Tag Archives: real food

Too Tired to Post

Posted on April 24, 2014 by AnnieRie

That would be a strange occurrence for me, but after just downloading 90 photos and editing them, I realized how much we had done in just a few days. The camera had pictures from:

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Grilling the last of the venison.

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Finishing the tilling and pathway construction of the garden.

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Picking up the Friends and Farms basket.

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And, socializing and dining at Petit Louis Bistro.

There will be individual posts on each of these topics coming up, but in closing tonight, before I collapse on the sofa to watch Elementary, a reminder that Lake Kittamaqundi is a special place. Go enjoy lunch or dinner there, or stop by Le Comptoir for breakfast.

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I may have left Columbia nine years ago, but the lakefront is special.

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Somewhere, not far from the People Tree is our brick, celebrating that move to Columbia almost forty years ago.

#hocofood

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Not Your Mama’s Catfish

Posted on April 18, 2014 by AnnieRie

These were some kind of catfish.

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Carolina Classics Catfish. Delivered in this week’s Friends and Farms basket. Two lovely 10 ounce filets. Perfect for pan frying and serving with those grits also in the basket. Red grits, as a matter of fact. I loosely followed the recipe for the grits on the highlighted web site, but did a little substitution.

As for the basket this week, it was clearly a Southern thing.

Sweet potatoes. Turnip greens. Catfish. Grits. What can I say?

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Some of the usual stuff was in the basket. The dozen eggs. The bread. Apples.

Along With some green peppers. An eye of round roast. Carrots. Spinach. Frozen squash and corn. I have been loving the corn in soups and with black beans for a savory dish.

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Oh, and a killer pepper jack cheese. An “in your face” cheese. Also pictured was a special sitting in their office. Rhubarb strawberry jam. We bought a jar, to have on toast.

As for tonight’s dinner. It consisted of catfish and grits.

The catfish. Pan fried in grapeseed oil. With a dusting of paprika, garlic powder, pepper and oregano. No, I didn’t measure it. I was heavy on the garlic and the paprika. A sweet paprika.

The grits. A slight modification of the recipe on the Plated website linked above. I did use the 1/2 cup of grits, and the two cup liquid mix. I used a couple of ounces of tomato paste and some chicken base in the mix, as called for. I used the spinach from the basket.

I did not have smoked paprika so used sweet paprika with two drops of liquid smoke.

You have to try this red grits recipe if you can get your hands on good grits. This was one awesome grits dish.

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My suggestion, though, is to increase the salt and pepper a bit. They were just a touch too bland.

As for the catfish, use equal amounts (1 tbsp. each) of sweet paprika and of garlic powder. Use a very healthy pinch of pepper. A touch of oregano. I sort of played around with the recipe on the Plated site, but knew I wanted pepper to be more assertive. And much more garlic.

This was good stuff. We will be ordering these catfish from the Friends and Farms website, as we really were impressed with how great they are.

#hocofood

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Making It Taste Good

Posted on April 16, 2014 by AnnieRie

The mantra of those of us who cook with the thought of providing delicious healthy meals to our families.

We all know it’s sometimes hard to get people to like greens. I am talking about hearty greens, like collards, kale, chard, arugula, escarole, spinach and greens from root veggies, like turnips, beets, radishes, carrots, and kohlrabi.

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The types of veggies we find in our CSA baskets. Like the turnip greens we are getting tomorrow from Friends and Farms. Or those collards from last week.

Interesting that we are real fans of leafy greens. Love the strange lettuce varieties we find. We have learned to stir fry or sauté all sorts of greens. A little garlic. Some balsamic maybe. Or soy sauce.

Make a frittata. Or omelet. Add them to soups and stews. Drop some amazingly good short ribs on top. Put them on pizza.

The possibilities are endless.

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We are about to enter serious greens season. With the markets. The CSAs.

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What could be better than freshly prepared, nutrient rich veggies as part of two meals a day. Salads at lunch. Accents at dinner.

Don’t forget to get your greens wherever you can find them. Popeye would be proud of you.

#hocofood

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Keeping It Close …

Posted on April 13, 2014 by AnnieRie

… to home. As in eating regionally. More and more foods that come into our house are regionally sourced. And most of what we eat are items that we make.

