Tag Archives: Locavore

Food Safety

Posted on May 10, 2016 by AnnieRie

Raise your hand if you were one of the millions contacted that you had bought possible listeria contaminated foods. That would include me. The ORGANIC edamame from COSTCO. Bought in 2014. Yep, it took two years for them to figure out they had a problem.

And people wonder why I stopped buying as much processed food. Why I run from my CSA to Friends and Farms to get most of the basic food we cook and eat. Why I do pick your own farm food, and process it myself.

We have seen three different recalls in May. CRF frozen vegetables and fruits from everywhere, it seems. Rice from Trader Joes and “pictfresh” veggies at Harris Teeter. Nature’s Promise at Giant Food. Around here these stores provide most of the pwople who live in the area with their weekly groceries.

I wonder why we have all these regulations driving our small local farmers crazy, while we allow mega producers to go TWO YEARS with possibly contaminated food.

Thankfully, that edamame didn’t make us sick. And, we haven’t bought grocery store frozen food in quite a while.

I have become convinced that the closer we remain to the source of our food, the better we have it. Since that “organic” label isn’t a guarantee that you get better quality, I think I will rely on knowing where my food originates.

The Amish cooperative that gives us much of our food has that motto. Along with this philosophy.

If we support our local farms and farmers, who feed their families with the same food they sell us, we wouldn’t have to worry about the industrial processing which may or may not contaminate our food.

It’s not as easy to take time to buy from small farms and producers, but at least you have a face to match to the food you buy.

Join a CSA if you want to take more control of the vegetables you get. Find a local meat producer to have fresher meat without hormones, antibiotics or questionable handling. Pick your own, at places like Larriland.

And, by all means, don’t just assume because it’s organic, that it’s better. Farms around here take great care in growing food without undue use of harmful pesticides. They are an affordable alternative to mega-company organic stuff that costs more without being any better.

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Posted in Commentary, CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Friends and Farms, LFFC and tagged CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, local businesses, Locavore, real food, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

Healthier Options

Posted on May 3, 2016 by AnnieRie

I found a new recipe today, to use my spinner full of spinach.

Spinach and cannellini bean dip. No cheese. No cream. Really great tasting. The perfect dip to serve at a Mother’s Day picnic. You should be able to find baby spinach at one of the farmer’s markets. If not, I think this recipe could be easily adapted to use arugula, or baby turnip greens, or garlic greens.

The greens are wilted in a pan that contains two minced cloves of garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil. I used a locally sold one. From the Breadery. An arbequina. The recipe calls for twelve ounces of baby spinach.

I just used fresh spinach from my Friends and Farms basket. The garlic came from there also.

Wilt it down. Meanwhile, rinse and drain a can of cannellini beans. Dump the beans, a tablespoon of balsamic, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, some salt and pepper and another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a food processor.

Add the wilted spinach, watch the processor steam up from the heat (they do say to let the spinach cool a bit), and pulse it until it is smooth and creamy. Serve it with bread, with vegetables, with crackers. Or, like I may do tomorrow night, serve it on chicken.

I found the recipe on my Food Network App. It’s from Everyday Italian. This one is a keeper.

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Posted in Farmer's Markets, Food, Friends and Farms, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, farmer's markets, Food, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Springing into Market Season

Posted on May 1, 2016 by AnnieRie

Yes, around here we know the seasons have changed when the farmer’s markets, and Jenny’s have opened.

Jenny’s announced on their facebook page that opening day is Friday the 6th. For me, this is such welcome news. No more driving when I need some citrus, or bananas, or extra vegetables to complete a meal. Jenny’s is only a mile away from me, and open every day of the week. Yes, some of the produce is from the wholesale markets but they also support local farmers who don’t sell at the county markets. You haven’t had lima beans until you have their fresh picked, fresh shelled beans in the middle of summer.

As for the farmer’s markets around here, Wednesday is the day Miller market opens the season.

We have to hit Love Dove Farms for fresh greens. You know it’s really the beginning of the fresh fruit and vegetable season when you can make this awesome salad.

Greens and strawberries. A simple yogurt dressing. If you want, the addition of some ewe cream cheese.

Five of the eight Howard County markets open this week. Miller library, Wednesday. Cradlerock library Thursday. The Friday hospital market has expanded hours, opening at 11:30 am, to accommodate the lunch crowd. Saturday, Maple Lawn opens Sunday Oakland Mills. The newest market in River Hill Garden Center, opens on the 14th, and the Glenwood and Ellicott City Old Town markets return that same day.

This web site, MDSBEST, will help you find local farms, markets, CSAs and food sources in the state.

For those who read my blog and don’t live in Maryland, I found local harvest to be the best place to find local purveyors.

As for us, Tuesday our CSA begins again. Wednesday I may be hitting Miller Library to get salad fixings. If you want to change what you eat, and eat more locally produced foods, the salad greens are the easiest way to begin.

And a couple of salad spinners are the best thing in your refrigerator.

