Tag Archives: Locavore

Making Like a Squirrel

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Putting things up. Preserving them. Buying to fill the freezer. It seems most of August is spent getting ready for winter.

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Yesterday Breezy Willow sent us an email announcing the availability of bulk tomatoes, for you to can or freeze. $25 for 25 pounds of organic canning tomatoes. If I wasn’t drowning in roma and paste tomatoes from my garden, I would be all over this offer. Organic tomatoes for $1 a pound? Amazing! This is a bargain.

Also yesterday England Acres posted the availability of the next batch of roasting chickens. Pasture raised chickens. 4-6 pounds each. Plus, corn for freezing. I headed out there today to get chicken and corn.

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One of those chickens went into the oven tonight.

I have been using up tomatoes almost every two or three days, making sauce, or oven dried.

The freezer is getting full again.

Discussion today on facebook about what to do with hot peppers. I think there will be pepper jelly made this weekend.

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Larriland keeps sending notices. The newest fruits to ripen are the apples. They are starting to trickle in.

I have to admit, I am glad the weather has been mild, as my stove and my oven are going every day. This winter I will love having flavorful foods out of the freezer, to make locally sourced meals.

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Happy harvest season!

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It’s Ratatouille Time!

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Sung to the tune of “It’s Howdy Doody Time!”. This week, the 14th one of our Sandy Spring CSA, we got the makings for some serious ratatouille.

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The List:
2 pieces Green Zucchini – Windy Hollow Organics
1 bag Green Beans – Freedom Acres Farm
1 pint Sungold Cherry Tomatoes – Liberty Acres
1 bag Lemon Cucumbers – De Glae Organic Farm
1 bag Red Roma Tomatoes – Healthy Harvest Organics
1 bag Mixed Heirloom Hot Peppers – Outback Farm
1 bag Japanese Eggplants – Maple Lawn Organics
1 bag loose Orange Carrots – Red Fox Organics
1 container Cremini Mushrooms – Mother Earth Organics
1 bag Garlic – Friends Road Organics
1 bag Purple Viking Potatoes – Bellview Organics
2 pieces Delicata Squash – Green Valley Organics

Yes, those are baby bellas in the back. Mother Earth is a member of our cooperative of farms. Nice that some of the best mushrooms come from the same area as our farmers for the CSA. As for those lemon cucumbers, I need to find some interesting recipes for them. We have gotten them in the past. I never got very creative with them.

I found a recipe that uses pesto, cucumbers, and ends up with shaved Parmesan and freshly ground pepper. I think that will work.

As for the ratatouille. Here is last year’s masterpiece, my ratatouille pie made using leftover ratatouille and with a recipe from Diary of a Locavore.

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As for making ratatouille, my list of ingredients.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups small diced onion, I use sweet white
1 teaspoon grated garlic
2 cups medium diced eggplant, skin on
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 cups diced green, red, yellow, orange (whatever you have) bell peppers
1 1/2 cup diced zucchini squash
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes, preferably all colors
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make it in a cast iron pan if you can. A deep one. Put the veggies in, using the order above. That is, onion and garlic to soften, then the eggplant, then the peppers, then the squash and tomatoes. Add the basil at the very end.

I let it cook low and slow until all the flavors meld.

I will post pictures of this year’s batch, over the weekend when I make it.

As for my cooking of CSA foods, here is today’s goodie. Golumpki. Made with a combination of CSA veggies, my tomatoes, and a cabbage from Catoctin Mountain Orchards market. The sauce base was from my last container in the freezer from last year. Added some Orchard Breeze sausage to it. Not bad, but I wasn’t that happy with the final stuffing. I need to work on this recipe.

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Now, I need to figure out what to do with those heirloom hot peppers, and the delicata squash.

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You Say Frittata …

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… I say crustless quiche. Although technically they are a bit different in composition and preparation.

One of the staples in this house, particularly when there are lots of eggs, is the frittata. An Italian, or Spanish originating one dish meal. Most of the ingredients are the same, just the proportions differ.

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Whenever someone asks me how I deal with the large amount of veggies left from the CSA, this is my go to preparation. The picture above is the finished version that I slid out onto a pan to cut. I make my frittata in an oven proof frying pan, with a non stick surface. Not good to cut on.

Tonight we had a bloggers party. I didn’t want large amounts of fried foods, so around 3 this afternoon we had a late lunch of leftover frittata. Left over from Monday night dinner.

Monday I wanted something easy as I was still processing tomatoes from the garden and the CSA. This meal, definitely in the easy category.

Find some greens. Any greens. I used arugula and chard from my garden. Find some onion and garlic. I used scallions, and some of those perfectly roasted garlic cloves I made last week.

