Tag Archives: Locavore

Good Grits!

Posted on December 15, 2016 by AnnieRie

Have you ever cooked with grits? Local grits, from up the road in Bucks County PA.

Tonight I ended up with a mostly local, and certainly small business provided dinner. Because we got grits in our CSA share. And I really need to expand my basic dinner rotation to include more grains. My flour and grain share provided grits. Alton Brown provided the basic recipe.

I cut it in half and tweaked it.

Milk, water, salt, boiled. Grits added. Then, I added the juice from my shrimp mix. As for the shrimp. Bought at Boarman’s in a 5 pound bag, Gulf shrimp. Divided into one pound portions and frozen. This one pound portion was steamed, then added to a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilies. A handful of scallions. It simmered away waiting for the grits.

I kept spooning tomato liquid into the grits to spice them up a bit. Then, when finished, I added some butter and Parmesan.

Plated with a garnish of CSA cauliflower. Served with a Black Ankle Rosé.

A mix of local and small business foods. You gotta try grits. They are amazingly good.

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Posted in CSA, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, CSA, Food, foodie, local businesses, Locavore, MD Wine, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Joining the Fresh Revolution

Posted on December 8, 2016 by AnnieRie

I have been pretty vocal about missing Friends and Farms. They were like a second family. I loved the concept, the execution, and the amazing vendors. I know that Phil is trying to establish a buying club, for meat and seafood. We have been early adopters, so to speak. Buying some lovely seafood for the Thanksgiving holidays.

We got another email today. To order meat, poultry and seafood for Christmas and New Year’s. Really awesome stuff for a very good price. A couple of pick up options or a delivery to home choice (but you have to be home to accept).

Link is here. Hope it works.

You could also email Phil to get added. His email is phil.freshrevo@gmail.com and he would love to add you to his growing list of people who loved what we received from the suppliers like Nell’s Butcher and Reliant Seafood.

In January they are holding a meeting to see if we can make this buying club permanent. There will be more information on the blog next month, but the meeting will be at St. Agnes in Catonsville.

If you would like to join us, we would love to expand the audience for locally processed proteins. And no, I get no monetary or complimentary perks from this. I just want to see it succeed, so I can continue to get quality foods from local vendors.

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Posted in Community, Food, Friends and Farms, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food and tagged community, cooking, Food, foodie, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Great Grains

Posted on December 7, 2016 by AnnieRie

I have been slacking off. Forgetting to write about some of the really fantastic additives to my fall Community Supported Agriculture basket from the farmers’ cooperative at Lancaster Farm Fresh.

My flour and grain share. Two pounds each. Every other week. This past week was the pastry flour and the spelt berries.

Two weeks ago.

Bread flour and rye berries.

The first delivery last month.

All purpose flour and cornmeal.

The flours are all from Daisy. They aren’t easy to find. I used to get mine at Atwaters in Catonsville. The Anson Mills which produce Daisy flour are located in Pennsylvania. Atwaters sold bags of their wonderful flour. I am loving the quality of the bread flour for those holiday breads like my chocolate zucchini bread or my pumpkin bread.

The grains, all come from Castle Valley Mill in Bucks County Pennsylvania. Other than wheat berries, which we got from Friends and Farms a few years back, I hadn’t been a big grain cooker. I purposely ordered this add on to my CSA share to remedy that lapse.

I am loving the berries. I found the perfect way to cook them, in my rice cooker. Simple. One cup berries. Three cups liquid. I have used all water. All veggie broth. A mix of chicken stock and water. Turkey stock and water. Add some seasonings. Set on the brown rice setting and let it do its thing. Makes absolutely perfectly cooked berries.

Served here with a wilted arugula salad. Cranberries, pistachios, a drizzle of Secolari’s lime olive oil. A squirt of lemon juice.

I also downloaded an iBook, called Grain Mains. So many interesting ideas, including a take on a “gazpacho salad” using berries.

Who knows what will come in my final biweekly basket on the 13th of December. I do know that I am loving this addition and will be adding it to my winter subscription.

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Posted in cookbooks, CSA, Food, LFFC, Locavore, Real Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged cooking, CSA, Food, Locavore, real food, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

The New Farm Store in Town

Posted on November 27, 2016 by AnnieRie

Did you all know that Breezy Willow opened a farm store in Ellicott City? Amidst all the fanfare of the downtown re-opening, it was somewhat low key, but at least I got some shopping done at a small business without having to hike a mile after finding a parking place. I figure I can get to Old Town any day of the week, without the crowds.

