Tag Archives: Locavore

“Meat” Some Local Farmers

Posted on November 16, 2013 by AnnieRie

Today I did a loop to three local farms that sell meat products produced from animals raised on their farms. I am doing some background work for upcoming Conservancy events, and getting some absolutely lovely products in my travels.

I don’t know which farm I have the longest history for buying their products. A toss up between Maple Lawn and Clark’s.

Turkey from Maple Lawn. Year round, did you know?

The fresh turkeys are available for Thanksgiving, but they also offer frozen items all year. Like these turkey drumsticks. My husband’s favorite part of the turkey, and perfect for soup.

Six in a package for $7. I brought them home, wrestled them apart with a boning knife and put them back in the freezer in two packs. Good for future stock making and soups. And, maybe roasting a couple on the grill on one of our warmer days.

We have already ordered a small (8-10 lb) fresh turkey to grill for our Thanksgiving celebration. We pick that up at Boarmans the day before Thanksgiving.

As for Clark’s, I went to find brisket. They are difficult to find around here. A limited cut when you are looking at small batch production of just a few animals at a time. I did get one.

Copper Penny is a new discovery for us. We have seen them advertised, but this morning I saw their Facebook page said they were going to be open on Saturday mornings since their farmer’s market over in Anne Arundel County has closed for the season.

I went looking for two things. Soup bones and kielbasa. We are on this quest for the best kielbo in Maryland (to rival my husband’s favorite from PA). I also found mini chorizo, and bacon ends.

Bacon ends are perfect to use, when cooking those CSA greens. Collards and bacon, for example.

All winter long, these farms and others in the area offer us an alternative to enjoy pasture raised and grass fed products.

I have some new places to add to my farm lists. My advice, though, go early if you don’t want to be disappointed. Clark’s was packed at 1220, and they were selling everything they had. Amazing following of locals coming there to purchase.

Copper Penny sold out of eggs before I got there, and the last of their chickens went too. Small farms. Nice to see that they have customers who support them all year.

My freezer now has just about all we need to get through the winter, until the markets and CSAs start up again next spring.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

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

Tuesday Tidbits

Posted on November 12, 2013 by AnnieRie

Odds and ends about food and wine.

Like the grand opening of Petite Cellars.

Owned by the former owners of Perfect Pour, the store in Turf Valley has been completed and the ribbon cutting ceremony was this afternoon. Courtney Watson was on hand to cut the ribbon, along with Chamber of Commerce representation. We enjoyed the event, wishing them well and picking up a “local” gin, from Loudoun County VA (Catoctin Creek). Love having a specialty liquor around to use for entertaining, and finding locally produced items complements what is important to me.

Two days in a row, we have been out and about. Last night we attended the opening session of “Iron Bridge University”, this time the first of six tastings featuring the wines of Italy. Vince does a great job of leading the educational series. This one highlighted Tuscany.

The events are hugely popular. All 36 seats were taken, and there was a waiting list of dozens of people. The entire six event series is a sell out. Good to see another family owned local business doing well.

I also was impressed with the local farms providing the Bridge with meat and vegetables. Farms like Clark’s and Valley Haven, in Howard County.

At home today for lunch, we enjoyed locally sourced items, paired with a few new finds. Like these wonderful crackers we found at COSTCO.

These crackers are perfect with our ajvar, and my newest spread I made. I used the Bulgarian recipe as inspiration, but then just went off in my own direction.

The eggplant spread is in the small bowl. I used two eggplant and four green peppers, roasted and peeled. A few cloves of garlic, some lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Processed in the “food pro” until the right consistency. Sharper in taste than the red pepper spreads I make, but still very tasty.

The salad on the plate was made with the Tuscan kale in our CSA box. Some scallions, pecorino, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and avocados I picked up at Boarman’s when I was ordering our Maple Lawn Thanksgiving turkey. None of it measured. Whatever looks good, is the way I make salads.

All in all, a very pleasant Monday and Tuesday to start our week. Crossing my fingers that it warms up a bit, so I can plant garlic.

Hmmm, food and wine and cooking. I need to find some other hobbies. Nah, I don’t think so. These keep us busy enough.

hocofood@@@

It’s Not Delivery …

Posted on November 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

And it’s not DiGiorno either. My latest attempts at thin crust pizzas. I think I liked the veggie one best, even though I love the fig, prosciutto, cheese and arugula pizza quite a bit.

This is what they looked like before being baked.