Pour some oil in the pan. Add the onion and garlic. Chopped up first. Once they soften, add the greens. Let them wilt. In the meantime whisk 4-6 eggs in a dish. Depends on how many you are feeding. I used 6 for this recipe. Add a splash of milk. Any kind of grated cheese. I used pecorino romano. Italian herbs. Salt. Pepper. Wing it.

Microwave one yellow or white potato until it is slightly soft. Slice it. Pull out some tomatoes (like maybe some sun dried). I used some of my tomatoes that I had oven roasted, but you can substitute sun dried. Like the ones from a salad bar.

Here is the picture before I added the potato, mozzarella, and meat.

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If you want to add meat, crumble it and add it. I put a pound of pork sausage in the oven earlier Monday. I wanted some of it for this, and saved half of it for stuffed cabbage later this week. A simple way to multitask. Either bacon or pork, in the oven, crumbled after it is done cooking. Use it for multiple meals. Don’t put the heavy stuff, the meat and potatoes, on the frittata until it starts to set. Just before moving to the oven, add some soft mozzarella.

Put it all in a 400 degree oven for about ten minutes. The bottom will have set on the stove and the top in the oven.

We get two meals out of a frittata. Usually a dinner and a lunch. This is such an easy way to use up greens and tomatoes from the CSA, you really need to make it a regular meal at your house.

Now, I just have to decide what to do with the Thumbalina carrots, the only thing not touched from last week’s CSA. We get more stuff tomorrow, and I am surprised. There is nothing left but the carrots and a few potatoes. Oh, there is half a watermelon, too. But, we are plowing through that on a daily basis.

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Trippin’ Again

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Day Tripping, that is.

Including some updated pictures from Turf Valley. We had a lazy day, that started with a trip to the landfill because the recycling truck came three hours earlier than usual. Which meant we missed it.

Before hitting the landfill, I went into Towne Square with the good camera and shot more pictures. And we picked up tuna subs from Subway before hitting the road to Thurmont by way of Frederick. More on that later.

First, Towne Square. There will be the following restaurants and food places.

Facci, which we mentioned before.

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From views of the fenced in areas, it looks like there will be outdoor dining in front and on the side where the fireplace is located.

Mimi’s Kabob is on the far side of Harris Teeter. I didn’t get down there for pictures.

As for fast food, the Subway and YoLaVie, yogurt are on the left in the way in.

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The woman in Subway who waited on my husband while I was wandering around taking pictures, said Red Parrot will be an Asian restaurant, but today no activity found there.

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Not much going on at Xitomate and Grille 620 either. Only Facci and Petite Cellars had lots of trucks and equipment outside.

We left the landfill today to head off to find Big Cork Wines to take to a family reunion in two weeks. I wanted to take a local wine, and only two liquor stores stock Big Cork. Both of them just outside the Wegmans location north of Frederick.

I wanted some Traminette. A relative grape of Gewurztraminer. A good all purpose white that will please a crowd. We found ours at Riverside, just south of the Wegmans complex off Monocacy Boulevard.

We then headed out to Thurmont for a ride. Looking to take pictures. And finding one of the six remaining covered bridges in Maryland. Just north of Catoctin Mountain Orchards, at the intersection of Roddy and Roddy Creek Roads.

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I was looking for honey bee pictures. Working on the theme for next year’s County Fair special category.

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We were also looking for farm country pictures to use on my husband’s design for his amateur radio cards to exchange for confirming a contact with another country. He wants fields and farmland. I took a few north of Catoctin.

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The benefits of retirement. Tuesdays free to wander all over the area.

I have to admit though, it will be nice to have a big choice of restaurants right up the road.

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Lucky 13, Week of the CSA

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We scored a huge watermelon this week.

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With nine other items.
1 bag Green Beans – Freedom Acres
1 bunch Dill – Kirkwood Herbs (I swapped for jalapenos)
1 bag San Marzano Roma Tomatoes – Maple Lawn Organics
6 ears Sweet Corn – Pine Hill Organics
1 bag Thumbalina Carrots – Farmdale Organics
1 bag Shallots – Shady Brook Organics
1 Red Seedless Watermelon – Misty Meadows
1 bag Yukon Gold Potatoes – Hillside Organics
1 pint Mixed Cherry Tomatoes – Farmdale Organics
1 bag Red Slicing Tomatoes – White Swan Acres

The whole picture here:

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This week, just to show the difference, one of the 60% share members let me photograph their veggies before they divided them up. Two single friends share a 60% box. Besides getting a bit less than the full share, their amounts are smaller.