I just finished the next to last lamb from England Acres this weekend. It was a loin roast, that we grilled Saturday night.

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It ended up feeding us for two nights, as we finished it tonight with a bunch of thrown together side dishes. We bought half a lamb last April. All that is left are one package of ground lamb, and one rib roast. There were 24 pounds of lamb in our delivery.

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We didn’t order a lamb this year, as we are getting a good variety of locally sourced meat from the Friends and Farms basket.

Along with the lamb last night, we grilled a few of those lovely potatoes that were in this week’s basket. And some pesto rubbed bread.

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The potatoes were coated with garlic powder and rosemary. Olive oil too. The bread, from Wegmans bakery, had a coating of red pepper pesto.

The lamb was marinated in red wine, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

Tonight the last few pieces were served with some collard greens, and a grilled naan with pesto.

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Those greens. Sautéed in olive oil, with scallions, the last banger, garlic, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and cayenne flakes. Who can resist perfectly cooked collards with that brightness of the lemon and kick of the garlic and cayenne.

Tonight, though, the star may have been the last Elk Run 2001 Cabernet from the cellar. Yes, 2001. Thirteen years old. From Maryland. And still hanging in there. Light. Soft. Almost sweet, since the tannins have faded. Who says Maryland can’t make good wine?

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So, the lamb was from Mt. Airy. The wine was from Mt. Airy. Can’t get much closer for wine and meat. And, better than many restaurants. Not a bad start to grilling season, and spring in Maryland.

#hocofood

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Just Us Chickens

Posted on April 11, 2014 by AnnieRie

The total chicken post. For whatever reason we just have chickens everywhere we look. Watching the girls run around England Acres (and getting to feed them, if you want).

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Or, how about the tour tomorrow. See the Conservancy web site, if you want to join us. After all, chickens are immensely interesting.

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The baby chicks at Tractor Supply. I always get inspired and want to buy some and get a coop, but then we just “chicken out” for some reason. While we were there last week, I wanted to take a few pictures of the adorable chicks but they prohibit picture taking.

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The joys of free range chicken eggs. The colors. You don’t need to dye these eggs for Easter. They already are amazing in color and designs.

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Who can resist the lure of these fresh eggs, with so much flavor.

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Carpe Java

Posted on April 3, 2014 by AnnieRie

Seize the Coffee. Some days I feel I need that kick to get started.

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Thanks, Iron Bridge for the awesome coffee cups. Today was a bit dreary, but yet warm enough to feel like spring really may be coming.

Highlights: picking up the Friends and Farms basket.

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And, heading up to the community garden to plant a few garlic chives.

I keep searching for the signs of spring in the yard, and they are getting closer.

As for the basket, those hamburger patties just scream “Fire up the grill!”.

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The cod is destined for a fish and chips dinner. More on that later this weekend.

There were the usual eggs. Some nice looking Colby cheese. Cremini mushrooms. Apples, potatoes, kale, Bibb lettuce and carrots. Frozen broccoli and squash puree.

AND POPCORN.

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I love getting popcorn. So much fun to make. There will be fancy popcorn while watching the final four this weekend.

Getting into that spring mood now. The garden will be coming soon. The grill is up and running. One more day of rain, and then a lovely weekend.

#hocofood

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Buyer Be Aware

Posted on April 2, 2014 by AnnieRie

Words of wisdom when using a new supplier or visiting a new market. In our case, making assumptions without due diligence.

We are pretty good about checking the source of our food. I read the labels religiously, and remember most of the time to ask questions. Still, I make those little mistakes. Mostly though, my little mistakes aren’t life threatening.

I did learn something new the other day while browsing a recipe comment file. Not all the butter I have been buying is “just butter”. Some of them include “natural flavoring”. From what I can ascertain, many butter makers include “flavoring” which actually is being used to enhance the color of the butter.

I bought Amish roll butter at Shrewsbury last week. It is not the same as the fresh roll butter we saw at Manheim yesterday. Not a bad product from Shrewsbury but one I won’t buy again. Because it has the additives that make me sneeze

My Trickling Springs butters are nothing but “Sweet Cream”.