I used the COSTCO kit to make these pizzas. I haven’t yet mastered dough on my own, and most pizza crusts are too thick. These shells came six to a pack with two packages of garlic sauce and four of tomato sauce. I used one package of garlic sauce and half a pack of tomato. There is too much sauce in one pack for one pizza. Unless you like soggy pizza.

I made the pizza on the right using garlic sauce, dried mission black figs bought at Roots, Hook’s gorgonzola from Roots, prosciutto from COSTCO (that giant industrial size package) and a drizzle of lemon infused olive oil from St Helena.

Arugula scattered over the top when it is done.

The left pizza is a veggie pizza. Garlic and tomato sauce mixed. My absolute favorite mushroom pate from Roots (wish I could figure out how to make this), roasted green pepper, roasted garlic (From my garden), and two cheeses. One a pecorino and the other an Iberico. Italian herbs.

Baked at 400 degrees for ten minutes. Served with my fennel orange salad.

And a North Gate Rose of Chambourcin. Bought at the newly opened Petite Cellars. North Gate is in Loudoun County VA and is part of a large selection of local wines at the new store in Turf Valley.

Petite Cellars Grand Opening is Tuesday the 12th. Another addition to the Turf Valley collection of stores and restaurants by the Harris Teeter.

Interesting how in nine years, things have changed so much out here.

As for my pizzas, my husband declared them a major success. He likes thin crust pizza and these are crisp and full of flavor.

Thanks to COSTCO and Roots I can replace delivery pizza and store bought pizza, with almost homemade. I just have to conquer that problem with making my own dough and getting it thin enough.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, West HoCo, Wine and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, Howard County, Locavore, real food, VA wine, West HoCo, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Wazzup in West County

Posted on November 8, 2013 by AnnieRie

Friday with lots of options of things to do coming up, as well as just the best time of year to live out here.

My day started out leading a field trip at the Howard County Conservancy. Teaching second graders about soil (as compared to dirt). I will be back there tomorrow for the Hike to the River at 10 am. Volunteers will lead groups on a long hike down to the Patapsco River using trails at the conservancy and through Patapsco State Park. You have to admit. This is peak fall foliage week in #hocomd.

Add to that. Thanksgiving and then Christmas will be creeping up on us. What better way to get ready for Thanksgiving than to order your turkey, your sausage and your oysters at Boarman’s. I stopped there today to put in my Thanksgiving order. A Maple Lawn turkey. Boarman’s bulk sausage for stuffing. Oysters to make an oyster stew. We like standing in the line the day before Thanksgiving and talking with all the neighbors.

Oh, and out at TLV.

Cut your own tree. The day after Thanksgiving. Instead of Black Friday at the mall, how about a day at the farm cutting a tree.

We are fast moving from late fall to early winter out here. Loving the weather and those crisp cool days, and not so cold nights.

I do need to get the garlic planted though. Before that first hard freeze.

hocoblogs@@@

Italian At Home

Posted on November 1, 2013 by AnnieRie

Instead of going out, or ordering in. Friday nights we like to try something new using what we get from our CSA.

Tonight I made a cross between Italian Wedding Soup and Escarole and Bean Soup, from that enormous head of escarole.

In other words, I made do with what we have.

The joy of cooking, derived from three seasons of CSA boxes, is the confidence that comes from knowing what may work together.

This recipe highlights that.

The escarole and bean soup was the base. But, I wanted some meat in this dish, so I knew Italian Wedding Soup included meatballs. A stop at Trader Joe’s while out this afternoon netted me a bag of their turkey meatballs, as I didn’t have anything else.

Trust me on this one. Next time I will make my own meatballs. Years ago I would have loved them. Now, they are a bit gummy, to say the least. Still, they added flavor to the dinner.

A stop at the Perfect Pour got my husband an Italian wine to serve with dinner.

A Verdicchio Vermentino blend. We are learning about Italian wines. Between wine dinners at Facci and Iron Bridge University we are slowly getting versed in the varietals from Italy. See, we really do occasionally go out to restaurants.

As for the soup, here is how I made it.

Start with the Soffrito (or the base). The Italian soffrito is the lightly sweated base of vegetables that create the flavor of a meal.

I used an onion, a shallot, three cloves of garlic and a carrot. All chopped finely and cooked over low heat in extra virgin olive oil.

Once it gets translucent and released its flavor, I added a dozen Campari tomatoes, quartered. You can use any types of tomatoes. I am saving my freshly canned and frozen stuff for later this winter.

One quart of chicken stock. I make my own from the chickens we get from local farms. Two teaspoons Italian seasoning. 1/2 teaspoon white pepper. A package of those meatballs. Let it all simmer for at least 20 minutes. The tomatoes will break down and color the broth.