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Posted in Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Locavore and tagged farmer's markets, Food, Locavore, real food, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

Shopping at Friends and Farms

Posted on April 28, 2016 by AnnieRie

Somewhere along the line, we reduced our reliance on grocery stores and increased what we bought from our CSA and our regional food bag.

Like our combinations at Friends and Farms.

The Protein and Dairy bag.

Today we got monkfish, ground chuck, eggs, cheese and turkey filets. Instead of milk, I pick extra produce. Today it was arugula.

Arugula was also in my sample produce bag, which I went on line to choose. My CSA doesn’t start until next week so I went on line to order a produce bag.

One with a protein option. Shrimp.

You can customize all kinds of combinations with this company. And buy extras at the warehouse.

Like yogurt and ice cream and apples and rice. Meat options too, which I saw on the blackboard. Whole chickens. Beef brisket. Specials every week as they try to keep the inventory in the freezer at a minimum.

Most of our food comes from here, and our CSA. No recalled foods from small local suppliers. No vegetables with possible listeria contamination. No meat products with wood, metal, plastic or whatever in them. I am a true believer in buying from small local companies, and knowing who processes your food.

Just to show how easy it is to come home and make an awesome dinner.

I sautéed that monkfish. Added it to a skillet of rice and vegetables.

Made a fish stew that will go into my regular rotation. It was that good.

This was simple. Yesterday I made a couple of cups of rice in my rice cooker. The leftovers from dinner become an addition to tonight’s dinner. I sautéed onions, garlic, and asparagus in olive oil. Added a container of crushed tomatoes. A container or spicy kale and bean soup. A teaspoon of sugar. A half teaspoon of salt. A splash of wine. After sautéing the monkfish I finished it in this mix.

Served with this.

A locally produced merlot.

Between the local markets, farms, CSAs and Friends and Farms, I don’t need to go to grocery stores. Unless I need toilet paper.

Yeah I forgot to photograph the final dish. It was served over arugula. Which was in my produce bag and my sample bag.

A double dose of arugula.

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Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Friends and Farms, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food and tagged CSA, Food, local businesses, Locavore, MD Wine, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

The King’s Vegetable

Posted on April 27, 2016 by AnnieRie

Asparagus. Heralding springtime. One of the many names in Germany for asparagus is Königsgemüse, or King’s Vegetable. It used to be quite expensive and only the wealthy could afford it. This web page has some of the history, as well as many very nice recipes.

My new garden plot is giving me a prolific harvest of asparagus. I may be overwhelmed if the weather continues to be favorable.

Less than a week from my first spears cut, and we are getting a good amount almost every other day. Yesterday my husband counted at least two dozen more that should be ready tomorrow or Friday.

Asparagus is a perennial. It needs at least three years from initial planting to produce. These plants are at least five years old, from my understanding when I consulted with the previous garden plot “owner”.

Nothing like asparagus just a few hours out of the ground. Just a simple steaming and a pat or two of butter.

Last night’s dinner. Rice with mushroom gravy. Asparagus, and a couple drumsticks from my Friends and Farms basket.

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Posted in Food, Gardening, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, Food, gardening, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Grilling Chilling and Tilling

Posted on April 17, 2016 by AnnieRie

Those three words sum up the weekend here. Ten hours in the garden. Three dinners from the grill. A couple of really nice wines and some kick back evenings watching movies.

I did perfect those grill marks, didn’t I? A couple of very nice filets as an add on a few weeks back from Friends and Farms. A simple marinade of vinaigrette. A screaming hot grill. Baby rose potatoes from my last CSA basket. Carrots from Friends and Farms. Lettuce too. The tomatoes. Those were Hummingbird Farms hydroponic picked up at Roots. The same place I picked up this.

Did you know Salazon chocolate is made just up the road in Carroll County? They used to have a shop in Sykesville, which unfortunately closed. All their dark chocolate bars have sea salt in them, and lots of flavor combinations.

Perfect to go with a duo of very old, very special local wines.

1998. Yes, you read that right. Two of our favorite old local wineries. Allegro has changed hands since the Crouch brothers ran the winery a couple of decades ago. Their wine. Still absolutely drinkable, soft and great with the filets. As for the Hardscrabble, it still has tannin and can continue to age. Who knew? Almost 20 years old. They could compete with lesser growth Bordeaux, when it comes to matching your meals. We compared the two with dinner and later savored them with that awesome chocolate.

As for the garden, we did quite a bit of work the last two days. I finally got the onions planted, and the seeds for arugula and bibb lettuce under the row cover.

My better half tilled the three rows I will be using for my community garden. One row, tomatoes will dominate. That middle row, greens and onions. A third row, cucumbers and squash. The already established fourth row is full of this.

Asparagus. I have been carefully working around the tender spears that are emerging. I will probably add a few herbs to this bed, once I get it cleaned up.

And, for that final chilling part of the post, check out our resident killdeer, back and laying another four eggs.

I took this from really far away and thankfully got to crop it without distortion. I hope to soon see the babies chasing mom and dad all over our community gardens.