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Check out the butter you normally buy. See if has any additives. I have learned, through my allergies, when there are additives in my food.

That’s why I prefer buying more and more from local sources, or from small farms and artisans. I can ask the questions I want and get information.

Spring is coming. Soon, the local markets will be opening. Howard County markets are producer only. Around us, you could be seeing items that aren’t sourced locally. Yesterday it was obvious that the outdoor vendors with items like pomegranates and bananas were selling what they bought wholesale, and not locally sourced.

Not that it is bad, just that knowing what we are getting is important to some of us. And, we certainly love the quality items we find at our local stores and markets.

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#hocofood

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Farm Kitchen Soup

Posted on March 30, 2014 by AnnieRie

The weather turned wet and blustery today so we wanted soup for lunch.

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Soup made from whatever I had hanging around in the kitchen. A leftover chicken thigh with rice. Some corn, green beans and chicken stock from the freezer. The last handful of sugar snap peas.

It reminds me of the stories we shared with some other volunteers out at the Conservancy. Where there was always a pot of soup hanging above the fireplace by a hook, in the farm kitchen. Leftovers from the family style dinners got dumped in the pot. There was always hot soup for the farm hands and the family when they came in from working.

This soup turned out to be very good. No recipes. No measuring. Just a slow simmer.

After all, around here, winter won’t go away, it seems. It poured all day today with rain, then turned to snow.

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This afternoon, a river in the yard.

This evening. So far, close to two inches of snow on the ground, with a possibility of more.

Days like this, being able to make a hearty tasty soup is a skill I am glad I developed.

Don’t give up on leftovers. Freeze little bags of veggies, and make extra rice and freeze it. Plus, freeze lots of pint and quart jars of chicken stock.

Reminds me of what all those resourceful farmers did. Oh, and I need to defrost and roast a chicken this week, and “stock” up on my stock.

#hocofood

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Wanting to Garden!

Posted on March 29, 2014 by AnnieRie

I am so ready for springtime and gardening. I can’t wait to lose the winter doldrums and start planting.

The seeds I started indoors are getting out of control.

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The scarlet emperor beans are a foot high. The edamame have pushed through the potting soil. Lots of arugula ready to transplant.

The cardoons are getting feisty.

Purple tomatillo. Check. I also started a small pot yesterday with dill seeds for the herb garden out back.

We had our kick off community garden meeting today.

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There are 24 new gardeners at the Conservancy plots.

Next week. Row cover pick up. The following week. Garden work day. Next week, also is Greenfest at Howard Community College. The following week, is the coop to coop tour for the chicken coops in Howard County.

Sometime in there I need to go pick up my plants for my summer garden from Sharp’s, and put the potatoes in the ground in the yard.

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We are deciding where to put the root plants. The hoops with row cover. Where to put the tomatoes and the peppers.

Spring can’t come fast enough.

#hocofood

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The Runaround

Posted on March 26, 2014 by AnnieRie

It’s what I am currently doing to fill in those voids in my pantry and fridge.

Wegmans has a few things I like, and can’t get elsewhere. So does Roots. And, Harris Teeter.

But, they are no longer the primary source of the foods we eat.

The CSAs and the Friends and Farms basket now comprise the bulk of my food sources.

Plus, what is in the freezer, from my garden and from places like Larriland.

Roots is my source for cereal, bulk foods and specialty items like coconut oils.

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Thankfully, Clarksville isn’t that far away.

As for Wegmans, they are the only source for two standard items in our kitchen.

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Shelf stable non dairy creamer, unflavored, for me.

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A really good choice for K cup coffee, this San Francisco Bay one.

We are still getting the coupon books, even though Wegmans has decided I don’t come there often enough to send me the Menu magazine. I asked. They said, I don’t do enough business with them.

Interesting reply.

Harris Teeter. The grocery store we use for other shopping. Mainly on Thursdays, since they give seniors like us a 5% discount on Thursdays.

So, tomorrow, while getting my Friends and Farms pick up, I will hit Wegmans to use the coupon for coffee, which we need.

I have to admit. It is not what I thought I would be doing, four years ago, when I retired. Interesting that the changes I made to focus on local buying, and small business emphasis, have shaped where I go and what I purchase.

#hocofood

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