Chop escarole. I used half that enormous head from my CSA box.

Chopped escarole and two cans of organic cannellini beans, and five more minutes of cooking, until the escarole wilts.

Serve with grated cheese. I used pecorino Romano this time.

Better than anything Olive Garden serves, that’s for sure.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore, Real Food, Restaurants, Wine and tagged cooking, CSA, Food, foodie, Locavore, real food, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Summer CSA Wrap Up Week

Posted on October 31, 2013 by AnnieRie

The end of the 24 week CSA today. Fall season starts next Thursday. Appropriate for Halloween, my box included the escarole that ate New York.

It has to be one of the largest ones I have seen at any market. It looks like tomorrow I will be making escarole and white bean soup.

As for the rest, here is what our email said we were getting.

Leeks
Eggplant
Purple Viking Potatoes
Cylindra Beets
Escarole
Green Romaine
Mixed Sweet Potatoes
Bok Choy (it was bigger than the escarole, I swapped it)
Purple Mizuna (swapped as I bought some yesterday)
Garlic
Butternut Squash
Red Cabbage

We never got mizuna before today, so yesterday I bought some from Love Dove Farms at the Miller Library Market, since he didn’t have arugula. It figures we would get it once I bought some.

As for doing a wrap up, I am putting my collated list together to see what we got over the course of the 24 weeks. What we got most. What the total number will be for uniquely different items.

And, as for what I will be making. There will be hummus, from the squash and sweet potatoes. Eggplant caponata sounds good.

And, speaking of wrap ups, Larriland closes this weekend. Sunday is the last day the farm is open, until strawberry season begins in May. Pink Lady apples are ripe and only available Friday through Sunday.

I may have to go there just to buy a few quarts of cider. Their newsletter tells us that cider freezes well. Maybe I will try it as their cider is so good.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, local businesses, Locavore, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

Personal Pan Pizza

Posted on October 30, 2013 by AnnieRie

My Way.

On one of those days that the foodie and the locavore collide. It all started with sending my husband to the store to get oranges and grapeseed oil. Oranges to use with the CSA fennel for a salad. A neutral oil so I can bake butternut squash to make hummus. He comes home with figs, which he decided would be perfect in a pizza.

The first fig, prosciutto, arugula and goat cheese pizza we ever had was in Napa Valley about five years ago. We have been attempting to duplicate it since then.

This time I went with grilling them.

Served with a local wine, using local goat cheese, arugula, scallions and garlic, I got a decent crispy thin pizza.

Early Mountain 2011 Petit Manseng, a very crisp version of a lesser grown grape. Early Mountain is north of Charlottesville VA. A fairly new winery that we visited on our weekend trip. We picked up a mix of their current wines. A young winery, under this ownership, we expect to see real growth in their offerings as their vines mature.

This dinner was really simple to put together. Spread some garlic and oil on crust from COSTCO. Add a few figs, some goat cheese, some prosciutto, some scallions. Drizzle some lemon infused olive oil over it. Put it on a screaming hot grill for a few minutes (500 degrees). Turn off the end burners (or use indirect placement over charcoal). Let it crisp up, and let the cheese melt. Some pepper ground over it. Arugula put on after removal from the grill.

Excellent meal on a very pleasant evening. We took it outside on the patio to enjoy the view. Leaves are getting close to peak around here.

Great al fresco dinner.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore, Weather, Wine and tagged cooking, CSA, fall foliage, Food, foodie, grilling, Locavore, VA wine, weather, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Beans and Greens

Posted on October 28, 2013 by AnnieRie

Until we joined a CSA three seasons ago, I would not have considered greens with beans and some sort of broth, with a little pork, to be the basis of so many meals.

I wandered back into my archives and found at least a half dozen versions of the beans and greens themes in them. Like this one.

The Tuscan soup version, with kale.

And, one of my first attempts from the freezer.

Much like this one I made today, but with tomatoes.

Today’s was a lighter variation.

I don’t even use recipes anymore. I just wing it. This one used all the mustard greens we got last week. The rest of the bok choy from a week ago. The turnip greens. I started it in the crock pot with carrots, celery, onion and the thicker white parts of the bok choy. A half pint of my chicken stock. A wee bit of bacon grease. I fried up a pound of bacon that I got at England Acres. It has been in three meals and there is still some in the fridge.

I added the greens, some bacon, two cans of butter beans, and two cups of almond milk, making this a non-dairy soup.