What did I find there?

All sort of goodies. Locally produced, for the most part.

The store, is in the right hand side of the big old house on the corner of St. John’s Lane and Frederick Rd.

Next to Southern States, and across the road from Rita’s Ice.

They had music on Saturday, and Zeke’s was handing out free samples of their coffee. Everyone who stopped by got to take home a free bunch of broccoli.

I didn’t take the camera inside yet. They were still arranging items around the store.

This is a welcome addition for those who are accustomed to buying out at the farm on Saturdays, and who live on the eastern side of the county. They have many more items here. Sun of Italy items are included in the pantry area, to help with menu planning. The meat freezers are self serve so you can pick the size you want.

My friend Nicole has her preserves on sale here. Neat Nick.

I bought a jar of spiced cranberry jam and a fresh scone. Perfect for a Sunday morning breakfast.

And, they have Salazon chocolate. Salazon is made in Carroll County. These are the holiday offerings.

Their sea salt and dark chocolate bars are the best dessert, with a glass of leftover red wine.

We will be getting eggs and meat here during the winter months, unless we are heading out to Lisbon on a Saturday when the store at the farm is open.

Another local small business that deserves our support. Check it out. Open Thursday through Sunday. 10-6.

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

Talking Turkey

Posted on November 25, 2016 by AnnieRie

Small businesses. Worth more of our time and money than just tomorrow. I want to highlight individual businesses around here that deserve our support year round. One day doesn’t keep them in business. Solid customer loyalty does.

In November and December, Maple Lawn Farms does most of their business. Did you know they sell 20000 turkeys every year? 18000 of them for Thanksgiving and the rest for Christmas.

Besides their fresh whole birds, they sell parts. The parts are the real bargain, for those of us who enjoy turkey as a healthy choice. We use turkey all year for dinners and lunches. Maple Lawn sells their wing packages and their drumstick packages for $6 each. You can make soup, hash, casseroles and crock pot meals using the meat from these packages, and put a great meal at a bargain price on your table.

They also sell ground turkey, turkey bacon and turkey sausage at the farm. You can stop in and buy it whenever the farm is open, or go online once they open the order forms again after December 5th. You can also email year round and ask what is still in the freezer to buy.

Believe me. This is the way to get a quality, relatively inexpensive option for good food. This year I put the drumsticks (two to a pack) away for future soups. Bought a bone in turkey breast (7 pounds) which also was frozen to guarantee I have the fixings for a turkey dinner, plus leftovers for casseroles, and maybe a turkey pot pie.

The Iager family has been a fixture in county history. Farming since 1839. Raising turkeys since 1938. There is no need to buy turkey anywhere else. If you want to support a local farm, this is a very good option.

More in the next few posts about other local business choices. Shop local. Eat local. Drink local. Keep more money in our county.

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Posted in Farms, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged community, cooking, farms, Food, holidays, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Filling the Freezer …

Posted on November 22, 2016 by AnnieRie

… and the fridge, and the pantry. Fall is the season where my nesting instincts kick in. Where I put away preparations to carry us through the winter. Where I stock up on seafood, meat, and in house processed stock items to cook over the winter.

Today’s CSA was one of those major contributors.

Yeah, there’s a large amount of stuff here that will be cooked and put away. Soup fixings. Staples. Root vegetables (which last for a very long time). The Thanksgiving week delivery is always like that. Including the “extra” that every CSA member got this week.

The behemoth butternut squash. This time. Nine pounds. The smallest I could find in the bulk bin at the pick up site. This baby will make a pie or two. Maybe some bread. Maybe a reprise of my really excellent squash lasagna.

Add to that, the Fresh Revolution has arrived. Rising from the ashes of Friends and Farms, a small group of dedicated locavores builds the new version of a cooperative food buying club. We started with turkeys last weekend and seafood today.

I got salmon, shrimp, smoked salmon and scallops. The scallops were so good, they were dinner tonight.

Cooked in brown butter.

Anyone interested in joining us can email and be added to our mailing list. Let me know in the comments and I will add the email. For Christmas they will be offering meat and seafood to add to your freezer.

