at Larriland. If you have never tried making tomato sauce, you really need to do it, if only to know how amazingly good a home made sauce will taste. Those of us who grew up in the 50s and 60s are used to smelling that intoxicating mixture of onions and garlic. Our parents made sauce, or gravy for those with Italian roots. Spaghetti with home made sauce was on our plates at least once a week in the summer, when tomatoes were abundant and cheap.

Sauce is easy, just a bit time consuming to get the flavors to develop. Start with the base. In this batch, I used carrots, onions, garlic, red pepper and olive oil. One carrot. One onion. Two cloves garlic. Half a large red pepper. Olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Sauce base

The tomatoes were blanched in another pot. I used about five pounds of tomatoes for this sauce. After blanching, pull off the skins, and squeeze out the seeds. Cool water makes it easier to handle them.

I put them in the sauce one by one and mash them up to get the sauce the way I like it. Add Italian seasoning using herbs like oregano, basil and thyme.

Keep adding tomatoes, then simmer for at least 30 minutes. I then put the sauce in freezer containers, except for a small batch which goes in the refrigerator to use as soon as possible. The rest will be a welcome reminder of summer in the dead of winter.

Oh yeah, I think we are getting more tomatoes tomorrow in the CSA. Time to make more sauce.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Food, Gardening, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, hoco loco, Locavore, real food, tomatoes. Bookmark the permalink.

“The Chew” Inspired Dinner

Posted on August 28, 2012 by AnnieRie

OK, now that I am retired, I tend to watch the noon news. A while back, I started watching The Chew, or at least I had the TV on while I was doing other things. It is The Chew that inspired this dinner.

Green Tomato Pasta and Prosciutto and Melon with Arugula

Pasta based on a Mario Batali recipe, as well as the melon salad, based on an MB carpacchio. Oh, let’s not forget the cocktail. A Michael Symon inspired Meyer Lemon Basil Fizz.

A few days ago I made the green tomato spaghetti. I still have lots of greens, and quite a few tomatoes that fall off the vines before they are fully ripe. They ended up in this dish. I did substitute some organic basil and cheese ravioli tonight, and my pesto is one of those mutt varieties. All sorts of greens. Leftovers, so to speak.

This pesto was made with carrot tops, radish greens, mint, basil, parsley, pistachios, pine nuts, parmesan and garlic. Olive oil drizzled in. I didn’t measure anything. It was all done by taste. Sometimes winging it gives you awesome food.

Then, I took those tomatoes that fell off the vines in the storms Sunday night. Sauteed them in olive oil with scallions. Added only salt and pepper.

The pasta was from David’s. A basil based organic ravioli. The salad. Made with arugula, melon and prosciutto. Mario Batali had a melon carpacchio the other day. I don’t have salami around, but had prosciutto. Clean and fresh. You can build layers of flavors using four simple ingredients. Cantaloupe. Prosciutto. Arugula. Pepper.

Melon prosciutto salad

The wine. One of our favorite New Zealand style Sauvignon Blancs from Glen Manor in Virginia. Cuts through that richness of the pesto. I had enough pesto left to keep for another meal. There will be more green tomatoes.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Food, Gardening, Locavore, Real Food, Retirement, Wine and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, gardening, GGSAC, heirloom tomatoes, hoco loco, Locavore, real food, tomatoes, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Markets and Farms

Posted on August 25, 2012 by AnnieRie

I had intended to do a mid summer look at what is happening at local markets and farms, but somehow the month of August got away from me. We are two thirds of the way through the Howard County market season, which will wind down the end of October. I have visited three of the five producer only markets in the county, with most of my visits to Miller Library and HCGH. The other location is Glenwood on Saturdays. Not living near East Columbia, I haven’t been to Cradlerock or Oakland Mills. Many of the vendors go to multiple markets, so with the exception of only five, I have seen the rest.

I like our markets, even though they aren’t huge. They are producer only, and you can get a good assortment of veggies and fruits, bread, meat, coffee, cheese, baked goods, flowers and plants, by visiting them. Their prices are reasonable as well. I try to hit one of them each week, for the things I don’t get in the CSA. Our CSA is almost exclusively veggies, so I have lots of other goodies to buy at the markets. Things like bread from The Breadery.

The Breadery’s lemon rosemary loaf

And, flowers from Greenway Farms.

Celosia

Plus, for me, eggs and meat are an important purchase. Currently, only TLV farm sells meat at our markets, and they sell eggs. Breezy willow also has eggs.

TLV smoked bacon

The markets aren’t my only source of farm fresh goodness. I have been going to England Acres regularly for chicken, eggs, dairy and cheese. When I am there, I do find other bargains like I did today. Peaches, roma tomatoes, gala apples, all $1 a pound. Check out the white peaches. Four peaches. They weighed 3.7 pounds total. One of them weighed a pound. The others just a bit under. One of these lovely peaches will be grilled Monday night, and served with balsamic.

huge white peaches

England Acres is fun, for families there is lots to do. Feed the chickens. Check out the goats. Today, you could pick corn, or dig potatoes. They are five miles west of Mt. Airy, so if you live in West County, they aren’t far at all. I take a cooler and buy meat and dairy. I also hand pick my eggs, still with hay on them, from the basket. This week I got all large eggs. I will be saving them for a week or so, to use for some deviled eggs.

fresh eggs from England Acres chickens

Besides England Acres, we also head out to Larriland when they have new UPick items. We have done blackberries. Blueberries. Strawberries. I will be heading out to get peaches and apples this week. In the fall I will harvest greens to blanch and freeze.

strawberry picking at Larriland

I haven’t made it to Gorman yet, but I hope to get there. For me, this time of year is awesome. All these wonderful good veggies and fruits there for us to enjoy. In the fall I also will go out to Sharp’s Farm for some specialty pumpkins and fall squash. TLV farms also allows you to pick your own pumpkins.

Don’t let the summer and fall get by without experiencing our local farmers. Hit a local farm stand, one where they grow it themselves. Come to the markets. Take the family out to a farm to see the animals and see food right out of the ground. The goats at England Acres would love to see them.