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For a single vegetarian, or a couple, this is a perfect size for a CSA share. At less than $20 a week, most weeks they get 6-8 items. The baby eggplants were really cute. They get much more conventional veggies than the full share.

Right now, our pick up site is pretty full. A transferring member (from Silver Spring) was new this week. We had a nice visit and recipe swap between many of us today, as with perfect weather, we were out enjoying the sun without humidity.

As for value, I haven’t done a comparison lately, but today it was a really good easy one to do. Using prices for organic.

Corn $3 a half dozen
Cherry tomatoes $4
Slicing tomatoes @$3 a pound = $5
Watermelon $5
Green Beans $3
Heirloom Romas $4
Thumbelina Carrots $3
Shallots $2
Jalapenos $3
Potatoes, 4 pounds, $6

Total: $38 — Weekly Fee: $31

Some weeks it is even higher than this. Some weeks we get 12 or 13 items.

The CSA is such a bargain if you normally shop at organic stores, or farm stands.

Tonight for dinner, some of it made it onto our plates already. Like the corn.

Thanks to all the CSAs in the area, and the markets, fresh food is not far away.

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A Picture Perfect Day …

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… for picking peaches. Oh, and Blackberries, too. At Larriland.

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I dropped my husband off at his monthly Glenwood DX Association radio group’s luncheon at Town Grill in Lisbon, then headed off to pick blackberries.

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An hour or so later, and five pounds of berries in the back of the car, I picked him up so he could help me pick peaches. Twenty seven pounds of peaches in less than 20 minutes.

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Gorgeous peaches at $1.25 a pound if you pick more than 20 pounds. Tomorrow will be peach blanching, freezing and blending day.

The weather was perfect. There were lots of people at the peach picking sites, but I had most of the blackberry bush area to myself. My own row, as a matter of fact.

After a stop back at the red barn to get some canning supplies, an eggplant and a couple of red peppers to top off the ajvar, and home to process berries.

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The best berries go into the freezer whole, are flash frozen, then packed in small bags. I got eight bags with about a cup of berries in each one. The ones on the top left are the less than perfect. I will drop them into boiling water briefly using a strainer, then put them in the blender with a little honey and just a touch of balsamic. They will be strained into syrup then put in an ice cube tray to freeze. The basis for vinaigrettes all winter. The top right are the “Eat Now” berries. For cereal. Yogurt. Salads. Snacks. They will be gone in two or three days probably, they are so good.

As for a few of the ripest peaches, they became part of dinner tonight.

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Right on the grill with lemon olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Served with some Breezy Willow kielbasa, a local wine from Big Cork, and some pesto pasta salad.

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Head on out to Larriland. The peaches and blackberries are down the road from the farm entrance (stay on Rte. 94 south) and a right turn into the picking areas.

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Whackin’ Back the Basil

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Every once in a while you need to go out there and harvest basil. Before it gets completely out of control.

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Today I harvested three cups of basil. Mostly African blue basil, with some Genovese and a little Thai basil in the mix. That meant a triple batch of pesto to be made.

First, toasting a cup of pine nuts. Over low heat. Watching them the whole time.

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The three cups of basil, cup of pine nuts, cup of cheese (I used Pecorino this time), six cloves of roasted garlic, all went into the food processor.

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Then, the olive oil drizzling, addition of salt and pepper, none of this measured, by the way, continued until I had the taste and consistency I wanted.

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This meant I ended up with three one cup containers of pesto. Two for the freezer, one in the refrigerator. My husband, of course, then wanted pesto pasta for dinner. Thankfully, there were bay scallops in the freezer, easy to defrost, and some dried artichoke pasta from The Common Market in the pantry.

The final dinner. Pesto pasta with sauteed bay scallops, scallions, and red pepper. A couple of sliced heirloom tomatoes from my garden and some mixed greens with feta. Oh, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

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As for the wine match, we decided to test two local Virginia Sauvignon Blancs against one another. Both from 2011. Linden Avenius versus Doukenie. The Doukenie did well, standing up to the Linden but that wonderful Fume Blanc style of the Avenius was just a bit better. Way to go, Doukenie, for making a very nice SB.

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Overall, not your typical Tuesday night dinner, but when you get fresh pesto, you take advantage of it.

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Food Processing Friday

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Well, we didn’t make it to the auction tonight. I just finished processing food for the freezer, and it has been a crazy day weather wise. I still need to handle the beets for the fridge, and the eggplant for the ajvar.

Almost another half inch of rain, and we had some outdoor work that needed to be done this morning.

Add to that a power glitch right in the middle of roasting veggies.

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The eggplant is destined for a small container of ajvar, that I thought didn’t have the smoky charred eggplant flavor I wanted. After roasting, I am letting them cool and will mix them in the spread. The two red peppers I used for them were a bit more than I should have used. Live and learn.