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Posted in CSA, Friends and Farms, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged CSA, Food, hoco loco, local businesses, Locavore. Bookmark the permalink.

The Hurrier I Go …

Posted on November 14, 2016 by AnnieRie

… the behinder I get. Credit to Lewis Carroll.

When did Thanksgiving creep up on us? Ten days to go. Halfway through November already. Time just flies by, and nothing much is getting done on time.

I finally ordered my turkey. Went to pick out the wines I will take to the family get together. Did my own planning for when we will do our turkey. I am one of those who really loves the cooking and baking and coming together to share a traditional dinner, but in our family, Thanksgiving is my brother’s day to shine, so to speak, as the turkey maker and the central point of family and friends gathering.

This year, our little turkey (we order a 10-12 pound bird and pick it up from the farm on the Monday before the holiday). Less crowded, and I can brine it Tuesday and cook it Wednesday. For us, dinner where we open a really good Pinot Noir and share the best parts of the dark meat is our Thanksgiving at home. With totally non traditional side dishes. Things we like, maybe crispy Brussels sprouts, creamed parsnips and onions, or a leek casserole.

As usual, we are using a local farm, Maple Lawn, as the source for our turkey. Here, you have many options. Go to the farm and pick up the size bird you ordered. Instead of a whole bird, you want just the bone in turkey breast. Or, a smoked breast for serving up sliced and used for many sandwiches.

This year I did order the small turkey, and a new item for us, the bone in breast. I will also pick up a package of drumsticks for the freezer, to use for soups in the future. The bone in breast will be frozen to use later. I like going to the farm. The prices are great. $2.30 a pound for fresh turkey. $6 a pound for the bone in breast. Cash or check only.

You can also order from local stores, like Boarman’s, Whole Foods Columbia, and David’s Market. They tack on a surcharge, and yes, you can use plastic to pay for it. Still the same turkeys as we pick up directly.

If you want to find local turkeys where you live, you can use the marylandsbest web site and search. Other states have similar resources.

For us, too, we like to serve local wine with our dinners. I will be taking local white wines from Maryland to my family celebration, and we will be opening an Ankida Ridge Pinot Noir from Virginia at our little dinner. Our favorites for family meals are local dry rosé wines, maybe a Riesling, or this year, we are taking one sweeter wine for those who don’t share our passion for dry wines, a “Russian Kiss” from Big Cork. Made with grapes native to Russia.

We were up at Big Cork yesterday to pick up our quarterly wine club wines, and then, a great detour. One I tend to forget to make. If you want to add one local item to your dinner, think about ice cream.

South Mountain Creamery is on the Maryland Ice Cream Trail. And it is on the back way home from Big Cork. We got to watch the cows gather for their afternoon milking.

I got some salted caramel ice cream to have for our Thanksgiving, along with some cheese, yogurt and I found a small beef brisket in the frozen meat case. I miss having South Mountain at our Glenwood market, but they stopped attending the market in favor of weekly deliveries of milk, cheese, meat and other items, door to door across our county.

As our largest supplier of the Thanksgiving food items, our CSA will deliver next Tuesday. Who knows what new items will become a side dish.

I need to end this post, and get things done. Or I will be even more “behinder” than I am now.

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Posted in CSA, Day Trips, Farms, Food, Locavore and tagged cooking, Food, foodie, holidays, local businesses, Locavore, real food, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

One. Perfect. Weekend.

Posted on November 6, 2016 by AnnieRie

I don’t know where to begin. Maybe it’s the fact that weekends like this one are the reason we don’t move south. Those absolutely breathtaking weekends, with foliage, crisp temperatures, sunshine and beautiful places to visit.

My weekend began out at Sharp’s Farm, for a Conservancy sponsored event. Denise Sharp, who is absolutely amazing and passionate about her farm, and farming in general, led 43 people on a tour of the farm. It was an event we asked her to create and lead.

It’s the third time that I know of, where the Conservancy sponsored an off site event. This time, the premier event showcasing Howard County farms. It also was created to use the off site due to the construction at Mt. Pleasant.

I had the pleasure of partnering with Denise, setting things up and leading the scavenger hunt. Denise, she got the fun job. Taking them on a hayride through the farm, including a creek crossing.

Off they go, to tour the property.

My favorite part of Saturday morning, watching the children feed the animals.

They fed the goats, the chickens, the cows and the bunnies. And they loved it.