What you see in the finished soup are some Great Harvest croutons. As for flavor, I added salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder, paprika and ground ginger. I also cut up and added an apple to give a hint of sweetness.

Just before serving, I ladled out about half of it, avoiding the bacon pieces, and blended it to give it that creaminess.

A very hearty soup. Served with a “competition” of Sauvignon Blancs. Linden versus Glen Manor. The 2011’s. We decided the Glen Manor complemented the soup better, although Linden was a much bigger bodied SB.

Here’s to the last week of our summer CSA. Looking forward to fall veggies. Glad that my experience motivated me to cook more with hearty greens.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore, Wine and tagged cooking, crock pot cooking, crockpot soups, CSA, Food, foodie, Linden Vineyards, Locavore, VA wine, value of CSA, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Sweatshirt Weather

Posted on October 26, 2013 by AnnieRie

That’s what my husband calls it. The first frost of the season. Although it will warm up again, and today was lovely. It was cold overnight.

Today we headed out on errands, and a picture taking mission. I needed to get rid of some old pain meds at the county take back prescription drug program, at the site of our Saturday market. Unfortunately, TLV was out of eggs, but I knew if I was lucky I could get them at England Acres.

My husband wanted farm scenery pictures to use for his postcard design that highlights living in farm country in Maryland. The “QSL” card is what is exchanged by radio amateurs to confirm contacts. He wants one that highlights farmland, so we have been taking pictures, like these.

The fields that are part of the farm west of Mt. Airy. The farm where I love to get meat, dairy, eggs, and love to see the new animals.

Like their guinea hens who were checking out their reflections in the hub caps of our truck. Interesting animals.

We came home to see our newly resident black squirrel checking out the bird bath. The heating element is in. Getting ready for winter.

Finally, in the end of a busy day, I did manage to make a frittata using techniques learned from Marcella Hazan, to participate in a web based tribute, where bloggers and others cooked Marcella’s recipes and either tweeted or blogged about it.

Hashtag — #dinnerwithmarcella

Spaghetti frittata with parm and pepper.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Birds, Farms, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Nature, Weather, West HoCo and tagged amateur radio, cooking, farms, Food, foodie, local businesses, Locavore, nature, photography, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Hey, Hey, Do You CSA?

Posted on October 25, 2013 by AnnieRie

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now, but finally got around to it. Lots happening in the Howard County CSA world. New sites. New CSAs.

First, I should talk about a conversation I had yesterday at our pick up site. I met someone I hadn’t seen before, new this year, with a full share gift from a relative.

They loved the amount and quality of the veggies they got, for what they considered a great deal. $30 a week. The 60% share is only $19 a week. By the way, this couple travels from Anne Arundel county to our pick up site near Robinson Nature Center. She said they had few options in their area.

I blogged a few weeks ago, about the sign up period for the seven week extension of our CSA, from November 7th through December 19th.

It’s a short term commitment for someone interested in seeing what we get from a cooperative of farmers. How much is in a full share or a half share. Hanging around the pick up site, you can see what is in each box.

Sandy Spring Fall CSA Week 3 of 2012

Typical full share from last November is pictured above.

I do know that we are dropping from 60+ shares for our summer CSA, into about half that number for fall.

Some people didn’t re-enlist 😉

We heard reasons at the site. Not liking squash. Too many potatoes. For us, though, squash is an excuse to make hummus. Potatoes in a brown bag, hanging in the laundry room, will last for months.

OK, enough about the Sandy Spring Fall CSA.

Let’s talk about next year in the county. We are indeed lucky to have so many CSAs in Howard County. Next year, add another. TLV Tree Farm.

And, another new pick up site for Breezy Willow. They will offer pick up at Wegmans. Cheers to Wegmans for supporting local farms.

Just like MOM’s supports One Straw Farm, with pick ups at their Jessup store.

All told, I believe we now have Sandy Spring, Breezy Willow, Gorman Farm, Love Dove Farm, TLV Tree Farm, Zahradka Farm and One Straw Farm. Amazing the options available with potential to have fresh veggies all year round.

CSA’s. Try them. You might get hooked like we did.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged CSA, farms, Food, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore. Bookmark the permalink.

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Tag Archives: Locavore

“Meat” Some Local Farmers

Tuesday Tidbits

It’s Not Delivery …

Wazzup in West County

Italian At Home

Summer CSA Wrap Up Week

Personal Pan Pizza

Beans and Greens

Sweatshirt Weather

Hey, Hey, Do You CSA?

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