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As for tomatoes, there were three batches done today. Two blanched to be frozen, and one batch for sauce.

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After blanching, I peel them. Squeeze out the seeds, and pack them tightly in freezer bags. I do not use the food saver on tomatoes. Too much liquid in them. I do make sure to remove those damaged areas, the ones where you see the stink bug holes.

As for the romas from the CSA, they became a tomato sauce. A chunky tomato sauce with sausage bits (just enough for flavor).

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Sweating the veggies first.

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Peppers, onions, garlic, carrots in olive oil.

Then, add the peeled squeezed tomatoes. I don’t worry if there are still some seeds in it. I just try to get out the big stuff. Let it simmer on low for at least an hour, until you can completely smash the tomatoes into pulp. I add just salt, pepper, oregano and fresh basil to this sauce.

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I got two one quart plastic freezer containers full of sauce out of this batch.

Now, if my paste tomatoes will just get on the ball and start turning red, I should be able to put up at least another six or eight quarts of this type of sauce.

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Tomato Sauce Boss

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Week Twelve. Halfway through the summer CSA. An overload of tomatoes.

Grape tomatoes. Slicing tomatoes. Roma tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes.

Here is the entire list.

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1 pint Red Grape Tomatoes – Breezy Morning Farm
6 ears Sweet Corn – Farmdale Organics
1 bag Mixed Heirloom Tomatoes – Freedom Acres Farm
1 container Microgreens – Eastbrook Produce
1 bag Red Slicing Tomatoes – Green Valley Organics
1 bag Garlic – Valley View Farm
1 bag Purple Viking Potatoes – Bellview Organics
1 bag Rainbow Carrots – Cherry Lane Organics
1 bag Sweet Onions – Cherry Lane Organics
1 bag Red Roma Tomatoes – Healthy Harvest Organics
1 bunch Pistou Basil – Kirkwood Herbs

My microgreens were microradishes, which we love. You will notice the missing basil in my picture. I swapped for some eggplant sitting in the swap box. It will be part of a new batch of ajvar. I now make it in small quantities.

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But, this is tomato sauce base. Tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, basil. Since I grow four varieties of basil, I decided the swap was worth it.

Besides what the CSA gives us, we have my windowsill full of tomatoes, and my garlic that has cured.

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Some of the tomatoes from my garden.

Plus,

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cured red and white garlic hanging in the mud room.

I figure the next few days, there will be sauce making. There will be pesto making. There will be blanched, peeled tomatoes to freeze.

I did make it all the way through last winter and this spring with the sauces and oven roasted tomatoes from last summer. Sure beats jarred sauces full of sodium and sugar.

Here’s to my favorite fruit, tomatoes.

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Stretch Goals

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Making the most of our lives. Finding something new and exciting that continues to inspire us.

There has been quite a bit of discussion within the Howard County blogger community that reflects this. Posts about Comfort Zones by Julia. About volunteering by Tom. About connecting with neighbors by Bill. About community by Lisa.

It was Bill who proposed the #summerofneighbors and I wrote a post about being neighborly. It sparked some of this discussion.

For me, I found that pushing the comfort zone after I retired meant learning to use and understand the connective tissue known as social media. It also meant pushing my hobby to a higher level, by entering the county fair. Not being afraid to fail with my tomato entries. Learning and growing and every year doing better. Meeting and talking with the people who make this county fair so special.

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It meant taking responsibility for some large events at my volunteer location. Like bringing together farmers for a panel and an opportunity to connect.

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It also meant changing how we cooked, ate, shopped and traveled. Locavore, locapour, foodie. All those interests merging into a driving force that influences us.

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In other words, “Do Not Go Gently into That Good Night” (Dylan Thomas)

For both me and my husband, retirement was the entry point for doing those things we never had time to do. Things like his pursuit of DXCC (an amateur radio program that credits you for contacting each separate entity around the world).

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And, his desire to have the time to do home projects, and bird watch, and take trips, and just walk in the woods. The slow pace outside that commuter world. The time to read. Books, newspapers, magazines.

For me, it has been the hobbies and the volunteering. The cooking and the writing. The garden.

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We will probably spend four days at the fair this year. Saturday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Talking to friends there. Watching the auction. Checking out the exhibits.

Tomorrow we will be learning more about county history at the fair. Later this month I will be volunteering to clean up the CAC garden. Next month leading family hikes at the Conservancy. In October taking the social media class offered by David Hobby.

After all, isn’t what makes life interesting is the constant challenge, the “stretch goals” that keep us active and involved? I have to admit. Howard County certainly has enough going on to keep us busy.

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