So did the farm animals. All that attention and extra food.

After all, when was the last time you got to pet a cow.

This weekend was the last one at the farm. Just like Larriland, who closed today. And, I believe, Clark’s. It’s the end of the season, except for the local wineries. That’s the other thing we did on this perfect weekend. Headed out to Black Ankle to pick up wine.

Along with hundreds of others, we sat outside and enjoyed the view and the wine. Didn’t even take the camera. It was just a lazy afternoon surrounded by fall foliage.

Every year this early November lovely weather, accompanied by the changing leaves, makes us love the state of Maryland even more.

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Posted in Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Weather, Wine and tagged farms, Food, howard county conservancy, local businesses, Locavore, volunteering, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

The Local Restaurant Scene

Posted on October 16, 2016 by AnnieRie

Things have been pretty crazy around here, and I haven’t blogged much the past few weeks. Finally, the contractors are about done and I can take back my basement rec room, without smelling paint fumes from the door painting, or shivering because the door is open for hours a day.

I need a new restaurant fix. I keep hoping the two newest ones in our area would open soon, but until then, I can at least try out the Turn House, with my friends the HoCoBloggers. Another blog party on the 2nd of November, to showcase the talent of Thomas Zippelli. Local farms will be providing quite a bit of the protein and veggies on the menu. This restaurant used to be the Coho Grill, in Hobbits Glen. One of our old “watering holes”, back before we moved out to west county.

Out here, changes have been seen also. The Town Grill in Lisbon is moving to West Friendship (if they ever get there). Every month we hear a new date for opening. When the Citgo was sold, we thought it would be fairly quick for them to be relocated. They are going into the old Foster’s General Store site, next to the Pink Cabbage antique store. Frederick Rd and Triadelphia. I absolutely love their smoked salmon BLT and their breakfast offerings are awesome. Hopefully, they will continue to offer ribs every Saturday. I like the fact that they are on my route to and from the Conservancy, where I have my community garden plot, and where I volunteer.

As for the other close by new offering, I have no other information except for a paper sign on the window at the old Bistro Blanc location in Glenelg. The new place will be called Dandelion Bistro and Bakery. Supposedly, opening mid October (which is right now, but it’s not open yet). No web site, or page, to let us know what is coming. I am just glad the bad rumors of a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins aren’t true. We welcome small family businesses, but aren’t keen about chains. They also seem to be adding a heated area to their patio, one of the features of the site.

Out west farther from us, another new place. Bolder, in Mt. Airy. The Howard County part of Mt. Airy, on Frederick Rd near Watersville. It used to be Drover’s Inn. Opened October 11th. Small plates, and more.

I obviously need to get out more.

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Posted in Community, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, West HoCo and tagged community, Food, foodie, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Greens

Posted on October 8, 2016 by AnnieRie

An overload of greens, and then some. The return of root vegetable season, and the return of really healthy greens with my weekly CSA basket.

This week’s medium share had some real weight to it. The turnips, beets and radishes all came with a massive amount of greens attached. Add to that a couple of squash. It is time to dust off the recipes that use greens and squash to make a harvest meal. The easy thing about greens. They can be used in a sauté recipe, puréed, or just torn up, blanched and added to other recipes.

You can also make fancy pesto with them. Like this one. Used in my green tomato pasta. I made a close cousin to that recipe just the other day. This next batch? Will be using radish greens, basil, beet greens and scallions.

Purple beets obviously have purple “greens”. The color of this pesto should be interesting.

Add to all the goodness from the CSA basket, I found a stray gongura plant in my garden. I think the seeds washed over into my tomatoes from a neighboring plot.

Sometimes called red sorrel leaves, it has quite a reputation as a staple in many Indian diets, and is not that inexpensive to buy. There are at least 10 plots in our community gardens that have this plant flourishing.

Finally, in the greens world around here, there are the last of the green tomatoes. I harvested three pounds today, to finish off my season. A few will be bagged and left to ripen. The rest are destined to be chopped. Some for a green tomato pasta, and the rest for green tomato jam. My friend, Kirsten over at Farm Fresh Feasts turned me on to this jam. You have to take the time and make it. Slather it on a burger.

Just think. The markets are still open around here. It is also easy to head out to Larriland and pick green tomatoes. And beets. Pestos. Jams. Spreads. Soups. The possibilities are endless for what you can do with all things “green”.