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Posted in Birds, Food, Friends and Farms, Gardening and tagged birds, Food, gardening, Howard County, howard county conservancy, Locavore, nature, photography, real food, VA wine, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

And The Winner Is …

Posted on April 13, 2016 by AnnieRie

… carrots. Yep, carrots. Well, tied with mushrooms, but they needed three varieties to match the two varieties of carrots in eight weeks. Out of the thirteen week Community Supported Agricultural winter share.

We got orange carrots six weeks. Yellow carrots, two. We got mushrooms eight weeks. A combination of shiitake, cremini, and portabella.

All together, our 13 week CSA gave us 45 varieties of vegetables. Doing some math to compare the $330 price against buying in Wegmans (the best prices for organic), we would have spent at least $380 there. We did have to fudge a bit as Wegmans does not sell strawberry popcorn or garlic greens. I had to use farmers’ market pricing for those items.

My favorite this winter.

Watermelon radishes. Sweet. With a slight hint of sea salt. A perfect appetizer.

We have a couple of weeks off before our spring/summer CSA starts. I will have to hit the local farm stands for vegetables.

No matter what. We will still support our Amish organic CSA, because they bring us awesome vegetables at less than store pricing, and only one or two days out of the fields.

Want to join us? 40-50 people hang out in a garage in Braeburn, picking up fresh foods. Check out the sign up page.

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Posted in CSA, Food, LFFC and tagged community, cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, Food, Locavore, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

Perfecting the Pork Chop

Posted on April 11, 2016 by AnnieRie

Really. A post about a cut of meat. One that we never bought, but now that we get them in our Community Supported Agriculture meat share, we have grown to like them. And, I learned the absolutely best way to prepare them.

In 15 minutes, you can have a dinner on the table that looks like this.

Pan fried. Minimal seasoning. Salt, pepper and sage. A searing hot cast iron skillet with a slick of olive oil.

Simple to cook. Incredibly flavorful.

Also, simple to keep that cast iron pan clean.

Screaming hot water. An abrasive sponge. Nothing else. My pan, purchased years ago from Baughers in Westminster, has been seasoned with oil, occasionally a new slick added, and warmed in the oven. No soap. Never in the dishwasher. This pan is ten years old, and absolutely a joy to use. It sits on the stove, all the time.

Used for fritters. Frittatas. Bacon. Hash browns. Greek chicken. Sautéed greens.

Today, like many other days, it made perfect pork chops.

Our winter CSA ends tomorrow. For the summer, I cut back and didn’t order meat or cheese. With local farmer’s markets, I don’t have to do that. But, in the winter, Lancaster Farm Fresh gives us awesome choices. like those pork chops.

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Posted in CSA, Food, LFFC, Locavore and tagged CSA, Food, foodie, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Survey Says

Posted on April 3, 2016 by AnnieRie

Ok. I know I don’t have a huge amount of readers just in Howard County, but for those who live here, could you help with a simple survey?

Local Food Survey

If you click on the link highlighted above, it will take you to Survey Monkey. A class at University of Maryland, taught by one of the cofounders of Friends and Farms, Phil Gottwals, is looking to find information about whether people make food buying choices based on some definition of “local”.

It’s an interesting survey, and you don’t have to answer the personal questions.

For other local Howard County bloggers, on the hocoblogs website, let me know if you want to help Phil’s students and spread the word using our social media contacts. The more people the students get answering their survey, the better.

Any other questions, add a comment below. And, I promise, this isn’t a click bait thing. No advertising or harvesting of email addresses.

Just students who are learning what is important to consumers. Like really good food.

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Posted in Community, CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Friends and Farms, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged CSA, Howard County, Locavore, real food, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

Hoppy Easter

Posted on March 26, 2016 by AnnieRie

As the Easter Egg hunts, and egg rolling events accumulate this weekend, we have yet to establish if there really was an egg laying hare, aka “Oschter Haws” as the Germans called it. You have to admit, for those of us scientifically inclined, it is mind boggling to contemplate bunnies laying eggs.

I did dye eggs this year. Kept some older ones around, to be used for display purposes, so I cheated and used the Paas dyes.

Brown eggs are always interesting to dye. And, the slightly speckled eggs come out very nice. I should have done the natural thing and made dyes from our red cabbage, or from the turmeric in my spice cabinet, but with all the painting and sanding and hammering this week, I was surviving in a corner of my kitchen.

They are done, more or less. Just some carpentry and plumbing to finish. I even got my grandmother’s china back into her cabinet in the dining room. Just in time to make the bone in ham from the CSA last week.

Traditions for the holidays? Do you have them? Are they ecofriendly and healthy, or are some of them bad for you but you do them anyway. One of ours is the ceremonial Peeps. Has to be just one small box. The other one, Rhebs Candy.

Who hasn’t been in that long line to pick up candy, up off Wilkens Avenue by St. Agnes Hospital. When we were young, my Dad brought the candy home from their stall in Lexington Market, which closed down in 2008. You can get the candies ordered online now and have them sent to you, but going into the store, smelling the chocolate, and picking out your own assortment was a real treat.

Well, I need to stop reminiscing and get a few things done for Easter. While putting the rooms back in order, hanging pictures and curtains, and finishing up from the six weeks spent making half the house look great.

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